A Magical Interuption

In Katekyo, there is a hospital, Kazeshi, which does experiments on orphans. Some of the orphans openly volunteered for the experiments while others were forced to go. Every day, each subject under goes a selection of tests to see how the experiment DNA co-exists with its subject. Most times, the subject dies after the first round of tests, however, not all. There are a few that have survived. One in particular longer than the others. Her name is Zuel Elih. She was taken into Kazeshi fourteen years ago, when she was four, and was fused with cat DNA which also gave her the power to use dark magic. The scientists haven’t been able to figure out how the dark magic came into play, but didn’t argue. Zuel’s black hair was chin length and her cat ears were a shade or two darker. Her left eye was silver while her right, covered by an eye patch was a dark purple and looked like it had the kanji for dark in it. She always had her katana on her and an IPod that held her favorite music.

“Okay. Today we will be doing some training tests.” One of the scientists said, hoping Zuel could hear him over the blasting music in her ears.

“What kind?” She asked simply.

“Combat.” He answered, taking a step back when her ears twitched.

“I hate combat training.” She said, sighing and standing up, stretching.

“Subject 666 is up.” Someone said over the intercom in Zuel’s chamber.

“We’re on our way.” The scientist said, opening the door. “Come on. The sooner we get there, the sooner it’ll be over.”

Zuel grabbed her katana and walked out the door, heading down the hall towards the combat arena. She couldn’t help but wonder who she would be fighting. Last time she had done combat training tests she had fought Vincent Rose and won, but just barely. She went through the list of possibilities in her head, singling out one in particular.

Kotaro Silver. I saw his name on the list the other day. It has to be him. She thought, smiling.

They entered the combat arena, the high ceiling giving the effect of night time. The ground was covered with artificial grass and sand, making it easier to maneuver around when fighting, not that she really needed the extra boost. There were trees and rocks all around and even two small buildings that served as hiding spots. She always preferred to use the trees but had used the buildings on a couple occasions, just to switch up her tactics. She saw three people sitting in a room overlooking the arena. One of them was Akiyo Piko, Kazeshi’s main doctor. He was only nineteen but held an impressive degree. His black hair was cut to about the middle of his neck and spiked slightly bringing out his light brown eyes. She could see a laptop in front of him. He always monitored the vitals of all subjects before any test. She had liked talking to him and enjoyed when no one else was around. He never asked any pesky questions nor seemed to flinch when she moved.

Beside him was Kazeshi’s sole owner Takamiya Yoi. Her purple hair stopped at about mid-calf and made her all too serious light purple eyes stand out. She was twenty nine and had owned Kazeshi since she was eighteen, believing that by twisting people’s DNA, they could become great soldiers and destroy any force that came against Katekyo. Beside her was Vector Tyron, Takamiya’s lap dog as most people in Kazeshi called him. His shoulder length black hair was messy and gave his gold eyes an air of eeriness. He was only twenty two but had accomplished a lot working for Takamiya. Zuel hated him with a passion. He was rude and a big pervert, always sneaking into the woman’s locker room to watch them change. Whenever someone complained about it, Takamiya had said to deal with it.

“Welcome Subject 666. I hope you got plenty of rest because you have a great opponent today.” Takamiya said through the intercom.

“Yeah yeah, can we just get on with it?” Zuel asked, annoyed.

“Easy killer. Doctor Piko has to check you out first.” Vector said, a smile on his face.

“I’ll be down shortly Zuel.” Akiyo said, closing his laptop and leaving the booth.

Within a couple minutes he was down in the arena doorway, waving for Zuel to come out into the hallway. Zuel did as she was told and sat down on a stool. She smiled at Akiyo, glad to be out of the hearing range of Takamiya and Vector.

“I really can’t stand those two.” She said, giving Akiyo her arm so he could check her blood pressure.

“Neither do I.” He said, smiling back.

“Then why do you work here?” she wondered.

“I needed a good job and, believe it or not, Takamiya pays me a good amount.” He explained simply. “Also, if I quite, you wouldn’t have anyone to talk to.”

Zuel laughed. “Awful arrogant are you not?”

“Just a little.” He said, putting all his equipment back in his bag. “All done.”

“I swear, every time we do this, the time it takes gets shorter and shorter.” Zuel sighed, standing up.

“It always does.” Came a voice from the doorway.

It was Kotaro Silver. He was one of her closest friends and she had often ran to him for help. He was nineteen, the same age as Akiyo, and was really sweet to her. His white hair was chin length and pushed back, the sides hanging down, revealing his gorgeous light red eyes. He is a former human turned vampire and fused with demonic DNA. Zuel had often given him some of her blood to keep him from passing out, or worse. Takamiya had told all the doctors not to give any subject exactly what they needed to live. If they needed it that bad, they would find it.

“Kotaro-kun!” Zuel said, jumping up and hugging him.

“Hey Zuel.” He smiled.

“Zuel, Kotaro is your opponent today. I told Takamiya that it wasn’t a good idea to make you two fight but she insisted saying something about how this would prove just how much of a coward you are or something.” Akiyo said, motioning for Kotaro to sit down.

“That damn Takamiya. She’s always trying to find ways to make me seem like a weak little kitten. I hate it.” Zuel said. “I really don’t like her.”

“It’s okay. We know that this is just a test and they always stop us before we kill each other.” Kotaro said, trying to sound reassuring.

That’s not the point. I don’t want to fight you. Zuel thought. “Yeah.”

“Well, you are both cleared to fight.” Akiyo said, standing up. “Zuel, if you want to, you may come and see me after the tests are over. I would like to speak to you about something.”

“Will do Akiyo. Thank you.” Zuel said, giving him a hug before turning back to Kotaro. “Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be to fight you.” He joked.

“Very funny.” She said, rolling her eyes.

“Subjects 666 and 665 please report to your designated fighting areas.” Akiyo said, now back in the booth.

Zuel guessed he got in trouble for calling her by her name on the intercom. She rolled her eyes and waved bye to Kotaro before entering the arena again. She leaned against a nearby tree and waited until the signal that Kotaro was in position came. She smiled up at the booth and saw Vector watching her. She wished that she could run her katana through his heart, but then again, his blood would only bring dishonor to her blade.

“Ready?” Takamiya asked.

“If you call fighting one of your closest friends ready then sure.” Zuel said, smiling at Takamiya’s annoyed look.

“When you hear the bell, the test begins. The test ends when one of you give up or are near death.” Takamiya said, reciting the usual rules. “Also, there is one special twist to this test. The winner gets to keep the loser as a slave for the next seven, during which time certain actions will be monitored.”

Zuel’s ears twitched at the thought of having Kotaro under her control for a whole week. She always loved spending time with him so having him for a whole week, making him do whatever she wanted, was the best thing that could happen in the hell hole she lived in. Shaking her head, she stood up straight, took a deep breath, and focused her energy. The room grew dark from the fake sky in the ceiling. They were going to play it as night and see how well the pairs night vision worked. Zuel smiled, knowing that her and Kotaro could see just as good at night as they could in the day. The bell rang, signaling the start of the test.

She dashed to hide behind a giant boulder, controlling her breathing. She knew Kotaro was going to be a challenge to beat, much like Vincent. She had one advantage though, her katana. As long as she had known Kotaro, she had never once saw him use his katana. He always carried one but never used it. She snuck to another hiding spot, watching her surroundings carefully, listening to every noise she heard. The sound of footsteps quietly approaching the building to her left reached her ears. She crouched low, hiding her shape in the darkness and watched as Kotaro dashed from tree to boulder to tree, trying to get to the building.

Neither building had camera’s in them (although everywhere else did) so Zuel found the perfect opportunity to talk Kotaro into a strategy. She waited for him to get inside before dashing to another tree, then another, and another before finally dashing inside the building. Kotaro noticed her and smiled.

“Wow. Found me that fast huh?”

“It wasn’t hard. You sounded like a stampede running through here.”

“Did not.” He said.

She laughed. “Just kidding.”

“What are you going to do now that you have me cornered?” He asked.

“Well, given the fact that the test just started and that you probably wanted me to follow you here, I have a plan.” Zuel said.

“Do you now?” He said, interested. “Let’s hear it.”

Zuel explained her plan. Basically they were going to fight (that was unavoidable) but they were going to drag out the fight as long as possible. Whoever won got the prize of using the other however they wanted under one condition, it was completely innocent (as innocent as demons could be that was).

“Sound good?” She asked.

“Yep.” He agreed, standing up and walking over to her.

“It’s a deal then.” She smiled.

He ran his fingers through her hair and bent down to whisper in her ear. “I won’t concede to that last part though. I do promise not to do anything rash.”

With that, he vanished. Zuel blushed at the thought of him doing something… inappropriate. She closed her eyes and focused again, needing to keep herself calm to win the fight. She sat in the doorway of the building, her legs crossed, hands relaxed on her thighs, reaching into the energy plain. The colors of the trees and boulders swirled into massive swirls of green, grey, and brown. A sudden flash of red caught her attention. Smiling she pulled her katana out of its sheath. She came back to the earthly plain and dashed behind a tree. She saw Kotaro crouching behind a boulder and smiled. The perfect target. Before she had time to react, he disappeared, appearing in front of her, pinning her to the tree.

“Kotaro-kun!” She said, surprised.

“You’re not doing very good so far.” He smiled.

She smiled, the surprise completely gone. She figured as much from Kotaro. She dropped her Katana and kicked it aside. Snapping her fingers, the katana started to float. Kotaro sighed.

“You know I hate using my katana.” He said.

“Yeah, but I love using mine.” She said, flicking her wrist towards him.

The katana came at him, just barely missing him as he let go of Zuel and ducked. Zuel grabbed her katana and swung at Kotaro. He dodged it again. She smiled and swung again, catching his shoulder, fresh blood seeping through the white cloth of his shirt. He looked at the wound and smiled.

“You’re not being very fair.” He said.

“I’m being completely fair. If you were to fight with your katana, this could be extremely interesting.” She countered.

“Possibly.” He said, disappearing again.

She growled. “I hate it when you do that!”

She sheathed her katana and traced his magic. When she found him, she smiled and began making her way to him. She was quiet and restrained her breathing. She climbed up a tree and looked around. The link between her and Kotaro broke and a stronger one found its way in. A sudden sharp pain in her head made her scream and fall out of the tree, landing awkwardly on her shoulder. She covered her ears and curled into a ball, trying to stop the pain. Kotaro knew that the scream was from something interfering with her magic and ran to her. When he saw her curled up, he immediately picked her up.

“Stop the test!” He hollered.

“What’s going on Kotaro?!” Akiyo asked.

“Someone is interfering with her magic.” He answered.

Akiyo jumped out of his chair and ran down to the arena. Zuel screamed again as another wave of pain jabbed at her. Kotaro held her close, whispering that it would be okay. Takamiya and Vector watched from the booth, deciding to temporarily stop the tests. Takamiya knew that Zuel wasn’t very sensitive to pain so this had to be something bad. She didn’t usually care about the pain that her subjects went through, but she needed Zuel so she took special care of her.

“Take her to her room. Doctor Piko and subject 665 do not leave her until she is stable again.” Takamiya ordered.

“Yes ma’am.” Akiyo said, leading Kotaro out of the arena.

Kotaro followed Akiyo into the chamber rooms. The place looked like a small apartment complex. Each subject had their own rooms. Each room had a kitchen, two rooms, a living room, and a bathroom. They were allowed to have anything they wanted in their chambers as long as it didn’t overly effect the tests that each subject went through. Kotaro and Zuel lived side by side so often got to see each other. Takamiya allowed the subjects to converse and spend time together just like if they lived in the real world but she was also strict on certain things, like watching too much T.V. or playing too many video games. She also monitored what they ate to make sure that they maintained a healthy weight.

Akiyo pulled out a set of keys and found the one to Zuel’s room. Zuel had only allowed two other people to have her key besides her and Takamiya. It was Kotaro and Akiyo. She trusted them above anyone and knew that they would never do anything to purposely harm her. She had relaxed in Kotaro’s arms by now and he thought she was asleep. She was in the energy world, trying to trace the magic that had interfered with hers.

How odd. All traces are gone. What was it though? Who was it? She wondered.

Kotaro set her down carefully on the couch and pulled her Batman blanket off the back and covered her with it. She wasn’t ready to leave the energy world just yet. Despite the fact that her eyes were closed and her earthly body was asleep, she could still feel everything that was going on. In the energy world, nothing was what it seemed. One moment she was in a spooky graveyard and the next she was in a beautiful park. She had always hated that about the energy world. It couldn’t make up its mind on what it wanted to look like. The scenery depended on how the energies were feeling on that particular day.

She guessed that they were in a dull mood because the scenery finally settled in a deserted town, fog covering the ground. Windows of buildings were boarded up and doors had caution tape on them. Beams from porches were missing and there were holes in the roofs of many of the buildings. She walked down the worn dirt road through the town trying to figure out what the energies were trying to tell her. She saw movement from the corner of her eyes and tried to focus on it but couldn’t. She tried reaching out to it only to get a searing pain in the back of her head.

It’s no use trying to trace my magic. Someone said.

She looked around but saw no one. Where are you?

Behind you. It said.

She spun around to see a man, perhaps about twenty. His features were hidden by a cloak and a sword gleamed in his left hand. She wasn’t afraid, but felt a strange vibe coming from him. She couldn’t quite figure it out, but she felt as if she had seen him before.

Who are you? She asked.

I am Dijuno Darklord. I am one keeper of the Energies. He said, bowing.

Dijuno? I’ve heard that name before, but where? She asked.

You heard it from your mother, before she died. Dijuno said simply.

Zuel froze. What?!

You heard me. I don’t need to repeat myself. He said.

Zuel didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t remember anything about her parents. She thought that maybe it was because she was so young when she was put in the orphanage. Nothing was making any sense. She remembered the magic that had interfered with hers when she had tried to track Kotaro.

Was it you who interfered with my magic?

Yes.

Why? She asked.

I need your help. You are the only one that can help me. He said, still making no sense.

Me? What can I do? She snorted.

Well for one, you can have more confidence in yourself. And two, I need you to get me out of here. You’ll need the help of six others. He said.

Six others? For what? She asked.

There are eight Energies, as you know. Sun, Moon, Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Light, and Dark. You are the Dark. I am the Moon. You must find Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Sun, and Light. Once you have the other six, you must perform a ritual. Once I am out, we will have more work to do. Dijuno explained.

More work? Like what? Zuel asked.

Everything felt like it was making sense, although she couldn’t put her finger on the exact trail it all led. She was interested in what Dijuno had to say and was willing to help. It would give her something to do besides sit in her chamber all day.

There is a force that is threatening us all. All demon kind is at stake. Those who were born demon and those who were turned demon alike are targets of destruction. Dijuno said, offering no further explanation.

How do I find the other six? Zuel asked.

Special markings. You have the one in your eye. That is where your power comes from. He said.

What’s yours?

He lifted his right hand, pulling the glove off. On the back of his hand was the kanji for moon. She touched her eye patch, feeling a strange eminence from it. She still didn’t know exactly how to find the other six.

You need to pay extra close attention to the things people do. I will tell you this. I know all six are with you in Kazeshi. I just recently learned that. Although, I do not know who they are. That is why I need you to find them. You were the only one who picked up my magic and actually answered. Dijuno said.

Okay, so let me get this straight. I have to find six others with the symbols of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Sun, and Light then we have to perform a ritual to get you out of the energy world. Once that’s done, we have to fight some people we don’t even know so that we don’t die. I have to figure out who the other six are by searching for their symbols. How do you propose I go about doing that? Zuel asked.

I don’t know. He shrugged. That’s your job. Once you find someone, you can both connect to me by joining hands and entering the energy world. It might be hard if any of the six don’t have any particular magic, which they should if they have the symbol.

Zuel sighed and scratched the back of her head. Is there a special way to tell if the symbol is real or not?

You’ll just know. He said.

I’ll just know. Okay. Anything else? She asked, wishing she could get back to Kotaro.

At this current moment in time, no. I will contact you again if I learn something new. Now that you know my magic signature, it shouldn’t affect you like it did this time. Until then, I must go. Dijuno said, fading away.

Great! Something else to deal with along with all those damned tests. I’m really going to need someone’s help. Zuel thought, receding from the energy world.