+Orochi M.I.A
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[Chapter 1: I gotta Feeling...]

Kuristophe was feeling...err what was the word?

Out of sorts?

Not the bad kind mind you but still.....so strange.  It could only be described as...

Warmth.

It was an odd feeling to him, almost completely surreal to someone normally as cool-blooded as himself.(Yes, cool-blooded, not cold) It raced through his veins, danced in his eyes, left goose bumps on his skin and blanketed itself around his chest. A familiar feeling among different sources but those paled in comparison to this...

The cause? It wasn't the burn of alcohol...nor even the company of several lovely ladies. It wasn't a good joke nor was it the best prank ever. At least he hoped it wasn't....it was almost too good to be true. The answer and cause of all this flustering?

Fallon Marin.

Ah yes, the blade-mage in crimson armor. The stern, straight-to-business lady who fights for truth, justice and all that jazz... The one who found out about his crimes and stepped up to him but...not to bring him under the judge's hands. Instead her words were like her sword, sharp and cutting but they only parried the situation. He wanted to laugh at her...she wanted to protect HIM? It was madness...

"Did you do it? Did you really commit the 'Massacre at Saint's End'?"
"I just told you it was my fault did I not?"
"I see....But even so, I don't want to stay away from you"
"You're a strong woman who believes in justice...how does my so-called dastardly deeds not anger you? Make you despise me?"
"I see you as a friend, and that's why I can't despise you for your past deeds. I’m not saying I’m glad all those women and children had to die. I have a heart, you know... and I feel protective of you."

It really was madness yet, he couldn't find it within himself after hearing her following words to deny her. After all that chaos during the Rosa Labs scenario it was nice for someone to just...accept him. He sighed but couldn't help but smirk as he walked the streets of Premunte towards his residence.

"In this crazy world of choices, I've only got a few~ either you're coming with me or I'm coming with you~cause I finally~ found... I've finally found you." he sung quietly to himself before humming the rest as he made the final stretch towards his 'crib'.  He could honestly say things were looking up for him for once...a guild with friends who he could trust to fight by his side...and now even a special lady to keep him in line. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that didn't he? Oh yeah the Lashtail is currently unavailable,taken by Lady Red, sorry other ladies of Earthland!

Kuristophe, the Lashtail of Dragon Heart has officially renounced his bachelor card. There, there....don't get sad. Be happy for him...well that was if you truly cared in the first place.

"Oh my..."
"Should we report this or...?"
"I can't believe this..."
"All this time...."
"How were we not notified of this?!"

Kuris quirked an eyebrow at the voices as he ascended the stairs inside the complex, only to find a gaggle of nosy neighbors standing in the hallway, all staring at one thing. Kuris shrugged, nothing new here, every time something happened these people were out and about trying to get involved. Probably one of the main reasons he hung out at Dragon Heart so much. Only one of these people weren't huddled around one another, it was the land lady, leaning on the doorway to her office smoking who knows what...the smoke coming into his nostrils making him wrinkle his nose and fan the air in front of him.

"Hey grams...what's with all the commotion?" Said old woman glared at the snake-eyed youth in front of her. "For the last time, it's Claudia not 'Grams' you punk~!" Kuris just chuckled, putting his hands up defensively. The old bat could get violent. "But to answer your question....hell if know. I don't go sticking my nose where it don't belong, you know that. But it's getting troublesome and annoying to hear them. Not to mention I don't like the feel of it....the whole situation has me on edge."

Ah, that explained the....whatever it was, she was inhaling. "eh, well I'll just go see for myself then...." Claudia smirked, "And the fact that they're blocking your way to your door has nothing to do with it hm?" Kuris couldn't repress a smirk, "Mayyybe~ " She coughed and grinned back at him, "Yeah well whatever, just don't throwing your magic around here. You know the fine."
"Ha! No worries on that. I remember the first offense quite well...you charged an arm and a leg. Almost literally.... Anyway see ya Grams."

"It's Claudia you  piss-eyed yellow bellied snake in the grass!!" Kuris laughed out loud at the woman with his back turned as he headed towards the crowd. He liked that old lady, spoke her mind and doesn't give a damn if someone has an issue with her language.  Kuris approached the crowd with a normal languid pace, slightly irritated that he has to deal with this when he just wanted to go to his room and crash.

A little brown haired girl with her pigtails saw him approach, her hazel eyes lighting up as she ran up to him, away from her mother who was talking in a hushed voice with the rest of the mob. Kuris gave a real smile towards the little girl who was now attached to his person in a hug, "Hey there Missy, miss me much?" She looked up at the whip-mage, smiling. "Yup! you been gone for like...EVER!"

"Sorry Missy. Last job I was on was very very complicated. But I'm back now eh?" She pouted "Yeah, I s'pose...but I missed you so much. Why you gotta be gone so long?"
Kuris patted the top of her head, careful not to muss up her hair-do....otherwise she'll get fussy. "The world is a big place, full of people who need help. You know this...I just happen to be one of many who go out and lend people the aid they need."
She nodded, "Thas' right, cause' you're a hero that helps everyone you can right?" The whip-mage chuckled, "I wouldn't call myself a hero but something along those lines." 'A hero? Heh...the innocence of children.'

Kuris poked her forehead with his fingers, "But never mind that, you mind telling me what's with everyone blocking the hall? Some of us need to get to their rooms you know." Missy frowned and rubber her forehead at the contact, she hated that.
"I dun' know. There were some strange carvings on the walls and a paper with yer' picture hung up. I couldn't read it but Momma got all worked up. No-one will explain it to me..."
Kuris blinked at the little girl's words....

Say what?

"Why would there be a picture of me hung up?" Missy shrugged, unsure herself. This was odd....Kuris glanced at the crowd and the looks in their eyes caused a cold feeling to cross over his skin.  The look in their eyes was one he recognized very well, he'd seen it enough in the foes he's faced, frantic....panicked. Oh he had a bad feeling about this....

The girl's mother turned around, noticing the missing presence of her child, and her eyed widened .
"Missy! GET OVER HERE NOW!" she screamed, causing said girl to jump to her mothers side hurriedly, she'd never heard her sound like that before. The rest of the crowd turned to the woman and noticed what she also saw, their expressions turning horrified at the development.

Oh jormundgar, this could NOT be good.... Kuris frowned at the people in front of him, "What is everyone's deal? It's just me...Julie, what's going on?" Missy's mother, Julie, only glared at the whip mage with murder in her eyes. "You....how dare you....stay away from my daughter you bastard!" Kuris frowned, "What is your bloody deal woman!?" One of the men near Julie cowered at Kuris's tone, "Oh god....Julie don't anger him! Or we'll turn up on the front pages like those other people!"

Julie ignored the man as she continued to glare with such hatred in her eyes. "THIS!" she thrust out a piece of paper out to show the whip mage, "This is my problem!" Kuris gasped.....it was a picture of him a couple years younger...with words he'd never thought he'd have to see for while....

It was his old Wanted poster....for the genocide of Saint's End.

'How...how in the hell did that get here!? I thought Xiacon had people getting rid of this information! In all the years that's been out it hadn't come up.....what happened!? '

"You gallivant around here...like you're just an ordinary caring and carefree guy...but you're really a cold-blooded murderer! You sicken me..."

Missy looked up at her mom, "Murder? Gotta be mistake mommy, Kuris is a hero not a villain!" Julie gave her daughter a stern glance, silencing her before looking back at the amber-eyed man. "You have children convinced you're some kind of  'Hero'? Oh you sick, twisted son of a bitch!"
"Mommy?"
"My....sister....Missy's aunt....they were at Saint's End. You killed them and yet....your 'e here....smiling and befriending everyone..."

Julie broke out into tears, "Why were you doing this?  What...WHAT KIND OF SICK TWISTED PLEASURE ARE YOU GETTING FROM THIS?!!?"
"Kuris killed Auntie?....it's not true....it cant be....Kuris..tell them.....tell them it's a lie!"

The pale skinned man simply kept his head hung, no bothering to answer. He couldn't....he couldn't tell her that. Not after all the stories the little one told him about her aunt....
"No..no....NO!" She broke down into tears...."I hate you! I hate youIhateyouIhateyou!!" Julie scooped her daughter into her arms as the little one lost herself in her grief. sending all her loathing towards the man....the rest of the crowd doing so as well. Ringo from down  near the end of the hall.....Robertio the nice old man who kuris would sometimes check out other girls with....everyone....even Grams...who had heard and seen the entire thing, glared at him.

Kuris's heart wrenched at their sorrowed expressions....their disappointed glares....
He would never be free of that mistake....

Claudia's voice rung out, "Alright, get back to your homes...Except you Kuris....you have to leave the premises. you may gather your things but I cant have you live here anymore. It's bad for business." With that she turned around and walked back to her office. "I expect you gone in 10 minutes. This is a family-oriented establishment and you DON'T belong here...." The crowd dispersed as well, not without glaring at the unmoving figure one last time...until he was all alone in the once crowded hall.

Why? How? Who?
Just when...just when he was finally thinking he could live normally....
He missed the warm fuzzy feeling he just had.....

The whip mage trudged to his door, he had a short time to gather as many of his things as he could...which admittedly wasn't much.  Spending most of his time at the guild, hadn't left him with many personal possessions aside from a few notebooks and medical texts. Anything he used more often than not was left at the guild in one of the rooms....

Kuris sighed, he didn't even know if he could go back to the guild now that the secret was out....Dragon Heart's reputation would be on the line and have the Wizard Saints breathing down Xiacon's neck. Dude was stressed enough as it was, keeping everyone in line and not ending up with something like Fairy Tail's destruction bill....But where could he possibly--Kuris's eyes widened then narrowed at the sight before him. The carving Missy had talked about...was on his door....and he recognized the symbol. He knew it.  He seethed...."So that's how..."

Kuris tried to calm himself....he'd have to have focus for this as he opened his door and walked inside....shutting the wooden door behind with naught even a click or sound.

"I'm not in the mood for your whispers in the dark Wara.....what do you want?"
A dark chuckle resounded in the room  as a fanged Cheshire smile appeared in the shadows of the darkened room, followed by the appearance of a pair of sharp yellow eyes above the smile. The figure stepped out from the shadows into the dimly lit gray of the room, the creepy smirk never leaving his face. The figure was dressed similarly to Kuris, but preferring a color scheme of gray and brown, even paler skin than Kuris and his tousled hair only reaching above his ears.

And he was eating his cookies.

Kuris sighed and gave Wara a tired, weary look. "So...not enough to screw my life over for no reason but you eat my cookies too? That's low brother.....real low." Wara just chuckled again, "Now now, don't get so grumpy~ Waited for you a long time so I got hungry."

Kuris pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. Oh yeah...he forgot Wara had a bad habit of speaking only in rhymes. "Wara....I haven't seen you since the Saint's End 'incident' you got me for....and I'm sure you didn't come here for a little re-union.  Nor have you attacked me...we both know that it'd only end in a draw. What. Do. You. Want?"
Wara just kept that annoying, creepy smile on! By Jormundgar, he hated that smile. "Ah dear brother, you have me misconstrued....". he trailed off. Kuris raised an eyebrow. No rhyme? Well there goes another bad feeling....

--or was that just the feeling of someone putting their arm into your body and into your chest...literally? Kuris coughed up blood as the pain started to register. The hand and arm were messing around behind him, almost wraithlike inside his....Kuris's eyes widened as he froze. He knew who was behind him. He knew who was using this magic.

Wara just kept smiling, "....but indeed I did come here for a meeting of our brood."

Kuris was hugged from behind, a feminine voice he knew all too well reaching his ears, "I missed you brother....I missed you sooo much~"

Kuris glanced down paralyzed as her fingers tapped against his chest. "Sh-Shura...." She giggled. "You DO remember! That makes me happy...but you never DID come visit me...bad brother. And as punishment....I'm going to tickle you!"  

Her fingers slid inside his chest, eventually taking her hands and her forearm in as well. Kuris flinched and cringed as he felt her touch on his insides, eventually coming into short screams of pain as Shura 'tickled' his heart after 'poking' his lungs. That was her magic...she had taken Slither Serpentine to a whole different level of sadism. She could literally reach into your skull....take your brain out and leave your skull intact is she so wished....Causing pain to your body for no reason then to just see you squirm in her hold....

Why did Wara bring her! Anyone else he could've fought...father, mother...he wouldn't give a damn.....but he brought SHURA....
Kuris fell to his knees  after a few moments of complete hell.... He was already fading into unconsciousness....too much pain...at once.
Wara knelt down in front of Kuris, "Now now....don't get so sad....We're just bringing you alive sadly back home to mom and dad."

Kuris's eyes widened..."Wh-what?" he managed to ask before getting knocked into a full blackout, Wara's fist outstretched. The creepy smile still on his face as he wrapped up the whip mage with his  own specialty razor wire. Shura just sat idly by as Wara quickly went to work. "We best hurry up brother, we don't want someone from his 'guild' coming and interrupting our rescue mission."

"Chances that they're more powerful...way too slim." His eyes gleamed, "And if they do, we can just kill them."
Shura giggled, she herself cloaked in just the shadows but you could easily tell she was only half the age of the other two in the room. "You have such a way with words dear brother."

"You're still not getting one of these cookies."

She pouted, "Phooey~!"