What is to be

[karasu]

....Everything had gone funny. Strange, discolored, like the world had somehow...gone out of joint. That was better. It felt the world was out of joint. One moment, no better yet...what felt like a lifetime ago...Taiyo had felt a fire in his chest. Like he was on fire, soaring to the great white beyond with only one person at his side. Nothing else existed on their flight to the sun. But...if reason stood, an existence like that...they were doomed to fall back to earth.

"What do we do about him?" And if he were to fall, who was to say where he would land? Maybe Taiyo would find that pit that lead to the place where his kind dwelled. The fires of hell would be more then welcome.

"Kill him too. Not like he's putting up a fight." A cool barrel was pressed to Taiyo's head, as he welcome oblivion with welcome arms. Anything to take him away from his pain. No fire waited for Taiyo after the shell rammed through his skull. No laughing demon, welcoming him to his long awaited home. It was...utter nothingness. A void of anything and everything, save for this lingering feeling.

"Do you want power?" Nothingness stood before Taiyo, nothingness held its hand out for him to take. "The power to take from a world that has taken from you?" Nothingness knew what Taiyo wanted, what he kept in his heart. Where love once was, hatred had taken its place. The desire to walk by her side was gone. Taiyo, no...the Blue Shadow wanted to leave a road paved by corpses of those men. He wanted them to bleed, cry and scream until he ripped out their lungs and tore out their beating hearts. The Blue Shadow's eyes wanted to see the light fade from their eyes as they watched their beating heart slow in front of them.

No heart beat behind the Blue Shadow's heart as life returned to his limbs. The being of nothing, in all its glory, had granted the Blue Shadow's wish. No more painful emotions. No weak human body holding him back. ....No Kotone to spend life with. Tatsuya Taiyo had died, his soul fading into the abyss known as the Blue Shadow. And it was hungry for more, ever more, of those twisted souls that had taken from Taiyo.

They were delicious. Absolutely worth the time and money it had taken to track down the first of the three. When he had seen the Blue Shadow he had screamed, such beautiful screams of terror as his bullets bit the shadow's flesh.

"No no no, this won't do. A patient must be secured before his operation." The Blue Shadow whispered as he strapped the thug's arms to a car.

"F-Fuck you you z-zombie!" As the man trembled the Shadow tied his legs to a truck.

"But you scheduled this physician assisted suicide last week? Dear me, you must have forgotten that when you murdered me and my wife. Fret not my dear patient, the doctor is here to help you with this problem of living." Humming, the Shadow turned on the idling engine. "Give me your sick, your dying, your suffering and I will cure all that ails them."

[karasu]

Raiden had been to many, many crime scenes. Seen many, many disturbing things. Dead bodies, blood splattered bodies, bodies with no heads...etc. However this time was the first time Raiden had seen a body with its arms and legs ripped off, tied to their own respective vehicle. But he was a professional damn it.

"urHURRR." The same could not be said for the rookies clustered around what was left of the man. And by the look of the man's face, he had died screaming. The forensics team whipped their mouths of any trace of vomit and packed their tools away.

"Anything?" Maybe today had been a bad day to show the rookies the ropes. Or this week in general. Raiden was starting to feel...old. Not the old where his joints creaked and it hurt to move. The old where it felt he was outliving his friends. This feeling had nested inside Raiden, this nagging doubt that questioned his ability to protect.

"Prints are everywhere, shouldn't be too hard to find this guy. Also, these things were all over the guy's insides." The forensic technician handed Raiden a bloodstained blue rose. "...Sanada-san after I drop off the evidence can I go home?" Raiden grunted in response, turning the rose over in his hand. Knowing his luck, the brass would hand the shit case over to him. And he would have to haul the psychopath in personally. "Fanfuckingtastic."




The Blue Shadow had smiled as the man had screamed, screamed as his arms and legs separated from his body. The Shadow had chuckled when placing the roses inside the man, wishing him the very best in the afterlife and to not fret over his death. His dear nakama would soon join him, after having paid their bloody tribute to Blue Shadow of course. What would they scream as the Shadow played their pain to just the right chord? What interesting things would he learn from the second, lucky as he was to have an inkling as to what came after him? Would he scream profanities like the last, whimper as he did, beg for mercy, or maybe something else?
If he picked up the pliers on the floor, would he scream as he plucked out the criminals nails? Or maybe he should break his arms and legs while-

"Taiyo?" ...T, Taiyo? The Blue Shadow paused standing over the second of his victims, cleaver stained with his blood. The sound of a crying child reached his ears as a blond man came forward, his nose bloodied. That was right...the second on his list had invaded someone's home. Reason stood that the person hadn't taken kindly to this. "Holy sh-is that you Taiyo? Nice save man."

"...." A strange little man.

"Hell I thought you were dead, I even went to your funeral." The blond man walked forward, his bloody nose already clearing up. "Never thought you were the kind of person to fake your death though. Even had me worried for a while." A broad smile broke across the person's face as the Blue Shadow stared at the man. ...He wasn't one of those men that the Shadow was hunting. He hadn't been there when Taiyo had died. "and then Junko started crying out of nowhere and-."

"Who are you?" Had he been one of Taiyo's friends? No...the man hadn't had any friends. Only tools. "And why are you in my way?" Raising the cleaver, the Blue Shadow slashed.

"Taiyo what the hell are you doing?!" Junta jumped back, dodging the cleaver by a hairsbreadth. "Its me you dumbass!" A knife lodged itself in the Blue Shadow's throat. Apparently the criminal had taken advantage of the commotion. No one knew how to follow proper procedure these days did they? But what was one to do? The good old days were gone, the Blue Shadow mused. So he would have to make do.

"I'll gladly accept your feet." The cleaver fell as the screams resumed and blood splattered Junta's shirt. "I appreciate your kindness. Here, I'll return your knife."

"What are you?" Junta asked, stepping back. The Blue Shadow pulled the knife from his throat and stabbed it into a leg of the man minus both feet. Humming softly, the Blue Shadow dragged the man towards the door. Every step ushered a new wave of screaming. Music to the Shadow's ears. Much better then that child's crying. "Junko!"

"S-Stay back you....whatever the fuck you are!" Dear oh dear, what was one to do? Mr Footless had brought a friend. Such a naughty man, spoiling the Shadow with so many gifts. It was an early Christmas this year it seemed. And many a crimson gift waited underneath the bloody tree.

"Taiyo stay back!" Was that a hint of panic in the blond's voice? Interesting, to say the least. It had a nice healthy dose of desperation.

"Someone's not behaving this year. Dear me, what am I to do?" Twirling the knife end over end, the Blue Shadow eyed the hostage taker with hunger. "I just can't stand the thought of it."

"TAIYO JUST STAY PUT." Chuckling, the Blue Shadow dropped the man with no feet. A freebie had been delivered right to him. 'Tis the season to be giving.


Amazing how the child had slept through all that. Children were truly something else, to be able not to wake to the joyous pain that rang through the halls. The police that pulled up at the base of the apartment must have heard it, lamentable of their position for being so far from the delightful sound. But one of Taiyo's person of interest had been witness, so at the very least there was one other soul who felt the echoing screams. His hair was dyed red now, and the Blue Shadow hadn't even set to work on Mr Footless yet.

"Oh dear, more guests? You certainly are popular Hananoi-san." Strange.

"What? Oh shi-RIKO DON'T OPEN THE DOOR!" The door creaked open as the Blue Shadow readied for the next round of guests to enter. Instead a thousands volts of electricity coursed through his mockery of a human body as the taser delivered its payload. The Blue Shadow slumped to the floor, smelling just a faint hint of fried flesh.

"...I leave for one hour, and someone breaks into the house. Junta...what am I going to do with you?" Collecting himself, Junta smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Well you could always do it with me." Glancing at his undead friend, Junta nervously twitched.

"...Is that Taiyo?"

"I'm sorry to inform you of this but Tatsuya Taiyo is long deceased." A smoking fist grabbed Kishimaru's ankle and wrenched her off her feet. "But I'll be sure he receives your regards." Troublesome people they were, pulling out surprises like that taser. Well, its not like it really did anything more then slow him down. Like knife wounds. Sure getting stabbed did somewhat slow him down, but unlike the girl on the floor he could easily shrug them off. Speaking of which...how did he know what that blond man's name was? Shrugging, the Blue Shadow picked up a kitchen knife. Details, details, details. Nothing important.


"...You are a strange one." There was no way to really explain things. That man, the strange one named Hananoi Junta had jumped in front of the knife meant for Riko. Instead of sinking into her soft heart, the blade was now firmly lodged in Junta's shoulder.

"...Do I really want to hear that from someone that killed someone with chopsticks?" The Blue Shadow found that particularly insulting. It had been exceedingly difficult ramming the wooden chopsticks through the henchman's thick skull.

"YOU IDIOT." Riko hit Junta, aiming for his wounded shoulder on purpose. "WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IF THAT ASSHOLE HIT SOMETHING VITAL."

"I love you too honey."

"Shut up and go find a different place to sleep tonight." Things had rapidly gone from entertaining to extremely awkward. Maybe he would just finish the night by throwing Mr Footless down the stairs. Provided he was still alive.

"See what you've done Taiyo? I've been kicked out of my home because of you." Junta pouted, and then flinched when Riko hit him again. "See what happens when you go on a homicidal killing spree? Geeze think of me before you do this crazy crap." Had...had it always been like this?

"Shouldn't you see to your daughter Junta, and you Kishimaru-san?" Junta sighed, clutching his shoulder as he stopped shielding the mother of his child.

"You idiots don't change do you?" Kishimaru growled under her breath as she fetched the first aide kit.

"....I wish that were true." Screaming echoed from the apartment complex's stairs as number two thudded down the steps. "I really do."