[Wind & Earth]

"Happy birthday to me~ happy birthday to me~ happy birthday to me~...." His voice echoed down the empty street, rebounding off the hard surfaces and carrying much further than it would have because of that.

"Happy birthday to me~," he persisted, path weaving back and forth as his feet tried to trip him up by bending and crossing one another but he did not even stumble. If asked, he could not tell where he had been or what he had been doing or where that magically attractive, young man was.

There was one thing he most definitely remembered, however.

"Happy birthday to me~," Byakko breathed, lips twisted somewhere between a smile and a frown. Was he happy? Was he sad? Was he ready to rip out someone's tongue just to hear them gurgle on their own blood as they tried to scream in pain and horror?

"Happy birthday to me~... hee hee... heh heh heh... hah hah hah... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Taking a deep breath, he giggled breathily as his gaze idly drifted about, unable to settle upon a single area. There was nothing to look at here, there, or anywhere.

He just kept moving forward.

"Happy birthday to me~!"

[S-O-Y]

The sound of paper crinkling could be heard in the shadows. A soft thud next from the candy wrapper falling from a young man's hands. Hair of aqua blue and eyes to match, he stood leaning against a wall sucking on a hard candy gently. He was bored, his expression plainly showing that. Alone and secure, he looked up at the clouded sky. It was nighttime that was for sure, but what he already knew was...its was almost the witching hour. The time of death and magic, birth and ritual. A time for things to play.

A smile crossed his lips. His hands entered his white and blue jacket, his light blue scarf handing from his neck loosely. Legs bent at the knee, pants of white showed a skinny frame. Simple flat tennis colored white as well were snug upon his feet. A bright site in such a dark city. He definitely stood out at the moment.

"Hmmmm...", the young man hummed out softly.

A singing echo could be heard in the distance, then suddenly a loud laugh was emitted. Someone was close.

Let the hour begin..., he thought to himself, clenching his fists inside his jacket pockets.

[Wind & Earth]

Now the song was stuck in his head and kept going round merrily, but he didn't mind because it was his song today. Byakko just kept singing and giggling. His fingers wiggled like worms as his arms hung at his side as limp as wet noodles. Head twitching as each line finished, he considered himself a broken record player wannabe.

"Happy birthday to me~! Happy birthday to m~! Happy birthday to ~! Happy birthday t~! Happy birthday~! Happy birthda~! Happy birthd~! Happy birth~! Happy birt~! Happy bir~! Happy bi~! Happy b~! Happy~! Happ~! Hap~! Ha~! H~! Em ot yadhtrib yppah~!" Flopping against the wall, he exhaled heavily, but did not inhale.

The blue-haired man waited.

[S-O-Y]

The singing stopped as soon as it was only a shorter distance away. It was almost as though the person or whatever it was was only a few feet away, and then a thud, and silence.

Now what..., he thought to himself.

Letting out a cold breath, it coming in a puff of vapor, he closed his eyes and summoned strength to look down the alley he was by. As he did so he could make out what seemed to be a drunk or hurt man against the alley's walls. Taking his head back from peering, he looked up at the sky, moved his fingers around in his jacket's pockets, and debated venturing into the alley with a stranger in its darkness. A curve in his lips showed another idea had formed in his head. Opening his eyes, he looked to his right and walked across the alley's exit/entrance.

He always loved being the prey....

[Wind & Earth]

His breath was caught in his throat, forming a head of pressure against his clamped shut muscles. The rest of his body continued to work despite the quickly depleting supply of oxygen. While he was suffocating himself, however, he became aware of another breather down at the end of the alley. Vision dimming, Byakko lurched away from the wall and inhaled softly, though his body demanded that he gulp down air as a fish drinks water.

"Happy birthday to me~," he mumbled, stumbling forward a few feet before stilling. Off in the distance, a bell was ringing that it was midnight. Byakko stood there, looking about as if he were lost.

"It's not my special day anymore. Woe is me!"

[S-O-Y]

Smitigo slowed his walk, it coming almost to a drag it seemed. Clouds began to curdle in the sky darkly as usual. Rain was coming. Smiling to himself, he looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was following. Nothing so far, he thought to himself. Turning his head back around, he continued to walk to the end of the street.

He knew the city fairly well, for he always took his nightly strolls keeping an eye out for new people. He always loved meeting the new ones. A kind soul he was, but bluntly honest in the most extremity. Words were his weapon, both by element, and by fate. Blood was his old addiction, worse happenings had become more prone to happen, but he always seemed to keep a smug grin or smile upon his cold lips.

A shiver suddenly fled upwards upon his spine.

[Wind & Earth]

Finally to the point of breathing deeply, Byakko filled his lungs to bursting and held still, staring blankly up at the sky. He exhaled after counting down from ten, which took longer than it should have because it went more like 'ten, u, apple, eight, elephant, rooster, n, seven, eighty-nine, ninety-eight, fifty-seven, six, banana, porcupine, three, candle, cactus, cacti, octopi, four, prix, pro, pie, one'.

Then a moth flew right past him, drawing his attention away from his breathing exercises. Round and round, it went, lifting higher and higher. Byakko unconsciously followed it, using his katars to climb up a wall.

Once he reached the roof, the unobstructed wind blew the moth and him to the side and he lost sight of it when he stumbled. There was no sign of it, but the sight from so high up was what he focused on.

That, and the sight of the crescent moon hanging low in the sky.

The air tasted different up so high, so he started again. Taking a deep breath, the blue-haired male exhaled all the air in his lungs, but did not inhale.

He waited.

[S-O-Y]

The sound of metal clashing into brick could be heard in short piercing strikes. The sound alone scratched at his ears, but grinding slowly along his spine was what sent him over edge. His body shivered. Turning around quickly, he walked back to the alley way he just passed to look down its length. The man was climbing the wall it seemed, only soon to reach the top and climb over. His eyes peered up to where he was now. Sadly he was almost out of sight. Curiosity was on its brink and he was fully alert to the interesting sight that took place only seconds ago. A gust of winds were brought around the city as the storm was closing in. Looking up into the sky, he caught a glimpse of the moon and its glory. He truly admired the rock in the sky.

Bringing his attention back to the place the man was, he noticed him still being there. A smile crossed his lips. Closing his eyes, his body began to unravel into streams of snow, erasing his current stance from existence. As the gust traveled up to the building to the right of the man, Smitigo began to form again, the flakes bringing his form back to reality. His back now pressed against the wall, he watched from the distance on the opposing building's roof.

[Wind & Earth]

The feeling of someone staring startled him, interrupting his breathing exercises again as he inhaled sharply. His gaze automatically drifted up to the moon, however, instead of across the way where the smell of candy originated from.

"It's smiling at me. Why are you smiling?" His voice echoed in the stillness and only the sound of the wind blowing in the distance answered him. Thinking that it hadn't heard him, he shouted his question again.

There was still no answer.

"Oh, can't talk? I'm familiar with that. It was really lonely and my visitors just kept getting older and older. Then, their bones kept getting whiter and whiter," Byakko confessed, tilting his head slightly as he stared up at the dark sky.

[S-O-Y]

He continued to watch the odd sight across from him. It seemed the man was not all there, yelling at the sky and demanding answers from a false deity. He blinked a few times, batting his blue locks from his eyes. Taking his back from the wall, he stood beside it now and crossed his arms. The clouds engulfed the moon soon after this causing the light of it to diminish to nothing leaving the city in its own twilight. Glows from windows scattered here and street lights flickering on and off. A shadow stricken city. Evil's playground.

Any second now...., he thought to himself twiddling his fingers inside his pockets. The sound of candy wrappers rubbing against each other could be heard faintly.

[Wind & Earth]

The sudden obscuring of the moon startled him, the sound of crackling drawing his attention sharply, and he dove for the source. Wind whipped at his front as he leaped across the gap between buildings and his hands stung as he planted them on either side of the man's head. The darkness aided his sneak attack, but when he arrived the desire to actually attack was gone.

Instead, Byakko gave a short sniff, licked the corner of the man's lips to taste the lingering sweetness of candy, and dashed off to the right as if the hounds of Hell were on his heels. He had hardly reached the edge of the building before he slipped and fell, but before he hit the roof his body passed right through the solid material. Not wanting to fall very far, he stopped at the top floor, simply becoming solid again right before he passed through the floor.

He stood and looked around at the office building that he had accidentally infiltrated. Pursing his lips, the blue-haired male tiptoed out of the corner office quietly, intending to slip out of there as soon as possible.

[S-O-Y]

Smitigo's eyes widened a little as he watched without movement as the odd man lunged himself across the buildings at him. Within seconds the man's hands were upon his head, he eyes focused upon the others. A few simple sniffs and a warm application of saliva and tongue followed. Very...very...odd, he thought, managing to keep his composure still. Suddenly the man took off again, bursting and then disappearing to what seemed like inside the building below his fall. Peering over the ledge after walking to it with a few steps, he frowned at the thought of how to follow. It was a pretty big building...

Maybe I'll just wait..., he thought slowly.

[Wind & Earth]

The building was too confusing, far too confusing for one such as Byakko, so he quickly ran to a window and jumped, passing through as no more than a ghost. Falling from so high was scary thrill and he wasn't quite sure how he was going to land after falling at least ten stories, but he just started moving his feet quickly, feeling the distant molecules of air that normally gave way instead push back against him.

He was slowing slightly, but the ground was rushing to meet him far too quickly. All he could do when he hit the ground, feet first, was roll even as he still tried to use as much of the air around him to cushion his landing. Still hitting the building across the street with a loud thump, Byakko supposed that he could have broken most of the bones in his limbs but bruises weren't nearly as bad.

The blue-haired man lay there, having lost all the air in his lungs when he hit the ground. Maybe he could complete his breathing exercises now.

[S-O-Y]

Smitigo was shocked, his mouth open wide as he saw the man make not one, but two falls from two buildings. It was completely mad! He was either indestructible or he was desperate for suicide. He was not sure how much more he could stand watching this person and what they were doing. Crossing his arms as he walked to the edge of the building to look down, he peered into the space between the buildings to see if he was at least in one piece.

Well he seems to be all together. Can't tell if he's breathing or not though....

He sighed, and looked up at the sky around him. Any second now the lightning would start up for sure. The clouds had taken over already. Stepping back from the edge he thought of what to do.

Should I help him or should I go....that is the question...

[Wind & Earth]

Rolling over, Byakko still did not inhale, making his actions slower and wobbly. He managed to stand, swaying as he did, and looked around. After a moment, he filled his lungs to bursting with air and, when he let it out, the force of it was enough to dent the pavement in front of him. The blue-haired male stared at the damage for a long moment before jumping up and down gleefully.

"Wheeeeeeee~!" Waving his arms and twirling, Byakko celebrated finally being able to use his breath as a weapon in a way that didn't require garlic or something of the like. Feeling that he wasn't joyous enough, he started doing cartwheels and giggling like the deranged psycho he was. This ability was slow in developing, but he believed it would be worth it.

[S-O-Y]

The sound of rock cracking suddenly crashed into the sound waves in Smitigo's ears. Turning around, he quickly ran quietly to the edge of the building once more to see the man standing in front of a contorted slab of concrete now. What had happened, and what created it? That was the first thing that ran though his head. Standing still, he waited to see what else would take place. He was fully interested again.

[Wind & Earth]

His hand slipped and he fell, landing on his side, but he just sat up as if nothing had happened. Crossing his legs, Byakko took another deep breath, a little glad to be breathing normally again. He slowed his breathing, closing his eyes. Slipping his katars into their slots on the inside of his jacket, he rested his arms crossed over his chest.

His mind slid into meditation easily, considering how much practice he'd had, and for all intents and purposes it seemed as if he were sleeping while sitting up.

[S-O-Y]

The man fell and sat in defeat it seemed. He was not sure what to do now. He was still alive...hopefully. Closing his eyes, his body unraveled into streams and strings of snowflakes waving off with the wind coming from the clouds. Lightning had begun to strike off in the distance, their thunderous voices still creeping up on the city.

[Wind & Earth]

All thoughts were cleared from his head and all he heard was his calm breathing. In, out. That's all there was around him, nothing to bother him, and nothing but him. In, out. His world revolved around the air rushing in to be used to survive and then forced out once it was no longer useful. In, out. Hunger meant nothing to him. In, out. Whether he was cold or hot, it did not matter. In, out.

This was all that mattered. In, out.

[S-O-Y]

The breeze within the city streets began to shift a little, taking streams of snowflakes that drizzled into its gusts through the alley ways of Neo-Tokyo. Coming in swirls of snow now, a gentle blow of snow began to catch upon the ground a few yards away from the man who was now seated in deep thought it seemed. Quickly Smitigo's body began to morph through the flurries of white and soon he stood with his hands by his side, the wind still catching his hair here and their and misplacing it upon his face. Waving his hand slightly, the snow fell to the ground and the wind fled. Fixing a few bangs that were distraught, he blinked and stuck his hands in his pockets. Walking now, he hoped to find something new of the man besides the fact that he could fall and jump like a frog and land like a dog but survive like a cat. An odd man he was...if that was even what he was....

[Wind & Earth]

The wind was cold. In, out. There was someone there. In, out. He smelled like frozen sugar. In, out, up.

Eyes open suddenly, Byakko jumped to his feet and whirled, katars waving through the air as he uncrossed his arms. His guard was up, but his curiosity was rampant. If something smelled so sweet, then it would surely taste as sweet. That was his logic, at least.

"Sweets?" His voice cracked slightly as he asked, eying the stranger carefully as it was possible that it was just a spray or something he had in his pockets like treats for good cubs like Byakko. There was a soft gurgle from his middle at the thought of edibles. Perhaps it would be best if he found something to eat.

Perhaps this new person? He definitely had a tasty smell, but then he was awfully thin.

[S-O-Y]

Smitigo stepped back hurriedly as the man whirled upward bound at his appearance. He did have a bad habit of startling people. Clenching his hands as he heard the whistle of the katars slashing through the air, he waited as patiently as he could for the man to settle. After a few moments of distraught actions, he noticed the man closing in on him. Oh boy..., he thought to himself as the man's eyes looked hungry. He had seen the man up close before but now it was a little more awkward. Actually...its was disturbing.

"Uh...Hi...", he managed to say weakly, his throat unprepared to help his voice carry out.

He stepped a few steps back once more, noticing the man following his every move. He really did not want to pitch this into violence. Curiosity did have a tendency to kill things though. Sliding his right hand's fingers over a wrapped candy in his jacket pocket, he quickly unwrapped it. He may need it soon.

[Wind & Earth]

The sound of wrappers drew his attention and he crouched quickly, following the sound to its source. He sniffed at the pocket the male's hand was in, idly noting that it was a jacket pocket but not expending any further energy on that line of questioning.

Poking his nose into the unfilled opening of the pocket next to his hand, Byakko inhaled deeply even as he noticed how cold the other person's hand was. That wasn't important to him at the time, but it was more information filed in the crank raffle machine that was his memory.

"Hello?" After a long moment, his gaze drifted upwards to meet with the other's eyes. "Hello? Hello?"

[S-O-Y]

His body clenched together as he withdrew his hand from his jacket's pocket. The strange man had suddenly turned canine it seemed, his nose wondering what it was he was doing obviously. Leaving the candy and its isolated wrapper in its place, he attempted to step back from the man for some space. It was getting a little hard for him to breath suddenly.

"He-Hello...", he muttered as he made a second step back from the man.

The man's eyes were full of mystery and in a very alluring way. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope, different emotions crystallizing themselves within his pupils. Smitigo flat lined his lips in thought. Was this man an enemy or a friend. He was still ignorant to this remaining mystery let alone who the hell this man was and even more insight brought the last final thought to his brain. What was he...

He needed to know more.

"Would you like to know what is in my pocket?", he asked inquisitively. Obviously the man was curious so why not feed his wanting desire. He placed his hand back inside his jacket pocket.

[Wind & Earth]

"I already know what is in your pocket," Byakko murmured, standing straight but tilting his head to one side as he observed the other being. Turning his body to the left, he paced a few feet and stopped. "What I would like to know is why you've been following me."

It was chilly enough that his breath was visible, though, oddly enough the stranger's breath was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it was just that the other man's body temperature was much lower than his own. There were a few things about the stranger that made three words come to the front of his mind: ice, candy, and cat.

This was all very weird to him, but his coherent moment was fading fast.