[S-O-Y]

The sun was setting in on the horizon just past the city casting a eerie glow on the streets of Neo-Tokyo. It was roughly 7:30 pm. Clouds clotted the skies above like ghost haunting the living, but still there seemed to be a joyous feeling in the busiest part of the city: Central. Having the most population in these parts, most of the towns folk tried to lighten the spirits on the dark city by showing millions of neon-barred signs and shops full of lighting fixtures. One could say it pretended to mimic New York or Las Vegas if one were from the United States, but here in the city they just called their own human magic.

A man made up of purple attire walked the streets towards Central in hopes of lighting up his mood. It had been months since he had talked to his ex-lover Kokoro, and the distance he felt was only growing bigger. It was sad to say he was still head over heels for the guy, but he only knew one thing. He must keep the distance if he didn't want to create a feud between Kokoro's family and himself.

As he passed by shops and cafes, the shadows in the corners of alleys and door jams began to cling to his feet in hopes of survival. Mastering the shadow realm was once one of his many duties but now he was just a chess piece to the god of it all. Now he claimed his own magic, his own time, and his own life. Still though, he held on to a piece of his old self in hopes of reconnecting with the ones that still wanted him. Hopefully Kokoro.

Off in the distance he noticed something peculiar. A short individual, young by the looks of it, wondering on by itself. Normally he would have over looked the sight, but at such a late hour he knew better. This city knew of what it reeked: Vamps, Weres, Ghost, Ghouls, and most horrific tales that most though impossible.  This caused a switch in his mind to click on, his feet shuffling faster to catch up with the person ahead. Purple hair flying in the wind, a white path over his left eye, Yugure made way to see why such a small person would be walking alone...

[Adeline Moore]

Adeline,-hopelessly lost in the vast crowd of people- wandered aimlessly around the carnival, wishing that maybe she would run into someone she even vaguely recognized. However, this wasn't the case. It was never the case. Luck never was, and never would be in her favor. She was surprised that she had escaped the prison walls of the orphanage for as long as she had. She was sure someone would have found her by now.

It was too bad she was lost, in fact maybe if Adeline had any sense of direction she might have actually had fun. That is, if she still knew how to have to fun, or even how to act like she was having fun. They only thing that ever brought her joy was her roses, but there wasn't a single flower in sight, let alone a rose.

Caught up in the tranquility of her own thoughts, Adeline never saw the woman up ahead of her. Or the massive amount of luggage she was toting. This, mixed with Adeline's extreme clumsiness, caused her to trip over one of the woman's rolling suitcases, sending Adeline toppling to the ground.

No one stopped to help her, they simply stepped around the fallen eight year old. With a sigh Adeline shifted into an upright position, and attempted to brush the dirt off of her lacy pink dress, and ruffled white stockings.

[S-O-Y]

The little person was headed towards the carnival in the distance it seemed. Yugure only assumed that the bright lights allured the little one. Quickly he made his way into the carnival hoping that he didn't loose his target for in such large crowds, one was to be lost within seconds. As he approached the overnight built gates to the ruckus of machines and games, he looked around with his one visible eye in search for the cinnamon blond locks. A lady with luggage passed him, an air of aggravation coming off of her in his direction. He tensed up as the lady continued her path of destruction.

Couples giggled here and there while families of little numbers scattered to see sights unseen to human eyes in the corners of the carnival where darkness gathered. He could only imagine what sights were in store tonight. Turning around once more in one final outlook for his target, his eyes fell upon what he was searching for finally. A little girl, no older than the age of seven or eight, sat on the ground dusting herself off. A soft smile spread across his lips as he stepped over to her and crouched down to offer a hand.

"Taken a fall have we?", he stated in a polite manner.

Looking behind the girl in hopes of family coming to retrieve their lost doll, Yugure waited for her to take his hand and stand. Yugure always loved to help those in need, and at the moment it looked like this little girl was frazzled with the city. The filthy, poverty stricken, dark city.

[Adeline Moore]

Adeline continued to stare downwards, as she brushed the filth from her attire. She already knew there would be no good fortune for her tonight. However, why should she give up? The orphanage may really not find her this time.

Her thoughts began to wander away forming images of her free away from the walls of her prison, she may have even sat there the entire night engulfed in the peace and quiet of her own mind, if the question had never reached her ears, ''Taken a fall have we?'

Adeline's eyes rose and she met the gaze of Yugure. Her cheeks instantly became flooded with bright pink color, as he stood there, hand toward her, with a smile along his face. A face which seemed to be covered by bandages. This did indeed interest the young girl, and she immediately wanted to question as to why he was hiding his eye, however her shyness kept her from doing so.

For a few seconds, she continued to stare at only his hand, afraid to reach out her own. However, she did hesitantly place her hand in his, and stood. If she still wielded the ability to smile, she may have, "T-thank you."

[S-O-Y]

Looking down at the girl below him, her height not very big, he smiled at her smile and placed his hands behind his back.

"So where are your parents little one? Have you become lost in all the lights here?", he asked the girl in a parent like voice. He had never been around such a little person, and unease slid into his chest as he tried to communicate on her level. Did he have to talk in a different voice he wondered? Would she think of him as a dangerous stranger and run? He wouldn't have gotten made if she did, for who wouldn't. Here he was, a walking exposed mummy of a man. If he wasn't himself, he would have run too.

The carnival was full of oily smells and dark things but what allured Yugure the most about it were the people that inhabited it. There were humans by the few, and monstrosities by the many, but what was even more peculiar was the fact that everyone was so naive to it all. It was as though they were happy living among one another. He was truly astounded by how much Neo-Tokyo had changed within a year, but now, he was beginning to think if was for the best. All this city contained was darkness, and so much light was being shined through it. Things were bound to get contrasted soon.

[S-O-Y]

((OOC: Sorry, I really need to move on with my character since I am the one that started this post. I still want to finish it. Hope to see you bring your character back in Adelline Moore :3))

It seemed the girl was frightened, for she grew mute before him. Yugure felt even more unease slid into his chest. Not only was the child not talking, but she was just standing there starring. Smiling with a wink, he waved at the little girl and turned around to venture more within the carnival. He did not come for childish matters....

Shaking his head in a soft chuckle his locks of purple swaying slightly as he walked, Yugure occupied his plum purple eyes with his surroundings. Lights, bright colors, rides of all sizes, women, men, children, vampires and foreigners. He stood by the Ferris wheel and gazed up at it's splendorous height. He stepped back from the Zipper's twists. But he waited for the haunted house to let the next people out in anticipation to see their faces. A smirk would show on Yugure's lips as he would clap with laughter sounding. One after another he would wait for, sometimes he would walk around for a few minutes or play a game of "Pop-That-Balloon" and then come back to the haunted ride just to see another reaction of fright. He truly was beginning to go crazy he thought. Liking other's fear?

After a few hours of walking and money spending, Yugure sat at a table that looked the cleanliest despite its plates full of powdered sugar from funnelcakes. The thought had come to him earlier about getting one of those grease filled desserts but his interest became short after he caught a scent of innocence. Their was a woman off in the distance standing next to a handsome man. She wasn't a mother yet, but she wasn't showing to be with child either but somehow Yugure felt life. Pure life.

It had been a while since he had last felt a pure innocent soul.

[Broken Dolls]

     Staring at the bright lights, Kanashi Hikari could only blink slowly. The drowsiness from before had not left him and it took a great amount of willpower not to just curl up behind a bin somewhere and sleep. This new place seemed even less inviting than that red place with the two brothers.
     After a few long moments, he continued walking, occasionally stumbling a bit because of how big the shoes were as compared to his feet. They also weren't tightened at all, so walking in them was even more complicated. The last time he stopped and tried to lace them properly left him sprawled out on the ground for several days, unable to move. It wasn't worth the trouble.
     His ears flicked back and forth as they picked up new and strange noises. Some of the sounds were awfully loud, so they flattened against his head until he passed the source, then they would pop back up and continue searching. His tail was almost completely covered by the oversized trench coat for which he was quite thankful for because covered all but his head and ears.
     Somewhere between there and here, Hikari had wondered why when a breeze managed to creep under the coat he was quite so chilled. He had stopped and slowly managed to part the front of the coat only to find that he had nothing on underneath. A woman had shrieked and sped off, muttering about flashers, so he closed his coat and resolved never to do that again.
     At least no one could tell he was starkers underneath his coat because it covered too much of him. If he had any sort of currency, he might have found some place to buy a pair of pants at least, but he had nothing except his boots, his coat, and his mission.
     The smell of cooking food drew him over to one of the stalls, making his stomach gurgle loudly. This one had grilled chicken on sticks and it smelled better than anything he had ever experienced. His mouth watered, but he stood back from the line, knowing that if he stood any closer people would assume he had the funds to purchase their wares. They would be greatly disappointed.

[S-O-Y]

Yugure closed his eyes as the presence of innocence edged out from the woman's soul. It was over powering for him, but he enjoyed it still. His body faded and receded  from view suddenly, his head bowed and spinning inside in the process. After a few moments of gliding, Yugure crowed against a tree the lined the outer parts of the carnival with the small park it was held in. He knew the park very well, for central had grown up with him. If anything Yugure had helped build Central. Only evil made this city, and it would be the greater good that would destroy it. He opened his eyes at the thought of good actually destroying something. Chaos. The world would soon be in disorder.

His head rose up to view where he was even though the shadows had already given him a glimpse. They continued to cling to him still, his power of them infinite, but only they knew he was their only master. Gods ruled over their objects, but did they ever rule with them? That was the question? Did they use them how they wished to be used, how they flowed with nature. Darkness was meant to take over long ago, but a brighter object created a timezone upon the domain of shadows. Twilight was on a set schedule, and daylight tried to reign higher. Thats where innocence came in. The sacrificial prize possesion for one to have. A gift for the Gods.

Yugure craved to feel the power of the good again. He could feel it tickling his sides off in the distance, it teasing him at something he could no longer contain. He had gotten rid of that creature. All for an experiment...

He closed his eyes once more and leaned his head back against the tree.

[Broken Dolls]

     Tired of the awkward stares and unhappy glares, Hikari turned from the booth and moved away from the bright lights and uncomfortably loud sounds. He didn't like the way this was going and his midsection gurgled again, displeased with the lack of edibles to fill it. Idly, he wondered if he could find something away from people that would be free to eat.
     Perhaps a fountain with water or a pond with fish was out there, waiting for him to get his hands on them or, preferably, mouth. The soft sound of water drew him away from the carnival and he soon found himself surrounded by trees but on a path. Up ahead, he could see a stone fountain the spurted the liquid every living thing needed in some form.
     A few long minutes of awkward struggling with his loose boots and the uphill climb rewarded him with a faceplant into the fountain as he finally reached the crest of the hill. His stomach ached as it was roughly rammed into the lip of the fountain, scraping skin as he lost his hold on the front of his coat. Lifting himself up with his hands, Hikari shook his head briefly to get his hair out of his mouth before dipping his head back down to drink from the fountain.
     It tasted like heaven.

[S-O-Y]

With a quick inhale, Yugure straightened up and opened his eyes. He felt someone near. Something unusual. Something foreign to his senses. Perking up, Yugure began to walk through the bushes between the trees lining the park gliding a few feet through the shadows. Locking in on the sources presence he circled around the fountain and sat on a bench a few feet astray from being behind the man. Legs crossed Yugure sat allured by the being engulfing his lungs with fountain water.

"It must taste good...", he echoed out.

That shadows around the trees quivered. Yugure's eyes glowed a purple hue.

[Broken Dolls]

     Jerking his head up and to the side, Hikari stared at the man who had definitely not been sitting there just a moment ago. Ears that had perked up at the sound of someone's voice flattened against his head in distress as he crouched down, curling away from the stranger.
     The water had helped in clearing his head but now sat in his middle like a lead weight. Ingesting it had not touched his hunger, rather it seemed like his stomach was now a gaping cavern that was only half filled with water. No matter how much he drank that ache for food would never be satisfied by liquid.
     "I-it does," the fox-eared boy finally replied, voice so soft that even a passing breeze would snatch it away and keep it from ever being heard. He gulped.

[S-O-Y]

Yugure chuckled softly and uncrossed his legs laying his hands in his lap. Leaning closer, he stared at the boy and then to his ears and then back to face. Unusual indeed.

"Who are you by chance? Im Yugure...have you heard of me?", he asked in repetition almost too eager to hear the soft whisper from the being in front of him.

[Broken Dolls]

     Hikari blinked slowly at the strange man, keeping a close eye on every twitch he made. This was a predator, but he didn't know what kind. His friend, Faceless, was always going on about the horrible types of people in the world, but at least they weren't the Doctor or something like that. Sometimes, he had to stop listening to Faceless or he would get really bad headaches.
     "H-he called me Kanashi Hi-hikari, but F-f-faceless calls m-me all sorts of other things... l-like Kana-kun a-and Hika-chan." At that he paused, wondering if he had said too much. They were just words, he supposed. If you knew someone's name, you could only get so far, but before this man he felt so very, very exposed. "I've never heard of anyone named Yugure."
     The Doctor had taught him to always answer questions, even if you didn't understand the reasons behind them or the purpose. It was also best not to ask.

[S-O-Y]

"Well my oh my, dont we have many names...You must be special to have acquired that many."

Yugure stood up from the bench and faded into the shadows only to reappear beside the fountain to the left of the man.

"Its good that you haven't heard of me yet, you can experience me for yourself. Brand new...", he said more to himself than to the person in front of him.

Stepping over to be next to the male sitting, or what he assumed to be male, Yugure laid a hand on his head.

"How frightened are you right about now by chance?", he asked calmly starring up at the night sky and stars.

[Broken Dolls]

     This man liked to talk a lot like Faceless. Hikari wasn't sure whether he liked this trait or not. On his friend, it was nice since he was the only one to speak so nicely to him in the labs, but out here it just seemed awkward and that 'p' word that Faceless liked so much - pretentious.
     "N-not much," Hikari replied, slipping out from underneath the hand on his head as he crab-walked a few feet away from the man. Absentmindedly closing his coat with one hand, the fox-eared boy shook his head again as he stood and used his free hand to push his wet hair out of his face. It was getting longer now, becoming an irritant rather than a relief like after the Doctor had talked about shaving it all off.
     Being wary was not the same as being frightened. It was perfectly logical to be wary around someone he didn't know and couldn't predict, especially when they could zip from one place to another without any warning. Frightening was being under the Doctor's scalpel after he had just been fighting with Faceless again, not the slightest chance of being blessed with anesthetic.

[S-O-Y]

Yugure stayed where he was as he watched the boy scuttle away from him. It seemed he still had his charm.

"I don't plan on hurting you. Or touching you anymore than you want me to. From now on you can call the shots...", he said with a wink.

Stepping back a few Yugure smiled and faded into the shadows only to reappear behind the male. Now sitting upon another bench, legs crossed once more, he swept purple locks across his bandaged eye to hide the appearance of a hidden nature. He was handicapped now, his looks not as alluring. He made up for it though.

"Ask me something your heart yearns to know. Something that hides in the darkness of your soul."

His face grew serious as his voice echoed in the emptiness of their surroundings. It was only the two of them by the fountain. The rest of the world was dancing around the lights of the carnival in search of splendorous events.

"I can see it in your eyes. Your curious about the world around you. I could show it to you if you like...", he suggested as he waved a hand lightly to the side as though he had the world simply in his hands.

[Broken Dolls]

     Whirling around, the fox-eared boy frowned in consternation at the man who seemed to contradict himself an awful lot. Of course, that must happen frequently to those who spoke so much. They probably had a harder time remembering all the promises that spewed from their lips.
     "Darkn-ness?" Hikari repeated softly, tilting his head to the side and scooting back away from the stranger, the man, Yugure as he called himself. "My darkness, my ya-yami, the other h-half of my soul is... missing, so how w-would I know what was hiding with-thin it?"
     Not for the first time, Hikari wished that Faceless was there. Even if neither of them knew what the outside world was like, the cat-eared boy seemed to deal with new things better that Kanashi.
     "I don't understand," he muttered, voice even softer than normal. "How would an organ yearn for something? Stomach excluded." His right ear twitched as his curiosity grew.

[S-O-Y]

He opened his mouth in reply to the "lost darkness" that the boy spoke of.

"Its a shame that you have lost your...y-yami you call it right. Do you know how to get it back by chance?"

Yugure uncrossed his legs and cleared his throat. He was growing with interest towards this boy. As he talked and listened he became flabbergasted at the thought that the boy did not know how to be imaginative.

"I do not mean your eye is actually yearning for anything. I just mean that you look as though you want to know more about whats around you. Or maybe within you. Which ever shoe fits..."

At the mentioning of shoe, Yugure stood up and stepped over to sit by the fountain in attempt to get closer to the boy.

"So tell me more about this Yami", he asked with a soft smile.

A breeze caught his bangs and lifted his hair to show more of the white bandage then intended. Yugure's smile softened to a natural state.

[Broken Dolls]

     "I'm... looking for my yami, but I d-don't even... know wh-where to start," Hikari admitted, frowning again as the purple-haired man moved back to the fountain. Did he need to pee or something? With all the shifting around, he was starting to wonder.
     The man had a strange manner of speaking, Hikari thought, but perhaps that was how other people were outside of the labs.
     "Yami is yami. I w-won't know until I find my yami, m-my other half," Hikari said with a shrug, not knowing how else to explain. What words could there be for the other piece of himself? Having never met his yami, how could he describe it, the aching hole within himself where his yami was supposed to be?
     Taking a step back, Hikari ended up trodding on his shoelace, pulling his feet out from under himself and falling on his tail. That hurt a lot and his hands had immediately shot out to catch his fall, coat falling open in the process. He hardly noticed, shaking as he was from the pain of the fall. Nothing felt broken, but he was reluctant to move just yet, tail smarting sharply.
     Perhaps it was sprained? His ears were flat against his head as he worked on trying to deal with the pain.

[S-O-Y]

Yugure's heart sunk in his chest at he struggled to stay focused on the words coming from the boy's mouth. His 'yami'. His other half. Could it be that a complete stranger would know or understand what he has been going through for so long. How much it hurt to go walking through life wanting something that could not be yours anymore. Maybe they could relate and express how they felt together in the future, yes, that was a thought...

Suddenly the boy was on the floor, coat askew and hands awkwardly placed on the ground. It seemed he had tripped over his own feet, and instinctively Yugure reached out for him. Right before he lifted the boy up from the concrete, the coat around him fell open to reveal his bear skin. Withdrawing more in astonishment, Yugure smiled and crouched down near the boy quickly covering him back up with a piece of the coat.

"Who would've guess that you were naked under that coat, did you intend on leaving the house tonight like this?", he asked with a chuckle as he stood up.

Looking off in the distance, he waited to see if the boy would get up or if he would need help. He hadn't really seen how the boy had fallen, but it didn't look like the most graceful fall either. Hopefully no bones were broken, but if that was the case he could arrange for that to be fixed. If neccessary necessary

[Broken Dolls]

     "I wouldn't know," Hikari grumbled as he slowly turned over, sitting on his knees for a moment to breathe. The pain was slowly fading but he still ached and his stomach was still mostly empty. At the reminder, it gurgled loudly, displeased at only having liquid within it.
     "I don't have a h-house or a... home," the fox-eared boy explained with a frown as he pulled his tail around to his front. Reaching to the base of it, Hikari carefully checked the place of impact. It would probably swell a bit, but otherwise it seemed fine. His tail twitched in his hands as he stroked through the fur, making sure that it was undamaged and hadn't picked up anything nasty.
     Other than wriggling under his ministrations, it was fine, which was a relief. Faceless was always going on about how important tail health was, especially since his was so fluffy and he tended to forget it was there.
     Looking up at the man, Yugure he had to keep reminding himself, Hikari nibbled on his lip as he debated asking a question or two of his own. The Doctor had discouraged such things for the most part, but on occasion had answered if he was amused.
     "Naked is without... clothes, right? I-Is that bad?" That lady had screamed upon seeing underneath his coat and Yugure now wasn't looking directing at him. Maybe it was bad. The Doctor didn't give them clothes, so in the labs they were all naked. Sometimes it was a little chilly, but cuddling with Faceless made it warmer and it wasn't exactly a problem. Hikari had never given it a second thought.

[S-O-Y]

He saw another collection right  before him. A scramble of homelessness mixed with a naive nature from the looks of it, but who knew. By the way that this animal eared boy talked, it sounded like he came from a troubled home; but then again. Dont they all...

"Where do you take shelter at, if there is such a place for you?", Yugure stepped back as the boy turned over to sit on his knees.

Not only did this boy seem like he was under a dark cloud of misery, he also appeared to be clueless of what was around him. Covered by only a trench coat and shoes, Yugure wondered where he even got those to begin with. Was it a souvenir of the last place he had run into. Or maybe he had escaped and was only able to grab that from where he came from. All Yugure knew was that if this was a fugitive standing in front of him, or some kind of experiment hence the animality.

As the boy looked up at him and questioned him, he tried to hold back a blush at the immature question.

"Um...", he started looking away from the boy as he scratched his head, "It isn't really a bad thing to do in the wild nature, but as for public places like where we are now. Yeah...That would not be good to do or keep doing. Why dont we find you some better clothes to wear? Im sure this carnival has to have souvenir shirts or something", Yugure suggested as he brought his eye back to focus on the boy.

Stepping a little bit closer to him, he slightly touched the side of his left ear. It was furry. And soft...

"Cute by the way...", he said softly with a smile keeping his eyes on the fuzzy ear.

[Broken Dolls]

     "Hm," Hikari grunted as he absorbed the answer, filing it away into his memory. His ear flicked as it was irritated as the man touched the side. It tickled and gave him the shivers, so he tilted his head away from the extended hand.
     "I don't understand," he finally responded to Yugure's question as he moved a little further away so that he could stand without knocking into anything, man or fountain. "Shelter from what?"
     On his feet, he brushed off his knees before closing his coat. Now that he was a bit more focused, Hikari noticed the buttons and strap to tie it closed. He started on the buttons, satisfied with how much they covered him. Once the coat was closed from his collar to his knees, he tied the strap around his waist. Maybe it was a little bit of overkill, but that was better than possibly losing it before he needed it.

[S-O-Y]

Staying where he was as the animal eared boy stepped away from him, Yugure let his hand fall back to his side. It seemed his touch was not wanted. A frown proceeded to his lips.

"Shelter from harm. Thats what...", he said softly.

[Broken Dolls]

     "And... why w-would I need th-that?" Kanashi asked, eyes narrowed at the man. What kind of question was that to ask, anyway? Did he have any shelter from harm?
     Faceless was always going on about how he would protect Hikari, but then the stitched kitty wasn't anywhere near them. Not understanding why anyone would commit violence on another, Hikari couldn't figure out if he was in danger or not.