[The Collections]

((Munashii and Tou))

He was fed up. It had been seven hours since he had left the hotel on his scavenger hunt for souls and his luck had run dry...same as his patience. Exiting another alley, he turned to begin walking upon the central's streets. Different people walked past him, some capable of taking souls from but none that would please master. Sighing to himself as he places his hands in jackets pockets, he bows his head hoping that no one would approach him at this late of hour.

"Why must it being getting more difficult day by day...Master will not be pleased...", he mutters to himself.

Thinking suddenly to himself, he smiled at what crossed his mind. It had actually been quite a long time since he retrieved a soul at least by search. What he hadn't done though was play the retrieval tune for them to find him. It was something simply actually, one that Yugure composed on piano and then translated into violin.  Lifting his head up he looked for a reliable seciton of town that would bring the souls to him. Hopefully he could get at least one good soul before he went back home to tell Yugure of the bad news. He had a feeling that today was not a good day anyways....

[Blood Brothers]

Tou carefully walked down the street, hand trailing along the wall so that he wouldn't stumble into anything. Even having lost his eyesight ages ago, no one could ever truly get used to being blind. He had no stick, no dog, no guiding hand.

Just as always, he was alone.

It was scary being in Neo-Tokyo, but Tou had yet to find where Trowa was. This was the last place he had tracked the remnant to, so here he was.

So far, his luck was absent.

[The Collections]

Finding a corner in the next few blocks, he took his right hand from his jacket pocket and snapped his fingers together. Like a summon a old fashion violin case came out from thin air to rest inside his hand, a thin silver handle entangled within his fingers. Black tinted skin covered the curves in the violin case it being stitched in many places showing the stretching in the skin to cover the wide case itself.

A smirk spread across his face as he flicked the only latch it had open, a swirl of black shadows dancing up to his left hand. Throwing the case behind him, it exploded silently into more shadow. Bringing the violin to his left shoulder, he rested his chin upon the head rest upon the base of it. Grabbing out into the air, a swirl of shadows brought a bow to his right hand. Closing his eyes he smirked again and applied the black wood bow to the gleaming white strands upon the deathly matte black colored violin.

Music began to fill the air around him, alluring to the senses and mysterious to those that are naive to music. Arm flowing fluidly across the strings, bow in hand, he played a tune of a more spiritual feeling tugging at the hearts of the innocents and stabbing at the mind of evil.

[Blood Brothers]

Feeling the past of this city was painful and more than a little disturbing, but it was either that or running into things and he had no interest in becoming Light Post Boy. In fact, Tou just really didn't want to be in this city, but also didn't have anywhere else to be.

Such thoughts reminded him of why he focused on what he could do rather than what he should considering he knew next to no one and the one he did know was notoriously hard to get a hold of - God.

Hearing something strange, the blue-haired male paused to listen harder. Someone out there was playing what sounded like some sort of stringed instrument. The song seemed to be hovering somewhere between a siren's song and the march of Mephisto.

Strange. Both of them lead to death.

Not sure whether he should actually go check it out, Tou didn't realize that he was inching towards it anyway. When he did, he realized that he had somehow managed to find the source, but had no idea what it was.

Crap.

[The Collections]

Eyes closed as his arms continued to flow across each other playing the melodic tune, Munashii smiled an evil smile as he stood up straight in perfect position. Feeling something behind him, he opened his eyes with a flash. The music stopped for a few measures allowing him to turn his body in the direction of the man. Applying the bow's threads back to the strings of the violin, Munashii began the evil tune again.

Looking the man up and down as he played, he smirked at the astonishing appearance the man brought with him. Something of what looked like a slave, but at the same time he gave off the aura of an innocent. How intriguing, Munashii thought to himself. Closing his eyes slowly, he suddenly saw the world in a negative point of view like that of a photographer messing with pictures. White was black and black was white. It used to freak him out but now that he had gotten used to it he seemed to love it.

He is not a pure soul but yet he is not evil...., he told himself as he scanned the man for an opportunity to please Yugure. His eyes lingered upon the mans body heavily for a second, his own lips curling in a seductive smile. This was new....he had never had a smile like this one before

[Blood Brothers]

When the song stopped, Tou tensed where he stood, noticing that his hands were free and he had no sight whatsoever. He was not touching anything and there was movement ahead of him. Before he could do anything, brace himself or attempt to flee, the music started again and his mind seemed to slip from him.

All he could perceive was the violin's song.

~ ~ ~

Poking around Neo-Tokyo irritably, Kamikuro was vexed to realize that he was having issues finding the blue-haired man slave. How far could a blind person get, anyways? Signs pointed to Tou still being in the city, but the god was having trouble finding where the little rat had gotten off to.

Hearing someone playing the violin, Kamikuro ignored it until he realized that the music was the cause for his sudden and very insistent headache. He growled before deciding that Tou could wait until he made a musical instrument out of that musician.

[The Collections]

The shadows around the block began to quiver at the knowing of their god coming. Munashii, naive to the fact of his dangerous positioning in the situation about to unfold, continued to weave his arms in and out from each other in the striking of the strings against the bow's threads. The tune suddenly changing to a soft melody insuring comfort to the soul through the pitches being stroked. Opening his eyes slowly the world coming back into natural color and time, Munashii noticed the man if front of him finally by physical appearance.

He had blue hair, odd to find in a dark city like this he thought, and his skin was was....so pale. He was not a vampire that he was sure of for when he used his vision with the music all he saw was gray....A neutral.... Knowing after plenty of experience of soul catching about what souls were which he knew that he could find nothing within this man that could be made useful. Sighing silently to himself, he took the bow from the strings. Bowing gracefully he looked to the man again and noticed the most important thing he hadn't seen before...the man had a blindfold on

"Um...sir..Can I assist you with taking that off. That is if its needed....", he asked out in a soft voice but oddly the tone was full of secure comfort.

[Blood Brothers]

Tou was unaware of anything until the music stopped again, jerking him from the creepily pleasant haze and into the harshness of reality. There was a person speaking to him in low tones and it took him a good moment before he comprehended what was being said.

"N-no! I am... fine," Tou rasped softly, backing away carefully. Such a nervous state he was in and so firm he was trying to be that the scars on his throat twinged painfully. It was hard for him to speak much less to be heard by someone not expecting his whispery voice, the result of the being who slashed his throat from chin to clavicle because he couldn't stop screaming from the pain in his eyes. They weren't very careful when they had sewn his eyelids shut. "Please, don't."

~ ~ ~

When he found the source, Kamikuro was mildly surprised and, more importantly, delighted at finding what he sought. There stood Tou, the boy who followed Trowa around like a little puppy though he was gifted with touch telepathy. Bad things had happened to the poor fellow, but at that moment, Kamikuro didn't care.

He prepared himself to intervene if neceassary, but for just then he would watch.

[The Collections]

Stepping to the side he nodded and took another bow.

"I only ask in cause of need. Very well...", he said softly again as he turned his back to the man.

Bringing the violin back to his chin and bow against the threads, he smiled and began to play a ballad like tune. Closing his eyes, he looked once more into the negative look of things. As he scanned the area around him, his body turning with the music gracefully like a performer, he suddenly began to worry. There was more dark than normal and that meant one of two things...

Either Yugure made a trip to find him...or worse. His god was out...

Picking up the speed of the song it going more into a waltz he smirked as he found a light in an alley way not too far from where he was. Not paying attention to the man behind him anymore, he wondered where on earth he was going. He didn't look too good and his body sure was evidence to something brutally happening to him.

[Blood Brothers]

Shuffling away from the stranger, Tou jerked when the music started again, but this time it did not affect him. He was so very confused and had no idea where he was or where the closest part of the scenery was so that he could get a grasp on where things were. There was a moment of indecision and then two hands landed possessively on his shoulders, startling him badly.

"There you are, Tou," Kamikuro purred in his ear, bringing back memories of darkness and a soft voice. The god was careful to touch only Tou's shirt, thus not giving away anything.

Just his presence made the blue-haired boy's throat burn.

[The Collections]

Hitting a loud pitch, it being high in chord, Munashii suddenly vanished with a swirl of white smoke only to appear the same way in front of the alley. Stepping forward slowly the smoke clinging to his body oddly, he opened his eyes hoping to find something. A smile crept across his face. He finally found a soul...

Cowering behind a dumpster a girl of young age hid from view scratches upon her arms and bare legs. It seemed like she had been fiddled with by vampires. Her neck was covered by her arms so that was not an easy one to judge. Slowing the pace of the music down to a ballad again, the violins voice echoed through the brick alley way like a siren's song. Suddenly the little girl stopped shaking.

[Blood Brothers]

Sliding his hands around to the boy's bare shoulders, Kamikuro smirked wickedly at the resulting and very piercing shriek. Everyone in Neo-Tokyo probably heard that, but he didn't care as he plucked out the bits of Trowa he had used to give shadow!Kokoro life and forced them into Tou.

His mouth was slack as he felt something slimy and black squish into him and take up residence in his head, skewering his senses as his body fought to right itself. Thrashing in Kamikuro's grip, Tou fought the parasite, but was soon overwhelmed. He whimpered just as consciousness was stolen from him.

Chuckling softly, Kamikuro scooped the limp body up in his arms, staring down at his new slave with an approving eye. In this city, the shadows would be able to help Tou navigate without having to keep in contact with a wall or person. If he ventured outside the city, then the shadows could still help him at night, but during the day he would be on his own.

Besides, Kamikuro didn't want Tou to go wandering. He wanted the blue-haired boy to stay right there in Neo-Tokyo... with him.

[The Collections]

The hair on the back of his neck stood erect as the shriek penetrated the silence beside the music being played. Hitting a wrong note on his violin the song suddenly became evil as a flat was heard by another, Munashii hurriedly trying to play it off so that it would not alarm the girl. She was beginning to relax, her arms coming to her sides revealing her face. Nothing new to the town, she was merely just a wander from another city. His hypothesis was right though...vampires had gotten to her. Sadly she was already dieing from loss of blood and open wounds and god only knew how germy this town was.

"There there...relax and let the music take you away", he cooed out to the girl, his voice full of compassion.

Slowly a strip of white smoke like tendrils began to come from the depths of the black violin inching their way through the space between him and the girl. It was like a smoke dance to the mans song, the tendrils reaching out to the girl her eyes in awe at the sight before her.

[Blood Brothers]

"There you go," Kamikuro purred, smirking as he surveyed his creation. There was no doubt that Kokoro would show up soon to 'check up' on him, while really making sure that he wasn't tormenting Yugure - too much. With Tou under his power, the Trowa twins would have one less person to worry about, what with all the people under their care already, so he wasn't worried about Kokoro finding that he had Tou once he understood what was going on.

"Wake up, lovely," the god murmured and was immediately rewarded with the blue-haired body jerking under his touch. Tou slowly stood, turning his head back and forth as if looking around before focusing on Kamikuro. Truly, Tou was still resting somewhere inside his own head and what moved his body was the Id of Kokoro.

Kamikuro smirked.

[The Collections]

Deepening the tone in the music, Munashii kept his bow's threads on the lowest pitch for a few minutes. The smoke around the violin began to thicken quickly swirling around the girl. She was pure...

"You wont feel a thing....I promise", he whispered out as the smoke inched closer to her.

It was like an amoeba taking over its prey, the smoke that is. Suddenly it lashed out at her swarming over her body to every nook and cranny it could find. She looked like a fly encased in webs almost her screams suffocated by the thick smog around her. Reaching out the smoke danced around her arms and fingers like silly spirits. Within seconds her breath ran dry and a small glowing light emerged from her chest.

[Blood Brothers]

The Id lifted the hands of his new body, touching the blindfold protecting his eyes. His leather clothes creaked as he shifted. The shadows around him whispered of many things, most importantly about his surroundings. He could almost see his master standing before him, the dirty wall several yards behind him.

"Slave," Kamikuro purred, wicked thoughts drifting through his mind as he considered the other, more dire things he needed to get done. As entertaining as bending his new slave over and relieving his stress would be, the dark god needed to be within a certain distance to Yugure so that Kokoro wouldn't flip out that he wasn't protecting the man.

Surely, by now, someone had commissioned the hunters for Yugure's head on a platter.

[The Collections]

The woman's body began to loose color as a white glowing orb dimmed into life from the girl, floating above her chest like a guardian over its own. her eyes rolled back in her head as her body laid limply against the rusty dumpster. A smirk crept across Munashii's lips as the orb suddenly was sucked into the violin in the blink of an eye. The smoke rapidly swirled around the orb speeding back into the violins belly in reverse.

"Now what to do with you know....Wait...I know", he sneered out as he felt the evil corrupting him slowly. Supaida was beginning to get to him.

Flicking the violin into the air, a simple flash of light sent the violin to another place leaving Munashii free to do what he wanted. Rubbing his hands togther he raised them up together at her chest and flexed his fingers out.

"Lets see how this works."

Strings began to wrap around the girls arms and legs, pivoting around her torso and neck like snakes slithering upon sand. Like a snake charmer the ends of the strings hovered in the direction of Munashii as though aiming for his hands.

"Elo...puppet", he spoke out evily.

[Blood Brothers]

So, taking his new slave by the waist, Kamikuro drew the shadows around them and skipped off to the Dark Horse Hotel - again. Idly wondering how many times he would have to do this, the dark god poked through the hotel to see all who was home. He found a good handful of seemingly random people that didn't look like they'd get along at all except for their obnoxious egos and strange anger at everything they didn't approve of - basically everything. Kamikuro doubted that any one of them would get along with one another, but somehow Yugure was succeeding.

Mind, this is the man that was perpetually missing for ages at a time and couldn't keep a lover once said lover's other half and sister got into the mix.

How was Yugure expecting to keep the peace when each person seemed to be just about as homicidal as the next concerning other people? At least they each got their own floor, but the thing was that the hotel was more suited for being a building of apartments that way, rather than a hotel. That, or each person got their own set of suites that was divvied up into a bunch of tiny rooms that were all the same.

Unless Yugure planned to have each in their own room and then try to rent out the other rooms to 'normal' people, but then if they didn't get along with the resident freak what would happen? Would they be reassigned a room? There was enough levels between each freak that it was possible to shove all the 'normal' people into rooms between the long-term residents, but then there wasn't exactly a very big demand for spare rooms in this city.

In fact, the most recent call for renting a space to live was on Nightshade Lane and that was because of Seishin, who had no intention of going anywhere near the Dark Horse Hotel unless it was with a lynch mob after Yugure.

[The Collections]

Snapped his fingers and with a quick unraveling the strings threaded into the girls body making her his now.

"I can get used to this...", he snickered out as he pushed the girl into the shadows letting them take her to the collection vault somewhere in the hotel.

Yugure had begun to tell him lately of the collection vault, it being a place of no escape and only entry for humans and animals and....souls. Although he, himself, had never seen the place or vault itself he knew that if Yugure said something was there, it was. Sighing with a slight shake of head, he looked up to the sky and felt accomplished.

"At least I have one soul to bring home..."

He closed his eyes slowly as the shadows from his surroundings began to paint onto his body giving him way to teleport. Within seconds the shadows had covered him and he was simply gone.

[Blood Brothers]

Arriving in the library, Kamikuro stepped out of the shadows, noticing that someone was playing the piano. He looked over, noticing his servant sitting before the instrument. Dealing with Yugure wasn't his purpose this trip, but if he did then that didn't matter.

He set Tou down on one of the couches, the shadow peering around in interest, and strode over to one of the book shelves. There was a fact or two that he needed to confirm before going any farther. It wouldn't take long, but for now this was how it had to be.

"Telepaths, telepaths..." he murmured to himself as he looked, index finger running over the spines of the books lovingly.

[The Collections]

Time is always a torture to me. The love that it brings and dangles it in my face only to take it away for no right cause. Horrid images of death cross my mind now, the dark calling out to my evil side. What do I do? Do I listen or continue my life as a citizen of this city I am now in? Or do I take upon the path of evil, that being my nature, and rule my element for what it is worth and what my god will allow me...

Yugure pressed his fingers into the keys of the piano, a low rolling come from the depths of the piano's belly. With another press with his right hand a slightly higher pitch echoed behind the first. Allowing his fingers to walk across the keys fluidly, an occasional run here and there, Yugure began to play a tune from the olden days.

Head bowed in its own silence, he tried to block out the sounds of Kokoro's voice, the sound of the fights and battles he was in love with, the tastes of things all to close to lust for him, and the sense of knowing that he was alone again. Blinking slowly, tears dropped onto his black slacks that hugged his legs. Taking a pause he lifted his right hand to his eyes and used his black turtle neck to wipe the access liquid away.

I understand what I did and that I grieve for everyday, but why must it be so hard. Happiness is no longer existent in my world nor in the human's. Poverty and depression rein true now...and maybe I should follow....

Standing up from the table, the stool upon which he sat on evaporating into the shadows. Gently he shut the piano's lid for the keys and turned to exit the library, unaware of who was all inhabiting it with him.

[Blood Brothers]

Kamikuro found the book he was looking for, pulling it from the shelf eagerly and flipping it open. As he became distracted in his quest for knowledge, the god didn't notice when his new slave got up from the couch and followed his servant out of the room.

The shadow felt strange in his new body, but he remembered everything. Now, if he could only figure out how to get Yugure to understand because, apparently, following after the element didn't tip him off to anything.

"Yugure?" The Id called, voice a mere whisper despite his best attempts to speak louder. His throat itched, especially right along the front. He tried again.

[The Collections]

The room behind him began to disappear behind him, growing smaller with each step from the entrance; the hallway before him now trapping him in a steady walk forward. Time and feeling ceased around him once more, his body numb from the music he bled his mind into minutes before. Oddly though a hoarse whisper pierced through his silent memoir bringing his attention to the reality again. Turning around slowly, he raised his eyebrows in curiosity to the new voice calling out to him.

Twirling around slowly on the back of his heel, he smoothed out his button up shirt the black blending into the shadows almost in mockery. Brushing the long locks of black hair from his half closed eyes, he sighed opening them further.

"Who calls for me?", he uttered into the vast darkness.

[Blood Brothers]

"I do," the shadow whispered as he clawed through his once-brethren to appear before his element, the base from which he was formed. His throat burned as he tried to speak once more, resulting in nothing more than a pained hiss. Body trembling, he tilted his head slightly upon noticing that his sight was near perfect even though his eyes were completely covered.

The shadows slithered across his senses in obedience to their god, giving him sight and the shivers. Before his young master, he struggled to form words even as his mouth moved to give them shape. The shadow in a shell made no noise.

[The Collections]

"I do not recognize your voice. Please...Show yourself"", he ordered out into the shadows as they suddenly released their hold upon their fugitive.

Yugure's eyes dilated with the sudden revealing of pale skin and blue hair. It was unexpected, that was for sure but in all honest...he was intrigued. Stepping a forward as he ran his right hand through his hair he began to wonder who this stranger could be, let alone his physical appearance stuck out like a diamond in the rough. Eyes scanning the man's body, the scars and piercings, the leather and straps. It was all a little to...rough. Just how he liked it.

"It seems you are new in my agenda as well. Do you have a name?", he asked out, his voice changing to his melodic low roll, touches of velvet at the corners of his tone and whips of cold at the end of his phrases. He loved how he could manipulate that.

A smirk crossed over his lips as he awaited the stranger to answer him.