The Ending: Seraphim's Return by NiikoStrife (ebook and pdf reader .TXT) 📕

   Cloud stared over the edge of the cliff, watching the sun sink behind the giant city of Kreatè. He closed his ice-blue eyes slowly, picturing the city before it was remade. He could remember the small beaten-down city and his younger brother, Rin, running through the streets, carrying things for the other inhabitants of the peaceful place.
   A cold breeze blew through, slicing into Cloud's skin and making him shiver. He opened his eyes and turned around, perching himself on his slim two-seater motorcycle. He did not look up as he whispered to the dark surrounding him, "I'm not strong enough anymore, Rin." Another boy, with sharp blue-green eyes emerged from the shadows, the scabbard of a sword hanging off of his waist. The boy himself held the sword in his left hand, watching as the white flames danced on the metal. A long dragon pattern wove up the blade, from the hilt to the tip.
  The one called Rin laughed, flipping his dark hair out of his eyes. He flashed his elder brother a wicked grin, revealing five inch long razor sharp fangs. He pointed his sword to the city that glowed orangey red as the sun set behind it, a giggle escaping his lips. "What now, then? Are you gonna run away again?" 
  "No, I-" Cloud began, turning his icy gaze towards Rin.
  "You what? You'll fight for our dead parents? Like you dreamed you would?" Rin's pupils slitted and became red. "You're stupid, for the older brother. I would have thought you had a brain in that noggin of yours. I guess I was wrong." 
   "Shut up, Rin. I'm not gonna avenge our parents. I'm not going to bring on unneccecary bloodshed because of our old village's massacre. I AM the king, after all. Or I was, at least." He frowned, sadness engulfing him as he remembered the day his precious kingdom was taken away, and feeling his pupils thinning at the thought.
   Rin looked at his brother. "What, then?" He asked calmly, seeming to have gained control of himself. He lowered his sword, Kamikaze, slightly, and turned his gaze to his confused brother. 
  "I'm going to find the ONE." Cloud sounded unsure of himself as he looked down at his gloved hands, squeezing the handlebars of his motorcycle. 
  Rin's eyes were filled with laughter and surprise. "That old hag? Gooood luck with that." He snickered. Cloud's backbone seemed to return to him as he snapped his eyes back to his brother's, making the younger boy flinch. 
  "Noone said you had to come with me, but I don't wanna hear you complaining about your boredom, you worthless little slug!!" He bared his fangs, feeling the top cainines poke the skin of his bottom lip.
  Rin shuddered, feeling the hatred radiating off of his older brother, and stayed silent. He slowly sheathed Kamikaze, feeling the flames die down as the sword slipped into its scabbard. He closed his eyes, sighed, then opened them, a grin spreading across his face. A playful light gleamed in his eyes as he responded, "Wherever you go, I go, remember? That's what I promised mom." 
   "That promise is guarenteed to lead you to your own demise," Cloud felt the features on his face return to normality. Rin rolled his eyes, faking hurt. "Why, it sounds as if you don't want me here!"
  "That's basically the gist of it." Cloud cracked the worlds smallest smile and motioned his brother to join him. "You comin' or what?"
  "Ugh, with an adittude  like that, you make me wanna say no." Despite the annoyance in Rin's voice, he climbed onto the back of the bike, clamping his hands on the cover over the back wheel and hiked his feet up, smiling at Cloud.
  "Ready when you are, bro."
   Revving the engine, Cloud and Rin sped off, leaving dust and grit from the ground floating off into the air. They were both oblivious to the gleaming yellow eyes staring at the brothers from the foliage that surrounded the cliff top. "How interesting," a voice whispered from its hiding place. As the last dying rays of the sun sank below the horizon, the eyes flashed red, then violet, then dissappeared alltogether, leaving nothing more than a breath of air and a single burnt leaf in their wake.

                                       

Leneku looked up from her drawing as her mother called her name again.
"Neku? Hello? You awake in there?" Neku stared blankly at her mother, then frowned.
"Well, my eyes are open, and my pencil is moving on this here paper, and I'm obviously not amazing enough to do this asleep, so you figure that one out," she growled sarcastically.
Neku's adoptive mother returned her daughter's scornful look and grabbed the paper from the table, folding it into quarters and placing it on a counter next to the stove.
"Alright Miss Grumpy Pants. We can't have you sitting here like a fat lump all day, can we?" her mother, Kira asked.
Blinking slowly, Leneku glowered at her mother. "What do you want me to do?"
"Go to the store, buy me some milk, bread, oh, and some M&M's, too." She handed her daughter a crisp ten dollar bill and waggled her fingers. "Don't hurry back, okay?"
Grunting from putting weight on her once-asleep foot, Neku grabbed the money, pulled on her purple and black converse, and headed off, slamming the door shut on her way out. She ran a hand through her dark red straight hair and sighed. Why does mother think she knows everything? Neku pondered, absentmindedly playing with a strand of the bottom layer of her hair, analyzing the artificial black coloring.
She was surprised that her mother let her dye it. She was seventeen, and not allowed to pierce anything but the fleshy parts of her earlobes. However, for some strange reason, her mother allowed her to dye the second and much larger part of her hair black.
"What a weirdo," she muttered, approaching the crosswalk that linked her neighborhood to the grocery store where they got most of their food. If she were to walk a half-mile farther, she would have arrived at her school.
Neku crossed the street, oblivious to a girl calling after her. Only when the other girl yelled out her name did Neku turn.
"Siera? What's up? I thought you were in Vegas for the summer," Neku commented, waiting for her friend to catch up. Siera, with her blue-black bob, looked at Neku, puzzled.
"Didn't you hear? The parents cancelled on me. How lame is that?" Siera sighed, looking at the largish store in front of them. "What, your mom got you on shopping duty again?" Neku nodded solemnly. "Sometimes, I really hate that woman." Her friend laughed and patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"Trust me, I know how you feel. But sometimes, they're not even worth being angry at, y'know?" Neku shook her head. "No, I don't know. Whatever you say, though."
"C'mon, lets get this over with. I'm hungry."
"Who said I was buying you anything?" Neku laughed though, to show that she was kidding and hurried off to the store.
She veered to the right, towards the cold items and grabbed a heavy gallon of milk. She quickly grabbed the bread and the M&M's on her way to the cash register. Siera kept Neku's pace, surprisingly holding a large bag of Cheetos. Neku grinned and grabbed an energy drink off of the shelf, and placed all of the items on the conveyor belt. As the cashier slowly scanned her items, Neku let her mind wander. She thought about her Summer vacation, and what she planned on doing for it.
So far, shopping for her mother was the only exciting that she had done. She went periodically, each week for more items. Sometimes, it would be the simplest things, like the errand she was on now. Other times, however, had been dramatic; a long list of "important" supplies for her house, her mother had always said. Neku would have to make separate trips from the store to her house because of the amount of stuff she had bought.
A small, nerdy voice brought her back to the present.
"What?" Neku asked.
"I said that'll be nine dollars and fifty-two cents," the cashier, a small, freckle-faced boy, repeated.
"Oh, right, sorry. Here." She handed him the ten and he sighed, making change for her and handing her the two bags that held her buy. "Have a nice day," the cashier called, his voice cracking slightly.
"You too!" Siera smiled widely, making the boy blush.
"Why, if I didn't know you any better, I'd think you're messing with that poor boy's feelings!" Neku smiled at her friend, waiting at the stoplight. It was an unusual sight; the light would be green whenever you pressed the 'walk' button.
Neku was about to ask Siera if she noticed it too, but then, as if in slow motion, a black motorcycle drove by, blowing a slight breeze into Neku's face. She frowned, then looked at the driver. There were two people, both with black hair, sitting on the bike. The one on the back, with blue-green eyes, turned to look at her. Almost immediately, she blushed, a gasp escaping her lips. To her, he was the most amazing looking person she had ever seen. The boy himself gasped, but not because of how Neku looked in his eyes. It was the fact that she could see them that fazed him. How can a mere human see us? He blinked, leaning back more as they passed her.
"What's wrong, brother?" the driver asked as they returned time to normal.
"Nothing. I just thought that, for a second, a human could see us."
"Ha! You're getting dumber, Rin. That's impossible." The driver turned back and sped down the road.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." However, a voice in the back of his head, small and barely audible, whispered, "What if she did?"