Starry, Starry Night~ //Takai-Open//

[¡§qüee!]

The sky was dark, a deepened blue that appeared black with just the right amount of stars dusting it's surface. The wind was calm, still, almost non-existent save for the floating leaves. Curiously exploring the night air before tumbling slowly downwards to their final resting place on the forest floor. The blades of grass bent slightly from the sudden weight of the leaf but stayed upright until the weight of something larger pressed them down.

The crunching leaves below his feet did not bother the demon. If anything it was a nuisance, a breaking of the silence he loved to hear. That and the dieing screams of humans and demons filling a blood soaked clearing; the crackling of fire and the stench of burning wood and flesh dousing the air heavily like a fog; lifeless eyes, glazed over and staring endlessly in odd directions. Just a few of Jakumetsu's favorite things.

Messy, bright red hair sat sprouted from the top of Jak's head, his chiseled features, jagged and dark from the glow of the fire. His blood red eyes glinted in the light and darted steadily over the clearing before him. If he knew how, the demon would have let a smirk flow upon his pale lips. But not even pain could extract a grimace from Jak's lips. Even when his younger counterpart was around to soften him, he couldn't manage to show any emotion on his face.

But his eyes glinted with pleasure at the sight before him. The scarred remains of a village lay before him. Burned huts, the ground covered in gray ash, with a sprinkling of human parts scattered across the field. Women who tried to flee, children too young and innocent to understand what was going on, and men who tried to be heroes and protect their loved ones.

Foolish mortals. Thinking they could take a demon head on. How silly they must have been, full of false hope, full of some imaginary demon they were trying to defeat... When all they managed to do was slaughter themselves.

Fathers beheading their sons and daughters, mothers stabbing their husbands and friends, children so lost and confused, unable to do much more then watch.

Jak wasn't a kind demon, he cared little for the pleadings and screams of others. He enjoyed bloodshed, he craved the terror and fear, and more importantly he needed their bodies.

The red-headed demon stopped in his pacing after a few moments, his eyes grazing over the field before him as he lifted his cloaked arms. Leveling them with his shoulders he spoke under his breath, a dead language caressing his lips as his breath escaped forwards, an incantation that flowed over the mutilated bodies and started a stir in the air.

The dead twitched. Their limbs jumping slightly from the ground before they lifted from the ground. Blood still dripping from broken skin, falling like rubies to the grass and staining the perked blades. Jak continued, unphased by the sight before him, his mouth still forming words while the bodies turned dark and black, their skin melting down to ash as bright white lights floating where the bodies once were.

Jak's hands slowly turned, his palms facing each other before coming together in a sharp clap. The lights hesitated for a moment before zooming towards the demon, ramming into him and disappearing within his body. Jak's head fell backwards, his closed eyes basking beneath the stars as the souls of his latest victims filled him with ecstasy.

[ryuukotsusei]

On the other side of the village, there seem to be a survivor hiding among the rumble. A young girl was away when the others first seem to go mad and arrived only in time to hide. In the end this only postponed her death. Within moments of the new arriving demon, the girl was shrieking yet oddly seem to be heading in the direction of the demon.

Through her constant screaming, a small chuckle could be heard from the area she once hid. In a slow walking pace what appeared to be human steps out of the rubble and follows the girl. His skin white and his clothing was that of a nobleman, even wearing a top hat from the Mainland.

A smile seem to be plastered one his face as he follows her. Oddly he seem to be taking in deep breaths enjoying the smell of death that surrounds him. The girl stumbles and falls looking back. Her screaming stops seeing that he disappeared but looks back forward and shriek again finding her face only inches from his legs.

“Shall I help you up?” He smiles reaching down at her as she tries to protesting. His own body was giving off more scent of death this village itself. It was like the smell from him alone would match that as if all these people has been locked up into a sealed room for weeks, and the smell grew within that time.

The girl was now screaming in pain as his lifts her by her throat. Her screaming had ceased as she claws at his hands yet her nails seem to claw through him, yet no wounds ever appear. He squeezes more as the crushing of bone could be heard.

The girl’s arms fell to her side as the stranger laughs hysterical before pulling her against him and he bites down into her neck. He quickly begin ripping her flesh off her and swallowing it. His hands begin to aid him as the rip into the girl shredding her apart as he not only ate her outer flesh but her internals leaving only a little behind. Only a skeleton remain laying onto the ground before him as a surge of blood splattered onto the ground as he bite into the final piece, her heart.

Once he devoured the heart he turns and begins to head in the direction the girl ran to. He on the other head, knew the demon was there and knew he would of seen him when he devoured the girl.

[¡§qüee!]

His mind was a hazy fog, his body shaking slightly from the pure pleasure coursing through him. His lids slowly opened, his piercing red eyes peeking through the slits and staring, endlessly, calmly upwards. His arms dropped from their previous position, hanging loosely at his sides, dead limbs vibrating with the rest of his body as the souls melted and vanished with in him.

And then it was ruined. Lost, forgotten, cast away as the piercing screams of a young girl flowed through his ears. At first Jak had thought the pleas and cries were coming from his own head, memories of his past quickly catching up to him. But then the screams grew too loud, to piercing for the demon to enjoy himself any longer, and then they abruptly stopped.

Once again silence echoed through the small clearing. But Jak was awake, he was alert, and he was pissed.

The light sounds of footsteps and the hard crunching of leaves met his ears, his gaze cascaded to the left, his dark red eyes glinting like rubies in the fire light. His jaw tensed, his teeth grinding against one another as he fought the urge to kill this nuisance. But already he could tell that this demon was more then he appeared.

Jak didn't open his mouth to speak. Words were a waste, and only those who seemed worthy would get much more out of him. He stared coldly at the figure, his eyes darkening and flashing dangerously with each step the demon took. The red-headed demon raised his hand, the shadows dancing thoughtfully behind him, a warning to this newcomer.

[ryuukotsusei]

His blue eyes gaze back over towards him, but still seem not to mind. Yet a smile crosses his face seeing the shadows forming behind him. He still continues walking as the blood that did cover him seem to fade off, and he was back to normal. He stops once he was in front of him and turns gazing into his red eyes.
“Odd that you can use the souls you collect to fight for you.” He smiles as all the bodies lying around begins climbing to their feet. Some of the bodies was still dripping of blood, as others had already dried up as the walk behind him. “When I can leave what is left of them.” It was done more in amusement.

The dead either drew arms of weapons near them or walk unarmed if none was nearby.
“Yet they do not hold any darkness in them, they are just mere puppets in the game.” He begins to step forward towards him leaving the undead behind him.

He smiles seeing that he too had corruption in him. “Can’t you hear it, the screaming and cries of those who died. It is a sweet melody. The sounds of those calling for help, and pleading for their lives as they are cut down.”

He begins to turn away and walk back towards the undead as the fell to the ground as If the died a second time. He slightly chuckles to himself. “I guess its time to find some more friends, It seems this village won’t play anymore.”

[¡§qüee!]

Normally Jak would have simply walked away. Turned his back on the demon and -with a swish of his cloak- disappear into the shadows. But this certain demon intrigued him, fascinated him in ways that most would only annoy him. With a flick of his wrist he the dancing shadows behind him loomed upwards, covering the trees and bushes behind him. From the dark came bone fingers, arms and legs with missing bits of flesh, faces without jaws, missing eyes and hollowed heads.

They moaned and groaned, with every moment you could hear the creaking and cracking of bones, the sickening swish of hanging limbs and the unmistakable odor of death they brought forth. Jak's eyes glinted, the dark fog shimmering down to nothing more then small shadows cast from teh fire's light, and the decomposing bodies standing --grunting and panting-- behind him.

"Who are you~?" His voice was deep, dark, reminiscent of something you don't mess with. The words themselves were foreign to his tongue. In all his years of creation he always found ways to communicate without speaking, the dead language he spoke was more familiar then the Japanese he muttered. But still, Jak made himself sound more threatening then he appeared. Whether for the benefit of himself, or simply to ward his new 'friend' off, he wasn't quite sure~.

[ryuukotsusei]

He laughs in his dark voice as he turns facing me. “I am Keith Valentine, I once was the best blacksmith in my days, that was before I died. Of course if blood and misery was not involved neither was I.” He smiles looking back towards the red head, hearing him speak to him in a taunting way.

He was much use to such welcomes, but normally he would give them what they ask for, a slow and painful death. But its been so long since he last seen someone so dark he was intrigued. He couldn’t help but smile as he closes his eyes and listens to the sounds of suffering around him

His eyes remain close as he lightly spoke. “A god of death are you? Jak.” He smiles as his eyes open back up and he begins to walk away from the spot. He didn’t care if he follows or not, but he wish to bring himself closer to the next village.

[¡§qüee!]

A red haze clouded Jak's dark eyes, a twitch worked it's way to his lip as he watched the demon turn away.

Under normal situations he would have let his army disperse and rip the bastard to shreds. In fact, Jak could imagine himself actually smiling as Keith's blood soaked into the ground and he claimed the soul for himself. What a lovely addition the demon would have made. But in true fashion to Jak, he simply stood still and watched Keith step away.

He had known his name, what he truly was. Not many knew anything about Jak, in fact his younger sister only knew his name and a bit of his pass, his brother sometimes didn't even know his name. Not that Sujo remembered much anymore.

With a swish of his coat, Jak raised a pale hand and watched as a wave of shadows crept around both of them. "Neat trick." Jak's deep voice sounded over the small distance between them. His mouth was a thin line, his eyes half closed in anger and annoyance. The shadows touched and intertwined with each other, blocking off Keith's path and hovering darkly in the air.

"Where do you think you're going?[/color]" Solemn limbs broke from the shadows, slowly forming broken bodies. "I didn't say you could leave.[/color]"[/size]

[ryuukotsusei]

Keith couldn’t help but to laugh as he bars his path.
“I travel wherever I well please.”
He smiles as he turns back towards him.
“I am not anyone’s puppet, and its no different for you.”
He reaches up and slightly tips his hat.
“Now are you wishing to fight me? Cause I prefer not to waste, and just spread more suffering across the land.”

He smiles as he vanishes, appearing back behind Jak.
“So what will it be.”
His smile that stays on him almost seem plastered onto him. Yet he appears to weild and weapon, nor prepared to fight.

[¡§qüee!]

She could smell it. The repugnant stench of decay that stretched over the land before them. Smoke rose in curling columns over the trees and the agonizing screams that had filled the clearing echoed in the warped bark of the trees. "We're getting closer, Sujo-kun." The voice was soft, high pitched the way a child's should sound, and airy. Wisps of blonde curls escaped the white, wide brimmed hat she wore, the long white sundress that ended past her knees twirled over her cream colored skin as she walked.

She was barefoot, seeing no need to wear shoes over the lush grass that sprouted below her feet with every step she took. "Yes, Sei-chan, we're very close." Crystal green eyes swayed from the darkened forest to glance upwards at a tall figure. Seibutsukai's childlike appearance seemed an odd match with the dark, disheveled companion she kept close to her, but in actuality she was quite older then him, and quite more powerful then both her brothers combined.

Muchisujo's face was impassive, his dark eyes glaring straight ahead as the adrenaline within him pounded hauntingly against his skin. He was normally the one who caused chaos and turmoil with others. He was the one who killed without a second thought, the one who turned father against son and brothers against each other. He could smell the blood before him and was immediately envious of his older brother. He wanted those lives on his hands. He wasn't going to clean up Jak's mess, not now, not ever. A dismaying grin crossed over his thin lips and he chuckled darkly to himself, watching Sei from the corner of his eye twirl in circles before him.

Jak growled to himself, staring straight ahead even as the creep appeared behind him. He wasn't going to let it get to him, instead he let the black wall quickly disappear, and watched as the groups of skeletal zombies inched their way towards them. "If you play with fire..." He clenched his fist, causing deep red and golden flames to sprout from the sleeves of his cloak. "Prepare to be burned.[/color]"

"Such a cheesy line, Jak-sama. I never thought I'd hear those words come from your mouth.[/color]" A chuckle broke through the clearing, two dark figures escaping the black forest just beyond where Jak and his acquaintance stood. "You must either be very angry, or let your guard down..." Sujo couldn't help but smile, taking pleasure in his brother's slip up.

Sei on the other hand was staring in horror at the landscape before her. The smoking huts and dieing plant life brought enough pain to her stomach she felt the need to retch. But she held it back, trying not to breath in the stench as she stared at her older brother. The pain slowly fading as she stared into his eyes.[/size]

[ryuukotsusei]

Keith could hear the approaching footsteps coming their way yet paid no mind to them. He let them come as he deals with Jak. His eyes nor face change when the fire begins to grow within his hand. Yet when he finishes his line it tickled him far to greatly as Keith begins to laugh. He laughs even harder once the newcomers even come out and even comments on it, even knowing him too.

“I must have been mistaken with who you was. Back when I was human I thought a demon of death was suppose to be scary.” He smirks as he contains himself. He knew he would anger him, yet he truthfully didn’t care or surly had no respect for something that did not hold the malice he searches for.

He stood their his eyes shifting towards the newcomers as he smiles towards them. His smile seemingly demonic and ghostly. It was odd but no demonic energies came from him, and his scent was that of a corpse, nothing more.