The Scythe Kusari - Chapter 2

*Artist's comments for new character description! (Again!)*

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     Lance fidgeted anxiously, legs dangling over the roof of the game store. He was facing the alley, and was listening as the last car drove away. "Maybe now I can finally try and find the Scythe Kusari. Annoying humans wouldn't leave for hours," he muttered.
     He jumped off the building with ease, his wings flying out at his command. They were unusual in color; silvery white dragon's wings. His wingspan was about 9.5 ft, an average number.
     After a second he touched the ground, and they disappeared again. When he wasn't flying, they only seemed to get in the way.
     He opened the back door easily even though it was locked. By using his magic, any human lock could be broken with ease and fixed to look as if nothing had happened. He pushed open the door and pulled the chain for the light to flicker on.
     Oh, I guess I'm visible now…better try and cover up before a camera sees me, Lance thought. However, he didn't really care if a camera saw him or not. It's not like they'd catch him anyway. He looked around the storage room's ceiling, finding no cameras at all.
     Satisfied no one was watching him, Lance muttered a simple spell to add a hood onto his coat, making it look more like a cloak. Man, I am such the stereotypical American Shinigami, he thought. He half snickered at this.
     Quickly getting rid of the thought, Lance looked around the room and retraced his steps. Finding nothing, he opened the door to the main room.
     The only thing lighting up the dark room was the dim light from the streetlights outside, giving the room an eerie look. Games where scattered throughout the room, arranged in rows by platform and system. Posters advertising games yet-to-be-released covered the walls and windows.
     Unlike his last visit, Lance wasn't interested in games. He made sure his face was hidden in the shadow of the hood and traveled up and down the aisles. He rearranged games, magazines, guidebooks, and accessories to try and find his Scythe Kusari. There was nothing, no sign of it.
     Lance also realized that the humans may have taken it when they were here investigating. He cursed himself for not barging in while they were still here. They may have tried to restrain him if he did, but at least he could've quickly stunned them with minimal magic.
     With a defeated sigh, he left the store, making sure to re-lock everything. He allowed the magic to disperse, the hood disappearing. He wondered why he tried his best not to hurt the humans if it was unnecessary. Most Shinigami probably would have just killed them all if it was to get their Scythe Kusari back.
     Lance was about to turn onto the deserted street when suddenly he heard a noise like wind above him. He didn't get to look up before he felt a great weight smacking into his chest, knocking all the wind out of him. He made a half strangled noise as his back hit the pavement of the alley, something on top of him.
     He looked up, dazed, to stare at the shadowed face of another person. He realized right away he was another Shinigami. His scythe was pointed at Lance's neck, and the Shinigami sat on his chest. He pressed his Scythe against Lance's throat so that it cut through, but not more than a slit.
     Lance couldn't clearly see who it was exactly. He wore a black cloak, with a hood that left his face in shadow. His pale hands gripped the Scythe firmly.
     "Give me your Scythe Kusari," the stranger hissed. "Or I will kill you here and now."
     Lance didn't feel like either of those options. He grabbed the Scythe around the rod, jabbing it straight back into the stranger's chest. That left Lance enough time to wrestle his way out from under the other Shinigami and scramble up, leaning on the back wall of the alley.
     "Screw you," Lance muttered. And then more loudly, "What do you want with it?"
     The stranger jumped up, spinning the Scythe around so the rod faced Lance. He jabbed, and lance jumped out of the way at the last second. The Scythe made a considerably deep hole in the brick.
     Lance was about to take off down the street when he had second thoughts. He jumped behind the Shinigami and whipped off their hood in one swift movement.
     Lance let out a startled gasp. "Sayou?!"
     Sayou had been his best friend since childhood. They had been inseparable. However, on the first day Sayou went to the human world, he had never come back. Lance always thought something had happened, and Sayou would never return.
     Sayou's upset brown eyes looked at him. "Listen to me! You don't have much time before others come!"
     "What? You just very nearly killed me right there!" Lance yelled.
     "I know; and there's a reason for that. Just listen to me. You're being hunted by an organization called the Enkou Ken (Flame Blade). They're working under a leader by the name of Tenma, who resides in Hell. The members were all Shinigami. Some I knew, but others I had never met. He promises that anyone in the organization will rule alongside him in the new world he creates. The group's main objective is to gain possession of your Scythe Kusari because it's extremely powerful." Here Sayou paused taking a breath from talking so fast.
     "I'm sorry I attacked you; when I left all those years ago it was because I was kidnapped by members of the organization. They gave me two choices: be killed, or join and assist them in taking over the human world and Hateshinai. I was stupid and terrified, and joined, begging them to spare my life. It was only after the last few months that I had joined when they actually told us what we would do. We needed to assassinate you and take your Scythe Kusari because of its power."
     Lance was spellbound. "W-why my Scythe Kusari?" he asked. According to his knowledge, all Scythe Kusari had about the same amount of power. The more or less power or one was determined by the number of souls a Shinigami reaped. He had tried to take as few human souls as possible even if they were criminals.
     The Shinigami and angels had signed a blood contract centuries before Lance's time, stating that Shinigami had the job of taking souls of those who had sinned to Hell, while angels brought the holy and  pure to the gates of Heaven. It had been obeyed by every Shinigami and angel since its signing.
     "I couldn't believe it when I heard it at first. But…you're actually destined to be…!" Sayou suddenly collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. A pool of black began to form underneath his fallen body. Lance looked to his chest in shock, a bolt of dark magic embedded a few inches below his heart.
     Unlike humans, Shinigami bled black blood and angels bled golden blood.
     "Oh, I guess I missed by an inch or two ~!" said a singsong voice above them. Lance looked up slowly, furiously, to a figure sitting cross-legged on the rim of the building overlooking the alleyway. Their bat-like wings were outstretched, and held a crossbow securely between their arms. They floated down, and Lance could see the Shinigami was a girl who wore a mocking smile on her lips.
     "Naughty boy, you nearly told him the secret!" she giggled.
     "Don't touch him!" Lance cried, jumping in between Sayou and the Shinigami.
     "Hey, I'm Candy. Isn't that the cutest name?" She continued on, ignoring Lance's obvious growing fury.
     Suddenly her mood changed. "But let's not sweat the small stuff. I want your Scythe Kusari, and to get it, I'm gonna have to kill you." She grinned, a chilling smile.
     Lance figured it was too late to tell them he lost it. If he did, they might try to find it and probably would get it before he could. Candy positioned her crossbow, taking aim. A dark magic bolt formed, and she released it.
     Lance jumped to the side to dodge, but wasn't entirely fast enough. It nicked his arm, and he let out a cry of pain.
     Human weapons did absolutely nothing to hurt a Shinigami or angel, but weapons consisting of dark magic (Used mainly by Shinigami) and light magic (Used mainly by angels) could do as much damage as a gun could to a human. Demon's magic depended on the user. If a demon was weak, it wouldn't really make that much of a difference to a Shinigami or angel's health, but if you were hit with an attack from a very powerful demon, it could possibly turn out as fatal as dark or light magic.
     It was barely audible, but Lance heard Sayou whisper, "Lance, you need to go before…they get a hold of…your Scythe Kusari. It could end up changing…the fate of this world and…Hateshinai."
     Lance swallowed and weighed his possibilities. The best choice, he decided, was probably to leave. At least Candy would follow him, and that would make Sayou that much safer.
     "I'll return as soon as I can. Stay with us," Lance whispered so only Sayou could hear. If Shinigami or angels died, their bodies would dissolve as soon as the life had escaped from them. They had a few options after this – become reincarnated into something new (This would also strip them of their memories of past lives); go to a special place known as Seidou (Sanctuary) which was a type of Heaven reserved for them, or just cease their existence completely.
     He took out his wings and flew up, cradling his injured arm, which was beginning to bleed. He didn't care where he went or if he was seen; he just needed to get Candy as far away from Sayou as possible.

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