Chapter 1 - Prolouge

Catch me as I fall



Prolouge



"Hey, Brother?" Toguro called leaning back in his desk chair. He looked at his older brother, Ani, who was lying on his back, sprawled out on the bed, reading a Anne Rice thriller. Ani apparently didn't hear him. "Brother!" Ani looked up, startled. He set his book down and walked to Toguro. He leaned on the desk and looked at the computer screen that showed names and profiles of various demons they had captured and were now in cells, ready to be sold.

"What is it?" He asked while putting an arm on Toguro's shoulder. Toguro typed a few more words and the prices of the demons appeared. It totalled up to about $3,000,000 altogether. Nothing seemed of the ordinary to Ani he just placed his forehead on the nape of Toguro's neck and laughed softly. "You're off your rocker, brother........Nothing seems to be wrong. I think you need to spend a bit of time away from Sakyo and get all your marbles back. Ok? And no more Sci Fi movies, only horror." He was about to turn away but Toguro caught Ani's hand that was resting on his shoulder and pulled him back.

"This is too low, we need to get more apparition on this row, perferably fire, they're easy to capture, break, and they sell for an awesome price." Toguro explained. "Can you come with me to try to capture at least two.............tonight?" Ani grinned before nodding.

"Great....." Toguro said while closing the program, "I could really use your help....." He watched fondly as Ani turned and walked out of the room.

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The night air was crisp, clean, and clear as Ani and Toguro swiftly ran. They both held energy restrainers as they silently ran, side by side. Somewhere around their designation, Toguro heard Ani's small and quick footsteps grow faster. Toguro looked ahead of him and saw the pit that several types of demons mingled with other types and elements. He reached out and gently slapped the back of Ani's shoulder to alert him to slow down. They both slowed and eventually stopped at the edge of the pit and looked down. The pit was huge and there were c-class demons all over the place. Toguro pulled Ani away and they crouched behind a large rock. Ani stared out at the pit with Toguro's arm around his midriff.

"Are they going to come out in groups?" He asked his younger brother. Toguro nodded and thrust another restrainer into Ani's hand. They looked around to see if they were being watched by a scout or another demon hunter, their eyes momentarly met and the stared at each other before looking back into the pit. Toguro sighed and settled back against the rock with Ani at his side.

"We might have to wait, they don't leave until after midnight....... You know how they do these 'Hell on Earth' rituals and dances." Toguro whispered. No sooner that the words left his lips, he laughed as Ani curled up into a little ball with his head on Toguro's hip and fell asleep. Toguro remained awake to watch for the demons that they were out after. He stared out and winced as a stream of blood protruded from the middle of the pit. The demons must've felt carnivorous. Toguro's hand felt around Ani's hair as he heard the tortured scream of demons eating away at the flesh of one another. He sighed and leaned back onto the rock, trying not to fall asleep. He looked down and kept his fingers busy by using them to gently untangle Ani's windblown hair.

After several hours, Toguro checked his watch, it read 2:34. He noticed that demons were begining to walk or fly away. He gently nudged Ani awake and gestured to the pit. Ani immediatly sat up straight and reflexively ran his fingers through his suprisingly tangle-free hair. Toguro pushed him into a crouching position as three fire demons headed in a direction different from the other demons. Toguro was now crouched on all fours, ready to run, Ani in the same position below his chest. They were both perfectly silent as their yellow eyes trailed the demons. Toguro felt his body tighten and Ani's jerked as the apparitions took a sharp turn towards the tall grass. There were other demons walking around, but the brothers didn't care. Finally, when the fire demons entered and disappeared through the tall grass, Toguro launched off from the rock and both brothers sliced through the morning air.

While in mid step, Toguro noticed that the demons were keeping their energy down as to not set the grass ablaze. He picked up his pace for Ani had gone to his fastest sprint. Finally, they burst theough the grass and continued their search. They had become divided and Toguro heard a demon shriek, notifying him that Ani had gotten one. He stopped and ran towards the direction of the scream, hoping to find both his brother and two more fire demons. He finally found them and almost ran over Ani, but Ani step sided him, holding the energy chain to the demon he had just captured.

"Which way did the others go?" Toguro panted while examining Ani's prey. "This one looks pretty good. Well done." He patted Ani's shoulder and took the chain. Ani nodded and pointed to a small patch of grass. Toguro nodded and Ani handed him a restrainer and started at his fastest pace towards the other demons. Toguro looked at the cowering demon and pulled out a little black case from his pocket. Inside were 5 needles and syringes filled with tranquilizer. He took one out and knelt next to the shivering apparition and injected it. The appartition fell limp to his feet and Toguro examined it more closely, only to discover the demon was a male. He slung it over his shoulder and began to walk towards the direction Ani had bolted off. He felt an energy wave and knew Ani was done being nice to the other demons. Toguro picked up his pace and entered an empty feild surrounded by trees, his eyes scanned the grass line and saw Ani hovering above the demons. One was perfectly still, and Toguro knew it was dead. The other was spatting curses in Makai Tongue. He said one thing in particular and Ani flared up. His eyes were ablaze and he was surrounded by his usual black aura. Toguro stumbled back at the fury of his brother was giving off. Ani only hovered above the air and grinned dangerously. His eyes glowed red as his voice changed form his high pitched usual to a deeper masculine voice Toguro had never heard.

"Not afraid of the Underworld now are you?" Ani said in his strange voice. His hair hovered around and above his head, giving him a frightening look. "BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE I AM GOING TO SEND YOU!" He lunged at the demon for the kill, but Toguro dropped the demon he was holding and raced to Ani.

"No!" He yelled. "Don't do it! There's no need!" He grabbed Ani around the waist and held him back, but Ani kicked and squirmed. Finally, Toguro was forced to drive his fist into Ani's stomach. Ani yelped in his normal voice and his eyes returned to their yellow hue. His hair fell back into its usual position and his aura faded. Toguro was on his elbows with Ani between his arms. Ani looked up, his eyes were clouded and he held his stomach. The demon had fainted to its encounter of death. Toguro stared into Ani's eyes, expecting to see the same person who wasn't Ani a few seconds ago. Ani only sighed, struggling to catch his breath. Toguro cringed as he saw the one expression he had never seen dance across the face his brother: Fear..........

"I'm sorry..." Ani whispered. Toguro sat up as Ani squirmed out from underneath him, turned and fled, holding his stomach as he ran. Toguro watched after him, his heart thumping very hard. He stood, brushed the dirt off his thigh, and placed the restrainer on the other fainted demon and slung them both over his shoulder, he walked home very silently, passing more demons leaving the pit.

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Once Toguro had arrived, he placed the demons into a cell and walked towards the large house. Once inside, he walked very slowly, he was in no hurry to reach Ani. After he climbed six flights of stairs, he walked to the doorway to Ani's room. The double doors were shut and locked, so Toguro reached up to one of the dragon statues, he shut the sliding eye lids and the mouth opened, with a bronze key inside. He took the key and stepped to the door. Before inserting the key, he put his ear to the door, to listen. The door was cold, and he heard nothing but a heavy silence.

"Hey..........Ani-san....." He said in a loud voice. There was no response, but he tried again. Not calling his brother by his usual name. "Ani! Answer me! That's a demand............damnit!" Still no resonse. The door was growing colder. For no particular reason, Toguro felt a pit of dread drop into his stomach like a weight. He knew what lied beyond this door, he wasn't going to like it. It was too quiet, Ani would've responded.......Ignoring his minds silent pleas to walk away from the door, Toguro inserted the key....And he twisted until he heard a click.

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Chapter 1preview: Toguro finds an odd instument he never noticed before in his brothers room, and see's a little too far into his brothers problem..........

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