Shared Dreams & Familiar Places!

The trees seemed to sing in harmony as the birds seemed to soar. Everything seemed to live in synchronization. But he knew that the creatures were not what it seemed. "Oi, You don't thin' that we gonna find anythin' 'ere?" the black bird asked his master.

Kaseki wandered through the brush, only to take a step on a beaten path. He looked at the transparent creatures, and the alienistic beings that lived there. He knew the name of their kind. They were spirits.

He looked around, taking his feet closer to an oasis in a distance. Yet he stopped himself to take a different direction. Something told him that that place was where he wanted to go. And something told him that if he went there, the adventure would be cut short.

"No, Terrorkia." Kaseki told the gambling crow, "I believe it is the Spirit Wilds that found me." He squinted as he observed the horizon, only to want to know every inch of this new world. "Go on, find something of your interest. I have no need for you to perch on my shoulder this evening."

The sun seemed to begin its decent. The sky was burning away into the great abyss of nightfall. And Kaseki had found more questions than answers.

The sound of a child short of breath. The heavy panting of a beast. The gasps for air of dying lungs.

The boy ran from it all. He needed none of it. His family was far away into his past. They took him in, for one last time, to praise his skills of freezing water. He showed the it was all possible, yet he never told them how to do it. He would be known as the first Ice Bender, something taken into profession generations from then. But he was just a name to them, just a kid. No one cared for him, they only cared about what they could use him for.

He was a tool to his family, and a medium of relieving stress for the other kids. He was picked on, fought with, and abandoned by his entire village, even his family. The only creature he ever began to trust was the great Lion Turtle whose back his empire lived on. He didn't care for royalty, riches, fame, or even glory. He just wanted someone to care.

"Thanks Ishi." he told the turtle, "Thank you for giving me the Gift of Water again." The turtle nodded, being careful not to shake the city. He only cared for the boy because he knew he had not long to live. He was even surprised he made it past his first birthday. He had a short expectancy. Yet something inside of him burned brighter than a thousand suns. It was his will to keep going.

The boy ran through the forest. He loved the Spirit Wilds with all his heart. Why? Because in that forest, it did not matter who you were, or where you came from. Everyone was treated the same.

He ran down the same path he always did, feeling the rush of adrenaline. He looked up at the colors of the sky during the sunset. Then he saw a black bird fly high and fast. "A turtle crow?" he asked himself, "Those aren't near the Western Water Turtle..."

Then he hit something... something metal? No, perhaps it was a tree... but it wasn't as hard. Was it a person?

Almost as soon as he turned, he had a small child run into him. He looked down to find a brown haired boy with a face full of pain. He seemed to be running from something, but that was not what he wanted to know. Kaseki was on;y interested in where he was going, not where he came from.

He picked up the boy as he seemed to bounce from the impact. He reached out for the furred jacket he was wearing, "Don't be in such a rush." Kaseki said to him, "Enjoy your life." He smiled at the boy. It was a quote from his brother, Dregon. He always remembered the wise words of him...

"I'm Kaseki, may I ask of your name?"

He felt the cold steel of the figure's body, only to have it coated in an odd work... yet he felt like a dog. He reached out to Yoshige, only to grab him by the shoulder to keep him from falling down. The figure seemed monstrous, he seemed to be a giant. He was the tallest talking tree he ever met, and the only tree at that.

"Don't be in such a rush. Enjoy your life." the creature spoke. The words seemed to cut away at his heart, and tear it apart, yet it mended the same wounds before they occurred. Who was this man? "I'm Kaseki, may I ask of your name?"

"Oh cool, he can read my mind too?" he thought to himself. He couldn't have that much power... could he? Something about him just seemed odd. It was almost as if he was from a fairytale. Everything he was, seemed to be his nightmare. He saw his jagged teeth, he could just sense death.

"I'm Yoshimitsu Mizuzoku!" he exclaimed, hoping his volume would help him get over his fear, "Heir to the Mizuzoku throne!" He bellowed. Yet his voice seemed to fade. Sure he was next in line. be he knew that they would never give him that title. His eyes began to mist, and he gave a cough. A crimson drop fell from the corner of his mouth, only to look away from the metal tree man. Maybe he would live in the Wilds. Maybe there he could have a friend.

"I'm Yoshimitsu Mizuzoku!"

"That name..." Kaseki's mind began to flood. Why was it so familiar? Who was this kid? And had Kaseki met him before? But he continued, "Heir to the Mizuzoku throne!" he almost yelled. He probably thought he was deaf. He was a tree looking thing, not many people know how to treat him. He as used to people insulting his appearance, or treating him like a monster. His hardened exterior made up for his weak, fluffy interior. He cared about everyone. He wanted to to care for everyone .. because he never had anyone care for him.

He saw the change in the kid's face, and knew all to well what it was. But with the change came a small droplet of blood. Kaseki crouched down and rose his palm under the boy's chin with his right hand. His thumb wiped away the red liquid, only to smear it into his skin before fading away.

"You're important then, aren't you?" Kaseki smiled, something a father would do with his son, "Then I'll just have to protect you until you get big enough to be king!" He laughed, "You're safe with me, don't worry." Kaseki assured him, "Ill be..." his tongue wrestled the words. His heart began to tear.... if he still had his heart. "...I'll be your big brother."

The thoughts of Dregon filed his mind, only to be accompanied by the image of Oblivion's Might. He always wondered what happened that day he met him. He wondered why Dregon took him in. Why did he care? Who was Dregon really?

Kaseki didn't mind not knowing. He was cared for, and had his family. That was all that mattered to him. After meeting Kodai, the memories began to piece themselves together and fill in the gaps he had forgotten. He only had one brother. He was closer to family than anyone. Then came Shini and Kusatta. Both became like his step-sisters. They loved each other like family... and just like his brother... disappeared out of his life. They were both killed... Until Kaseki brought Shini back to life.

The closer people got to Kaseki, the more they got burned. But this kid... this kid Kaseki would protect. He would not lose anyone.

Not anymore.

His words seemed so familiar, yet so new to him. Who was he? Why did he care so much? "...I'll be your big brother."

His face was cradled by the creature. A single tear ran down his cheek. It was as if his whole life had led him to this moment. Who was he? And why did this stranger show more compassion than his entire family over his entire life. Who was Kaseki? Why did he care so much? Yoshige couldn't speak a word, all he could do was hope for the best. Something told him that he would be okay. Everything in the world would have told him not to, but his heart told him to. He ran at the figure, only to wrap his arms around him.

There was no words he had to say. This stranger was his family.

Kaseki embraced the young boy's hug, only to wonder about the life he had lived. Sure he was young, but even someone who had not yet experienced life, did not mean they hadn't started in the wrong place. He always wondered how things would be different if he could remember his family. He wondered if he would have walked the same path that he did. And now he held a child who seemed to wish to forget about his family and the world behind him. It was a strange parallel.

"Leaves from the vine, falling so slow..." he began to sing softly and lightly. It was the only thing he remembered about his past, and as a result, his most cherished memory. He knew not where he learned it, nor who taught him the lyrics. He only knew the story, and the dream he had of it. He remembered all of his years of wandering, trying to find a home, only to find he had it all along. He wasn't running from his past, but himself.

"Like fragile, tiny shells... Drifting in the foam..." Kaseki believed that that very day he awoke to find nothing in his possession, and no one to help him, somewhat liberating. He was so young then, so innocent, and to say the least, afraid. He was lost in a world of opportunity, and the one thing that now he escaped, was going to guide him. Death.

"Little soldier boy.... " All his life he wondered if what he was doing was the right thing. All his life he wanted to redeem himself. His entire life he was looked at like a monster, when all he did was accept the dammed. Father Time and Death himself took interest in him at such a young age... "Come marching home..."

That was the reason Kaseki held so much power in his hands. That was why the gods agreed to let Kaseki hold the barrier between their realms. Kaseki would never step foot in the world of the holy, or the realm of the unholy. His kind heart was protected by a closed fist. His own anger destroyed him and repaired him daily. He was the living essence of good and evil, purity and corruption. He didn't just happen to have the evils in him bottled up under the name of Kodai.
No, Kaseki was chosen. He was the butterfly effect of a demon making his choice. He was the last to corrupt Kaseki. That demon took everything from the child that once was, to create the abomination known as Kaseki. That was the debt that was paid to him by the demons themselves. As for the gods? Kaseki was too tainted for him to be granted access into their haven. He was the barrier between life and death. Why? Because the gods took his life for their own, and the demons stole away his death. He was cursed to immortality. He was the Demon of Life. The Gatekeeper of Heaven and Hell. He was Kaseki, the creature that knew nothing but sorrow in his heart, yet wore happiness on his sleeve. "Brave soldier boy... Comes... marching... home..."