Prologue
"Ewww, that's gross!" you whined, your face scrunched up in disgust. The boys were playing with some sort of sick toy, but you didn't want to join them, not in the least. Your gaze fell on one boy in particular. He knew better than this, didn't he? Sighing quietly, you walked off into the trees, feeling a soft breath of wind on your face. A rare moment of peace in your complicated life...
Screams and yells erupted behind you, so suddenly you nearly ran into a thicket of vines and briars. What were those crazy boys up to now? Must you always be the responsible one...?
"RUN, YUKARI!!!" Someone shouted at you, sounding very close. How'd they move so fast? You could never get them to get going so quickly-- "DO YOU WANNA DIE?! RUN!!!" The same voice shouted, pushing you forward. As luck would have it, you tripped over one of the vines. Your violet eyes quickly flickered upwards, searching for the boy. Maybe he could...
"Darn, he's gone..." you sighed, pushing yourself carefully up from the ground. However, despite you caution, a rather large thorn stabbed your palm, slicing through your skin in an instant. You quickly pulling the wounded hand from the ground, clutching it to your chest. Of course you'd had worse, but it still hurt.
"I'LL EAT YOUR SOUL, LITTLE GIRL!!!" A voice roared from behind you, no doubt one of those Hollows. You'd never seen one up close; you considered it your job to protect the boys from such things. You were their voice of reason, and the only one who could sense when Hollows were near. Not that it would help you now...
"Okay then. C'mon, eat me already!" you taunted it, running away as fast as your legs could carry you. Which, unfortunately, wasn't even close to the speed of the Hollow. Its ugly face was twisted with satisfaction, as it skidded to a halt in front of you. You stopped immediately, your mind racing too fast to really form a solid thought. But you knew one thing; you had to keep this thing distracted, long enough for the boys to escape. Though the thought of becoming this Hollow's meal wasn't all that pleasant, at least it would buy them some time.
"MY PLEASURE!!!" It howled, closing in on you. You were distracted by its voice for a moment, and were thus sent flying into a tree. Your head was the first to make contact, slamming hard against the rough bark. The rest of you soon followed, until you slid downwards onto the ground after the impact. Blood flowed down your face, clouding your vision, but you still saw the Hollow as it advanced. It was truly monstrous, in both size and appearance...so this was your fate. To be devoured by this...creature.
You let out a blood-curdling scream as the Hollow snatched you up into its giant claws, squeezing the life right out of you. No matter how much you gasped and choked for air, oxygen wasn't making it's way to your lungs...that, in addition to heavy blood-loss from the Hollow's claws tearing into your flesh, was making you feel extremely...light-headed....
Just as you were about to pass out (and possibly die), the Hollow's grip loosened, and you fell roughly to the ground. You sensed that the fall should've been very painful, but you were currently beyond feeling pain...
"Yukari!!" Though you were slowly fading from this world as blood continued to bathe the ground you, you would've recognized that voice anywhere.
"Sh-shu...hei..." You managed to whisper, hacking up a substantial amount of blood as you did so. Shuhei's face appeared in your red-misted line of vision, helping to jog you into awareness just a bit. Suddenly, you felt the sensation of someone's arms suspending you from the ground. Shuhei's.
"Yukari...don't die...you can't die yet!! PLEASE DON'T DIE!!!" He sobbed, fresh tears pouring down his dirt-streaked face. A few landed on your face, where they mixed with the crimson plasma that coated it.
"Shu...hei...I want...you to promise me...something." You forced out, retching more blood afterwards from the sheer strain of doing so. Shuhei's eyes widened, and he bit his lip as more tears cascaded down his cheeks, before you continued, "This world...is always at war...Promise me...you'll never lose yourself...in this battle for...supremecy. Promise me...you'll always be...my Shuhei-kun..." Through an even thicker cloud that fogged your mind, you saw Shuhei opening his mouth to reply. However, before a single word passed through his lips, you were gone from that world. To a dark, lonely place...leaving Shuhei behind.
Subject: Reasons To Forget (a Shuhei Hisagi story) Prologue 