Mekura ai: Remixed

By: Okami Cloud

I really did not like how the first version of Mekura ai turned out and it was going nowhere so I decided to go back and fix it to match where Okami and everyone else's lives have been headed in my other stories. My writing style has also changed, for the better, so I thought that this really needed to be helped, besides, Okami was acting too much like a girl. That is all to change. This will be darker if I have anything to say about it. Read and review please.

Part 0-Prologue

Far above the peaceful planet of Arcadia, our story takes place, set high in the heavens where angels and other creatures make their home. In a golden building in the center of this heavenly area, a man fully clad in white robes with golden trim spoke to two young boys, both wearing similar robes to his, only trimmed in the lesser color of silver.

The man turns to the first boy and inclines his head to the youth, getting a stoic expression in return. It seems that this boy is blind, his cloud-blue eyes glazed in a milky sheen and he seems to "see" things through his other senses. The man had just finished telling the two boys about an important mission given to them by the head archangel, Estes, himself. Estes rarely bothered with things, especially when they concerned the people on the ground, but when he did take interest it usually meant something very important was about to take place centered on whomever Estes had shown any knowledge of.

"You know that Lord Estes rarely shows any interest in the people on the ground, this means that this mission is very important for the two of you. We cannot afford any failure." said the man, his dirty blonde bangs covering his pale violet eyes for a moment, "You both are from the future, you know what it is like there. If you fail, that worst will befall Arcadia and two of you will most likely fail to exist any longer."

The younger of the two boys turned his head, clutching the folds of his robes in hopes that this would stop the hot tears from cascading down his tanned cheeks. What the man said was true. He was from the future and life was disgusting there. He had to run from demons and Celestials every day of his life until the man had saved him and taken him to the past. Both of his parents were killed in a bloody battle between the races of Arcadia just after he was born. His uncle and aunt had raised him as best they could but the war soon took him after his sixth birthday.

The man felt the heartache in the youth, his emotions washing over him like a tidal wave, however, this was business and there were more important things to be taken care of now. He could not allow his emotions to override his better judgment. He squared his shoulders and stood tall behind his desk, before he leaned forward, his hands coming to rest in front of him. "Kibo Mekura, Akiyama Oni, the two of you must do this if you do not want your future to become a reality for the people of Arcadia. If you are to be born, Akiyama, you know what you have to do."

The younger boy snapped to attention, his emerald green eyes drying in a moment's time. He nodded to the man behind the desk; "We must make my father fall in love with my mother before they can declare war with each other's kingdoms in a years time." comes Oni's strong reply, "If we do not, the wars will begin and they will meet on the battlefield when it is too late to do anything."

The man nodded and turned his back to the two boys, rummaging around in his drawers until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a small wooden box and set it out on his desk in front of the one he called Mekura. "These are from Lord Estes, Kibo. He did not want any mistakes on this particular mission so he is making sure that everything is going to go off without a hitch."

Mekura blinked blindly for a moment before feeling around the desk until his pale fingers brushed against the cool wood of the box. He lifted it up to his face and turned to Oni, pushing it into his hands gently. The younger boy opened the box and looked back up at the man in front of them, confused.

"Those contacts will allow Kibo to see, despite your blindness." explained the man, shuffling the papers on his desk. "Lord Estes says that if the two of you complete this mission without anyone figuring out what is going on, you are allowed to keep the contacts for the rest of your life." Mekura froze visibly and Oni glanced at him before looking down at the box in his hands.

"Sight without seeing…" whispered Mekura before taking the box from Oni, and opening it after fumbling with the latch. "If someone does find out what we were sent there to do, we are to return the contracts to Lord Estes, is that correct?" There was a slight edge to the youth's voice, but by the way Oni and the man were acting, it seemed normal for it to be there.

"That would be the agreement with Lord Estes, he is not a man known for his charity." returned the man, with the same edge in his voice. A smirked tugged at the edge of Mekura's pale lips and he closed his milky-blue eyes in amusement, "However, the two of you are the only ones who will be able to complete this mission set before you. I know that you will want to complete it as best as possible because of your emotional attachment with this subject. You know what the future is like, and unless you want to see your family die a second time, Akiyama, you will make sure that the job gets done."

Oni gritted his teeth. "I understand, Grandfather," he said before turning on his heel and walking out of the room, slamming the golden doors behind him. The man sighed, bowing his head so that his bangs were covering his eyes once again. Mekura turned at the sound of his friend leaving and frowned before returning his attention to the man in front of him and setting the box down on the desk, removing the box's contents and putting them into his eyes. He blinked for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the foreign objects.

The room then began to come into focus, everything blurry and misshapen at first but as the young boy blinked to focus his eyes, items began to take shape around him and he saw the man before him. Mekura took a deep breath and folded his arms neatly over his chest, leaning back on one leg. "You should show a little more compassion, Master Angel. Your own son's life is at stake and now you are placing your grandson's life on the line as well. Oni may not understand the true severity of this mission, but I understand it with a clarity that should not be my own." He brushed back his pale blue locks as they fell into his still milky eyes, "My father taught me well before he was murdered by Oni's father."

"There is nothing to be done about it, Kibo." came the Master Angel's curt reply as he sat in his chair and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling, "I died years ago, his is no longer my son and Akiyama has yet to be born on this plain, so he is not my grandson. When you die, you lose everything that you held dear on earth and gain other senses of duty, duty to yourself and duty to Lord Estes.

"It may seem like a bad thing, but I can no longer care about it. You and Akiyama are still alive; you still care and feel for those you hold most dear to your heart. Hold onto that, Kibo, you do not know when you may be without it." Mekura narrowed his eyes at the comment.

"Your reason is selfish, Master Angel, and you know it. You chose not the care, not because you died and left your son behind, but because you no longer want to deal with his pain or his feelings any longer." With that said, Mekura turned away from the Master Angel, bowed his head offhandedly and exited the room, following the path Oni took. The Master Angel watched as Mekura left the room, his violet eyes quivering with some unknown emotion, an emotion that he had not felt since he had been alive. Remorse.

-TBC-