The World Knows no Bounds

[Shiyoumi]

"I owe you much more... you saved me from something really painful..." Ryo said his voice barely a whisper.


His wings throbbed inside him, begging to be free. He couldn't allow himself to do that. Ryo knew that there was no reason for this boy to stay with him. He sighed. This loneliness was permanent it seemed. He wondered if the boy ever felt alone sometimes. He had to admit... it was refreshing to have someone who didn't try to kill him everytime he walked by, but Ryo felt something else in the air... maybe disdain... Ryo could always feel when he wasn't liked. As a demon this was the only thing he could detect.


"You don't like my kind much do you?" Ryo said softly.


Ryo was hoping he was wrong, but he was used supernatural beings looking down upon his race like he was something dirty. It was one of the reasons he knew he would always remain lonely. What was even worse is that Ryo was the worst kind of demon. He was rejected by almost every race... even demons who were similar to him, didn't want to be in contact with the likes of him. Perhaps that was because, Ryo's soul could never be cleansed and Ryo's soul was divided into eight pieces and he didn't even know where they were. He was certain however, that Satan had eaten one piece of it. There was no getting it back. So he didn't worry much about the other demons after his immortal soul. How funny humans thought that living forever was a blessing... It was a curse... The worst one he could have ever dreamed of.


So perhaps, Ryo's journey would begin again, but oddly enough he felt more alone knowing that this being perhaps hated him. It didn't hurt, it just made him feel alone. It would take a lot more than hate to hurt Ryo... but that didn't mean lonliness couldn't envelop him. It had threatened to overtake him along with other things... but he wouldn't dare think about what else wanted to take over his body.

 

[Jirou]

"You owe me nothing; we are even," he replied, glancing at the floor "Your life for those of an almost extinct species. I think it's quite fair, really."


Felt alone? All the time. The boy thought that after his kind grew in number, he wouldn't feel so alone. But nothing had changed. They all grew distant as they became closer, leaving the gap in the boy's life untouched. They all became indifferent, their apathy brought forth through the positions they were given when allowed a different path in life. Even the one who held the boy's heart had drifted away, their bond so tight yet transparent enough to seem as though it wasn't even there. It would always end the same, whether or not the truth was revealed or if choices were left unmade.


It was inevitable; his loneliness.


Those electric blue hues of his flickered back to the other when he spoke. "...It's nothing personal. I just... haven't very fond experiences with your kind is all. You can't quite blame me for being a bit wary."


Dirty? No, the boy thought of the demon as no such thing. But he had been wronged to many a time by his kind, even by those who he, to this day, still thought of as close friends. Just because he was overly cautious about demons didn't mean he couldn't befriend them, it just meant it was a hell of a lot harder to gain his trust.

 

[Shiyoumi]

"...I don't take it personally." Ryo whispered, "I'm not fond of me either."


His red eyes flashed, but with what? A longing? Sadness? Desire? Hunger? It could have been none of them or all. Then Ryo could hear the whispers. He didn't know that souls could talk to him while he was awake. It was even worse. Was it this place? You are nothing... It hissed. That voice... He knew it from somewhere. He couldn't quite place it. The voice seemed to leave him and then it returned ten times louder. You will always be alone. Ryo eyes filled with sadness, but he could not bring himself to say what was bothering him.


What was wrong? Why couldn't they have picked a different time to torment him? It was like they knew he was vulnerable. He couldn't bring himself to get frustrated as there was no point... they would always be here. The souls, always lurking, always following him, like a shadow. He was starting to remember that moment. Ryo could remember it clearly and relived it inside his head. The boy from the hotel... everything.

 

[Jirou]

The boy was way past self loathing. At least, for the time being. He wouldn't allow himself to dig into reality enough to realize the truth. And when the time comes to pass that he does, he would surely take to erasing those memories again. The cycle never ended, and probably never would.


"...." He was silent for a bit, staring off at nothing in particular. Then, he changed the subject. "If you're well enough to move about, I'll see you to an exit."


Even if the other wasn't a demon, the boy would have proceeded to get him to leave anyway. Never liked to stay in his home for long if he wasn't showing another around the place, for it only reminded him of his duties. It made him almost sick just thinking about it.


But due to the facts, he wasn't about to ask what was bothering him. If there was anyone he wouldn't want to pry into the business of, it was a demon. The last time he did, he almost went to war against Satan, which was breaking one of the most fundamental laws within his kind. Sticking his nose into the affairs of any society was off limits.

 

[Shiyoumi]

"Yeah... I need to get moving..." Ryo said softly.


Ryo relived the memory. It was so real. Itsu. That was his name... The boy from the hotel. The boy's white hair... so pure and untainted by sin. Ryo closed his eyes. He needed to get out of here and quickly, but what good would that do. He would be on his own again and left to think about his past. Even perhaps doomed to repeat it. The saying history repeats itself never seemed so real. If there was just someone out there who could understand, who could take this hole inside him and just close it even if it's only a little for a short while. It would be all he asked. He could deal with the lonliness then if he could just have one memory that actually reminded him of what happiness felt like.


Was that really what he had forgotten? All he knew was the suffering and the fire and the souls. Nothing else. There was nothing out there for him but disappointment and time and time again he would only doomed to be reborn and try again. This vicious cycle was sick joke. One he would kill Satan for if he ever got the chance.

 

[Jirou]

The boy nodded. "Very well then, follow me," he replied as he left the side of the bed and proceeded up the steps to the stage in the middle of the room. Here, he once again created the form of a door as he slid the sole of his converse across the stage in a circular motion. This time, the rectangular shape ascended from the floor and stood about two feet taller than the male.


Everyone always seemed to think that the key he possessed was the only way he could create and travel through portals. However, the true reason he carried such an object was not for his own use, but to enable others to travel through as well. Without it, said portals would be like air to other species.


History always repeated itself, but in ways most could never fathom. The concept ran so much deeper than the continuous declarations of war and the mistakes of every individual that had ever lived. Past the rising and setting sun and within each and every action or thought lied a much broader spectrum that could be found in all the nooks and crannies of the universe. This precise repetition was transparent and often went unnoticed by that which it revolved around, visible only in words such as 'if,' 'could,' and 'why.'


Life itself was naught but a cycle, much like anything else that made up the universe. The truths that lied within were both enlightening and deluding, which caused those who could see half of reality to bask in the light of bliss while those who could comprehend the more complex and intricate aspects found themselves drowning in their own surroundings, painfully overtaken by an almost wonderful depression.


Almost.


Most could never understand the feeling of loathing a world where one could see all that makes it beautiful. Those are the ones that swim in a paradise of lies and ignorance. That which is beautiful is very rarely without apathy, pain, and sadness. Hate is word that, although thought to represent the opposite of love and often mistaken for anger and blind rage, describes a love that is wounded.


And no other in the universe could ever hate all of creation more than the boy himself, no matter how many a time he forced the emotion into dormancy both in mind and soul.


//Sorry for the late reply. And I think I'm starting to ramble in my replies right now... I'm trying to work that kink out, but my mind keeps wandering off topic. >.<

 

[Shiyoumi]

Ryo didn't really pay attention much to how the boy got out of his room. He just followed him out. There was no telling what was going through Ryo's head as he left. Apart of him wanted to know if the boy had some answers to his questions and if he did not have answers, would he be willing to seek them out with Ryo? There was no chance of that it seemed. This boy had no reason to do so. It would be such a selfish thing for Ryo to do. All he wanted to do was be accompanied by someone who wouldn't treat him like the dirt of the world, the reason that this earth is so imperfect... Ryo wouldn't mind if this boy accepted him for a little while and ended up betraying him... Ryo would be happy to know that for once in his life, even if it was fake, he had been accepted. The loneliness he always felt, would disappate for every moment he thought about it.


What a joke? What reason does this person want to search for answers? He has no reason... to accompany a demon across the dimensions of the world... Ryo laughed to himself. He was dreaming and he knew once again what the consequences were for dreaming. Always, you would be proved wrong and suffer a grave disappointment. As much as loneliness pained Ryo, he would not burden the boy. There was no reason to pull someone else into his affairs. On top of that, Ryo was being hunted and there was a risk that the boy would too be hunted. There was no telling what was out there. And Ryo had come across horrible and unspeakable things. Not just physically, but mentally. Things that made you look at yourself and make you question your existence. For what purpose do you live? The souls would ask him and he would not answer. For what reason are you like this? Have you even gotten close to finding the answers? Ryo would always remain silent...


The questions all had no answers. Are you lonely because you killed him, that what was prescious to you... How was his soul? The questions made Ryo sick and want to die, but he could not do that. He would just be reborn again... Another cruel joke... All these questions... Why are there so many and why didn't he have answers? Where could he find answers? Even if he would hate all of the answers and they would kill him just for knowing, he would be satisfied knowing that the vicious cycle would end and his soul would perhaps eventually find rest... or if he was to continue to live... at least he could live his endless life without regret... without pain... and possibly work his way up to the gates... he would see Itsu again... Or so he had promised...


(that's okay. I don't mind)

 

[Jirou]

Through the door, the boy guided the other back to where they had been previously, seeming to exit the hotel building and out onto the streets where the demon had passed out about a few minutes before. Once there, he turned to face the other, a kind yet distant look about his face. "Well, here you are. Back where I found you," he stated, the tone in his voice making it apparent that he was saying his farewells.


Answers? The youth(?) would never give personal information that the demon pursued, but he often painted a path for others if they could grasp his concepts and pick up the little hints he dropped along the way. In truth, the boy had both reasons to and not to accompany the one before him, but would not cross the line of mere acquaintanceship without a little push in the right direction.


Betrayal was something way past unforgivable to his kind. It was not even considered an option. Although he deceived, never did he turn against anyone or anything. Sure, he possessed his own views on one thing or another, but it was not his right to act on those views when it really counted. Even to a demon, he gave the utmost respect when it came down to what held the most importance. Acceptance and tolerance were two separate things, and never did he blend them together.


He had his own answers to search for, but those were best left untold. That which he did not already know currently resided deep in the darkness of his mind, where he had long ago locked away and forgotten. Some people spent their whole lifes searching for answers. Most of them failed, others succeeded and benefited from what they had gained. But others weren't so lucky. The truth of the matter is, knowledge didn't always lift people. It could bring them down and break them, shatter their souls into a thousand pieces and blow them away with the wind.


That was why ignorance was bliss.

 

[Shiyoumi]

It was then that Ryo finally realized what was coming... It was time for the hunt once more. He started to bleed from his eyes. It looked as though he had cried blood. He turned around quickly hoping that the other had not seen. It was highly likely that the other had seen.


"Thank you... for accepting me... just this once." Ryo said softly, his voice barely a audible.


He had given up on asking the creature anything. His wings pulsated inside him. Each time there was a pulse Ryo felt intense pain. Finally it was like a heart beat, but it grew steadily faster and more painful. There was a loud tearing sound and Ryo's wings had broken through the fabric, fully extending. His shirt had become rags in mere seconds. He looked up into the sky and saw what he had feared. An angel. It had perhaps come to kill him as he always knew it would. It shot something at him, but Ryo barely managed to dodge it. He charged up to the sky at the angel. Feathers stained with crimson fell to the ground below him. The angel had grabbed ahold of Ryo's wings and threw him down onto the ground. He swore he heard a voice before he hit the ground with a thud, his face bloody.


Ryo tried to cover his face with his wings so that the other would not see. He pushed himself off the ground. His horns had begun to show. The two beings wrestled in the air fighting for supremacy. A rage inside Ryo was building. What seemed like an evenly matched instantly shifted in Ryo's favor. He had started ripping the wings off the angel and it's white feathers were covered in crimson. It let out an ear-shattering scream before falling to the ground in a heap. Then Ryo himself fell...

 

[Jirou]

Spotting the small shimmer of scarlet on the other's face, the boy narrowed his sapphire hues and furrowed his brows lightly, but said nothing when the other turned away. Instead, he turned on a heel and began walking in the opposite direction, deciding it was best to leave it at that.


At least, until he sensed the presence of an angel. His expression immediately turned sour as his paused in mid-step, a feeling of distaste swarming over him. Unlike demons, an angel never wronged him. But that didn't mean he preferred them over devils. He loathed how they went about, filled to the brim with arrogance merely because they thought they were something special — something worth so much more than the rest. The boy saw the world from a much broader view, and with that, saw most angels to be nothing but pr*cks. When one is granted that which is holy and pure, the gift is not forever. It is but an outer layer made up of ideals. Underneath, straying from the given path is inevitable with time, and in such, one will erode the divine exterior away.


Angels become rotten to the core.


Peering up into the sky, he spotted the creature, feathery appendages outstretched as if ready to attack. It was then that he heard the tearing of fabric from behind him. He whirled around to check on the other, but he had already taken flight toward the one in sky. Sighing heavily, he shook his head and wondered if this could have been avoided, or if this was inevitable. The latter seemed more likely, so he decided to stay out of the brawl.


"Well, it was nice meeting you. Perhaps we'll meet again sometime, if you keep your wits about you..," he stated, neither calling up to the other or muttering under his breath. It didn't matter if the demon heard him or not, seeing as he was busy at the moment, but the boy never left without a fitting farewell. By the time the wings were ripped from the angel's being, the boy was gone.