Blade Song

Chapter 1- Gorgeous Chaos

A smile spread across my lips as I gazed across the large snowy field that was to be our future battle ground.

Have you ever seen anything more beautiful than deep crimson on pure white?

I was crouched at the edge of the forest, along with twenty-seven of my comrades, hidden in the near pitch black cover that the sunrise afforded us.

A heat spread through my body despite the cold. I rubbed the leather wrapped portion of the chakram pair that hung at my waist. Those rounded blades had been my battle partners for the better part of six years, and I was dying to hear them sing again.

"Do we really have to fight alongside this pretty boy half-breed?" a man asked in a rough whisper.

"Shut up!" another man answered. "He'll hear you."

"Who the hell cares if he does?" the first one asked. "What's he gonna do about it?"

This was met with low laughter from a few of the other men.

I shook my head to myself, deciding to let him off this time. He was new, after all. Every one of the men that joined Yasuki's mercenary guild was like that at first. That is, until they saw me in action. I'd get him to change his tune soon enough.

I was born here, in the heart of demon world. A half-breed, such as myself, that roams around freely is a rare sight indeed. In fact, I've never seen another human or half-breed that wasn't in bondage.

"Almost time," Yasuki said from his crouched position beside me. "Getting excited?"

He didn't mean for me to answer the question, not really, because he already knew the answer. Of course I was.

I merely smiled and nodded in response. His demon eyes could probably pick my smile out of the darkness, whereas mine could barely see the pair of spiraled white horns that grew out the raven colored hair on his head.

This wasn't anything new for me. I was used to my senses falling short to the demons that surrounded me. After all, every warm body that hid with me in the trees was a full-blooded demon.

The physiology between a human and a demon actually isn't too different. All the same parts in all the same places, for the most part that is. Demons usually possess some sort of animal characteristic, such as horns, fangs, claws, and so on. Humans and half-breeds, however, are impossible to tell apart at a glance. As a half-breed, I haven't got any fancy appendages, but I can still tell the difference between a human and a half-breed in the blink of an eye.

Everything in this world has a unique aura around it. Demons, half-breeds, and humans all have a different aura. This is not something that can be seen, but rather, it must be felt. Humans lack the ability to do this, putting them at yet one more disadvantage in this cruel bitch of a world.

Our target this morning was the manor of a noble that stood just beyond the field. The thing was built like a small castle, with its towering size, gently curving roofs, and stone base. The whole thing was surrounded by a tall stone wall. The noble who owned it obviously didn't take security lightly.

The obstacle of the wall, in addition to the number of guards he employed, would usually make taking the manor an impossible job for a group as small as ours. Luckily for us, we had a man on the inside. Fumitaka, a servant of the noble since birth, was the one who hired us for the job. Because his family had served the same house for generations, he knew all the ways in and out of the manor, including one's that should be kept secret. Goro, second in command to Yasuki, had gone with Fumitaka and a handful of the guild members to start an attack from the inside after we created a distraction out here.