OK... this is the first part of a new fic I'm trying, based on wondering, "What would happen if Hanabishi had found Kurei, and Recca had ended up with Mori Kouran?" Hope you like it!

-Bottou-chan

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Kagero's hands smoothly and effortlessly went through the motions as she murmured the proper incantation for Time Manipulation. It was a forbidden spell, and would bring on an unwanted immortality to the manipulator, but she had to save her baby from the Oni's murdering forces... A bright, glowing light shone forth as the portal opened and she raised her son, Recca, up to it. He slowly floated upwards...

From nowhere suddenly leapt Kurei. Although he was still young, he had already gained the reputation of being a demon child. He, like Recca, had the power of Flame, inherited from their father, Ohka. But Kurei's Flame was a cursed one, and he had been rejected as the next leader in favor of his younger half-brother. The boy had tried to murder Recca, unsuccessfully-- how had he escaped from the jail in which he had been imprisoned?

The thoughts flew through Kagero's mind as she tried to stop Kurei. He had a wicked gleam in his eye, and was clutching a sword. But he, too, was swept into the time portal. And as her concentration was broken, it swallowed itself shut. Kagero stood in wide-eyed horror as she realized what had happened. She had sent poor, helpless Recca and a vengeful Kurei into the future alone... a pain shot through her stomach as one of the Oni's soldiers attacked her. But it didn't matter now... it was impossible for her to die...

****

400 years later

****

Hanabishi was walking through the rain, on the way home from the convenience store.

A bright light shone from behind him. Hanabishi's normally squinty eyes opened wide with surprise as he found himself staring into the exit-end of Kagero's time-portal. A child-sized object dropped from it, landing hard on the street. A sword clattered to the sidewalk next to its unmoving shape.

Concerned, Hanabishi moved over to investigate. No one else was around. No one else had seen this happen. And yet... there it was. An unconscious child, maybe five or six, with a torn, dirty, sooty kimono which reeked of smoke. His head was cut and bleeding.

I can't leave the kid in the street like this, thought Hanabishi. He easily scooped up the child into his arms, retrieved the sword, and continued on towards his home nearby.

****

The boy awoke to find himself in a warm bed. His head ached horribly, but it was bandaged. His regular clothing was nowhere to be seen, but he was wearing a man's T-shirt. He reached up and tentatively touched the bandage on his head.

"You're awake," remarked a gruff voice that was trying to be kind. The boy looked up at his rescuer. "I'm Hanabishi... what's your name? What happened to you?"

The boy stared at his own knees. "I don't know," he said, pondering the thought for a moment. "I don't know."

"You got a nasty bump on the head," agreed Hanabishi. "Perhaps in a little while, it'll come back to you. Do you remember your name?"

"Kurei," answered the boy, after a brief contemplation. "I think it's Kurei... but I'm not sure."

Hanabishi laid the sword gently in Kurei's hands. "This was on the ground with you," he said, and moved off to the kitchen to scrounge up something to eat.

For some reason, just holding the sword flooded the little boy with overwhelming feelings of bitterness and hopelessness and anger. Yet frutstratingly enough, he couldn't figure out why it made him feel that way. His eyes filled with helpless tears. In disgust, he hurled the sword across the room, and it slid harmlessly into a corner.

Hanabishi returned with a bowl of soup and noticed the boy crying on the bed. "Don't do that," he said, awkwardly. He wasn't used to dealing with small children. "Don't cry... I'll take care of you, and I'll try and find your family."

Kurei wiped his face on the blanket and looked up at his benefactor. "You will?" he asked cautiously, accepting the soup.

"Yeah," agreed Hanabishi. "And until I figure out where you're from, I'll take care of you." He awkwardly leaned over and gave the small boy a hug.

Kurei reveled in it. For some reason, it seemed to be a sensation that he hadn't felt in quite a while and had missed desperately.

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