Konnichiwa, minna-san. ^^x
As the title reads, I wrote a YnM fic. *nervous grin*
I hope I will receive some comments on this...^^x;;

This fic is going to be yaoi. And Kudo Daisuke is character I created, but he's *not* a Mary Sue (or Michael John, whatever). The timeline is set some 90 years before Book 1 of YnM, so Hisoka will not appear in the story. (Sorry!) Tatsumi will join the story later.

Oh, something about the title. "Emu~for my dear~" is a song by Gackt, a cool J-rocker whom I worship. This beautiful song inspired me to write this fic, thus the title.

I hope you enjoy this. ^^x

Disclaimer: I don't own the character except Kudo. Yami no Matsuei belongs to the great Matsushita Yoko-sensei, not me. I make no profit out of this.

Oh, but the grammar mistakes are mine. ^^x;;

Spoilers: Many spoilers about Tsuzuki's past!! I guess it'd include Vol. 2, Vol.5, and Vol. 7-8.

Saa, on with the story!

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Tsuzuki... Who are...you?
--Abnormal being... --
Tsuzuki... Are you...
I... I...
...really 'human'?
Who am...I...?

//I always...dream a dream that would never come true...//

Emu ~For my dear~
Prologue

Kudo Daisuke was a normal twelve-year-old. He went to elementary school in the morning and returned home at noon. He would have this little lunch in the kitchen of the little teriyaki restaurant, which his family ran. After that, if he weren't needed in helping out, he would bounce out into the warm afternoon sun and play with kids in the village. The thing that made this ordinary child stood out was that at twelve, he was already quite a bit taller than his peers were. That, combined with his fiery attitude, had made him a subject of fearful admiration among the town kids.

One day he woke up to a crisp, fresh morning. Nameless pretty birds chirped lightly outside his window. He sat up gingerly and rubbed his eyes, struggling to keep them from shutting down.

Then he heard his mom's high-pitched voice calling cheerfully from the kitchen. "Dai-chan, get up! Are you up?"

"Yes, Mommy," he answered aloud.

"Breakfast's ready!"

"Hai!"

Stretching a little, he let out a yawn. Like any other kids his age, Daisuke preferred to stay in his warm cocoon of a bed to waking up so early. But he did not want his parents have a fit, so he had long decided that he would be a good child and obedient son. Besides, if he did not get to school on time, his /teacher/ would yell at him, too; and that he would like to avoid as often as possible.

He threw back the plain blanket, shivered a little at the morning chill, and regretfully slid out of the bed. It was then when his mind registered the unusually loud noise in the streets, and his curiosity piqued. Daisuke had never heard that much buzzing in their town during mornings early as that. He ran to the window and looked out.

It came as a great surprise to him as a parade of horse cars marched slowly down the wide, stone-paved streets. There were so many of them they seemed to reach the horizon. He saw many rickshaws waddling in
between, too. A great many of them. And he saw more people, all dressed in the most elegant clothing he'd ever beheld, walking, some of whom holding up paper umbrellas for the passengers on the slow moving man-pulled cars, the rest of them all carrying things in their arms and on their backs.

Daisuke was awe-struck. He had never seen so huge a display before it excited him. He scanned the streets quickly and found he was not the only one gawking. It seemed the entire neighborhood had awakened, and
many people had came out to watch the great parade, pointing their fingers and whispering silently among themselves. See, there was even the white-haired old tofu-maker, Fujiru-san, who never did anything but made tofu inside his small work place, sticking his wrinkled face out of his window, chewing on a bun.

Daisuke jerked his eyes away from the imposing crowd and dashed out of his tiny room and into the kitchen, where he knew his family would be.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

Mrs. Kudo looked up from her bowl of washed assorted vegetables. She smiled at her flustered son. "Ohayou, Dai-chan."

"Ohayou! Mommy, did you see what's going on outside?"

"Have you brushed your teeth and washed your face?"

"Um, not yet, but..."

The look on his mother's face shut him up. He went to collect a big bawl of water and did what he was asked.

"Your daddy is out in the fish market. Would you like to go fetch him?"

Daisuke spitted a mouthful of water into the bowl and grimaced. "Nooo. The fish market stinks so bad."

Mrs. Kudo smiled again. She was now cutting the carrots into neat little squares.

The boy dumped the dirty water outside the backdoor and came back to the kitchen. "Mommy, what are they doing out there? Is it the King?" He asked excitedly.

His mother laughed this time. "No, silly child. Why would the King ever want to visit a small town like this? It's only someone moving from out-of-town."

The boy was not convinced. "But there are so many people! And so many horses. I've never seen that many horses..."

"Oh, no, they're just some very, very wealthy people."

"Wealthy...?"

The older woman looked at her son sternly with a raised eyebrow. "You do remember what this word means, don't you, Dai-chan?"

Daisuke giggled nervously. "Of course, Mommy. Lots and lots of money, right?" His mother nodded and seemed satisfied. The boy mentally 'phew'ed.

"Here, eat your breakfast. And hurry; you're going to be late for school." Mrs. Kudo pushed her son gently toward a wooden table, upon which sat a tray with a bowl of steaming congee.

Daisuke picked up the spoon. "Do you know who those people are, Mommy?" He asked between gulps of the thick liquid.

"Mmm. Lord Tsuzuki from Kyoto. He is a very, very famous businessman." Daisuke did not recognize the name, but it didn't matter to him. He pressed on, "Where are they moving into?"

"The 'Akuma Place.'" Mrs. Kudo replied nonchalantly.

The little boy nearly choked on the liquid rice, his eyes widening. "Wh-what?! The 'Akuma Place'?!"

The 'Akuma Place' was a big establishment on the southern corner of their town, not very far from where the Kudo's lived, and as far as Daisuke knew, that place had been deserted, left to rot even before he was born. There used to be a family who resided in it, and of course back then the place wasn't called the 'Akuma Place', but some other florid name. It was said that one year during the late 1890's, the daughter of the wealthy landlord was infected with an unnamable diseases, and no doctors could cure her, not even the most renowned.
In a month the poor girl died; but the horror did not end. Soon the mistresses and some of the servants fell ill with same disease, too, and then the entire household sank into frenzy. When more were found dead, people began to flee the place-the servants, the maids, and chefs, everyone. Whoever left had all died at the end. Since then on one had dared to approach the place, much less enter it. Rumors began to spread that the place was haunted, and that unfortunate daughter who passed away first must have cursed it. People even said they saw
floating apparitions there and heard shrilling cries for help late at night. Daisuke had been told of this tale since he was little; and not even in his bravest moments did he dare to venture into that abandoned place.

"But, but...Mommy! The 'Akuma Place' is..." He shuddered.

Mrs. Kudo only nodded and shrugged. "You never know what the rich ones are thinking sometimes. I guess it's the only place here big enough to fit that many people, anyway."

"Ooh..." Daisuke's troubled eyes wandered out of the kitchen window and watched the procession trudge through the streets in great dignity.

***

Tsuzuki Ruka was trying to sleep. She had traveled with her family all the way from Kyoto to this little town in Kyoshu, with occasional rests and stops in between. And now, after all the hours she had spent in the horse carriage, she was sour all over, her head throbbing wildly. Finally she grudgingly opened her dark eyes; her attractive face screwed up in a frown. "Yamada-san?"

A round-faced woman in her late fifties drew up the curtain of the carriage window politely and poked in a head. "Yes, Ruka-sama?"

"Are we there yet?" The young girl asked.

"In twenty minutes, Ruka-sama. Please be patient."

"Okay, okay. Thank you." Ruka waved her away. She didn't fail to notice the quick, secretive glance Yamada threw at the curled up figure beside her as the elder woman withdrew.

Ruka stuck her tongue out once she was sure Yamada could not see her. She was Ruka's new maid, but the girl didn't like her. She thought about that little jumpy glance. No, she did /not/ like Yamada. Not at all.

Reaching out with a slender arm, she drew the huddled figure into her arms in a protective embrace. The figure continued to snore softly, like a tiny kitten taking its nap after a bowl of sugared milk. Ruka looked at her brother, who slept peacefully in her lap, and smiled wistfully. "Why can I not be asleep as blissfully as Asato-chan?"

She held him closer to her, and ignored the constant bumping of the car as it moved along the road. Asato looked so innocent and angelic when he slept. With a slender finger, she touched her younger brother's face, perfectly sculptured, and the alabaster skin, smooth as the finest silk. She let her thumb brush past the dark, fine sweeps of eyebrows, and then lightly the flawless eyelids. Asato has such thick and long eyelashes, Ruka marveled. And his eyes are most extraordinary. Pretty, pretty eyes... She smiled, almost in a motherly fashion, and brushed some wayward strands of velvety dark hair away from his forehead, tugging them gently behind his ears. Her finger then fell to his soft pink mouth. Feeling a bit mischievous, she pressed ever so slightly into the full lower lip. It earned her a little squirm and a tiny moan, barely detectable.

"Mnh..."

Ruka giggled. She leaned down and planted a featherweight kiss on her brother's soft hair, and held him even tighter. Asato was so very beautiful. Such an untainted soul. So perfect an angel.

Her perfect little angel.

"Oh, Asato-chan, I will never let anyone hurt you." She gazed lovingly at him, her midnight eyes fathomless. "I promise."

~End Prologue~

To be continued.
Liked it? Hated it?
Comments will be greatly appreciated!! ^_^x

love,
himu

"You get out from the shell!"
--L'Arc~en~Ciel