Two Halves

Prologue: The Fire Underneath the Midnight Moon

Fire…

The heat nipped at his everything. It was unbearable. The small boy tried his damnedest; he crawled through the blaze until he reached the outside. He clawed at the carpet, keeping on his belly. He held his breath for what seemed like forever. The terrible heat propelled him forward. He didn't know what happened to anybody else who was living with him. He tried his best to remember who they were to him. Brother, sister? Mother, and father? The little boy saw silhouettes; shapes writhing in the flames. Tortured screams escaped their burning bodies. He knew he should help. Do something! Anything!

Even then…a naturally ingrained instinct told him to go; screaming at him like the faceless shapes to live. Maybe, if he escaped, they'd be fine too. Yeah. Find an adult. A fireman would be able to help!

Throwing open the door, all he found was more hell. Houses burned. Streets were littered with bodies. Crisp and charred. Screams of the damned still echoed in the air. The night was illuminated crimson by the limitless sea of flames. The boy gasped for air, coughing vigorously. His body still screamed for him to run. Get away from the heat. The boy fell on his porch, unable to move anymore. His entire body was drained of energy simply from the escape. He knew it. This was the end. Somehow, it was comforting. The wide moon he stared up at. That fat, full yellow moon beamed that mocking smile down at him. Its contempt for weak humanity took shape in too bright green moonlight.

He knew he should hate it. Curse his fate. Struggle until he was dead purely to spit in its smug, fat face. He felt the opposite. He felt relief; it was okay to give up. His valiant struggle to survive drained him of all hate…everything. He couldn't spare anything because he was so tired. Not even a single drop of contempt for his stupid fate. There would be lot of stuff he couldn't do now. Acknowledgement, he accepted it gracefully. Last ounce of strength wasted, all Kuro could do was close his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXX

No more heat…

That's the first thing the little girl realized when she awoke slowly. The chill in the room might have been more of shock. Everything was a startling difference no night, or day. Simply white everywhere. No windows to tell her whether it was night, or day. Down to the bed sheets and furniture, everything was washed white. There were no visible light fixtures. The entire room seemed to glow eerie white. The girl shot up straight up in bed. Bright reddish orbs desperately cast around her any sign of something familiar. Nothing about the place struck any sense of home with her. No one stood in the room save for the tall white wearing man furiously wielding a pen against an offending clipboard.

The man looked up from his work. A thin smile wore against his slightly haggard five o' clock shadow. "Ah…" He noted joyfully, his pen and pad fell to his side in opposite hands. "You're awake, excellent. You're quite the heavy sleeper, little miss. You've been asleep for three days. It was quite troublesome to our observations. Even then, we managed to capture some useful-"

"Where am I? Where are my bros?" She cut him off him off. Her little head looked around, checking for any signs of familiarity. Nothing... There were no big brothers to defend her, and no headmistress to comfort her. She recalled how scary the blaze was. How big brothers tried their best to find his way through flames to find her. She sobbed, feeling the tears fall down her chubby cheeks. She was a girl of no more than six years old, but already suffered so much.

The man merely watched her cry, offering no sympathy to her. His cold expression was made more unsettling by the light sharply glinting off his spectacles. His scribbling against the paper seemed almost cruel in its intent.

"Are you done?" He asked coolly. She merely nodded obediently, feeling the tears sting her eyes. It was a more intense version of the headmistress' authoritative tone. Her brothers suffered more under it than she ever did. Usually she was the innocent one. What had she done wrong…?

"Good…" The man nodded in satisfaction, calmly smiling down on her. Something about his smile seemed extremely scary. The way the corners of his mouth twisted unsettled her. "You should know anything before this moment in time is irrelevant. This moment, little miss, is your new birth. Your genesis will progress our research by leaps, and bounds. You are the corner stone of our Strega program. Take pride in that!"

"Strega…" She repeated unsurely. The man's grin only expanded, pearly whites glinted like unsettling knives. None of made it anything clear. Everything about the man's passionate speech made no sense to her. What was there to be proud of? How did that help her at all?

"That is very much correct…" He said agreeably, making a profound gesture. "You are the answer we have always been seeking." He raised his hand like it held all the answers. She saw nothing there except for clipboard. What did he write down there?

The little girl had no words except. "but…"

The older man put a finger to her lips, shushing her entirely. "My name is Doctor Shuji Ikutsuki…" he introduced himself, adjusting his glasses with a simple poke. The fading glint revealed serious, but kind eyes. For a moment, she sensed herself calming down. "From now on, I am your caretaker. The only one you can trust. You have no one else other than me. Please cooperate with me from now on. I can assure you will be treated with care. You are a valuable specimen, unlike the others."

"Valuable…" She echoed lightly. Something about it gave her some reassurance. She gazed up at the man with big red eyes. Eyes just as large as a moon on a night alight by a kind full moon. The realization made the Doctor chuckle to himself. He genuinely laughed like a hyena.

"What's so funny, mister?" She asked curiously, blinking. Half cautious, half confused.

Doctor Ikutsuki shrugged carelessly; easy chuckles fell from the man's mouth. "It's nothing." He said airily. After a moment of thought, it became more than a joke. It was a profound revelation of heavy meaning. He continued with a strong sense of reverence. "I just make up stupid puns. It's my hobby. But this, I think it is most apt when it comes to you, little missus. How would you like to have a new name?"

She stared up at him, not quite getting why she'd need a new one. 'I already have one… It's…"

He shook his head slightly. That simple motion silenced the young girl. "Like I said before, this is your genesis. You are about to become a very important figure in the future of the world, Miss Runako Gekkou. It means moonlight child."

Runako frowned thoughtfully. "Moonlight child…" She said lightly. It was a pretty name. The way it sounded was better than her old one. "Yeah…" Runako decided, smiling a little. "I'm Runako Gekkou now."

"Good…" Doctor Ikutsuki offered his hand out to the girl. "Come here, my bit of moonshine." He coaxed her gently. Runako's small hand came into his. Ikutsuki smiled, and Runako smiled back. She stepped off the bed with careful guidance. They slowly came to the exit to the white room.

The door to the outside slowly opened up to a wider hall. No white. Only black halls lit by the green moonlight. That was her. Runko Gekkou was moonlight given form. Runako had to remind herself. The name became her mantra…

All because…she knew she couldn't go back. Runako faced her genesis. It scared her, but she had to. No other choice could be made.