12 Chapter Ten

It'll be my third birthday tomorrow and the way my aunt talks it's a big deal in the Silvers family. She excitedly went on and on about how it's the age when I'll get my marks. Ones like theirs. I still don't know what they do and every time I've asked she just smiled and said you'll see. The curiosity was killing me.

The exciting part though was Aunt Ash had her baby. A daughter they named Ismena. For the first few weeks Uncle kept scolding me for calling her my little sister but he gave that up quickly when I wouldn't quit. To me, she is my little sister and I love her as such. I always carried her around, read her baby books, and she loves Omen's tail.

In my first life I was a big sister and even now I miss my siblings. It makes my heart ache whenever I think about them. Are they okay? Do they miss me as much as I miss them?

'You're getting too far into your own head again.' Omen's voice broke through my thoughts. 'That train of thoughts only leads you down a rabbit hole you'll never escape.' I knew he was right but my heart still ached with the unknown.

I sat in my sister's room, mindlessly playing with her short chocolate brown hair on her little head. Looking down at her sleeping face I could definitely see her mother in her. Same nose and lips. I'm pretty sure she's going to have the same sapphire blue eyes that her mother has but even as a baby I could tell she inherited her dad's tan skin unlike me. I seem to have inherited my mother's peachy complexion according to Ashling.

Omen was curled next to us, his nose pressed against my leg. His fur was stuck to my dark blue leggings but thankfully you couldn't see it on my white t-shirt or white slip-ons. My aunt had pulled my hair into a ponytail but some of my very pink strawberry blonde hair just kept falling out and framing the sides of my face.

I was still mindlessly playing with her hair as my aunt came in the room, a big smile on her face. "Look at my girls." She cooed with her arms loosely crossed across her chest as she stood in the doorway.

"Is her nap time almost over?" I asked, unsure of the time.

"Almost," She slightly nodded her head. "Another five minutes." I nodded and looked back to Ismena's sleeping face. "Your Aunt Phil wants you to go with her to run a few errands. Would you like to?" Aunt Ash asked. I stood up, Ismena's face crinkling in protest.

"Yeah, that sounds fun. Can Omen come or?" I asked but Omen huffed in protest. "Just me then." I rolled my eyes at the lazy wolf as my aunt chuckled. I followed her out of the room and out to the front door where my Aunt Philomena was already waiting, broom in hand.

"There's my girl! Let's get going!" She said excitedly. Her bubbly energy always puts me in a good mood.

"What're we doing today?" I asked curiously, smiling big as we walked into the courtyard.

"I've got a few errands to run in District Nine." She said, her statement giving me pause. I hadn't been there yet. She'd taken me to the Magic Quarter a few times, even the Shadow Quarter and King's Cross Landing. But not South Blackpool. They had told me I wasn't to go there by myself ever. But, I guess I'm not by myself if she's taking me.

My Aunt Phil flies a lot faster than my Aunt Ash, albeit a bit reckless too but, I think that's her just showing off. It only took a few minutes to get to District 9 and it still looks just as dreary. For a magical city this district just never screamed magic to me. But, this isn't a fantasy kids novel. It's a real fucking world. And a crazy one from what Omen has told me and from what I've overheard my family speak of.

During the day though this place looks almost deserted. But, criminals are like vampires. They only come out at night. 'You know that's not how vampires work, right?' Omen's voice chimed in out of nowhere, startling me.

'Thought you were napping?' I deadpanned.

'I was, but your thoughts invaded my mind and I couldn't fight the urge to correct you.' The cocky shit started. 'The sunlight only weakens them slightly. Other than that it's just a nuisance to them.' He explained, my lips pulling into a thin line as my contempt built.

'Go back to sleep.' I huffed, leaning back against my aunt as she finally found the building she needed to stop at.

"What's with that expression?" Aunt Phil asked.

"Oh, just this part of the city looks boring…" I lied. Omen had warned me to keep secret that we can communicate so far away. Apparently others can't communicate with their familiars outside of a certain radius, even with a tight bond. Omen said we're unique because of what he is.

"Don't judge a book by it's cover. This district is one of the liveliest in the city. Shit flies off the handle quick." She chuckled then slapped her hand over her mouth. "Whoops, I've gotta watch my language around you little one." She patted my head as we started walking down the cracked stone walkways, weeds growing where they can.

"Where are we going, Auntie?" I asked, holding her hand in mine.

"To an old friend's place." She said and I finally noticed the long, narrow box that was wrapped in purple fabric strapped to her back.

"To drop that off?" I asked, pointing at the box with my free hand.

"Yep," She nodded with a smile. "We were commissioned to make it and I'm delivering it." She said and I made an 'Oh,' face.

"Do you make all the deliveries?" I asked curiously but she shook her head.

"Only most of the ones in the city depending on the quantity. Deliveries outside the city are the ones your father and his crew take care of." She smiled proudly. I sucked in a breath. That's actually the first time in two and a half years since someone has openly talked about him around me. Even when I've asked they avoid the subject. I didn't get it, if all he does is deliver commissioned weapons and such, why the secrecy? Was it to spare my feelings or is there more to it?

The shop, well, more like a shop slash apartment building that we stopped at was a bit worn for weather. Cracked, pale stone walls with windows that have definitely seen better days. The sign which probably used to be a vibrant navy blue is now a very faded navy color. The sign itself simply read General Shop. 'Weird. In a magical world what constitutes a general shop?' I raised a brow.

"Who owns this place?" I asked looking from the store to my aunt, her orange hair blowing gently in the wind.

"An old friend of mine. His name is Kisuke, he's an oddball." She chuckled, a small smile on her face as she looked down at me. After awhile of 'training' I finally managed to control my reactions to this kind of information and I simply made the 'O' face instead of the 'Holy shit it's another famous anime character' face I used to make.

She knocked on the door of the shop and waited a few moments. I could hear some shuffling and then suddenly the door 'whooshed' open. A disheveled looking Kisuke looked between the two of us. He looked like he'd just woken up, even his hat was lopsided on his head along with dark bags under his eyes. "Do you know how early it is?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"It's one in the afternoon, sir." I said respectfully, my aunt choked down her laugh. He looked down at me, to the sky, then back to me.

"That's early for me kid." He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and I rolled my eyes at him. "What's up Phil?" He asked, leaning against the store's door frame. She brought around the box and his eyes lit up instantly. "Ooh, it's done already." He said excitedly and gingerly grabbed the box from her.

"Yep," She said, grabbing the box back. "Payment first, Kisuke." She said shrewdly. I heard kids' voices and peeked around the corner of the store. There was a group of kids running down the alleyway, I couldn't tell who they were from here. My aunt tapped on my shoulder and I looked back to her. "Go play, but don't go far." She said with a smile.

I ran off excitedly towards the kids, yelling hi and waving my arms like a madwoman. The kids ahead of me paused in their running, all heads turning to me.

"Hi!" A boy with raven hair and freckles smiled at me. "I'm Ace! What's your name?"

'Oh good lord, it's Ace!' My eyes widened but I thankfully kept my smile from faltering to my 'holy shit' face. "I'm Bo." I said finally, holding my hands tightly behind my back. Looking from Ace's goofy smiling face to the kids behind him. My eyes landed on a familiar red haired boy with amber eyes that rival my own with an impassive look on his face. I couldn't exactly place who he was but something was so familiar about him.

I looked at the third boy that looked a little bit older than the two of them just by him being slightly taller than the rest of us. He looked as though he had just woken from a rough nap. He brushed his hand through his messy black hair, looking down on me with grey eyes. They both looked familiar but I just couldn't place them. "You are?" I gestured to the two of them.

"I'm Yami Sukehiro and that's Mikoto Suoh." The taller black haired male said, the red head just nodding slightly. I had to keep myself from stumbling back. Meeting not just Ace, but two more major players from other mangas in the same place? I looked between the three of them, these three giants meeting me like this. In my old life I couldn't in my wildest dreams think I'd meet them, any of them, like this.

"It's nice to meet you guys" I said excitedly, meaning what I said and then some. "Mind if I play with you?" I asked, really hoping they would let me play with them. The boys looked between one another for a few seconds, Mikoto shrugging and Ace and Yami sharing a look.

"Sorry, but we don't play with girls!" Ace yelled and then they started running off. I furrowed my brows, actually a bit hurt by their words.

"Jerks!" I yelled and ran after them. I followed them down the alleyways, them periodically checking to see if I was keeping up. Surprisingly though, I was keeping up. And that seemed to surprise them, too. I followed them through an alleyway that opened into a small dirt area with a large tree in the center of these run down buildings. I halted as I reached the dried soil and stared up at the tree.

The many times I'd flown over this district with my family and I'd never noticed this small bit of nature. The sunlight streaming through the leaves, its rays pooling on the ground and piercing the shadow the tree creates. I noticed a makeshift tree house peeking through the leaves, mostly made of busted up wood slats and metal sheeting.

Before I realized the boys had already disappeared up into the tree, leaving me in the dust. I ran up to the tree and looked up towards their tree house, if you'd even call it that. They peeked down at me and Ace stuck his tongue out at me making me scowl at him. "That's rude! I just wanted to play!" I stomped my feet and puffed my cheeks.

"And I said we don't play with girls!" Ace shouted down at me.

"So what, I'm a girl? I can get just as dirty as you guys!" I yelled and started to climb the tree. Well, tried to. I couldn't get a hold of anything and kept sliding back down the tree. My dark blue leggings and pale blue shirt getting dirt and sap all over them. I could hear them snickering above me frustrating me further. I huffed and started looking around the tree trying to find any footholds and at the back of the tree there were a few knots in the tree's trunk.

I smirked and grabbed the footholds and started climbing. I got almost to the ledge of their treehouse when my foot started to slip. "Oh sh-" I clawed at the bark, trying to grab a hold of anything to keep myself from falling. I closed my eyes as I fell backwards, preparing myself for the impact. But instead, I felt someone grab my wrists.

I opened my eyes and was surprised to see Ace grabbing my wrists while the other boys held onto his ankles to keep him from falling too. "You idiot!" Yami yelled from above us. They pulled Ace and I up and into the treehouse, huffing out of breath.

"Uh, thanks." I said, blushing in embarrassment.

"Have you ever even climbed a tree before?" Yami asked. My cheeks burned, I couldn't tell them I had in my past life.

"No…" I looked away from them, my ears burning red. He punched me in the arm and I looked back at him in shock. "What was that for?" I growled.

"What idiot climbs a tree when they've never climbed before?" He growled back, getting in my face.

"How else am I supposed to learn?" I asked, standing my ground. We stared one each other down, neither of us back down.

"She's got a point." Mikoto cut in. I looked over and he was rubbing the back of his neck and looking in another direction. Impassive as ever.

"Thank you." I smiled at him.

"But," He cut in. "He's right too. You should've been more careful." I sighed heavily.

"Fine, you win." I looked back to Yami and he gave me a triumphant look. "This time." I smirked as his face dropped for a second. I giggled at his reaction and Ace started laughing with me. After that icebreaker we started playing for hours.

The sun was getting low but it wasn't quite evening just yet when I heard my aunt calling my name. I ran back up the alleyway towards where Urahara's shop was and peeked my head around the corner. "There you are." She huffed and walked towards me. I heard the boys running up behind me and my aunt looked between them and me. "Did you have fun?" She asked, smiling brightly at the four of us.

"Yeah, can we come back tomorrow?" I asked, giving her my best puppy dog eyes. She sighed with a small smile but shook her head.

"Not tomorrow, it's your birthday sweetheart." I frowned, a little heart broken by that. "But," She started and I perked up instantly. "The day after I'll bring you out here to play with them."

"Yay!" The boys and I cheered together as my aunt chuckled at our antics.

"Now, time to go Bo Bo." She held her hand out for me to grab. I grabbed it but before I walked away with her I turned to them.

"I'll see you guys then. Don't forget about me." I chuckled, a goofy smile on my face. Yami rolled his eyes, Ace just chuckled at me and Mikoto just kept a small smile on his face.

"Like we could forget you." Mikoto said lowly but before I could ask what he meant my aunt tugged me along to get going. I waved them one last goodbye before my aunt took us up on her broom and started flying high above the district.

From up here the city looked breathtaking in the dying light of sunset. The city is painted in hues of orange and pink. The sea sparkling in the background like billions of stars in the night sky. 'This really is a magical place.' I thought as I took in the view. We got home rather quickly and I walked into my home with Aunt Phil right behind me.

"Jeez, where have you two been?" My Aunt Ash asked as she came around the corner with Ismena in her arms.

"I made some friends!" I smiled happily, making my aunts chuckle at me.

"Well, good. Now go take a bath, it's dinner time." Aunt Ash said, patting me on the head. "How'd the delivery go?" She turned to Philomena. I tuned their conversation out and headed to the bathroom between Ismena's room and mine.

'Omen.' I called him.

'Isabo.' He snarked back. I rolled my eyes and got into the bath. I told him about the friends I made and how excited I was to see them again the day after tomorrow. After the bath and dinner I laid in my bed, Omen cuddled right next to me on my bed.

'I'm glad you're making more friends.' Omen said, nuzzling his snout into the crook of my neck.

'Me too,' I snuggled up to Omen's warm fur but kicked my other leg out of my blanket so I don't overheat. Before I knew it I had fallen into a deep sleep.

The next morning Aunt Ash had woken me up early and got me dressed in a pretty silver dress and had a big breakfast of all my favorite food, especially strawberry pancakes with cream, all ready in the dining room. She had made Omen a big breakfast of rice, fresh caught tuna and raw eggs. He, of course, went nuts for the food.

My grandmother came into the dining room, a big smile on her face. "There's the birthday girl." She cooed and picked me up in a big hug. "It's a big day for you, dear." She hugged me tighter.

"I get my markings today." I smiled up at her.

"That's right my dear." She rubbed her nose against mine in eskimo kisses making me giggle. "Now, let's get going. Ashling, dear," She looked to my aunt. "We'll see you in a few hours." She said, confusing me. She put me down and grabbed my hand for me to follow her.

"Auntie isn't coming?" I furrowed my brow. She shook her head no.

"She's got Ismema to take care of while we're gone." She said and I nodded.

"I'll see you later Auntie." I said and waved to her.

"See you later, Bo Bo." She waved with one hand while petting Omen with her other.

'I guess I'll see you later, Omen.' I sent the thought to him while my grandmother and I walked towards the clans temple, Omen trotting next to us. My anxiety started to kick in as we neared the doors. The shadow of the building even made me nervous.

'It's all right. You'll do great, Bo.' Omen assured me, nudging my hand with his nose. I took a deep steadying breath as she opened the doors and I walked in. I sucked in a breath when I saw who was standing in the center of the room, hands in his pockets.

"Dad?" I whispered, blinking a few times to make sure I wasn't imagining it. I let go of my grandmother's hand and ran at him. He knelt down to catch me in a hug but instead of hugging him I punched him in the gut and sent him sliding backwards on his ass. "About time!" I yelled, my fists balled at my sides. He grunted, sitting back up with a look of bewilderment.

"You hit like your mother," My father half chuckled, half grunted out. His compliment caught me a bit off guard but I fought to keep my face angry. "I deserved that." He said, smiling sadly at me.

"Yes, you did." I said, trying to hold back tears. But once the first tear broke free, the rest followed in streams down my cheeks. I whimpered as I ran towards him and jumped into his arms. He pulled me tightly to his chest, like he didn't want to let go.

"I've missed you." He whispered, clinging to me.

"Then why'd you leave?" I asked between sobs. He looked down, sorrow flashing in his eyes.

"It's not that simple." He started but I cut him off with a glare. "There's no good excuse." He said, pressing his forehead to mine. "Happy birthday, my Bo Bo." He pulled a small silver box from behind his back and handed it to me. I slowly opened it and my eyes widened.

In the box was an intricate black silver pendant of our family crest on a thin silver chain. "It's beautiful." I whispered, my fingers tracing the small charm.

"When a child in the Silvers family reaches the age of three and receives their marks, they're always wearing a pendant of our family's crest given to them by their parents." My father said as he grabbed the necklace to put it on me. "This is the one I'm giving you." He put the necklace on me, the pendant cold against my skin. I looked back up to him, his eyes so full of emotion.

"Thank you, daddy." I said, a small smile on my lips. Surprise flashed across his face, his eyes flashing with guilt for a moment. We stood up together and he grabbed my hand to hold it.

"You ready?" He asked as he looked down at me. I took a deep breath and nodded once.

"Let's go." He squeezed my hand once and looked over me towards his mother and nodded to her. She came around us and stood in the center of the room. It confused me when instead of taking the stairs that ascended the pagoda and knelt down. She placed her hand flat on the floor, I heard her whisper something but I couldn't hear it. White swirls and runes seemed to come to life across the floor starting from the center of the room.

The sounds of stone shifting under us made me furrow my brow in confusion. I sucked in a breath when the floor before my grandmother opened up into a set of stairs going down. I shot a look at my father but he simply smiled down at me. My grandmother turned towards us and gestured for us to follow her.

Walking down the steps I expected things to get dark, cold and damp, but it was actually getting warmer and the walls had clusters of quartz lining down the walls that gave off a soft light. Omen stuck close to me, the only sound being made was our footsteps down the stairs.

It felt like we had been walking down these steps for quite a while until we came to a large grey metal door with similar swirls and runes as those on the floor above us. My grandmother put her hand on the doors and pushed them open, my eyes widening at the room before us. I spun on my heel, taking it all in.

The room was in the shape of a hexagon and the ceiling seemed to go on forever, the grey stone walls lined in what almost looked like crypts but instead of names on them it was runes, the same ones some of the members of the clan had on them. Each set of runes glowing the colors that the markings on their bodies. Braziers in each corner of the room as my eyes followed the white and black runes etched into the floor and meeting in the center forming a circle surrounding another circle.

Anxiety rooted me as I stared at the circle. Not even hearing my grandmother speak or even seeing the rest of my family in the room as well. I couldn't take my eyes off the circle. 'What if I don't get any markings? I'm not from this world, what if-'

'Stop.' Omen's voice broke through my train of thought. 'You belong here. We belong here.' He assured me.

'But-'

'No buts.' He cut me off. 'Trust that you wouldn't be here if you weren't supposed to be.' I looked down at him, my eyes meeting his.

"Will you be with me the entire time?" I asked aloud and Omen nodded his head once. I smiled at him then looked at my grandmother. "What do I need to do?" I asked as she looked between Omen and I.

"Just step into the circle, dear. The runes will choose." She said cryptically. I took a steadying breath then walked forward, Omen staying right next to me. As I entered the circle and turned back towards my father and grandmother, Omen sat down just outside the circle and kept his eyes on me.

After a few moments of nothing happening I looked over to my grandmother's worried face then to my father's confused one. Just as they started to whisper among each other I heard a humming noise. I furrowed my brow and looked for where the sound was coming from. I looked above me and gasped. From the very top of the room I could just barely see lights pouring down.

The first light to reach me glowed an ice blue color and almost looked like a snowflake, it swirled around me. It landed on my right cheek and as it settled an icy feeling flowed through my veins for a split second just as the second fire red light reached me. It danced around me like a flame and it settled just at the top of the left part of my chest just under my collar bone, sending warmth coursing through me.

The third light matched the color of my eyes, amber gold light swirled around me slowly then finally swirled around my left thigh and settled there. A feeling of....protection filled me. The fourth light glowed a soft grey and whipped around me making my hair fly around my face until I felt it settle on my shoulder blades, a feeling of being light and free made me giggle. A fifth light, glowing a deep magenta bounced around me, making me spin to watch it. It settled around my right hip, a mischievous part of me jumping for joy.

A cerulean blue light crashed down around me like a wave, spinning around me until it wove itself around my left ankle. The smell of the sea filling my lungs as it settled. A sky blue and white yellow set of lights raced towards me, spinning around me in opposite directions until the white yellow light crashed into my chest. I braced for a pain that never came as I watched the white yellow light glow through my dress and settle just below my chest across my ribs. The sky blue light spun all the way down my left arm and wove itself around my left wrist like a bracelet.

I couldn't quite put my finger on the feelings that those two brought. As I tried to think on it my focus shifted to a dark green light slowly falling towards me like a petal falling from a flower. I reached out for it with my right hand and it lazily wove around my arm until it settled around the upper part of my arm, a feeling of connection and healing filling my being like I'd been missing it and never knew it. I looked back up to catch a purple light flowing down the walls almost like smoke. It washed over, wrapping me like a blanket and just as quick it wrapped itself around my right calve. An almost suffocating feeling came over me, sweat gathering at the nape of my neck as I tried to breathe.

I was starting to get spots in the edges of my vision as I tried to focus on the light yellow-green light that zipped around me, moving like lightning itself. I put my right out, trying to grab anything to steady myself when the light smacked into my hand. A jolt slammed through my body like I'd just shoved a fork into an electrical socket. I tried to breathe, my vision growing darker by the second.

I tried reaching out for something, anything. Anybody. I closed my eyes, expecting to crash into the floor but instead I fell forward into something soft. I couldn't tell who or what it was and I couldn't open my eyes to find out. I could just barely hear their voices. They sounded so far away until I couldn't hear them at all and I was surrounded by darkness.

3rd Person Point of View,

Elsewhere.

"When the first one is reborn,

Golden eyes will collide.

It shall be then,

A choice will be made.

The day will be won,

But the war will be lost." A child's voice spoke. His eyes glowing a crimson color in the darkness of his room. He pulled the sheets of his blankets tighter to his chest, waiting for the vision to pass.

Relief flooded through him when it finally passed and his eyes returned to their normal color. "What was that?" He whispered to himself, draping his arm over his now sore eyes. He laid back down, the prophecy repeating itself over and over in his head. He sighed heavily, now exhausted from the strain of his ability. "What does this mean for this era?" The question weighed heavily on his shoulders.