Lizzie x Kuro
“Hello, Miss Lightning,” a taunting, malicious voice calls out of the mist around me, and immediately I know who’s talking: Kuro, evil incarnate in a living body, who has been soley responsible for almost all disaster and strife in human history for the last eight and a half millenia. In fact, the word Kuro even means evil or darkness in Japanese; he’s very appropriately named. My suspicions are confirmed when Kuro walks out of the mist next to me, an evil smile on his face as he regards me with amusement. Though he is about eight and half thousand years old, he looks like he’s twenty-five at best, with an incredibly handsome face, light brown skin and dark features that mirror his personality. Kuro also happens to be Kodiak and Nymeria’s father, and they hate him as much as I do. Of course, he gives everyone reason to hate him; he’s been feared and loathed by people and civilizations for the entirety of his existence.
“What are you doing here, Kuro?” I snarl at him, my hands balling into fists. He shouldn’t be able to get into this dimension, if I can’t get out of it without the help of El Nieve technology. Generally I can open up gateways in the air to anywhere, even to different dimensions, but El Nieve has created a machine that prevents my gateways from forming if I try to open them. And trust me, I most certainly have tried.
“Evil exists in every dimension,” he answers with a shrug, his midnight-brown eyes locked on mine as he continues to smile demonically. “Therefore I exist in every dimension.”
“Well, get out. I don’t want you here,” I shoot back, gesturing to the mists behind him and away from me.
“But Lizzie, I am only here to help, and provide you with other options and solutions to the... predicament you have gotten yourself in.” He flashes me his most winning smile, showing all of his perfectly straight, white teeth, but I don’t fall for it. Kuro never helps anyone; he only ever makes an appearance in the mortal world when he senses an opportunity to amuse himself by creating chaos. He is a huge fan of pointless destruction and bloodshed, and likes to start wars just for the purpose of watching humans destroy each other.
“You never want to help anyone, Kuro, so why are you actually here?” I ask him sharply, keeping my voice as cold and dangerous as I possibly can.
“Alright, you caught me,” he says, holding up his hands with a dashing, malicious grin. “I’m not here to help you; I’m here to persuade you.”
“Kuro, you know that you’ll never persuade me of anything, so why on earth are you even trying?” I fold my hands across my chest and stare at him flatly, wishing he would just leave me alone.
“Because I can persuade you, Miss Lighting; I would not have come here if I didn’t think I could.” He gives me another smile, this one pleased, and I feel my heart sink. Kuro can read your heart, mind and soul like an open book with one glance – unfortunately, though I have tried many methods, there is no way to keep him out – so, if he saw something in me, that thing undoubtedly exists. After a moment of silence, he continues, his grin fading, “You know, Miss Lighting, I don’t understand why you live like you do. You could run four laps around a track in less than a second, and could run a point-zero-five hundred meter dash if you wanted to, and yet you choose to limit yourself to only a little above average. You have the power to make everyone on the planet completely obedient to you without even lifting a finger, and yet you choose to amuse those mortals by running fast and singing. You could be and do anything you wanted, and yet you choose to live in the form of a human and act like a human too. You are one of the most powerful beings to have ever lived, yet you choose to remain at the mortals’ level, and that fascinates me, Lizzie. Why do you limit yourself to being human, when you are so much more, so much better? Why do you force yourself to live around and put up with the imbecile humans, when you could – very easily, in fact – be ruling them all? Why do you insist on pretending you are normal, when in fact you are the most extraordinary thing this universe has ever seen?” His dark eyes, burning with passion and true curiosity, stare into mine, and I force myself to resist the urge of backing away under his incredibly intense gaze.
“Because I will not be the monster you are, Kuro,” I reply, staring him down and resisting the urge to lunge out at him when a small smile appears on his face.
“Lizzie, it’s not about being a monster; it’s about embracing what you are. Everything it takes to become me is already inside of you; you just need to realize that and let it take you.” I look at him warily in silence for a few moments, not knowing how to reply to his statement, which I know is true. However, I don’t get a chance to reply, because Kuro continues, “I don’t understand why you insist on acting like you’re normal and making yourself blend in with those idiot humans. You have the power to rule them, and create the perfect world I know you long for, so why do you not take it? Why do you not accept that you are extraordinary and conquer the weaklings, and take your natural place as rule of the humans? If it is about being detected, why do you fear being discovered, when you have the power to conquer or destroy anyone who finds out? It would be far easier for you to just take over the world than continue to put on this huge human charade.”
“Because I don’t want power or control or rule over anybody, Kuro, and I certainly don’t want to kill anyone else. I didn’t want to be born an immortal, and seventeen years of danger sure as hell hasn’t changed that opinion. All I want is to be normal, Kuro, so I will do my best to pretend and convince myself that I am.” After a moments’ hesitation, I add, my tone venomous, “Besides, why do you care so much about what I do?”
“Because I hate to see talents like yours go to waste,” he replies, his gaze locked on mine, and I feel the wave of his persuasion wash over me and forcibly try to change my mind. Steeling myself, I close my eyes and force him out of my head with all of my might to hear him cry out in surprise when I’m finally successful.
“Serves you right,” I mutter quietly, glaring at Kuro as he rubs his forehead. Suddenly another question occurs to me, and I ask him, “If you want an immortal to rule the world so much, why don’t you take over and do it yourself?”
“Too much work,” he replies. “Besides, there wouldn’t be nearly enough chaos in the world to suit my liking if I ruled all of it, because there wouldn’t be any leaders scrabbling for control and causing civil wars. All I’m after is chaos and panic, so I why would I destroy the perfect environment the humans have created for me?” His smile returns, and his dark eyes shine with malice once again. “And before you ask why I like chaos and panic so much, Lizzie-” – he gives me a smirk that makes me want to strangle him with my bare hands – “-let me remind you that it is in fact my job as evil incarnate to balance out the good in the world and create chaos and panic. The fact that I like my job is nothing but a bonus.” He grins again, flashing all of his white teeth, and I shake my head at him. He’s so sick and twisted that I wonder how he could have ever found anyone willing to have children with him. I think he must have brainwashed Kodiak’s and Nymeria’s mother.
“You’re a psychopath,” I mutter, still shaking my head at him as I watch him intently. I wouldn’t put it past him to try to take over my mind again, and I have no intention of letting him in this time either.
“Technically I am a sociopath and a narcissist, not a psychopath,” he corrects. “I am not suffering from any delusions or false realities, which means I am not a psychopath. I merely have lost the ability to feel remorse.”
He shrugs, and I can’t help but say under my breath, “I think you’ve lost a lot more than that.”
Kuro bursts out laughing, and, when he’s finally calm enough to be coherent, “Yes, I think I have Lizzie.” After a few seconds of silence, his face loses its amused expression and he tells me, “You know, denying what you are does not change anything. It only wastes your skills.” He pauses for a moment, then adds, “I will come back for you when you are brave enough to admit to yourself your true power.” He turns and walks away to be swallowed by the mist, and I stand there staring after him, wondering how on earth Kodiak and Nymeria are as normal - by immortal standards - as they are with him as a father.
An excerpt out of the book I'm writing; I think Lizzie and Kuro make quite an interesting pair.
