I wrote for my language arts class. :3 A bit of death, blood, and gore is in it. It's not extreme at all or anything like that, I don't think. Excuse any grammar/spelling/punctuation mistakes you may encounter. :3

~*~

A man with dark hair and cobalt eyes was walking down a lonely dirt path surrounded by trees and other vegetation. He stood at six feet and three inches and had tanned skin from constant travel. His white shirt was wrinkled, and his black pants had a few tears here and there. A double-handed sword was strapped to the left side of his waist. This man went by the name of Kain. As he walked, he noted that the trees were becoming less in number until he stood at the outskirts of a town with high stone walls surrounding it. He stepped back a bit to calculate how high the wall was and nodded to himself. It looked as if Kain was going to leave when he began to walk away. He stopped, however, about a hundred feet from the edge of the forest.

Stretching his arms and legs, Kain prepared himself to run and jump over the walls. Had he paid closer attention, he would have seen that there was a gate farther down the wall. As it was, he did not know about it, and he began to charge headlong towards the wall. As he reached it, he jumped up as high as he could and landed at the top of the wall. He was panting lightly, and he sat on top of the wall as he regained his breath. Without bothering to look below first, Kain slid off the wall and nearly landed on top of an old woman. She gave a shrill shriek when he dropped down close to her all of the sudden. The young man ran from her as she yelled wild curses and tried to beat him with her frail hands.

Kain sighed with relief when he was far away from the hag. His cobalt eyes scanned the surroundings warily. He spotted a large sign at the middle of a courtyard and he went to go read it. 'So', he thought, 'I’m in a town called Boudica. Wasn’t there a Celtic queen who went by that name a long time ago?' He shrugged and began to look for the bar. He didn’t attempt to ask for directions from the townsfolk because they scattered as soon as they saw him. It must be my sword that they’re skittish about. He stopped abruptly and his eyes shot upwards to a filthy apartment window where two small figures were watching him. He gave a smirk, and the two ducked from sight.

There was a two-story bar located near the apartment. It was right in between two stores. A sign above the building labeled it as the “Lynerus Bar and Inn.” Kain gave it a quick glance before entering. The atmosphere was suffocating and it took him a few minutes to catch his breath. The smell of smoke and alcohol mixed together and the sounds of music and boisterous laughter resonated throughout the bar. Kain ignored the catcalls from the drunken men and women as he strode straight for the bar counter. He was determined to speak with the bartender.

The bartender was a taller and thicker man with a bald head that glinted from the different lights in the bar. He wore a vest with a variety of badges sewed onto it and black formal pants and shoes. He stared at Kain with sharp olive eyes as he asked, “What can I get you, stranger?”

Kain leaned on the counter and gave a casual shrug. “Oh nothing much. I was just curious if you had any information of a man who goes by the name of Leroy Alexandrio?”

The man suddenly became suspicious. “Why would you want information on him?”

Kain gave him an eerie smile. “I’m just curious. That’s all.” His hand strayed to the hilt of his sword. “Surely a poor traveler such as myself can ask for information?”

“Why certainly!” The bartender replied as he flushed slightly. He didn’t seem to notice that Kain’s hand was on the hilt of his sword. “What kind of information are you searching for?”

Kain took a seat and placed his hands on the counter. “I want to know where he’s living and how to find him.”

“Well,” the bartender picked up a glass and began to wipe it, “Leroy is a pretty lonesome fellow. He’s also pretty big… especially around the waist. He doesn’t get around much from what I’ve heard. Anyways, I think he-”

“I-it’s you!” A scream erupted from the left which interrupted the bartender. The next thing that was heard were glasses breaking and furniture falling and smashing. A loud shout exploded from some of the veterans as they began to start a brawl.

The bartender gave a gruff moan. “You’d better get out of here before they start throwing the chairs.”

The young man nodded and quickly left. He spotted a large figure dodge into the alley besides the bar. A grimace settled onto his face as he followed the shadow. He quietly snuck up the figure and whacked him across the back of the head. The figure fell to the ground with a pained cry. “You’re a coward.” Kain stated simply as he stared down at a rather round man. The other man’s eyes seemed tiny in comparison to his fat cheeks and thick neck. “It seems as if you’ve gained quite a bit of weight as well.” Kain leered at the man. “It’s been a while hasn’t it, Leroy?”

“G-get away from me!” Leroy screamed as he struggled to stand.

Kain’s eyes flashed as he placed his foot on Leroy’s chest. The other man tried to push Kain off but the younger man was much stronger. “Today is the day that you’ll pay for your crime of killing my parents.” Without even letting the fat man get a word in, Kain pulled his sword out of its scabbard and thrust it down. He didn’t care where it pierced the man. All that mattered to him was that Leroy was going to die, and Kain could finally return home.

The man laid there as he struggled for breath. The sword had stabbed deeply in the area just above his heart. After a few minutes of suffering, Leroy died from a massive amount of blood loss. His lifeless eyes were still open and staring off into space. His body was still warm and bruised where Kain had stepped on him.

Kain wanted to just walk away and go home but he knew he had to do something about the body. He considered his options and decided to just burn it. “No one will care what happens to this murderer. After making sure the coast was clear, Kain picked up the body and took it to a rundown shack near the walls of the city. He opened the door carelessly and threw the body in. Kain tilted his head as he wondered how to create the fire. Finally, he spotted a few flammable items which he took and placed on the corpse. “Now I actually have to make a spark of some sort…” He turned and went back out of the shack. He picked up two nearby rocks and went back in. “An old way to create fire but it will have to do.” He began to rub the rocks together over the body. He continued to do that until small sparks came and caught on the flammable material. Soon after that, a nice flame licked at the corpse with a harsh tongue. “Ugh.” Kain wrinkled his nose in disgust at the smell and left without a second thought.

Most people were still at the bar so the fire in the shack grew and grew without anyone seeing until it burned the grass and crept onto a house. During that time, Kain had jumped to the top of the walls that surrounded the city. He had finished what he had intended to do and was ready to return home. He didn’t see that the blaze had spread throughout the town. He was too busy imagining what he would say to his sister when he saw her. Kain suddenly heard wails coming from below and turned. He stared in horror as the massive fire burned. Men, women, and children alike were screaming and trying to open the gates. The gates however had been mysteriously sealed, and no one could get it open. He turned away and jumped down from the wall. “I had only meant to kill that murderer! Not-” He stopped abruptly when he saw a group of travelers staring at him in amazement and fear. Their gazes soon turned into shock as the smoke within the city rose in gray billowy clouds. For the first time in many years, Kain was afraid and he did the first thing that came to his mind. He ran. The only thought that ran through his mind was to get out of there and get back home as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the group of travelers tried to pry the doors but to no avail. One of them took one last look at Kain’s fleeing figure before turning to his friends. “There’s a killer on the loose. We have to warn everyone!” They all nodded in agreement and traveled to the next town to warn the people of the man who set a whole town ablaze.

~*~

There's the first part. I'll post the second part next.

Here's the second and final part. :]

~*~

A few months had passed since that incident, and Kain was finally home. The day was bright with a slight breeze. The clouds drifted slowly through the blue sky, and the plants swayed to and fro. Birds chirped cheerful songs while perched upon the tree branches. The serene setting contrasted greatly with what was happening at the moment.

There were two people standing in the middle of all this happiness. One of them was Kain while the other was a young woman. The woman had paler but cleaner skin than Kain. She was shorter than him by about five inches and had to look up to meet his eyes. Her clothes were newer than his but were slightly baggy on her slender frame. Her hair was chestnut brown and ended at the middle of her back. Her sapphire eyes were callous as she stared at the man. In her hand was a dagger that was currently buried deep in his side.

Kain gripped his younger sister’s shoulder. “S-Sora…” He coughed and a bit of blood flew out of his mouth and onto the woman’s face. He reached with his other hand to wipe it off.

Before he could, Sora slapped his hand away harshly. She allowed him to keep his hand on her shoulder however. Her cold voice sent chills down his spine. “Hello Kain. It’s been a while hasn’t it?”

Kain ignored the sting on his hand and stared into his sister’s eyes. He was searching for the younger sister he had left behind so many years ago. “Why? How could you do this to me?”

Sora’s head tilted slightly as she ignored his question. “I’ve heard about what you’ve done.”

“What did you hear? I did nothing wrong!” Kain shouted. He winced as the dagger cut deeper into his side from his jerky movement.

Sora’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Really now? Tell me what you’ve done with yourself then for these past few years.” Her brother went to move, but she wouldn’t allow it. She shot her free hand out and caught his arm in a tight grip. “No.” She hissed. “You will explain yourself right here, right now.”

The older sibling cursed mentally but agreed nonetheless. 'I owe an explanation to her anyways.' He thought. He could taste liquid metal on his tongue, and it made him want to wretch.

“Well?” Her tone was impatient now.

Kain swallowed and began. “Do you remember that day our parents died because of that man?”

“How could I forget? You disappeared without a trace only three days after that happened!” She spat angrily. Her knuckles were white from gripping the handle so tightly.

The man flinched at her harsh tone and the sharp pain that went through him. “I went to avenge their deaths, Sora.”

Sora’s eyes held much anguish. “If you went to avenge their deaths, then why did you have to kill those other innocent people? Wasn’t taking the life of that murderer enough for you?” A mask of indifference slipped onto her face.

Kain’s blood ran cold. His eyes widened and his voice was a hoarse whisper. “How do you know about that?”

“Are you so stupid to think that news of that sort wouldn’t spread?” She sneered. A frown settled on her face again. “An entire town of innocent people has been wiped out because of you!” She gave a forced laugh. “You said you were avenging our parents, but instead you did much worse than what that man did to us. How can you live with yourself?”

Kain’s eyes flashed with fury. “It was a mistake!” He lowered his head. “I set fire to a shack and before I knew it, the fire had spread throughout the entire village.” His eyes held unshed tears as the screams of the children came to him. Silence stretched between them as he thought, 'What else can I say? What is done is done. I can’t bring them back.'

Sora shook her head. “You are an idiot.” She looked into his eyes. “Why would you even do such a thing?”

Kain looked away silently. He didn’t have an answer to give her that she would accept.

Sora twisted the dagger, turned herself, and began to walk away. “You deserve to burn.” She whispered as she left her pained brother at that spot. “You should have let the past go. Goodbye Brother.”

Kain sank to his knees. Tears poured from his eyes like a flood. “In the end, all of those years were wasted for nothing after all.”

~*~

Yay! (Not really) That's it!

What do you think?