A TALE OF OSTENTATIOUSLY DISTURBING LOVE: EIN x CRYSTAL

It was a young maiden, if I do recall correctly, which I do believe that I do. Her hair was of a blonde - almost white - hue; it was tied up into a small bun through the usage of a deep blue string that gently intertwined with her hair. Her bangs were left free and untouched, silently flowing in the breeze of the fresh wind as her petit figure innocently skipped down the cobblestone road.

The girl quietly hummed a joyous tune as she allowed her eyes to gaze upon the beauty that had surrounded her. The great green trees with their thick, majestic trunks - holding the entire tree together through one main support system. The graceful wind soaring throughout the skies, gently whispering of lovely tales. Everything around the maiden simply wowed her with astonishing beauty.

The grandeur of the beautiful woods was left nearly unmatched in the child's eyes as she ventured throughout the town. Nothing had ever seemed so beautiful - so mind-bogglingly fantastic - until she set her eyes upon a lone man who appeared to be pondering the beauty around him as well. He sat alone on a cold, oak bench which lay upon the highest hill within the forest. The slight glimpse of the man that the girl was able to catch was even enough to cause her to trek to the top of the hill, where she gently crept up behind the gentleman and feasted her eyes upon what seemed to be the man of her dream's dream.

She blinked. She gazed, yet the man remained unaware of her presence, for his blank, cold eyes were fixated upon the lone, dead squirrel that lay within the palm of his gloved hand. A curious, yet eerily dark grin malformed its way upon the man's face as he gently began to fiddle with its flesh. Befuddled by the man's actions, the young maiden remained silent and observed from a not-so-distant location. As soon as he removed a small scalpel from his garb's left pocket, the girl had realized: this man was a man. A man of science.

A precise cut was made in the small forest critter's furry flesh.

The man was a rather odd, peculiar looking man, with his blank, gray eyes and his sporadic arrangement of piercings across both ears. His hair was wild and white in color; it took on the shape of a shape that any human being would only be lucky to witness in his/her lifetime in the form of a hairstyle. Such precise spikes of hair swept backwards into midair, only hardly propped up by the scalp itself. Was it some special gel? Was it magical power? The girl didn't know, but she was amazed.

He fiddled with the creature's internal organs, gently poking around at its still-beating heart.

The girl's innocent amazement suddenly turned dark; her bright eyes lost their shine, and her breathing ceased. The pain that the poor critter was enduring, the shrieking, the hopeless whimpers of freedom that escape from the squirrel's bloodied mouth. "You're insane." The girl stated bluntly as she peeked over the man's shoulder and further examined the specimen.

"A man must take small, precise steps if he wishes to overthrow the gods." He responded in an achromatic, boring tone.

"Squirrels aren't gods."

"Neither were the ten-thousands of men I slew in order to branch out my research, little girl."

"I'll be blunt with you." The girl's sadistic smile turned upside down, and she stated, "I have no age. I'm not a little girl; if anything, you should be bowing down to me, the future heir of the throne of Hades."

The girl's fiery warm breath suddenly crept in around the man's neck, sending a nearly nonexistent shiver down his spine, yet, this shiver wasn't a fearful shiver. No. "Future heir of the throne of all gods and goddesses. That is what I am."

"Crystal Suo."

"Ein.

"Do I not deserve to hear your last name, Ein?" Crystal placed emphasis upon the man's name as she groaned threateningly into the alchemist's ear.

"Lesser demons don't deserve to hear my name, period. You are an exception."

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