New manga idea. Opinions?
Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:44 pm
A boy, no more than twelve years old at the time, lost his parents and younger sibling. He will never forget that day for as long as he lives, nor will he ever forgive those who caused it...
The story begins, however, ten years after this devestating tragedy. A young girl by the name of Aya, a third year in high school, could never have predicted the horrific events that were destined to occur that year, no more than anyone else could. It began late one night, around midnight to be exact. A song, one of which no one in the town was yet familiar, began to fill the streets. The classical-sounding music was soft at first; so much so, in fact, that it could easily have been assumed a figment of one's imagination. But soon, the haunting tune began to grow louder, and louder, and louder still. So loud the music became that one could almost miss the bloodcurdling scream. Almost.
The first killing was enough to put the entire town on edge. The second put nearly everyone in an omnipresent state of paranoia. The third terrified people to the point of not wanting to leave their houses at all; not wanting to allow any visitors. Then came the fourth, the fifth, the sixth...and the town was officially declared to be in a state of emergency. The song associated with all of these deaths eventually came to be referred to as the Mage's Song; the very mention of this deadly tune could stop a person's heart cold. But the man responsible, the Midnight Mage himself, could cause far worse.
Aya was no different than the other people of the town. If there was ever a dire need for her to leave the house, she did so with tremendous reluctance. And never, for any reason, did she leave the house after dark. That is, until one night when she recieved a call from her grandfather, informing her that her mother had been hospitalized. Her grandfather pleaded with her not to come to the hospital until the following morning, however, but Aya refused. Her mother had been quite sick for some time, and there was simply no telling if she'd even make it through the night.
Her love for her mother, her only remaining parent due to her father's death nearly three years previous, far outweighing her fear of the dreaded Mage, was what gave Aya the courage to leave her house that night. It wasn't until her progress was halted by a pair of officials that the recently set curfew, one of may steps that the town had decided to take in an attempt to protect its citizens, ocurred to her at all. Nothing she said, however, was enough to convince the two officials to step aside. Reduced to tears, but knowing full well that she was defeated and seeing no other choice, Aya began to return home...but again her progress was halted. This time by a man she didn't at once recognize.
The man asked her where she had been headed and she told him, though reluctantly and not without at least a little suspicion. What happened next nothing short of amazed Aya. When politely asking the two officials to stand down proved ineffective, this man, whom Aya had never met, stating that he had no other choice, knocked both men unconcious with a single blow. Indeed, it almost appeared as though he hadn't touched the men at all.
Though she hadn't seen his face, Aya knew that this man couldn't possibly be anyone other than..."You're the Midnight..." she began, her voice shaking, but she was almost at once cut off by the man in question, who replied, "You may call me Kirin. I expect you won't run into any more trouble on your way to your destination." And, just like that, he was gone.
True to his word, Aya encountered no more officials along her way to the hospital. 'Shocked' didn't even begin to describe how she felt towards what she'd just whitnessed. How could someone who had killed who-knows-how-many people, for no apparent reason, possibly feel the need to help someone, especially a young girl who, at the time, had been completely vulnerable? And the fact that he'd told Aya his name...It didn't make any sense at all. Could there possibly be more to this man than what she'd seen, what she'd heard, what she knew? She had no way of knowing for sure, no more than anyone else did. But, unlike everyone else, Aya would find out the truth soon enough...
The story begins, however, ten years after this devestating tragedy. A young girl by the name of Aya, a third year in high school, could never have predicted the horrific events that were destined to occur that year, no more than anyone else could. It began late one night, around midnight to be exact. A song, one of which no one in the town was yet familiar, began to fill the streets. The classical-sounding music was soft at first; so much so, in fact, that it could easily have been assumed a figment of one's imagination. But soon, the haunting tune began to grow louder, and louder, and louder still. So loud the music became that one could almost miss the bloodcurdling scream. Almost.
The first killing was enough to put the entire town on edge. The second put nearly everyone in an omnipresent state of paranoia. The third terrified people to the point of not wanting to leave their houses at all; not wanting to allow any visitors. Then came the fourth, the fifth, the sixth...and the town was officially declared to be in a state of emergency. The song associated with all of these deaths eventually came to be referred to as the Mage's Song; the very mention of this deadly tune could stop a person's heart cold. But the man responsible, the Midnight Mage himself, could cause far worse.
Aya was no different than the other people of the town. If there was ever a dire need for her to leave the house, she did so with tremendous reluctance. And never, for any reason, did she leave the house after dark. That is, until one night when she recieved a call from her grandfather, informing her that her mother had been hospitalized. Her grandfather pleaded with her not to come to the hospital until the following morning, however, but Aya refused. Her mother had been quite sick for some time, and there was simply no telling if she'd even make it through the night.
Her love for her mother, her only remaining parent due to her father's death nearly three years previous, far outweighing her fear of the dreaded Mage, was what gave Aya the courage to leave her house that night. It wasn't until her progress was halted by a pair of officials that the recently set curfew, one of may steps that the town had decided to take in an attempt to protect its citizens, ocurred to her at all. Nothing she said, however, was enough to convince the two officials to step aside. Reduced to tears, but knowing full well that she was defeated and seeing no other choice, Aya began to return home...but again her progress was halted. This time by a man she didn't at once recognize.
The man asked her where she had been headed and she told him, though reluctantly and not without at least a little suspicion. What happened next nothing short of amazed Aya. When politely asking the two officials to stand down proved ineffective, this man, whom Aya had never met, stating that he had no other choice, knocked both men unconcious with a single blow. Indeed, it almost appeared as though he hadn't touched the men at all.
Though she hadn't seen his face, Aya knew that this man couldn't possibly be anyone other than..."You're the Midnight..." she began, her voice shaking, but she was almost at once cut off by the man in question, who replied, "You may call me Kirin. I expect you won't run into any more trouble on your way to your destination." And, just like that, he was gone.
True to his word, Aya encountered no more officials along her way to the hospital. 'Shocked' didn't even begin to describe how she felt towards what she'd just whitnessed. How could someone who had killed who-knows-how-many people, for no apparent reason, possibly feel the need to help someone, especially a young girl who, at the time, had been completely vulnerable? And the fact that he'd told Aya his name...It didn't make any sense at all. Could there possibly be more to this man than what she'd seen, what she'd heard, what she knew? She had no way of knowing for sure, no more than anyone else did. But, unlike everyone else, Aya would find out the truth soon enough...
