Writing (Currently) Untitled

[Bandit Joeykuba]

Bleh. I can't think of a title for this, but I'll let you know as soon as I do. I'd gotten to chapter three with this, but stopped for unknown reasons. So, I figure I'll post what I have and hope my writer's block dissapates soon (that way I can finish this, Price Check for a Duel, and A Day in the Life of a Dubber).
---Chapter 1---

Heavy boots echoed down the long, narrow hallway. The owner was a tall, well-built man who appeared to be in his twenties. His hair, grayish-black, ran straight down, to his midback. His bangs were spiked slightly, yet long enough to nearly cover his peircing, silver-gray eyes. His black trenchcoat swished with each step, but did not compare to the louder swishing of his equally black windsuit pants. Though the majority of his outfit was dark, his shirt contrasted wildly. The bright, blue background stood out, but not as much as the wild, exotic, Hawaiian designs found on it. The top three buttons of this festive shirt were undone, revealing part of his tanned chest and a portion of a curved scar.

He resembled a man of dignity. His broad shoulders showed no signs of slouch, his chest puffed out slightly, and his head held high. A certain proudness surrounded this fellow.

He stopped in front of an elevator's golden door, mashing the up button firmly. He stepped back, listening as the the ping crescendoed as the elevator grew close. With a final, fortissimoed ping, the door slid open and soft musak floated out. The man tread lightly into the dimly lit room with it's flickering lights. He smirked, crossing his arms and tapping his foot in time with the rythm of the music. The tune pleased him. It as familiar to him. Enough so, that he could hum along perfectly with it. He loved this song. After all, it was [i]his.[/i]

The elevator pinged lightly when it arrived at its destination. The door, again, slid open. The man frowned, looking slightly annoyed at the fact he had to leave his pleasant perch for the gloomy halls of hell.

"Ah well. One must sacrifice much to be a great leader." He reminded himself, closing his eyes and nodding.

"Amen." A scratchy voice, at least compared to the angelic one of the man exiting the elevator, spoke out from beside him. The voice belonged to a scrawny man with a scrunched up nose. He dressed in all gray; the garb was wrinkled, stained, and tattered. His brown hair was unkempt and stubble stuck out wildly from his chin. His green eyes were tiny and seemed to be sunk in to his skull. His worst feature, however, were his teeth, yellow and plagued with cavities.

"Hm?" The obviously cleaner man turned to look at the unbathed one. "Ah, Rat, have you been snooping around?"

"Hehheh. Right as usual." Rat bowed slightly and added, "It is a comfort to know I serve such a wise leader... not to mention one so worthy of his supreme title."

"Do not attempt to bribe me with your flattery." His frown reappeared.

"Sorry, o great one, I did not mean to displease."

"I'm sure." He turned and walked to a large, oak door. Its polished surface held a black tag. The marker had the number 137 marred upon it. Rat followed the leader (no pun intended) like a wounded dog after his master. "I assume the Grand Counsiler is in?"

"Yes, sire." Rat once again bowed.

"Hmph." The black-haired one regained his normal, stern face.

"Is there anything I can do for you, sire?" Rat clasped his thin, dirty hands together.

"Yes." He jammed a hand into a pocket and pulled something out in his closed fist. He threw a wadded fie dollar bill at Rat, who greedily snatched it up. "Go buy yourself some shampoo... and breathmints."

Rat scurried off, clutching the mone tightly. The other man waited until he head the steady ping of the elevator dissenegrate, assuring him Rat had indeed left. He then turned back to the door and knocked.

"Come in!" A deep voice bellowed from within. The man opened the solid, oak door and shut it behind himself.

"Good morning, Grand Counsiler Chika."

"Ah, Niihau, yes, good morning, indeed!" Chika bowed slightly from his seat.

Chika was an older man, prehaps in his forties or even fifties. His once shiny brown hair was turning dull and gray, not to mention a bald spot that had begun to manifest itself in the back. His blue eyes twinkled and his face was covered in wrinkles from smiles, revealing past gaities from his life. He was short and stout man with a red face. He wore a white dress shirt and black dress pants. A red vest rested upon his shoulders and his black shoes shone, showing they were freshly polished. "What brings you here, o great one?"

"How do my people veiw me?" Niihau walked to the desk, which Chika currently sat behind, and picked up a glass bear from it, apparently examing closly.

"They think... what you want them to think. They veiw you as a wise and worthey ruler. A force to be reckoned with." Chika smiled warmly.

"I [b]know[/b] that. But... do they respect me?" His grip tightened on the bear.

"Well, sire... Prehaps if you were... slightly nicer to them..."

"NO!" Niihau's eyes grew wide and flashed an angry red. The grip on the bear tightend farther, up to the point where his knuckles were turning white.

"Well, sire, people respect those who are kind to them." Chika saw the glare he was recieving. He cringed as Niihau proceeded the break the figurine with his bare hands. The shattered glass flew everywhere.

"You have it all wrong, Chika." Niihau's face returned to normal. He pulled bits of glass out of his bloddied hand. He walked to the window and stared down at the city below. He watched the people mill about, much like ants on a job. [i]That's right my little ants,[/i] He thought, [i]Live life to the fullest. I'll choose the time in which you're crushed.[/i]

Niihau turned back to Chika and smirked, "You see, Chika, people respect you..." He glared again, "...When they [i]fear[/i] you."

[DeathBug]

[color=indigo][font=century][size=1]Well, I'm very interested; it's a great opening chapter. ^__^ The descriptions were clear, the pacing was good, and the characters were easy to vizualize and identify. It was excellant, and the last lines made me want to read more. I'll be looking forward to it.[/color][/size][/font]