Four Brothers

Prologue

I do not own Rosario Vampire

Akihisa Ikeda does.

Positive reviews are welcome.

Authors note: Was wanting to do a Rosario Vampire/ HP, but came across a story by 'FallenAngelAlexander' titled 'Fallen'. Having read it and watched the movie called Four Brothers by John Singleton, the idea hit me. What if four brothers, after watching their mother waste away due to health problems stemming from Cancer, were offered a place at Yokai Academy. But these brothers won't be any ordinary brothers as the monsters will learn, not all humans are evil, but that doesn't mean they have to be good, either. After all, what's Hell without a little fire? Got that phrase from the first Riddick game trailer, Lol. Enjoy!

Prologue

Tokyo, Japan

6:52pm

St. Lukes International Hospital

Upper Level Parking Balcony

The stench of cigar smoke wafted in the air from the top balcony. A young man stood, arms crossed, a half finished cigar in his hand as the last bits of smoke flowed from his lips. His haunted, hazel eyes, lazily glancing towards the setting sun. His long brown hair, shoulder length, flapping about in the air from the winds breeze.

A set of footfalls nears him, yet he never turned from where he stood as he recognizes the footfalls.

"Michael..."

"Bobby..." Michael acknowledged. "Moms not going to like the fact that you're taking up smoking again."

"I haven't." the brunette said as he took a drag of the said cigar. In reality, he really wasn't returning to bad habit. It's just the fact that his mothers declining health had been hurting him and his brothers extremely hard, and he and Michael had been the only ones to keep the brothers together. "Just needed to clear my mind, figure out what we're going to do."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Michael said as he took the remaining bit of cigar from his brothers hand and also took a couple of puffs before exhaling the smoke. He then bent down and stubbed out the thing and dropped it in the garbage bin once the last embers of tobacco were out. "Those things will kill ya'."

"Yeah!" Bobby agreed as he looked at where the cigar had been stubbed on the ground.

"Come here man." Mike said as he pulled his elder brother into his arms, seeing the emotions running through him, his eyes and his body posture from the stiffness in the way he stood. It was then that the flood gates were opened as Bobby Minaka embraced his younger brother. As the tears fell, he trembled, "I don't know what we're going to do. I-I just...I just don'..."

"Hey, hey, it's not over, until we say it's over." Mike said as he put his elder brother at arms length. "We're Minakas, we always find a way. After all, Mom's insured that the house stays with us since it's a family house. So we'll always have a place to stay and call home."

The elder Minaka nodded as Mike gripped his shoulder a bit tighter as a show of support and needed strength, "You're supposed to be the leader since you're older than the rest of us, so lead us. This emotional shit, doesn't suit you. It never has. You've always been strong. We need you to be strong now."

Looking into Mikes eyes, he nodded, "Thanks man. I'll try. Come on." After taking a moment to breathe and center himself, he then said, "Jake and Ben are with mom. What say we join them, yeah?" he asked as he slipped an arm around his brothers shoulder.

"Sure."

As they walked back into the Hospital, Bobby began to reminisce about how he and his brothers had gotten to this point in their lives and how it all came to this moment.

As it were, the brothers, biologically speaking, weren't real brothers at all. Their mother, Ming Minaka, was a Japanese Immigrant who chose to call America home when she was a little girl. In time, she grew to love her home and the people around her. She grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, and in time with her family before the untimely accident that took her parents, became a wealthy Entrepreneur, opening several businesses throughout her adopted home state, while supporting the local charities and orphanages with her money with the aid and support of her friends.

She pulled many children off of the streets, gave them a home, gave them to good families. But it was Four little boys that she found over time, that she took a shine to that even the law thought was a bad idea and considered lost causes due to their backgrounds, or in this case, their familial backgrounds.

Turning a deaf ear to the Police, Ming adopted the boys as they came into her life, one after the other. It was a touch and go for a bit with all four of them, but eventually, her patience won out and the boys became positive members of society, even if they were still in their teens and early adulthood, even if they were still a bit rough around the edges.

Robert, or Bobby as he preferred, was a fighter, having been in and out of various homes and juvenile detention centers. He was also the eldest. Brown hair, hazel eyes, Caucasian, with a heavy fighters build that showed he was a thug when he needed to be. Ming saw it as a defense mechanism. When she took him in, he didn't let his guard down for one minute. He, like his brothers to come, was a handful, but Ming held strong, and in time, Bobbys shields began to crack, and eventually shatter as he saw that, no matter how bad his past was, Ming was not going to give up on him. Not long after, he looked to Ming as the mother he always wanted, but felt he didn't deserve, a notion she suddenly altered as she let him know, he was deserving of a mother just as much as she wanted him as a son.

Mike, like Bobby, was a fighter. He and Bobby did not always see eye to eye. It was like watching two Alpha's fighting for the top spot, and more often than not, it was Bobby that came out on top. Also like Bobby, Mike was a bit on the heavy side, but was all power. He had barely any hair, though it was known to be dark, almost black, with brown eyes and tan skin from much toiling in the sun. Bobby had skill due to a fighting background as he adapted in his fighting technique, but Mike was like a locomotive. When he got moving, nothing could stop him. Which is why when he and Bobby clashed, it was like watching and comparing the old saying, an immovable force against an immovable object. None dared getting in between these two brothers except Ming, she was the only one who could get them to stop and think, and eventually, get along.

Which was why when Ming brought in another two more 'strays' as the elder brothers called them at first, both brothers took it upon themselves to let the newest additions to the family know who was at the top of the food chain. When in school, they watched over them, all the while, keeping the bullies away by letting them know that Ben and Jake were off limits.

But Jake and Ben were far from innocent. Jake was a pick pocket by nature, thanks to the fact that he grew up on the streets, forcing him to steal in order to survive. His mother was a prostitute who died while over dosing on drugs. Like Bobby, he too was Caucasian, yet with a bit more 'paler', complexion than his new brother. He was thin, wiry. Long brown hair, blue eyes. And quick with the hands, which is why, more often than not, Bobby and Mike had to run off those whom Jake pick pocketed when caught red handed, while also putting the fear of God into their younger brother since he often stole from them as well. It would take some time to break Jake of this habit, but never again did he steal from his older brothers, nor Ming as Bobby was especially protective of her and would not stand for it.

Ben was the baby of the family, with long sandy brown hair and hazel eyes. He was manipulative, and cunning. He was also the smartest. Get a computer in his hands, and he could work miracles. But his one flaw was in always picking verbal fights for no reason with his brothers and thinking he never did any wrong, never owning up to his mistakes and problems. But Ming saw through that facade as she persuaded her two eldest sons to try and keep from hurting the boy, yet Ben never did get off scott free as she disciplined him in her own way. He tried the lazy act, but a switch to the ass changed that. It took a few times for the lesson to sink in, but it did in time. He may have been the youngest, but Momma was no fool, nor was 'she' raised by a fool. From then on, he made sure he took responsibilities for his actions.

A few years later, Ming learned that she had an uncle who, before passing on, had tracked Ming down and decided, after speaking and learning of Mings sons, gave all five an invitation to return to Japan in order to give Ming her rightful inheritance from his home since he had no heirs or heiresses, to a sizable bit of wealth he himself had acquired over his long life. So it was, that Ming, after sitting down and discussing things with her boys and coming to a unanimous decision, returned to Japan with her four sons, reunited with her Uncle, and after his passing, looked into the inheritance that was left to her.

She had decided to remain in Japan from then on. And for a time, life was good. Her boys were excelling in school, all within the same grade of course since Ben and Jake skipped ahead a grade or two to be with their brothers, despite still picking up the language barriers a bit slowly. Like most places, the boys were ridiculed by those who only saw the boys as outsiders or Gaijin.

But the elder of the two, Bobby and Mike, made sure that the bullies...dispersed so to speak. Never let it be said that the boys didn't look out for one another. They didn't need to be blood to be bonded. And it was because of that bond, that people learned, mess with one Minaka, you asking for trouble, mess with all of them, and most likely they'd be making a visit to the Hospital, and that's only if the brothers were being nice.

And then came the news after their mother showed signs of illness and deterioration. Too late, she had come to find out, that she was ill due to breast cancer. The cancer had grown and spread over time, as she had neglected to take herself in for the needed medical checkups in order to both stop the disease in its early stages, and or to battle the disease when she had the chance. The boys blamed themselves for her not taking care of herself.

But she wouldn't hear of it and was adamant that her boys were not at fault. It was her own. She had come to accept that her time was near, and she was at peace because of it. Her only worry, was that her boys would be without a mother, a guide, someone whom made sure they were never alone. But she did make sure that they were to have a home. She had left a will with her attorney as she had faith that the boys would make it. With what remained of her money she originally earned combined throughout her life and with what she had inherited, as well as outside of the honest work the boys performed outside of school, the boys would be very well off.

Ben was sitting up close to his mother, holding one of her hands while Jake was leaning on the window sill, his head leaning to the side against the glass as he looked outside, a single hand on a raised knee, when the door to Mings room opened, Bobby and Mike walking in.

Looking up at his brothers as Jakes head snapped around, Ben spoke, "I-I don't think it will be much...longer now." he sniffled as Bobby saw the still wet tear tracks on both sides of his face.

Ming must have heard him as her eyes slowly opened, her head turning to her eldest son, "Bobby." she said weakly.

"Hey mom." he said as slowly he sat in the chair on the opposing side of his younger brother. Her hand shakily rose, only for him to take it between both of his own.

She sadly smiled for a moment before she then said, "You've been...smoking...again."

"It was just the once mom, I promise."

"I un-understand. I'll hold...you to that...promise though."

"How are you feeling, mom?" Mike asked.

"Like an old lady." she said with some humor in her tone.

"Nnnnaaaahhhh, you're still young. I'm sure you've got some mileage still left in the tank." Bobby said with a forced chuckle, only his eyes said differently with unshed tears.

"If-If only...that were true, sweetheart." Turning her head slightly, she called out, "Jake, please come, sit."

As he rose to his feet, he pulled the last chair from near the window in which he was sitting on just seconds ago. Sitting next to Ben, he waited.

"My boys...my handsome, beautiful boys. If only we...had more time to...spend together. Bobby, you...you are the head of the House now. Guide them, protect them. Michael, your job is to stand by...by his side. Help him make...make the right...choices. A-...As for you, Ben, Jake. Listen to your brothers. But do...not hes-hesitate to...speak your...minds. You all ha-...have come so far." she paused as she began to cough an gasp before finding the strength to speak once again, "I am proud of you. Proud...to call all of you my sons. "You...have all...made me so proud. I-I llloo...I love...you all. My...sons."

She then grasped her sons hand while looking from both Mike and Jake who got the message as they too placed their hands on their brothers. She then drew their hands near until they rested on top of one another with her left above Bobbys and her right beneath Bens.

She smiled that same smile that warmed her sons heart every time they ever looked upon her, and with a final breath, her hands fell. The only sound in the room came from the monitor as their mothers heart stopped beating for the final time. A few seconds later, the medical staff, led by her primary Doctor, rushed in.

The staff tried to pull the brothers away from their mothers still form, but when the brothers refused to move due to te emotional trauma they were now experiencing, the Doctor realized why as he felt for their loss. He had the head Nurse gradually take the boys and leave the room. It took a bit of coaxing, but the leading female Nurse was able to escort the boys from the room while the other medical staff began to examine Ms. Minakas body.

Two and a half days later, on a rainy evening, the brothers and their mothers attorney watched as Ming Minaka was laid to rest beside her biological family. Unlike the Attorney, the brothers didn't bother with the umbrellas as the rain beat upon their now soaked suits. Their expression were like stone to say the least. Blank and unyielding. After her funeral, he sat the then dry, yet solemn boys down and discussed what had been left for them by their mother. He would continue to work for the brothers as their attorney so long as they would have him, to which they readily agreed.

That was a week ago, and already, the brothers were restless. They were all forced to counseling, well, Bobby, Ben, and Jake were, thanks to Mike recommending it, as he too joined. It had helped to say that the need to talk to someone not in the family.

One day, as Bobby was working on his jeep inside the houses added garage, a shadow made its presence known, as it stood outside of the garage. Bobby had seen the shadow from the corner of his eye from where he leaned over the engine. Quickly turning while pausing in his work, he stood upright and spoke, "Can I help you?"

As he looked, he noticed the shadow came from a man in what appeared to be a Priests suit, only it was white with a hood on his head, like that of a Nun. He could tell it was a guy, only because of the masculine jaw and face as it smiled at him, though he was shadowed due to where he stood beneath the suns rays.

"No, but maybe I can help you." the Priest said in crisp English as he pulled out a very thick manila envelope from one of his sleeves.

Bobby turned his head to search for his grease towel before turning back, only to see the man who stood just outside of the garage, gone. Having vanished as if he was never there. The elder Minaka was wiping his hands upon the towel as he exited the garage to look and see what became of the Priest, only he was no where to be seen, no matter which way he turned.

"Huh, that's strange." He was about to turn back when his foot struck something. Looking down, he noticed the envelope. Turning it over to the front, he noticed an odd 'Cross-like' crest upon the package as well as a name of an Academy.

"Yokai Academy, huh?" he muttered. "Should have Ben look into it."

Unfortunately, even his kid brother could pull up little to no information regarding Yokai as Bobby had opened the envelope and pulled out some forms as well as a brochure for uniforms. There were four forms total, one for each brother.

Later that night, after relentless attempts and failures at finding any information regarding the school, the brother, after dinner, discussed their options.

"So, ideas." Bobby said as he sat at the head of the table.

"The term Yokai literally stands for the supernatural elements such as monsters, spirits, and such." Ben said.

"And with the way you described the guy disappearing as fast as he appeared, without any idea of where he went, I don't know." Mike said.

"Jake?" Bobby called on.

"It all seems like one big coincidence. Right after mom passes away, some unknown person just winds up showing up at our door without so much as a by your leave. I don't like it."

"What's not to like?" Ben said, "It's an Academy, aka 'School'."

"Yeah, but the schools name, 'Yokai' makes it sound, ominous at most." Mike piped up.

"So, the question remains, do we go, or do we burn these papers?" Bobby surmised. "Ben?"

"Sounds like it could be fun. I say we go."

Rolling his eyes, he turned to his other younger brother, "Jake?"

"Yeah, sure. Why not. I'm in."

"Mike?"

"You know me, Where they go, I go."

Looking all around the dining room, Bobby nodded, "Alright, we go. But at the first sign of trouble, and I do mean trouble with a capital 'T', we get the hell out of there. Agreed?"

"Agreed." the others all said simultaneously.

"Alright, alright." With that, Bobby passed each form to his brothers and allowed them to fill it out as he did his. Afterwords, they each put down their sizes for their uniforms. The next day, Bobby sent the envelope with the filled out forms back through the mail. A few days later, the brothers were sent a confirmation and date for when the bus that would take them to the Academy would arrive and where. Fortunately, the bus stop was close by, but was just one street away.

It was a busy week for the brothers as they went about cleaning up their home and putting plastic over the furniture and the Entertainment Systems, with their own individual bags packed with necessary clothing for when they wanted to wear something comfortable when not in classes, and their toiletries also packed as well.

The day before they would be leaving, after having received their uniforms via special delivery, they visited their mothers grave. Thankfully, it was a clear day, as they got down on their knees, and performed the traditional Japanese burning of the incense before her picture. Each brother took their turn speaking to her, as if sensing her presence and feeling it come over them. Even when the brothers spoke of their leaving for the 'Academy', her presence overcame them as if to blanket them with some form of protection, and yet, it also felt as if she was encouraging them to follow their own conscience.

That night, as the brothers slept, their dreams were peaceful, free of some of the nightmares they all four sometimes suffered from time to time due to their individual pasts.

The next day, after a hearty breakfast and cleanup of the dishes, the brothers freshly dressed in short sleeve button down T-shirts, red ties, tan khakis, and the obnoxiously green Academy uniform jackets, stood before the stop sign at just several minutes shy of six thirty, their bags about their feet. While waiting for the bus, Ben pulled out his laptop computer, already typing away on the keyboard while Jake pulled out a pack of his favorite playing cards. He amazed his family with the way he handled the cards, flipping them in his fingers and or hand, throwing them in the air and even spinning them into the air, only to land in the other hand.

Having watched the movie 'Wolverine Origins' and observing the way the mutant Remy LeBeau, aka Gambit handled the cards before being confronted by Logan, inspired the boy to try his hand at the same tricks, only to actually pull it off. Mike was playing with a Fidget Spinner while leaning against the bus stop sign.

Bobby on the other hand just stood stoically with his arms crossed. After half an hour of unnerving patience, the bus finally came into view. It was almost ten seconds later, with their having put their belongings away, that the bus stopped before the four brothers, with Bobby at the front. As the door opened, the bus driver with his hand on the doors opening contraption handle, called out, "Yokai Academy?"

"Yes sir." Bobby replied.

"Well, all aboard, then."

Gathering their bags from where they laid, they all walked on the bus, each one nodding at the driver. Bobby noticed however, that the drivers eyes seemed to shine unnaturally. He sat two seats in the opposite lane behind the driver to be closer to the doors, just in case.

"Saw it did you?" Jake asked as the bus began to move.

"Yeah. I'm a little leery. Keep hearing that character from Harry Potter, Mad-Eye Moody shout 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE' in my head."

"That is one of your favorite books that made it to film." Mike said as he at in the other seat opposite Bobby.

"Can't really say the same for the Percy Jackson films." Bobby said with a grumble as he really enjoyed the work of Author Rick Riordan. The only reason the films failed was due to time restraints and bad screenplay story-lines that did not correctly coincide with the books.

"If you're going to get into book based films, whatever you do, don't bring Twilight into it." the Bus Driver said.

All four brothers cringed with a shudder at the mere thought of those films.

"What about that Jack Ryan series that whose films can't even stick to the original time-line." Ben stated.

"Now those stories were classics." Bobby stated with a wry grin.

"Red October will always be the best." the Bus driver once again spoke up.

"Thank you." Bobby said, getting a nod from the Driver as he looked through the front mirror to the boys in the back.

"What about Jack Reacher?" Jake asked.

"Too new." Mike scoffed.

"Too early to tell." the Driver stated, causing all four young men to laugh. Minutes later, the bus entered a tunnel that went on for some unknown amount of time as Mike pulled out his cell and saw that wherever the tunnel led, they got zero bars.

"No service." Mike mumbled. It wasn't long before the bus exited the tunnel.

"Since you're all going to Yokai Academy, I should warn you, it's a not for the faint of heart, and can be scary as hell."

"You don't say?" Bobby said as he looked back at his brother who was thinking among the same lines. As the tunnel cleared, they all came upon a horrific sight from their own point of views.

What they saw, shocked them greatly as they came upon a clay colored, dead-like cliff overlooking a red ocean, as red as blood, the sky with an almost green-ish hue, with a red sun hovering above the cliff.

"Where the hell are we?" Mike asked as he stood up from his seat and leaned over his older brother in order to get a better look from where he sat. The bus suddenly pulled up next to a scarecrow with a sign underneath it in Japanese Kanji. The scarecrow consisted of a pumpkin with a poor attempt at being scary, with black robes and light green gloves hanging off each end of the stick in which it hung.

Instinctively grabbing their bags, the boys exited the bus and stood before the scarecrow, "You boys take it easy now, and remember my warning." Driver said as the doors of the bus closed, and the bus itself pulling off and going back down the same tunnel which resided several meters from where they stood, underneath a hill.

Looking back on their surroundings, they saw dead forest upon dead Earth, nary a leaf upon the limbs of the trees. The soil, ugly gray.

"What the hell did we get ourselves into?" Mike asked.

"No turning back now." Bobby said.

"What do you mean?" Jake asked.

The elder Minaka pointed in the direction of the tunnel they had just came through moment ago and saw that it was gone.

"H-How...?" Ben stuttered.

"There's a reason we're here. Whatever that reason is, let's just play it by ear and go from there." Bobby said as he picked up his bags and began walking.

"Bobby, wait. Do you even know where you're going?" Jakes asked.

Nodding in the direction of open trail, Bobby just kept on walking, his brothers following. Come what may, Bobby would make sure he and his brothers would make it through the year away from home, they just had to. For their mother and for themselves.

Okay, so the Prologue is up. I hope you enjoy, and can't wait to start up the next chapter. Unfortunately, I have promises of updates on other work to keep. But it doesn't mean I'm going to forget it. No, like the others, there will be updates, and since my Cable/Internet will be up tomorrow, expect this to be up first thing in the afternoon. I hope you enjoy. Remember to leave your comments in the review box and please, for heavens sake, if you have nothing positive to say, then don't review. Because I don't have the time or the inclination to pay attention to smart ass reviewers with the sense of a goat, such as a reviewer with no name and prefers to hide himself using the alias of 'Guest'.

Fanfiction is not a career, it's a hobby and a way to express oneself without hurting either themselves or anybody else through whatever they have on hand, from drugs, alcohol, weapons, etc.. Who cares who did triple crossovers, who cares who wrote what in whatever they write. It's a hobby. The only thing we do care about is who likes what, that's all. And really, who cares about making it big? From the way I see it, those with the money who actually earned it by busting their asses, hey, I praise them and give them their due. But for those who were born into money and flaunt it every damn chance they get, they don't know the first thing about honest, hard labor that 95% of this nation, let alone the world, are known for. I've been busting my ass, working and going to school when I can since I was 13 damn years old. So in the immortal words of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, 'Know your Role, and shut your mouth', you nameless pansy.

For the true readers, please be sure to remain as positive as possible with your reviews, and when I get an opportunity, I will have the next chapter up and running. Right now, I am finishing a re-edit on my Power Rangers/Pacific Rim update, then I have another HP/Supergirl chapter to re-edit as well as an update, followed by updates for older works, like my HP/Avengers stories I have been unintentionally neglecting due to writers block, and more.

Until next time.