Whispers Of Elysium:

The Child The World Forgot

Prologue

Disclaimer: Believe me, you people would know if I owned Inuyasha because you'd never hear from my sorry ass again. XD

A/N:

This is close to being the final version. I've already posted some of this trilogy (yes, three or four part trilogy) on Anime Spiral, but that's the old version. One with typos, mixed up details, and other odds and ends everywhere. This will probably be the final version, but I have to have my beta reader check it first. Please review on this story! I so eager to hear stuff about this story! Ja ne!

A city of white marble became washed in red as the sun set beyond the mountains to the west. The air was thick with an undeniable tension, and a summer wind stirred it like a thick brew. The whole city seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for some unforseen occurrence to fall upon them. The city's people were that of the realm beyond, of Elysium. Their wings were spread as they walked and flew lazily through the streets, no cares troubling their peaceful existence. Yes, they knew war was being fought below their mountains and said war was co-lead by their Lord, but they still had no cares. For if the war would bring something dire, their Lady would know. This is because their Lady, a woman who's beauty and power were rivaled by none but her Beloved, had the gift of "The Sight". All things to come and all things passed were seen by her bright blue eyes. So the people of this white city, Alendia being its name, were not at all bothered by some war started for the petty reasons of youkai and ningen alike.

All but the royalty. That is to say, the Lady of the Northern Realm and Keeper of the Heavenly Gate.

She stood on an expansive marble balcony, the summer winds making the fabric of her less than normal gown and her platinum blonde hair dance weightlessly. Her gown was actually normal for her people, but for anywhere else within the isle of Japan it was rather abnormal. Fashioned with similar attributes of the French Renaissance, its bodice was relatively simple. No jewels or frilly lace, just some blue dyed material at the bottom of the bodice with small silver butterflies glittering in a semi-transparent fashion over that. The neckline dipped slowly from the intricate ribbon edge hanging off her shoulders and scooped in a sheer fashion just a few inches below her collarbone. The sleeves would later be known as an "elfin" design, their edges being nearly two feet below her actual wrist, and the rest of the gown was of simple white silk that flowed out behind her in a layered train.

Her skin was ivory in color and smooth as skin could ever be. A regal build in her body and face, and a heavy air of sorrow, worry, and deep wisdom. Her long platinum blonde hair was free form any sort of hairstyle, just dancing freely in the wind. Her wise eyes were lost in their own world, their bright blue depths glittering in different shades with her varying emotions.

All in all, the Lady of the Realm was quite a site to behold.

None knew this better than the solitary guard watching over her, his sapphire blue eyes trained on her for any movement caused by her own will and not the breeze. Having been rescued from the ningens who'd slaughtered his family, the guard had been raised within the city walls with the Lady. They had been inseparable, best friends from the moment they had met and at one point, lovers. But that was the past, and now he was just content to watch over her as the Commander of the Royal Guard. They had both known the laws, that a youkai and angel were forbidden above anything else, and yet their love had nearly cost them both their lives. In the end, he had turned away from her to save her life. He wouldn't have been able to bare life without her.

So here he stood, watching over her while her subjects went on with their happy lives.

Akito was not one to be worried, for he found it more troublesome than not caring at all. But he knew something was wrong with her, he could see it in every line of her body and feel it in every pulse of her powerful aura. Yet, he had nothing to guess on except for the fact that the Lord of the Realm was currently in battle with an opposing force, upholding his alliance with the Lord of the Western Realm. But why would she be worried? It was known throughout Japan that she had "The Sight" and never once had he sensed this kind of worry and unease from her. Once she saw something, it couldn't change. He knew this, and she knew this. So why worry? It was a waste of time and energy. Perhaps, for the first time in several centuries, she had not seen anything about the outcome of this war. But he shook his head with a quiet snort. No, that was just too impossible to consider.

And yet, Akito felt a deep foreboding within his youkai blood as he continued to watch her.

"Akito-kun?" The white tiger youkai didn't even jump or start when the timid voice of a child reached his ears.

"Aleeria, you know better than to sneak up on me." He could just see the pout on her face.

"But why? It's not like I can surprise you or anything."

"My Aleeria, have you a temper on this day? Or am I just special to you?" Akito felt the sensation of eyes glaring at his back and he finally turned away from his Lady, only to kneel down on one knee with a slight grin before a child no older than ten years old. She was dressed similarly to her mother, the only difference being the top of the young girl's dress. Instead of scooping low like her mother's, Aleeria's only had a slight "v" around her neck.

"Akito-kun, where is my Papa? He promised to play our game with me today." The tiger youkai felt pity for the small child, knowing it had been her own father's orders that she would not be told where he had truthfully went. That way she would not worry, as most children do. But it felt so wrong to lie to the small girl before him, even if he knew he had his orders.

"Suman Aleeria, I cannot tell you that."

"But why Akito-kun?"

"It is my orders." At this, the young girl quieted. Even though she was still very young even by youkai and angel terms, Aleeria was far from unintelligent. Sometimes though, she was a little too smart for her own good.

Aleeria was a child after his own heart, her adorable smile and strangely endearing fashion of getting her way through use of a pout were only just two things that made him protect her like kin. It was rather strange, the child looked nothing like her mother and he guessed it might have been the reason why he let himself grow so close to the child. Instead of having her mother's pure platinum blonde hair, Aleeria had raven black tresses with shockingly bright blue bangs that framed her face perfectly. He knew for a fact that someday she would make many heads turn with her beauty, and this fact made him protect her like he would a younger sibling. After all, he was in total around three-hundred years old but when it was evened out to human years, he was still only twenty. Where as for some strange reason Aleeria's mother had aged much quicker at some point and was nearly thirty in human years.

"Aww, but that's not fair!" Akito chuckled.

"Fair has nothing to do with it Aleeria. This is life."

"But I'm so bored! None of servants will play either!"

"What about your usual playmate?" At this, Aleeria frowned the deepest, angriest frown yet and her pout reached a new level of "pathetically adorable".

"He's off with Inu -Papa somewhere. That's not fair either! He gets to go places with his Papa!" Akito, slightly worried about Aleeria raising her voice when with her mother's current state, ruffled some of the young girl's hair with a quiet laugh.

"That is because you are a female child of the court. You are expected to remain. Where as your friend is a young man and according to youkai law, he must begin to go into battle with his father."

"That's stupid Akito-kun!" She huffed quietly and crossed her arms over her chest, her pathetically adorable pout still in place. But before Akito could respond her again, his quiet laughter stopped as the sound of a horn reached his ears.

"It's Taihen-sama! He has news of Taiyou-sama!" Akito abruptly stood and rushed over to the edge of the balcony next to Aleeria's mother, noting slightly that her expression nor gaze had not changed. The gates of the city were slowly opening, for the shield around the city allowed no creature to fly over them, and Akito could just barely see Taihen and his entourage as they entered the borders. But said entourage worried the tiger youkai, since it was in fact three times smaller than it had started.

'What in Kami's name...' Taihen's entourage took flight once they were within the city's walls, heading directly for the balcony where they stood, and the Lady of the Realm barely turned and watched as the small group of angels landed, Taihen at the head of the bunch wearing his armor and traveling clothes. But his usual air of elegance and sophistication was all but gone, a wild terror on his face and in his eyes. There was even terror laced in the syllables of every word he spoke.

"Suki-sama, I have word from the Western Taiyoukai!" Suki's face finally registered some emotion, that being worry, and she motioned for Taihen to rise from his kneeling position to speak.

"Speak of what you know my advisor." Taihen nodded shakily before continuing.

"The Western Taiyoukai met with me several days away from the Northern mountains, with news of their dire defeat." Suki gasped, losing her normally perfect composure. The silence was eerie, the only noises being that of the wind through trees and fabric. Then, Taihen spoke once more and he reached out and grasped Suki's shoulders to brace her.

"My Lady, Taiyo-sama...is believed dead..." Suki let out a keening cry even before Taihen finished, her lithe frame losing all strength to stand as she was caught by Taihen's strong arms. Akito felt his heart ache for the woman before him, but suddenly he turned and looked behind him as Suki's cry was drowned out completely by another.

"You're a liar Taihen! Papa's alive!"

"Aleeria..." Aleeria looked away from Taihen at the sound of her name, her furious expression soon crumbling into one of anguish as she launched herself at the tiger and wept loudly into his royal blue tunic. Aleeria began to cling closer, and as though by instinct, Akito lowered his head until it was touching hers, his shoulder-length and royal blue strands cascading over her onyx and sky blue hair.

"Shhh, all is well Aleeria. My Lord did what he thought was right, and left this realm protecting that which he cherishes the most." Aleeria and Suki both cried harder at this, although Suki's was silent compared to Aleeria's wail of despair.

In all his years, Akito had never seen Suki nor her daughter so distraught or broken. In those moments, he could see the world stripped bare of it's formalities. Leaving the raw, unrelenting suffering and all consuming pain of the world for his eyes to see in all its dark splendor. Then, as though it had been shot into him, Akito realized that neither Suki nor Aleeria would ever be the same again.

Then, as though some spell had been broken, Suki suddenly sat up with a blank look upon her face.

"Taihen, send word to the Western Taiyoukai. I am carrying out the will of my Beloved, and as such, I severe all ties with him and his realm. As well as the others. Tell him not to search or follow, or to seek answers. Tell him only to wait." Taihen, not at all making any sense of the matter, nodded anyways and spread his emerald green wings, causing his matching hair to dance as his grey eyes softened drastically as he watched Aleeria cling to Akito more. Then, in a whoosh of feathers and wind, he was off to deliver his message. Suki remained silent as Taihen's entourage followed him into the skies, her face blank of any emotion. Strangely though, tears still poured down her cheeks.

"My Lady?"

"Ready my daughter Akito-san and have the chest in my Beloved's study brought to Aleeria's room. I shall meet you there." Akito couldn't respond, couldn't say a single comforting or affirming word. He simply nodded, noticing suddenly that Suki had somehow come to possess the sword that was wielded by Taiyo. It was a beautiful sword, one of lethal grace and great intricacy in its hilt and blade. But for the first time, in several centuries, Akito realized there was something engraved in the swords polished sheath.

It said "To Protect That Which Is Cherished".

Before Akito could blink again, Suki was gone a swirl of blue lights. Aleeria continued to cling to him, her sobs much quieter, but her tears still soaked through his clothes to his tanned skin. But she stopped most of her crying as he suddenly pushed her away from him and forced her to look into his swirling blue eyes, a hiccup or two escaping her as he soothed her.

"Aleeria, Taiyo-sama wouldn't want you to cry in such a fashion. Come, lets go to your chambers and see what your mother wants us do to, ne?" Aleeria nodded glumly, although she did her best to dry her tears as she clasped onto the tiger's strong, clawed hand. Akito tried not to focus on just how wrong her petite little hand looked next to his, which had been stained with many years of bloodshed.

In that moment, as they walked through a large hall towards her chambers, Akito begged the Kami that Aleeria would never know the sorrow or pain of war.

As they reached Aleeria's chambers, Akito noted the chest was already at the foot of Aleeria's strangely western styled bed and the doors were opened for them. Aleeria immediately sank onto her bed with a sniffle, looking so lost and alone even though Akito as there with her. Akito, finding his double damned curiosity overtaking him, opened the chest and he was quite puzzled at what he found there.

A half suit of armor, perfectly fitted for Aleeria. Along with the armor was an outfit of white, blue, and silver. The outfit consisted of a solid white pair of hakamas, a top that resembled the bodice of the little gown she was currently wearing, and a royal blue cape to match the blue of the bodice.

"Aleeria, I do believe Suki-sama wants you to dress in this." Aleeria looked up solemnly, noticing the armor and clothes for the first time. Then, as though she didn't even give it a thought, she snapped the fingers of her right hand. The outfit in Akito's arms and the one she wore were switched with a slight glow of light, which faded to reveal a fully dressed Aleeria as Suki suddenly entered in a whirl of expensive fabrics and lights.

"Arigato Akito-san." Akito was slightly shocked to see Suki dressed her own armor, the only differences between hers and the child's being that Suki's were much more intricate and regal, and the sword strapped at her side.

"My Lady, what are you planning? Why do you and Aleeria both wear battle garb on a day you should be mourning?" Suki faltered as she checked over Aleeria's armor and clothes, then suddenly started moving again as she slipped a pair of small black boots onto Aleeria's dainty feet.

"I am doing as Taiyo wished."

"My Lady?"

"Taiyo had left instructions with me about what to do if this happened. He told me that if he should fall in battle, I was to take Aleeria and run from this place. To hide where no one would be able to find me."

"Where is that Suki-sama?"

"Akito, you no longer have to address me as such. I'm a Lady of the Realm abandoning her lands." Akito shifted uneasily.

"I shall call you by your respectful title, Suki-sama." Suki sighed, but continued as she tightened a few things here and there on Aleeria.

"Taiyo spoke of a well in the western realm, one that supposedly causes youkai corpses to disappear. He said one jump into said well and safety would be ours. So that is where I am going." Akito remained silent for a few moments, absorbing all the information. Then, slowly with a slight hint of worry in his tone, he spoke.

"Suki-sama, what are you not telling me?" Suki grimaced as she finished tightening the last buckle on Aleeria's armor. Then, as though she hadn't even heard him, she spoke to her daughter with a quiet, yet strangely bright, tone.

"Aleeria, do you remember Papa's lullaby?" Aleeria nodded. "Good. I want you to sing it for me." At first, Aleeria looked like she wanted to argue. Then, she simply let her shoulders slump and she began to sing a quiet little song.

i

Come now little one,

Come fly on the air.

Whether you come fast or slow,

I'll be waiting there.

Don't cry now little one,

You must dry your tears.

For I am with you,

And I'll fight away your fears. /i

"Good. That's very good Aleeria. Keep singing." Aleeria nodded, somehow becoming lost in the little lullaby. Akito watched in awe as Suki's hands began to glow in sapphire light, said elegant hands lifting themselves from Suki's lap until one rested on each cheek of the little girl as she continued to sing, her eyes suddenly glazing over.

i

Come now little angel,

Free yourself of reality.

Come now my child,

Come and fly away with me. /i

Suddenly Aleeria's voice stopped and she fell backwards onto her bed unconscious. Akito wanted to leap onto the bed and make sure was alright, but the strange look in Suki's eyes stopped him. She stood above her daughter, eyes once more filled with tears, and then lifted her hands until they were both palms down above the young girl's chest.

"I'm sorry little one, but at least now you will suffer no pain."

"Suki-sama?" But the woman ignored him and closed her eyes, her lips moving in a silent chant as her hands began to glow.

The glow soon engulfed Aleeria's slumbering form as well, and Akito could just barely hear Suki's chant becoming audible. It was in a strange tongue, one he knew he could never understand, but the deep frown of concentration on Suki's face let him know at least two things. One, this was no ordinary spell of an angel. Two, if it was a powerful as she made it look, then the spell had to have a consequence. The latter of those made Akito worry as he listened to Suki's voice become harsher and louder.

Finally, after several minutes of the thickest tension, something new happened. The glow surrounding Aleeria began to focus in the center of her chest, then suddenly materializing as a sapphire blue orb as it slowly rose from within the young girl's torso. It was then, as the orb was completely withdrawn from Aleeria's body and floated into the now upturned palms of Suki's hands, that Akito realized what Suki had done.

"Suki, why? You know she cannot come back after something such as this!" It wasn't a shout, but Akito's fierce tone got his point across. As well as the fact that for the first time in several centuries, he had addressed Suki as a normal person. Not as his sovereign. But Suki smiled sadly as she brushed Aleeria's bangs away from her face, the strands bleeding into a auburn color as she touched. Soon the child's hair was solid auburn, and everything that separated her from a ningen was gone.

"Of this fact, I am well aware Akito. But she still has her soul, and that is enough for me. I would rather her not remember the horrible pain she experienced today. After all," Suki bent low and lifted Aleeria's limp body into her arms, the orb still in her hand, "She was so very close to her 'Papa'. She's better off this way."

"Suki..." He could see the torment in the woman's gaze and he fought a deep urge to simply grab her and hold her tight. But he shook it off, knowing he had thrown that path away many years ago.

"Akito, I leave this to you." The tiger's eyes widened considerably as the blue orb was dropped into his hands, it size being no more than Aleeria's clenched fist.

"I do not..."

"Hide it Akito. I trust you above anyone else now." Suki frowned as she walked to the far end of Aleeria's room where an intricate archway led to a large balcony. "Should something happen, all the memories and powers locked away in that orb must be returned to her. I do hope it never comes to that. But hide it well, for if someone were to get a hold of it then they would be able to control my people and the city. As well as the Gates."

"For you, this I shall do Suki. But you must promise me something in return." Suki who had suddenly spread her magically concealed wings, turned to him from the edge of the balcony, looking so much more older now then she did before.

"What is it that I must promise you koi?" Akito faltered, having not heard such tenderness in her tone towards him in such a long time. But he smiled then, feeling as though some sort of completion had come from that one question.

"Suki, please come back eventually. Only when you are ready. But please, don't disappear forever." Suki smiled sadly, the aged look gone in an instant along with the tiger's breath. Then, as the wind increased, Suki flapped her great white wings once and took the air, calling out her answer to him as she faded away into the skies.

"I promise koi. I promise."

There, prologue finished. Let me know what you think, and I will make sure to get back to you if you give any advice or ask quesions. Ja ne!

Blue