Hello all.
Many thanks goes to waterlit, Souldin, and Chocolate and caramel, as well as Holly-Batali! Thank you all for your kind support...
Chosen will be taking a hiatus after this chapter – but in the meantime, do look out for other -Man fics. The aim of this break is to create more backstory for Chomesuke and other characters first, and the last chapter of Chosen will be coming out in a while. Apologies for the delay!
Meanwhile, I hope you will be able to enjoy this chapter, and thank you all for your kind support and readership!
hawk
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Chosen – Chapter Six
Ironically, Chomesuke still led them into Edo, after warning them to prepare against attacks. They weaved through the narrow streets of Edo, Chomesuke's walking becoming even more jerky and mechanic. Thankfully, she was only forced to go into Edo (which she had planned to do anyway) and thus was still able to aid the humans, leading them along the least Akuma-populated parts of the city.
The destination seemed to be the tall tower in the centre of the city, where according to Chomesuke, the Earl was gathering the Akuma. Above them, Level Threes flew past, as numerous as flies, swarming towards the tower in solid black streams. Ushering them into a safehouse nearest the tower, Chomesuke looked nervously at the growing black cloud around the tower's top, knowing the Millenium Earl himself was perched on its very tip.
The tower was an odd one, with its bottom destroyed and shattered. It literally hung suspended meters above the sky, its bottom ballooned out and shredded, while its top remained sturdy and strong. An impossibility of construction, it aptly represented the impossibility of their situation. As the thousands of Akuma gathered, a single pinprick of black danced upon the tower's apex, and the growing crowd of Akuma fell silent.
"My playthings, do you hear my voice?"
The Earl's voice magnified, its echoed across the entire expanse of Edo, audible to everyone within its walls. Its tone was at once soothing, commanding, and yet not forced or shouted. It was as if he was a father addressing his children, but with an underlying steely authority behind his silky voice. Chomesuke shuddered involuntarily, and retreated to a corner of the safehouse. The Exorcists looked out of a crack in a window shutter, seeing the black cloud around the tower glow purple as the Akuma clamoured at his voice.
"Yes, Earl-sama!" "Earl-sama!" "Earl-sama!" Snatches of Akuma voices floated down from the sky, mostly made out of the same phrases repeated by innumerable Akuma. Chomesuke grinned weakly, sardonically. "Yes, Earl-sama," she mimicked, sighing, slumping into the corner and clutching her ears.
Lavi beat his fist into the wall. "This won't do, Gramps," The Bookman looked up. "The best action here is not inaction." Lavi knew Bookman's adherence to the policy of non-intervention, and if they were to have any opportunity at all to fight, Lavi wanted in. Bookman merely closed his eyes. "Explain."
"General Tiedoll's team of Exorcists is on its way to Edo as well. We know that for sure," Lavi mused, counting off his fingers. "Based on how long we took to get here, even with Chomesuke, we are inevitably delayed because we have injured Exorcists." He nodded at Miranda and Lenalee. "Besides, I doubt Yuu-chan would let anyone rest on the way here, not even Tiedoll-gensei..."
Straightening up, he clenched his fist, concluding his argument. "Therefore, Tiedoll's Exorcist team will be arriving in Edo soon. And until then, we should fight, because if not, once this situation is lost, it will be impossible to contain. Plus, if we don't fight they'll find us anyway," Lavi sighed. "Sorry, Chome, but this safehouse won't be safe for much longer." Chomesuke smiled weakly, and nodded tiredly.
Miranda and Krory walked into their conversation, interrupting both of their trains of thought. "So, should we attack?" Krory enquired, glancing from Bookman to Lavi. Bookman glared at Lavi, then turned to Krory and Miranda. "Yes. Yes, I believe we shall."
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"Attack, my Akuma!" The Earl's voice resounded louder and clearer, and a purple flash suddenly glared from the tower's apex. Lavi tensed, his hand already at his hammer. Bookman, Krory and Miranda waited, hanging on to the Earl's words and his next movement.
Realising what was happening, Chomesuke suddenly got up, staggering over to where the Exorcists were. "Are you crazy cho? Fighting? Against all the Akuma in Japan? You couldn't even take down one cho!" Chomesuke chided them, her voice laced with real concern and fear. What's worse, Lavi's main argument for fighting was that General Tiedoll's team was expected to arrive as soon as possible, and who knew where they were now?
As if on cue, and to make matters worse, above them thousands upon millions of Level Three Akuma exploded from the tower, flying outwards like a many-armed flower, ready to do the Earl's bidding. The Earl's sonorous voice resounded through Edo.
"Take down the Generals as one!"
---
"How long more, Sachiko?" Bookman had stared impassively at the Akuma, who had turned around and looked back at him. "Look, Gramps," Chomesuke had attempted to joke, "I don't have a countdown timer to self-destruct, okay cho?" She then continued along her path, leading them along the dark and narrow streets of Edo, turning into a corner.
Thanks to Cross' programming, a self-destruct mechanism would be triggered once the desire for bloodlust got out of control. It equated to a destruction of an Akuma – without the use of Innocence, one which usually condemned the soul used to power it to oblivion, instead of being freed. Chomesuke had often wondered what it would be like, but neither being the soul used to power her body, nor even know whose soul was powering her body, the question often slipped unanswered from her mind.
How ironic that she was surrounded by Exorcists, yet she expected that she would probably be destroyed without the use of Innocence. Chomesuke thought about this, and let out a bitter laugh, Timcampi fluttering his wings slightly.
Bookman disregarded this, already knowing about the self-destruct sequence. "Not much more cho." Chomesuke grew sombre, a vein visibly throbbing in her right temple. "But it's okay," she had smiled weakly, "I'm not that hungry yet."
---
"That's a nice kimono." Sachiko looked up in surprise. There shouldn't be anyone else in the graveyard at this hour – and anyway, how did anyone come up behind her without her hearing any footsteps? She looked behind, and seeing no one, her childish fear kicked in. Scrambling to her feet, she shook her head wildly, eyes screwed shut tight, preparing to run from the graveyard.
"Over here." The voice was mellow and almost melodious, and Sachiko opened her eyes just a crack. Resting his arms on the gravestone was an absurdly fat silhouette, with an impeccable top-hat which was quite out of Japanese style. Shadows covered the entire being's body, but he now stepped out and revealed himself in the pale moonlight. Sachiko, although still scared, was no longer as frenzied as she was, and she calmed down and eyed the stranger warily.
The being stepped forward, a pair of pince-nez spectacles balanced precariously on his nose, his mouth stretched into a fantastic grin. It was as if it had been fixed there, for his grin did not disappear whenever he spoke, and his glasses flashed small reflections of moonlight as he moved. A dull yellowish coat covered his impossibly fat build, ending in Victorian coattails. The being now stopped in his tracks, and turned back and set his eyes upon the silent grave.
"Death is such a horrible thing, yes?" His voice was positively melodious now, and despite her fear Sachiko found herself inclining to agree. She nodded her head once, sniffing. The fat being nodded and guffawed. "Who was it?" "It was – it was..." Sachiko had opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly found tears choking her voice, and she fell back onto her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. "Dear me." The stranger's voice was casual, although he started walking towards Sachiko. The child was still crying, drenching the sodden earth below with her tears like many before her, but with an added sorrow which no one else had.
"I can call the dead back, you know." Sachiko stopped abruptly, still sniffing, and looked up at the fat visitor. "Really?" she coughed, the tears still running down her cheeks. The being bent low, so that his glasses were staring straight into Sachiko's eyes. "Yes, really."
As he stood up and flourished his hands, Sachiko noticed a large gray metallic frame beside the gravestone, inexplicably standing upright and hovering. Within it was contained the pieces of a humanoid mannequin, all arranged in perfect order, except it was still attached to the frame. The portly stranger literally danced up to it, then presented it to Sachiko with the air of a benevolent father happy to offer his daughter a great gift.
"I need your voice, as someone who knew the dead. Just call out the name, and the dead will come back to you... away from the horrible land of the dead." The stranger smiled even wider at her, and Sachiko noticed that even though tears had started to stream from behind his glasses, his grin was still perpetually frozen on his face. Still, Sachiko looked longingly at the metal frame, imagining the mannequin come alive, look around, and then embrace the young Sachiko in its grasp... "T- Thank you," she breathed, although the stranger shook his head and laughed. "Thank you," he replied.
Sachiko looked away from this stranger, the bearer of great news, and stepped a step towards the frame. It towered high above the young child, the mannequin as tall as an average adult. Sachiko swayed on the spot, the tears running freely down her face and embracing the cold earth below, then cupped her little hands to her mouth and screamed, calling out the name of who lay at rest in the grave.
The Millennium Earl's grin grew even wider as he heard the little girl's heartrending cry.
A flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder, then a purple streak fell from the sky and consumed the flame in a fiery flame. Sachiko stumbled backwards, scared. The frame faded away, leaving the mannequin behind, as a name and a pentagram was inscribed in the back of its head. The purple fire faded away, and the mannequin moved unsurely, wondering where it was. There were no eyes in its head, just a dull gray texture, and a skeletal jaw. Its head suddenly swivelled, and stared straight at Sachiko.
"Sa – ki –" Sachiko stood slowly to her feet, her eyes still transfixed on the mannequin. "Sa – ki –" the machine repeated, its voice coming in a hoarse whisper. Sachiko stepped forward, her eyes once again filling with tears. "You could never say my name right..." She started running, the tears of sorrow and sadness replaced with those of joy, towards the one who was seemingly restored to her.
"SAKICHO!" the machine roared, its voice suddenly found. "SAKICHO!" The girl stopped abruptly, her kimono flapping about her. "Why did you turn me into an Akuma!" the machine roared once again, its voice positively vibrating with anger. Sachiko stepped backwards, misjudged, and fell. Shifting backwards, she now stared up at the mannequin with uneasy eyes. "Don't be angry..." she pleaded. "You're alright now..."
She suddenly felt the visitor's shoes behind her, and whirled around, with pleading eyes. The Earl, however, held her gently by the shoulders, turning her around to look at the advancing skeletal mannequin, which was now so different from what Sachiko had so happily expected.
"That," he grinned, "is an Akuma."