YAMI NO MATSUEI - DESCENDANTS OF DARKNESS
KYOTO FILES REVISITED
Chapter Six – True Confessions
To the Reader
For those who are not familiar with Yami no Matsuei (YNM) or Descendants of Darkness, this anime/manga series is shounen-ai (guy/guy relationships or suggestions of such). This entire fic has a PG-13 rating due to its content, and keeping in line with how the actual anime and manga are rated.
Another matter to square away is terminology used within the series.
EnmaCho is one of the ten government bureaus that form JuOhCho. This bureau's Shokan Division - the summons section - answers only to EnmaDaiOh and are the highest rankings (but the lowest paid) employees in Meifu. EnmaCho is also unique in that it exists within another Cho (one of the court districts) and it handles all of the cases in Tokyo in addition to the special cases of other Chos.
Fuda is the type of magic that Tsuzuki practices. In its latent form, Fuda spells are contained within slips of paper and are activated once the conjurer draws them out and utters the incantation to release the magic. Other animes, such as X-TV, also feature this type of magic.
Kiseki is a list of the people who are supposed to die. The shinigami retrieve people who are on the list but have not died yet.
Shikigami are mythical and spiritual deities that can be summoned by those that they have agreed to serve. Most shinigamis can only summon two or three at best. Tsuzuki can summon twelve shikigamis.
Suzaku, better known as Red Sparrow or Phoenix, is the fiery bird of death and rebirth. Referred to as "Nee-san" by just about everyone else close to her, including Tsuzuki, her human form is that of a dark-haired woman. Nearly everyday she picks a fight with Touda, another Fire type and another of Tsuzuki's shikigamis, where she wields a huge sword. Suzaku cares deeply for Tsuzuki, even to the point where she will appear and willfully disobey his orders in order to protect him. Suzaku is the guardian beast of the south.
Shinigami roughly translates as God of Death. In the anime series, the English dubbers (who I think did a good job in translation) translate shinigami as Guardian of Death. Because those who work in the EnmaCho's Shokan Division are often called upon to kill people, both living and dead people call them shinigami. All shinigamis learn some sort of magic, usually Fuda, and most seem to have some other supernatural powers as well. All of them have the ability to fly (usually), dematerialize, and regenerate.
Shokan means summons or subpoena. The main characters work in the Shokan Division. Chief Konoe is the boss of that division. Tatsumi, a former shinigami who now serves as EnMaCho's Secretary and budgetary advisor, is rumored to be the real head of the division but is formally Chief Konoe's right-hand man. Tsuzuki, Hisoka, and Watari work as shinigamis.
For more information, I refer you to Theria's website. Her site is an awesome resource for Yami no Matsuei and Yu-Gi-Oh fans. I give her credit and acknowledgement since her site served as a reference for me to further understanding the series.
Everything happened so quickly...
Tsuzuki Asato saw the obsidian-scaled demon lunging towards him at full speed. Reaching inside his trench coat breast pocket, he instinctively pulled out Fuda paper and flung it at the demon.
Upon the mystical paper's impact, the demon's glowing red eyes flashed brighter as it roared in pain and anger. The spell flung its body against the row of pews on the right-hand side of the church.
Taking that small opening, everyone ran towards the back of the church – with Kurosaki Hisoka and Tsuuri Troy assisting an unconscious Ikuru Aiko, Tsuzuki ensuring that he fell behind to serve as cover, and everyone hoping that the demon would be out of reach.
The amethyst-eyed shinigami heard the demon rise from the wooden debris, as well as its efforts to regroup and complete its attack. He turned around, ran towards the demon, and reached once more inside his breast pocket. Producing another slip of Fuda paper, he flung the spell at the demon.
As the demon let out a pained roar that echoed throughout the church, everyone else stopped running to witness the pursuer burn. Tsuzuki, once he saw that the pursuit was over, ran as quickly as he could to join his companion.
Hisoka's expressive emerald eyes went wide as he yelled at the top of his voice, "Tsuzuki – behind you!"
The elder shinigami spun around and transfixed his gaze where the rest were focused.
Before their eyes, the ball of flame that was the demon gave out such blinding light. Eventually, the ball of flame separated into two. Once the floating flames self-extinguished, two demons took the fallen one's place – each one much bigger in frame and ferocity than their fallen demonic peer did.
The two demonic replacements let out a mighty roar – prompting their prey to take hurried backward steps as their eyes went wider from fright.
Without removing his gaze at the demons and wanting to save the church building from imminent damage, Tsuzuki's eyes narrowed as he yelled at his companions behind him, "We can't do much in here! Run outside!"
Everyone ran without looking behind them, but each heart pounded more fiercely as the demonic roars became closer and louder. Hisoka and Troy ran as fast as their legs could take them outside the church while assisting an unconscious Aiko. Tsuzuki, on the other hand, sprinted quickly but ensured that he stayed behind to protect the others.
The blood-red full moon greeted them outside as it gave the darkness and the starless sky an eerie crimson hue.
Gauging that it was now safe to take the offensive, Tsuzuki spun his heels and turned around to face their pursuers.
As they saw one of their preys become an easy target, the two towering demons' eyes malevolently glinted. They furiously picked up their pursuit – preparing to do a split-second lunge against the amethyst-eyed shinigami.
Focusing all his spiritual energies from within, Tsuzuki closed his eyes and placed his hands together before him. While his fingers nimbly formed symbols, gusts of air and fire clashed and made his black trench coat billow around him. His tousled dark brown hair furiously blew against the elements as he chanted...
I bow to thee and beseech you,
The Twelve Gods that protect me,
Appear before me!
Come out! Suzaku!
The maelstrom of flame and wind blew around the shinigami until Suzaku – the fiery phoenix and goddess of the South – appeared and hovered above her master. Suzaku's divine flame lit up the demons, and they were blown a few feet away from Tsuzuki as her majestic wings flapped.
The two demons let out pained and blood-curdling roars – making Hisoka and Troy shut their eyes as they shudder and hope for an end to this ordeal.
Suzaku screeched and flapped her wings of crimson, yellow, and orange. Her piercing gaze, as well as her master's, witnessed as the two balls of flame disintegrate and transform into four demons.
Each of the four demons was now at least two feet taller than Tsuzuki, and had a pair of crimson eyes glinting in fury.
Unfazed, Tsuzuki's eyes narrowed even further as he placed his hands together and bellowed, "Explode!"
The shikigami quickly carried out Tsuzuki's command. She flapped her mighty wings and blew her fiery breath on the four demons – turning the field between her master and the church steps into an ocean of flame. Although the demons let out another series of spine-chilling roars that shattered the silence, she did not stop her attack until all of her master's pursuers turned into dust. Once she was ensured that the threat was eliminated, she hovered before her master and waited.
Gratefully staring and warmly smiling at the shikigami hovering over him, Tsuzuki muttered, "Thank you, Nee-san... You may return..."
After letting out another screech, the fiery phoenix beat its wings one more time before she folded them before her. Another gust of wind and flame blew around her master before she disappeared – leaving Tsuzuki and his other three companions relieved and thankful.
The eerie crimson veil covering the moon minutes ago disappeared once the demons were vanquished.
The amethyst-eyed shinigami ran towards Hisoka and his charge as he asked, "Is everyone all right?"
Still wide-eyed and rattled, Hisoka responded as he glanced at Aiko, "Troy and I are okay, but she's still out. Would you check her head and see where the blood's coming from?"
A tightlipped Tsuzuki felt her pulse, checked for injuries, and touched her clammy skin. "It's a nasty blow to the head. She doesn't need stitches, but we need to take care of it right away."
"My house isn't far away from here," said a worried and disconcerted Troy while looking at his unconscious friend. Knowing exactly what was on his mind, the two shinigami accompanied him as he carried her on his back.
Halfway towards their destination, Tsuzuki took charge in carrying the injured as he noticed Troy's exhaustion reflected more prominently on his face as time went on. Once they finally reached the house and tended Aiko's wounds, the three stepped out of the room to let her rest.
Minutes after leaving the two shinigami in his living room, Troy emerged from the kitchen with tea and pastries. Once seated opposite his two guests, he said while pouring tea for everyone, "She can't go home until she awakens."
Hisoka's eyebrow rose as he asked, "Why?"
Heavily sighing, Troy responded while putting some honey in his tea, "If she's out this late at night, it means that she snuck out from her bedroom window." Sensing that his two guests respectively gave him puzzled looks, he glanced at them with a gentle smile. "She sneaks out at night once in a while, but she's not that type of girl. She likes hanging out with me, and likewise."
"Are you and she –?"
"Oh no, Tsuzuki-san," interjected Troy as his charcoal gray eyes met amethyst orbs and his cheeks blushed. "She and I are just very good friends, nothing more. Her parents don't like the idea of us being friends, or even hanging out together."
Hisoka kept his silence as he helped himself to another cup of tea. The emerald-eyed empath confirmed that Troy did harbor some feelings over and above friendship for his friend. However, he could sense but not fathom another wave of emotions within Troy - the very reason why he overloaded in the fields...
...Those emotions were murky, suffocating, volatile, dangerous, and unknown even to Troy himself.
Trying to pull more clarity from his empathic read of Troy's emotions, Hisoka asked him, "Muraki's after you, and he's not a person that you should easily dismiss. He's also behind all those recent murders, including your sister's death. What do you know about him? Why do you think that he's after you?"
After taking a sip from his cup, Troy responded with furrowed brows and a crinkled forehead, "Before tonight, I've never met him. However, I've felt his presence before. He said that he had been looking for me. After Tatsumi-san showed me those pictures, I can't help but think that I know all those murdered people and that my sister was one of them."
Silence filled the room for many minutes, until Tsuzuki broke the ice and inquired, "Are you going to be okay?"
As Troy looked into amethyst eyes, his charcoal gray orbs misted. "I don't know. My sister was much too young to die. Jii-chan's weak heart gave in and he died when he found out that my sister was murdered. Aiko, my long-time and only friend, is injured. I'm slowly losing everyone who I care for, and still I couldn't do anything to save or protect them."
Tsuzuki rose from his seat and sat beside Troy. Placing a consoling hand on the young man's back, the shinigami said, "Those murders, and tonight, are not your fault." When he placed his hand over Troy's right arm, the latter winced – causing the shinigami to withdraw his hand, and his young partner to bolt out of his seat.
"That demon gave you a nasty graze," said Hisoka, as he parted the shredded right arm of Troy's shirt and examined the wound underneath the clothing. He then went to the kitchen.
Once the emerald-eyed young man returned carrying a small basin with a face towel dipped in hot water, Tsuzuki motioned Troy to take off his shirt – the latter revealing a well-toned upper body, smooth chest, and creamy white skin that contrasted his dark hair and charcoal gray eyes.
After gently patting the face towel over the wound and washing off all the caked blood, Tsuzuki marched to the kitchen to discard the crimson water and rinse the towel they just used. Once that chore was done, he then walked into the bedroom and pulled out a pair of pajamas from the clothes drawer – being careful not to disturb Aiko.
This time, Hisoka took over in tending Troy's wounds. His elder partner just returned to the living room, with pajamas in hand, when he heard their patient say...
"Aiko's right. I could fight back, but chose not to do so..."
After pausing for many minutes, Troy continued in-between grimaces of pain from Hisoka disinfecting his wound with cotton balls drenched in alcohol, "People gossiped about me since no one knew my father's identity. When Aiko and I were nine, some of the local bullies ganged up and hurt her in the fields. They were the same ones who made my life miserable as long as I could remember. When she fell unconscious and I jumped in to defend her, all hell broke loose."
Tsuzuki and Hisoka fell silent.
"Everything happened so quickly. Minutes later, I woke up in the middle of a barren and scorched field. The bullies were gone, Aiko was still unconscious, and I was so afraid of what happened. I told Jii-chan and my sister about the incident. Days later, rumors spread that I was a demon-spawn. Ever since then, the teasing increased and people openly treated me as if I was this freak. Jii-chan, my sister, and Aiko were the only ones who treated me as if that day never happened. The three of them stood by me."
"Being gifted doesn't mean that one is a freak. Some people choose to remain ignorant when someone's different than they are," Watari interjected as he stood by the doorway.
Tsuzuki, Hisoka, and Troy glanced to their left and saw the blonde scientist along with Tatsumi. The two new arrivals then sat on the opposite sofa facing them – looking composed on the outside, but feeling uncomfortable inside since Troy did not act the least startled from their sudden arrival.
Seeing that Hisoka was done dressing Troy's wound, Tsuzuki handed the young man the pajamas that he pulled out from the closet.
After giving Tsuzuki a slight bow of gratitude, Troy then gave the blonde scientist a rueful smile as he carefully wore the pajama top with Hisoka's help. "I wish that people saw things your way, Watari-san. Jii-chan understood who – or what – I really was. Although he told me about how I can tap into my powers, he never told me as to where I came from, who my father was, and what I really am. I asked him to bind my powers, even though he advised me not to do so. He cast a binding spell, which was in force until his death."
"Now that he's dead, his binding spell has been removed," said a thoughtful Tatsumi as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs.
Troy nodded, and then asked, "Has the Shokan Division's been watching me for a while?"
The three shinigami and the Secretary from EnmaCho were stunned.
Shifting his gaze from Tsuzuki to Tatsumi, Troy explained, "I've felt your presence since my grandfather and sister died. You've been watching over me all this time."
Amethyst eyes looked deeply into charcoal gray eyes as their owner regretfully smiled, "Troy, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to deceive you, or invade your privacy."
Troy let out a soft sigh and then replied, "Please don't be sorry, Tsuzuki-san. The four of you saved me from the fields. Tonight, you and Hisoka protected Aiko and me from that man and the demon. Although I'm grateful for being saved, part of me wishes that you've just left me to die. I don't want my life to be the cause of Aiko's death."
End of Chapter Six
Normal Disclaimer
Yami No Matsuei (Descendants of Darkness), its characters, and the spells that Tsuzuki makes are copyrighted properties of Matsushita Yoko. This fan fiction and the original characters (Troy Tsuuri, Yuta Tsuuri, Aiko Ikuru, Senji Kota, Tia, and Principal Yamada) that appear within this fan fiction belong to Zatken.
