Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji
By nightelfcrawler
Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth
Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.
Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!
InnuendoStandard disclaimer: These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now...
They wound down and down, and by now his feet were cut and bleeding from walking over sharp rocks. He couldn't keep from looking around in fascinated awe at the enormous cavern. Finally, they reached the cavern floor, and headed down the road towards the city. Before long they were winding through it, occasional people giving them strange glances, mostly to the sleeping child in his arms since her wings were visible and his were still hidden inside him. He hadn't bothered to bring them back out since he didn't need them here. He didn't want to risk being attacked.
They wound their way through the people, and he discovered that they didn't seem all too different from his own, that is, where he'd grown up. After passing through the main city, they arrived at some stone gates with high wooden stakes and some guards in front of it. They nodded curtly to their party, and they passed through. The green haired man took them straight through the front doors to the building inside the gates, and they continued through a long passage, then arrived in a huge courtyard where a very elaborately carved stone house, and several clean buildings were arranged. Chichiri supposed that this place was the court or royalty.
They stopped in the center of the courtyard where several ladies wearing nice gowns resided, and the green haired man bowed eloquently to them. "Evening ladies, how fare thee?" He said in a suave voice, making them giggle and titter among themselves.
"Ah Sou, you're just too much of a gentleman!" One woman laughed boldly, winking at him.
He laughed heartily. "Well forgive me ladies for being a good looking guy."
One lady was eyeing Chichiri with a gleam in her eyes. "And who's this stud?" She sidled up to Chichiri and draped an arm around his shoulders. "My, what dark skin you have my dear."
He swallowed slightly in uneasiness, and the green haired man rolled his eyes and took her arm and led her away from him. "He's an upsider."
All the ladies eyes widened and their mouths opened in surprise. "An Upsider?" One whispered in shock. "But…."
Another woman peered at him, then glanced at the child in his arms. "That's a Tenshi isn't it?" She said pointing with a look of disgust on her face. "Why did you bring it down here?"
Sou shook his head. "She just happened to be in the way and came with us." He bowed to the ladies. "Now if you'll excuse us, we must be taking the prisoner to the minister."
The ladies nodded and giggled at each other, then allowed the group to pass. They entered the fancy building, and he spoke some quick words to a guard, who then nodded and led them inside. They were brought to a large room with a gathered assembly there, many many people seated around in a courtroom style position, and three people kneeling with their hands tied in front of a panel of people.
"So you three still deny committing this act of murder after the evidence has been presented to the jury and audience?" Questioned a middle aged heavy man in the center of the panel.
One man nodded vehemently. "I swear that we have NOT committed this act! We've explained our case and you still refuse to believe us! We're being framed! We're not murderers!"
The others nodded in agreement, voicing their own opinions.
There was various murmuring through the room, and Chichiri and his party waited back by the doors quietly, listening and watching the on-goings.
The panel leaned back and discussed among themselves in hushed voices, then turned back with impassive expressions. "We have decided that you are to be imprisoned in the dungeons until such time when we believe you have repented your deeds and are in no more position to harm the public. If that does not occur within one months time, then you shall be executed via the pit." The middle man said solemnly.
The three men immediately jumped to their feet, and began screaming in shock and refusal, and some guards approached and led them away as they continued to scream protests loudly.
Chichiri watched them go with a saddened heart. They had been innocent, he had felt it in their ki. They were adamantly refusing the panel and were truthful and passionate about their defense. He felt sadness flood him. Such things unfortunately were unfair in the world….
He felt a light shove, and he stepped forward as their party made their way up to the dais where the men had been, then proceeded to kneel. He did as well, still holding Kaira who was fast asleep in his arms.
The panel and the others in the room turned their attention to the party. "Sou. Good to see you have returned." Said the heavy man in the center with a smile. "Was the mission successful?" He questioned, throwing a glance at Chichiri curiously.
"Yes Minister, the mission was successful." He replied. "This is the one they call the Shiseiji from the topworld." He said gesturing at Chichiri.
Chichiri felt everyone's eyes lock onto him, and he wanted to sink down into the floor. They were staring at him with awe, disgust, and apprehension. The Minister frowned and peered at him curiously. "What's so special about it? Looks almost human to me." He said with a harumph.
Chichiri could feel Sou's anger that was kept in tight control inside of him as he responded coolly. "This is Chichiri, Minister. He is the child of the mating between an Akurei and a Tenshi."
The minute those words were out, the courtroom exploded into a loud roar as everyone began talking at once, shouting, standing up in shock, and excitedly peering at him. Chichiri kept his eye lowered so he didn't have to blush as much as he was already. He hated all this attention. And what was worse was, it seemed to be negative attention, given the glare the minister was giving him.
The Minister raised his hands for silence, shouting in the noisy room for order, and it took several long minutes for the spectators to finally sit back down and calm down. Then the Minister glanced at Chichiri. "Akurei and Tenshi huh? Where are it's wings then? Aren't the Akurei and Tenshi supposed to be winged creatures?"
Chichiri felt his cheeks burning in humiliation, and his eye had changed to a blood red color as he tried to contain his anger at being treated like an animal. He could tell Sou was angry as well as he spoke back evenly. "Yes sir, he withdrew his wings in order to travel here and not draw attention in the city."
The Minister nodded slightly. "Ah. Have it show it's wings then." He demanded. "I want to see if the legends are true."
Chichiri felt his anger grow, but luckily due to his training he could hold it in. He caught Sou's glance back at him and nodded in agreement. He then slowly stood up, not jostling Kaira in his arms, and closed his eye and focused his ki, and there was a soft white glow around him, and his wings burst from his back and extended high towards the ceiling and then relaxed around him, large black silky forms of darkness.
The courtroom was filled with awed murmurs and people leaning forward to see, and the Minister himself walked down and began to strut around Chichiri, examining him. He reached out and grabbed one of the monk's wings harshly, and poked and prodded at it. Chichiri bit his lip but didn't protest, knowing he had very little say, and that it was best to bide his time. The Minister plucked a feather, and that's when he winced and yanked his wings from the Minister's hand and whirled to face him, his crimson eye flashing dangerously. "There is only so much I can tolerate with your derogatory behavior towards me no da." He snapped before he could stop himself. "What if I was to start plucking strands of your hair out? That would hurt just as much as taking…" He snatched his feather back. "…these!"
The Minister was staring at him openmouthed in astonishment, the possibility that Chichiri was sentient obviously not having crossed his mind. He blinked once, then glanced at Sou. "Will you restrain this creature for me?" He said in a low voice, with narrowed eyes.
Sou looked as if he wanted to say something against the Minister, but he instead thought better of it and motioned to the guards who removed Kaira from Chichiri's arms and held him tightly in custody.
The Minister walked up to Chichiri and looked up at him appraisingly with dangerous eyes. "Well well, we have a feisty bastard here with us now don't we?" He smirked and pulled something from his robe….
Chichiri gritted his teeth as he knew what the Minister intended to do. "You punish me for defending myself in a position of which I have no knowledge of, no background in, or any understanding of the feuds that go on between your people and the Tenshi and Akurei." He kept a narrow gaze at the Minister feeling his anger build up. "You convict any whom you find distasteful, is that it? Those three men before me were innocent, their ki spoke of it and their words and feelings were truthful. Yet you convicted them of a crime to which they are innocent." He saw the Minister's anger grow, and yet this didn't stop him. "You don't even wish to hear the other side of the story or acknowledge it's existence. You don't care to listen to what I have to say, what they have to say." He stood tall and firm despite the Minister's advancements toward him with a dangerous look in his eyes. "I have no part in your feud with the other races, I know nothing of it, and yet you hold me responsible for the acts of two entire races." Chichiri's words were cut short as the Minister brought his whip down lashing harshly across the mage's face and Chichiri gasped silently in pain as the fiery leather cut into his skin and he felt blood run down his face.
"What an idiotic vain creature you are." The Minister said with a smirk. "You represent all of our hatred in both races. You are a bastard child that isn't wanted by any race. Why should we treat you like a person?" He brought the whip down again across Chichiri's back, then again, and again, and again, his eyes shining with glee at each strike that brought blood to the mage's flesh. "You deserve to suffer for what we have suffered." He bellowed as the others in the room began cheering him on as he continued to strike him again and again. With each blow, the crowd cheered more, their own hatred and anger urging the Minister on. Sou watched silently from the side, quiet fury on his face, but not daring to speak realizing he would get the same fate.
Chichiri knelt on the floor, his eye closed in concentration on anything other than the searing pain running through his body with each blow. Kaira had awoken and was watching from the side where she was being contained by two guards with wide green horror-struck eyes. Small whimpers came from her as small tears ran down her cheeks.
Sou watched with glazed eyes as the Minister struck Chichiri again and again. Then, something seemed to snap inside of him. As the Minister raised again, his hand snaked out and snatched the whip before it could strike again. Chichiri's eye lifted to see Sou glaring darkly into the astonished Minister's eyes with anger rampid on his face. "Yamete." He said in a low voice. "Right now."
The room had fallen silent, and Chichiri was holding his breath as he lifted a hand to compress the bleeding on his face. The Minister looked at Sou levelly, daggers flying from his eyes. "What do you think you are doing Sou." He asked in a very low quite voice that was a strong premonition of danger.
Sou tore the whip from the Minister's grasp and moved in front of Chichiri, drawing his sword. "I'm sick of the racism, the hatred, the prejudice for those who are innocent!" He said in a loud firm voice. "He just found out what he was yesterday! He knows nothing about either race, nor how we were treated. Yet you hold him responsible for the actions of those who were his distant ancestors from hundreds of years ago!" He snapped and threw the whip down at the Minister's feet. "I will not tolerate this kind of abuse any longer, I've stood silent, now it is time to speak out." He lowered his head to look directly at the Minister. "I would hope you understand where I am coming from." He spoke in a very low voice.
The minister looked directly at him with an amused glance. "Are you challenging my authority?"
Sou's eyes narrowed and there was a swift sharp movement from him, and the minister's eyes bulged in sudden shock. "I'm eliminating the cause of the corruption." He said quietly, a calm look on his face. The Minister gave one muffled groan, and glanced once at Chichiri and Kaira who was kneeling by him, hugging him tightly, and he slumped to the floor, Sou's dagger still buried in his gut.
There was absolute silence in the hall, no one moved, no one spoke, no one breathed. It was as deathly still as a courtyard as everyone absorbed the event. Then, the silence was broken by a muffled sob from Kaira, and Chichiri wrapping his arms around her and shhing her gently, rocking back and forth on his knees to comfort her. Finally, people began stirring, rustling uncertainly, looking at each other with puzzled glances, no one speaking still. The guards seemed uncertain about what to do, and hesitated where they stood, not wanting to approach Sou for fear of meeting the same fate as the Minister had. Sou then turned to face the crowd, then turned to Chichiri. He knelt down by the uncertain monk and looked at him with concern. "Are you all right?"
Chichiri nodded slowly and glanced at the Minister's body. "You…didn't have to kill him no da." He said with great sadness in his voice that carried into the hall to the watching spectators.
Sou shook his head. "There you are wrong. He has been leading our people to believe that the Tenshi and Akurei are pure evil, teaching us to hate, to abhor, to rebel against them. I realized a short time ago how it was when I…." He trailed off slowly, and Chichiri was the only one who caught the furtive reddening of his cheeks as he stood up quickly.
"Listen, all of you." Sou said in a loud firm voice. "What we have been taught, what we have learned, what we know about the other races is pure evil. We should not hate them, what their ancestors did hundreds of years ago does not hold on their shoulders. To treat innocent people like this," He helped Chichiri stand to his feet, and the monk stood there uncertainly, still holding Kaira to him as she cried against his chest. "It is horrendous and cruel." He threw his sword down and looked around at them all. "This man," He put his hand on Chichiri's shoulder. "Is what the Akurei and Tenshi call the Shiseiji. He is the one they believe will lead them to peace and end the feuds." He glanced at Chichiri who was looking uncertain. "To quote from their legends, "~"Thus, born of nobility, dark and light, soul and body, love and hate, courage and fear, white and black, yin and yang, shall the savior of the two races arise. He shall unbind the ties and re-forge destiny, and thus shall the rings of the moon be merged.~" He looked around to see what everyone was reacting to, and saw mixed expressions, some doubt, hostility, fear, and uncertainty, but along with that there was hope, understanding, and thought. "Now if we all work together, plan what we might do, perhaps we can reach an arrangement with the two races and put an end to this hiding, this hostility, and finally live the dream we've all wanted… to live above ground."
Chichiri glanced around at the people, seeing the same reactions they did. He realized that perhaps many if not most of them, had held these views inside themselves, but only been afraid to voice them. He took a slow step forward and everyone's eyes turned to him sharply, some with hatred still, others with pity, and the rest with confusion. "I can't say I entirely understand what has been going on between your three peoples…." He said quietly still hugging Kaira to him. "But if there's anything I dislike more, it's warring with people." He took a deep breath. "I've had too many close friends die in wars, and I refuse to stand by and do nothing when I can do something." He straightened up, and his eye turned a light silver color suddenly, and there was a soft glow from around him which made other people gasp in slight surprise. He didn't' seem to notice himself, but continued talking. "I would like to help you end this feud, if you would let me. But in order to do that, you have to overcome your own faults just as I must overcome mine." The light had grown more intense, and then just as quickly, it seemed to absorb into him, and he underwent a strange transformation. His entire body lightened, that was to say, his skin turned pale, his wings changed to white, and his hair turned a soft silver color. His eye was a bright crystal blue now, and looked out calmly into the audience. He also had a more feminine look to him, which made him have a quiet calm quality about him. "It will get better…." He said softly, a smooth and soothing voice.
