YAMI NO MATSUEI - DESCENDANTS OF DARKNESS

APOCALYPSE RISING

Chapter Fourteen – M Stands For…

To the Readers

It has been a long time, but I always had the intention of finishing this story.

Although I took some liberalities in interpreting the many "holes" that the manga-ka had left us fans guessing and exploring via fan fiction, I did my best not to stray too far from the series' intent. Let me know what you think, and I hope that you would enjoy this chapter as much as I have been enjoying writing this story.

For those who are not too familiar with Yami no Matsuei - Descendants of Darkness, this series is shounen-ai (boy/boy relationship or insinuations of boy/boy relationship). I refer you to Dame Theria's Yami no Matsuei website as well as Sakura Crisis' translations. Both of these sites are great resources for Yami no Matsuei.

This chapter has strong hints of shounen-ai, as well as violent scenes. I hope that you would like this chapter, and the ongoing story as a whole, just as much as I love writing it.

To those who have been avidly reading my work, many thanks to you. To my on-line friends, especially NM, B, and Del…thanks for everything.

Many thanks also go to Anita, a new on-line friend and fellow YnM fan. May you enjoy this story as well.

Warmest Regards, PJ Zatken

Terminology

Abigor - Demonology books differ in interpretation about Abigor's position in regards with Ashtarote. Some books say that Abigor is a higher-ranking demon than Ashtarote, and some say otherwise. The books, however, agree with the fact that Abigor is a demon commander, a war strategist, a seer, and the ruler of 60 realms in Hell. For the purposes of this fic, I used the interpretation that Abigor ranks higher than Ashtarote. I also took liberalities in fleshing out a background story for him.

Chapter Eight revealed that Abigor, whose seal has been mysteriously appearing in Kyoto Files Revisited, is none other than Tsuuri Troy. For the purposes of this fic, Enma, the primordial demons, Ashtarote, and the other demons will call him Abigor. Tsuzuki, Hisoka, Tatsumi, Watari, Konoe, Muraki, and Troy's loved ones will call him Troy or Tsuuri-kun. Troy, by this time, is used to being called by either name.

Subsequent chapters of Apocalypse Rising will explain more about his past, how he fell from God's grace, how he obtained his powers, how his relationship had been with Enma, and why he became involved with the Shokan Division. The depiction of Abigor in this fanfic belongs to PJ Zatken.

Ashtarote - The Grand Duke of Hell or Makai. Demonology books say that Ashtarote rules 40 realms and wields a lot of political clout in Hell. He has been eyeing on Tsuzuki to replace Sargatanas as the Brigadier Commander of the demon army since Sargatanas has been vanquished in The Devil's Trill manga and anime story arc. Although I took liberalities in shaping Ashtarote's character, the depiction of Ashtarote in the YnM series belongs to Matshushita Yoko.

Makai - Hell, or the equivalent of Hell.

Meifu - The land of the dead where sakura trees are almost in bloom all year round. Enma oversees Meifu. It is the equivalent of purgatory.

Terazuma Hajime - He is Wakaba Kannuki's senior partner in the Chugoku area. Although he has pointed ears and dark marks under his eyes due to his parasitic shikigami, he is handsome in his own right and bears a strong resemblance to Tsuzuki. A former detective of the Hiroshima Prefecture Police, an excellent archer, and a current shinigami, Terazuma's motto is efficiency and utilization of strength. He despises Tsuzuki because he sees his senior colleague as a "waste," not only due to Tsuzuki's lackadaisical attitude but also for the latter's possession and almost non-utility of his Fuda and shikigamis' powers. He avoids women and physical contact with women since he turns into his shikigami form with a woman's touch. Hisoka, too, also has the same effect on Terazuma. Although he avoids women, he welcomes Wakaba's presence for more reasons other than his partner's ability to turn him back into his human form.

Almost everyone calls him Terazuma, and Wakaba calls him Hajime-chan. Terazuma Hajime belongs to Matshushita Yoko, the manga-ka.

Kiseki – is a list of the people who are supposed to die and it is by this that the dead are admitted into Meifu. The shinigami retrieve people who are on the list but have not died yet.

Todoroki - The chief of the Peace Preservation Bureau. Chief Todoroki is one of Chief Konoe's fiercest enemies, and is an unseen character in the series.

I know, I know...what's Chief Satori doing in the story?

When I was doing my research on the series, I thought that the chief of the Peace Preservation Bureau is un-named. After doing more research for the purposes of this fic, I found out (much to my embarrassment) that Todoroki is the name of the chief. So for less confusion (and in an effort to save face), this is how the story goes...

The Peace Preservation Bureau has two chiefs - one handling internal affairs, and the other managing affairs outside Ju-Oh-Cho. Chief Satori handles internal affairs, and Chief Todoroki is in charge of external affairs. Although the two of them have different responsibilities, they have equal power and they have their respective staff. At the same time, both of them are thorns in Konoe's side.

Chief Satori is a character created by PJ Zatken, and Chief Todoroki is a creation of manga-ka Matshushita Yoko.

Wakaba Kannuki - She is Terazuma Hajime's partner in the Chugoku area. A Fuda user, she is the only one who could control Terazuma when he changes into his shikigami form. She looks like a pretty and bubbly high school girl in a shaded sailor uniform with long wavy red hair entwined with ribbons. Aside from having a sweet disposition, she is an awesome cook and a wonderful baker who spoils Tsuzuki and the rest of the Shokan Division with her pastries.

Her partner, Terazuma, calls her Kannuki. Tsuzuki affectionately calls her Wakaba-chan. The rest of her peers call her Wakaba, and she belongs to Matshushita Yoko.

"Will you quit fidgeting just for once?"

Terazuma just glared at the mirror. Actually he was glaring at the one who stood behind him, the latter putting makeup on him as well as placing those skin-colored props to cover his pointed ears. A candle was the only source of illumination within the room as they did not wish to stir any suspicion.

Wakaba just shook her head, continuing the ritual that she and her partner had established since they took on the Chugoku-Holy Innocents' Academy case. She then said under her breath, warning her partner, "I saw that pout, Hajime-chan. This isn't easy."

Terazuma just scowled as he stuck an index finger to loosen up the clerical collar around his neck, which made Wakaba shake her head in amusement since Terazuma's expression was between a scowl and a pout. "Tell me about it. Try prancing around in these heavy garments while pubescent pains in the neck – much worse than this stupid collar that I have to wear – go all googly-eyes while I lecture about embracing religion and going to Hell if you don't. And do I really have to start preparing for this stupid cosplay at three in the morning?"

Stopping for a minute, Wakaba examined her work and smiled a bit. The smile became warmer as thoughts about her and her cantankerous partner flitted in her mind, thanking the gods above and below that the candlelight hid that blush. "We're here on assignment. Soon, the rest will join us."

The male shinigami, now posing as a priest and teacher at the Academy, snorted his disagreement. "I've been up for the past three consecutive mornings at such an infernal hour, so forgive me for not being optimistic."

"Since when have you been optimistic?" asked Wakaba in a light mood.

After letting out a sarcastic snort, Terazuma quickly flung a hand. "I need a smoke…."

Shaking her head once more, Wakaba reminded Terazuma, "No smoking until the makeup comes off."

With eyes going wide, Terazuma's whispered remark was, "That's not for another fifteen hours!"

"Exactly," said Wakaba as she put away the makeup and everything else that she used on Terazuma. "Patience is a virtue, Hajime-chan. You said that the other day to our class in one of your lectures."

"I'm not feeling virtuous right now, so shoot me," was Terazuma's pouted reply while giving Wakaba a glare, his nerves on edge due to nicotine craving and as the shikigami inside him began to stir.

"See you in class, Sensei. We have a long day ahead of us, especially since Chief Konoe and Tatsumi-san both want a report on our investigation. The sun's setting right now in Meifu," replied Wakaba as she disappeared, only to reappear in her private bedroom to catch up on sleep before school began.

With clenched fists resting on top of his black priestly garb, Terazuma took deep sighs as he mumbled to himself, "Yes. Today's definitely going to be a long day. Religion class today..."

Shortly thereafter, screams pierced through the veil of silence.

Terazuma's eyes went wide, the shikigami inside him sensing the dark and heavy aura around him. He ran outside and followed where those screams came from.

A chill traveled down Terazuma's spine and his blood froze as he saw the very reason for those screams.

Chief Konoe sat at the head of the conference table. A group of subordinates looked at him after an hour behind closed doors had passed.

Tatsumi quietly held the slide projector's remote. Watari stared absentmindedly at the dry-board behind Chief Konoe, the dry-board filled with notes regarding the case. Terazuma and Wakaba were mostly silent save when their peers had questions to ask about what they saw that day.

All of them fell quiet in what they have seen – pictures of the very sight that elicited those bloodcurdling screams at Holy Innocents' Academy and made Terazuma run out to the school grounds before the crack of dawn. The pictures of each of the thirteen victims were imprinted in their minds.

Terazuma and Wakaba most especially remember it well, with an exceptionally-quiet Wakaba exhibiting more visibly showing signs how disturbed she was of the scene. They were supposed to be in school, with Terazuma teaching and with Wakaba blending in as a student but were free for the next couple of days since the Academy closed for three days to give police the time and room to investigate the incident and to give everyone time to cope with the tragedy.

The local authorities deemed it to be ritualistic suicide after autopsies and forensic studies were done. Somehow, no one gathered in the conference room agreed with the police – most especially Tatsumi.

From time to time, those inside the room glanced to the empty chairs where Tsuzuki, Hisoka, and Troy would normally sit during these gatherings. Each of them gazed at those chairs with sadness as a chill traveled down his or her spine in fear that worse things were about to come – the only question remaining to be answered was when would it take place as the three remained unconscious under Watari's care in the Shokan Division's infirmary.

Watari blinked, taking off his glasses and pressing the side of his nose to ease the pressure as he said, "It's 33 now."

"Thirty-three?" asked Tatsumi, gazing at the blonde scientist and being drawn away from the turmoil wracking his brain.

"The suicide...the deaths…. We can even call it murders. There are now 33 deaths at the Academy." Watari then pulled out his folder – the one that each of them received at the start of the case. "I've been reading this over and over. Tatsumi-san also handed me a folder regarding the slew of suicides that had occurred many years ago at the Academy. There is a pattern between the two series of incidents."

Standing up and grabbing the dry-board marker, Watari asked everyone, "Is anyone familiar with the Fibonacci series?"

With a frown, Terazuma asked, "Fibo who?"

"Fibonacci," said Wakaba with a pursed-lipped smile, still rather distraught although she was doing her best to cover it up. She then looked at Watari, shaking her head along with the rest of them.

Tatsumi had heard about Fibonacci once or twice during his existence, but was not as well-versed about it. He, along with the others, shook his head.

"Give me about five minutes here," murmured Watari as he was engrossed in drawing a series of rectangles on the white dry-board. After drawing the rectangles, the board reflecting rectangles drawn from top to bottom of the dry-board, a preoccupied Watari discarded the dried-out marker and then reached out for a new one resting nearby. With the new marker, he wrote names inside each rectangle. Once he was done writing the names, he then wrote numbers and symbols on the right-hand side of each rectangle.

The others were baffled, not following Watari's logic as the blonde scientist continued. However, their eyes began to open wider as they began to recognize the names appearing in those rectangles. Once Watari was done, all of them stared at his handiwork as he walked sideways to the right with dry-board marker in hand.

Watari did the same exercise on the dry-board beside the one he just finished working on.

Chief Konoe, Terazuma, and Wakaba's foreheads creased whereas Tatsumi's blood froze even further as he alone recognized the first set of names that Watari now wrote – names that the rest do not recognize.

Once Watari was finished with the second diagram, he walked back to the conference table and sat down. He gave the others about five minutes to contemplate on the information now written before them as everyone started scanning the first column of rectangles and names...

: Kataniwa Miya : 0 plus 1 equals 1

: Kabuto Emiko : 1 plus 1 equals 2

: Sanders Francis : 1 plus 2 equals 3

: Pedroni Angelica :

: Mori Anzu : 2 plus 3 equals 5

: Satou Kenji :

: Pedroni Anthony :

: Tanaka Koji : 3 plus 5 equals 8

: Takeda Ryosuke :

: Itou Daisuke :

: Kouya Isa :

: Fujikawa Seimei :

There was a seemingly endless series of rectangles and names beside the first column, the rectangle getting larger and the end-result of the equation beside each rectangle a larger number than the previous one.

After he surmised that everyone had time to absorb and draw conclusions about what was written on the board, Watari sat beside Tatsumi and explained to all those present in the room, "Each rectangle represents an incident – whether it is suicide or murder. If there are two or more names in a rectangle, it means that they either died on the same day or they all died together. The rectangle in the first column, third row were two suicides that occurred in Holy Innocents' Academy. Sanders Francis, a priest and teacher, hung himself inside his quarters. Pedroni Angelica slashed her wrists the same night. Both of them were found dead the following morning. The rectangle in the first column, fifth row was a freak accident where the balcony section of the church gave in, causing the four students to fall and get crushed by the falling debris. One of the names within that rectangle – Kouya Isa – fell to her death at the cliffs the same day as the accident."

"All the names that you see were listed in the kiseki after their deaths, but to this very day their souls have not been retrieved nor have appeared before Enma for judgment."

Terazuma's eyes squinted and he blurted out, "But those people…some of them…died nearly forty years ago. How could that be?"

Watari let out a subtle sigh. "I know, but the same occurrence and pattern happened earlier than that. I'm now in the process of tracing those names, and even though the Gushoshin have not finished gathering the data for us the same patterns exist. Tatsumi-san can even attest to that fact since he was involved in one of the investigations, right Tatsumi-san?"

Tatsumi knew exactly what those rectangles meant, but he always dismissed it as his personal bias regarding the case. He gazed into Watari's eyes and nodded, feeling vindicated and at the same time reopening some poignant memories from decades ago that he wished to have closure from.

Wakaba looked at the dry-board once more. She then addressed her companions by asking, "The numbers…. So you're saying that they're a pattern? A pattern for what, specifically?"

Terazuma mumbled, "A ritual, probably?"

Chief Konoe blinked a bit as if he were stirred awake. "What makes you say that?"

Terazuma's reply was, "It was just a feeling. It's hard to explain, but if you were there…."

"I know what you mean, Hajime-chan…" interjected Wakaba as chills traveled down her spine once more. "Seeing them lying like that…bleeding…dead…it was…."

The entire room then fell silent once more for a long time as Tatsumi thumbed the remote and scanned the pictures once more one by one. Finally, he asked Watari, "The equations…what's so important about them aside from the fact that there's a pattern?"

Watari drummed the dry-board marker against the table as if he were trying to jog back his thoughts. Once he stopped doing that, resorting to just holding the marker with one hand as he rested his back against the chair, he replied, "It was said that the Fibonacci series hold such a mystery. Some even claim that it holds the very secrets of life and creation embodied in mathematical form. That bold claim still needs to be proven, but that claim becomes stronger still on cases wherein the formula has been applied."

Tatsumi's eyes squinted a bit while he stared at the white dry-board. His mathematically-tuned mind began crunching numbers inside his head, his eyes narrowing a bit as he sat quietly and absentmindedly twirled his favorite red marking pencil with his right hand. Once he finished processing the numbers as he used the model that Watari furnished them, he held his breath for a couple of seconds. He then told everyone, his eyes still glued to the board, "Don't tell me that we're expecting 13 deaths soon?"

"Right…" Wakaba then took her notepad and started scribbling numbers, doing the same exercise that Tatsumi did in his head. "And the irony is that if I add the second row of numbers and I then expand it to two more sequences, it adds up to 33. One, plus one, plus two, plus three, plus five, plus eight, plus thirteen equals 33..."

After shaking his head for a while, Terazuma dug his right hand inside his pants pocket. Touching the half-filled box of cigarettes from his pants pocket reminded him of how stressed he felt.

Chief Konoe took a drink of water and then took a hard swallow, his body also feeling the stress of the recent series of events hitting the Shokan Division and his small circle of staff who he considered as his family as long as he could remember. "Find any pattern, whether it would be the method of death, the one responsible for their deaths, their occupation, location of death, time of death – anything. These events seem to be too premeditated. Someone is behind this, so we need to find him."

The staff got startled and then gave a tightlipped nod as Chief Konoe added, "And find any connection with Muraki and these deaths. Don't limit yourself to just Muraki Kazutaka. Go back as far as you can in the family tree, if you can."

Almost everyone then stood up as Chief Konoe gave a silent acknowledgement that the meeting had been adjourned.

When Tatsumi was about to leave, Konoe silently tapped his hand on the table to get the secretary's attention. The eye contact between them established that the meeting was not over but was simply just limited to the two of them, which prompted Tatsumi to tell Watari, "I'll look for you at the infirmary or the laboratory as soon as we're done here."

Watari gave his lover a genial nod and a smile, leaving the two men and closing the door behind him to give them privacy.

With a calm tone and a tightlipped smile, Chief Konoe asked his secretary, "Is there something that you wanted to tell me, Tatsumi-kun?"

"We've all kept secrets, Kacho. You did, too," was Tatsumi's reply, his tone having no hint of blame, avoidance, or defensiveness. He then let out a subtle sigh and then gazed into the eyes of his superior, long-time friend, and somewhat father figure. "It's a long time ago since I got involved in that case. It was a couple of years before I joined the Shokan Division. At that time, I was young, naïve..."

"Yet you never gave up on looking into those deaths as something more than what it was. You shouldn't have given up on what your instincts had told you – young or not."

Tatsumi's gaze at Chief Konoe intensified, as if he were ready to bare his soul and daring the elder shinigami to do so. "Just as you have never given up on watching out for all of us and feeling responsible for whatever happens to all of us, Kacho – including Tsuzuki-san?"

"Most especially Tsuzuki, Tatsumi-san…. Most especially him…."

The two men fell silent, their respective burdens and guilt weighing heavier than they normally did.

Tatsumi broke their silence as he said, "I never got the chance to thank you and Tsuuri-kun for saving us. I –"

After smiling gently and chuckling inwardly, the chief told the younger man, "I know, Tatsumi-san. I know you too well."

"One of the victims was a woman that I became close to – Kouya Isa. She was a teacher at Holy Innocents' Academy. I was there when she fell over the cliff."

There was something that Tatsumi unknowingly communicated to Chief Konoe, the elder man keeping it to himself as to how much the young woman truly meant to the secretary. The elder man could empathize with the pain and guilt that Tatsumi bore about this incident, but he did what he thought was best. He listened to the secretary talk about what he had seen during that undercover assignment and once the narrative was over, Konoe was clear that his half-a-century-old hunch about Tatsumi's feelings for the woman were true.

Just then, Wakaba's screams and the sounds of objects shattering all at once broke the silence.

The two men bolted out of their seats and ran as fast as their feet could take them towards where the screams were coming from.

Although Tatsumi's blood froze, he sprinted faster towards the Shokan Division's infirmary. With clenched teeth and a racing heart, he prayed more frantically as he and Konoe heard Wakaba's panicked and repeated screams of Watari's name.

A half-mile from JuOhCho's offices, the late afternoon cold breeze gently blew as dusk also began to settle in Meifu.

Troy's thoughts were lost to his disappointment with Enma's behavior towards him as well as his guilt over his inability to be with Hisoka and Tsuzuki. The hours passed as his gaze continued to rest on the lakeside water before him, a constant prayer echoing within his mind as he begged Divine Providence to keep all those he cared for safe under His care – living or dead.

The comforting sight before Troy, however, was a far portrait of what was actually happening to all of them. He sat on the ground and resumed leaning against the sakura tree. This time, he leaned his head against the tree trunk as if it were a pillow, closing his eyes, and finding comfort and peace with his surroundings. Aside from his ashes being buried in this spot, he and Enma have spent much time together in this very spot as Meifu's citizenry were asleep.

To Troy, it was the perfect place for contemplation as well as company since this site mostly brought him to a sense of inner calm. His physical body was still laying unconscious in the infirmary along with Hisoka and Tsuzuki. He had no way to save Hisoka and Tsuzuki, and for some reason no way for his soul to return and bring consciousness back to his body.

As Troy closed his eyes, his heart became heavy with sadness and longing. He stared deeper at the lake as if it were a crystal ball that showed him the past. Remembering the kiss and embrace that he and Enma shared after many centuries had passed, he mused as tears began to bead at the corners of his eyes, "I'm tired, Enma. I don't know how long I could stay being at odds with you. I don't know if you're the one who blocked my way to help them. Why would you want Tsuzuki-san to fall into their hands?"

While Troy's imagination stirred his senses and brought back the sensations of the last kiss and embrace he shared with his lover, he bit his lower lip. Before Troy began to go in deeper meditation, he heard a voice remark, "It's always been peaceful here."

A startled Troy blinked his eyes a couple of times and stirred. Seeing who the new arrival was, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Come now, Tsuuri-kun…or should I say Lord Abigor? Is that the way to treat an old friend such as me?" asked Muraki before he took a deep sigh and looked at the sunset.

Troy gave Muraki such a fierce glare as he asked, "What have you done to Tsuzuki-san and Hisoka?"

After many minutes of silence between them, Muraki asked Troy, "His involvement has been plaguing you too, isn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," was all that Troy managed to say, his tone and demeanor abrupt.

"A choice had to be made a year ago, Tsuuri-kun. You were destined to play a much-deeper role in this saga, but of course no one could upstage my dear Tsuzuki-san. You chose to resume your demonic existence and reclaim your throne. You also chose EnmaDaiOh over that sweet girl…Aiko was her name, right? You also chose to give up some of your gifts so that you could give her soul peace."

Muraki then smirked deviously, adding, "And just in case you're wondering, your dear EnmaDaiOh did block you from entering the realm where Tsuzuki-san and the boy are now in. He also sends you his warmest regards. He wants to make sure that I did so."

Seconds later, Muraki purposefully dropped a glinting metallic object before Troy's feet.

Troy's blood froze as his shaky hand reached out for the object to confirm what he saw. And indeed he did confirm that his eyes were not deceiving him. As he held the object in his hand, his defiant glare became more intense as his eyes glowed and burned bright red. "This ring…is the Signet of Hades – the seal of the Great Lord and Judge of the Dead….the Lord of the Underworld. …"

Clasping the ring, Troy's eyes burned brighter red. His voice took a deeper, more demonic tone as the dark aura that was now already part of his being bubbled up to the surface. "This is Enma's ring…his seal. What have you done to him?!"

Muraki inwardly chuckled as he felt the dark aura curl all throughout Troy's body, the dark power mingling with the chilly air. "Just as you did a year ago, Lord Enma chose to be stubborn. Yet, just as you did, he ended up having to face his fate. Generations of my family have set the stage for what is about to happen. I will be the one to fulfill that legacy and pact with the dark ones. There is nothing that any of you could do to stop Death himself from destruction, unless…."

"Unless what, Muraki?"

"Unless you unleash the seal to the Pool of Chaos – the one you've placed there eons ago."

Troy stared at Enma's ring for a long time before he clasped the ring more firmly. He then made the ring disappear, safekeeping it for his lover. He glared at Muraki. "The only way to unleash the seal is to…."

An even more devious smirk escaped Muraki's lips. "Yes, I know the consequence. Frankly, I don't know why you hesitate in doing so. You are, after all, a primordial as well. This is also your chance to get your revenge over what happened…what your lover did to you in the distant and recent past…all the hurt that you and those such as you have gone through because of your gifts…beings such as you and those in the Shokan Division. Beings such as Tsuzuki-san…."

After a long pause, Muraki added, "And need I remind you that your precious Enma betrayed you once more. He constantly set you up to fail, to give up what's rightfully yours –"

"Shut up!"

The evil doctor's silver-and-blue eyes gave the young demonic nobleman a probing gaze and a twisted smirk. "Why, Lord Abigor? Does the truth hurt too much for you to hear? When you were still Tsuuri Troy, I asked you to come with me." He then lifted a hand, offering his open palm as an invitation for the other to take. "My offer still remains open. I'll keep it open as long as I can. I have all the time in the world and so do you. But your precious EnmaDaiOh is running out of time. I suggest that you make your decision very soon."

Troy's voice was cold as the lake began to boil and the wind began to blow more harshly, his dark aura stirring the elements as he did all effort to hold on to a grain of composure. "I held out for this long. I held out for many eons, standing up against your masters. I sealed the Pool of Chaos so that they would never rise again. What makes you think that I would say yes to your threat?"

"It's simple," was Muraki's nonchalant answer. "You will do whatever it takes to see all your new friends continue to exist and have the Lord of the Dead returned safely."

"I don't believe you."

Muraki's smirk even became more twisted. "Believe what you wish. You'll just see what happens next." He then turned and began to walk away calmly.

However, Muraki's departing steps stopped.

After taking a subtle sigh, Muraki said to Troy, "I wouldn't tempt fate if I were you. Whether you are Tsuuri Troy or Lord Abigor, the path given for you to take is inevitable."

Muraki then turned around, gazing at Troy as a gentle rain of white feathers fell from the sky. "You're meant to rule. You're meant to wield such power and impart them to those who serve you well. You're not meant to serve or care for anyone. You're also most especially not made to love anyone or be loved in return. Such is your fate. However, the price for such sacrifices that you've already made have been waiting by your feet all this time. Think it over and honor your destiny."

Just as his voice echoed throughout the lakeside, Muraki and the rain of white feathers disappeared before Troy's eyes.

At the same time, Troy felt a disturbance. His non-corporeal form began to disappear into the dark, dismal void.

Beside the vast lake a quarter-mile from the hospital that became Tsuzuki's home for eight years, the late afternoon cold breeze gently blew in as dusk began to settle.

In the parallel realm, Hisoka stood and leaned against one of the ever-blooming sakura trees nearby a well-known grave. His hands dug deep into the pockets of his windbreaker and his silky blonde hair being tousled up here and there by the wind. His gaze rested at the lakeside water and its changing hue as the sky grew darker. To him, there was still something peaceful with staring at the near-calm waters, the gentle wind blowing, the healthy trees' leaves to move with the breeze, and for some of the pinkish-white sakura petals to fall and blanket the ground as if they were silky snowflakes.

Yet the small semblance of peace that Hisoka had was surpassed with the melancholy inside his heart and mind, for eight year's worth of memories panned out before him. He had a choice to simply turn his back or walk away, but he chose to stay.

You'll never be alone…

Hisoka fulfilled this promise to Tsuzuki in Kyoto. As much as there were days and nights that he could not bear it anymore, he stayed by Tsuzuki's bedside with the emerald-eyed shinigami able to see everything while he remained invisible in everyone's sight. For some reason, though, he had this inkling that Tsuzuki was aware of a presence keeping him company. As the glimmer of hope settled in Hisoka's being, he would eventually become sad as he remembered that it was Ruka that his elder partner would be looking for and not him.

As Hisoka's gaze focused on the unmarked grave, he whispered, "I'm sorry. I couldn't give you the peace you've wanted – whether it was during your life or your afterlife. Even if I could pick up that knife and give it to you, or drive it into your heart, I…."

"I just couldn't do it. Please forgive me…" Hisoka added after a long pause, his mind's eye seeing Tsuzuki Asato's name clearly engraved on a white marble slab even though the physical focus of his gaze was simply a patch of recently-unearthed soil. Just as he thought that he could not be angrier at Muraki's grandfather since the day Tsuzuki had been taken from the calamity-devastated town, his entire being shook out of sheer rage as the cold-hearted murderer buried the man that would soon become his elder partner in an unmarked grave.

Just as one would think that eight years' worth of experimentation and torture would earn a person peace of heart, mind, and soul…let alone a decent burial….

The young man's fists clenched as he recalled the days wherein he accompanied a mostly-catatonic Tsuzuki. Since he had partnered up with Tsuzuki, he kept his psychic shields up for he was so afraid with the flow and depth of emotions coming from Tsuzuki. Since he had been sent to this phase of Tsuzuki's life, he chose to let down his emotional shields in hopes to understand and to reach out to his partner. What he had uncovered by being vulnerable was far scarier than what he had ever experienced before…

On most days, Hisoka could not feel anything from Tsuzuki as the latter lay there in bed.

The young shinigami wanted to stop his partner's suffering, especially when Muraki's grandfather came by Tsuzuki's bedside. Memories that he wished to seal flooded back in his mind's eye – moments wherein Muraki Kazutaka visited him in the hospital everyday during those three years as his physician, only to ravish him in mind, body and spirit and leave him wanting death more than the previous day's visit.

Hisoka and another figure invisible to nearly everyone's eyes watched the years pass before them as they stayed beside Tsuzuki. The two of them watch Tsuzuki deteriorate over the years, their hearts breaking as the only consolation that they could give was to simply be there as silent and invisible spectators to Tsuzuki's suffering.

During Tsuzuki's catatonic days, he lay in bed while his focus remained glued outside the window. He watched the birds or butterflies outside without uttering a word, as if he were waiting for them to give him good news or better luck than he was having at the time. His lucid mind was much of a prisoner of his subconscious. His heart had been rendered numb as he watched the sun rise and set as the days, weeks, months, seasons, and years passed before him. His trapped mind kept screaming inside him, wanting to feel alive once more or begging for a way for this nightmare to end.

On days wherein his lucid mind would emerge for a few hours, Tsuzuki would look for Ruka and then sob since he had not seen his beloved sister. He would close his eyes, holding back the tears and wondering why his sister would leave him alone in such a place…his mind locking the memory of what happened that fateful night at first. There were times wherein he would just cry until he would be reduced to his catatonic state once more. Other times would find his memory unleashing all the memories of that fateful night while he slashed his wrists, his heart breaking and his mind begging for an end.

Every now and then, Muraki's grandfather would leave a surgical instrument within Tsuzuki's reach. At times, the amethyst-eyed young man would snap out of his stupor.

Moments afterwards, the nurses would rush by Tsuzuki's bedside as he would repeatedly slash his right wrist until the bone would be seen. The ghastly sight left a pool of Tsuzuki's blood collected on the marbled floor.

Wanting to be left alone to bleed and die, he would fight as the nurses or Muraki's grandfather would tend his wounds only to have the cycle repeat days, weeks, or months later.

As the years passed by, Tsuzuki gave up on fighting since death would never come to claim him no matter what he did to himself. He would just inflict the pain to feel alive. At times, he would do so and then pray to the gods to have pity on him by letting him die. The last three years of his stay at the hospital, no one ran to his bedside save for Muraki – the latter just there to chart what was happening to Tsuzuki but without giving any aid to the young man.

Whatever state of mind Tsuzuki was in, there was one constant factor that ran throughout those eight years of hell under Muraki's care – Tsuzuki always felt alone and forsaken, perpetually wondering what made him into such an unforgivable freak of nature.

Hisoka blinked as he heard the rustle of leaves, his empathy picking up the approaching presence of another figure. He looked and sure enough, it was the figure that also accompanied Tsuzuki all those years.

After the approaching footsteps stopped, Hisoka glanced sideways and gave the figure a tightlipped smile even though he knew that the other could not see or hear him. He then whispered, "It's good to see you here, Kacho."

Chief Konoe, the new arrival, squatted and took a fistful of loose soil. He closed his eyes and said to Tsuzuki, "I have to take you to be judged. EnmaDaiOh-sama's summoning you. I just wish that I could give you the peace that you've always wished. I've watched you all these years. No one deserves to suffer, let alone suffer as long and as much as you did. As much as my son and I did..."

The elder man watched his hand as it let go of the soil and allowed it to return to its source. "With EnmaDaiOh-sama, what you went through for eight years would pale in comparison to what I think he has in mind for you. For that, forgive me Son. All that I could promise is from here on out, I will do my best to protect you...to be there for you..."

Once Konoe uttered those words, a mist rose from the grave and formed into a misty representation of Tsuzuki.

Just when Hisoka's hand reached out, wanting to touch Tsuzuki's misty form, Konoe and the mist disappeared before him. When he thought that his glimpse into Tsuzuki's life was all over, he was pulled into the dark void once more.

End of Chapter Fourteen

Normal Disclaimer

Yami no Matsuei - Descendants of Darkness and the series' characters belong to Matsushita Yoko.

This fanfic, KFR, and their original characters (Tsuuri Troy, Chief Satori, Doctor Kawasawa) belong to PJ Zatken. The depiction of Ashtarote in the series belongs to Matsushita Yoko. The depiction of Abigor in KFR and this fan fiction belong to PJ Zatken.