Chapter 21- All is not lost.
Hi guys! I'm sorry about that last chapter, you know with the heartbreaking death and stuff T^T. I was reading Chapter 20 myself while listening to extremely sad songs and let's just say, even as the author I was about to cry. So, do try rereading that chapter with extremely sad songs and yeah... good luck with that. But anyways, I'm so happy for the reviews because they literally make my day and I love to read them over and over again! And guess what guys, it looks like some people have voted for Sebastian Michealis from Black Butler and Kyouya Ootori from Ouran Host Highschool club. I'm sure they're quite happy.
ANYWAYS THANKS FOR THE EVER SO BEAUTIFUL SUPPORT AND PLEASE REVIEW!
Reina's POV.
I opened my eyes, and frowned in annoyance. Yes, the first thing I do when I die, is frown in annoyance. Because I remember I was suppose to be in some awesome place when I died that Kano promised me. With a beautiful starry night that lasted forever, and an everlasting water floor that didn't make you feel wet like normal water did. It was that kind of place I would've liked to spend the rest of eternity in. Yet here I was, in a painfully bright white room.
" Dammit, and here I thought I was going to relax in a nice place," I grumbled as I heaved myself up. As I stood up and stretched my swore body, I felt like I was being watched. But heck, I wanted to stretch so I'm going to.
" Reina Izumo," a male voice boomed, but I ignored him as I touched my toes. I looked up to see five men, all on tall thrones with a lady beside them. They looked normal, if they weren't on tall thrones.
" Wassup!" I exclaimed with a grin, " oh wait, there actually isn't anything up so I can't really ask that."
A man had dark blue hair that reached his ears, his piercing gold eyes glaring into me. He had silver streaks in his hair which made me frown. He seemed to be around 40 but heck, how the hell was I suppose to know? He wore a royal blue coat, which had black outlines, and with light blue waves at the bottom to make it look like some frills. He held a machete on his black belt but I had a feeling he wouldn't need to kill me with it.
The woman beside him had blue hair, braided in an elaborate way with pearls and shells before being twisted into a bun. Her blue eyes looking at me in a smug way. She wore a royal blue, long sleeved puffy dress which had the same light blue waves at the bottom to appear as if they were frills.
" Greetings, Reina Izumo," the man said, " allow me to introduce myself. I am one of the Guardian Elders, I am the Elder of Water, my name is Tatsuya Hamasaki."
" And I am his wife, Misaki Hamasaki," the woman proudly introduced. I raised an eyebrow at the name of Elders.
" Seriously? You guys look like you are 40 or something," I said, " and you're called the Elders?!"
" We may not look like it, but we are thousands of years old," Tatsuya replied. I gave a realising ' ooohhhh,' before looking at the other Elders I presumed and their wives.
A man with dark green hair which was in a messy pony tail and golden eyes. He smirked at me not in a smug way, but in an amused way. His dark green hair had silver streaks in it as well, although it looked rather disoriented due to his messy hair. He had a lazy stubble and he looked rather relaxed. He wore a forest green coat with black outlines and brach patterns at the bottom, which looked exactly the same as Tatsuya, although it was opened in a lazy manner to expose a crinkled white shirt. He held a bow and a quiver of arrows but he looked too lazy to care.
The lady beside him scowled at his appearance and shot dirty looks at him. She had brown hair which was braided with green ribbons. She had bright green eyes that sparkled with irritation. She wore a forest green, long sleeved puffy dress with branch patterns and she sat up right while her husband sat lazily in his chair.
" Such a hard job isn't it?" I asked sarcastically towards him, " just sitting in a chair, must be such an exhausting job!"
The man looked at me in shock before roaring with laughter. His wife looked at me incredulously while her husband laughed.
" This girl sure has spunk!" he roared with jolliness. Suddenly, his wife whacked him swiftly on the head, causing him to clutch his head in pain.
" Mind your manners!" she snapped, " you're suppose to act like a proper elder!"
" But Eeerrriicccaaaa," he whined, " it's not my fault the job is so boring and because I like the girl!"
I'm starting to like this guy actually. Not afraid to say that the job was shit. Good guy, he and I will become good friends. His wife smiled at me apologetically.
" I'm sorry about his behaviour," she said, making me shake my head with a smile.
" No, it's okay, he actually reminds me of myself actually," I said, " it's good that he wants to act like himself."
The man looked at me before grinning brightly.
" Well, at least someone here actually understands me!" he exclaimed. I grinned back and I gave a thumbs up to him, causing him to give me a thumbs up as well. I could see the multiple sweat drops coming from the other Elders.
" My name is Erica Gardenia , I am the wife of this rather lazy man over here," she politely said, motioning a hand to her husband.
" Oh yeah, the name's Aron Gardeina," the man introduced, " and I'm the Elder of Earth."
" Nice to meet ya!" he exclaimed goofily. Gosh, those two are so nice. I think I like them the most.
Next to the two amazing couple, was a man with short dark sliver hair with light silver streaks in his hair. His golden eyes looked at me with a monotone expression. He wore a light grey coat with black outlines, patterns of dark grey shards at the bottom of his coat. He held a rapier on his coat but he looked to impassive to know if he wanted to kill me or not.
His wife had beautiful wavy silver hair which was decorated with different types of metal ornaments. Her black eyes looked at me kindly and she smiled encouragingly. She wore a sliver long sleeved puffy dress with different metal patterns adorning her dress.
" Hello," his wife said kindly, " my name is Kyoko Ishiko, I'm sorry that you had to leave your family so early in your life."
" Hayato Ishiko, Elder of Metal," the man beside her impassively said. Well, someone reminded me of Senri. Kyoko smiled gently at me, reminding me of Yuki. A tug pulled at my heart and I clenched it painfully.
" I give my condolences to you," Kyoko said, " it must've been very hard for you."
" Kyoko, don't give sympathy to her just because she's died earlier than most mages," Hayato said. I raised an eyebrow at him as he looked at me with a monotone expression.
" Oh come on Hayato," she said, " at least give her some sympathy, she had to leave her family and loved ones behind."
Kyoko smiled at him and I guess that thawed the man's heart since his lips twitched into a ghost of a smile.
The man next to him had neat long hair in a ponytail which reached his chest. He had very light blue hair with silver streaks in it, his golden eyes looking at me gently. He wore a light blue, grey coat with black outlines, spirals of wind patterns at the bottom of the coat. He had two twin swords on his black belt, but he looked too nice to try and cut me up.
Beside him was a woman who smiled with equal kindness. She had light blue long, hair that curled at the end in spirals. Her two bangs were braided to create this sort of elf look and her grey eyes glistened. She wore a light blue long sleeved puffy dress with spirals of wind patterns adorning it.
" Oh come, Hayato, there's no need to be so cold to the girl," the man said, smiling at Hayato. The Metal Elder simply sighed and his wife Kyoko tried to calm him. The man with the very light blue hair returned his smile to me and he held a welcoming hand.
" Welcome to the Room of Elders, my name is Gerald Caelestis and I am the Elder of Air," he introduced. I nodded slowly and shook his hand awkwardly.
" And my name is Arianna Caelestis," the woman woman introduced herself. I nodded to the Elder of Air before turning my head to someone who I sensed malicious waves off.
The man had firey red hair, braided in a small plait resting on his shoulders. His firey red hair gleamed with sliver streaks, and his golden eyes chuckled darkly at me. He smirked at me with a sense of danger, his head resting on his hand as his arm leaned on the arm rest of the throne. He wore a red coat with black outlines, and black shadowy flames adorned the bottom of his coat. In his black belt, held a large black sword with flames decorating it.
The woman next to him clung to his arm tightly. She wore not a long sleeved puffy dress like the other women did, but a tight, sleek and revealing firey red dress which clung to her every curve. It had black firey patterns on it, and her shadowy black eyes bored into my crystal blue ones. Her auburn hair was twisted into a messy bun, with wisps of her hair falling out of the bun. She smirked at me, and hugged her husband's arm tightly, pushing her breasts onto the arm. I narrowed my eyes at the two, even subconsciously taking a fighting stance. His aura, his cruel malicious aura felt so similar to Rido's.
" You don't have to be so tense," the man said, waving his hand dismissively. I still glared at him with a raised hand, my feet parted slightly. I knew I didn't have my mage powers since I had no purple cracks on me, and I didn't even have my sword, but every inch of my body told me that this guy, was not to be trusted.
" I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Akira Himura, and I think you can guess I am the Elder of Fire," he said, leering lightly at me, " nice to be an acquaintance of yours."
" And I'm his wife, Aiko Himura," the lady beside him purred, giggling as she hugged his arm tightly. I lowered my fighting stance, but I didn't lower my wary gaze from him. I looked between the five men and women, especially keeping my eyes on Akira the Fire Elder and Tatsuya the Water Elder.
" So, why do I have the ever so gracious presence of all five members of the Guardian Elders?" I asked, placing a hand on my hip. Tatsuya glared at me while Akira smirked at me in amusement.
" You've been summoned because it's not everyday you see on of the strongest mages in history," The Fire Elder said, " but I must say, it was surprised to see you lose against that Rin boy."
I stiffened and glared at him.
" You know very well that I had somewhat summoned my guardian without using a gateway," I replied.
" Ah yes, your guardian Kano Hamasaki, came here as quickly as he could to ask us for permission to extend your life with a spell," The Earth Elder, Aron said, " but it looks like that the fight between a rather strong mage placed a toll on you."
" I must say though, only two people voted against placing that spell on you," the Fire Elder said, " and that was Tatsuya Hamasaki and Hayato Ishiko."
I looked at the Water Elder and the Metal Elder, looking to see the two Elders who probably disliked me.
" I simply thought it was too much hassle to try and save just one girl," Hayato, the Metal Elder said, " I mean, she only had five more years of her life."
" Reina Izumo has been causing quite a bit of trouble for my son, and it's been stopping him from his studies of becoming the greatest Guardian," Tatsuya said, the Water Elder glaring into me. Well, I just glared back at the old man.
" I simply liked the girl for her spunk," Aron, the hearty Earth Elder said, laughing jollily.
" I didn't think it'd be right to cut her life short when she already had such a short life already," the kind Air Elder explained, Gerald smiling at me.
" And I simply thought having you in the human world was rather amusing," Akira, the smug Fire Elder said, smirking at me.
" Yes, it's apparently great entertainment for many people to use me as some sort of toy," I said, " because I certainly know many people who liked to see me in pain just for their pleasure."
" I must presume this Rido Kuran is one of them," Akira mused. I glared at him and nodded. It was official, I hated this guy at first glance.
" Well, if we're finished here, I'd like to go off and be a ghost or something," I said, turning my back to see some sort of large door with two guards dressed all in white. I marched towards the door only for the guards to block me with their large spears.
" Not just yet Reina Izumo," the Water Elder said, causing me to turn my head from behind.
" And why is that?" I asked, " I mean, I've lived and now I'm dead so I really don't see any use in me right now."
Tatsuya, the Water Elder's face turned red in anger and hit his fist on the throne's armrest.
" I am the Elder of Water how dare you speak to me with such insolence!?" he exclaimed angrily. I laughed and turned my body fully to see all of the five elders.
" I thought you watched over the me in the human world," I said, " so I think you should know, that I seriously don't give a shit if you're some sort of god."
" We were in charge of the mage race," the angered Water Elder boomed, " if it weren't for us, you wouldn't even have the privilege of living as a mage. It's lucky enough for you that you were kept alive for an amount of time."
I bitterly smirked and looked at him with an incredulous look.
" Privilege? Don't make me laugh," I said, " all you guys did was sit on your asses while you decided to make every single mage's life shorter just because they were born a mage."
" It's funny, that you think you know so much about us mages, while in truth, you have no idea how much pain we felt," I kept on going, " how much suffering some us had to go through. We had to live our lives either knowing we couldn't have a freaking life, or leaving all our loved ones behind."
" Some mages however decided to find ways to get out of that situation, for example planting their powers into another mage," the Water Elder replied, " you of all people should know that the more power a mage has, the less time they have to live."
" Of course, but I'm guessing you were the ones to place that unfortunate curse on all us mages," I said, " what sick bastards you are."
All of the Elders and their wives flinched as I gave a cold, bitter smile.
" What did you say?!" Tatsuya, the Water Elder, exclaimed, standing from his chair angrily.
" You have some sort of brain disfunction if you think you can get away with an insult like that," Hayato said, glaring at me.
" I don't think you know the importance it was to choose that decision," Gerald, the Air Elder calmly said.
" Some of us had a hard time accepting it," Aron, the Earth Elder replied. Akira, the Fire Elder simply smirked at me in amusement.
" I know you did that so that mages couldn't crave for more power and to not take over the world with chaos but mind me asking," I said, " if that's the case, then why are you letting the vampires live, even though many of them want more power for themselves?"
An eery silence engulfed the whole room, no answer replying to my question. I narrowed my eyes as I glared into their eyes.
" I've done my fair bit of research on the Guardian Elders and mages," I said, glaring, " although I have a feeling you're not telling me what really happened."
The Water Elder sat down, glaring right back at me.
" Since you're dead and so insistent, I'll tell you exactly what happened," the stern Water Elder said, " in reality, the mages were simply a series of unfortunate test experiments used by us."
I widened my eyes in fury before clenching my fist angrily. Test experiments?!
" We made mages for the sake of creating a new sort of soldier," Tatsuya explained, " but we deemed it a failure and we decided to send the ten subjects to earth."
" Each element had two people, a woman and man mage," Hayato, the Metal Elder said, " but what we didn't account for was that each woman and man in each element group fell in love."
" And what we didn't account for was that mages could mate with humans and create mages themselves," the Water elder said, " and, so, in an instance, we had created an infection of mages."
" You make it sound as if we're pests," I growled, " but did you ever think about our feelings and the fact we wanted to live?!"
" No, because you were simply failed tools tossed aside," Tatsuya coldly said, " and the power you hold was shared with the vampire aristocrats."
" It was a freaking truce you old man," I snapped, " if we hadn't done that, we would've been killed."
" Exactly, we thought that if the vampires killed you, we wouldn't have to do it ourselves," the Water Elder replied, " unfortunately, you were very stubborn."
" No matter, we decided to place a curse on all mages that the more power you had, the less time you had to live," he continued, " so in that case, it would prevent mages from being overpowered and it would slowly kill the mage's existence."
I stayed silent with my body shaking in anger. I opened my eyes and glared into the Water Elder's.
" How dare you do that to all the people who've died," I hissed, " here you all are, sitting on your tall thrones as if you have the right to decide our fates."
" If I had my sword, I would be be kicking your ass for destroying so many lives," I growled, glaring at them in defiance. I wasn't going to grovel at the feet of them, no, I wouldn't do such a thing. They were disgusting cowards who thought our lives were nothing but insects.
" You have some nerve saying that," the Water Elder said, standing up with his machete in his hand now, " do you realise who you're talking to?!"
" Go ahead, do your worst," I said with a smirk, my arms spread out, " it's not as if you can kill me, I've taken pain and hurt so many times that we've practically become friends."
I stood tall as I went into a glaring contest at him. If he thought I was going to act a piss weak coward than he was wrong. I didn't care that he could kill me in a moment, because I was already dead! And even if he made me go through torture forever, I wouldn't care. I'd already experience pain and hurt. So I wasn't going to back down, because I was here in the name of all the mages who suffered because of this bastard's actions.
Surprisingly, he lowered his weapon, sitting down huffily.
" Interesting," he mused, " I've never seen a person so strong minded, all I've seen was weak cowards grovelling at my feet."
He looked at me with a cold look, causing me to narrow my eyes suspiciously.
" Why don't we give you an offer?" he asked, causing me to stiffen. I raised an eyebrow in a questioning way.
" We can send you back as a human, meaning you could live as long as your health lets you, but you won't be able to use your magic ever again," he explained. I widened my eyes as well as the other Elders.
" Tatsuya, what are you thinking?!" the Metal Elder exclaimed.
" You know we're not meant to send back a dead human, let alone a mage," Gerald, the Air Elder said.
" What if this causes an uproar?" the Earth Elder, Aron asked. The Water Elder dismissed their protests but I still kept my narrowed eyes set upon him.
" What's the catch?" I asked, causing the Fire Elder to smirk amusingly.
" You have to give up your very sou, if we order you to do something for us in the human world, you will do it," Tatsuya explained, " and, you will have sacrifice a piece of yourself, such as an arm, your leg or your eyes."
" And I get to decide what you have to sacrifice," he added, looking at me coldly. So, I lose my mage powers, have to swear my loyalty to the Elders, and I have to lose a piece of my body. All so I could see everyone again. To live a life with them. To have a family with Zero. To prank on Kaname. To fight with Toga. To be reprimanded by the Headmaster. To be stuck in a world where almost everyone is out to kill each other. To be in a world where I could see people's smiles.
" That's a rather easy deal," I said, " is that all of the requirement for being sent back into the living?"
The Water Elder blinked at me before sighing.
" You won't know what you'll lose until you wake up in the living world," he said, " and your orders are absolute, even if you have to kill someone you love dearly, you will follow orders, whether if you like to or not."
I shrugged and grinned at the grumpy old bastard.
" When will I get to go back?" I asked, giving a determined gleam in my eye. The Water elder stood and raised his machete up. He looked expectantly at all of the other Elders.
" Why not, this girl has made my thousand years a little brighter with just her presence," the Earth Elder said, Aron standing up and holding his bow up with Tatsuya's.
" This girl certainly has proven that she is an honourable person,"the kind Air Elder said, " and I'm sure she will fulfil her duties very well in the living world."
Gerald stood as well, taking out his twins swords and holding them up.
" She has shown great promise," Akira, the Fire Elder mused, " she will prove to be good entertainment."
As he said this, he heaved himself off his throne and held his large sword up. All that was left, was Hayato the Metal Elder. He looked sceptical at the whole situation but still stood up and held out his rapier.
" She's an insolent and impudent brat," he said, " but perhaps she will be some sort of use in the living world."
They all stood up, looking grand as their weapons glowed, Tatsuya's blue, Aron's green, Hayato's grey, Gerald's light blue and Akira's red.
" We accept your contract with the Guardian Elders, you will fulfil your duties as a contractor, and you will pay the price of being revived," the chanted, " there will be no turning back and once you die again, you will not have this chance ever again."
Their golden eyes glowed as they looked at me.
" Reina Izumo, you will return to the living, and you will follow your orders," they said all at once, " so, we wish you luck on your life and mission."
I started to feel a sharp pain in my mind and as I fell to the ground, I grinned weakly before seeing all black.
I woke up, feeling myself in some sort of place with grass. I inhaled the beautiful pine smell and heaved myself up. I tried to open my eyes from the blackness I saw but I frowned in confusion. Then, I realised what had happened and I gave a bark of laughter so loud is resonated through the forest.
" What a choice," I laughed. I had not lost my arms, or legs or ears or nose. I touched my eyes and even though I could feel my eyeballs underneath my eyelids, I had still lost something. They decided to take my sight.