Guys, I'm feeling creative! Sorry everyone, even though this story is mostly written, I do still need creative fuel to edit, and browse over it. Plus, it seems like someone didn't want to wait for my revamped version and plagiarized my old copy and threw it up on a different site (thank you everyone for pointing it out). Plagiarism sucks the energy out of me. Don't do it. If you want ideas, or need somebody to talk to to be creative, send me a PM. I rather help you write than have my stuff stolen.
Disclaimer ~
I own nothing but an overused coffee pot, too much imagination, and a love for animes and demons.
Sebastian strolled under the purple sign with yellow trimming, and into the dark building that reeked of chemicals, death and decay. The interior was quiet, with oddly disturbing shapes lingering in the shadows, and jars filled with questionable content. A quick glance around showed that the shop was devoid of any living creatures, but he knew not to accept this appearance. Often with the supernatural, things were not what they seemed.
"Does a demon grace my presence?" Mad chuckles drifted around the room, making it impossible to pinpoint the origin of the sound.
"I have come to speak with you," was the demon's monotone response.
"Oh?" A coffin which laid on the floor, creaked open and a lithe mane with long grey hair peeked out. An insane, twisted grin graced his otherwise covered features. "What about? It must not be important if the young earl is not with you."
"I wish to speak about a different matter." Now that he stood before the mad man, he found himself unable to admit that he needed help. The mere thought of saying those words made it feel as if ash rested on his tongue. "It is about a toy I have gotten ahold of. A beautiful doll."
"So you have brought me a gift? Oh how kind you are, demon." The Undertaker emerged from his coffin, now bouncing on his toes like an excited child.
"She is mine!" There was a glint of fangs, and furious blood red eyes flashed a challenge as he staked his claim.
"Demons are always such cruel creatures. Taking souls and never sharing their toys." The demonic show of dominance was ignored, as a pout appeared on Undertaker's lips. He dramatically fell onto one of the nearby coffins, acting like a distressed maiden. "What makes this doll so special that you would seek guidance from me?"
"She is broken."
"Then the solution is simple! Throw it away and get a new one!"
Sebastian's brows furrowed and one side of his lip twisted down. Of course, he was going to have to explain more if he wanted any assistance from Undertaker. The mortician took joy in riddles, circling conversations, and the frustration of his patrons. Sebastian was going to have to explain that his 'doll' was actually human and it was her soul that was broken, not her physical appearance. Undertaker was a mad man, but that did not diminish his brilliance, and no one knew more about humans, than he. This man was the only one Sebastian could think of, who would know how to fix Kagome.
"My Doll is human. It is her soul that requires repairs. How do I accomplish this?"
"Hahaha! The demon has a human toy. I guess the boy's soul was just not enough. You are a greedy creature." The mad man was scolding the demon like a parent would scold an unruly child. "My advice is unchanged. Throw her away and get a new human. There's plenty of them hanging around. I'll even give you one of my guests to keep you company until you've chosen a replacement."
The Undertaker hopped off his coffin and opened it to reveal a deceased woman. Her body was bloated, with sections of skin peeling off. Darker colors of purple, black and blue decorated her inflated lips and ears. Wide, unclosed eyes stared at the roof as the Undertaker grabbed her swollen hand, and moved as if to pull her to her feet.
"That is unnecessary," Sebastian hurried to reassure the Undertaker. "I want to keep this Doll, as she is special to me. She is truly one of a kind, and no one can match up to her."
Undertaker paused, his long fingers still gripping the dead woman's wrist. "Interesting. This strangely reminds me of a story about a little human doll who could not be replaced either."
Releasing more insane giggles, Undertaker dropped the woman's wrist, letting her fall back into her coffin with an awful squelch. With a flourish of his black trench coat, the coffin lid slammed down and Undertaker bounced towards one of the hidden bookcases behind his desk. Many novelties decorated the shelves, including human skulls, organs, and odd looking books. He hummed a tune as his fingernails trailed across the books, his hidden eyes flickering from title to title as he passed them.
Finally, he grabbed a thin worn book and took a seat on a conveniently nearby coffin. Sebastian, intrigued by the battered novel, took a few steps closer. He towered over the mad man, his sharp eyesight clearly able to see the horrible handwriting within. Sebastian's lips curled in disgust as he looked at the sloppy lettering.
"I believe you said this was a story. It looks more like notes to me."
"Oh, some of them are notes," Undertaker's giggles had died down to snickers, but his grin only grew at the demon's disgusted face. "I tried to keep track of everything. This story was originally an oral tale, but my memory is not what it use to be." A long nail tapped his temple in time with his snickers. "Now sit down, and listen to Uncle Undertaker's beautiful tale."
"This is a waste of my t-" Sebastian began to protest but his objection was cut off as Undertaker began to read loudly over him.
"Once upon a time, no. No, that's not right. On a cool summer's eve . . . or was it winter? All well, just know that it was a dark and depressing night. Two male hanyous were in a battle for dominance. They both craved power, and the only way to achieve this power was through an innocent little girl. This girl loved one hanyou, and despised the spider hanyou. So, the two half-demons were often in unfair battles for the power, because the little human would always help her lover.
"This human was said to be full of innocent beauty. She had the palest skin, that was in contrast with her ink black hair. One folklore even claims that she was so pure, that even the night sky wanted to be one with her and so a blue tint could be seen in her hair. Her most beautiful feature though, was her blue eyes, that put them the freshest blooms to shame. They were like forget-me-not flowers, and certainly, you would never forget them if you saw them."
Intrigued, Sebastian leaned closer to peer at the notes. There was no doubt that the story described his Doll. No one had ever been, or ever will, be as beautiful as Kagome, nor as pure as the miko as she once was. Sebastian's teeth grind together as he learned that he couldn't make sense of the weird scribbles that decorated Undertaker's notebook. It he wanted to learn, then he would be forced to listen to the story.
"One day, the spider hanyou decided that the only way to win this war, was to kidnap the human girl. See, unknown to those living during this times, was that the spider hanyou was also battling a different war at the same time, inside himself. His demon soul despised her humanity, but his human soul fell in love with her. This was a dangerous combination, so his solution was to kidnap her and tried to force her love. He used a memory charm, blurring her memories of friend and foe. Except, it didn't root as deeply as he needed and she didn't fall for his lies of love, so he resorted to torturing her. He was trying to break her mind, so she would then accept him.
"Many horrible things were done to that little human. Her family was brought before her and tortured, maimed and killed before her eyes. With each death, he blamed her, forcing her to see that she was weak and useless against him. The spider hanyou even forced her to watch as he tortured, and killed her adopted son, which effectively snapped her mind. Afterwards, she went insane. It was even rumored that she cared and loved for her kitsune child, even after he was decapitated. Due to her insanity, she believed her son was alive and the spider hanyou had spared him as a show of his affection.
"After a particularly dreadful night, the spider assumed that he had managed to impregnate his human hostage. He was nicer to her, not wanting to hurt his own offspring. With her broken mind, the little human learned a simple rule. Obey and be silent, and she wouldn't suffer. So, the little human became a little doll.
"See, the funny thing about this story is, the spider hanyou thought he had won. He had the human in his grasp and with her, he had the hidden power he was searching for. As a bonus, his little human also carried his hatchlings. She was a perfect doll, and none could replace her in his eyes. What he didn't know, was that he was wrong.
"Did I ever mention that her other hanyou was a dog hanyou?" Sebastian's cold glare only made Undertaker's smile widen. The thought that a dog got his mangy paws on his Doll sent rage through his body, and the demon had to restrain himself from attacking something. What was wrong with him? This rage, despite being a demon, was very unlike his usual attached attitude.
"My mistake." The insane mortician's laughter echoed so loudly that Sebastian could hear the display sign outside breaking. "See, the human girl actually carried a litter of puppies, and canine demons are such loyal creatures. The hanyou's half-brother decided to save the human girl. Not because he cared for her or wanted to avenge his brother's death. No, he simply wanted to minimize the risk to the unborn puppies. A comrade in arms, a wolf demon, decided to fight beside him as well. Together, they managed to injure the spider hanyou and steal the girl and the young corpse she cling onto."
Undertaker paused to take a sip of tea out of a mysterious beaker. Sebastian was unsure when he had summoned the drink, as he had never left his coffin seat, and it seemed that he pulled it out of thin air. Undertaker's grip tightened mid swallow, forcing cracks to form along the glass.
"The girl was already cracking. She couldn't tell friend from foe. She fought her saviors, not seeing familiar faces but strangers who took her dead boy while she slept. They buried him, giving the child the peaceful grave that he deserved but in her mind, they snatched and killed him. It was just a sign of how broken she had become.
"The canine demons were natural predators, and instinctively she knew that they could hurt her. So, she obeyed them to avoid any chance of pain. Its was similar to keeping an animal who faced too much abuse. She obeyed, she listened, but she was so fearful, ready to run at the first chance.
"For months, canine and wolf demon cared for the girl, nursing her through her pregnancy. Her fate was already decided. Her pups, when born, would be taken by the canine demon to be raised with their own kind. The wolf demon would be given the woman as a thanks for his help. It seemed heartless, but the broken girl couldn't be a mother to those pups, and other demons would kill to have the power she held. The wolf demon had a pack, and he could defend her with an army at his call. Not to mention the many beautiful puppies she could bless him with."
Undertaker's once playful grin became grim, his fingers now tracing one of the many intricate cracks on the glass. "The spider hanyou was not killed that night. The canines only managed to injure him, forcing him to spend months healing before he could get his revenge. By then, he had learned the truth. His human was pregnant with his enemy's children and not his own. He was made to look like a fool, and he was outraged. He ambushed them in the dead of the night.
"The battle was one of legends. A wolf pack, lead by a great wolf demon and the Lord of the West, the legendary daiyokai teamed up together to finish the war. In the confusion and carnage, the spider hanyou managed to get to the little human. There was nothing she could do, as he ripped out one of her fetuses and dropped it in her lap, leaving her to bleed out and miscarriage the other pup. By the time anyone came to her aid, blood loss had taken its toll. She was able to be saved and the spider hanyou was finally slayed in that final battle, but her pups would never get a chance to live."
Undertaker's hand suddenly clenched together, sending pieces of glass flying in all directions. Shards cut the demon and the grim reaper, not that they noticed the fresh blood that swelled from them both and fell to the floor. Both creatures were use to bloodshed and pain, so the small cuts of glass didn't even phase them.
"The wolf and canine did attempt to fix her. The power she held made her immortal, and they were aware that eternity was a long time to carry her painful burden. The sad thing about broken dolls is that even if you glue them together, piece by piece, you can still see the cracks and the toy is more sensitive than before. A mere touch could shatter it all over again.
"It's said that the canine demon attended to her the most, thought rumors say that the girl didn't even notice his presence most of the time. He would bring her food and gifts, in an effort to coax her back but nothing was fixing her. There was even a belief that the dog demon fell in love with the human, just like his brother did. It was the wolf demon who sheltered her though. With his army, and the power over his pack, with a simple command he had ensured that his pack would care for the human woman for the rest of her immortality.
"After this though, the story gets a little sketchy. Apparently the dog demon stopped visiting her quite suddenly. Years passed and the young human was tossed from wolf to wolf. As the pack grew smaller, the stories of the human doll were rarely spoken about. The last known sighting of her was up in the eastern mountains, where the last wolf demon family was nesting, but that was decades ago."
Silence descended over the room as demon and grim reaper mulled over the tale. Sebastian's wound had healed quickly but the reaper's dark blood still dripped onto the floor, blending with the other questionable substances on the ground. Sebastian's thoughts were twisted, dark and promised pain to others.
So this was the final legend of the last known miko. Sebastian had done his research of course but all he could find were the legends focused on the shattered jewel, and the many journeys she took to fix her mistake. Details of what happens to the villain and the jewel afterwards had faded as everyone assumed that they all fell tragically in a heroic battle that killed themselves and their enemies. No one bothered to search anymore into their tales after the jewel disappeared. Peace reigned strong and for the humans, that was all that mattered.
His beautiful Doll had been through so much. She was strong, even if she was broken. A lesser creature would have died under the pain and pressure but his Doll still lived despite it all. There were moments of life in her eyes, even if they were brief. Those rare moments showed Sebastian that there was hope in bringing her back to the glorious woman she once was.
"What was the power she held?" Sebastian faked naivety, hoping to learn something new.
"Some jewel that was born from her body. It broke, and the woman and her companions had to rebuild it, though that's a story for another time. Once rebuilt, the jewel went back into the body that hosted it, and the blood it was born from. It made her immortal, and unable to be hurt, even if she was the one doing the harming. The jewel always protects its host. See, the secret that everybody forgets is that the human was really a miko." Undertaker's creepy grin was back and his very scent had changed, becoming darker and thicker to Sebastian's sensitive nose.
"You know all about mikos, don't you demon? Too bad that human was the last miko to ever exist. It's truly a shame too, she would have made a lovely bride . . . unless she's really as broken as the story says."
Undertaker snapped the book closed, ending story time. His eyes were still hidden behind his bangs, but Sebastian knew he was being analyzed. The demon stared back, the human facade slowly fading so his eyes brightened to a crimson red. The air thickened, and silenced, as two predators locked onto each other, ready to relish in bloodshed if provoked.
"Did you know," Undertaker mused quietly, "that mikos were craved by all creatures. Demons, yokais, hanyous, and even angels. Wars would be started over the chance of winning the attention of a miko and keeping her. Even grim reapers participated in the fights, some abandoning their positions just to chase after a single miko,"
Sebastian quickly stood up, his whole body tensed at the hidden threat. A low rumbled echoed through the demon's chest cavity, warning Undertaker of his mistake. The silver-haired man only chuckled at the display. "It's too bad that the stories of the little miko have stopped over time. An immortal being like that," a longing sigh escaped him. "Well, wars would start again for such a unique beauty."
"As thrilling as this story has been, you have yet to answer my question. How do you fix a broken doll?"
"Hehe, the answer is simple. You don't." Undertaker gestured to the glass that littered his floor, each piece unique, and yet just as jagged as its siblings. "Even if you could piece every shard together, it would still be considered broken. Tell me, is this human worth the frustration you would go through to piece her together? Would you still consider it worth it when a single nudge would break her again?"
Undertaker leaned forward, his sharp grin never wavering. "Will your determination still be strong when you have to piece her together, again and again for eternity?"
"She is mine," Sebastian's hiss was animalistic. "I will piece her together with my bare hands and hold her together myself if I have too. I will fill those cracks and keep anyone from touching her again."
"Interesting," Underaker got to his own feet but instead of advancing towards the demon, he stepped back, melting into the shadows. "But you can not fix something if it doesn't want to be fixed. Sometimes, the glass eyes of a doll need to be wiped clean so they can see clearly again.
"Demon, next time you decide to visit a supernatural creature, you may want to wash off her scent first." Golden green eyes shined from the shadows as an eerie chuckle consumed the building. "Reapers may be blind but we have a great sense of smell and your miko is truly a welcoming scent."
`·.¸¸.·´´¯`··. . .·
The disgusting stench of dog greeted Sebastian as he strolled down the hallway to retrieve his Doll. Anger coiled in his chest, withering like a live snake. He knew his lord had betrayed him. The child had been pushing for Kagome to meet Pluto, but Sebastian didn't want that disgusting mongrel around her. It may give her fleas or roast her to a crisp.
Outside the green door, Sebastian was met with a curious sight. Ciel was sitting on the floor, his back to the door. A short distance from him, a yowling calico was placing the halls, stopping occasionally to turn and glare at the closed door. Sebastian could feel the prickling energy on the other side of the door, a testament that Kagome had somehow awakened for a bit.
"What have you done?" Sebastian snarled at the boy, his anger overriding his instincts to obey and prostate himself before his contract holder.
"I brought Pluto to meet her," Ciel muttered, refusing to believe he had done wrong. No, the young boy had the audacity to sound smug at the moment. "She came alive, yelled some name and then tackled the mongrel. It happened so fast. I was in extreme pain and the only way to escape it was to get out of the room. The mutt and your Doll are still in there, but I didn't want to leave her alone in case the dog does something to harm her."
Ciel had barely finished his explanation before the door behind him gave away. Sebastian shoved the door open, letting the immense power roll over him. Immediately pain stabbed through him, like multiple needles digging deep into his skin and muscle. His body tensed as he fought back his demonic nature that wanted to answer the call of a challenge and crush the purity that pulsed against him. A tendril of his dark aura managed to seep forward, tangling with the pure power of his Doll to test her strength.
There, crouched in the dark corner of the room, was his beautiful toy. Pluto, who was in his naked human form, was draped across Kagome's lap like a common mongrel. The canine's red eyes were locked on the teary face of his human female. As Sebastian watched, Pluto gave a whine and nudged Kagome's chin with his short nose, trying to comfort her.
Kagome's blue eyes finally held emotions, but it was not the emotions he wanted to see. Pain, bitterness, panic and anger filled her eyes, which were flickering around the room rapidly, seeing things that weren't really there. Madness pulsed within her blue eyes, turning them from an innocent sky jewel to a darker tone of navy blue.
"You can't have him!" Kagome screamed at the top of her lungs, upon catching sight of Sebastian in the doorway. One of her hands were tangled in Pluto's white hair while her other hand waved around wildly. Tears were leaking from her eyes again, creating a trail of agony down her face. "You can't take him from me! I'll protect him. I'll save him.
"Don't take him from me!"
Let's make a deal! I know, you shouldn't make a deal with demons or authors, but let's live dangerously! I'm feeling creative, super creative. Like, write a chapter in one sitting creative. Give me ten reviews, and I will update the next day. Let's get through these flashback/story building chapters so we can get to the meat of the story! (Disregard below of course)
'Update' Expectations - Expect an update once or twice a month. Though most of this story is written, I do want to pace myself so I can update my previous writing and get a lot of these plot holes fixed and the plot lined up. However, if a chapter reached 15 reviews, I will do my best to update the next weekend, as a reward for your lovely words!