A/N: Praise me! I have finished my assignment! Now I only have my final exams, a seminar and a portfolio day to get through! - . -;;
Warning: The one you've all been waiting for (hopefully)! War. Expect major-angst. Introduction of new OC, but not a major one.
Review replies:
Shaynie, Eria, Sakusha-san, aki sakurazuka, Literary Eagle, nekoMoon-chan, dyingstar_elipsis, yutaka, DK-Adeena: So sorry that I'm not replying individually. Just woke up and am very groggy. Still felt the need to upload this asap anyway. Dyingstar, new reader! Yay! Do join the mailing list! It's at Yahoo! Groups called shadowsofthefox. I do updates, previews etc there.
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Chapter 28
I beg, surcease from sorrow
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"I have lived through the war, and lost much. I know what's worth the fight, and what is not.
Honor and courage are matters of the bone, and what a man will kill for, he will sometimes die for, too.
For the sake of love alone, would I walk through fire again."
~"Fiery Cross" Diana Gabaldon~
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Enma, a god, sighed sadly from his seat on the raised dais.
The meeting between the Shinigami and the Shiroku had finished earlier, the cowering fear of Ichijiro Hatatsu and Kazuma Kato lingering like bitter almonds, tainting the air. But more than that, like a cloying miasma was the uncertainty of the Shinigami and the agitated, burning rage and despair of two who shared more than a fate and life together, though both did not know it.
"My Lord."
The tone was different from the awesome deference laced with the honest fear of a mortal who has met their god that the Shinigami used with him. The deference was still there of course, but instead of fear, it was tinged with love and affection that would have appeared more than out of place had the speaker been a mere mortal.
They were practically alike in appearance, though there was a definitely more feminine slant to the angular cheekbones and wide, pale green eyes. Hair that was the color of new silver flowed down a robed back, twisted into a neat plait but rivaled Enma's in length anyway. The newcomer was seated on the dais as well, opposite Enma and each, though none of them needed it, had cups of tea by their side. It's really amazing how one tends to reflect the habits of those you keep company with. Especially considering that they've been keeping the company of humans for millennia beyond counting.
"Amaterasu," Enma sighed again. His long fingers idly played around and around the rim of fine bone china cup. A faint ringing could be heard from the tracing finger. And if one were to listen closely, an answering call could be heard, reverberating gently from the shadowed, indescribable ceiling.
"We have no other choice Father," came the gentle reminder.
"A choice foregone does not mean that it hurts less."
Amaterasu, for that was his given name upon his birth, smiled. "You're almost as bad as the two of them when it comes to assigning the guilt."
Enma, if it was not impossible to imagine, actually snorted in derision. "No one is as impossible as those two. Need I remind you that they are at the crux of this matter?"
The moment of levity passed as swift as the flight of a shot arrow. Amaterasu's bright face darkened to one of shared sorrow.
"There is no other way," he insisted, though whether it was to assure Enma or himself was unclear. He went on anyway, persistent. "The Prophecy must be played out. Hiro had ensured that end. And we must play our part."
"Even if the stakes is the end of everything? Of humanity? Of all the worlds?" Enma's reply shot back.
"Yes," was his adamant reply. "There is more to the matter here than simple deception. Both of them have been through too much and seen too many. Truth and lies are woven from the same cloth and neither of them can untangle the weave anymore. We must not take part in the coming war since we're the only ones who are fully aware of the truth."
Amaterasu paused then, as though to test the waters first before venturing his next line. "We dare not let the truth be revealed prematurely. Not even your Council nor mine knows. And it must be kept so till the very end."
Long silence filled the Hall. Even the sympathetic echoes had died off in respect of the sorrow that seeped like unseen mists through the place.
A gentle hand covered Enma's trembling fingers and squeezed comfortingly.
"It was the best decision you could have done," Amaterasu whispered. "It was the only decision that you could have done. More than just the fate of the world hangs in the balance with the imminent destruction that Hiro had set off. They must play their part till the end."
Again silence reigned in the Hall. Again, Amaterasu was the one to break it.
"It is our only choice."
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"Hey Kagami! You gonna stay here all night or what?"
Kagami looked up from the counter he was cleaning and gave Sada a tired grin. Sada had long since closed up his own ring toss booth and was leaning indulgently against his shuttered booth, a sliver of wood twirling absently between his teeth. His own shooting booth had taken some time to be cleaned. Some brats had thought it funny to spill coke and popcorn all over the countertop when they failed to win any stuffed toys for their pouting girlfriends.
He sighed, dropping the sticky cloth for a while. God, how he hated winters and the jerks it brought out. It wasn't worth opening the park on days like this, even if it was only for a half-day.
"Hey, Sada. It'll only take me a few more minutes," he gestured at the now almost clean booth. The toys had been packed away and the air rifles stowed in a locked cabinet. "You waiting?"
The other man shrugged broad affable shoulders. "Yeah," he said. "I'm not exactly that enthusiastic about going home."
He clucked sympathetically even as he started to lock down his booth with practiced movements. "Junko still giving you a hard time?"
Sada grunted. "Damn bitch oughta just leave me then with all the complaining she does. God knows I'm not stopping her. If she wanted to marry a millionaire, she shouldn't have married me now did she?"
"Don't think Maiko-chan would be happy about that."
"I swear she's the only reason I still put up with Junko," Sada sighed. "The kid would be devastated if she ever left."
Kagami chuckled silently, the corners of his eyes crinkling up in mirth. "Who knew under all that muscle is a big softie. You gonna ruin your reputation if that ever comes out, Sada."
"Ah, shut up Kagami," Sada blushed, his creased face darkening in embarrassment. "You finish man?"
Kagami nodded agreeably, the padlock clicking shut under his hands. The rest of the workers had left long ago, having closed up their own booths earlier than usual. Not that he couldn't blame then. Winter was a bad time to do business, what with being stuck in the cold all day long and only a few thousand yen to show for the effort. But money is money, no matter how pitiful the amount. It puts food in the belly and keeps a roof over their heads.
Chatting companiably, Kagami and Sada left the park grounds, the lone guard locking the gate behind them and settling down in the dilapidated shed that served as a security booth for a nap. The island was not overly large and even then the park only occupied the southernmost edges of the island. The rolling fields behind it which ran gently to a low range of hills on the far side of the island were left bare of any development. No one really knew why Mitsui Corporation, the owner of the park chose to leave such a large space empty like that. But it seemed right that the field was left undisturbed. Some say that the island really was the Onokoro in the legends and that the field was the site of the Hall of Eight Fathoms.
Kagami wasn't a superstitious man by nature. He put little stock in myths and legends, preferring to believe in solid, cold hard facts. He had lived too long in near poverty for him to still have such delusions.
Yet tonight, as they passed the wide, empty field on their way to the jetty that connected the island to the mainland, Kagami could not shake off the feeling that eyes. . . .unfriendly eyes. . . .were watching him. Waiting. Watching. Even as Sada continued his grumbles of the missus at home, Kagami stopped in his tracks and spun around, searching the inconspicuous field wildly. Heart beating madly, it took him a full minute before the total emptiness and Sada's worried queries to sink in.
There was nothing there. Just blades of grass bending slightly under a soft, playing wind. A ghostly fog hug the ground closely, nearly a soupy mix that barely stirred even with the wind. Distantly he could make out the sound of waves lapping the columns of the jetty, breaking and retreating. There was nobody there.
"Kagami?" A large, beefy hand clapped down on his shoulder, startling him. "You okay man?"
He shook his head, trying to clear out the images and sound. Images of thousands of red and blue eyes floating in the darkness and the sound of the rustling of wings and the scraping of claws. For that one brief instant that he was lost in the sensation of something not right, Kagami believed.
He passed a callused hand over his eyes and the last of the images faded away like spent smoke. Even that little bit of impression left him and he blinked, confused.
"Sada. . ." he said slowly. "Yeah, I'm okay." He gave a shaky laugh. "Must have spaced out there for a second."
"You been smoking something illegal man?" Sada asked, amused. "Next thing you know you'll be seeing the old gods walking around eating popcorn. C'mon man."
Kagami followed the impatiently tugging hand obediently and their booted feet raised a dull clunk over the wooden jetty. The lone boatman standing duty complained that it took them long enough. Long inured to his steady mutterings, Kagami and Sada settled into the boat, tugging their jackets closer to ward off the night chill.
As the little boat put-put-putted away into the night, Kagami felt again, that odd little shiver.
But he didn't turn to look back. None in the boat did and so none saw, even the deeply sleeping lone guard on the island, that the fog had coalesced into something denser. That it slowly rose unlike fog and covered the field till all was shrouded in white.
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What Enma had warned them of was true. No magic worked here other than their own. The Shinigami were more than a little uneasy at that. While it would definitely be an advantage for their side as it meant that the demons would have to rely on sheer strength alone, the fact that the Shinigami barely even numbered a hundred was scant comfort.
Hisoka shifted restlessly on the balls of his feet while his eyes wandered randomly over the gathered forces. The Shinigami were arrayed at the front lines of the Army of Heaven and it was the first time ever that Hisoka ever saw all of the Shinigami gathered together in one place. Only then did the boy realized that there were plenty of Shinigami whom he never saw before, except in the annual inter-JuuOhCho competitions. Even then he could barely remember their names. The ones new to him were an interesting novelty; it occurred to him that their little section were quite the recluse.
As the minutes ticked by slowly, Hisoka amused himself by wondering about the different Shinigami; what area they worked, who their partners are, and if there existed a glutton that could rival Tsuzuki.
I doubt it, Hisoka snorted quietly to himself. Tatsumi was a little way down the line, conferring with the Shinigami from other sections assigned as leaders for their group. The heads of division were required to stay back in Meifu in the event of total loss of the War. Should that happen, they were ordered to destroy every open entry points to the Land of the Dead. No breaches would be allowed for the demons to exploit for should the demons win, Meifu and Joukai would be overrun. No salvation then would be possible for humanity if the two realms were to fall in Makai's hands.
Hisoka sighed again, and remembered to thank all deities in existence that his shields were functioning at maximum capacity. He didn't think he would be able to cope with such an influx of emotion that would be present tonight. Just looking at the pale faces of the unnamed Shinigami, the sweaty hands, the harsh breathing. . .yes, Hisoka was extremely grateful that his shields were strong. But it wasn't only the Shinigami that could pose a threat to the empath. The forces arrayed behind him were potential migraines as well.
The Army of Heaven numbered over 2000 strong. A pitiful number, if one were to think about it. But 2000 were all that could be accommodated on the island. Get in more and they'd be fighting in water. Since neither angelic nor demonic magic worked here up to the extent of five miles out from the shores, that would be a bad idea. Space was one thing, the existing barrier was another.
An invisible dome-shaped wall that covered the island, it was set in place by the Creators themselves to prevent meddling forces of magic. According to Enma, they hadn't wanted the interference of other gods in their task of giving birth to the world and had protected the site of their home accordingly. No god, demon, angel or human could tamper with the barrier. The Shinigami, they discovered, could tamper with it, up to a certain extent. Combining the forces of their best onmyouji, the Shinigami had managed to create a hole in the barrier long enough for the mentioned 2000 to come in before the barrier closed back and defied all attempts to open it again.
As a child, Hisoka had wondered over the existence of angels. Did they exist? If they did, surely they would be beings of ultimate grace and light; faces perfectly fair and peaceful with beautifully huge white wings taking them to Heaven. They would be clothed in the softest silks and smile benevolently on you, gracing you with perfect love and bliss. Gentle beings, they would take you by the hand and deliver you from all evil and harm. In short, they would be angels.
But reality turned out to be very different from imaginations. Even in his wildest dreams, Hisoka had never imagined that angels would look like this.
The Army Joukai sent was a terrifying sight. Clad in golden armour that encased their tall, perfect bodies like liquid cloth, the Angel Warriors struck awe and fear in the hearts of every Shinigami. The armour they wore showed no visible grooves like the medieval armours of old. Like a one-piece suit, the unidentifiable material even covered their heads in the fashion of helms. The only holes to pierce the golden mask were the eyeholes. And even that was unnerving to behold. The eyes were a pure blue. Completely. The field they crouched in literally glowed with the light of those eyes, as well as the faintly shining armour.
Though, Hisoka had to admit, at least one aspect of his imagining was true. Each angel had huge white wings. Even folded back the tips were towering at least two feet above their heads. Scabbards hung by their sides and Hisoka wondered whether they contained flaming swords. . . .
"'Soka-chan."
Hisoka turned with a glad smile to Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki, as well as Kyo, Takashi and several other Shinigami from the other sections that were especially skilled in onmyouji had been the ones to open the breach in the barriers. Afterwards, when the barrier could not be opened anymore, the ones involved had taken to scouting the grounds for potential ambush. It was slow, tedious work, considering the amount of land they had to cover.
Creeping slowly forwards, inch by wet inch as the dew stained grass soaked the knees of his jeans, Hisoka had chafed at the absence of Tsuzuki by his side. He had amused himself in the meantime by wondering how the Army of Joukai still managed to look all graceful and scary even as they were slithering through knee-high grass.
"Is everything okay?" he whispered.
Tsuzuki's little smile slipped off his face and he sighed. Even for war, the man still wore his black trenchcoat. Habit, Hisoka supposed. Not that the Shinigami ever had a dress code for war. . .
With a wrench, Hisoka brought back his wandering mind to the present. It finally occurred to him that his random, wandering thoughts were not a normal occurrence.
"Shit," he swore under his breath even before Tsuzuki could reply to his earlier question.
"Hisoka? What's wrong?" Tsuzuki asked, alarmed.
He shook his head, smiling distractedly. "It's nothing," he whispered back. "It's just. . ." he waved vaguely around, "I think the residual magics in this place is wreaking havoc on my shields." He grimaced. "Not to mention being in the company of so many angels."
"Aa," Tsuzuki said softly, throwing a guarded look behind his shoulder. "I know what you mean. . ." he trailed off.
Hisoka frowned, laying a concerned hand on the sleeve of his coat. "Tsuzuki?"
Tsuzuki shook his head. "Nothing," he smiled ruefully. "Anyway, I wanted to warn you; we're having some problem up front."
"What kind of problem?"
Tsuzuki shrugged. "We're not really sure. Kyo and this guy from Section 3 says there's something not right. So we're not to move until the coast is clear."
Hisoka sighed irritably but nodded in agreement. It would be extremely stupid anyway to just move on when they could barely see a foot past their faces. The fog that had settled in was as thick as soup and steadily worsening. He sat back on his haunches and nudged Tsuzuki in the side.
"How's Kyo and Takashi doing?" he asked softly.
This time, there was no mistaking the troubled look on Tsuzuki's face. He sighed before answering, "They're. . . .holding up. It's more than we could ask of them."
"Aa. . ." Hisoka ran a hand through his damp hair, the gesture markedly frustrated. "It's not fair!" He burst out in a fierce whisper. "How could Enma ask that of Kyo and Takashi?"
The amethyst eyes were dark, with sorrow, fear or anger, Hisoka could not tell.
"I don't think Enma-sama had a choice," he replied gently. "He's right. We have to stop Makai from pulling down the barrier. They may even be doing so as we speak."
Hisoka knew that Tsuzuki was only pointing out the truth. The barriers in place were an awesome construct, several layers deep. The more powerful a demon, angel, god or human is, the more difficult it was to breach the barriers. Only by systematically pulling down each layer would entry be gained.
The Army of Makai would enter. There was no doubt about that. Faced with the same difficulty as them, the Shinigami were warned that Makai's army would be brought in the same way, except that they would be passing the barriers between Makai and Chijou directly, appearing on the island in an instant. There was no need to ask how it would be done. Aki would make sure of it. Their task would be to destroy the gateway that Aki would create as fast as possible and decimate whatever demons that managed to come through. And afterwards, kill Aki.
Making up his mind, Hisoka tugged impatiently at Tsuzuki's jacket, motioning with his head that he wanted to move up front. Tsuzuki just lifted an eyebrow but acquiesced with his demand anyway. They slithered between the grasses, dodging aside other waiting Shinigami. They had not need to go far before they encountered Kyo and the other onmyouji. Kyo and the as yet unidentified Shinigami were having a whispered consultation, heads bent close together while Takashi was kneeling on the ground, palms pressed onto the earth and listening to something that Hisoka could not make out.
"There's something wrong, Reiji-san" Kyo was insisting as they drew nearer. "I don't think we should move forwards until we find out what."
Reiji, the Shinigami from Section 3 frowned. "I don't feel anything."
"Kyo's right," Takashi finally stirred from his still pose. He lifted his palms and brushed off the dirt clinging to it. "Something's off. The vibrations I'm picking up seem to be tampered. I think Makai has already started to pull the barriers," he finished grimly.
"Tampered or not," Reiji sighed, "What should we do now?"
Kyo bit his bottom lip and exchanged glances with Takashi. After a moment or two, Kyo was the first to turn away, face pale and addressed the now-curious Reiji.
"You go back and warn the section leaders to get ready," Kyo started. "I'll try to do something about this fog. I think you're right, this fog is not natural. They're probably trying to cloak themselves or it could be a trap. I'll be the best one anyway to counter any attack. . . . .Makai makes."
The hesitation was not missed. Reiji, frowning, seized upon it like a terrier with a bone. "So it's true what they're saying? That the one doing this is your daughter?"
Both Kyo and Takashi flinched. Hisoka gritted his teeth and tried to convince himself not to maim Reiji. Thankfully, Tsuzuki stepped in with the casual flair that he exhibited when the situation warrants it.
"Ah, Reiji-san?" Tsuzuki touched his arm briefly. "It's time to go brief the section leaders."
Reiji moved away with Tsuzuki, reluctantly, while throwing the occasional troubled look over his shoulder until Tsuzuki started to engage him in a quiet talk as they stealthily crept to the little knot where Tatsumi and the others were waiting.
Both Takashi and Kyo seemed unaware of his presence, Kyo with his eyes closed and throat swallowing convulsively. Takashi made no move to touch him but stayed by his side anyway, misery etched in every line of his body. Hisoka hesitated, unsure, until with a move prompted by gut feeling, he squeezed Kyo's shoulder briefly.
"Kyo?" he said softly.
After a long, tense moment, Kyo stirred and pinned light blue eyes upon him. And despite his empathy drowned under layers and layers of shielding, Hisoka saw as clear as day; the sorrow, rage, fear and anguish that swam in those eyes until it seemed that Kyo aged a hundred years in an instant, bowed down in his emotions.
Hisoka had to tear his eyes away. He swallowed, losing his earlier impulse to give whatever comfort he could. There was no doubt now that none could be given. Any sort of platitude would be an exercise in shallow futility.
He tried anyway.
"Are you okay?" he asked hoarsely, not able to meet Kyo's eyes directly.
The smile that was offered was a pale remembrance of his normal grin. Lines of strain bracketed the corners of his mouth and eyes, mirrored in like on Takashi's face.
"As okay as I can be," came the weak quip.
"Do you. . ." Hisoka faltered. "Do you want. ."
"You should move back," Kyo interrupted him gently. "If what we guessed is correct, Aki should be appearing soon and I think this is not the best spot for anyone to be when we see her."
"And what about you?"
"I'll do what I have to do. You know as well as I that I'll be the best one to counter her. I would like this war to end with as little bloodbath as possible."
Hisoka didn't know whether to laugh or cry as Kyo tried to sound as cold as possible. Before he could say anything though, Takashi spoke up.
"Please, Hisoka."
There was no arguing with that look. Hisoka nodded and moved back. All of a sudden, the fog was colder than before.
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On any other occasion, Kyo was sure that Onokoro would be a pleasant place to visit. His mastery over the elements gave him the gift of living awareness with the world. When he chose to feel it, air whispered to him of memories from far-off places where only the wind left tracks across land unvisited by two-legged beings. The earth itself would speak longingly of ages past and of the future flowing as malleable as hot magma in their core. Water that fell in the gentle patter of rains told the story of their birth and shared with him the delight to be found in giving life to all matter. And fire. . .though he shunned its use from memories of leaping flames and broken bodies, fire still embraced him in their power and offered the bright, burning flare of energies that gave inanimate matter life.
So it was right for him to say that he could feel that Onokoro was a beautiful place. The elements told him that. The rustle and whisper of the knee-high grass mimicked the roar of the ocean and the earth was a warm, living entity that held the memories of the first ages of history. There was peace to be found here; in the dance of an errant breeze, the crashing of waves against far shores, the rich dark earth beneath and the spark of fire waiting to be given life.
How he desperately wished that he could feel that peace tonight.
Tonight, his mastery over the elements only showed him the distorted static and whine of stressed powers; the underlying peace gone the instant they set foot on the island. What peace and majesty to be found in the stones themselves were drowned under waves of darkness that flooded from. . .somewhere.
The earth cried as its beauty was stained by forces never meant to be loose here.
With a visible effort, Kyo yanked himself out of the self-induced trance he had enacted to use his gift. Even as the last of the spent traces of his power faded, he could still feel and taste the bitter rage of maligned elements.
"Kyo?"
"She's here," he gasped out and suddenly weak knees sent him plopping down bonelessly on the ground. Crushed grass perfumed the air as he fought to catch his breath. Even the echoes of the awakened elements threatened him with vertigo and he put his head between his knees, trying to get back his bearings.
Takashi rubbed a hand soothingly up and down his back. With the comforting gesture, Kyo allowed the last of the tension to leave his body. A sigh could be heard from somewhere between his knees.
"Thanks," he said, muffled.
"Don't mention it." Even without seeing, Kyo could tell a small smile was playing on his lips. After feeling sure that vertigo won't assail him again, Kyo lifted his head and gave Takashi a wan smile.
"She's started the first rituals to unbind the elements," he said without preamble.
Takashi frowned. While his own powers were never in controlling the elements, he had studied it under Kyo's tutelage and from the various lore and books found in the Gushoushin's library. Given that his own power was pure force in nature, more than once his knowledge of elemental mastery had seen the two of them combining their powers in cases that required more than what plain 'jitsu could help them with.
"So this fog is her work?" he surmised.
Kyo nodded. "Aa. Probably to mask herself from us." He grimaced. "We have to burn it away. No help for that."
Silence fell between them, to be broken by the restless stirrings of the gathered Shinigami behind them and the uncanny, inhuman patience of Heaven's Army that waited.
"Do you want my help?" Takashi tactfully avoided the question that still lingered unspoken between them. A question that had Kyo broken down, sobbing in his arms the night before. How will they stop Aki?
Kyo threw him a grateful smile. "Thanks. I hate-" he quickly clamped his mouth shut.
Takashi gave him a look. He shrugged. "I better be careful with what I say. The elements here have been wakened. Say the wrong thing and we might get a storm or even an earthquake from injured pride."
Takashi nodded and without further ceremony, helped Kyo to his feet. What they were about to do next was something done countless of times already. Kyo hated working with fire, despite his mastery over it. When he had to, Takashi would lend his power as well, effectively putting control over the wild element into both their hands. Before they begin though, Kyo took his katana, withdrawing it from its wooden sheath and sticking it blade first into the ground. The other Shinigami, even those that never fought with swords before had taken some form of weapon with them. There were only so much ofuda you could carry with you after all. Should they find themselves defenseless with no magic able to be used, they could at least inflict some bodily damage.
Takashi himself carried a blade and he was grateful now for all those times Kyo and even Hisoka had dragged him to the dojo, insisting that they needed some variety in their practice. While he'll probably would never attain Kyo's level, he was pretty sure he could inflict some serious harm with his katana.
When Kyo stuck his blade into the ground though, Takashi frowned. "What's that for?"
"Grounding," Kyo explained. "In case things start to get nasty. We should warn Tatsumi though that we're about to start."
Takashi nodded agreeably and quickly folded a messenger bird. He whispered softly into the listening bird's ear, instructing it to find Tatsumi and inform the man of their plans. No sooner had he finished the bird flew off, a ghostly white trail in the gloom.
"Ready?" Kyo asked.
"Anytime you are."
They linked hands and closed their eyes. There was no need for elaborate rituals. What Aki had done was merely to weave spells of illusion and masking into the fog. With the fog covering all parts of the island, she had effectively blinded them. To destroy her spell, all they needed to do was burn the fog away and the spells would dissipate, left with no anchor.
It was just one word but the effect was awe-inspiring to say the least.
"Burn."
From thin air, ribbons of bright fire coalesced, dancing like writhing snakes. The Shinigami gave a stifled gasp. Even their own co-workers rarely get to see Kyo use his power like this as his partner was Takashi and only sporadically did they team up with Watari or the others.
Kyo uttered the command once again. "Burn."
The leashed, trained power joined together and from disparate strands, a web of pure fire grew, lines branching and crisscrossing every which way until it hurt the eyes to watch. Even beneath closed eyelids, they could see afterimages imprinted by the burning web. When the brilliance grew to such intensity that eyes were beginning to water, Takashi completed the next step.
"Burn," he commanded.
There was a last burst of actinic glare and a soundless explosion that sent vibrations through stress-heated air. Everyone was rocked momentarily where they stood or crouched.
The glare faded away, leaving cool darkness behind. Everyone stirred and viewed their now clear surroundings. The fog had been burned away completely, giving them an untrammeled view that stretched in every direction of the field. Stars burned brightly ahead, cold pinpricks of light in the velvety black of the sky.
And not more than thirty feet away from where Kyo and Takashi stood, was Aki.
Clapping her hands appreciatively, Aki gave an admiring smile to her 'dad'.
"Fantastic show dad. Never thought I'd see the day you would use your powers like that."
Kyo had stiffened, his hand still locked with Takashi's. But he worked himself free from that grasp, giving Takashi a silent look and Takashi relented, falling a step behind. Kyo turned and placed a hand on the pommel of his sword, still stuck in the earth.
"Aki." His tone could have flash-freeze a volcano.
His daughter, not mine, stood proudly, not a trace of care on her face as her own father practically spat out her name. The Shinigami could make out that she was standing in the middle of a huge construct, the pentagram and circle nearly touching the toes of Kyo's shoes. The girl herself stood in the center and in a mockery of all that she was not, wore a pure white shikifuku, the cloth a stainless brilliance that became all the more mocking for the conjury she was about to undertake.
"Do you like it?" she asked Kyo brightly. She held out her arms, letting the full sleeves of the garment fall away. "I made it myself. Looks pretty cool doesn't it?" She twirled in place and her delighted laughter grated like broken glass in Kyo's ears.
"You can still stop this," Kyo grounded out. "Banish your circle and we won't have to resort to drastic measures. There's still time."
"Daddy?" In an instant, Aki was once again a young teenager, hesitant and unsure. The innocence in her eyes could have moved a saint to pure pity. "Daddy, don't you like it? Are you angry?" Her white hands clasped together, she the very image of a hurt child, wanting her parent's approval.
And for a brief moment, just a few seconds really, Kyo's mask of cold indifference wavered. Anguish shined through and despair made his hand tremble on the pommel of his sword.
"Daddy?" A tone that could make stone cry and a father to weep.
"You are not my daughter," Kyo gasped out and he tightened his grip on the sword till his knuckles strained white. "Stop this!"
"Oh well, it was worth a shot."
The casualness of the words rocked the Shinigami as one. Eyes wide with shock, Kyo stared across to the grinning girl.
"Don't deny it Kyo," Aki grinned wider. "In the deepest places of your heart, I'm still your little Aki aren't I? Did they tell you that I'm not? That I'm an aberration instead? Something more than human perhaps?"
Kyo kept his silence though his grip threatened to break his sword in two. Takashi, unable and forbidden to do or say anything, kept his silence as well. But it was an effort marked with strain as the girl who wasn't human nor demon taunted Kyo.
"I see you brought your sensei along," Aki lifted a sculpted eyebrow in teasing enquiry. "Tell me, when you fucked him last night, did you imagine you were fucking Ayame as well? Or is she merely a dream now?"
The snarl of rage from Kyo sounded more bestial than human. He yanked his sword clear out of the ground and ran forward. Only Takashi's quick thinking and reflex stopped him from running headlong into the circle. Trapped within the confines of Takashi's unbreakable grip, Kyo trashed, the sword weaving dangerous arcs through the air.
"Damn you! Damn you! Let me go!"
"No! Kyo, stop it!" Takashi shouted. "You're playing into her hands! She wants you to lose control!"
And indeed, Aki had taken advantage of Kyo's lapse into blind rage. With bright, sprightly steps, Aki, to the others' bewildered stare, began to dance.
With the robes fluttering in her passage, Aki leapt nimbly from one point of the pentagram to another, all the while chanting nonsensical words as she danced. "And we jump from here, to here," Aki sang gleefully. "And then here goes poof! And there goes poof!"
It took a while for the others to notice that with each pirouette and twirl, each point that she touched began gleaming a brighter red against the whole construct. When a dissonant whine struck the air, hurting the ears, then only Kyo ceased in his struggles. Limp with disbelief in Takashi's unrelenting grip, he stared at Aki in horror.
"No, stop it, please," he begged.
But Aki danced on blithely. Her movements were as graceful as a swan as she flitted from one step to the next and each step she took, pure power was carved from air, earth, fire and water.
"And there goes wham! And here goes whoops!"
And like a giant curtain drawn aside from the stage on which Aki danced, the very air behind her rippled. The stars above seem to weave a drunken dance and the very fabric of time and reality was rent like so many wet tissue.
And the very first layers of the barrier fell.
Like fireflies that came out to play in summer's warm breezes, red eyes, hundreds of them, floated out of the darkness.
It was Aki that pointed out the obvious.
With all the glee of a five year old showing off a new toy, Aki shouted, "Look daddy! Demons!"
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to be continued
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A/N: And so the war for the End of the Worlds begins. . . .tell me how good it was ^^ oh yes, since I've started the mailing list, I'll only do notifications for updates from there. So those who want updates but haven't signed up, please do so. Those who've just found out about it, it's at Yahoo! Groups, called Shiozaki's Fanfics. Do sign up! As a thank you, I'll post tidbits there of future stories, sneak previews, discussions, all the good stuff!
PS: Try out a little sneak preview of Why you should never kick Muraki in the balls. It's not strictly a preview per se, more like the scene that prompted me to do the story in the first place. . .I think I posted it sometime on the 31st of August? I posted it as "Sneak Preview" under Kelly.