Disclaimer: I don't own Shadow Souls, do own Anne, Isaiah and Locke. So ask me if you want 'em! ^^ Child labor, cheap—
Yuri: Not this again aegis.
**
"My soul for Anne's."
The dramatic statement did not quite have the effect Yuri wanted. The masks stared at him for a moment and then, realizing he was serious, burst into uproarious laughter.
"What the hell's so funny?!"
"Ohoho—first, we've already been cheated once that way. We were supposed to have your darling wife's soul."
Yuri growled. "You'll have your soul this time."
"You expect us to believe you'd willingly submit to being our slave?"
"You can take me right now!" the Harmonixer yelled.
The Masks watched him with more interest now, realizing how earnest he was. Yuri's fists were clenched as he glared at them. He dared them to laugh again, he'd rip them in half. The punishment should have been his in the first place, he'd take it if it'd save his daughter.
"The love of a father. How sickeningly sweet," Sword mask scorned. "But we will not trade such a precious soul for refuse like you."
His arms were shaking now, and the only thing that kept him from fusing with the Seraphic Radiance was the thought that he still might be able to convince them. "What makes her precious and me refuse?"
"Her class. My my," Grail mask simpered, observing Yuri's confusion, "Don't you know your own daughter's class? Perhaps you should ask your wife. She's right over there."
That gave him a horrible start. If Alice had heard his attempt to bargain with the masks, he'd be in for it. Luckily, when he turned he found that Alice was at the entrance gate. She'd just come in and, from the look on her face, was excited. Yuri approached her.
"What's up?"
Alice pulled on his sleeve. She was smiling widely, genuinely happy. "Yuri, I just thought of something."
"Yeah?"
She led him to the mound where Light and Air class fusions rested. "You know how you usually have one emotion associated with the whole class? Like rage with the Earth class?" Yuri nodded, not quite sure where she was going with this. "What emotion do you get from the Light class fusions?"
"I feel like I should protect people."
"Yes," Alice said, "See? It's a good emotion."
Yuri's eyes grew wide as he finally realized what she was driving at. "You think it wouldn't bother Anne?"
Alice nodded. "It was funny actually—I was just dreaming about something and when I saw Anne, she had this skin as white as milk and I knew she had fused. Then I thought of Heaven's Fiend and came here." She paused, kneeling in front of the Light grave. "You haven't felt any bad emotions from him, have you?" She looked up at Yuri, her blue eyes almost fearful at the thought that her idea would be worthless.
"No, I haven't."
"I'm going to check, just in case," she said. Reaching a hand to touch the grave, Alice searched the grave for all its emotions. Yuri watched fascinated as the symbol glowed brightly. He placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to give her comfort if one of the souls decided to lash out at her as Raging Tiger had at Anne.
For a long time they stayed like that, Alice searching and Yuri trying to protect in the only way he could think of. Alice's hand dropped from the grave. "I think…I think it will work."
Yuri laughed, and she joined him as she saw his relief.
"All we have to do is convince Anne…and then we'll have to train her for the fight."
"Leave the training to me," Yuri said, grinning. Anne liked their sparring sessions, despite her reluctance to learn fusion. Sparring would be fun for both of them.
"By the way, what were you doing here?" Alice asked suddenly. "Were you having a nightmare?"
"No, just giving those idiots a piece of my mind," Yuri reassured her. He was starting to feel foolish for giving up so quickly. What would Alice think if she knew? He took her hand and led her to the gates at the entrance.
**
They slept in that idyllic morning, woken up when Anne bounded into their bed and announced a customer.
"It's Jean-Jacques!" Anne liked his name; it was fun to pronounce. "And he said he's going to get the big discount this time!"
Yuri stirred at the sound of a challenge. "Oh, he thinks so, does he?" He rose out of bed and almost opened the door before remembering his half-nude state. A shirt and pants were drawn on as Anne ran through the hallway, announcing to the visitor downstairs that her father would be down soon. Yuri smiled at her loud voice, glad she was back to her normal self.
He leaned over the bed, pecking his wife's cheek. Sleepy blue eyes blinked open. "Morning, sunshine."
Alice buried her head back in the pillows, begging a few more minutes of rest. Remembering he had gone to sleep before her, Yuri left her to sleep and went downstairs.
"Jean-Jacques," he called, deliberating butchering the man's name with a laid-on accent, "how goes the quest for honor?"
A pile of Pure and Thera roots were on the counter. Mana would have been out of place since Yuri knew Jean-Jacques was as magically incompetent as he was, and sadly did not have any talent to cover that aspect.
Isaiah was busy calculating the total of sales so far and Anne was also calculating, so the two could check each other's answers. Anne had a leg up on Isaiah since she knew multiplication. She triumphantly announced her answer as Isaiah tried to catch up. Once done, he anxiously compared answers and was relieved to see they were the same.
Jean-Jacques, standing idly by the counter, shrugged. "Same as ever, I suppose. The villain has eluded me."
"Still can't find your sword?" Yuri leaned on the counter. "Man, that makes it close to a year now. Do you have any leads?"
"Plenty," the French man sighed, his mass of brown hair shaking with his head, "But they all seem to be dead ends eventually."
"Tough luck," Yuri said sympathetically.
"C'est la vie. But now, monsieur, if you would…"
"Already passed the other rings?"
"Yeah," Isaiah piped up, "I set them for him. Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty."
"And now the seventy-five," Yuri said.
It was Yuri's invention, and invented purely for a bit of excitement to break up an otherwise dull day of shop keeping. It had been easy to convince the guild master to allow it, since it provided a high reward for shoppers…provided they could beat the shopkeeper. Yuri liked a bit of competition.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
Both men were standing in front of their Judgment Rings, watching as the target areas were marked and the indicator appeared.
"Go!"
Alice started awake at the thunderous sounds downstairs. At first she sat up, looking wildly around. Then she remembered hearing Jean-Jacques's name and realized he'd reached the seventy-five. Right now he and her husband were pounding away like maniacs at Judgment Rings, competing to see who could last the most rounds, inconsiderate of those trying to get some sleep. Men.
She knew the hammering sounds of fists would continue a while, so she slipped on a pair of slippers and made her way downstairs. Her children were watching in amazement and also being announcers.
"Round twenty!" Isaiah said.
"One-two-three-four-no good!" Anne shouted.
Jean-Jacques's narrow shoulders slumped as he admitted himself defeated on round twenty-four. Yuri laughed, promising that if he was free that evening he would buy the first round of drinks. It was their typical arrangement, for the winner to buy drinks, and Jean-Jacques had only bought drinks twice.
After Jean-Jacques had paid and left, the Hyuga family began breakfast. They made some small chat, the children still excited with their visit from the French youth.
"Anne, Isaiah, want to go spar?" Yuri said hopefully. He already knew Anne would say yes, but he really wanted to teach Isaiah some martial arts, and toughen the boy up a little bit. Alice had told him not to force Isaiah, but for heaven's sake, the boy liked cooking more than the chance to beat something up. That just wasn't right in Yuri's mind.
Predictably Anne said yes while Isaiah shook his head. One look at Alice told Yuri he couldn't press the issue. He privately thought that it would be his wife's fault if Isaiah grew up to be like Meiyuan. He shuddered at the thought.
"How about you and I work on our magic instead?" Alice suggested. Isaiah liked this idea much better, and asked eagerly if he could make a bigger light. "We'll work on it," Alice answered.
So it was that after their late breakfast they all went outside. Alice and Isaiah remained close to the small store while Anne and Yuri walked into the woods surrounding the clearing. After a five minutes, Yuri stopped and faced his daughter with a grin. Even if his son didn't want to practice, Anne was always eager to learn. She'd be a good fighter.
"Wanna start?"
"What are we going to practice today?" Anne said. Pouting a little, she asked, "Not more defense?"
Yuri had at first taught her both attack and defense—actually, he had emphasized his strong point, which was offensive fighting—but ever since Anne's trial he had been teaching her mostly defense. It wasn't the most exciting thing to have to practice dodging and blocking over and over. Yuri did it because he knew if the Masks attacked soon, she wouldn't put a dent in one of them. He figured there was a much better chance of her learning how to defend their attacks than learning how to land a punch on them. But Anne thought otherwise.
Then again, a little change could be fun. "You want to do a practice fight?" Yuri asked. "You can hit me. If you're fast enough."
His daughter grinned, ready for a challenge, and took up a stance identical to her father's as they both prepared to fight.
Meanwhile, Alice had a bright light going, and was trying to instruct Isaiah on how to get some light as well. He seemed to have a lot of difficulty, and all he would ever get was some flickers, nothing more. Alice was entertaining the idea that Isaiah should probably wait until he was a little older to try magic when Isaiah dropped his left hand, focusing on just his right, where the flickers were. The flickers grew stronger, becoming almost steady.
"That's good, Isaiah!" Alice said when she noticed the improvement. Maybe the smaller space was easier to concentrate on. However it worked, Alice was glad to see he could focus the light much more easily. It'd be easier to work on spells this way. The first spell he could learn was Cure…but where to find something that needed healing? Alice decided the best way right now was to simply focus on concentration until she figured that out. "Now, try to get it just a bit brighter…"
"Anne, you're leaving your fists down. Get 'em up. You gotta block your head."
Instead of doing as he said, Anne looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Like I am." He demonstrated, having his fists a bit higher than his shoulders. "It makes it easier to block when it's aimed at your face. See, if I punch like this…" He extended his arm to in front of her face. "You got to bring your fist up right away to block. And if I'm aiming for the sides of your head, same thing. You want to make sure your head's protected."
They started back to sparring, but Anne was still struggling on keeping the right stance and bringing her fists up at the same time. Yuri batted her gently on the head a few times, reminding her to get them up, but it didn't seem to be working. After a while, he was getting very frustrated. She wasn't trying as much as she had at first, and her fists were a lot lower than they should be. How was he supposed to get her to do this right?
He remembered what his dad had always done and decided to take a leaf out of his book. At the next opening, which only took a few seconds to show, Yuri hit Anne on the head with his open hand. The girl fell down to the ground instantly, and after the first few seconds of sheer surprise, she seemed like she was close to crying.
"Did that hurt?"
Anne nodded.
"Do you know why it hurt?"
"You hit me really hard."
"No, it hurt because you didn't block it. Do you know how to block it?"
"Yeah," she said reluctantly.
"How do you block it?"
"I have to keep my fists up."
"Are you going to do that from now on?" Yuri asked. He swore it almost felt like he was possessed by his father or something. Unintentionally he was mimicking all the lectures he'd gotten after failing to take a lesson to heart and leaving his guard down.
Anne nodded more energetically, brushing away the tears. She stood up and got into the right stance again, making sure her fists were raised. Throughout the rest of the practice fight, her fists were constantly up, which impressed her father. He'd usually needed two or three whacks to learn his lesson.
Once Anne was exhausted, they returned back home to find that Isaiah and Alice had also made some progress. Isaiah was proud to show off his small light that had only occasional flickers. To Anne the light seemed to be dancing, and she put her hand on it to feel. "It's warm," she said in surprise. She hadn't thought it would feel like anything, but it was warm and gentle. "Wow, can I do this too, mom?"
Alice laughed. "That depends what class you are. We'll have to see. Although, if you're like your father, you won't be able to do any magic."
"Oh!" Her shoulders slumped. "Really?"
"Well, you can try if you want. Try and see if you can do any Dark-classed or Light-classed magic." Alice stood up from her chair at the table, inviting Anne to sit down at her chair. "Isaiah, you want to show her how you concentrate?"
Yuri wondered why Alice told Anne to do both. Did she not know Anne's class either?
Isaiah's face lit up at the prospect of actually teaching his big sister something. Usually she was the one teaching him. He held up his hand and told her, "You take your hand and you look at it really hard. And you imagine you're holding a light, big and bright. It kind of feels like your hand's falling asleep, it starts tingling."
His sister stared at her hand and tried to do the same thing he was doing. But it didn't work. After her first attempt, Alice said, "No, you're definitely not a Light class. Try Darkness magic. It's the same thing as Light magic, except you're trying to get a kind of black cloud."
"A cloud?" Anne echoed. She stared at her hand, willing something dark to form. Daddy was a Darkness class, so it'd make sense if she was the same. Nothing was coming though.
"That's…strange," Alice said slowly. "You're not a Darkness class either. Yuri, you try."
Yuri held his hands in front of him and focused. It was not as impressive as Alice's light had been, but it was a small, dense ball of darkness, useless as anything except an indicator of his class.
"You should be getting something…your aura isn't changing though. If you're not a Light class or a Darkness class…what class are you?" Alice wondered. "Maybe…water? My mother was a Water class, that might be it. Try focusing on some water."
They waited as Anne closed her eyes, holding her hand palm up in front of her. "Nothing," Yuri said. "Maybe she just doesn't have enough skill yet. I know I'm a bit better at magic than I was when I was a kid."
"Maybe," Alice said, "But it still seems odd…"
Yuri thought so too, remembering what the masks had said. But what did it mean? She couldn't be a Dark class, since she was supposed to be more valuable than him. Maybe a Light class? They had seemed disappointed to let Alice go. Light class made the most sense. So both of his kids were Light classes…huh.
**
They went on practicing like that for the next week. Every day they'd wake up, do their chores, and then split up. Alice showed Isaiah how bring out more of his magic, since he had yet to reach the level of actually using it, and Yuri taught Anne how to defend herself and counterattack. She had learned quickly to take his advice to heart before he had to show her why it was really important. Shortly before noon they would meet back together, and then Alice would teach the children writing, reading, and arithmetic while Yuri did his part as shopkeeper. Alice encouraged the children to help with the shop as well to get practice at their math and reading skills—and also to double check Yuri's work, since his math was not always the best.
Later, at night, Yuri and Alice would talk as they laid in bed, telling each other what had happened to them and wondering what they would do the next day. One subject that continually came up was Heaven's Fiend, and if Anne should try fusing with it. There were plenty of positives to Heaven's Fiend: he was Light-classed, a class not directly opposed by one of the Masks; he was very skilled at curing, which would be useful to Anne; and one of his main strengths was also defending himself against magical attacks, which the Masks tended to use. There was a few downsides: privately both of them were worried that no matter how hard they checked, the fusion soul could still have those negative emotions that would harm Anne, and also, they hadn't told Anne yet.
"I'll talk to her tomorrow, while we're training," Yuri said. He thought that'd be the best time to ask; the fusion was directly related to her training. "We'll have to figure out how hard we're going to train to get Heaven's Fiend, after all." And what if she says no? he asked himself. No, if Anne disagreed, he'd just have to find some way to persuade her. "Let's get some sleep now. I'm tired."
The next morning, as they were out training, Yuri told Anne to try punching him, holding his arms in front of his stomach. As each of her punches landed forcefully, well, for a seven-year-old, Yuri wondered how he would convince her. Should he just ask her point-blank? Get it over with right away?
"Do you like training, Anne?"
Anne stopped and gazed up at him, wondering why he asked. "Of course! I'm going to train and get really strong, just like you!"
"You want to start training harder?"
The girl thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."
"Because you know, we're probably going to have to fight the Masks with mom. It'll be tough. That's why I want you to learn fusion, Anne. It'll make you stronger."
His daughter was silent at first, fear flickering in her eyes. Yuri saw how she gripped her fists nervously while she stammered out, "B-but mom said I didn't have to fuse anymore."
"I can't make you fuse if you don't want to. But I'd really like it if you did." He knelt down to make himself Anne's level. She was looking down at the ground, examining the dirt. "It wouldn't be Raging Tiger. It's a new soul, Heaven's Fiend. He's a good one, he won't hurt you. Mommy made sure he wouldn't," he said. "Please?"
She shook her head. "I-I—" she broke off whatever she had been trying to say when she raised her head to make eye contact with her father. "If he's a good person, why's he a monster?"
The question took Yuri off-guard. It was a valid question for a child. If Heaven's Fiend had been a good person, why was he a monster now? "It's not whether he was good or bad. He just didn't make it through his trial. He really is a good person." Anne was still silent and he made another promise. "All you have to do is try him once. If he does anything like Raging Tiger, I won't ask you to fuse ever again." Because if Heaven's Fiend couldn't be trusted, none of the other fusion souls could be either.
"Alright." She didn't sound very happy though. Yuri smiled, trying to lift her spirits, but instead she said, "Can we go home now? I'm tired."
"Sure…you want a piggy-back ride?" Yuri offered.
Anne agreed, although unenthusiastically, and Yuri lifted her up, setting her on his shoulders. She rested her hands on his head and said nothing on their way back home. That worried her father. Anne usually wasn't quiet, and never for this long. Was she mad with him?
"When…am I going to fuse with him?" she asked as they were just outside the store. Alice and Isaiah had gone back inside, although she could still feel the warmth from the lights that had been created. "Soon?"
"You need to earn him first. You'll have to fight him."
This news made Anne more worried. She gripped Yuri's neck in a kind of hug. "Is he strong?"
"I'll be with you in case things get out of hand," Yuri told her. He wouldn't be able to intervene without making her give up the fusion soul, but she could always try another time.
"You'll be right next to me?"
"Yep."
Her face was buried in his hair as she told herself that everything would be fine. Daddy would be right behind her, and mommy had already made sure that the fusion soul wouldn't harm her. "Daddy?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't feel tired anymore."
Yuri grinned. "You want to train some more?"
**
For the next few weeks, their family continued that schedule: chores, training, shop, and then time to rest. Buoyed by his daughter's agreement to try a fusion with Heaven's Fiend, Yuri threw himself into training Anne to be the best fighter she could be. Her kicks were getting better, as well as her blocks. Yuri found himself thinking that one day, maybe after a couple of years, Anne might kick his butt, and found that he didn't mind the thought. He'd be proud if Anne became a better fighter than he was; it would mean that she was a good fighter and he was a good teacher.
About a week before they were going to visit the Valentine family again, Anne asked her father a question at the dinner table.
"Daddy, do you think I'm strong?"
"Yeah."
"Strong enough to fight Heaven's Fiend?"
Yuri cast a sidelong glance at Alice, who did not seem too thrilled about Anne trying so soon. "You want to?"
Anne nodded. "I want to fuse with him by the time we go to Blue Castle. Please?"
"Why?" Alice interrupted. "Can't it be later?"
"But mom," Anne pleaded, "I really want to show Locke!"
"Will you show me too?" Isaiah asked. He spooned up a big part of his peas and ate them, making a slight face.
Anne nodded vigorously. "Sure!" Turning back to her parents, she asked, "So please? Can I, mom?"
Yuri went back to his food, thinking Alice would answer no. He was surprised to hear her say, "I'll leave that up to your father."
He looked at his wife again, wondering why she was leaving this up to him. Was this a trick question or something? He watched her face for some hint on how he should answer, but she was keeping her face carefully neutral. This did not bode well for him. If he answered wrong, he'd be in trouble.
Yuri crossed his arms and thought about it. Anne was a pretty good fighter; on the other hand, she was seven, and a girl. Girls did tend to be weaker than boys…but then, Heaven's Fiend shouldn't be particularly challenging. It had good spiritual defense, but Anne didn't use magic; good spiritual attacks, but Anne was a Light class like the monster, so it shouldn't affect her too much. Its physical attacks were below average, so it was more a battle of endurance than a battle of strength.
"Alright, you can try as long as I'm with you," he said. "But not tonight. I still want to train you for a few more days. And we're running low on Thera leaves, so I'll need to get another order from Roger." His eyes darted to Alice's expression again, and he was pleased to see the small smile on her face. He'd managed to scrape out of that one. And it was kind of exciting, to realize that their goal wasn't too far away; that in a few days, Anne might be a real fusionist, comfortable with her abilities.
**
"You ready Anne?"
Anne nodded confidently. "Ready!"
While Yuri was happy with her assertion, he was a bit annoyed by the fact that she was less nervous than he was. After all, she'd be the one fighting.
Actually, maybe that was the exact reason he would be more nervous: it would be his first time being only spectator to a fight, a fight involving his own daughter. He'd be very, very glad when this was over and done with.
"I've got the Thera leaves," Isaiah said, his hands overflowing with them. Anne took them from him and put it into a small pouch she had gotten from her mom. It hung around her waist, accompanied by the glowing Flare brooch. Not that she was going to fuse, but Yuri knew it would also make her stronger. "Anything else?"
"No, this is fine," Yuri told him. Mana leaves were unnecessary since Anne wouldn't be fused and didn't have any magic to call on. Pure leaves wouldn't be needed either; since Anne could fuse with a monster, Yuri knew that she should have enough willpower to last through the fight. If it took long enough that there was a risk of her going berserk, she'd likely be backing out for other reasons anyway. "Now for the Graveyard," he muttered.
Together Anne and him laid down with Alice and Isaiah watching over them. Isaiah's eyes were full of curiosity; he would have asked to go with them if it wasn't for the name of the place, which filled him with foreboding. It was just as well, since he would have been frightened at the appearance of the menacing region. Yuri had one last thought of telling Anne that there was no way she was doing this now and that she'd have to wait until a reasonable age, like fifteen. Or twenty. But he knew that if he went back on his word now, Anne would be very hurt and mad…and she needed to be able to fuse as soon as possible, since they didn't know when the Masks would come after her.
So, he closed his eyes, and tried to get to sleep. He really did. Usually he could get to the Graveyard quickly, after dozens of speedy trips had been required to clear his Malice. But now he felt uneasy and shifted awkwardly, wishing he'd just relax and be able to sleep.
"Yuri, she's in the Graveyard," Alice said. She couldn't be in there by herself, since she'd be vulnerable to the Masks.
"Um, I can't…could you?"
Alice was already kneeling next to him, understanding what he needed. She raised her hand above her face and said a single word in Latin. A gentle light tinged with blue appeared in her hands and Yuri instantly fell back on the floor, his eyes closed in sleep.
Although the spell pacified the body, Yuri still thought his insides were churning as he entered the Graveyard. Anne was standing just inside the gates, pouting. "What kept you, daddy?"
"Took me a while to get to sleep," he said with a sheepish grin. "You still got the leaves right?"
Anne opened her pouch, showing all the Thera leaves. "Got 'em."
"Okay." Yuri tried to think of any more reasons for delay but came up empty. It was time for the fight. This was almost worse than the Trial had been, because he had actually encouraged her to do this in the first place. What had he been thinking?
Scanning the Graveyard, the girl found the grave of Light and scampered towards it. This immediately snapped Yuri out of his reverie and he followed her with brisk strides. "Anne, don't touch that grave!"
Obediently she clasped her hands behind her back and waited, her whole body tense with excitement. She had been given equipment for once, the best there was in the store (except claw-wise, because she hadn't learned how to use them and both parents thought there was a better chance of her injuring herself than the monster). Instead she had brass knuckles, specially made for her. Anne wore a snow-white robe, circlet, and a charming pareo. She looked like a miniature adult with the armor and accessories, which also worried Yuri for some odd reason.
"You're ready?" he asked again.
"Yes daddy," Anne said, keen to begin her first real fight. "I'm ready, I really am."
Yuri groaned mentally. For once he wished she wouldn't sound so enthusiastic. "Alright…touch the grave and tell Heaven's Fiend you want to fight him."
Anne turned and placed her hand directly on the symbol. There was a flash of light but no monster appeared. Yuri knew it was because he was in the way. He stepped back a few feet and watched as a line was drawn, circling the grave and Anne. More lines came into the circle, creating a depiction of the Judgment Ring. Yuri edged his foot towards the circumference only to meet an invisible force, keeping him out. The contract of souls between a harmonixer and fusion soul. Once a fight for a fusion soul was started, no one else could enter the circle of fate; this condition was made in exchange for the chance to earn another form to fuse with. Now the only way he could help, if Anne needed it, was for her to first leave the circle and forfeit the chance until she fought again. This was not making Yuri happy at all.
"Anne, if it gets too much for you, get out of the circle."
She nodded, both of her eyes fixed on the floating white creature that had emerged from the grave. She thought he was beautiful in a way, and it seemed like a shame that she'd have to fight him in order to fuse with him. Still, she took up the stance Yuri had always shown her, making sure her fists were slightly above her shoulders.
Heaven's Fiend made its first move, its typical preparatory action of casting Wall of Resistance on itself. It would decrease the damage a spell caused, but since Anne wouldn't be using any magic, it wasn't a problem. Anne took the opportunity to land a punch and two kicks. Yuri watched the battle begin, stalking the outside of the circle as his insides clenched tightly. He already knew he would never do this again. Alice could supervise any fusion soul battles in the future.
The soul cast Exorcist Arrow, hitting the girl with a beam of light; Anne cried out and Yuri's heart plummeted. That had hurt her more than it should have if she was a Light class. If she wasn't a Light class, this battle would be a lot harder than he had planned. What class was she? Maybe Water? Yuri growled, wishing there wasn't a stupid circle blocking him from his daughter.
Anne stood up from the offensive spell, a few bruises on her body. She rushed forward, punching the fusion soul twice before it batted her away with its tail.
"Thera leaf!" Yuri yelled. "Use a Thera leaf!"
Listening to her father, Anne opened the pouch and consumed one of the leaves. At the same time, Heaven's Fiend cast Exorcist Arrow again. This time the spell hurt her much less, Yuri noted with an infinite amount of relief. The soul must have gotten lucky the first time. So Anne was a Light class, just like her mother. This battle should be easier then. Hopefully. His stomach was churning again. He'd be lucky if he didn't get sick as soon as he woke up.
Seeing that its magic had not been as effective as the first time, the fusion soul refrained from using the spell again, deciding physical attacks to be more useful. The two combatants traded blows as Yuri watched on anxiously.
Anne used three more Thera leaves, urged by her father. She didn't think the third had been necessary, but she didn't see the harm in it, especially because there were so many leaves. The fusion soul was starting to be weakened—at least, he was until he cast Sacred Remedy on himself. Yuri swore, cursing the angelic creature for having healing abilities. It should just go down and stay down.
They went on for a few minutes, but he could see Anne getting weaker with the hits she took. She grabbed her pouch of Thera leaves, but the soul's tail whipped around, knocking the bag—out of the Judgment Ring.
Yuri picked it up and tried to toss it back to Anne, but the line that made the circle's circumference blocked the bag's return. Nothing could get into the Judgment Ring. Yuri swore bitterly.
"Get out of there Anne! Get out, now!" he yelled.
"Hold on," Anne called, "I'm close, daddy."
Her father grit his teeth. This child of his would completely wreck his nerves. She'd give him gray hairs before his time. He couldn't do anything unless she listened to him, and she was not listening.
The armor and accessories helped Anne, but truthfully she was not anywhere near as strong as Yuri had been when fighting the same soul. Heaven's Fiend's tail whipped around, knocking her down. Anne felt blood running down her cheek and knew she couldn't last long as it was. The fusion soul pressed in on her, trying to force her out of the circle. The soul itself was trying to deny her the chance to earn her own fusion soul, which infuriated Anne. She was trying as best as she could, and she had come so close to beating him, and still she couldn't win. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right. She became increasingly angry as something rose in her, something that told her a way she could win. The blood from her head injury dripped down on her clenched fists as a low growl came from her throat.
Yuri heard the menacing sound and cast a glance at the Earth grave. It was glowing. A string of obscenities burst from his lips, all thoughts of restraint gone from his mind. "Anne! Get out of there, now! What the hell are you thinking?"
But he knew. She wasn't thinking at all. Her emotions were in control, and they were forcing the fusion that suited them, one based on rage. In a flash of light, Anne was gone and replaced by a small tiger that walked on all fours. Yuri knew now she was berserk, completely under the fusion soul's control. And there was nothing he could do but watch as Raging Tiger went after Heaven's Fiend.
The earth fusion growled, healing itself, before it slashed at the light class monster. Realizing the new danger, the soul had only a few seconds to back away before Raging Tiger pounced on it. It chose to use its fangs instead of claws and ripped into the already weakened Light class viciously. The fight was brutal as the balance of power shifted dramatically from one side to the other.
Yuri was only vaguely aware of the Judgment Ring's depiction dissipating, signaling the defeat of Heaven's Fiend. All he could see was Anne, her body twisted into an abnormally feline shape, and how she licked at her wounds while at the same time healing them.
"Anne," he whispered. "Anne." Could she hear him?
The fusion soul paused in its healing ministrations and gazed at him with blood red eyes. A low growl emanated from its throat as it rolled onto its feet, fixing him with its eerie look. Yuri realized belatedly why his teammates had always abhorred him going berserk; it must have been unnerving to have a monster looking at you with nothing but bloodlust in its eyes and know that there was a friend inside of there. That there was a daughter inside of there.
He didn't have any Pure leaves. Why had they neglected Pure leaves? He held up his hands as the tiger approached him. "Anne. Please. Don't." Yuri's voice shook with every word.
The tiger roared and leapt at him. He did nothing to counter, so afraid he'd hurt his daughter. He knew a serious attack could easily break her bones. So instead he let her attack, trying to find an opportunity to seize her.
She clawed at him brutally, trying with all her strength to kill him. Yuri blocked her attacks with his hands. As the one-sided fight progressed, the blood began dripping down his hands, splashing on the stones in the Graveyard.
Finally he saw a perfect opportunity and seized her, one arm wrapping around her midsection while the other bound her front claws together. The cat yowled and thrashed about madly in his grip. He tried to ignore it as he moved up to the gates. But the gates wouldn't open. Yuri shoved all his weight against them twice before realizing that Anne's soul was bound to the Earth grave by her fusion. She could not leave until she disembodied, and the fusion soul would never release its hold on her. He could leave if he let her go, but then the masks would get her, devour her soul like they had wanted to do to Alice's—
If he hadn't needed to hold Anne, his arms would have been shaking. As it was, his grip tightened until the tiger howled and he heard the noise of something breaking. He looked at Anne's paws and saw the right one dangling loosely. He'd broken her wrist, and a horrible thought came to him: how much more pressure was needed to break one of her ribs? "Don't fight me," he told the fusion soul. "Not with Anne." It either didn't hear him or didn't care, because it continued to struggle in his arms and he tried to contain it as best as he could without harming Anne again. He wondered desperately what he would do. He couldn't leave Anne without risking her soul, he couldn't leave with her, and he had nothing to return her to sanity. The older harmonixer was about to lose his own sanity as well.
"Yuri!"
The Harmonixer looked up and saw his wife standing at the gates, looking around wildly. "Over here," he called with a rough voice. "Do you have any Pure leaves?"
She shook her head. "No, I tried to come as soon as I realized Anne was berserk," she said, marching towards them. "But I do have your mother's cross." Alice knelt by Anne and slipped the silver cross over her head, then put it around the fused girl's neck. "Anne, do you hear me?"
It took a minute or two, but the cross's power finally took effect. Yuri felt the fusion soul go slack in his arms and released Anne, overcome with his own emotions. Alice took the still fused girl into her own lap and asked, "Why don't you disembody?"
The small tiger gazed up at her with thinly veiled confusion. Its crimson eyes closed and a small light came from its body as it changed back into Anne, unconscious but with another fusion soul to work with.
Her mother smiled at the serene look on Anne's face, glad that at least Raging Tiger had not frightened her this time, but the beam faded as her focus shifted to Yuri. His face was hidden behind his bloody hands and she could make out the profound relief he was feeling, but there was another emotion beneath it, its antithesis, terror. "Yuri—"
"Take Anne and get out."
Alice stared at him. "What about your hands? They're—"
"I said get out!"
His voice was muted but the anger came out in full force. His whole body was trembling with rage and fear, the blood from his hands starting to stain his clothing and mat his hair. Suddenly he gripped at it, nearly tearing strands out as his voice rose.
"Get the fucking hell away from me!"
Alice shot up to her feet, clutching Anne to her protectively. Rarely had she heard Yuri so angry, even more rarely at her. She opened her mouth but then thought better of it. Instead she did as Yuri had demanded and left the Graveyard, waking up to a distraught Isaiah. The young boy had panicked when he saw the blood spreading over his father, thinking it meant he was being injured. Alice assured him that was not the case. She could not help but wonder what was really going on with Yuri.
Finally alone, Yuri let his wounded hands fall from his face. The tears dropped from his eyes into his palms as he sobbed brokenly. He brought his knees up to his chest and shuddered with relief as his mind went through what could have happened, with all the nightmarish pictures his imagination created: Anne being killed by the Exorcist Arrow; Anne as Raging Tiger, its red eyes dulled and its rib cage crushed; Anne, left by him as he sought Pure leaves, surrounded by laughing Masks. The relief was dulled by the knowledge that she was far from being safe and that all the danger of tonight could have been avoided if he had not been such an overconfident jackass. He should have never become a father. He couldn't even pretend he knew what to do for his children. He was so lost and idiotic and reckless and the self-loathing built up inside until he couldn't stand it and screamed at the blank black sky.
"Why can't I do anything right? Why do I screw everything up?" His voice became quieter as he gulped, his throat dry from crying. "Why can't I…Dad…I'm just trying to be a good father…like you were…I can't do it. I can't do this anymore," he whispered. "I can't stand it." He couldn't stand it when Anne got hurt, it felt like someone was digging a knife into his heart. Hell would be better than this…or was this his hell? He remembered what the masks had told him, that her punishment would be his as well. They'd been right, as they usually were in their damningly annoying way.
He reached out and used the Earth gravestone to hold himself steady as he staggered to his feet. After Yuri regained his balance, he made his way to the temple.
The Masks seemed surprised to see him. Then again, it was obvious why they would be. He made no effort to put on a cocky façade, well aware that the tears still dripping down his face made it pointless. He grinned mockingly at their astonishment. "What? Isn't this what you always wanted to see? You always wanted to see me break down and cry."
"What do you want Harmonixer?" the Staff mask said coldly.
"You know what I want," Yuri said, resentment creeping into his voice. "So what's your price? You don't want my soul, it's garbage. I can see your point. So what do you want?"
"There is nothing you would give us that is worth more than her soul," Grail mask told him.
"Nothing I would give you?" he echoed. "So does that mean there is something I could give you?"
"This is pointless," Sword mask said. "There is nothing you could give us. Nothing as valuable—" He paused suddenly. "Nothing as valuable, but maybe something worthy."
Yuri looked at the green mask intently, trying to figure out what he meant by that. "What do you mean?"
"No more," the mask said brusquely. "That is all for tonight. Return to your mortal world, boy."
Boy. He was thirty-two and the masks still condescendingly called him 'boy'. Yuri walked away from the temple, not knowing where he'd go. They'd told him to return to his world, but that would mean he'd see Anne. He didn't want to see her. Not that night, maybe never. Instead he entered the other set of gates, into the grassy field with a tree. The same place that he'd met his father in so long ago. He sat down and crossed his legs, leaning against the tree. "Dad?" he said softly. "I'd really like some help right now."
But of course his father was in heaven now. He had left watching his son when he thought he'd grown up enough to take care of himself. And he could, he really could look out for himself. He just couldn't take care of anyone else at the same time.
Yuri looked up at the sunset as he waited for no one to come. He wasn't disappointed, and he smiled lazily, bitterly. He almost felt numb, like the tears had washed away all his emotions. Like they were an anesthetic. He wondered if that was why Alice let herself cry, so she could be dead to whatever hurt her afterward.
But the numbness only lasted until he thought of Anne again, and then he shuddered as the relief of her survival came, quickly followed by the fears of what might have been.
**
Yuri woke up after a fitful sleep spent half in and half out of the Graveyard. His head hurt from resting all night long on the hard wooden floor, but he was surprised to find that his back was comfortable. Someone had given him a blanket. And two people were sleeping next to him. Alice, on one side, had wrapped her arms around his midsection in a hug while Isaiah was curled up in a ball right on the other. Looking around the family room, Yuri also saw Anne, asleep on the couch.
Despite the loathing he had felt in the Graveyard Yuri sat up and leaned towards her, making sure she was alright. He held up her right arm and tenderly handled the wrist, feeling that it had been healed properly.
"Don't worry, I took care of her."
Alice had woken up because of his movements and was watching him. "Are you feeling better now, Yuri?"
"Why aren't you guys in your bedrooms?" he asked rudely.
"Because we got worried when you didn't wake up. You weren't panicking, so we didn't know if anything was wrong, but we wanted to be near just in case."
"Nothing was wrong."
"That's a lie," Alice said softly, her voice quivering. "I won't tell the children if that's what you want, but I want to know the truth."
He shook his head. Did he have to talk about this, already? "I was just mad at myself. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just wanted to be alone." His tone was so flat that anyone could have known his apology was not genuine.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why mad at yourself?" His wife reached up and touched him, pushing him back against the couch. "I don't understand why you get so mad at yourself…when anyone would have done the same thing as you."
"Oh, so you would've told Anne to go up against Heaven's Fiend too?"
Alice nodded. "Yes."
He snorted derisively, the one sound telling Alice what he thought of that.
"I do mean it! And it worked, didn't it? So what are you so mad about?" She felt like she might lose her temper herself. Why didn't he believe her?
"That she almost died! That I can't do anything without her almost getting killed!"
"But it worked out. It's an uphill battle for Anne, you can't expect to not have a few close calls. And now, when she starts training more she'll be better able to face off against the masks. Right?" Unsure herself about the accuracy of her statement, Alice rested her head against Yuri's chest, feeling how tense he was. He didn't hold her like he usually would. "Don't be mad at yourself Yuri. Because…when you hate yourself, you start hating everyone else. And you're really frightening when you do that," she whispered. "It's like you're a different person."
She was trembling slightly as she leaned against him. Yuri looked down at her and then brushed his lips against her hair, slowly reaching to hold both of her arms. He hadn't wanted to cry in front of her and instead he'd probably made her cry. That was…just how he was. He didn't know how to change it. He didn't know what to change it to. Was it his fault for pushing her away when he cried or his fault for crying in the first place? "Sorry."
"You did really good yesterday, Yuri. You helped Anne get another fusion soul. You're helping her save her own soul. Please look at it that way," she said.
It was strange. When he looked at it that way…it seemed like he had actually done a good job, like he was being a good father. "And that's how you look at it, isn't it?" Yuri asked.
She nodded against his chest. "I believe in you Yuri. That's why I love you."
Yuri smiled and draped the blanket over both of them, wrapping them up in its red fabric. That was why he loved her too; because she had always believed in him.
**
Three days later, they were on their way to visit Keith, Margarete, and Locke. The car jostled with each bump in the road, but they were all used to the rough road. Anne and Isaiah were bouncing around happily in the back seat, asking, "Are we there yet?" as they proceeded through the woods.
"Close," Alice answered. "Now calm down."
Yuri took a break from watching the path to look at Anne and Isaiah. The girl had been frightened briefly when she had first woken up from her fight with Heaven's Fiend, but had soon calmed down after Alice and Yuri had talked to her. She had also been practicing her fusion, but out of the sight of Isaiah; she wanted both him and Locke to be startled by her new fusion when she put it into action.
The car braked as Yuri put it smoothly into park and the little girl frowned. She didn't see Locke, and he was always out to greet them. Had they stopped in the wrong place? "Daddy, is something wrong with the car?"
"No, we're here. Blue Castle, everyone out."
Isaiah pouted. "Where's Locke?" The youngest Valentine was missing, though Keith and Margarete were both outside on the entrance.
"Hi Keith, hey Margarete," Yuri called to them as he slammed the driver's door shut.
"So how was your month?" Margarete asked, walking up to him. "Same old?"
Yuri thought over his month, the attempted fusions with Raging Tiger, the battle to earn Heaven's Fiend, and Anne's subsequent attempts at more fusion. "Um, not really 'same'…Let's talk about that later," he said.
"Aunt Margarete, where's Locke?" Anne asked.
"He's in his bedroom. Said he didn't want to come out. Guess he must have stayed up late," Margarete said. Anne knew where his room was, so she ran inside and up the stairs. Once she as outside the room, she grinned and knocked loudly.
"Locke! Knock knock!"
The first try didn't get a reply, so Anne repeated herself. "Locke!" Isaiah had managed to catch up to Anne and started knocking as well.
"C'mon Locke, don't you want to play?"
"No!"
Anne stopped pounding on the door when she heard his response and asked, "Are you tired?"
"No."
"So why don't you want to play?"
"I don't want to play with you."
Now Anne stared at the floor, wondering why he didn't want to play anything with her. "Why not? Did I do something?" she wondered, looking at Isaiah to see if he knew what it was. Her brother shook his head, just as bewildered as her.
The door opened and Locke looked up at her. "I don't play with monsters," he announced before slamming the door.
Anne looked at the door, hearing what Locke had said. 'I don't play with monsters.' Locke thought that she was just a monster. But why? She hadn't done anything bad. That wasn't fair. Why was he being mean to her?
"Well…well…I don't want to play with a stupid bat, so there!" Anne yelled back at the door. She stared at it, waiting for Locke's reaction, but when she heard nothing else she left, nearly in tears.
Isaiah was torn between what he should do. Finally he went back to the parlor, where the adults were talking about the different fusion souls, especially Raging Tiger. He tugged on his mother's sleeve until he had her attention. "Mommy, Anne's really upset."
"Why's that?" Yuri asked.
"Because—Locke said he wouldn't play with her because she was a monster."
"Is she alright?" Alice said unnecessarily.
"He said what?" Keith, for the first time Yuri could remember, looked absolutely livid. He vacated his armchair and stormed up the stairs with the harmonixer right behind him. Except at the top of the stairs, Yuri turned one way while Keith went the other, each to deal with his own child.
Anne was crying in her room, sobbing into her pillow. Yuri shook her shoulder. "Anne."
She rolled over and looked at him. "Daddy, I'm not a monster, right?"
"No, you're not. Locke's wrong, you're not a monster."
With her fists she rubbed at her eyes and nose, sniffling. "And it's good to be a harmonixer, right?"
"Right."
"Then why did Locke call me a monster?" she asked.
Yuri shook his head. How was he supposed to tell her that reaction was the most common she would find? "He's just afraid Anne. He doesn't understand about your abilities, so he's scared. But once he understands, he won't be afraid anymore."
"He's afraid?"
Yuri nodded. "It's not your fault, it'll just take a while for him to understand."
"And then we'll be friends again?"
"Yeah, I'm sure you will," he said optimistically.
When she had calmed down, he picked her up and carried her piggy-back to the parlor. Keith was in the parlor, still incensed by his son's rudeness and muttering crossly about what his father would have done with such a child. When Locke had refused to open the door to let him in, he had pounded on the door until both women persuaded him not to break down the door. Alice was still trying to calm him down while Margarete was by turns amused with her husband being mad for once and also remorseful about why he'd gotten mad.
"I don't get it," she said, shaking her head. "He's been friends with Anne forever, and she didn't even say anything to him."
"Raging Tiger attacked him and Isaiah, didn't it?" Yuri said as he walked in. "That'd be enough to frighten any kid." Anne bit her lip, wondering if that was why he was so mad at her. How could she apologize for what had happened that night, when she had first fused?
"But he knows that it wasn't Anne," Keith said irritably.
"I don't think he does," Yuri said. "He's too young. Just give him time."
The vampire frowned, a hint of his elongated canines showing. "If you insist, although he will be making a sincere apology to Anne."
Only Keith could manage to make an apology sound like a threat, Yuri thought to himself. Margarete shook her head slightly and rose, saying, "Who wants lunch? Anne, what would you like?"
**
Yuri went to sleep that night and found himself in the Graveyard. He hadn't planned to come to the Graveyard and he looked around confused before deciding to check out the entire Graveyard. He wasn't sure why he was there until he approached the temple. He found the masks there, all four, looking unusually solemn.
"Someone die?" he asked.
"We will give you a chance to save your daughter's soul," Sword mask said.
His eyes widened at the unexpected offer. "And what's the catch," Yuri asked more cautiously. The last time he had come to the masks he had been beaten. They probably thought they could get him to do anything. Which made the next part more surprising.
"There is only one thing we want," Staff mask said.
"Great, so spit it out." It was probably murder or worse. Anne was doing well now though. She had a fusion soul, so the worst part was over. If the price was too high, he'd refuse and do things his own way.
"We want you to pass your Trial."
Yuri looked at the Gold mask incredulously. "That it?"
"Yes."
"So lemme get this straight. I pass my Trial, Anne's soul is freed, no strings attached, you never bug us again. And that is it?"
"Correct," Grail mask told him. "There is only one condition: you must take the Trial every single night until you pass it. Skip one night, and the deal is off; we will take the girl's soul."
"Okay, I'll bite: why?" Yuri asked. "I know plenty of harmonixers have completed their tests, so it doesn't seem that big a deal."
"Yes, but your failure has led to all your cowardice and cheating," the Grail mask told him. "Pass your test, and it will be as if it never was."
Yuri thought about it for only a few minutes. They would've had to say if there were any catches, so he knew there weren't. Here it was, an easy way to free Anne with little hassle. If he just passed one test, she was safe. It wouldn't harm anyone. There was no reason not to attempt the Trial.
"I'll take it," Yuri said.
"The Trial will begin now."
**
Author's Note hoo…Yuri's section
was a doozy. It's either so
well-written that it made me cry, or very cruddy because I was crying while I
typed it. I'm not kidding too. Am I the only writer who makes herself cry
when writing scenes?
Oh, and Kim! This is where you started giving me ideas about Yuri retaking his Trial. As well as other things. My whole storyline shifted a bit once I got the ideas too.
**
Reviewers:
MikoNoNyte: Yuri was thinking that she was not going to be mastering all the other fusions for a while, so he didn't need to worry. He was just giving a bit of incentive.
That's my personal favorite line: "Daddy, you're indecent!"
Oh, don't you know? That mule was Yuri's reincarnation, as punishment for always being so stubborn.
Yuri: *grumble*
Margarete-profession-tools of the trade-explosives-temper-Yuri. -- Their connection.
He doesn't have a choice, but he likes to think he does. It's very amusing.
Kitty: In a way, he has become more like her. But not too much. He still has to have Yuri-like traits…such as in this chapter when he yells at Alice.
Leels: That sounds like the most awesome way to get a detention. ^^
