A/N: I now know what it means to open myself to criticism. *Glares* HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY THIS PEOPLE?!?!?!?! I KNOW MY SPELLING STINKS!!! YOU DON'T HAVE TO REMIND ME OKAY?!?!?!?!?!?!?! NO ONE'S PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And now that I have that out of my system there'd best not be any more comments on my spelling or I will get my revenge the worst possible way imaginable. I will end my chapters with cliffhangers and take a purposely looooooooong time uploading the next ones. I hope we have all that straitened out. Now for the fic.
"Hotaru? Hotaru did you fall asleep?" Hotaru heard Kioko's voice. She opened her eyes to find Kioko's face looking down at her. "How can you fall asleep? We just woke up a few hours ago." She asked, giving Hotaru a sideways look.
Hotaru yawned, "Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night." She sand, getting up. Her book shifted a bit under her. "Woops," She said, taking the book out and making sure she didn't damage it.
"Hey, I almost completely forgot about that book!" Kioko exclaimed picking it up. She opened it up and flipped a few pages. "Ah-ha!!!" She exclaimed.
"What?" Hotaru asked, looking over Kioko's shoulder.
"The secret to flight without a broom, it's so simple!" Kioko exclaimed, handing the book back to Hotaru. She looked as though she had just been enlightened on something, which she had. The book obviously told her how to fly without a broom. "We need to use that thing more often." She grinned, "And not just for research."
"Kioko." Hotaru sighed, shaking her head. The girl was hopeless.
"What?" She asked innocently.
"Anyways, I met the neighbors yesterday." Hotaru said, stretching a bit in hopes of waking herself up a bit more.
"Really? Which ones did Galaxia send?" Kioko asked.
"The sisters who moved in house 1234 on this street. Topez and Sapphire Velvet." She answered.
"Ah, and the other?" Kioko asked.
"Well, Topez was the one who decided to move in at the same time as they did, they're not in on all of this though. But they are Saturnarians, but I only met their son." Hotaru said. "The mother apparently knew exactly who I was, but I think Aushran is having problems remembering."
"Ashuran?" Kioko asked raising an eyebrow, a bit of a smirk tugged at the side of her mouth.
"Uh hu. Remember when I had that vision of my past and had a brother in it? I think he's my brother because there's something really familiar about him." Hotaru said, rather briskly so Kioko wouldn't get the wrong idea.
"Oh! Well in that case I won't tell Draco." She said.
"Kioko!!!" Hotaru exclaimed, "I'd never cheat on Draco!!!"
"Oh I know that. But you do realize that, as a Slytherin, Draco can be very protective and territorial." She said grinning. "But if I tell him we think Aush…Aushran! Is your brother, he probably won't mind. Aushran, Aushran….now where have I heard that name before…?" Kioko thought walking out of Hotaru's room.
"Maybe you remember him. What image comes to your mind when you think of that name?" Hotaru asked.
"Actually…I think of a little girl with black hair up in a ponytail, a white tunic, no shoes, and some jewelry…oh wait…that's Ashura from RG Veda. It's an anime!" She laughed nervously.
"Oh," Hotaru giggled. "Anyways, he's one of the new transfer students at Hogwarts. It was in the Daily Prophet, did you read it?" Hotaru asked.
"Oh yeah! Aushran Hametsu? He's a published artist isn't he?" Kioko asked.
Hotaru nodded, "He's actually asked to paint my portrait tomorrow." She said, preparing herself for the blow that would most likely come out of saying that.
"Oh really?" Kioko raised an eyebrow, "Maybe I should come too." She said. "He can paint me polishing my dagger."
"Kioko!!! You'll just make him even more nervous than he already is!!!" Hotaru exclaimed.
"What? He's nervous? Why should he feel nervous if he's your brother?" Kioko asked.
"He doesn't remember exactly." Hotaru said, considering.
"Well, you don't want to give him the wrong idea." Kioko pointed out. "Anyways, start from the beginning of your 'meeting'. I want to hear details." She instructed.
Of course. Hotaru thought.
***********
"Who?" Draco asked, suspiciously.
"Aushran Hametsu, we think he's Hotaru's brother from Saturn." Kioko explained.
"Oh, okay." He said, relaxing a bit.
Kioko gave Hotaru an 'I told you so' look. "He's also one of the first ever Hogwart's exchange students." She added, pulling out the issue of the Daily Prophet and turning it to the page she wanted. "Along with Roku Alchemy, Liam Sodin, Kagen Griffon, and…." Kioko suddenly paled, her mouth dropped open and she looked as though she had just found the most horrible thing that could possibly happen to her had happened.
"What? Who?" Draco asked.
Kioko suddenly rolled up the paper and ripped it in a complete half, anger and hatred radiated off of her with such magnitude Hotaru's eyes watered because she could hardly block it. It also seemed as though she were on fire, and Harry and Draco noticed this too. The look on her face scared all of them as it was full of furry and anger. "Kikyo Night!" She hissed maliciously, the paper literally burned in her fists. "Of all the people to pick—she can hardly even ride a broom!!!" Kioko stood up.
"Your sister?" Harry asked cautiously.
"Oh good gods no!!!" Kioko said, recalling as though he'd suggested something horrible. "She's the pompous, preppy, prissy, too-good-for-thou, daughter of Lucifer that is my cousin! I can't believe she got chosen to be a transfer student!!!! She probably used her family backgrounds!!!" Kioko exclaimed, stalking up and down the living room.
"Well, can you blame her?" Draco began, "The Nights are a very influential family." He said.
"All but my dad, of course. He had to be the oddball of an entire family of Slytherins." Kioko grumbled, calming down.
"Huh?" Harry asked. "You've never said anything about your family before, other than that they're all gits."
"Oh they are, my immediate family at least. My mother's Hufflepuff and my father's Ravenclaw. Both actually grew up in Slytherin families and became oddballs. My mother was originally a Black, like Sirius, but she got taken off the Family tree, of course. And my Dad's, of course, a Night. Which are another family of Slytherins. Though Ravenclaw isn't exactly unnatural in that kind of a family, he's still the oddball. The second aunt on my mother's side was born of a female Black and so she didn't get that last name. But she did marry in with the Malfoy's, being you're father's third cousin and all. My dad's brother, however, actually did have the attitude of Lucifer and decided to have the demon that is Kikyo, who's main objective in life is to annoy me to no end." Kioko explained. She then began fuming at the thought of her cousin. "I will freely admit to hating her more than anyone else in the entire universe! Even my brother isn't as bad as she is!!!!"
"Oh my." Hotaru breathed. She could have guessed Kioko hated this girl, but hating her more than her brother and other family members meant she wanted the girl to die. And with Kioko's new found power she just might do it.
Kioko finally took a deep breath and slowly let it out, forcing herself calm and relaxed. She then smirked, "Of course, this could be a good thing."
"Miss Tomoe!" Rita Skeeter suddenly busted into the door.
"I do believe you're right, Draco." Kioko said with an unnerving smile. "The Fates do bend to my will. Good afternoon Miss Skeeter, such pleasant timing you have." Kioko said good-naturedly. Which instantly made Rita pale and turn right around. "Oh no you don't, Miss Skeeter, come in, sit down. You went to the trouble of coming here for a story, I'll give you a story." She said.
"Oh no, Kioko please don't!" Hotaru stood up and pleaded.
But Rita turned back around, interested. "Oh really? A spicy story I hope, coming from Lady Hex it must have some would-be blackmail material." She said.
"Oh yes, much blackmail indeed. You see, my…cousin, is one of the transfer students to Hogwarts this year and I want to make sure she has the most…pleasant of times there." Kioko said.
Hotaru had never heard this tone in Kioko's voice before, and it was scarring her. "Sorry Kioko, but this is for your own good." Hotaru said. She recited a small prayer under her breath, asking Saturn to give her power, then she unleashed one of the 'attacks' Galaxia had taught her. "Silent Ribbon!" hundreds of small black and violet ribbons of power arose from the ground underneath Kioko's feet and started wrapping around her.
"Hotaru!!! You traitor!!!" Kioko exclaimed, struggling but more ribbons only came to hold her. Hotaru then had the ribbons take Kioko into her room and hold her there until after she got rid of Rita.
"Thank you, she was scaring me more than usual." Harry breathed.
"What an…enlightening display of the powers of Silence, Miss Tomoe!!!" Rita exclaimed, now excited about her older story. She pulled out her quick quill pad, "Mind telling me, in words, how you did it?" She asked.
"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Skeeter, but you caught us at a very bad time." Hotaru said apologetically.
"HOTARU LET ME GO!!! YOU WOULDN'T BE STOPPING ME IF YOU KNEW KIKYO LIKE HOW I DO!!!" Kioko's voice yelled through her room.
"Kikyo? Kikyo Night, Hogwart's transfer student? Well of course that would be her cousin." Rita said, she then bustled over to the door, "Miss Night, would you mind yelling a few fine points about your cousin through the door?" She asked.
Quickly, Hotaru put a barrier of silence up on Kioko's room and sort of ushered Rita Skeeter away from the door. "Please, Miss Skeeter, come back another time!" She said.
"Very well!" She said, though she was too enlightened for Hotaru's comfort.
Finally, when she was gone, Hotaru released Kioko. Though warning Harry and Draco to high tail it out of the entire basement first. Which they did, instantly.
"Hotaruuuuuuuuuu!!!" Kioko wined when she came out of her room. "Did you have to do that?!" She exclaimed.
"Sorry Kioko, but you were really starting to scare me." Hotaru answered.
Kioko's lips made odd movements and she looked a bit indecisive at the moment. "If you were anyone else I could've gotten revenge for tying me up." She said with a bit of a pouty look.
"I said I was sorry." Hotaru said smiling.
"Of course. No one can get angry at you!" Kioko threw her hands up into the air. "But still, if you knew Kikyo you would have only slight objection to me revealing blackmail material to Rita Skeeter, and that's only because you're a pacifist that cares about everyone." She said sitting down. "Where'd Harry and Draco go?" She asked, suddenly noticing they were gone.
"Um, they left so as not to become stress relievers." Hotaru answered, laughing lightly.
"Ah, I see. Smart move on their part." She said, waving it off. "Just means we have some quality time to ourselves. Want to go somewhere? We haven't done something together in a long time." She said.
"Um, okay. Let's just leave a note for Harry and Draco." Hotaru answered happily, knowing exactly where she wanted to go.
Kioko quickly pulled out some paper and a pin and wrote down a message. She then put it on the coffee table where it'd most likely be seen. "There, I told them we're going out and not to expect us for a while. I also said that if Harry wants to leave the house he'd better take one of my snakes with him." She said. "Now, shall we use Pandora or Calypso?"
"Um, Calypso. Pandora's currently busy." Hotaru answered. The next moment Calypso appeared on Kioko's shoulder and she chirped loudly.
"Okay, where to?" Kioko asked.
"Diagon Alley. Near the Museum okay?" She told Calypso as she joined hands with Kioko. Calypso gave another acknowledging chirp and in the next instant the two found themselves in a sort of out-of-the-way spot near the bustling street of Diagon Alley. The next moment Kioko's Phoenix disappeared again and the two were able to proceed.
"So why are we going in here?" Kioko asked when they came out to find themselves next to the museum.
"I want to see Aushran's work." Hotaru answered, opening the door to the building.
"Oh! I see." Kioko nodded following her. 'I suppose we're looking for clues?' she asked silently.
'Exactly. Aushran might not remember a lot, but if he draws what's in his dreams then that means there are things in his dreams worth painting. Meaning that he just might be having visions of the past that way.' Hotaru answered as they approached the counter to get in. "Excuse me." She said softly to the person currently managing entry passige.
"A Sickle a person, ma'am." He said, still bent over his paper work.
"Here you go." Hotaru said, handing him the silver.
"Thank you ma-GOOD GOSH!!!" He gasped when he looked up, the money jerked out of his hand and his glasses tilted out of place.
"Oh yeah, we nearly forgot that you're more famous than Harry Potter." Kioko grumbled, picking up the coins. She then put them on the desk and went on through the entryway. "Which is saying something because people have known about him for, what, 16 or so years?" she asked.
"Um, thank you." Hotaru said, giving a polite bow before following Kioko.
Upon entering the part of the Museum with the actual paintings inside of it. It looked, like a Muggle museum actually. The portraits didn't move because they were made from non-magical paint, and you can guess why it wouldn't have been too good to give sculptures life either, so they were all still as well. Most people that were in that one room, currently, were all too intent upon the paintings to notice Hotaru, really. Which was good.
"I'll go ask one of the workers where Aushran's paintings are hung." Kioko said. Hotaru nodded and walked over to on of the particularly dark and dismal paintings in that room. It was a picture of several people, but they all had their hands covering their faces. They all had pale skin and dark hair and they were all dressed in black. Some male, some female. And the background was also black, so on some of them the parts of their bodies dressed in black looked invisible unless you looked at it closely enough. There was no color to it because everyone's eyes were covered by their hands so you couldn't see them or their profiles.
"Aushran, Aushran Hametsu?" Hotaru turned at Kioko's voice. She was currently talking to a worker who was looking at a clipboard.
"Um yes, Aushran Hametsu's paintings are in the second floor. Go up the elevator in that room over there, walk all the way down the hallway in front of you. Then take a left. It's the second door there." She instructed, using hand motions. She then looked at Kioko, who was motioning for Hotaru to come along, and said, "You know, you look a lot like that Kioko Night in the Daily Prophet."
"I'm sure I do." Kioko smiled, though Hotaru translated a bit of irritation in that look.
"Thank you." Hotaru said to the worker as the two went into the room she had directed them to.
'I think we just shocked that lady out of her bun.' Kioko commented. Hotaru could hear the disbelieving sounds that poor worker was uttering.
'Oh dear.' Hotaru sighed inwardly as the two followed a few people into the elevator.
"Hey, aren't you…" Someone said to Kioko.
"Kioko Night? No, I just look like her. And she just looks like Hotaru Tomoe. That's all." Kioko said pleasantly, her voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh really? …Wait…" Someone else said, getting a good look at Hotaru. "OH MY GOSH IT'S HOTARU TOMOE!!!"
"Um, hi?" Hotaru said, unsure how this would turn out.
"A-are you really the, er, Queen of Saturn?" Asked someone else while everyone was stunned.
"No she's the Queen of Venus, now if you'll excuse us." Kioko replied irritably as the elevator opened to the second floor. The other wizards and witches in the elevator were either too shocked or were trying to comprehend what Kioko just said to follow before the door closed again.
The hallway was lined with more portraits and some sculptors. They turned to the left accordingly, and then went into the second door. Which was on their left.
There were quite a few people in the room, all looking at the paintings, and there were a lot of paintings in that room too.
Hotaru held her breath, they were beautiful! She didn't need to look at any of them closely to figure that out, the color combinations and the way every painting seemed to fit each other in a specific mood. She adjusted her eyes a bit so she could take in more details about the paintings and started wandering around the room. Glancing over them until one caught her interest.
"That looks like the Queen of Saturn the Daily Prophet's been going on about." Whispered one of the ladies who were looking at it.
And it did. It was a picture of Hotaru in her princess dress, holding the Silence Glaive in her hand. But she was stepping down from a stairway of crystal steps, her other hand on the rail, and she was looking down a bit. There was a rather sad look in her eye, as if any moment there would be tears falling down her face.
"It does." Said the other lady. "Such a sweet girl, I wonder why he drew her depressed."
Hotaru moved on to another painting, Kioko was apparently doing her own thing in looking at them so she wasn't around to comment, but Hotaru was rather glad she didn't. The next painting she had to stifle a gasp and force it down.
"Magnificent." Breathed a rich, artistic looking woman who was looking at the same painting. She had the appearance of someone with very fine taste. She wore adorned robes and very ornate jewelry with a set of expensive looking glasses she held to her face with a golden rod attached to the side of them in her hand.
Though the picture was unmistakably of her worst fear, Hotaru couldn't help but agree. There stood Mistress 9, adorned in a sleek black dress, orated with darkly colored jewelry, and looking regal as well as intimidating. And, to Hotaru, frightening. She held in one hand a silver cross with two silver rings surrounding the center, and in the other she held a silver cup, and above the cup floated a black crystal sphere that had a ring circling around it, symbolizing Saturn.
"Tell me, young lady, what do you see in this portrait?" Said the woman, not even looking at Hotaru.
Hotaru looked at her, then looked back at the portrait, "I see fear." She answered.
"And, why is that?" The lady asked, looking at her.
"Because I know this person, and that is what she is." Hotaru answered, bowing her head down low so that her hair hid her face. Though it probably didn't hide her identity from the woman.
"Oh really? Are you sure that is what she is, or what she has become?" the woman asked. The two females faced each other. She was a very sleek looking woman, not the normal plump type you normally associate with the rich. She also had very pale skin, dark red hair, though not quite black, and deep black eyes. She wore dark clothing as well, and her jewelry was mostly silver with darkly colored gems…kind of like the portrait of Mistress Nine. "This has always been my second favorite of Aushran Hametsu's work. You want to know what I see in it? I see a great ruler, a Queen who's power and might are like no other. And a mother as well, willing to risk everything in order to save her child." She said, smiling. "Want to know what I see in you? I see many things in you. I see a scared little girl who is still brave enough to set her fears aside for those she cares about. I see a rational young child of philosophy. I see a sweet innocent girl, plagued with troubles she refuses to give in to. And, I see the makings of a Queen, loved by all, even those who disagree with her." She said, smilling.
Hotaru paused a moment, just to stare at this woman. "Who…" she trailed off.
"Now Auntie, stop scarring Hotaru." Kioko said, walking up to the two.
"Why Kioko, I didn't know you were here." The woman said, smiling pleasantly.
"I told you I was going to be with Hotaru, didn't I?" Kioko asked.
"Well, that doesn't mean you'd be here with her." Kioko's aunt said, in a way that reminded Hotaru of when Kioko was circumventing an issue.
"But you seem to know where I am 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." Kioko refuted.
"Good point." The woman said considering.
"Hotaru, this is my second Aunt Orpha FayLi, or Auntie Fay." Kioko introduced. "You already know Hotaru." She said.
"Oh, is this the aunt that you refer to a lot?" Hotaru asked, Kioko nodded.
"Refer? Kioko I'm hurt, you tell them little more than that I am your aunt?" Orpha said, giving off a rather sarcastic (and Kioko-like) hurt look.
"Well, we don't talk about my family members much." Kioko told her.
"Really? You mean you haven't referred to your father, mother, and brother as bakas recently? I'm shocked!"
"Key word being 'much'." Kioko corrected.
"Ah, you always have to watch this kind of stuff with her." Orpha said to Hotaru, "She likes to make loopholes often."
"I wonder who I got it from." Kioko snorted sarcastically.
Hotaru decided to leave the two relatives to themselves while she went to look at another painting that caught her eye. It was of a girl with long, raven blue hair, pale skin, wearing loose black clothing. She had her left hand on her cheek, as if covering something up, and had a very calm, impassive look on her face. But in the background, anyone could see that not everything was right. It was a horrible collection of blotched colors, reds, violets, and even a few bright yellows in the mix of the dark colors. It was like a battle with several sides fighting each other. Like so many emotions going haywire and acting like lightning. The girl had her head tilted down just a bit, but you could still make out her profile. It was Kioko.
"I wonder why this artist paints people with dark hair and pail skin all the time?" Hotaru heard a lady whisper. The room felt like a library, as though silence was required because of the air these paintings set off.
Hotaru stared up at the painting, unconsciously she put her own left hand onto her cheek in the girl's position. She read the name of the painting, 'Never to Show'.
"He also likes to draw girls it seems." Whispered another lady.
"Especially ones that look like Hotaru Tomoe." The first one replied. Hotaru looked over at the painting they were looking at. It looked like a young Hotaru, dressed in rich and dark clothing, holding her head tightly with her face scrunched up in pain. Around her was an otherwise tranquil scene, she sat on a bed with white sheets, slightly messy, and the window open allowing a flood of sunlight inside the room. The colors other than Hotaru were sandy and white, yet the girl herself was an image of torment, of internal pain and suffering. 'No Escape' was the caption.
And then another painting caught her eye, again it was one of Hotaru, yet different. She wore her Princess dress and had her glaive in hand, but this one gave off a look of determination, of someone who refused to let the chaos around her drag her down with it. In the surrounding scene there were broken objects. A shattered sword, broken mirror, and a cracked staff. There were roman pillars that had broken, their parts laying on the ground and the roof they held up tilted as if were about to fall and crumble. 'Indifference' was the title.
"This is my favorite portrait." Said Orpha behind Hotaru. The girl turned around to face her again, finding Kioko staring at the picture.
"A lot of these paintings look like you Hotaru." She commented. 'You must have had a strong relationship with your brother.' She added.
"Hm, wonder why." Orpha said airily. Kioko jerked her head sharply to stare at Orpha, who looked as though she hadn't said anything and was walking over to another painting.
"She's always doing this to me. Every time I stay with her she always has to make sure I know that she knows something I don't. Like this one time she said, 'Now dearie, the basic fact of life in every important aspect you'll face is that nothing is as it seems, with few acceptations to this rule.' And when I asked what she meant she told me I'd find out." Kioko sighed, "Don't mind her, I gave up trying to figure it all out a while ago." She waved her hand.
"Oh, I see." Hotaru said, though she didn't think it wise to dismiss what Orpha had told them.
***********
Journal Entry, Nightmares and Paintings: It happened again, the horrible nightmare that I think I will continue to share with Kioko. But this time it was worse, instead of seeing things from Kioko's perspective, I was looking through the eyes of the killer. And I'm going to tell it like how I was thinking it, however much I don't want to.
It started out horrible, I was attacking a mansion, letting my demons kill off the residence and doing some of that myself. I hated them all so much, but right now that's not what I was after, I was after…her.
And then she was there, stepping onto the battlefield with the blade of her glaive glowing red as she began to slaughter my demons. But I didn't care, let her wear herself out on them. I could always make more without a sweat.
Then she came upon the roof of the building I was attacking and walked towards my perch. "I suppose I overestimated you, I thought you'd be here by the time the 2nd person was killed, not the 20th, Kio-chan." I said sweetly.
"Don't call me that!" Sailor Tarterus hissed.
"Oh, but it's me, Hotaru, remember?" I asked, still using the innocent and sweet voice that belonged to me.
"You're not Hotaru!!! Hotaru would never hurt anyone like you have." Kioko spat, holding her black-bladed glaive threateningly.
I merely giggled, "Oh really? Do you have any idea what they did to me?!" The voice I was using suddenly turned vicious, it echoed even though we were outside, and it makes me shiver just remembering how it sounded, especially coming out of my mouth. "They killed him, they murdered him!!! You would do the same thing and you know it! They will all die!!! Song of the Glaive!!!" I then let loose into a complicated kata of deadly techniques and moves that were hard to escape from. As I did this I heard a song in my head. I still remember the words to it.
In your creation heaven did decree
That in your arms sweet death should dwell
Deep Silent Complete
Black velvet sea
The sirens are calling for me
Saved my soul thinking "This song`s a lie"
Sand on the shore is so dry
Deep Silent Complete
Black velvet sea
Brave day sinking in endless night
The age will say "This poet lies"
Heaven never touched earthly face
The age will say "This night was ours"
Blessed with the Deep
The Silent the Complete
Sound familiar? It should.
After the attack I left Kioko gasping and heaving, wounds upon her flesh bled black with the poison my Glaive inflicted. But she wasn't like those other weaklings, she wouldn't rot away after one cut. Soon I suspected the blood would be red again, symbolizing the leave of poison from her body.
I felt I had already won the battle, I smirked with satisfaction, just one more blow and she would die. But that seemed just so empty, not even giving this thorn in my side a chance to make this fight more interesting. So I stood back, "Go ahead, take your best shot." I told her.
She raised her glaive above her head, the blade of it colored black, and she started chanting an ancient prayer.
I knew what was about to happen after that, but apparently the one who possessed me didn't. She merely had me stand there and wait, thinking Kioko was little threat now that she'd been wounded and most of her energy taken away.
When she unleashed the spell I knew exactly what was going on, and I got out of it swiftly, retreating to my underground stronghold in Saturn. Feeling rather proud of myself, actually. I sat upon my black Crystal throne and closed my eyes to scurry mentally, keeping my eye on Kioko.
She was accepting thanks from what was left of those stupid mortals. It took her long enough, but finally she teleported to Tarterus, showing me exactly where it was. Yes! Finally, it would be mine!!!
I spread my black crystal wings and faded out of my threshold and into space where I flew towards Tarterus. The dark planet that no one knew of and that no one could find. But I found it, thanks to Tarterus, I knew exactly where it was.
The entire planet had been engulfed in black crystal. The trees of the forests were encased, the ponds enclosed, the many landscapes were all covered. Even the creatures who use to live and breath. There were even several pillars that reached to creatures in flight, such as dragons and harpies. For being such a mysterious planet it looked as if there was life at one point. But not any more.
My face smirked, as though feeling proud of herself. Considering the glorious image in front of her, and believing herself to be the indirect cause of it. Though how she could have encased Tarterus in black crystal when she didn't know where it was, I have no idea. Of course, I was hardly sure of anything that was going on, nothing seemed to make sense.
I flew to the temple I'd seen in the previous nightmare. I landed near to the long marble steps and the pillars engraved with runes of different cultures. As I approached I raised my hand into the air, calling forth a collection of blackened lightning, and then I shot it at Tarterus's back.
The lightning spread throughout her body, and oh the scream she made. How I loved to hear her cry of pain and suffering, as my enemy she deserved such suffering.
I entered the temple and she turned around, huffing and unable to keep herself completely standing without the use of her glaive to lean upon. "Clever move, Tarterus," I said with that horrid voice, "But did you honestly think you could seal me away with that? Pathetic, I must say." But Kioko's lips curved up a bit, my eyes widened in surprise as I noticed the portal behind her closing. "NO!!!" I shrieked, speeding towards the portal with hopes that I would reach it in time. I knocked Kioko out of the way, out of the temple in fact, and was about to enter the portal itself. I had won! I just knew it!!! But something stopped me, beams from the gray eyes and the lavender eyes shot at me, knocking me out of the temple. It didn't hurt, much. But it was enough to have sent me out and kept me from entering while the portal finished closing.
"Heh," Kioko chuckled, coughing up blood as she raised herself from the ground using her Glaive as a support. I stared at her with such hatred, how dare she!!!
"You." I hissed, slowly stalking over towards her.
"Me." Kioko returned, barely able to stand, but looking at me, unafraid and rebellious.
"You've been a thorn, no, a dagger in my side for far too long." I hissed. I slashed her with my glaive from her right shoulder to her left hip. Kioko fell back down, screaming in pain, but she still looked at me with eyes of defiance, no fear in them. Well, that would change.
I pushed back my bangs, and stared into her eyes, as if forcing her to see my own. Unmasked and with no more shadow to hide it. Kioko's expression changed from the defiant and willful girl she was, to a look of horror, terror as I have never known to see on anyones face. And, as though the image she saw were so horrifying her flesh could not handle it, it started to rot away. And she screamed.
I awoke suddenly to that scream, a scream I couldn't hear with my ears, or my mind, but my soul.
I don't know why my dream had been different, yet almost the same as before. Apparently Kioko's nightmare was like this as well, and it seemed that the vision varies every time I see it.
I can't help but wonder what Mistress 9 would want inside the gates of Tarterus. She had to be after something, but what? I'm afraid to tell Kioko I've been sharing her nightmares, there's probably a good reason why she's not telling us about them.
I got up then, hoping that maybe I could forget about the horrifying vision of killing Kioko. I went into the kitchen where I found Mr. Dursley reading the paper, as usual, and Mrs. Dursley looking out the window, peeking at the lawn across from theirs and pretending to do the dishes. The familiarity of this scene comforted be a bit, though not much.
Maybe seeing Aushran will help. I thought to myself, taking a bagel to munch on.
"Why is that boy always out on the front porch?" Petunia snuffed, "I can't stand how long his parents let his hair grow!"
"Don't bother yourself with it, dear." Mr. Dursley, who was probably tired of hearing it, sighed. "There's nothing we can really do. It's not like the family cares about their social status."
"But still, what does he do out there?" Mrs. Dursley asked.
"He draws." I answered. Startling the two again because I had entered so silently. "He's a published artist in Diagon Alley's museum and he spends every morning on the porch to draw." I explained.
"Oh, an artist!" Petunia said, as though it turned her views about him completely around. Well of course, an artist can get away with dressing in kimonos and having long hair. That's what she was thinking anyway, though not quite as sarcastically as I put it…
"I'll be outside." I told them, exiting the house.
Once outside I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to erase the vision I had seen, and the association with the one all Saturnarians shared with me. I think before I had taken to naming my nightmares so I could refer to them by name, I can't remember what a few of the past ones were named, but I think I'll name the one everyone shared with me 'Shadow's Attack' and the one I keep sharing with Kioko, though it continues to vary, 'Gateway', because it seems to revolve around the gates of Tarterus.
I ate the rest of my bagel and, after a bit of time to myself, eventually made my way over to Aushran. "Ohayo Gosaimasu." I greeted, bowing politely.
"Ohayo Gosaimasu." He returned looking up. He stood up, "We can use the patio, I have all my things set up." He said, motioning to the shaded porch in front of his door. It had a chair set up, facing the wooden swing that hung from the roof with chains. There was an easel set up with a canvas and paint utensils to the side.
"Do you need me to pose?" I asked when we walked up the steps and upon the wooden flooring.
"No, just sit and swing if you want." He answered, sitting down in his chair. He took up a piece of charcoal as I sat down on the swing.
"When you draw…real things and not just things in your dreams, how do you draw them?" I asked, wondering if what I said made sense to him.
Aushran started scratching the surface of the canvas lightly with the charcoal. "Everyone has a darkness," He told me, "and everyone has a light. When I draw lifeless things, like chares and maybe jewelry, I merely draw what they are, what the eye sees. But when drawing something with life, it's not so simple. Merely painting what the eye sees isn't enough, I try to capture both the light and the dark of a person, separate them in a way, and make them real."
"You can see the darkness of someone?" I asked, wondering what this could mean. Aushran looked at me for a moment, and nodded. "What do you see in me?" I asked.
Aushran bit his bottom lip, as if he was hopping I wouldn't ask that. He shook his head slightly, "I can't say exactly. I see only symbolic darkness actually." He said, he then took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if he was attempting something audacious. "You're not like most humans. Your darkness isn't in your person, you have hardly any flaws, in fact I can't see any flaws whatsoever." He said, though I doubt he was trying for any sort of flattery. But he continued on, not even looking at me as he sketched away on the canvas. "You're darkness is…I suppose it's the power you use instead. Silence, isn't it?" He asked.
I almost forgot the article had mentioned my element as Silence, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised any longer. I nodded, "It is." I answered. But silence was neither good nor evil, it destroyed and healed at the same time. "Can you give form to what you see?" I asked.
Aushran paused a moment, closing his eyes tightly as if trying to finalize something mentally. "A woman, around twenty or so, with unbelievably long hair in an odd style." He answered, as though quoting something actually. "I can't make out her eyes though, they're hidden with shadows."
It was Mistress 9, it had to be. The long hair, the association with the shaded eyes, and the comment about her age appearance, it all fit.
"Sorry," He said a bit quietly. I looked back at him, and could pretty much feel what he was thinking. 'She probably things I'm crazy' or something like that. But I didn't think him crazy in the least. He seems to be having a bit of an odd case. He's gaining his Saturnarian powers back, and yet his memory is still vague.
"For what?" I responded, smiling. He looked up, "You're an artist, of course you're going to see things differently." I told him.
Aushran nodded, though he was a bit red in the face.
Eventually I was able to get him to talk about his family, and apparently everyone in it was solitary. He had a sister, it seemed, a mother and a father too. But everyone seemingly kept to themselves. There wasn't a lot of noise about the house because any electronics that were turned on were turned on to a low volume. Everyone seemed to use non-verbal communication. One that Aushran hadn't understood as the Silent Language quite yet. He admitted that it was odd, however, that he could say things to his little sister that no one else could hear as well as say other things that the entire family could understand, yet anyone visiting wouldn't have a clue about. It seemed to be something he had lived with for all his life and, because his family is mostly solitary, didn't think much about because there was hardly anything to suggest it more than odd.
Some other things I noticed was that he himself hardly knew anything about his parents, other than that which they had communicated mentally with. Though it didn't seem Aushran minded the lack of family bonding or values, in fact it seemed to suit him just fine by the way he talked so calmly about it. "Don't you ever wish for more in the way of family?" I asked him.
"No, not really. We're all pretty content. It's not like we hate each other or anything." Aushran had responded.
Evidently I was spending a little too much time out, because after an hour or so Kioko walked up. "Hello, I knew you were painting her picture, but must you keep her so long?" She asked walking up to us.
Aushran looked up at Kioko and shrugged, "There is never a swift way of making a painting, even the beginning sketch takes a while." He told her, putting up his charcoal. He stood up and bowed politely, "I'm Aushran Hametsu, though you probably already knew that." He said.
"Kioko Night, same here." Kioko answered, returning his bow with one of her own.
Aushran nodded, "You're name scares the bullies in the area."
Kioko folded her arms over her chest and smirked, "Does it? Have you tried?" She asked.
"All I had to say was I knew who you were." He answered.
"Not that you knew me personally, oh no you don't have to tell them that!" She said, looking rather proud of herself. She then took a peek at Aushran's sketch. "Whoa, that's, that's…Hotaru, for lack of a better word." She said, looking very impressed.
"I'm not really finished." Aushran said, looking as though he'd rather she didn't see it yet.
"It still looks good. Well, Harry, Draco, and I decided we were all going to go out to Hogsmede and blow our allowances, like we have any, but yeah. Would Aushran like to come?" Kioko asked.
"Um…" I trailed off. "Would you?" I asked.
Aushran shrugged. "Maybe another time. I have things to do for Mom today." He answered.
"Oh, well, okay." I said smiling pleasantly. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning then, Sayonara." I said, waving goodbye.
"Sayonara." He returned.
"Ja ne." Kioko added as we left. "I kinda like him." She said. All I had to do was look at her and she exclaimed, "No! Not that way!!! I just think he's nice!" almost instantly. I hadn't even been thinking that, to tell you the truth. I couldn't help but start to giggle.
A/N: Before you ask about the nightmares, let me point out that a lot of things in this fic may vary. And the nightmares will continue to vary at times so don't get confused if you read one thing happening here and it being different there.