Disclaimer: I do not own Yami no Matsuei

The Devil Archetype

"What is she doing here?" Amamiya Reiya asked her uncle, hostility evident on her voice.

The addressed uncle turned his head to see his daughter walking towards the family altar that held Amamiya Saori's ashes. Being a reserved man, he kept his emotions in check making sure not to reveal any evidence of his current emotion. He calmly watched his dark-haired daughter address Saori's mother to give her condolences and go back to the altar.

Reiya, not waiting for an answer, stood up from her seat fully intending to confront the man's daughter. But before she could even make a step, her uncle caught her hand. Looking back at him, she saw him motioning for her to go back to her seat. After a few moments, she reluctantly went back.

"Leave Ukyou be. Remember where we are. The last thing anyone needs right now is a scandal."

"But she has no right to be here. She is no longer part of this family. She herself had no intentions of being a part of our family. She made that clear when she left five years ago," Reiya replied barely suppressing the frustration and annoyance in her voice.

Amamiya Ukyou left the funeral parlor without a word to any of her other relatives. She noticed their cold stares and hostile glares but paid no heed to it. She passed by her father without a word or even a nod of acknowledgment wearing a reserved expression that greatly mirrored her father's.

The outside of the funeral parlor seemed to be a sort of welcome solace to Ukyou. Her relatives have not changed their attitude towards her. It seemed funny. The fact that she attended her best friend's funeral.

Saori had always been a healthy person. She rarely had a cold and ate more vegetables than meat. She even scolded Ukyou once of eating too much junk food. How could she have died so young? But what bothered her was that her mother refused to tell her how Saori died. But what hurt and bothered her even more was how Saori's mother looked at her. She looked like she was accusing Ukyou of Saori's death. Aunt Mizuki was one of the few relatives that treated her kindly. To have Aunt Mizuki treat her this way...

Ukyou, being Ukyou, refused to shed a tear. Aunt Mizuki was hiding something. She could tell that much. So how can she find out what was going in?

"Neesan..."

She turned around to find the voice's owner. It was Makoto, her younger half-brother. Five years ago, he was shorter than her and looked more like a girl than a boy; but now, he was taller than her and his features became more masculine. He was standing by the door. He still looked like the shy, young middle-school boy five years ago regardless of how more masculine he is now. She recalled that he had always been a shy boy just like Kazutaka that it seemed more fitting that he be called Kazutaka's younger brother than hers.

"Hey Makoto! Long time no see!" She flashed him a smile.

"Neesan! What have you been doing for the past five years?! You went away without even an explanation and that's all you say to me? Where have you been all this time?" Makoto exclaimed almost about to cry. "Somewhere away from here. Sorry, I thought I didn't need to explain anything to you since you know me so well."

Makoto did not say anything more but just looked at her sadly.

"At that time, I thought it was for the best for me and for the people around me. I didn't leave because I hated you guys, okay?"

Makoto gave an unreadable expression but suddenly flashed a smile like his sister's.

Seeing that Makoto's spirits were up, Ukyou decided to ask him about Saori's death.

With that, Makoto gave a serious expression and said, "I don't really know much of the details except that recently, Saori became an insomniac and she died from an overdose of sleeping pills at least that's what Aunt Mizuki says."

"So you haven't seen Saori throughout the time period she's been an insomniac?"

"No. Because during that time, Saori had been isolated by the family because she was having an affair with Uncle Ritsuki. So she went away and only Aunt Mizuki knew where she lived at that time."

Muraki Kazutaka came from a family of doctors. He himself was on his way to become one. It was something he had always aspired to become since childhood. The thought of being able to save a life was enough motivation to continue on with med school.

He checked and rechecked some of his grandfather's patient records but couldn't seem to find the one he was looking for. He felt pity for each picture he saw. His grandfather was not able to save them. Each was afflicted with a heavy problem that seriously damaged their minds. Repairing the mind was not as easy as repairing bones.

As he was in his reverie, he heard a knock on the door.

"Young Master, there's a call for you from Oriya-san."

"Tell him I'm busy," Muraki said without leaving the records.

"I have already informed him of that. But he told me that he would continue calling until you took the telephone and spoke to him. You must understand that he has been calling you since last night."

"I see. Please give me the phone."

Sakaki came in the door and gave him the phone. He then went out the door and closed it behind him.

"What is it Oriya?"

"You bastard! Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you since last night! I have something to tell"

"I don't have time for that. I'm busy-"

"Busy enough to not want to know that I saw Ukyou at the train station in Kyoto?"

"So that's how we ended up in the same train-"

"What? So you guys saw each other already.... So that's why you weren't home last night. What did you two do?" Oriya asked teasingly.

Muraki instantly blushed

"It's not what you think! We just talked, that's all!"

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You really are disappointing. Did you know that? After all those years of pining after her, I'd expect you would have at least given her a passionate kiss or two. But then again, it's just like you to be... 'anti-climatic'."

"And what do you mean by that?" Muraki said with a vein popping on his forehead.

"There's something else I have to tell you," Oriya said seriously, "When I saw her, she didn't look so good. She looked pretty pail and about to faint. I would have gone to her if she hadn't sat down and took some pill."

Muraki eyes narrowed.

"She hasn't mentioned anything to me about her sickness."

"But you know it couldn't have been that bad. On the other hand, Ukyou has a history of never telling other people her problems even if it's already neck high..."
A youth was standing alone on the top floor of a structure overlooking the Tokyo. He looked like a teenager with his young face and high school uniform. And yet his eyes were a mixture of maturity and insanity.

The nearby elevator suddenly rang to indicate that someone had come to the top floor. The youth heard the elevator door open and the footsteps that soon accompanied it.

"Ukyou has come back to Tokyo, huh?" he asked without even looking at the person who had just arrived.

"Yes. And she has already met up with Muraki Kazutaka. As expected, she came after receiving the letter of Amamiya Saori's death," the figure said in a pleasant tone.

"I told you so. But I'm wondering why you want to kill her. It isn't as if she's gonna-"

"Everyone has their role to play. Hers has just about to be decided. It all depends on her choice if I should kill her or not. And besides, I thought you were quite 'fond' of her. Since she has begun on her quest for answers, we might as well heighten the obstacles. After all, aren't obstacles the ones that spices up ones otherwise monotonous life?"

Author's note: Thanks for reading this far. I was greatly encouraged to write because the reviews I was given. To Literary Eagle, Kizzy, and Muraki Asato: thanks a lot!