Chapter 1
Oriya had never imagined that he would be back in this place again so soon. After he had been named sole heir of their magnificent and historical mansion, he left without further ado. He dismissed the maids and even the land caretakers and had then planned to let this place rot slowly.
But now that he saw his former house, he felt a pang of nausea. Not happy nausea but more like sick nausea. He felt like gagging and running away but he had his purpose. He wouldn't be here in the first place if it weren't for that purpose. He would rather die than visit this goddamn awful place again.
He sighed deeply and resigned himself to his task. He just had to get through with this quickly. Just staring at the old, but still grand mansion, which had collected dust, grate and moss over the years, was enough to make him shiver uncomfortably. This sure brings back bad memories. Oriya thought to himself as he walked towards the door of his house.
If it weren't for his desire to get revenge for his dear friend, he would have never had gone to this place. This place which held many bad memories and hidden sufferings. Oriya took out an elaborate, old, silver key from his pocket. He gingerly tossed it from one hand to another, as if afraid that touching it for long would burn his hand. He briefly wondered if he should be doing this… Now that he thought about it, it looks far fetched, ridiculous…
But Muraki's pale form in bed flashed in his mind, face twisted with discomfort and charred with burns, half his body covered with heavy bandages… No, he had to do this. This is the only way to get back at them.
With resolution, he jammed the ornate key and turned it twice. The knob clicked and the door opened, creaking from its hinges. He peered inside. Dirty as it was outside, it was twice as much inside. The furniture hadn't been covered with cloth like it should be, and had gathered dust and mouse crap. The wooden floor had gaping holes and had an inch thick of mixed dirt. The ceilings were full of cobwebs and the ply board was scarping and dripping.
He breathed deeply before continuing inside. The mere sight of his old house was bad for him. Memories had resurfaced from his mind which he had been working so hard to forget, like the cruel punishments he got and the unnecessary beatings and the hunger he had to endure or the long days of loneliness and pain.
He shook his head. He had to get a grip on himself. He was losing to old memories, for heaven's sake!! He forced a chuckle. Yes, he had to treat this just like an ordinary field trip, like overcoming an old fear!! Yes, that's all there is to this…
With renewed rigor and confidence, he strode forward, careful not to tread on the holes. He walked without thinking and when he came to he realized he had made a beeline for his old room. He stared, studied at the plain door, completely different from his sister's and parents' which were tasteful and elaborate.
He could see the holes in which the nails had punctured, where he had put on some random warning about monsters lurking inside, he could see the scratches of his sisters' cat, Tabby and he could definitely see the impression of his father's fist… from the time where he had tried to punch him… For dripping chocolate stains on his clothes. He closed his eyes as he reached for the door handle.
If there was one place in this house which was savable, which held any good memories at all… It was his room, his haven. He opened his eyes as the door creaked open. Except for the accumulation of dust and grate, it was the same as he had remembered it.
His bed was still immaculately made; his mother had always insisted he be neat and tidy about everything. Sometimes just to irritate her, he would leave his bed unmade so when his mother comes to do the inspection… He grinned as he remembered her pinched nose and then the high pitched tone of her voice calling out for the maids. She didn't dare punish him on her own, that's what fathers are for.
His eyes wandered to the other side of his room and saw that the two stuffed bunnies, yellow and blue, are still seating atop his bureau. A smile formed in his face. They were gifts from his adorable young sisters. He remembered their twin smiles as they sneaked to his room in the dead of the night. Of course, he let them in and they had made themselves comfortable in his bed before presenting the bunnies which were hidden from their backs. They said it was for his birthday and they won it from the festival from the shooting gallery. He had never had been happier then and even if he absolutely had no use for stuffed animals, he thought that it was the best birthday present in the world.
He strode towards it and fingered the grimy material. How he missed his sisters. After his initiation to receive the proper training for leadership, he wasn't allowed to see them. They were brought away to a foreign country, and he never heard from them since. He received just one letter from them but not another more. He suspected they were caught and forbidden. As for him, he couldn't write because he didn't even know what their address is, and even if he did he was sure it would get stopped.
After three years of endurance he received a letter saying that his mother and sisters had died in a car accident. His world toppled all over and he lost all desire to continue the training to receive the inheritance of their domain. He had been enduring all of these because of his sisters. If he were to beg off, then one of his sisters would have to take responsibility. Their family was not of old belief that only male off springs should bear inheritance, generations before them had female leaders. He would have never allowed that to happen.
He grieved for awhile then gathering his wits; he confronted his father and said he won't take any more crap from him and bid him good riddance. After he established himself as a mogul in the illegal world, he received a telegram saying his father has already passed on. Just like him, his father had been crushed with the news and had slowly been sick until he died.
He felt that tears were brimming in his eyes and he wiped them off. It's no use crying over spilt milk. He knows that wherever his sisters are, they were happy.
He shook his head and focused on the task at hand now. He looked all over his room, looking for an ancient, golden box. He knew he hid it somewhere in his room… He couldn't just remember exactly where. When it was given to him, he felt like it shouldn't be used, be tinkered with around… so he hastily put it away somewhere.
He sighed. Now he had to get dirty. It's obviously hidden from plain sight. Sighing yet again, he dropped on all fours to peer under the bed; he found scurrying mice, an old shoe box, toys and a pair of slippers… But there's no box. He stood up dusted his knees and hands and proceeded to the bureau. He opened the topmost drawers and saw letters from his sisters… They like leaving notes for him to find.
He opened the second one, and there it was shiny as it has ever been. Gold and encrusted with rubies and the family crest at the center, the phoenix with her grand feathers of orange, red and yellow trailing behind her and the blue dragon with rich silver mustache, entwining with the phoenix in an intricate way forming a circle. At the center of the circle was the letter O, written in old English lettering.
He lifted it from the drawer and held it gingerly. It needs a key and he's sure it's hidden around here somewhere… His eyes searched the walls for something. Then he saw it at the wall near the foot of his bed, the old hinges on where he put his katana for safe keeping… He strode towards it and reached for one of the wooden slabs and pulled. It opened, just like a drawer and inside was another elaborate, ancient key, this one though with the family crest, concealed and was intended not to be found.
Now he needed one more thing, the parchment where he wrote down the incantation. He strode towards the other side of his room, where his bureau and the two bunnies sat and reached for the yellow one he named Kanna, after his sister, and carefully reached for the one inch hole he made at the rear, near the fluffy bunny tail and retrieved the parchment, so careful as not to disturb the filling inside. He made a mental note to sew that hole… and to bring home Kanna and Koaru as well. They will need washing…
He gathered the ornate key, the incantation and the box in his arms and went outside his room to go to the backyard, now made graveyard.
He made his way quickly to the backyard to start the ceremony of summoning. If he wasn't mistaken the ceremony must take place at the lone Sakura tree in the backyard past the resting place of his deceased family. As he passed the gravestones, he quickly scanned the names and when he found what he was looking for: Kanna Oriya, born 19th of September 1982, died 7th of February 2000 and Kaoru Oriya, born 19th of September 1982, died 7th of February 2000 [1] he said a little prayer for them.
When he finally reached the tree, he set down the golden box, stuck the key in the keyhole and prepared himself. He needed to compose, calm himself and memorize the incantation for the ordeal. He read the piece of parchment and when confident that he had already memorized it, he crushed the piece of parchment in his hand. He vaguely noted that the tree isn't blooming with flowers, as he would have preferred to, his friend always had the drama why couldn't it be the same for him too? Instead it had no flowers and no leaves to boot too. It looks dead if you ask him. A tree trunk with leafless branches stuck upright in the dead earth.
He breathed deeply, closed his eyes and kneeled in front of the box. He spread his arms, palms up. He felt the wind suddenly pick up and he suddenly felt cold. Not from the wind but from the sudden presence that is not of this earth. He took this as a sign to start the ceremony.
"I, Meister des Oriya Haushalts befiehlt Sie, sich zu zeigen." [2] His voice rang loud and clear throughout the empty graveyard. The wind blew harder and everything was getting hazy. At the center of the Sakura's trunk a magnificent red light twined with a warm blue light [3] emitted, shooting directly at the ancient gold box. The invisible force turned the key once, twice, thrice before finally clicking it open. The box exploded with more of that red and blue light, blinding Oriya for a moment.
When his eyes finally adjusted to the blinding colored light, he saw what he was expecting to see. Hovering above the box was a figureless, black, shadow-like being. A shape shifter, but this is not an ordinary shape shifter, apart from taking the form of others and causing ruckus, it also curses whomever it desires. Once cursed, the recipient's greatest fear will resurface and his fear will take over his reality. The cursed one will live in his own world, unreachable, disgraced.
Only the recipient will be able to rid himself of the curse and if they didn't, if they were unable to throw off the curse in a certain period of time, they will be forever cursed, suffering the endless pain and feeling the endless fear.
The shadow-like being moved from his place in the box, dropping to the ground soundlessly and had made a bowing movement seeming to await more commands.
"Ihr Meister befiehlt Sie, weiter zu gehen und Übelwünsche alle während Meifu zu verbreiten." [4] The shape shifter looked like nodding then slowly he drops to the ground, looking like the shadow it was. It started moving along the dark area of the graveyard, probably making his way to its designated area. Oriya called out to the shape shifter for one last command.
"Verlassen Sie mich nicht, ich erwarten gute Nachrichten." [5]
The box and the key on the ground sizzled and bubbled hot before finally melting. The parchment he threw on the ground had burned. Now the shape shifter is free to roam for all eternity. The only thing that can conceal it… is forever gone.
t.b.c
A/N: [1] – hmm... i wasn't sure if Oriya is the last name… I couldn't recall Oriya being called other than that name though, so if I'm wrong about Oriya being the last name, correct me okay? grins and yeah, I also couldn't recall if the manga has already discussed his past… (I read it along time ago but I'm such a ditz and forgot!!) and if it is let's just say I created an au for his past.
[2] – this means 'I, master of the Oriya household commands you to show yourself' and is in German.
[3] – the colors are just like on the family crest… the red phoenix and the blue dragon… hmmm… let's just say I decided to believe that the Oriya family had a magical lineage. .
[4] - Your master commands you to go forth and spread evil desires all throughout Meifu. (Translation)
[5] - Do not fail me, i await good news. (Translation)
Sapphire Dragon – hey, as soon as I read your review I felt guilty!! And to make it up to you… this chapter is dedicated to you!! and yeah, Rei's making a comeback, I've become fond of him when writing cibah. And I think he's got a big role in this if my muses would stick to my plan.