Chapter 7

Heartless

He fell for what seemed eternity, blackened to ebony marble by the very flames that had for so long fought beside him. And for just a moment, as he lay soundlessly on the granite pathway of the cemetery, he was beautiful, an angel of darkness seemingly sleeping unbeknownst to those who might intrude upon his slumber.

But that was only a moment.

A gentle breeze, indifferent and doleful as any other, came and with it so left the semblance of the angel. From form to statue to ash to wind, nothing remained to be recognized.

It was finished.

She looked up to the somehow scarlet moon and a single tear escaped her clenched eyelids. She brushed it angrily away. Why did these accursed emotions have to return now when she had finally come to accept and fulfill her destiny? She should be happy. Yet...........

"Larva............"

Only loss remained.

What was this that she felt as she crumpled to the floor in showers of silks and ribbons, the granite grinding painfully into her delicate knees and palms? This pain was beyond what should be felt. Never had she felt this. She had to die; the pain was so extreme. Her blood burned, and her heart throbbed. No, this was not humane. She had to die. Let it be into the fiery abyss of hell or the void of Darkness that was her calling, let it end.

"Larva............"

More tears fell past her eyes as she curled around herself in desperation. No, the pain was too much. Why could she not die?

"Larva............."

Already only two things could even reach her, the Darkness and the retched scarlet moon. Why would it not end?

"I love you..............."

She inhaled sharply. Was this the truth? Did she truly love this being of Darkness that she had just destroyed, reduced to ashes scattered by the overbearing winds, never to return to the Realms of the Living again?

It could not be.

Turning helplessly she felt for what little remained of the ashes of the lost being that she loved more than what life she had, and whimpered piteously as only a handful met her grasping palms. Was this truly all there was left?

"LARVA!!!!!!!!!!"

Nothing could express this immense anguish, this loss of everything. Even as her howl of despair faded ominously into the darkness, tears fell like rain into the violet night, so deceiving to the believing watcher. How could anyone find the moon beautiful anymore? How could anyone find the falling cherry blossoms peaceful anymore? How could anyone find the wind soothing anymore?

She clasped her palm covered in ash and let the ocean of tears fall, pitiful and superficial now that the damage was done. What use were tears? They would not return to her the one she had loved and lost by her own hand. She had brought this terrible fate upon herself. It had not been some cruel shinma, demon, or god. No, it had only been the great Guardian of Japan, she, who had sealed her own fate.

And she could only remember.

That night had been crisp and silent, almost unnaturally so considering the area nestled right beside the sea. But the night had been deep and far gone, so all the mortals rested, as was the habit, in their small, non-consequential huts and mats. None expected, or even thought for the slightest moment, that perhaps spirits could, and would, meet and fight before their very homes.

Such blissful ignorance.

"What a small, lonesome country. It is almost not even worth conquering........." a newly arrived western shinma had thought at a first glance. His dark, ebony cloak billowed silently in the wind, his luminescent hair just barely awoken with a few strands alight.

"Don't judge so quickly," I had answered, "Mr. Stray Shinma." My kimono hung limply on my frame. Only my ribbons and tie swayed slightly at the bidding of the element.

"My name is Larva," he had returned unperturbed. "Who are you, little girl, to question a powerful shinma such as myself?"

"I am the Guardian here, Miyu."

"Hmmmm," he had pondered aloud. "I don't think I like your attitude..."

"Nor do I. But I do not like foreign shinma rampant in my domain. Will you return to the Darkness quietly?" I already knew the answer, but I just couldn't help asking. I did have to be proper, after all.

"No," he had answered bluntly as he readied himself, sword-like claws flashing, "I will fight you."

"Then as Guardian it is my duty to defeat you." I lit my flame with little regard, and I was almost surprised at his indifference. He was so different. Where so many others would have cringed away, he stood defiant and I could see my own powerful flame clearly reflected in his enthralling crimson eyes.

"I can already see your dead body floating in the sea," he taunted shamelessly, a slight smirk gracing his lips and never quite receding.

"Are you sure it is me you are seeing, and not yourself?" I had returned equally undaunted. No stray shinma, however powerful he may be, could outsmart me with cheap mind tricks.

"Quite." And our battle began.

He had rushed forward with such ferocious speed, I barely had a chance to dodge and send a flame for him. But he, too, was agile and shied away flawlessly. For how long this continued, to this day I cannot begin to calculate. Perhaps seconds; perhaps minutes; perhaps hours; perhaps days; perhaps years; it really made no difference. A shinma may fight for so long as it desires without outside interference on a whim. The only recollection of any time at all that returns to me are the wild ocean waves. They lasted as long as our battle, and in the end it may have been them that finished it.

Such beautiful waves. They were pure symmetry, like ripples upon a pond. For a split second, I think a question had risen unbidden to my mind, "Where do the waves begin?"

In that one second, everything was answered. One tremendous wave had risen and fell as quickly as that. Nothing more. I realized, "The wind... The wind is the beginning for the waves. One small push and it begins.... And ends....." With a swift embrace and one small push, he, that foreign western shinma of such speed and strength, Larva, finally met his mark and I felt I would die.

But she had not died. And even when she stole his life in place of the one he had stolen from her, neither had he. No, instead, both had been reborn, fully infused with the fire and steel of the other, new and powerful as never before. Two spirits had died that night, and one god and had been born.

And now that one half of the pentagram was gone, reduced to the mercy of the winds, nothing seemed to exist anymore.

Could she even still live anymore? Half of her had died this night. That was far more than she could bear as it was.

How could she have been so foolish? Taken by the hand of a human, she had lost all sight of herself. She had killed the man she loved. Why?

Love.

The fetid emotion no being of power should ever feel, had seduced her. But still........... How? Questions. Answers. Questions. Answers. They both continued one after another in a never-ending cycle. Answers to one questions, only brought dozens more in its place.

She had loved Larva, had she not? How could that love had been so easily overridden? Had her love and devotion truly been so shallow as to run that thin? Such doubts could only plague her.

Suddenly the sound of sand on granite broke her thoughts. Rough hands alighted her lifeless weight upwards.

Slap.

The harsh granite bit deeply into her skin. She could only weakly look upwards towards her tormentor as a drop of blood seeped past her open lips.

"Who the hell was that?"

Her clenched palm unclosed in shock, and all that remained of the one she loved, was gone forever.

-

Oooooooooooooo............... Cliffhanger.............. What joy.

Okay, so maybe after chapter 6, I shouldn't be toying with your emotions as much......... Okay, maybe not at all, but still........... I did give you a very nice, lengthy, well-written chapter, didn't I? Flame me more if you will, but.......... Dare I say it.....?......... Larva had to die...........

::Sob::

WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Clue to next chapter: Who does Miyu love?

-

Review Responses

Jen-Chan: I'm an evil, evil, evil person? ::eyes begin to water pathetically:: But I thought....... ::Sob:: You're mean.......... I'm an evil, sadistic person............

Tankbbg: Dear Lauren,

I'm terribly sorry I intruded upon your fantasy world. I didn't mean to infringe upon your plans of total Nogales and potentially world domination.

Yours truly, Grecia

PS. What do you mean a loophole in having fluffy make-out scene? What is your demented mind thinking!

Teresa: I'm sorry I put you on the verge of tears. But it can be terribly traumatic to see marvelous bishonen massacred. Thanks for the compliment, and I can't wait to see what you think of the continuation.

BlueDragonGirls: As you read my dear friend, Miyu does regret this. Immeasurably. As for the rest, yeah, Larva's dead, it would seem.............

Loopypants: Uh................. I kind of already did............... Thanks for the compliment?

Stormy-rose: Yes, Aya is a shinma.......... As for telling you what happens next in concerns to that, I would rather prefer to defer dramatic elegance. Plus, I don't want to destroy the surprise, now would I?

Hikari-Shidou-Asakura: Er............ Wow.......... You're so passionate. And no death threats are directed towards me.......... I feel so special. Well, Miyu does tremendously regret this, and Aya will die. Sorry, but that's all I'm telling.........