Disclaimer: Lyrics to "The Twisted Nails of Faith" belong to Cradle of Filth.
1
Mirror, mirror on the wall / Shouldst not grave pleasures be my all / For if I shall see thy will be done / Grant me the witchcraft of thy tongue...
If blood is what thou craves, foul fiend / I will yield this witch to thee / If thou wouldst draw a veil for me / O'er lengthening scars of age and grief...
2
The original structure of Kikyou's hardcore death-metal band, Yogore no Yurikago, was this: Jakotsu on vocals, Bankotsu and Renkotsu on electric guitar, Naraku on bass, Suikotsu on drums and Mukotsu on keyboard, with Kikyou singing background vocals. But due to some mishaps, the band was changed time and time again. Suffice it to say, the band now was this: Jakotsu on vocals, Bankotsu on electric guitar, Renkotsu on bass, Hamaya on drums and Sekka on keyboard, with Kikyou still on background vocals. Before, when the band was still the original, they had made a deal with a record company and released a CD. It became an overnight hit, which pleased them all greatly, especially Kikyou. But, after Suikotsu died, she had given up all hope of ever returning to the world of media. No one else would give up though, and no one else would let her give up.
That is why the fact that Ryouga could play guitar was so vital.
He sat there on the chair, playing some rifts on Bankotsu's guitar. He played rather well, too. Nobody had to guess what Kikyou was thinking. She was sitting on the couch, with Bankotsu and Sekka beside her. "Ryouga," she said, "I have a proposition for you," she turned to the others and added, "If it's alright with you guys." They glanced at each other, then back to her and nodded. "Our band could certainly use your talents," she smiled at her guest, "Would you like to join us?"
Ryouga was stunned, to say the least. "Well," he said, putting his hand on the back of his head, "Gee, I dunno. I mean, am I really that good?"
"Don't be so modest," Jakotsu said, appearing from out of nowhere, behind Ryouga's chair.
Ryouga gasped. "Okay then," he smiled, "It would be an honor to play with you guys."
"Great," Jakotsu smiled, "You're gonna love playing with us." The smile turned very sly with that last part. Ryouga shrunk away from him.
"Stop doing that, Jakotsu," Bankotsu said.
The front door opened. "We're back," Renkotsu said as he entered the house. Hamaya followed, leading in his girlfriend Shiori, a hanyou from the demon bat clan. They had gone to pick up some other friends to meet with Ryouga. Ginkotsu the tank and Kyoukotsu the giant were waiting outside to see the "boy who could turn into a pig."
3
He could hear the guitar sounds from upstairs. He growled softly.
Fuyuka sat on his bed and stared into the blackness that was before him. He could not believe that this was going on, that he was still trapped down there in that awful jail cell with those awful people and their awful singing. He stood up and walked over to the bars. He gripped them tightly and began to squeeze with anger. He released his grip and walked back to the bed. He stared back at the bars and gasped. The bars that he had just squeezed were... thinner? No, that couldn't be right. He walked back over to them and examined them carefully. Yes, he had squished them.
"Interesting," he muttered to himself. "But what does that mean?"
It means you have the power to escape.
It was her again, the woman that was talking to him from who knew where. "Are you saying," Fuyuka whispered, "that I can just pull these bars open?"
Yes.
He concentrated deeply on the bars and gripped them with his hands again. He pulled them apart and smiled.
4
Seeing as Ginkotsu and Kyoukotsu were too big to fit inside Kikyou's house, and it was also such a beautiful day outside, they all decided to have a picnic on the front lawn. This was a decision that would save most of their lives. As they were talking and eating sandwiches and fruit salad, a crash came from within the house. Before anyone had any time to react, it had already happened.
Several more loud crashes could be heard from within the house. Renkotsu dashed to the front door, but before he got it open, something burst through it, cutting him up pretty badly. That something was an overly pissed off Fuyuka. He grabbed Renkotsu by the throat and lifted him into the air. "If you had tried harder," he growled as he squeezed his grip, "to convince your friends to let me out, you might have lived through the day. But now, sadly-"
But before he could continue, a massive hand struck him from behind, sending him and Renkotsu in two different directions. It was Kyoukotsu who had saved Renkotsu from the edge of death. He barreled towards Fuyuka as everyone else gathered around Renkotsu. "You hurt my friend," the giant bellowed in a deep angry voice. "I will make you pay!" He swung his arms frantically at the ice wolf, who tried his hardest to dodge the erratic swings of the giant, but to no avail. He was struck every time.
He landed on the ground, half-conscious. 'Dammit,' he thought to himself, 'I underestimated them.'
Kyoukotsu leapt into the air and brought his foot down on the ice wolf, nearly squishing him. He smiled, pressing his foot harder into the ground, trying to suffocate his enemy. "We should have just killed you when we had the chance," he chuckled. But suddenly he could feel his foot lifting off the ground. Fuyuka was overpowering him. "What the?"
Fuyuka was standing fully upright, holding Kyoukotsu's massive foot above him. He shoved up with all his might and caused Kyoukotsu to lose his balance. He toppled over and Fuyuka jumped out of the way. "It would seem," he smirked, "that you've been beaten." He formed his hands into claw shapes and was just about to tear into the giant when a flash of metal struck the ground in front of him. It was the Jakotsutou.
"I don't know how you got out," Jakotsu said flatly, pulling the sword back to him, "but don't think that you're gonna get away from us."
Fuyuka stared down his opponent for several minutes, not making a sound or a move. Then without warning he leapt forwards and slashed at Jakotsu. His opponent managed to dodge the attacks, however, and also managed to make a few counterattacks of his own. He whipped the Jakotsutou, cutting Fuyuka's arm up badly.
"Jakotsu," Kyoukotsu's booming voice called, "Let me handle him." He was standing again and had a look of pure hatred on his face. He wanted revenge.
"Go ahead, then," Jakotsu smiled as he backed down.
Kyoukotsu cracked his knuckles. "This is going to be sweet," he hissed. Being faster than he seemed, he was already pummeling Fuyuka with punch after punch. This fight was in the bag, he thought, and would be over in no time. Fuyuka made a slight miscalculation when landing from being blown back by the punches, and had already found himself in Kyoukotsu's grasp. He began to squeeze, trying to suffocate him one more time. "You are no match for me, little wolf," he sneered.
Fuyuka was scared. Here he was, finally free of the jail cell, but having the life squeezed from him by this ugly giant. His vision began to dissipate and he slipped out of consciousness.
5
He opened his eyes and looked around. All he could see was blackness. "Where am I?" he stuttered. Then he gasped as a ray of icy blue light shot up from the ground. The light cleared and the form of a strange figure could be seen. A strange figure? No. He knew it quite well. It was that of the woman who had been communicating to him while he was in the jail cell, his twin sister: Kogarashi.
"Don't stop now," she instructed. "I've worked too hard for my plans to be botched up now."
"But," Fuyuka struggled to say, "How do I beat him?"
Kogarashi smiled at him, baring her fangs. "You've always had the power to bust out of that cell, and you've always had the power to slaughter any one of them." She stuck her hand out in front of her, and Fuyuka felt himself do the same thing. She opened her fingers (so did he) and a ball of blue energy formed in between them (as well as his own). "You've still got a lot to learn, brother."
6
"This wolf has a strong spirit," Kyoukotsu chuckled as he continued to suffocate Fuyuka. "All the more fun for me, I suppose."
Fuyuka's eyes shot open, but they weren't his normal green eyes. Instead they were glowing with icy blue light. And his face no longer had an expression of fear or pain, but of bliss. Pure bliss.
Kyoukotsu felt great pain in his hand as he stared curiously into Fuyuka's glowing eyes. Then, before he knew it, his hand was ripped to pieces, and Fuyuka was free, hovering in front of him. The ice wolf held his hand out in front of him (still smiling) and opened his fingers. Blue energy (smile growing wider) appeared in his hand. He blasted it right into Kyoukotsu's face, ripping his entire head to shreds. The decapitated body fell to the ground with a loud thud that shook the entire street. Fuyuka slowly turned his head to the others and held his hand out, opening it and forming another ball of blue energy.
