Thanks Dancing-Emu for the first and only review! I'm so happy someone liked it.

Here's the second chapter of Akiko's story. The ritual is slightly graphic.

The story starts right where it left off and goes through to a few days after Akiko's ritual. Once again, enjoy.

Darkness Everlasting

…he backed away from her slowly and made his way out into the hall, the blinded lady listening to the sounds closely with her head cocked to her side. The door snapped closed loudly and she stood to face it. I turned to Kirie, who was one step higher than I was, and I opened my mouth to say something. Kirie turned and put her hand over my mouth. Shaking her head she mouthed the words, 'You don't want to get caught first, do you?' I shook my head and looked back down.

All the other girls were lined up against the small cabinets. One of them was trying to sidle to the staircase opposite us. She made it to the opening in the wall before stepping on a loose floorboard. Everyone stared at her apprehensively. It made no sound from the pressure of her foot, but if she even moved one inch it would. The girl stayed perfectly frozen in place, watching the lady warily. The lady's breathing was the only thing that could be heard in the room. Even the priests were motionless.

Suddenly, the lady started to move about the room with her hands stretched out in front of her, grabbing the air. She was heading for the door she came through. As she moved closer to the door and farther away from the girls, it seemed the girls decided that they should move. All at once they darted around the room making all types of noise to distract the 'demon'. Kirie nudged my arm to go onto the next floor and we both dashed as fast and as quietly as we could up the stairs, while the lady grasped frantically in front of her.

The chaos stopped just as abruptly as it had begun. Now Kirie and I were on the second floor looking down at the sight below, two girls were on the other staircase behind the wall, and the last girl was on the first step of the stairs Kirie and I were just on. The 'demon' smashed into the cabinets and was ripping at the contents in and on top of them. 'This must be driving her insane,' I thought to myself, staring at the lady pitifully. 'The sudden noises then silence, has she lived like this all her life?' The lady threw the contents everywhere. Something she threw behind her hit the fireplace, making a loud clang. After hearing the clang, the lady went ballistic again and inadvertently tripped on the edge of the fireplace.

Seeing her chance, the girl on the first step ran to the other staircase. She must have told the others behind what was happening because they all entered the landing and went over to the two of us. "How long have the two of you been up here?" one of them asked Kirie quietly. It was the one who had stepped on the loose floorboard. "Since the game started," Kirie said. "You saw us, why are you asking? You know we shouldn't be making any noise." The girl shrugged and looked back at the floor to where the lady was, and gasped. We all tore our attention from the girl and looked down to where she was pointing. She wasn't there. The 'demon' wasn't there!

'Where was she?' I thought. Everyone else had to be thinking the same thing from the expressions of surprise shown on their face. Turning around I saw she wasn't on the nearest staircase waiting to grab us behind by surprise. She had to be on the other staircase. But if she was, why wasn't she on the second floor by now? 'She does have to take her time. But still…' I thought, answering my own question. '…she should be up here.'

We stayed there thinking about what we should do for a long time. Finally, as if they were as anxious as the lady was in the beginning, the three girls went to look at the other staircase. "You're going to get caught," I hissed to them. They waved my warning away as if it were nothing and went ahead. Kirie and I backed away and watched as they stepped into the opening and peered inside. A scream could be heard from inside and the girls ran back towards us.

"Who screamed?" Kirie asked, as one of the girls stopped in front of her. "The 'demon' did," she said, pointing back to the opening. "She almost grabbed me but I dodged her."

"Where'd she go?" I asked, noticing she wasn't coming up. "Did she go back down?" the girl shrugged. "How could you not know?" The girl pretended not to hear me and went back with the other two. This game was getting on every one of our nerves. I could only imagine how aggravating it was to the lady.

I looked at the opening on the first floor, waiting for her to jump out and run up the stairs to grab us one by one. Kirie stood watching the other opening, expecting the same thing to happen that I was. 'This isn't a game anymore,' I thought, leaning over the railing. 'It's a hunt…..for the next sacrifice.' Looking over my shoulder at the group of girls, I could see how blissfully unaware they were at what the family master was planning to do. I sighed and looked at the fireplace. A thought suddenly hit me.

I grabbed a rock I saw on the floor next to my foot and aimed it at the fireplace. Everyone stared at me as I released the rock and it hit the fireplace dead-on. A loud shriek could be heard from behind the wall over the ringing and the lady appeared on the floor we were all on. The girls gasped and ran quickly down the stairs. Kirie backed into the wall as quietly as she could as I followed. The lady had hurried to the turn and stopped just short of running into me. I stopped moving and stared at her. She was an arms length away from grabbing me. I could feel her shallow breaths washing over my face. One wrong move and I would be caught.

My right leg, which was behind me from staying in the walking backwards position, was buckling from the weight I placed on it. I couldn't stand like this much longer. I was going to fall soon. The lady took a step forward as if she could sense I was right in front of her. She took another step and another…finally I lost my balance and fell with a crash onto the wooden floor.

The lady cried out again and grabbed wildly as I crawled backwards toward the wall. She followed me closely with her hands on the floor, skittering across it like spiders. I continued going backwards, reaching at the floor. All of a sudden, my hand grasped at air instead of wood. I was at the top of the stairs! I stopped from surprise but the 'demon' continued only stopping as her hand cupped around my ankle. She smiled slightly and in my shock I lost my balance. I fell down the stairs and I lay sprawled on the floor, pain coursing throughout my body.

That didn't deter the 'demon' from continuing her search for the others. I heard her walk down the stairs, and she stepped over me as she reached where I lay. 'How did she know exactly where I was?' I thought. My thought was distracted as the three girls screamed and ran in opposite directions. I lifted my head weakly and looked at the sight with blurred eyes. Was I crying? My whole body was numb from the pain; I couldn't even feel the ground beneath me.

I could vaguely see three small figures run rampant with a tall, gray figure following them closely behind. The second grabbed wore a black kimono, third wore a fiery red, and fourth wore a jade green. Kirie wasn't caught until last and she probably wouldn't have been caught for a long time had she not run down to see how I was. As soon as she reached me, the blind lady grabbed her arm. Kirie shook it away and looked down at me.

"Are you alright?" she was worried about me. She was worried about me. "Akiko? Are you alright?"

"You're the sacrifice," I muttered quietly. "You're the next maiden and you're worried about me?" The blind demon heard what I said and turned away. Was she sympathetic to this? Why would she be? It wasn't her who had to die; it was Kirie, my one friend in the whole world. Why? "Why does it have to be you?"

I felt a sudden wet drop slide down my face. It wasn't a tear from my eyes. It was Kirie's. The door from the hall opened and the family master stepped inside talking with the priest who had guarded that door. He must have left after the 'game' had finished so he wouldn't distract the lady. Kirie brushed away her tears with the back of her hand again and watched the master as he leaned down in front of us. I tried to sit up but my arms felt too weak and I gave up. He looked down at me and motioned for the priest to help me up. The priest held my shoulders strongly, but not strong enough to cause any pain. The other priest that guarded the door upstairs came downstairs as well, however; he grabbed Kirie.

"Take Kirie to her new room," the master said to the priest holding her. He nodded and took her upstairs. Kirie craned her head around him and mouthed something to me when the master turned to tell the other girls to leave. I stared back hopelessly at her. I didn't know what she said. She repeated it again but the priest opened the door and blocked her from my view. 'What was she saying to me?' I thought sadly as the door closed. 'Why wouldn't she say it out loud? If that priest moved I probably could have caught it.'

I continued to stare at the door half expecting Kirie to come back and tell me what it was, but I knew that it wouldn't happen. A slight cough brought me back and I turned my head quickly. The family master looked at me and had that small, malicious smile that made me shiver. "Tomorrow is an important day for you, Akiko. Did you know that?" I shook my head slightly. "Well it is….and I'm glad that you are able to be the one to participate in it," he said coldly. What was he talking about? Why was he talking to me this way?

He walked past me, his sleeves brushing my arm, and went upstairs. The priest urged me to follow. I walked up the stairs slowly with the priest steadying me. My leg was still in pain and going upstairs didn't help. We followed the master as he went through the tatami room, and into the walkway. After passing the large mirror he turned left. At the end of that hall, beside a candle stand, was a white door. He opened it and the priest pushed me through. It was the koto room. Kirie and I would sit in here for hours, playing the koto. I was the better player. At this memory I could have cried. I'd never see Kirie again.

The door snapped shut and I turned around hastily. The priest had left! I never noticed that he had let go of my shoulders. "You'll stay here for the night," the family master said to me. I turned back and glared. Why was he still here? "Tomorrow is important," he repeated. "You are important. Without your sacrifice…" he trailed off.

"Sacrifice?" I blurted out. He smiled the cold smile again. "Tomorrow night…" he left, locking the door behind him. I stood rooted to the spot, horrified. I was going to die too? Why? Why me? Why Kirie? Why anyone?

November 26th.

I sat in front of the koto, quietly strumming the strings to no obvious melody. My eyes were blurry from staying up the whole night with yesterday's events flashing across them. The girls and the 'demon', I wonder what happened to them? Were they still here? 'Why should I care about them?' I thought sullenly, striking the string harder. 'It's their fault this is happening to me and Kirie.'

A short rapping could be heard from the door. I jumped a little and wondered if it was the master. The door unlocked and creaked open slowly. Two hands squeezed through the opening and placed two bowls and a cup on the floor. After the bowls were placed the door snapped closed and was locked again. I could hear hurried footsteps turning to go back to the tatami room. I got up and looked into the bowls. There was some food in the both of them with some water in the small cup. I put them next to the koto. I had no appetite. All I could think about was this 'sacrifice'.

'Why is it so important?' I thought leaning against the wall as my eyes fluttered. 'They have Kirie so why would they need me? She's more important…' I yawned and gradually fell asleep.

I awoke hours later. The faces of my parents had swirled about in my dreams. I could barely remember what they looked like now that I was awake. I almost cried again in despair. Were they waiting for me? Did they forget about me? I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and looked about the room. The food that I placed earlier was gone. I wished I had eaten it now after hearing my stomach rumble from hunger. I stood up and stretched. My arms were a little swollen from the fall yesterday, and my legs were sore from the multi-colored bruises on them.

I pushed back my black hair and sat patiently in front of the koto. I twirled my light blue sleeves nervously. How much longer until my 'sacrifice'? I sighed and started playing the koto again, thinking about my parents and what had happened to them.

Loud footsteps could be heard from outside the door. I stopped playing and listened to them intently. There had to be a group of people coming this way. Suddenly they stopped altogether and an unlocking sound came from the door. I resumed playing just as the door opened and the family master stepped in. I tried to avoid looking at him by concentrating on what I was playing.

"It's time, Akiko," he said. I ignored him and continued to play. "Did you hear me, Akiko? It's time. Now!" His voice was muffled a bit. Hesitantly, I stopped and looked up at him. As soon as I saw him and the priests, I covered my mouth with my hands to mute my gasp.

The priests had oddly shaped red figures on their faces. They might have been there all the time, but I had never looked at their faces. I was too afraid to ever look them in the eyes. The family master terrified me the most. He wore a pale mask with the face of a demon. Horns were at the top and an angry expression was permanently frozen in its grotesque shape. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the sight. Why was he wearing that?

Two priests walked behind me and each grabbed one of my arms. The family master led the way once again, this time through the tatami room, the fireplace room, the rope hall, and he stopped in the entrance to the mansion. He walked to a wall with an angry mask on it and pushed on the wall. I watched anxiously. To my surprise, the wall rotated and another passage could be seen behind it. The master held it open until we passed the threshold. After we were all in the cramped hall the master grabbed the angry mask and went on ahead. The priests holding me stayed behind, but the other two went with the master. I looked around at the wooden hall and wondered: 'A secret hall? How long has this been here?'

I listened as all three of their footsteps died away and a door at the right end of the hall opened. Where were they going? A sudden unlatching sound startled me. It came from a door in front of us but the wall was in the way. I twisted around the wall to see what door it was. The priests gripped my arms more tightly. They must have thought I was trying to run. "Where would I go?" I asked, not noticing I said it out loud. The priests didn't respond to my question, however; they loosened their grip a little. 'Were they sympathetic?' As soon as I thought this, the image of the 'oni' turning away from my and Kirie's conversation shone in my mind. She was sympathetic too. I remember asking myself if she was.

Why was only the master so indifferent to what he was doing?

They had all come back and we went to the door that had unlocked. This door was different from all the others in this hall. It was more intricately designed and it had a mask that was permanently placed onto it. I gazed at it. There were eyeholes but no eyes and the mouth was wide open, as if it were screaming. As soon as I entered the room, a sudden strange feeling shot through my body. The whole house felt full of anger, but here it…it was magnified. Every particle had a feeling of fury mingled with sadness. What happened here?

The priests placed me on a slightly raised platform in the center of the room. They continued to grasp my arms. The other two went to either side of the door and watched me. Did they expect me to struggle? I turned to my right and saw the ceremony master's outline standing in front of something on another small platform. It was too dim to see what he was doing. But I could see him lift something from the alcove carefully as if it were very fragile. He walked over and stopped in front of me. I looked down at what he was holding as he chanted something softly. It was a white mask. Well, not a mask exactly but it would cover someone's eyes. I looked at it again as he shifted his fingers. There were sharp stakes set where the eyes would be. "Why does it have…?" I started. "Don't interrupt, Akiko," the master muttered, resuming his low chanting. I whined and tried helplessly to break away from the priests' grip. There was no way I could get them to release my arms. I continued desperately, but it was no use. I was trapped.

The master stopped chanting as he slowly raised the mask above his head. The priests continued chanting where he left off. I continued to struggle against my captors, weaving in every direction to get them to let go. The master was looking up at the mask seemingly oblivious to my actions. I looked at the mask too, still trying to get away. As soon as I looked up I regretted it. The mask's stakes were pointed downward, pointing directly at my eyes. I gulped hard as the master looked down at me and in one fluid movement, his arms flew down and the mask hit its mark.

I emitted the loudest and most painful scream I ever had in my life. I felt the wooden stakes in my eyes, rubbing against the inside. Blood dripped down my face in great amounts. It even felt as if my eyes themselves were trying to ooze out. The priests let go of my arms and instinctively my hands shot up to my eyes. I backed away and fell to my knees. The pain was excruciating. The blood wouldn't stop. No one tried to help me. I tried to cry but my shattered eyes could only bleed. "My eyes!" I shouted. Over and over I kept shouting "My eyes!" Nothing else could be said. Weakly, I pulled at the mask but it wouldn't budge. "Why!" I gasped. "My eyes…"

I felt hands grab my arms once again, pulling them down away from my eyes. It must have been the same priests who had forcefully escorted me here. They pulled me to my feet and I felt someone lean down in front of me. A mask grazed the side of my face. My hands clenched as the master breathed into my ear, "The ritual's not completed yet. I have to take the mask out, but we're not yet. So, save me the satisfaction and stop pulling at it." Frantically, I tried to get at him. The priests held me tighter so I gave up.

"I hate you," I muttered.

He only laughed. I heard a door open and footsteps. The priests nudged me and I walked where they led me. The walk was long. I had no idea where we were going, but I knew all the rooms we were in. We left the hall the way we came and went through the entrance. The footsteps were louder now that I couldn't see. Sounds. The lady depended on it. Now I have to too. "What happened to the blind girl?" I asked. I didn't get an answer until we were in the rope hall. "She left," the master said simply. "Where'd she go?" I asked, after a rope smacked my face. The mask was starting to irritate me. The blood did too. When was the blood going to stop? "She went home. Now stop asking questions!" I fell silent and kept walking. 'Yeah, right. Just like my parents did.'

The paces slowed down. We had to be in front of the mirror. I thought we would go right and they would put me back in the koto room. Instead the priests led me to the left and we entered the grand hall. The slight incline from wood to carpet made me stumble, but the priests caught me. I tilted my head and remembered how the great hall looked. The three sliding doors and the altar that was placed on the wall in front of us. We made a right and entered the walkway. I stumbled again after leaving the grand hall and after entering the burial room. As we passed a table I felt sudden warmth. There were candles here. I could hear the flames crackle. We walked into another room. The rubble room. It was cold here.

The priests stopped but there was movement to the upper left. I heard something slam and then a sliding noise. I tried to remember this room's layout but I couldn't. A louder slam startled me and we moved again. 'It must have been a door.' The next hall had an echo and it felt cramped. It was colder in here than it was in the rubble room. We made a few curves and the same slamming, sliding, and louder slamming was heard. The door closed again as we all entered another room.

This room was different than the others. It had a gravel floor and it had more of an echo. I heard steps go to the left and slight clatters going down. 'Going down?' I thought, confused. The priests led me down and grabbed me as I almost fell off the edge. One of the priests leaned down and whispered, "There are three ladders here." I leaned down and felt a pole in the ground. "Go down carefully."

I went down the ladder carefully, just as I was told. Another priest grabbed my arm and led me to the second ladder as the other two came down the first. They did the same thing on the third ladder. After I reached the bottom, I felt an extreme heat. I turned and placed my hand over the fire. The priest grabbed my arm roughly and led me to the center of the room. With my free hand I grabbed a rope. I traced what the rope was tied to and felt a rock. It must have been as thick as my body and taller than the master. The priest lifted me over the rope and I wandered around, grasping the rope to know where I was.

"Where are we?" I asked. "Why is this here?"

"We're at the demon mouth," the master said. He was behind me. I went over to him by following the rope. "This door, which you can't see, leads to a passage taken by the Shrine Maiden. Beyond that path is a door. This door is the Hell Gate which the Shrine Maiden is sacrificed to keep closed. The maiden has yet to be sacrificed…"

"Kirie?" I asked, concerned. She was just chosen why would she die now? "No," he said, irritably. "…not Kirie. The maiden chosen before her." He paused so I asked him another question. "Why do you need me then?"

I heard him walk closer to me. He stopped and his hands went to the mask. Grabbing both sides he prepared to pull it out. "We need you because with your sacrifice the demons beyond the gate will be blinded as well." As I wondered what he meant by this I felt him lightly tugging at the mask. After three light tugs, he pulled harder on it causing it to jerk out. I yelled again in pain as I felt my eyes slide out with the mask. The tendons of my eyes hung loosely against my eyelids and the blood flowed more freely down my face. My hands flew up to them again and the blood splashed into them instead of falling straight to the ground. I heard the master walk away from me and someone else walking towards me. The person walking towards me knelt down in front of me and pulled my hands from my face. The person put a piece of cloth over my eyes, turned me around and tied the back tightly underneath my hair.

The cloth soaked up the blood so that it didn't stream down my face as freely. The person turned me back to face them and wiped my face and hands. The person put another piece of cloth in my hands and patted my head softly. Was it the priest who had warned me about the ladder? I heard all of them walk away and climb up the ladders. The door slammed and they were gone. I heard other footsteps go up and go through the door too. I looked up at what I assumed was the door after hearing the master yell, "You'll have to find your own way back, Akiko. You're on your own now, if you can make it back, you're free to roam around the manor. If you make it back." He added, sinisterly.

The door slammed shut loudly. I was alone.

Four days passed since my ritual was performed and I was left to find my way back after being left in the demon mouth. I had no idea how I made it out of the demon mouth, but one of my friends who was a servant led me back to the koto room after he saw me in the burial room. I couldn't tell him what happened and he didn't press me to know. He also helped me make the koto room into my own room. He hasn't come by ever since then. I guess that the master did the same thing he did to the last blind demon and my parents.

I really am all alone now….stuck in an everlasting darkness…