by Korii Shoujo
Chapter Six - Reppuu
Pushing on his entire weight, Mitsuru propelled himself forth, preparing to grab Hokuto by the neck and squeeze the life out of his worthless body. Instead, he drew back rapidly, narrowing his encrimsoned eyes as the smirking man deftly motioned to the arrow that he had within his disgusting grasp. Surely yet somewhat lazily, Hokuto pulled back the thin string and arrow back, aiming the projectile straight into the heart of the snarling tengu masterfully. Mitsuru's enraged winds, much like his mood, swirled around him in a violent whirlwind defiantly, nearly knocking the weapon from Hokuto's grasp. The leader of Dawn's Venus turned away from the fray in front of him, shielding his eyes from the stinging gasp of the wind. The gusts whipped the light cloth of his haori to and fro angrily, seemingly wanting to punish him for destroying the life of another without a thought. Lightening crackled deviously from above, enabling Mitsuru with the power to seriously injure or even kill.
"Surrender now and I'll bring you to the Moon Palace as prisoners!" the tengu's deep voice boomed out commandingly from above, the essense of lightning, thunder and wind - the destruction of a storm filled with vigour, "Or I'll take your worthless lives right now!"
Hokuto opened his mouth to protest vehemently, but shut it quickly as his mind was consumed with cold, calculating thoughts. Mitsuru hovered about uneasily, flapping his ebony wings every once in awhile to remain at his invisible perch in the air. Hokuto's eyes trailed over the a thoroughly disgusted Keiko, as he surveyed her sarcastic form with rapt interest. All the while, the winds wailed through the trees, dancing with their leaves as the lightening lept from cloud to cloud, leaving the remnants of its crooked trail weaving throughout the darkened sky. Finally coming to a decision, Hokuto glanced up at the tengu with a definite smirk in his eyes.
"All right, sir. We shall come to this Moon Palace with you without a fight." he coldy pronounced, watching Mitsuru's every move as the wary tengu floated down from the sky slowly, melting like butter back into the form of a man. The sky cleared of its upset; the wind was layed gently and gradually to rest. As he fell, Hokuto added softly, "With the Teardrop."
"Right." Mitsuru hissed, feeling triumphant, yet still extremely suspicious of the sorcerer's motives as to coming to the Moon Palace. Pushing aside the strong feeling of dread that captivated his mind, the tengu continued, "One wrong move and both of your are fried."
Hokuto lowered his chin slightly in a disgruntled nod of agreement, glancing over at Keiko, who was trying to hide her strong emotions on the matter. Her heart beat quickened suddenly as she had a fleeting thought, or vision of someone she once knew from a long time ago, before the sleep and endless darkness ate up her life into nothingness. The seer could almost rest her frantic eyes upon the elusive face, glowing and smiling, something she somehow sensed. Shrugging it off, her stoic mask slid itself back into place, causing Hokuto to lose interest.
"Come on, you two," Mitsuru growled deeply, his eyes flashing with the potent venom of a deadly snake as he began to prepare to depart, "I believe there is a way back to the Moon Palace from here..."
Later...
"Empress and Lord Shirogane," Mitsuru belt forward in a much-practiced, elegant bow in front of his rulers. The immediate fire and excitement behind his eyes was barely contained, as his chance to regain his princess grew ever closer. The tengu could hardly keep his body from trembling, the waves of joyful pleasure coursing from his very spine, down through his singing nerves. Mitsuru, Hokuto, and Keiko had just arrived at the Moon Palace, along with the shining Eighth Teardrop, apparently not just a silly legend cooked up by a bored demon. The latter two stood silently, their hands cuffed and their forms held still by grumbling guards.
"I have located an Eighth Teardrop of the Moon," Mitsuru proclaimed, presenting a tiny box in his pocket while falling to his knees, leaning forward and presenting the powerful gem to the two rulers. He cleared his choked up throat before continuing, "And since it seems that the Lunar Race has no problems surviving in a healthy manner without the Teardrop, I would like to request its use to revive my future bride, the deceased Princess Mahiru Shiraishi. She died prematurely, due to magic caused by this sorcerer." Mitsuru shot a glare towards Hokuto as he shifted uneasily.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the room like a stiffling blanket as the Empress regarded Mitsuru with an unreadable expression, her obsidian hair falling around her fragile body in waves as she fanned herself in a very thoughtful manner. She sucked in a deep breath, turning the manner over in her mind almost like deciding which kind of kimono she wanted to clothe herself in for the day. The ruling woman knew she could not trust Shirogane in this matter, as he would not hesitate in granting permission to the sorrow-ridden tengu. He loved the one who had healed him very much, and was shocked beyond tears upon the news of her death. The Empress knew that if there was no ill effect upon the Lunar Race, the move would be good politically. Most of the now flourishing population loved the girl for healing the royal family and many mourned her premature death. Making up her mind, the Empress spoke, her words like a velvet stream.
"Rise, Mitsuru Suou. I understand that you were deeply in love with the Princess, as was the entire Lunar Race. What you have observed is true; there is no ill effect upon our noble race without the Teardrop. We are also greatly endebted to the Princess, as she healed Shirogane and even myself. Therefore, she deserves to live longer. I hereby grant you permission to restore our beloved Princess's life." The Empress hid a tiny smile behind her floral patterned fan as the tengu's eyes lit up with joy. Glancing over to Keiko and Hokuto coldly, her voice changed from gentle to harsh, "And as for these two, they are to excecuted upon the next full moon, in a fortnight. The murder of the Princess is unexcusable. My Shirogane and I have taken personal offense. You are dismissed to revive the Princess, tengu Mitsuru."
Nodding her head once towards the guards, the Empress pulled the screen in front of her and Shirogane shut as she held her overjoyed, crying son tightly to her, a happy grin painted on her face. On the other side, Mitsuru watched with a cold fascination as Hokuto and Keiko were dragged away towards the dungeons, where they would spend the last two weeks of their miserable(as far as the tengu was concerned) lives. Holding the Teardrop tightly to his chest, Mitsuru turned around sharply and headed towards the temporary resting place of Mahiru's body.
Somewhere in the palace...
He could hear her. He could hear her voice, the shivering movements of her body, her fearful, ragged breathing as she took in her surroundings with terror. His sharpened sense of hearing took this all in, his ears perked - and it tortured his mind, body, and soul.
Akira remembered her, his love of a long ago lost within the cruel recessess of Time. She had left like the dew upon the grass in the morning sun, and no amount of tears had brought her back with him. The werewolf was determined to bring her joy at least in the last two weeks of her life, knowing this from what he heard from her erratic sobs. His face was set ablaze, knowing very well that the bastard Hokuto was behind it all, and she was to lose her life because of his horrible deeds. Growling with surpressed fury, Akira scampered down to the dungeons where he knew she was held. He would give her the love that she deserved, the love Hokuto had never provided.
Down the winding stares, deep underground into the palace Akira went, almost flying due to his extreme speed. His nose detected her sweet scent, unchanged even after five long years. The werewolf followed the trail, and almost flew past the cell, with all of his vigour, in which she was held. His gaze softened immediately upon seeing her distressed condition, his ears drooping. Keiko was held in one of the lower security cells, one that allowed anyone to freely move in and out except her, as she was bound to the area by a strong magic. His body sliding through the earthen bars like melting ice, Akira slid into the cage softly, placing a hand on the seer's shoulder.
"Keiko-chan," he whispered almost incoherently, more like a breath than actual speech. The one whom the werewolf had addressed snapped her head up, her face coming within inches of Akira's, as she suddenly reconized his face, once buried beneath the darkness.
"Akira..."
A/N: Yes, I'm evil. More cliffys.
I love all my reviewers - sorry for the wait. Study, study, study...