Chapter TWELVE: The Master Plan
Kyoto was usually a busy and loud city during both the day and night, but for some reason, it seemed as if all of Kyoto had fallen under a curse, for not a single sound was heard on the streets. Even the animals that usually prowled in the night looking for foods were silent. Every single restaurant and shop was closed shut, even the houses of the civilians were bolt-locked. Not a single ray of light was visible in the dark and gloomy town and the only sources of light were the stars that twinkled glamorously in the night sky.
"I wish every night were as calm and silent as this," whispered a shadow on the rooftop of a certain well-known restaurant owned by lycans.
"There might not be any sounds, but the atmosphere is thick tonight," added another figure beside the first shadow that had shattered Kyoto's silent curse.
The first shadow only nodded as she sat on the ledge of the rooftop and swung her legs over the building calmly. Her ebony locks glistened from the stars' radiant light and her braid swayed like a snake behind her back as the wind picked up.
"So what's your plan, Misao? There has to be a reason why you came here without a disguise and in the middle of the Elders' meeting at that," stated the shape-shifter's sister, who stood behind the figure seated.
"You didn't have to follow me here, Megumi. I already told you that I wasn't going to give up, and I plan to go through with this," said Misao seriously as her sea-green eyes met her sister's narrowed, chocolate ones.
"I know that I don't have to follow you, but I'm not going to let my little sister get hurt!" said Megumi seriously before calmly adding, "So what is this plan of yours anyway?"
Misao only smiled mischievously before quickly swinging her legs around so that she could see her sibling's face.
"We all know that Aoshi is going to get married to that half breed, right?" asked Misao as she stood up quickly, causing her green robes to sway around her from the quick movement.
"Well duh! State the obvious," said Megumi as she rolled her eyes and crossed her hands over her chest in annoyance at Misao's stalling.
"Shush! Keep your voice down!" hissed Misao as she remembered the keen hearing that the creatures within the building had.
"If you'd just hurry up…" began Megumi in defense as she unfolded her hands, but was cut off when Misao began her explanation.
"You can't really have a wedding if the bride isn't there, now can you?" asked Misao with a grin as she saw Megumi's look of shock when she registered what her younger sister had just said.
"You don't plan to…."
"Of course not, do you honestly think that I'd want the title of a murderer because of that disgusting creature?" snapped Misao, annoyed that her sister would actually think that she would stain her own hands for the half breed. She was desperate, but not that desperate.
"Then what do you plan to do?" asked Megumi as she looked at Misao seriously.
Misao smirked darkly before motioning her sister to come closer with her right index finger.
Getting on her tip toes, she whispered her plan to the other shape-shifter when they was close enough.
Megumi gasped as she heard the plan and stared at Misao in surprise and confusion.
"Are you serious? Do you really think that this is going to work?" asked Megumi as she took a step back from the younger creature.
"Yes, I'm dead serious, and I know that this is going to work, but I'm going to need your help," said Misao as she looked up at Megumi with pleading eyes.
"I'm not going to like this, but since you are my younger sister…" began Megumi but fell silent when she felt Misao hug her in thanks.
Sighing, Megumi only returned the hug before stepping back and turning into a purple bird and soaring to the sky, a green bird following right behind her.
'The things I do for family.' Thought Megumi as she flapped her wings toward the forest where they were to prepare for Misao's plan.
xXoXx
Soujiro's wife walked up the steps and lightly knocked on the shoji door that was right above the conference room below. She had been looking forward to seeing the half breed herself, and wanted to find out what it was about the girl that made the Okashira of the Oniwanbanshuu want to marry her at the risk of being killed.
"Going to see Lady Tomoe as well I presume, Lady Shura?" asked a calm and delicate voice from behind the vampire, causing the knocker to jump a bit.
"Lady Yumi, I didn't sense you coming," Shura apologized as she bowed to the other vampire.
Shishio's mate only smiled as she nodded for Shura to stand up straight. She had been bored and decided that she'd amuse herself by seeing the half breed. But in a way, she was much more relieved now that she wouldn't be talking to Shinomori's future wife alone.
"Stand, you don't want to ruin your beautiful violet kimono, now would you?" asked Yumi when the two smiled at each other in acknowledgment.
Shura only blushed at Yumi's comment and made one about her red and white kimono, purposely leaving out the fact that Yumi's pale shoulders were fully exposed to the public's eye.
Hearing the shoji door open, the two vampires turned around and stared at the half vampire and half werewolf that stood at the door bowing to them.
Looking the girl over, the two exchanged glances and agreed that the girl was quite elegant. For even if she wore a plain white kimono and blue obi, Tomoe still looked quite beautiful.
"What is the occasion that I have the honor of the wives of two Elders visiting me?" asked Tomoe politely as she allowed the two to enter her room and slid the door shut when they sat down.
"We thought that we'd congratulate you on your up coming wedding," said Yumi calmly as she sat down on her knees before a low table with Shura to her left.
"This place is beautiful, yet simple," complimented Shura as she looked around the white room that was filled with white roses, but oddly enough smelled like white plums instead.
Along the walls were white candles and glamorous mountain paintings while the ceiling was marked by a white star instead of a black one that was placed on the ceiling of the rooms of the Lords. The window was right in front of the table and allowed the two vampires to look out into the night, and to the left of the window was a mirror that hung on the wall. There was a small closet to the right of the shoji door and the white futon was folded neatly and placed away inside.
"Thank you," said Tomoe as she sat down across from them and poured them tea from the tea set that was placed on the center of the table.
"How has life treated you after you arrived at the Aoiya?" asked Yumi after she picked up her cup of tea and blew away the steam.
Tomoe didn't speak until she blew her tea cool and took a small sip of the rare tea.
Gracefully placing the cup back down on the table, Tomoe looked up at the two women with an emotionless face.
"Things have been quite fine since I arrived here a year ago and I thank you for your concern," said Tomoe.
Yumi raised a brow before glancing over at Shura.
"I'm quite glad to hear that and I'm happy for you and Lord Aoshi. He's a great friend of my husband and I'm glad that he managed to meet someone as sweet as you, Lady Yukishiro," said Shura, smiling politely.
Tomoe only nodded in thanks and kept a straight face at the vampire's statement.
"If you don't mind me being too straightforward, but how was it that you came across Lord Aoshi and captured his heart? The last time I checked he had an eye out for another certain female," Yumi stated curiously before sipping the rest of her tea evenly.
Shura shot Yumi a glare at how rude she was and turned back to see Tomoe's reaction and was a bit shocked to find Tomoe smiling.
"I met Lord Aoshi over a year ago just outside Kyoto on a full moon, and being a half werewolf, I changed half way into my lycan form. After hunting down my meal, a few bounty hunters found me and chased me into the forest. They were determined to kill me because of what I was, and I knew that my head was worth at least 100 kilos of gold. I managed to out run them, but in the end, they used silver swords to hurt me enough so that I could barely lift a paw, but I was still able to get a few meters away from them though.
"Before I could use my magic to heal my wounds, the bounty hunters had caught up with me, they would have eliminated me if Lord Aoshi hadn't jumped in and ended their lives instead. For that, I owe him my life," spoke Tomoe truthfully as she kept her eyes on the wooden table, not wanting to look at her audience's faces.
"So you're in debt to him…" Yumi said slowly as she thought about it for a minute.
"You're going to repay him by becoming his bride?" asked Shura a bit bewildered as she tried to find out why the lycan leader was giving up everything just to be with the girl before her.
"That's not exactly the best way to repay someone," said Yumi solemnly as Tomoe nodded at Shura's question.
Before anyone else could speak up, the wind outside began to howl and swirled into the white room, blowing out all the candles.
xXoXx
The conference room was dead silent as the other Elders stared at the immortal vampire, who had just declared that he had claimed the last of the sorcerer and sorceresses. No one moved as they tried to register what they had just heard, each one positive that their ears were playing tricks on them. They all knew that Battousai lived by the Old Code and couldn't quite comprehend how he could claim Kaoru, the last of the greatest enemies to all vampires, as his.
"M-milord…you're going to claim a Kamiya…as your m-m…." stuttered Okubo as he broke out of shock first.
Lord Battousai, the oldest of the Elders, raised a hand, stopping the other vampire from continuing.
"I never said I was claiming her as my mate, I just said that I was claiming her," reminded Battousai calmly, ignoring the sighs of relief from his fellow vampires.
"For a minute there, we all thought that the Prince of the Night had actually went against the Old Code and gotten with his enemy," said Enishi with a half mocking and half relieved grin to the older creature. He knew that if the most powerful of both species had gone against the rules then there would surely be an uprising from the other creatures.
Battousai waited for the other Elders to catch their breaths before continuing, "You all know that I've claimed the Kamiya girl, which means that she is forever mine and mine alone. No one else is to ever again take her blood, but me, and no one, absolutely no one is to do anything to her, but me. She's my possession. Understood?"
The other Elders could only nod at the vampire's dark and threatening tone that promised a painful death to anyone who went against his words.
"Now on to the other businesses at hand," said Battousai as if he hadn't announced that if anything happened to a mere mortal, the rest of them would have to suffer the consequences.
"Yes, as we were saying earlier about the demons…" began Okina, but the old lycan never got the chance to get anything out because a scream, followed by a thud from above, cut him off.
xXoXx
The 17-year-old sorceress stared at the black star above her as she laid on her futon, glazed sapphire eyes blinking slowly as her eye lids threatened to close.
"Shinta…Battousai," whispered Kaoru as she raised her right hand in the air and traced the star.
There are two types of stars that we creatures use as our symbol, which are the Star of Light and the Star of Darkness. No matter which one you use as your symbol, they both represent power, but not the same power. The White Star represents the power of kindness and strength within the person's soul and spirit, whereas the Black Star signifies the power of hatred and greed within one's mind and heart. You are the only one that can choose which one that you wish to follow, Kaoru. No one can choose for you, for you are your own being.
Kaoru closed her eyes as a single tear rolled down the side of her face and landed in her lavender locks that seemed to have been eaten by the shadows around her. She ignored the deadly song of the weapons to her right and tried her best to shut out the voices plaguing her mind. The voices of the past were returning and with each word she could feel her very soul being torn apart from the pain that came with the memories.
That's not how you use Shield Reflection, Kaoru. You have to place your hands horizontally in front of you and then raise them up so that they make a perfect 45 degree angle. That's right! Now, slowly chant the words within your mind so that your enemies won't know what type of defense you're making. Be careful not to…move your hands too high or your magic will backfire. Are you okay, Kaoru?
Tears rolled down her face as the words became louder and the images more vivid than ever.
Stifling a sob, she turned her head from the ceiling and stared at the weapons that were propped up against the wall.
Sucking in a gulp of air, she tried desperately to calm her beating heart as she saw the black aura of the four Dark Diamond Weapons from Hell pulsate. Their power seemed to grow darker with each passing moment and she could feel the atmosphere around her thicken from the power of the swords.
Forcing herself to sit up straight, she moved the blankets off of herself and stumbled a bit when she tried to stand.
Trying to control herself from swaying as she walked toward the weapons, Kaoru chanted the same words that she had used to summon the sakabatou to reveal itself to her near Silver River. The same dark glow from before started to engulf her form, and in the process, the swords began pulse in response to her spell. She couldn't understand why she was doing this, it seemed almost as if the weapons were calling her to them, to come closer to the darkness in which they ruled.
As she got within a hand's length of four swords, she stopped chanting and fell down onto her knees before the weapons that had become stone still.
Moving her ocean depths to the black star on the hilt of Battousai's katana, Kaoru lifted her right hand and extending her fingers, barely brushing the black star.
Ignoring the pain that shot up her arm from the contact, she closed her eyes and moved her fingers so that they caressed the katana's sheath in a single sweep downward.
Cheep! Cheep!
Kaoru jumped at the sound and upon looking past the katana, she gasped as she realized that the other three weapons had fallen through the wall. By calling the weapons, she had unleashed their inner power to such an extent that they were able to break through Battousai's dark barrier and rip through the thin rice paper to the outside.
Looking down at the source of the previous sound, she could only smile weakly as she saw a purple bird fluttering its wings wildly, trying its best to escape from under the sakabatou, which had fallen through the barrier with the other two weapons.
Lifting the sakabatou off of the bird and placing it to the side, she picked up the purple bird with both hands and brought it to her face.
Clang!
Kaoru flinched when she heard the katana fall from the lack of support, which she had given it earlier. It was the only reason why it hadn't fall over like the others earlier.
Looking back down at the injured bird, she stroked the bird's head with her right forefinger, her left hand holding the small creature protectively.
"I'm sorry, I forgot that the weapons didn't have anything to support themselves from falling over," Kaoru apologized with a weak smile.
She could only laugh nervously as she saw the annoyed look the bird was giving her.
"Here, I'll help you," said Kaoru as she felt guilt wash over her for being the cause of the bird getting injured.
Placing her index finger on the bird's beak, Kaoru closed her eyes and called upon her magic to heal the bird's wounded wings. Her left hand held onto the small animal as it began to squirm around in panic from the blue glow that was coming out of her finger. She couldn't help but smile when she opened her eyes and saw the purple creature relax into her hold as the calm feeling from her magic rushed through the bird's body.
"You'll be alright now," whispered Kaoru as she began to pet the bird's feathery back.
Just as she was about to place the bird back down on the ground so it could fly away again, she paused when the screeching sound of a scream reached her ears.
The bird within her hands began to squawk around frantically, but before she could do anything the purple bird had flown out of her hands and up toward the source of the scream.
Staring after it in confusion, Kaoru looked down at the ground and realized that the swords were once again pulsating. She suddenly realized that the black barrier was forming around the hole, which led outside to the Aoiya. Her mind finally registered that the hole led to the outside world and that if stepped through it she could easily escape into the night. But then again, Battousai would only have to snap his fingers and he'd have her right in front of him again no matter how far she ran away from him. She cringed at the mere thought of what he'd do after he caught her again.
'It's either now or never….' Kaoru thought as she stared at the hole that was slowly closing.
xXoXx
"Megumi…where are you?" asked Misao to herself as she rubbed her beak against her green feathers.
Her emerald eyes scanned the streets of Kyoto and was glad that the Aoiya's rooftop was taller than most of the other buildings, she could easily tell if anyone else was approaching her. As her eyes roamed the area, she began to flutter her wings as she saw two dark figures suddenly appear on the rooftop of the building to the right of the Aoiya. She began to chirp loudly as the two figures jumped over to the Aoiya.
Lifting her wings, she flew to the sky as she watched the two shadows look down over the edge and toward a certain room that she herself had been looking at earlier.
A shiver suddenly went down her spine as she felt another darker aura coming from below.
Flying to the back of the Aoiya, her eyes turned into saucers as she saw a huge hole in the wall of the infamous lycan restaurant.
Turning around to see if the other creatures sensed the dark ki emitting from the room below as well, she flew toward the being that was heading down toward Tomoe's window. But when she looked back in the direction of the dark ki, she squawked as she realized that the other figure was heading toward the source of the hole.
'Calm down, Misao! Which one should you follow: the guy going after Tomoe or the guy going toward that dark source of power?' Misao thought as she began to flutter her wings faster out of terror and confusion on what she should do.
Before she could decide, the dreadful sound of a scream ripped through the night air like a knife.
Squalling, Misao headed toward the source of the cry, which just happened to be in the direction of Tomoe's bedroom.
xXoXx
Aoshi stood up at once when he saw that his twin kodachi were glowing black and quickly caught the two weapons as they began to fall from their wooden stands, which had dissolved from their dark immense power.
"What the..." began Aoshi as he looked at the two weapons in his hands.
Unexpectedly, the shoji door to Aoshi's room snapped open to reveal a large gasping lycan.
"What is it, Kuro?" demanded Aoshi as he turned to face his fellow Oniwanbanshuu member.
"Lord Aoshi! There was a scream coming from Lady Yukishiro's room and then there was a thud!" informed Kuro as he bowed to his leader out of respect.
"Why did you come here? You should have gone to her first!" snapped Aoshi angrily as he pushed passed the larger man and made a move to go up to Tomoe's room, but was stopped by Shikijou, Beshimi, Hyottoko, and Hannya, who were all standing right outside his room.
"My Lord, I don't think that you should go upstairs," advised Hannya seriously.
"What do you mean? Get out of the way!" commanded Aoshi as he moved to get passed them, but Kuro placed a hand on his shoulder from behind.
"Lord Shishio and Lord Soujiro are upstairs as we speak and they're not happy with you," said Beshimi solemnly.
"What about Tomoe?" Aoshi asked as he looked at the five for an answer after he shrugged Kuro's hand from his shoulder.
His breathing suddenly became rigid and uneven when he wasn't answered.
Shaking his head in disbelief, he pushed right through the four werewolves and raced upstairs toward his future mate's room. Upon reaching the top, he felt his heart sink as he saw Okon and Omasu hugging each other in comfort near the stairs.
"Okashira," said Okon with a bow when she saw their leader, wiping the tears out of her eyes frantically with the sleeves of her kimono.
Omasu did the same and stifled a sob when she looked up at her Lord's eyes.
"What happened?" demanded Aoshi as he took Omasu by the shoulders and shook her.
The female lycan only gulped and looked towards Tomoe's room.
Biting her lower lip, she turned back to Aoshi with tear filled eyes.
Moving the girl aside, Aoshi took a step closer to his future wife's room.
Approaching the open shoji door with slow steady steps, the werewolf entered the white room and could feel his heart race as he saw the scene before him.
xXoXx
The room was completely silent as the Elders arrived inside the white room that was stained with streaks of red all along the walls. No one was found in the room when the creatures snapped open the shoji door and barged in. They stood completely still and silent as they saw the massacre in front of them.
"No…. This can't be…no," whispered Soujiro as he walked into the center of the room first and knelt down to inspect the purple cloth that was found in the center of room, where the sound of a falling body was heard earlier.
With a quivering hand, the second oldest vampire in the world picked up the piece of violet cloth, which was soaked in blood, from the ground. Slowly, his hands clenched into fists as the scent of his beloved's blood reached his nose and threatened to choke him with its intoxicating aroma.
"Yumi!" roared Shishio as he raised his fisted hands into the air and dropped to his knees as the unmistakable scent of his mate flooded his senses.
"This couldn't have happened…. How did someone get in here without any of us, the oldest of all the creatures in the world, knowing that they entered the building?" asked Yamagata, confused as to how his senses could have been so weak that he couldn't even sense a stranger entering the restaurant.
The others stared at the oldest of the group expectantly, but narrowed their eyes when they realized that he wasn't paying attention to them, but to something else.
"I guess that if the great Prince of the Night couldn't sense the intruder, then the kidnapper must have been quite the…" began Enishi but stopped when Battousai harshly cut in.
"Shut the hell up, Enishi!" snapped Battousai as he walked over to the window and focused all of his senses on something that the others couldn't recognize.
Just as Enishi was about to retort, the vampire jumped out of the window, leaving a group of creatures confused and bewildered at the events that had just occurred right under their noses.
"What are you all standing here for? Let's get out there and find them!" ordered Shishio as he stood up and walked over to the open window, but before he could jump out his keen sense of smell picked up the scent of a certain lycan leader.
Turning around, he glared at the lycan that stood near the doorway with his deadly ruby eyes.
Feeling the tension in the room, the other Elders at the door stepped into the room and moved aside so that there was a pathway from Shishio to Aoshi.
"This is your fault," hissed Shishio maliciously as he bared his fangs at the Okashira.
"How is it my fault?" snapped back Aoshi angrily as he narrowed his eyes at the older creature. He was enraged that the vampire would blame him for the kidnaping of the three women, when his own future mate was captured as well. This was unjust!
"You son of a bitch!" snapped a voice filled with nothing more than pure hatred as a flash of blue hurled itself toward Aoshi.
In the midst of shock, the lycan could only stare wide-eyed as a fist came in contact with his jaw line. He could only groan in pain as his body fell lifelessly to the floor and could feel the blood spurt out of his mouth from the impact of the punch.
"Okashira!" shouted Okon as she rushed over to Aoshi at the same time that Amakusa and Katsura pulled off the Elder from Aoshi's body.
"What the hell got into you, Soujiro?" demanded Amakusa when Soujiro kept struggling to get out of their hold and back at Aoshi.
"If it wasn't for the bastard's whore then Shura wouldn't be injured!" growled Soujiro malevolently, desperately trying to get out of the others' holds.
"Tomoe…isn't a whore! She didn't do anything wrong," defended Aoshi as he stood up and pushed away Okon and Omasu's help. He refused to seem weak in front of these excessive fiends.
"She existed! That's what she did wrong! I knew she was nothing but trouble from the start," spat Soujiro darkly as he glared at Aoshi, his once happy face twisting into a snarl.
The younger sibling of the immortal vampire unexpectedly stopped his rage and smoothly shrugged off the other two creatures that were holding him back.
Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath before turning to face Aoshi with the deadliest set of eyes he could muster.
The other Elders slowly began moving away from the infamous Tenken, for they all knew that when the vampire got angry, no one would be able to handle the receiving end of his fury.
"If my Shura doesn't make it back, I will kill you myself, Shinomori," promised Soujiro, his voice filled with the deepest loathing and rage that the others had ever heard from him.
In a blink of an eye, Soujiro vanished from the room without a trace.
"I'll hunt you down in Hell if Yumi makes it there before I do," swore Shishio as he too disappeared from sight.
An eerie quiet fell upon the occupants of the room and threatened to suffocate them all if it weren't for the scream of a dying being that unnaturally broke the dreadful silence within the white room.