Yeah, I know, another one. Please read, enjoy and review!
Chapter Eight: Darkness
"Amber?" Solei walked through the halls. "AM-ber!" There was no response. "AMBER!" Stepping across the threshold of the room that had become Amber's, the hairs on the back of Solei's neck began to rise. A glint of black in the corner made her face contort into a sneer. "I should have known." A few steps brought her over to the piece of carved onyx. A loop and three trailing lines, a single vertical line intersecting the three. The symbol of evil. "Caelestis."
"Who?"
"My father." she answered without thinking.
"Your father?"
As the words hit her ears she flinched. "Yes."
Nuriko picked up on the exchange. "Didn't you say he was dead?"
"I said he left. Distinct difference."
Tasuki came skidding into the room. "Where's Amber?"
"Not here." Solei retorted.
"What's that?" He stepped over to the symbol and before Solei could stop him, he touched it and vanished in a flash of black light.
"Shit."
"Where are you going?" Nuriko asked.
"To get the dress." she answered through gritted teeth.
He looked at her in confusion. "The dress?"
"Yes the dress. You saw me in it one night over a month ago."
Realization dawned in Nuriko's eyes. "You looked good in it."
She paused in her stride and turned towards him, the exasperated smile on her face quickly faded to annoyance as she spoke. "I hate that dress."
"Oh…" Nuriko trailed into silence as she stalked away, unsure of what to say in response. She came back towards him a few minutes later, her hair loose and flowing over her shoulders in slightly damp curls, wearing the dress and carrying a drawstring pack that he presumed held her other clothes.
He looked at her in confusion. "Why are you wearing it if you hate it?" he asked. She set the pack down and turned her back towards him as she began rummaging through her pack.
"I'm wearing it because I need to talk to my father, and that requires formal attire. Let's just leave it at that." She pulled a double-bladed glaive out of the bag, immune to his stunned expression. She studied the blade, never looking away from its polished surface. "Coming with, Nakago, Nuriko?" she asked.
"Yes." Nakago's voice behind him made Nuriko jump sky-high before answering.
"Sure."
"Then please put these on." She tossed each of them an outfit out of the bag. They disappeared for a few minutes and when they returned they were garbed in dark clothing that would allow them to blend in with the inhabitants of this other world. She handed Nakago his sword and a whip, also from the bag, waiting until he had slid the sword through his sash to ask Nuriko what he preferred as a weapon. He pulled a pair of bracers from a bag in his room and put them on. He nodded when he was ready.
Solei spoke quickly, eager to conclude the meeting with her father. "Nakago, put your hand on my shoulder, Nuriko, on my other shoulder." They complied equally as fast.
"Why are we-"
She cut Nuriko off before he could ask. He would understand soon enough. "Silence. I need to concentrate." She began to sing softly as she twirled her glaive, her voice echoing impossibly through the hall. Nuriko's eyes widened in surprise as her blade caught on air and ripped a portal into another world. She walked through slowly and Nuriko and Nakago followed, careful to keep in contact with her. When they emerged they saw a dark world, and they understood her request to put on the black clothes. Everyone was dressed in black, and coloured sashes were tied around their waists. Nuriko looked at Solei and noticed a long, unsheathed sword hanging from a pure white sash. He looked at his own waist, not remembering if he wore one. He did not.
"Why am I not wearing a sash?" he asked.
"Because when you wear a sash, you must have a weapon to put in it. It's a warning that you carry at least one visible blade, and, depending on the colour, many hidden ones. You don't even carry a hidden one. Don't worry. A white sash is something well respected."
Another question came barreling out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Why are white sashes respected?"
She grinned. "It means I'm trained in the ways of this world, and there is no limit to how many blades I carry." He gave her a very confused look. She continued. "It also means I'm part of the GUILD."
Nuriko nodded. "Right. The guild. What's the guild?"
She sighed. "Not the guild, Nuriko, the GUILD. It…" she paused, trying to come up with the right words. "It means I'm not to be trifled with. You can remove your hands from my shoulders, gentlemen. Follow me and don't stray from the path. Don't ask why, Nuriko. The inhabitants here already doubt you." They followed her in stony silence. A pair of ebony doors rose up in front of them, and she raised her hands to it, her glaive tucked back in the now invisible pack she had handed to Nuriko.
"Enuma Elish." She whispered, and the doors opened before her.
"What does-"
Nakago answered Nuriko's question before he finished it. "When above."
Solei shot them a glare. "Silence. When before my father pretend you aren't there. If you even think about speaking, he will probably kill you, and then Suzaku and Seiryu will both be mad at me. It's bad enough already." Nuriko bit back his question and nodded in understanding. She turned back to the front, and strode confidently down the darkened corridor. Another set of identical ebony doors stood before them when she stopped.
A slightly stooped person walked over, his eyes void and empty. "Who are you, and why are you here?" he asked. Kamai seemed to ripple before them, and as they watched she began to change. Her ears lengthened and tapered to points, her hair grew down to her hips and turned a darker black than the doors. An expression of extreme pain crossed her features unseen by Nakago and Nuriko as dark feathered wings erupted from her back, dripping blood on the snowy marble. The page's eyes widened in fear, and he ran away as fast as his uneven legs could carry him. The doors swung open unbidden. Slowly, Kamai walked forward, pain now concealed expertly through many years of practice. Halfway down the carpet towards a throne hidden in shadows, she stopped, dropping to a knee and placing her right hand over her heart. Nakago and Nuriko followed suit instantly.
"RISE." The god's voice echoed throughout the chamber. "WHO APROACHES ME UNANNOUNCED?"
Kamai rose once he finished speaking and answered. "I am the thirteenth Dark Angel."
"KAMAI." She waited; he had more to say. "MY CHILD. WHO COMES WITH YOU? WHY ARE YOU HERE?"
"The Seiryu Seishi Nakago stands to my right, on my left stands Suzaku Seishi Nuriko." They bowed in turn and the god raised an eyebrow, intending to inquire as to her relationship with them later. She continued. "I am forced to formally request the release of Chi Shakaku from her human form. She is in danger and I cannot do my duty properly at this point unless she knows who she truly is. Let her have control once more, majesty." The god seemed taken aback by her request.
"WHERE IS CHI SHAKAKU? SHE MUST BE WITHIN MY RANGE IF I AM TO COMMIT TO HER RELEASE."
Solei licked her lips, and then continued on. "Shakaku is currently in the land of the four gods, a land well within your borders, my lord."
"WHAT IS SO PRESSING, ANGEL OF MINE?"
"I am…" She paused, embarrassed, "…blocked, from that realm. The cosmic powers do not want me to recreate the apocalypse that I made on Hian. I am, confined, highness."
"VERY WELL. IN WHICH OF THE FOUR REALMS IS SHE?"
Kamai closed her eyes in concentration, locating her friend. "Kutou, my lord." The god looked at Nakago in understanding.
"THEN THE TIME OF PROPHECY IS PAST. THE TIME OF ACTION ARRISES. LET THE TRUE FORM OF CHI SHAKAKU, DAUGHTER OF THE DEMON GOD AND THE GIRL OTHERWISE KNOWN AS AMBER, BE RELEASED TO HER CONTROL." He stared at Kamai, his flaming red eyes boring into her own. "AND MAY THE GODDESS PROTECTOR BE FREE TO ONCE MORE ROAM THE REALMS."
A small smile spread across her lips, and her eyes closed in sudden happiness. "Thank you, majesty." She whispered. "Thank you."
"SEISHI, RETURN TO THE REALM SHE CARRIED YOU FROM. I WOULD SPEAK WITH MY THIRTEENTH ANGEL FOR A TIME." The men bowed and disappeared in a flash of light.
Kamai looked slightly startled. "About what did you wish to speak, my lord?" The shadow dispersed from around the throne, and the echoes vanished from the room.
"You, daughter, and the two men who came with you. What are they like, Nakago and Nuriko?"
Anger flitted through her eyes. "Father…" her voice trailed off menacingly.
He laughed. "Your anger doesn't frighten me, child. I gave it to you. Now, tell me, which holds your favor?"
"Father, please, neither. Nakago is so mysterious and cold, and Nuriko is so open and honest and gentle. I have no say in the matter anyways. It is preordained and I cannot change it. Even if I DID prefer one over the other, it wouldn't matter."
The god grinned. "Proof that you care more for one of them. Which?" She focused on the ground, nails digging into her palms as she tried not to attack.
When she spoke, it was in an almost inaudible whisper. "Both." she said. "Now please, consider your fatherly duties done and let me leave."
He nodded, understanding her pain. "See Nakago about your back, he can heal your wounds." Her brows furrowed; his statement seemed to hold more than a fatherly concern for her health, and she vanished in a flash of silver light back towards Earth.
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MS