A/N: Character Commentary: I love my Kikyo. I really do. She's harsh, but bang on when it comes to character judgment. Don't worry, though, this story is not going to be Inuyasha/Kikyo. What is it? YOU SHALL SEE! But it's fairly obvious, considering my leanings in general. I made Hojo-kun way too smart at parts. Damn, this guy is so Raoul's long-lost brother.
I also provide an explanation of Erik's original torture chamber, from Leroux. Those of you familiar with the Webber version will be quite new to this, but I think you will not find Kikyo's description boring- it rather keeps this story in a horror genre. Also, those who saw the movie will begin to understand the scene with the mirrors far more.
A/N 2: Error concerning description of Inuyasha fixed. I am a moron. Note new summer pen-name, I am now Tarinyo's Forest, something which comes from an original story.Boldmeans flashback.

:Hojo:
I jumped down after that monster. That evil phantom! He would trouble Kagome-chan no longer!
I jumped only to find myself in a room of mirrors.
Mirrors, whirling, spinning, glittering. I slashed wildly with my sword. Come out here you monster! Come out you cowardly beast!
And all at once I was surrounded by phantoms in red, all identical, swinging around me, evading my sword, and ruining my concentration. I am here, Viscomte! they shouted. Or am I here? The voice had moved, from in front of me, to behind. Or here? Or here?
Why, every time he spoke, his voice jumped to another location!
Or here, perhaps? Or maybe I am not here at all, but with Kagome!
I was seized with a sudden terror for her. Kagome-chan! I left her upstairs! Stay away from her! She does not need your corruption!
How interesting, de Chagny, for I was about to say the same to you! His voice was above me now! From now on, stay away from what is mine!
What is that supposed to mean! I yelled.
A cold hand closed over my sword-hand and began pulling me in one direction. I could not see the person, but I knew who it was! Let go of me Inuyasha-san! I yelled. He was no longer in the mirrors- now hundreds of Kagome-chans ran around me, laughing.
And all a sudden, I was in an ordinary hallway, and the hand proved to be Kikyo-jo's. She stared at me. How do you know his name?
I looked at her in wonder. Miroku was right!
How do you know his name? Kikyo-jo repeated, tugging on my hand.
I have heard Kagome-chan say it, sometimes, when she was looking off into space.
She nodded in acceptance, and began to walk down the hallway without me. I realised she intended to go away. I shouted.
Kikyo-jo sighed wearily. What is it, Vicomte?
I strode up to her. You know something, Fukuru-dono. Don't bother denying it.
I would hardly waste my breath. Kikyo-jo said wryly. Still, I hardly find it your business.
He is trying to ensnare Kagome-chan in his dark world, a place where she has no place! I cried. He has tried to kill me, how is it not my business?
Kikyo-jo rounded on me. And how is it you know what is best for Kagome-chan, you upper class pig? Have you any idea what his world is like? Is Kagome-chan your wife, that you feel it is your business to decide where her place is?
She is my fiancee! I cried out. She wanted it to be a secret, but I find it one difficult to keep if it will prevent me from keeping her safe!
Kikyo-jo flinched. Perhaps I am mistaken about you, then. To be perfectly honest, ever since I first saw you, you struck me as a brainless selfish vain little man who had to enchant ladies with his looks alone, since there was absolutely nothing below the surface.
I was completely lost for words. My god, I had never been insulted in my life, and this woman was giving me the most severe verbal beating I had ever heard anyone get.
she continued, Kagome-chan is not stupid. If she chose you, you must have some redeeming qualities. I shall tell you his tale.
Thank you, Fukuru-dono!
Be good to Kagome-chan, Hojo-sama.

:KikyoÅFÅF
Several years ago, I had requested a small room a distance from my quarters, as a kind of , preferably near the lower floors. Sesshÿmaru-sama had given it to me, and not asked questions, something of which I was quite grateful of. These current fools- Naraku-san and Onigumo-san- would surely have pestered me greatly.
We we quite near this of mine at the moment, so I took Hojo-san in. I said brusquely. We can talk properly here.
The Viscount took a seat. Won't he hear us here? he asked nervously.
I replied. He will not linger around the torture chamber, I am sure there are things he has to occupy himself with.
Hojo-san frowned. The torture chamber?
I said shortly. The room which I just pulled you from.
How is that a torture chamber?
I raised an eyebrow. You cannot tell me you enjoyed yourself in there? Inuyasha's torture is a more sophisticated one than your ordinary rack or knife variety. Although I assure you, is is capable of physical torture, his favorite kind is what you were just privy to- mental torture. Believe me, de Chagny, you were fortunate indeed.
He spluttered.
Yes, fortunate. I snapped. Just because I had agreed to tell what I knew did not mean that I had to be polite- I still believe he is a fool. His ordinary torture chamber would have thrown you into a large and complicated maze of mirror-rooms with an iron tree and rope located in one. When the lights- and thus the heat- are turned on, you would be surrounded by a deep African forest- all an illusion of course. You would wander around for hours, until you were quite convinced it was real. Then, you would start hearing noises. Perhaps first you would hear the roar of a lion! Then maybe the hiss of a poisonous viper! I mentally smiled as Hojo-san jumped. Hmm, it was quite fun to make this man frightened. I would never have attempted such a childish whim on anyone else.
And are these things real? He said quickly, trying to regain his composure.
To you, perhaps. I said calmly. In reality, it is only simulated noises created by Him. But I can assure you, Hojo-sama, it would not be simulated to you, were you in His torture chamber. Oh, but that is not all. I added, as he opened his mouth to speak. Even after you had stopped hearing the noises, you would begin to hear them in your mind as well. It would seem you were on a constant run from beasts. At this point, you would be dying of thirst as well. However, no one ever brings water into the torture chamber. Mirages of water would appear before your eyes, but it is only mirrors, and you would not get a single drop to drink. Then, at last you would find the iron tree and rope. In exhaustion, and full of dread for what lay before you, totally convinced that there lay no way out but death, you would welcome the rope, and the blessed iron tree. You would hang yourself, in relief. The tree is iron, so that none are so heavy that they break the branch.
I could see I had succeeded in horrifying my audience. None have ever escaped the true torture chamber. I added, for effect.
Hojo-san swallowed hard, and sat up straight. Fukuru-dono, please. Your tale of his tortures convinces me even more that you must tell me what it is you know of him.
I sighed. I had been half hoping that he would forget. My instinct told me that the young Viscount would not understand. Nevertheless, if Kagome-chan had chosen him, perhaps he would. She had good judgment, I believed. Then again, we all make mistakes, do we not?
Please, Fukuru-dono. For all our sakes.
I took a deep breath and sat down. Very well. It was many years ago, and I was still a child. I was only fourteen, and training in the ballet dormitories...
...
Kikyo carefully tied her toe shoes up. She had just received them from the ballet mistress, and she was determined to make them last as long as possible.
Big sister!
The ballerina-in-training stood up, brushing her long black ponytail behind her. She turned around, to see her younger sister running towards her. Kikyo smiled, watching the seven year old hurtle over the boards proudly in her ballet-flats (1). Hello, Kaede-chan. What is it?
Oh, big sister, there's a gypsy fair in town, and Hijiri-san asked if the ballet could go, and Kuno-sensei said yes! Isn't it exciting?
Kikyo frowned. Kaede, I do not think gypsy fairs are the best thing for you. You may be frightened.
Little Kaede pouted. Kikyo-chaaaaan! If you can go, so can I! Besides, me and Mami-chan have seen a lot of gross things before! I like them! Except for boys. Kaede made a face to elaborate on exactly what she thought of them.
Well, perhaps I will not- Kikyo stopped herself. What was she saying? As much as she had a disapproval of her younger sister going to a gypsy fair, was it really worth it to sacrifice her own enjoyment to protect her sister's delicate sensibilities? And Kikyo has to admit, she was very curious about the gypsy fair.
Besides, she thought, Kaede said herself she liked gross things. Many small children do anyway. And Kuno-sensei knows what she is doing.
Very well. Kikyo said aloud. We'll all go.
Kaede cheered, and ran off. Wait until I tell Mami-chan!
Kikyo laughed lightly at her younger sister's antics. She couldn't think what had come over her, thinking of denying Kaede-chan the pleasure! They were merely gypsies, after all. What harm could they do?
As she practiced her plies and arabesques, the young teenager was unaware of the radical change that gypsy fair would make in her life.

Kikyo walked sedately with the other dancers of her age, as the youngest trainees ran in front, chasing monkeys and other such things, Kaede among them. Kikyo knew better than to worry about her sister- Kaede had gotten lost only twice previously, and on both occasions had found her way back before anyone knew she was missing.
The ballerina herself, although not running and shouting in amazement like the little ones, was looking around, doing her best to absorb as much as she could as well as she could.
There were a great many things to be observed, that night at the fair. Dim lights, and unknown players playing eerie music, all sorts of strange, disgusting, and even unsettling people abounded.
Fortunetellers, self proclaimed , came out from their tents to secure the weak-minded customers that believed they were getting their money's worth.
Kikyo watched as her friends eagerly fell prey to the propaganda, and all had their fortunes told. Kikyo abstained, not being as superstitious as the others. Masumi-chan was told that she would grow to lead the ballet, and be covered in diamonds. Kioko-chan was told that her dancing would entrance all who saw her, and that hundreds of men would come to pay her court. Rie-chan was told that, despite her father's unfortunate demise to come, her fame would soar to the heavens and never be forgotten.
Their laughs of triumph and delight rose to mix with the queer atmosphere, and the strange melodies, entwining until it almost seemed the ballet girls were possessed, entranced themselves by the exaggerated tales they had paid for.
Indeed, the place itself no longer seemed the simple- innocent, even- gypsy fair it had appeared to be from the outside. This camp had an aura all it's own, one that pulled you in and spun you about, and coaxed you that it really was nothing to be feared, and that all was a simple truth.
Isn't this a merry place! Kikyo heard Hideki-kun exclaim.
Merry'? There could hardly have been a less fitting adjective for the location in question!
Weddings were merry. Festivals of a normal kind were merry. The ballet dormitories after a good opera season were merry. But this, this dreadful place, was anything but merry. Ghastly was what Kikyo found it. Completely and utterly ghastly.
A coaxing voice drew Kikyo's attention away from her oblivious fellow students.
Come! Come inside! The voice seemed almost more of a hiss than a voice, a snake's tongue voice, not a friendly invite by any means. It turned more than just her head, the other children had heard it as well.
Come inside, and see the devil's child! A different voice this time, a commanding bark-hiss from a stocky, medium height gypsy.
Kikyo then noticed the banner on the tent that the gypsy was calling from. The words were painted in dripping blood red letters, in all capital letters for emphasis. THE DEVIL'S CHILD they said. Apparently this was a popular attraction.
Come inside! The gypsy commanded.
Almost against her will, Kikyo found herself walking, walking with the other girls and boys, even grown men and women!
Yes, yes, they wanted to see the devil's child!
The tent was large inside, larger than any of the other ones the girls had been in. And as she approached it, Kikyo saw why. There was a great cage in the center, an opposing thing, created to keep whatever horrors lay inside just there- inside.
In a terrified sort of fascination, Kikyo approached the cage with the others, all burdened with a fatal curiosity to see, to look upon the devil's child.
A boy sat inside the cage, a boy younger than her, Kikyo realised. Although he was covered in dirt and grime, if he was properly cleaned, he would be about five years old.
Kikyo did not understand what was so evil about this boy, what he had done to merit being dubbed the son of the devil. He wore only a soot-covered pair of trousers and- strangely enough, a bag over his head. The bag had two eye holes, and a pair of curiously amber eyes looked out sorrowfully from them. The boy turned away from the chattering, hissing audience, and picked up a stuffed monkey, even more worn than his pants, patched and hand-sown, with one eye missing. The child pulled two copper coins from a hole in the toy, and meticulously affixed them to the animals paws. He slowly began to make the two paws hit together, so they emitted a soft cling, cling noise.
The gypsy walked in, and roared when he saw what the boy was doing. He snatched away the monkey, and kicked the boy into the ground. The audience laughed as the gypsy whipped him. Kikyo couldn't look away, transfixed by the cruelty of the actions. The bag fell off mid-whipping, and she saw that he had a shoulder length crop of silver hair, falling around his face so as to hide it. Kikyo suddenly was filled with a need to see what lay beyond the hair. What was his face like? Why did he hide it under a bag?
The gypsy yanked the boy up by his hair. See the devil's child!
Kikyo's eyes widened, and yet she could not look away from the sight. The entire bottom half of the boy's face was covered with blood, making it red. There were additional black streaks running through it. And on the stop of his skull...oh dear. Two pointed ears, akin to horns.
All of the others screamed, and laughed themselves silly. They threw coins at the gypsy, paying him for capturing such an exotic beast. Some applauded him.
The little boy's eyes filled with tears, running down his face. Kikyo felt as if she was going to cry too, but years of ballet training held her back (2).
Hey look, he's crying! somebody yelled. The laughter started all over again. The boy swallowed hard, and the tears stopped flowing. An emotion Kikyo couldn't quite place was burning in his eyes. There was shame in them, but if one had to name the emotion, Kikyo would have called it hatred. Pure, utter hatred and contempt for them, the human race.
The gypsy dropped the boy with a laugh, and he crawled over to the bag, pulling it over his head and curling up into a ball.
As the others left, the coppers they threw still tinkling, Kikyo slowly drifted away. She pitied him, she really did, but there was nothing a ballet dancer in training could do to help.

Over by the cage, the gypsy was eagerly counting all the money he had made, and thinking of all the wine and other pleasures he could buy with it. He was unaware of the slow shadow of the boy coming up behind him with a rope.

At the entrance to the tent, Kikyo turned around for one last look.

The gypsy's neck suddenly jolted backwards, and he made choking noises, while clawing desperately at his throat- there was a rope around it, Kikyo realised.
Within seconds, the man collapsed, dead. The ballerina was frozen with horror, as she watched the boy she had thought harmless slowly stand up, monkey in hand, with the bag still over his head. His eyes stared at her through the bag. Nobody ever looked back before, they said. Nobody cared.
Kikyo heard the sounds over the gypsies outside, noticing that the dead man wasn't coming outside to call more customers.
She did not want them to catch the boy, she realised. Kikyo ran over to him. They will be coming after you for this. she said urgently. I know a place where you can hide. Come with me.
The little boy nodded, and they ran to the back flap of the tent just as the gypsies came in, and saw the dead body of their comrade.
Leaving the fair turned out to be easier than Kikyo had thought. She pulled her young counterpart through the streets of Pairs, dragging him until she found what she was looking for. Here, the Opera House!

Later, the dancers poured into the training rooms, chattering eagerly. They had not missed Kikyo. They did not, and would never, know of the secret she now kept, the secret of the young Phantom in the cellars.

:Kikyo:
I hid him there, below the opera house, and away from the world that had been so cruel to him. It was his playground, and now his artistic domain. He is a genius, Hojo-sama! I pleaded, silently praying for him to understand. Kagome is an important part of his world. If you take her away, he will crumble!
Hojo-san shook his head in what I suppose he believed to be sympathy. But clearly, Fukuru-dono, genius has turned to madness. He survived your leaving the opera for a short while, did he not?
I shook my head bitterly. You understand not, good de Chagny. I was more of a mother figure to him than anything else. When I left the opera to be married, he was ten years old. He was able to survive my absence, with little exception. I am now little but a messenger woman. If I were to leave again, no doubt my daughter would take my place. Kagome-chan is... an inspiration, a protégé. She is more than you think, to him. Please, do not take her away. If you truly love her, marry her, but let her stay in the opera.
I knew as I looked at the young Viscount, such a thing would be impossible. If he married her, the opera would never see her like again.

A/N: YES! This chapter is much longer than the others, you'll find. This is partially due to the fact that I realised (pardon me British spelling) that it was easier to read double spaced. So I will eventually be going back and double-spacing what isn't double spaced right now.
Nothing really to say, apart from- New Summary!
Well, review responses:
angel-tears-16: As you can see, this is definently longer.

Paprika012345: Thank you! I have never had anyone compliment me on my style, and I feel really flattered!

E.J.A Roberts: I did notice you were gone! Gah, I should have known better than to write specific people...somebody was bound to feel left out. Although I have sworn to remain silent about the pairing for once, I will say that I have never, and will never, write a Hojo/ANYONE. That boy needs an original character, one which I don't feel like writing. Ever. I will also say that I strongly oppose Raoul/Chrisine, and adore Erik/Christine, if that means anything...

animeangel: Yup!

Ami Kuroneko: Glad you asked, I actually do have an explanation! In English it is with a qu', but in French it is with a k', and so there is a double answer: 1) I was thinking about the French pronounciation, Maz-ka-rad. 2) The title has a double meaning, both the song, and the fact that Kagome is, in a way, hiding behind a mask of her own, unintentionally leading Hojo to believe she loves him, when she really does not (though that isn't exactly difficult, lol)

Hoshi-chan1: Thank you, almighy one-word reviewer! (cracks up spontaniously)

Cassandra: Actually, I myself love it too much to stop. Kinda an empty threat, last chapter. (rubs the back of her head nervously)

Amanda Trinh: Lol, I looked back and found it after you pointed it out. I cracked up at my stupidity, but will probably leave it in, as I find it amusing. The pairing: Not H/K. About what you suggested...check out either my bio, or the summaries of my other stories and methinks you shall be very very happy.

ABOUT KIKYO'S ROLE: If anyone reviews, and says: Why did you make Kikyo Inuyasha's past lover? I shall bash them with the almighty frying pan. I tried to make very clear that they never so much as kiss, and added in the age difference for empahasis. I think we can safely say the age difference between Inuyasha and Kagome is less than the difference between Kikyo and Inuyasha.

(1) I am not exactly sure what they are called, but I mean the ballet shoes that have regular toes, and usually have an elastic band keeping them on. Those were the type I performed ballet in when I was seven, anyway. coughs
(2) Those who have read the manga Swan' will know what I mean, here. When performing ballet, it is almost the same as acting. You cannot let your emotions show at any time, unless they are the characters emotions. If you are exited, and dancing an angry Coppelia, you have to look angry! But likewise, if your father just died, but you're dancing Aurora, you sure as heck can't show what you're really feeling.
Me likes reviews. Me wants you to review now. Me will work on next chapter faster if you review.

Yes, you.

And you too.