Hm, has the first shock worn off?
Yes?
Okay, here's the next one... :)
Walking into the gigantic place that shamed Sohryu's palace, he passed busy servants of which none tried to stop him. There were a few hushed whispers and he felt something inside of him stir as it met the aura of the master of this place. Tsuzuki clamped down on it.
But memories came back.
A flawless hand reached out, the richly decorated sleeve of the exquisite robe sliding over pale skin, and Tsuzuki tried to shy away, but he was paralyzed.
Cool fingers touched his forehead -
- and the world exploded.
The darkness within him, the power he had always harbored even when he was still alive, soared, free and unbound. It flooded his mind, pulled his consciousness with it, and Tsuzuki screamed.
He pushed the emotions away, gritting his teeth against the churning darkness that was his heritage.
:Tsuzuki: Touda whispered and touched him gently, reining in the first tendrils of fury.
Tsuzuki inhaled sharply, stopping in front of the doors that led into the main chamber.
:It'll be fine: the fire shikigami murmured, stroking over his presence and Tsuzuki took an immense strength from him.
:I doubt it: the shinigami answered and pushed open the doors.
The main room was held in luxurious wood, gilded walls, tapestries and paintings. Nothing too overwhelming, but still a mark of power and wealth. Tsuzuki ignored everything, his eyes roaming around the room which was mostly dark. The shadows were of the deepest black and he felt the presence of the entity close by.
"Tsuzuki," a voice came out of nowhere, echoing all around him. "Welcome again."
Tsuzuki's eyes narrowed as a shadow coalesced into the richly dressed figure of his lord. He didn't so much as show respect in the smallest way, just coldly met the black eyes. A smile crossed Enma's lips.
"Ah, I see. I should have known you would come here only for that, my shinigami."
The power twitched at the too sweat words, at the implications. Touda stroked over the core of steel, over the blackness he shared with his master, and Tsuzuki forced himself to breathe slowly.
"He doesn't deserve this!" Tsuzuki stated, readying himself for whatever might come.
"Oh?"
"You drove him into this rage of madness. Whatever crimes he committed, there is an end to punishment. He must have served his sentence by now!"
Enma-Daiou looked at him, the black eyes cold and calculating. "I did not drive him anywhere, Tsuzuki Asato. I stopped him, as I did before. The human mind, even one merged with a demon, will be overwhelmed from time to time and needs a guiding hand."
A guiding hand? Enma-Daiou had knocked Ryu out, taken the accumulation of demonic power and dissipated it. That was all. He had let this go on as far as it had, then just walked in and snapped his fingers!
"Of course I waited," the entity answered his thoughts, making Tsuzuki aware of how open he was to this being.
"Stop invading my thoughts!"
The power sizzled and Touda shifted uncomfortably.
Enma tilted his head. "I can do as I please, Tsuzuki. All of you are my servants."
"You have no right to..."
Something slammed into him, pushed him back against the wall, and he looked into the dark eyes of the Lord of Meifu, and he saw more in there than he ever wanted to. He saw the depth of the universe, the end of the world, the birth of a new one, the power to give life and to take it.
"I, Tsuzuki, have every right. I am Enma-Daiou and you will not command me."
And the darkness screamed to the surface, tearing out of Touda's hold, pushing the fire serpent back along the bond and into his own mind. Tsuzuki snarled and batted the hand away, disgusted by the simple touch. Power wafted around him, hissed and snapped and growled, ready to strike.
Enma-Daiou had moved back, chuckling, hands at his side.
"Do you challenge me, Tsuzuki Asato?"
"Whatever it takes!"
"To do what? Reverse a life time sentence?"
"Just give him a chance!"
"A chance for what? Happiness?" Enma-Daiou tsked. "Happiness is for other people, my dear Tsuzuki."
Hearing the words Ryu had uttered so forlornly himself was the last straw that broke the camel's back. Tsuzuki gave a yell of anger and the power howled around him, lifting the coat like black wings behind him, ruffling his hair, the violet eyes glowing with a fire of their demon heritage.
"Bastard!" Tsuzuki yelled. "You love to see him in pain!"
"No. I do not delight in another's pain like a creature of Hell, but he serves the sentence I placed on him." Enma tilted his head. "What would you do, Tsuzuki? Would you pardon such a crime?"
Tsuzuki was breathing hard, the pressure increasing, the loss of control imminent. Touda's attempts to rein him back in were like rain trying to cool a volcanic outbreak.
"Would you?" Enma teased. "Do you even know what he did?"
He raised a hand and before Tsuzuki could react, a small amount of power collected and briefly touched him. Nausea spread and he felt the reaction of his own darkness to the unwanted touch. It screamed, it lashed out at the being that had dared come so close.
And then the memories came. Images from another one's life, memories of a time he had never lived, of an existence that wasn't his own, and he cried out at the pressure that increased in his head.
"No! Stop!"
"You never knew the true extent of his crimes, did you?" Enma-Daiou whispered, the voice right behind him.
Tsuzuki yelled and lashed out once more, but he couldn't hit the highest of beings. He whimpered as he witnessed Ryu's life through Ryu's eyes, through his memories. He groaned as he felt the horror and despair, the pain of his new existence, and he saw the deal.
"You, with your wishes and dreams of a perfect world, would you pardon this man?" Enma wanted to know. "Oh, I forgot, you already pushed a pardon for another criminal. A mass murderer."
And Tsuzuki attacked. Half blind from the agony in his head, the voice driving him beyond reason, he flung what he had forward - only to have something yank him back with such force he cried out in pain as his mind seemed to be split in two, as he was forced down, on his knees, as something towered over him, holding him in a tight grasp that was like claws digging into his skin.
:Tsuzuki, no: Touda roared.
There was a displacement of magical energy and Tsuzuki was suddenly held in a very firm, physical embrace, locking his arms at his sides, and a harsh voice whispered,
"Don't. Tsuzuki, no. You can't."
"Let. Me. Go," he snarled at his shikigami, trying to free himself from an iron hold.
"No."
"That's an order, Touda! Let me go!"
The hold tightened and Tsuzuki felt Touda's own energy wrap itself tightly around the darkness, which was fighting back, biting and clawing and ripping at the shields.
Touda winced a little, but he wouldn't let him go.
"I can't obey you, master," the serpent shikigami murmured, his mouth next to his ear, his voice soft and intense. "Tsuzuki... please... don't let him do this to you. Don't let him manipulate you."
Tsuzuki trembled, tightly locked in his shikigami's hold, his soul burning with the desire to pay back all he had suffered because of this being.
Enma-Daiou just met his gaze calmly.
Touda rested his head against Tsuzuki's neck. "Please," he whispered, his breath hot against Tsuzuki's skin. "Please!"
He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply.
"Tsuzuki," the Lord of Hades could be heard. "In my shoes, you would grant him his freedom?"
"He doesn't deserve this!" Tsuzuki growled, his power still sizzling at his finger tips.
Touda hadn't let go of him, enveloping him in his aura, stroking over the sharp blades of his master's power, shivering every now and then. Tsuzuki was faintly aware that he was hurting his shikigami, that what Touda was doing was to help, but the anger and fury lashed out at whatever it could find. Right now it was the one person able to truly stop him. Touda was ready to do everything, even cut into his own soul, to do so.
"He deserves everything I decide to do to him."
"No! All you want is for him to suffer, but he has for thousands of years!"
Darkness scorched over Touda's shield, seeking a way out, and the shikigami instinctively held on again, suppressing a moan.
:Tsuzuki: came the weak whisper, the plea. :Don't let him taunt you. He wants to rile you into attacking him:
:Let him...:
:No:
"No crime can go unpunished, Tsuzuki. You know that. It's my choice what to do with a soul." Enma smiled again.
"Then at least give him a little leniency! He deserves happiness."
The Lord of Hades looked at him, tilting his head, the same calculating look in his eyes again as before.
"I already grant him freedom by allowing the shikigami's presence. I could just as well remove him from my realm."
Tsuzuki snarled, protectiveness rising. Touda shuddered and for a brief moment his hold loosened, but he collected himself, holding back to be ready should Tsuzuki unleash what curled inside him, whispering through his every molecule.
"If you dare touch Rikugo..."
"I would only restrict his visits. He would no longer be able to reach the Palace of Candles."
"You're a cold-hearted bastard," the shinigami growled.
"I am Enma-Daiou. One day you'll be in the same position and you will see that this comes with the job description."
Tsuzuki froze, his breath catching in his lungs. "W-what...?"
For a moment the power dropped and Touda's golden eyes snapped open, blinking at the Lord of Hades from behind the tousled head. He echoed Tsuzuki's stammer.
"It's too soon now, Tsuzuki Asato, but you will be me one day. Completely."
"I will never be like you!" Tsuzuki screamed. "I still feel!"
"And those emotions make you both strong and vulnerable. Tell me, Asato... what is it worth to you that I give Ryu a measure of freedom?"
Tsuzuki felt sick at the personal address, the sweet voice. He clenched his hands into fists, felt Touda's caress, his silent pleas to keep himself in check.
"What do you mean by freedom?"
"I will allow him to leave the Palace, but only to go to GensouKai. Ryu will be able to see his lover. Isn't that what you want?"
Yes, it was what he wanted. Ryu deserved this. Even now, knowing everything, Tsuzuki was still convinced of it.
"All I ask is for someone to take his place while he is gone, Enma went on. He is the master of the Palace of Candles. Such a place cannot go without supervision, without a caretaker. Would you be willing to take his place? Would you remain in his place should he never return?"
"He will return!" Tsuzuki stated firmly.
"Are you willing to bet your life as a shinigami on it?" Suddenly Enma-Daiou was right in front of him. "Are you willing to take his place for eternity should he split?"
Tsuzuki didn't flinch, didn't even twitch a muscle. He believed in Ryu. The Count would want to be with Rikugo, but he would never abandon the Palace.
"He won't leave," he repeated.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"So you will take his place."
No wince, no hesitation, no flinching. "Yes."
:Tsuzuki:
:Shut up:
Touda did, but he was sending his disbelief, his confusion.
Enma-Daiou chuckled. "So be it. I will allow him to leave the Palace and Meifu, but for no longer than forty-eight hours in a row. Should he not return by the end of the assigned time, you will become the master of the Palace of Candles, Tsuzuki Asato."
He nodded and straightened, locking his powers down again.
:Let go: he told his shikigami coldly, and Touda obeyed.
The fire serpent met the dark eyes of the highest entity in Meifu, sending his own message. Should Tsuzuki tell him to, he would protect this master even against the likes of Enma-Daiou. Enma just smiled coldly, then turned and his form melted into the shadows.
Tsuzuki exhaled sharply, tremors racing through his body as everything that had just happened set in.
He had challenged Enma-Daiou...
He had...
Gods!
And he had survived, making a deal for Ryu in the process.
He walked out of the palace like in a trance, followed by Touda who was utterly silent. Only when they were a good distance from the building did the fire serpent speak up.
"Tsuzuki?"
"Hm?"
"You know what you just did?"
"Challenge Enma-Daiou you mean? Yes." He smiled slightly, hands stuffed in his pockets, trying to suppress a shiver.
"I meant making a deal that has you on the losing end. What were you thinking?" Touda demanded, stopping him with a sharp jerk at his upper arm.
Tsuzuki met the whirling golden eyes calmly. "I know what I'm doing, Touda."
"Oh really? You sold yourself to Enma-Daiou! Should the Count decide not to return, you'll be stuck as his replacement!"
He smiled slightly. :You don't understand, hm: he sent.
:No, I don't: Touda raged. :You let him manipulate you:
Tsuzuki reached out and cupped his shikigami's face. A thumb stroked over the high cheekbone.
:Actually, this time it was the other way around, Touda. Don't worry. I won't be stuck as the new master of the Candles. I trust Ryu. Even if he should miss the appointed time, I doubt Enma will pass his sentence on to me.:
:W-what:
Another smile. :Didn't you hear him? Don't you think he has plans with me... with us? He freed my power, bonded me to you as my control mechanism and balance, and he said I will be in his place one day. I doubt I can be part of his plans if I'm stuck in a building full of candles for the rest of Time.:
:You're waging a lot on that assumption, Tsuzuki: Touda murmured, catching the hand and holding it. :He might be playing you:
:He always is and I no longer play by his rules:
°
"You're cultivating yourself your own death," Muraki simply said, smiling coldly. "He will kill you if you continue like this."
"Life without risk loses its appeal. After a few thousand years you need a little change," the Lord of Hades replied casually.
"Liar."
Power flared, but Muraki stood his ground. For the past decade he had gotten to know the manipulative creature Enma-Daiou was, and he knew his games.
"You thought you could trigger him with the release of his demonic power, by giving him Touda, but the shikigami didn't play along. He protects his master fiercely, tames the beast he is, the ruthlessness of the demonic strength Tsuzuki has. Your experiment failed."
"No, it's running just fine." Enma placed a finger under Muraki's chin and smiled seductively. "What makes you think I didn't want it to go like this?"
Muraki's laughed coldly. "Maybe because I still live? What am I by now? Plan C?"
The finger was removed and Enma played with a strand of fine, silvery hair. "You are what your family made of you Muraki Kazutaka. A creature of darkness, life that should not have been born, my servant, my pawn, and still so expendable."
"Ah, yes, the threats. By now I know them all." He moved back a step and Enma's fingers slipped out of his hair. "Still you keep me. For entertainment."
Black eyes burned into silver ones and Muraki stood his ground as the powerful, immortal being pushed him against the wall, deceptively slender hands holding him like a vice. Compared to this man, he was weak. His powers, given to him by genetic experiments run by his own family, were nothing. But he was also secure in the knowledge that he was still part of Enma's plan. Enma needed him. He was his back-up plan.
So he smiled tauntingly.
Enma's smile was cold and calculating in return. There was no warmth, no compassion. That didn't come with the job description as the Lord of Hades, the ruler of the underworld.
"Yes, you still have your use, Muraki," the handsome being murmured and ran manicured fingernails over the soft, white skin of Muraki's neck. "You serve me. I made you, I gave you purpose, I can easily take it away should I tire of you."
Muraki knew what would come and he would enjoy it like he did so many things in his twisted life. An outsider might call it rape, but for him it was consensual. He might be unable to deny Enma his wishes, but he wanted it just as badly. Enma liked to play.
Sometimes Muraki wondered if he had rubbed off on the eternal being or if Enma had manipulated his mind just a little more when he had been taken into his service.
A harsh mouth covered his, demanding entry, and he surrendered to the assault, feeling that mouth ravage his own, then trail little biting kisses down his neck. There was no love, just lust. Primal lust and domination. Muraki surrendered to the much more powerful creature and he took what was given.
The night was long. The day even more so. Eternity in the underworld was... never-ending. He was Enma's pawn against Tsuzuki and the other shinigami, he was his plaything, he was his back-up plan. And he would enjoy each and ever day, whatever he was given, to the fullest.
Enma-Daiou had given him life and purpose, he had made him his tool, and Muraki followed his own agenda while fulfilling the high being's plans.
tbc...