Author's notes: About the time table… I think that I've made it pretty hard to understand but the fic-wise it's only been a day since Ayame got lost to the underground tunnels…should I mention more clearly?
Here it is the chapter eleven….try to enjoy….even though the language isn't all that good...
- Breakdowns -
Rikimaru sat wide awake on the edge of fountain middle in the back yard of Gohda mansion, even though the morning was still young and the sun wasn't even up. The darkness painted the garden in the different shades of grey; it was like all of the colour would have been drained from the world. Thick silvery mist swirled above the ground hiding the dead leaves that covered the ground. The only sound was the sound of water falling from fountain to the pool below.
He hadn't been able to sleep much last night… Not when his mind kept playing Emi's news in his mind over and over again.
flash back
Worn out looking Tatsumaru had barged into his rooms without a warning ordering him to Emi's rooms immediately. He hadn't given a chance to change his clothes let alone ask questions.
When they had finally reached Emi's rooms the witch had greeted them with serious expression and an immediate question of young Matsunoshin's whereabouts. She had looked so worried and tired that Rikimaru hadn't understood the question until Tatsumaru had spoken.
"The young master has disappeared from his rooms without a trace… I had three guard placed to the doors of his rooms and they swear that nobody has come nor left from his rooms…but he isn't there anymore…we checked everywhere… I have failed." Tatsumaru had stammered nervously keeping his eyes fixed on the pattern of the luxurious velvet rug on the floor.
Emi had sighed deeply and mumbled something about how it might have meant to go that way, and let them step inside.
Rikimaru hadn't first recognized Sekiya as the short middle aged man had stood beside the unlit fireplace talking with worried looking Mimi and a young black haired girl in a silent voice. Rikimaru hadn't seen Sekiya in his human form in many decades. He looked very uninteresting with his nonchalant face and balding head, but behind those dim grey eyes lived a political mastermind that had counselled total four generations of Gohdas. The luxurious royal blue robes had betrayed his identity to Rikimaru along with the appearance of the young girl next to him.
The young girl had been easy to recognize as Lady Kiku, because of her striking resemblance to her brother Matsunoshin. They had the same dark eyes and same pale complexion. Lady Kiku had dressed in beautiful blood red Kimono with golden dragon pattern. And her long, raven black hair had looked like a liquid silk as it had hung freely. In her human form Lady Kiku looked nothing but a child in her early teens and Rikimaru had to remind himself a few times that despite her looks the girl was easily a half a century older than her little brother.
For the first time of his life Rikimaru wondered just why the throne had been passed to Matsunoshin, instead of passing it straight to the rightful ruler.
Rikimaru had greeted the pair by bowing deep.
"It's good to see you both safe and healthy; Lady Kiku and Master Sekiya." Tatsumaru had greeted, also bowing deeply. "This man here is my younger brother Rikimaru." Tatsumaru had said in a voice that had gained a bit of it's usual well hidden arrogance.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but tonight we can afford to spend time to the usual formalities." Emi had said in a soft voice full of determination.
"As you all now the Four Kingdoms are in the verge of war, despite of our best efforts. Today, less than an hour ago we got a message from the twins of the East. They have proposed a wager: They will stop waging war against us if we will give the throne to the true heir of Gohda and execute the false Lord publicly." Emi had announced in a voice without any emotions. "If they don't get our decision as the sun rises they'll launch a full-scale war against us."
A stunned silence had filled the room after her words and Rikimaru had heard his own heartbeats ringing in his ears. The kingdoms were in the verge of full-scale war? He had known nothing of it, but it explained Matsunoshin's desperate attempts of negotiating with the other rulers.
Sekiya had been the one to break the silence: "How do they know of Lady Kiku?" He had asked in an emotionless voice.
"We don't know, there is only a handful in this mansion who knows that they are serving the substitute ruler, and not the true heir. My guess is that we have an information leak, someone from the inside." Emi answered with equal lack of emotions.
"Yes it's most likely… any ideas of the identity of the betrayer?" Sekiya asked seemingly uninterested, like they would have talked about the weather.
"Only guesses, no real proofs or motives." Emi answered shortly.
"Yes, well we can leave that to later… now we have to make the decision. What should we do?" Sekiya asked shifting his gaze to Mimi.
The petite witch had been uncharacteristically quiet and serious the whole time, it was almost frightening. Meeting the counsel's shallow grey eyes with her blue ones she had let out a deep sigh.
"I think we should accept the proposal." She had answered in a quiet but steady voice.
"I hoped that I could have talked with my brother first, but the good of the nation comes before the good of the individual. I'm sure that the Matsunoshin will feel the same way. I say we accept the offer. Mimi had said in a voice that had held no sympathy for her little brother.
"I'm not too sure about it. It could be a trap..." Emi had begun unsurely
"It could be a trap, but the opportunity to prevent a war is too good to pass by. I agree with Mimi and Kiku." Tatsumaru had interrupted before the witch had had a chance to end her sentence.
"What about you Rikimaru?" Sekiya had asked shifting his surprisingly piercing gaze to Rikimaru. "I believe you are grown quite attached to young Matsunoshin."
"I would like to study other options first…" Rikimaru answered vaguely. This wasn't a place for one like him to speak his mind.
"Well then Kiku is ready to take the throne … The election was not unanimous, but the decision needs to be done." Sekiya had said in a silent voice. "Kiku and I return to our hide out to start the needed preparations. Tatsumaru, inform the twins of the east that we will accept." Sekiya ordered in a chilling voice. He was currently the highest in authority, as the Matsunoshin was absent and Kiku was yet to take the throne. Nobody dared to oppose his orders.
Tatsumaru and the others left the room and Rikimaru was about to follow them as Emi's voice stopped him.
"Rikimaru could you stay here a moment longer, there is something I need to speak with you." Emi had said and waited until the others had departed before continuing.
"Unfortunately I have more bad news.. Onikage the thousand-killer has escaped from the hidden dungeon and walks on the earth again." Emi had said, and even though her voice had been as emotionless as before Rikimaru could sense her tensing up.
Rikimaru had heard of Onikage before, but he had assumed the man be just an exaggerated legend. The thousand-killer was said to be immortal and he was supposed to wield powers of a hundred men. They said that Mitsuomi had needed a small army to capture him and despite those soldiers the thousand-killer had managed to give Lord Mitsuomi a fatal injury, before they had captured him.
"The thousand-killer he is one of the very few true vampires left… a demon among demons. He is practically immortal: ordinary weapons do no harm on him. The fiercest flames are nothing but irritation for him. He can't be suffocated or starved to death…basically the only way to beat him is to imprison him." Emi had said without a hint of sarcasm in her soft voice.
"He is a talented ruthless killer; without any moral codes and the worst thing is that he was trained by us. He was your father's best student, before he betrayed us." the witch paused there slightly as if she had considered her words carefully.
"He is free and after Mitsuomi's blood. Lady Kiku is in great danger, I want you to protect her like you did her brother before her. I believe your family treasure Izayoi is one of the legendary weapons, one of those nine swords created to kill an immortal. As you know Izayoi chooses it's wielders, currently you are the only person who can wield it. You must follow the heiress at all times until the thousand-killer will be captured again."
end of flash back
Emi's words rang in Rikimaru's ears as he turned to gaze to the east, with his only eye. The first rays of rising sun had appeared to the horizon, cutting an orange wound to the otherwise colourless world.
"They were already talking about Matsunoshin like he would be dead…" Rikimaru thought silently "…Is it way to try to escape from the guilt? It isn't right for Matsunoshin… they are the ones that will be stained in his blood in the end…and like me they will just have to accept it and bear the guilt of his death. They owe the kid at least as much."
A rustling of dead leaves, focused Rikimaru's attention to the enormous labyrinth on his left. Something was slowly approaching him from the misty maze that some unknown Gohda had built ages ago. Shifting his right hand to the hilt of Izayoi, Rikimaru concentrated to the steps behind the rustling of the leaves, trying to determine the distance between him and the one causing the noise.
"Have the spirits of forest managed to wander this far inside the barriers?" Rikimaru wondered as he unsheathed Izayoi and tried to pierce his gaze trough the silvery fog. A shadow of a man was barely visible trough the mist as Rikimaru lounged towards the approaching figure. The blade of his sword cut the misty air as the one eyed ninja dashed soundlessly across the field between the fountain and the labyrinth.
The blade stopped only an inch away from a throat of one of the younger soldiers. The boy froze in mid step, looking surprised and a bit scared.
"I have a message from mistress Emi…" The boy stuttered in a high-pitched voice as Rikimaru sheathed Izayoi. "The price of the wager will be paid in noon, seven days from now and some person named Sekiya has requested you to carry out the task ...And he wants his answer before the sunset. He and the heiress are coming over later this morning, and you need to be there to greet them. That's the message… hopefully you understand it better than I do…" The boy mumbled eyes nailed to sheath of Izayoi, like it would be a poisonous snake that could attack him any time.
"Am I alright with the thought of staining my hands in his blood, even for the greater good?" Rikimaru wondered frustratedly. "Why can't I just accept his death as a price we have to pay for the peace… losing one life for the sake of many isn't a bad bargain… so why does it feel so wrong?" Rikimaru thought burying his head to his hands. The messenger took this as a suggestion to leave and disappeared to the mist leaving Rikimaru alone to his grim thoughts.
The red velvet rug felt soft against Ayame's bare toes as she marched along the hallway towards the direction she presumed that the Emi's rooms were situated. Every hallway seemed the same to her, and there was nobody around to ask directions. The mansion was truly a puzzling work of architecture, like a giant maze indoors.
After wandering along the grave silent hallways for some time Ayame came to a pair of doors she recognized. The massive doors were sculptured of some dark metal and could have belonged to a set of any B - level horror movie.
Ayame had found her way to the front doors of the Gohda mansion.
Cursing under her breath Ayame was about to turn back as something inside her mind snapped. She was going back to the real world, to school and to her small, crappy apartment.
"Why wouldn't I leave this place?" She thought. "This place is just too creepy for me…I've had more near death experiences in the short period of time I've spent here than I have from my entire life out side this mansion… The murderous suit of armours, men who can blow thick stone walls to smithereens with willpower alone or the blood thirsty spirits… not to mention that there is an unknown male that wants to suck my blood, sleeping in my bed…It's just too much for me…"
Without giving the matter another thought, Ayame opened the heavy doors and dashed past the graves of the front yard towards the sturdy main-gate and the forest that lay beyond it.
Matsunoshin Gohda stumbled to his chambers trough the mirror in the corner of his bedroom. He was breathing in harp gasps and his wounds felt like they were burning, but he needed to meet with Emi, to discuss about the pale stranger he had met in the hallway, and he needed to use her cards again.
Matsunoshin leaned towards the mirror to study his reflection. His green and white haori was covered in fresh blood and his skin seemed lifelessly pale highlighting the black circles that were forming around his eyes. Cold sweat pearled on his forehead and even his unruly hair seemed to be soaked in blood. All in all he looked more like a walking corpse than a living.
"I really need a warm bath and clean clothes… I doubt I could walk even out of my study looking like this, without raising some unwanted questions… And my current situation is tough enough to handle as it is." He sighed inwardly wobbling towards the humble bathroom of his chambers.
"Why couldn't anything go the way I have planned it…?" Matsunoshin Gohda thought giving momentarily in to the self-pity that dwelled inside him, as he tore off the blood soaked haori jacket that had glued onto his torso. Kicking the filthy clothes under the bathtub out of the curious eyes, he filled the tub with steaming, warm water and climbed in.
The burning pain that he felt in the wound in his side, when he sank in the water was almost enough to knock him back to unconsciousness. It was probably infected, but for now he couldn't do much more to it than clean it carefully with water and soap. He would go to Tesshu to get it treated properly right after the meeting with Emi.
Half an hour later the Matsunoshin studied his reflection from the mirror again. He looked like different person now: fresh from the bath and dressed in to long, royal, black silk robes and his unruly hair tied back. All of his normal clothes were in the laundry at the moment apparently, or then one of his maids had sabotaged his wardrobe again. He still looked like he had just left his sickbed, but that could be taken care of.
Concentrating small flow of his supernatural powers Matsunoshin erased all marks of tiredness from his face magically. The magic would wear out in couple of hours and then the after effects would probably tear the half closed wounds wide open again, but that would be more than enough. Hiding his shaky hands to the ridiculously long sleeves of his robes, Matsunoshin Gohda was encountered by a vision that shook the foundations of his sanity.
Rikimaru was walking down the hallway with a young girl, that couldn't be any other than his sister Lady Kiku. She was hanging in Rikimaru's arm smiling widely and chatting something with her clear voice. It seemed that his time was up.
"There is nothing more for me to do than say my farewells and meet the reaper with a smile on my face." Gohda thought forcing a gentle smile on his face and walking to them.
"Honoured older sister, it's good to see you." He said bowing deep. "I presume that you have completed your training?" He asked and was surprised how sincere he sounded.
"Ah… Matsunoshin, please stand up." Lady Kiku ordered in a soft voice. Standing up, Matsunoshin studied the face of a sister he hadn't seen in 12 years. She was as beautiful as ever, with her pale complexion and doll-like face. Matsunoshin couldn't bring himself to look at Rikimaru. Hoping that the older man would mistake the avoiding as a part of politeness towards Kiku, Matsunoshin concentrated his whole attention to his sister who needed a moment to gather up her composure, before continuing.
"Yes my training is complete and I'm moving in the family mansion, as promised." She said in a confident voice. "And I have nominated Rikimaru as one of my bodyguards." There was no trace of emotion in her voice as she spoke to him, Matsunoshin noted.
"Why is she feeling uneasy around me?" He wondered before answering to her words. "That's good to hear. You made a good choice…He is our most talented ninja…. Please, take a good care of him." He said and hid the pain behind those words to an even wider smile. "But if you excuse me honoured sister, I must leave now. I have promised to meet Emi in her rooms in five minutes." He said politely and bowed down to hide his eyes.
"Good bye my beloved Rikimaru…please stay safe and lead a happy, long life… " Matsunoshin thought silently, unable to leave his final farewells to the man he would never see on this world again.
"You are dismissed." Lady Kiku ordered in a soft voice and Matsunoshin walked from the scene without looking back. He was going to do the right thing and accept his duty, for the first and last time in his life. That way he could meet his ancestors without shame on his soul.
Stepping from the main gate Ayame found her self sunken to knee length of snow. Everything around her was covered in white snow, but this couldn't be the forest known as Devil's play ground. There was not a single tree anywhere in her eyes reach, only snow.
"What the hell!" Ayame cursed trying to recognize her surroundings with out success.
Her school uniform wasn't enough to cover her from the icy mountain wind, and her bare feet where going numb already. She knew that needed to start moving but her feet didn't cooperate.
"Where on earth am I now? …or am I just losing my mind? That would explain it all …I'm crazy and nothing of this is really real…it's just a part of my imagination …just a part of my imagination… just a part of my imagination" Ayame repeated trying to make it disappear, but the snow and the cold refused go anywhere.
She had been able to ignore most of what had happened recently, by pushing it somewhere in the back of her mind but this was too much. Ayame felt desperation piling up inside her as she wobbled towards the direction where theschool should have been. After a while her steps became slower and slower as the cold started to stiffen her muscles. The cold burned her bare feet more with every taken step.
"I want to go back to where I belong!" Her mind screamed as the tears burned in her eyes blurring her vision. Losing her balance Ayame fell to the ground and sobbed. She didn't have enough strength to rise back up again and fight for her existence against Mother Nature.
Curling up as small as possible Ayame closed her eyes and gave up. This was the one fight she couldn't possibly win.
Emi was walking towards the library as she saw Matsunoshin Gohda. She wasn't sure what was more surprising: the fact that he had managed to return without a fuss or the fact that he was wearing his royal robes. His unruly hair was tied back and he looked more dignified than he had looked ever before.
"Emi, I was looking for you… Can I have a word with you? It seems that Lady Kiku has returned to the mansion, and I'm anxious to ask few questions." The boy said with a charming smile that could have fooled others.
"Sure…" Emi said and lead him one of the empty rooms in the hallway. "This room should stay empty for a few hours and I doubt that any one can break my charm of silence to eavesdrop us. What do you want to know?"
"How much time do I have left?" Gohda asked without a hesitation.
"You have one week." Emi said meeting his cold black eyes. He seemed to have killed all the emotions inside of him.
"Seven days are more than enough to settle the uncompleted matters. Have you decided how I'm going to die or can I decide it myself?" He asked and his voice was stoic, reminding her about the way Tatsumaru talked.
"You will be executed publicly, but the way is still undetermined." Emi said and explained the situation with the wager to him.
"So you decided to accept…?" Matsunoshin said more to himself than to her. "It was a good decision; I would have done the same." He continued flashing a little smile to her. "I have a huge favour to ask…could you make sure that nothing happens to the human girl I hired the other day… she is having enough troubles with the guy she shares a bond with. Oh, and please look after that guy too…I chained him to me and made him a part of the staff too. He is a bit rude and scary looking, but the spell bounds him to the human's will after I'm gone."
"I'll do my best." Emi promised to him.
"Good... and if it's not impossible could you tell me what is the official reason for my execution?" He asked fixing his cold dark eyes to her green ones.
"It is treason against honoured Lady Kiku." She answered with emotionless voice. "The usual punishment for treason is death by hanging or decapitation, but if you wish we can suggest something else." Emi continued and tore her gaze from his eyes. She couldn't meet the dead expression in his eyes.
"Hanging is fine… I just want to meet my ancestors in one piece." He said and faked another smile that didn't reach his cold eyes. "Now, if you'd come along with me to meet my honoured older sister. I think we might want to inform Sekiya about my return too." He continued ignoring the way she avoided his eyes.
"Yes… let's do that." Emi sighed and followed him from the room to the hallway.
-End of chapter eleven-