A/N: Yes, this is the moment you have all been waiting for! The part where Shuichi comes in! Woo hoo! I'm hungry… but I'll tend to my stomach later! For now, let's get started on chapter number 13 of Salvation in the Darkness! WOOT! And by the way… my head cold cleared up last week! I feel so GOOD right now! Thanks for yall's reviews!
"Sooo… how did you know that woman, Suguru?" The young man huddled in the back of the cell asked timidly. She had already left to report their information to the dark lord, and the aqua-haired teen was holding onto the bars silently, a lamenting aura hanging over his head. The boys didn't push any further, and decided to let their friend think through the recent events himself.
Suguru stared down at his feet, his mind befuddled with thoughts and questions without an answer. How did Noriko get here? Why was she here? What was the story behind her staying so young like them? And… why was she working for… him? This wasn't like the old mischievous gypsy that flaunted her acts around the streets the boy used to know. What had changed her so? Out of all the people in Arbaphem, he thought that… at least she would be able to make it.
'Grr… why am I thinking about her… and why did I think about her then? She can go on and ruin herself for all I care. Scandalous street performer…' The teen rubbed his nose and sniffed in an attempt to hide the water glazing over his eyes. 'Why?… Noriko?…'
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"AHHHH! It's a alien!" The one paranoid demon scooted farter back into the wall, pointing at the glowing face of the boy inside the capsule.
"ReLAX idiot. It's just a human." His companion informed him and tapped on the glass. "I'm pretty sure it isn't alive. And this structure… it's strong. I don't think anything could break out of this."
"A-are you sure?"
"Sigh… do you think I'm an idiot? I know a good seal when I see it! A monk must have done this or something."
"But why?" He slowly stood up.
"Maybe this kid was dangerous or something. Pfft… I doubt it though. I've never seen a scrawnier boy in all my life! I guess the geezer just got tired of taking care of him. I don't know his life story." He shrugged and headed back toward the door. "C'mon. We're leaving. There's nothing here."
"Huh? But… what about that thing?"
"Will you forget about the kid! He's of no concern to us. Let him rot for all we care!"
"Not the kid! THAT thing." The henchman pointed at the golden crest above the doorway, littered with at least five different kinds of gems.
"What is that?" The first demon asked, raising his brow in wonderment.
"I'll tell ya. It's treasure is what it is. And I'm going to snatch it!" He nodded to himself and grabbed a chair from the desk nearby.
"Imbecile. It's nothing but a rusty piece of metal. We need to go NOW." He warned him.
"Hang on a second! It won't take long!" He snarled back. He came here for gold, and by god he was going to GET some!
"Sigh… why… why was I paired up with YOU?" The shadow creature on the ground shook his head in his hands, asking that to himself for probably about the thousandth time that day.
"Come to papa, my precious." He reached up for the crest and took hold of it's hand held size. "Got it!" He pulled on it, but the trinket didn't budge. "Ugh! Not AGAIN! First that stupid cross, and now this! What's wrong with wanting to have a little gold once and a while!" He complained and yanked on the treasure harder.
"It's probably so old that it's stuck to the wall. Now will you hurry up? I'm HUNGRY!"
"Almost got it!" He finally was able to make it move, and in another second, the crest was jerked off by the greedy demon's hand. "Yes! Finally!"
"I'll say. Now let's go!"
"Alright alright! Don't get your tights in a wad!" He shouted back and climbed off the chair.
"Shut up!"
"Why you telling me to shut up? You aren't the boss of me!"
"Oh, yes I am!"
"And why is that!"
"Because I'm a hell of a lot smarter than YOU, that's for sure!"
"So just because you're older than me, you think you're his highness's favourite!"
"What! When did I say that!"
"You were thinking it!"
"No I wasn't!"
The two henchman bickered at each other back and forth for quite some time, while the same blue light suddenly disappeared from around the icy container in the middle of the room. The crystalline structure began fogging up, and the wings on the cherub stained-glass window were folding into the tiny body after 100 years of being open.
"Yeah, that's right! I saw you kissing him at the party a few weeks ago! Don't think I'll keep quiet about it after all you've said about me!"
"Ha! You have no proof of that!"
"Oh yeah? HERE!" The second demon flicked out a picture of the scandalous act.
"WHAT! How'd you get that!"
CRACK
The two shadow demons halted in their continuous insults and peeked over at the capsule to see a large crack had formed on it's surface. More and more small lacerations streaked their way down the body of crystal, threatening to break any second.
"Uh… I thought you said it was a STRONG seal." The dumber of the two creatures twitched.
"I… thought it was…" The first demon answered back.
The ice covered capsule shattered into a million different pieces, a mysterious blue fog flooding out of the large container.
"AHHHHH!" They both screeched into the moist air, and fumbled their way out of the room and down the spiral stairs.
"See! I told you there was a monster in there!"
"You didn't say that!"
"Did so!"
"Whatever! Let's just get out of here!"
Their arguing proceeded down the steps, out of the old church, and through the streets.
In the tower, once the steam cleared, a small, frail form was laying on the plush red carpet, his faded pink hair lapping gently over his eyes and onto the ground. Everything was still in the room, not a breeze blew, nor did dust float. It was like the mere presence of this freed stranger was silencing the very aura of the area. Broken shards of glass like material was scattered all over the cobble stone, but somehow none of it had touched or was near the unconscious boy's body. Even the glass was acknowledging his arrival into the new century.
A finger twitched on Shuichi's left hand, and soon the boy's eyes were starting to squint at the sudden feeling he was getting back in his veins. The capsule had been numbing his whole body in order to preserve him for the later years to come. And after a few moments, a drowsy lid drew back the curtains of lashes that shielded his eyes, and the first violet orb had slowly opened.
"Mm?" His voice cracked as he tried to speak. It had been so long since the boy had last used his vocal chords.
His vision was blurry at first. He hadn't been able to use his eyes at all either. Shuichi saw was a furry red thing very close up to his face. Was it blood! No… it wasn't wet. It must've been a carpet. After a minute of adjusting to his practically newborn eyes, Shuichi attempted to sit up, but only succeeded in limply falling back down again. It had been so long since he had moved… what if he couldn't ever get up again! Would he have to crawl around for the rest of his life, like an insignificant worm! At least his overactive imagination was still intact. He was lucky that his brain didn't melt along with his bones. He felt like a young foal, taking it's first steps into the big bright world. Wait… did he die and be reincarnated into a horse! Phew, no… he checked and saw that he still had human hands. Then… why was he laying here on the floor like this, in a place unfamiliar to him?
Shuichi was able to at least sit up on his hands and butt, shakily holding himself from crumpling back down. A sudden trickle ran down the boy's throat, and he couched to get it out. Man… how long had it been since he'd used his voice? It didn't make sense! What had happened!
He shook his head to rid the dizziness away, and glanced around. The area resembled an old study room, or a very small library. Everything looked so dusty though. Maybe that's why his throat was acting up. After examining a part of the room, he turned his head and noticed a beautiful stained-glass structure, gleaming from the daylight outside. An angel was on it, it's wings folded in.
What was so familiar about that?
Shrugging the sudden nostalgic feeling off him, Shuichi finally came to realize the pool of shattered glass surrounding him, and the broken capsule in the center of the room.
"Wh-what…" He had to clear the drainage again. What was that thing? And how did all this glass break? What had broken out of it? Did he do this? Or… was the thing that used to be inside… him?
All these questions swam through his head while he picked up a shard of the crystal covering laying beside him, and observed it. He saw his own reflection in it.
"Where… am I?"
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"Hm?" The dark lord stiffened in his chair. His grip tightened on the throne's arm rests as he shifted his eyes toward the window ahead of him. "What… was that?"
"Did you speak, my lord?" A tall cloaked being asked standing beside his highness.
"… I felt something. A disturbance in our city's balance."
"A disturbance?" The creature questioned.
"Something has happened somewhere, and I don't like the feel of it." His eyes narrowed.
"Would you like me to do something about it, sire?" The cloaked figure inquired.
"… Take some of your men, general. Find me what's causing this ominous aura."
"Yes, your highness." The general bowed, and teleported away from the scene.
The dark lord got up from his sear, walked steadily over to the window sill and gazed out at the city's black depths.
"This presence… I've never felt anything like it." He whispered to himself. Then cracked a grin. "Maybe… it'll keep me entertained for the time being. I was becoming bored anyhow…" The black-haired king chuckled ruthlessly, and watched below as he saw dark objects slithering along the roads toward where the disturbance was coming from. He knew he could always count on the general for these things. Being one of the best handlers of human trinkets and weapons in Umbra, neither human nor demon could stand a chance.
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"Hm?" Ryuichi stopped in his tracks and looked behind him suddenly. His eyes widened. What was that aura just now? It felt so… powerful, and yet… it didn't seem threatening at all.
"Ryuichi, what's wrong?" Tohma called to him silently from ahead.
"……" Without saying a word, the brunette changed his course of direction and headed toward the new presence.
"Ah… Ryuichi! Where are you going!" The short blonde reached out his hand. "Sigh… what's gotten into him now!" He rubbed his head and ran after the older man and his pink bunny. Wherever he was going, Tohma knew it would lead to trouble later on.
"Maybe I should put a leash on that man's neck while he's sleeping. I can hardly ever keep up with him!" Tohma whined to himself and followed Ryuichi around a corner.
A/N: Yay! I finally got this chapter done! I hadn't worked on it for like two weeks, and I thought to myself… "hm… those readers might want to know what happens next… I think I'll write the rest of chapter 13." So here it is! Hope yall liked it! And if you know who the cloaked person that was talking to the dark lord is… DON'T SAY THE NAME IN YOUR REVIEWS! It ruins it for the people who haven't figured it out yet! And I'm sure you would probably feel the same way if someone revealed what happens at the end of Harry Potter book 6. And I won't say it because some of the slow readers who like to savour the story might not know yet. DON'T REVEAL THAT SECRET EITHER! I don't read Harry Potter, but I DO know what happens at the end of the 6th book. Anyway, point is, don't say anything about who the masked general is! Not until I say who it is in my chapters, kay? Then you can all brag about how you 'knew it all along' and stuff. Well, see ya next chapter!