. : Inazuma : .
: . By Akikazu . :
. : Chapter Twenty : .
It seemed as if Kaname hadn't appreciated her leaving without informing him of her destination. He obviously didn't trust her and had set the others of his group up to watch her. Kagome sighed and slummed forward on her desk. The Darklore was aggravating to say the least, but she knew his attitude had to do with Mana being out sick.
Peeking up from behind her folded arms she scanned the classroom. No one other than her dared to show such blatant boredom during Nakaura Sensei's class, then again the school was full of wimps for it was rare that anyone did anything that got someone in trouble. Just wearing a chou-ran (longer version of a gaku-ran, the boys' school uniform, often worn by the color guard or rebels) made her the school rebel it seemed.
Looking to her right she saw Tsukasa dividing his attention between listening to the day's lecture and keeping an eye on her. He was clearly the one Kaname had set to watch her during today, after all he was the only one in class with her. She was honored that the Eraser would split his time between her and Nakaura Sensei, she knew that the two were as close as any father and son.
She caught Tsukasa's eye with her own and sent him a peace sign before turning away. The Eraser troubled a part of her, having seen him in his true form where he lacked the pair of wings that were suppose to sit on his back, leaving him with only the pair that sprouted on his head.
One of the voices, of which she had not heard from for a long while, spoke to her.
He is a seraph, his other wings are missing.
Kagome looked in his direction again, mildly interested. In what the voice knew. Though the voices were apart of her she was not privy to all their knowledge, and they knew far more than she.
They were either taken or he pulled them off himself. He would be far more powerful if he had them but the power that he would receive could cause him to lose the control over his nature.
He would be like Inu Yasha when his demon blood took over him, then?
This would mark the first time she had ever conversed with one of the voices. Kagome knew she would not be mentioning this occurrence to anyone, any reasonable person would mark her off as being insane.
Yes, very much like Inu Yasha. He would be driven to complete "the goal", to exterminate any psychic that was not an Eraser. It is how the Eraser faction has been run for man a generation.
Why?
The facts only grew more interesting as the conversation progressed and Kagome found herself drawn into the Eraser dilemma, this Eraser's dilemma in particular.
It is the way the council runs things. If all Erasers were grant free will, the council would be threatened. The more I consider of it, the more I am sure that our dear Israfel took his own wings. This is currently a disadvantage but if we could persuade him the situation could quickly turn to our advantage.
The voice was clearly plotting something but since an advantage was what they needed at the moment, she wasn't worried.
How?
If you can convince him I will go into his mind and help him grow new wings, and then I will help him gain control of the monster that will seek to control him.
You can do that?
With your help but I shan't say anymore unless you convince him to take this chance.
I'll try.
The bell rang, announcing that the lunch period had begun. Kagome dropped herself back into the real world and reached for her bag so she could leave for the lunch room, no doubt Tsukasa would join her for the walk. She would speak with him about the voice's offer later.
Itsuki was already sitting at a table, chances are that he had skipped class again if he was already eating. He saw them approach and waved them over, it seemed as if they were the first ones to arrive. Kagome could sense the others drawing near and new that they would arrive soon. It was the perfect opportunity to ask Itsuki about the voices, as he was the only one to have met any of them.
"Hi Amou, Kagome. How's class been so far?" Itsuki asked, his face showing not the slightest bit of interest.
"Very interesting, Tonomori-san's lecture was exciting, as always," Tsukasa answered, taking a seat. "Wasn't it Kagome-chan?"
"I wouldn't know, I was talking to someone with some very interesting things to say," Kagome looked into Itsuki's golden eyes. "I want to know what happened all those time we were attack. I don't remember, all I know is that the voices have access to my body."
"Voices?" Curiosity lighted Amou's voice.
"I began hearing them around the time in which I first encountered Itsuki. I continued to hear them but they have now faded far into the back of my mind. During class I was conversing with one." Kagome glanced at Amou from beneath her lashes. "She had some very interesting thing to say about Amou."
"That would be Mythrel, the Eraser," Itsuki mused.
Amou's curiosity showed through his facial features, "Eraser?"
"From what I can tell several psychic entities have been living dormant inside of you, but have recently awakened. The one you were speaking of was Mythrel, an Eraser. She was the power that you transferred to me on the day that Erasers attacked your home."
"And the other three voices?" Kagome pressed.
"The last one that had been released was from the Wiz Dom faction, Death Scythe. She fought the Fallen Angel and transported us to the graves. Before that was Belial, the heir to the throne of the Dark World, the Darklore kingdom. She's actually a relative to Bael, Kaname's incarnation. I have yet to see the last being emerge but I would wager a guess that she's an Arayashiki."
"I suppose," Kagome mused. "After all, all of them hated you at first sight so the last couldn't be an E.G.O. and I clearly am not blind and so she probably isn't a Sightless. I'm also a miko so I'm inclined to believe that I have some Arayashiki roots."
"I see."
The three students sat in silence and picked through their food, think of the information that they had just gained. Kaname and Isshin joined the table and gave the three of them odd looks at their continued silence.
"What's going on guys?" Isshin finally asked.
"Nothing, we're all just in though, it's one of those day," Itsuki answered.
"I know I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning," Isshin agreed.
"Kirihara-san is sick today?" Amou directed the questioned at the sulky Kaname.
"Mana stayed home she has been able to stay awake for more than an hour at a time for the past few days," Kaname grunted. "She's better today though."
A woman's intuition was a priceless thing, Kagome was completely satisfied that her assumptions had been clearly proven by Kaname's own words. The time leading to the bell that announced lunch's end, was fill will quiet no one talking not wanting to make Kaname any more ticked off than he was already. Normally Kagome would strike up conversation but she was too filled with her own planning to be bothered.
Amou waited for her to rise from the table while everyone else shuffled off to their class, even Itsuki who decided that it was getting to cold to nap outside. Kagome hung back and waited till everyone was gone before setting her plan in action.
"Amou, have you ever wished that you had your other set of wings back?" Kagome questioned.
Amou's purple eyes took on the mist appearance as he thought about her question. Finally he looked in her eyes and decided that he would put himself out on a limb and share the secrets of his past with her. The part of him that was a battle hardened warrior had found something in her that he knew he could out his trust in. Amou was one to trust his instinct, though not always immediately, always without question, his instinct had never once failed him.
"A long, long time ago, back when Kaname-kun, Mana-san, and all of the rest of you were children I was part of the Eraser fleet. I was granted the position of Seraph, this was a position similar to a colonel of the armies of Earth. I was given the power to grow another pair of wings, but the truth was that the council member could control my actions through my new power." Amou paused and took a calming breath before continuing. "It was like another me was their taking charge of my actions and running about to do the bidding of Rayyu-sama and Azrael-sama (NOTE: for those that are interested Azrael is the angel of death). It was a mission to eliminate a small gathering of psychics and I was to lead. I killed Kaname-kun's and Mana-san's parents. Kaname-kun took the right wing. The loss of power was dramatic and I lost a lot of the power I had gained with rank, the other me lost control and I took back over. I was taken back and imprisoned in the fleet cells."
Kagome looked back at the school, far behind them. While he talked Kagome had directed Amou off the school grounds and towards the park. They were nearly there.
"Years later I finally ripped my other wing off and I was banished down to Earth with a good friend of mine. Something went wrong and we were separated, I lost all my memories, and finally Tomonori-san found me. And we've just plodded along ever since. But to answer your question Kagome-chan I used to wish for my wings back, to protect the ones I love, but Mana-san showed me that I have enough power to meet my ends." He tilted his head, "Why do you ask anyways?"
Kagome sat down on a park bench, stretching her legs and out in front of her, before leaning back to look at the endless blue sky.
"Mythrel wants to give you your wings back," she said simply.
Amou was visibly startled and sat down next to her.
"I didn't think it was possible, not that it matters. I will not become a victim to my other self again."
"She explained some of it to me earlier, during class. Mythrel requires your permission to help you because you might need the power during what ever battle we face next. She wants me to transfer her into you and from there she will re-grow your wings and help you control your inner demon."
Amou reached around his back and touched the scar on his left, which occasionally pained him. The throbbing pain was a reminder of his blood written past.
"I'm sure that it pains you, remembering all the things you did," Kagome said placing a hand over his. "My soul is not without its deeply engrained scars. But I always try to go forth and protect what I love to my fullest. If you want I'll never speak about your other set of wings again."
Amou smiled, a smile of innocence that he had retained through out his life. His intuition was never wrong.
"I think I would like to have my wings back, if it's possible to control the other me. To have the power I need to be able to extend to my fullest potential," his eyes shut halfway. "Out of our group I'm the only one that hasn't gotten stronger since I we first got together, at the moment I might even be considered the weakest in the group." Amou sighed. "I can only help by sensing out faraway auras and healing wounds."
"We I think you're irreplaceable. I mean anyone can kick someone's ass but you're the only one that can fix them up."
"I guess."
"So do you want your wings back Amou?" Kagome asked again.
"Sure, why not."
Perfect, I'll need you to transfer me to him, or do you prefer that I perform the transaction myself as I did before?
"Mythrel's going to take over my body for a second and transfer her being into you, so don't try to run off Amou," Kagome explained.
"Alright."
Very well, I shall return soon.
Kagome felt herself being drawn backwards into her mind but this time she didn't loose consciousness. It was like being mind control all over again, but the panic felling that was usually present was absent.
Mythrel moved her body do she was leaning into Amou. Their faces were extremely close, so close that even Kagome in the back of her mind could feel the Eraser's breath.
"Let's get down to business, Israfel," Mythrel breathed.
Mythrel leaned forward and placed her lips over Amou. Kagome was stunned by the action but felt Mythrel's power leaving her immediately, forcing the teenager back into control. Kagome barely stopped herself from toppling forward.
"Amou?"
Kagome looked at the boy that was sitting next to her. His eyes had gone blank but he remained sitting up and was still breathing. Kagome rebalanced herself and looking into his face, waving a hand over his eyes.
"Amou? Mythrel?" She called again.
Still no response.
She sat back on her heels and looked around frantically, no one was around. There was a popping noise and Kagome spun back to Amou. He was falling forward and light was pouring from his back. Kagome shot forward to catch him and stared at his exposed back.
Wing bones had ripped through the boy's back and gakuÂ-ran top. The bones were bloody but continued to sprout forward and then outward, much like a tree's growth. Kagome looked around again, this time even more frantically. They were still alone.
Kagome had a decision to make now. She could wait with Amou and hope that either Mythrel woke up so she could tell her what to do; all the while praying that no one came by. Or she could go and get help from Itsuki or Nakaura Sensei, and still hope that no one came around.
The thick joint of Amou's new wing, it appeared as if the left was returning first, ripped through the boy's scarred skin. The scar looked newer than the one on the right. Kagome nearly gagged at the sickening noise of the bone and blood bursting through her friend's living flesh.
Her decision was made.
Kagome stood, pushing back an ocean of dizziness as it appeared that the transfusion took more out of her than originally planed. After stumbling a couple of steps Kagome straightened and started towards the school.
She ignored the pain that ripped through her as she ran.
Golden eyes watched her from their hiding place.
I . I . I . I . I . I . I . I . I . I .
When Mythrel, via Kagome's body, pressed her lips to his, Amou felt the power that had controlled Itsuki during the fire enter him. Seconds later he was in the back of his mind, in the empty abyss that he rarely entered.
A woman stood before him. Her long blond hair was pulled back and she was garbed in Eraser uniform. Much to his surprise she had two pairs of wings signifying her high status in the fleet.
"Hello Israfel. I am called Mythrel," she greeted.
"Kon'nichi wa Mythrel-sama."
"Are you ready to begin?" Mythrel asked, a smile on her face. "Once you begin you cannot stop till it is complete but we are far beyond the grip of pain here."
"What must I do?" Amou asked.
"I will guild you Israfel. We will channel both my and your power and recreate your wing. And when he appears I'll teach you to control your inner demon."
She walked towards him and Amou had to keep himself from stepping back, so great was he presence. She stepped behind him and leaned down so her breath puffed over his neck.
"It is god that you do not fear me, Israfel. Now lift your hands," she ordered.
He brought them up, just below eye level, his palm outwards and his elbows bent. Mythrel placed her palms onto of his and he could feel the power around them build.
"As we meditate we draw our combined powers into your body. Then we simply mold it into a set of wings." Mythrel whispered, "wings are meant to be a mere extension of your power, you only need to know how. Now breathe."
Amou sucked in a breath in order to begin the process of meditation and was surprised to see that the surrounding area glowed softly with the tones of his power. He really should have expected it though, he was after all inside his mind and meditation was the practice of drawing in your powers in order to tame them.
Seconds later all of Amou and Mythrel's combined power had been drawn into his body and their surroundings were ablaze with light. Mythrel slipped her hands off his and placed them on the outer side of them, her arms still resting on his shoulders.
"Now that all of our power is gathered we will mold the raw energy into a new set of wings. As the wings develop they will become reality and push through the scars that remain from your previous set. The technique that we're using is one completely unique to Eraser, as we're 'angels'. It's called Dream Creation." Mythrel explained.
"How do I form the wings?" Amou questioned.
He could feel the Mythrel's smile grow wider. Her hands reached out slightly, not moving so far as to force her body against his back and grasped. She pulled them back in and he saw that they had closed over a cord of raw energy. The energy flickered and wiggled as if attempting to escape but Mythrel held firm.
"When you grab your power you have to hold it with your mind, otherwise it will escape. The energy has yet to be refined to a tangible point. Now grab a coil so we can form your left wing. Your left it the freshly scared side, correct? We'll start there, it'll be easier for the bone to push out."
Tsukasa nodded and reached a hand out into a river of squiggling energy, hesitantly. Amou grabbed on to it up dropped it in surprise as it wiggled wildly much like a fish out of water would. Taking in a deep breath he pushed both hands in and grabbed a coil of energy, holding onto the tenaciously squirming light with all of his will.
"Alright, I've got it," Amou mumbled.
"Relax, Israfel. It is only our power, it can do nothing to harm you in its unhampered state," Mythrel soothed.
Amou relaxed slightly, though he was a bit uncomfortable with how she kept calling him Israfel, as the name was not a favorite of his.
"Shaping the bone is as much mental as physical. You harden the energy slightly," Mythrel, in demonstration, gave the coil of energy that she was holding a firm squeeze and it became still. "Now, you can mold it like you would with clay. While the bone begins to take shape you have to press thoughts into it."
"Thoughts?"
"Yes, like how a bone looks. The texture, weight, and thickness of the bone. How you used your wings to fly. Strength that you would like the bones to contain. And on and so forth."
"I see.."
"Then hop to it."
Sucking in another deep breath Amou stiffened the energy and began to shape it. He impressed thoughts of strength, power, protection, lightness, and white into it. Before he knew it, Mythrel was laying a hand on his shoulder in order to gain his attention.
"You're coming to the joint Israfel, you have to remember that it needs to bend. If you do not impress 'bend' into the joint your wing will not function correctly."
Amou nodded and looked over what he had already done. A small stream of raw energy strung from the river and to his hands where he had changed it from its raw form and into a long wing bone. The end that he had started with disappeared into a dark hole in the blinding light of his surroundings and he knew that it was at that exact point it was exiting his mind to become reality.
Satisfied he got back to work.
I . I . I . I . I . I . I . I . I . I .
Kagome had to pause her run not even halfway back to the school to lean on a tree. Her breath left her in heavy pants and a light sweat covered her brow. It was the beginning of her first all day hiking experience in the Sengoku Jidai ("Warlord Era" or "Era of the Warring States") all over again.
Shoving off the tree and straightening up again she took off again, this time at a slow jog. It lasted only a second before she noticed the woman that was standing right in front of her, directly in her path. The woman was tall with dirty blond hair and was wearing a doctor's outfit. Sunglasses shaded her eyes from view up Kagome could tell that she was staring directly at her.
"Can I help you?" Kagome asked, hoping to soon be back on her way.
"Are you Higurashi Kagome?"
Kagome blinked and hid her surprise, this person may actually have a reason for seeking her out.
"Yes."
"I'm the doctor that was put in charge of your mother, and… we need you to come to the hospital immediately."
Kagome's reaction was immediate. "Something happened to Oka-san?"
The doctor nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid that she is in critical condition currently. Your presence is required immediately."
The teenager paused, a sudden thought hitting her.
"How did you know where to find me?" Suspicion colored her tone.
The woman's features twist and her hand lifted to take of her sunglasses. Her eyes were revealed to be a familiar gold color. Kagome stepped back but the woman had already caught her wrist and Kagome was too weak to fight against her surprisingly strong grip.
"Hello experiment one zero. I must say that it is a pleasure to see you after such a long separation," the woman purred.
"Who are you?" Kagome demanded.
"I am Itsuki-sama, leader of the faction E.G.O. I believe that you will be coming with me now, your presence is required immediately. However you mustn't be conscious for our little trip."
Kagome felt cold fingers pressing roughly to her neck and then she was lost as darkness enveloped her.
I . I . I . I . I . I . I . I . I . I .
The wings were finished.
Switching from the left wing to the right had taken a while, and putting the feathers on had been a bit of a hassle but at not-so-long last they were finished. Amou could fill the power rushing through him and struggled to push off the heady feeling.
Finally able to focus he looked up at Mythrel and found her scanning the area with an intense look.
"He's here," she whispered.
The prickling feeling sparked on his neck and Amou spun. Out of the darkness that now reigned over his mind a figure emerged. The blond hair was familiar and the cold violet eyes even more so.
The "other him".
"You brought me back, how generous of you," his voice was a cold parody of Amou's.
"Amou," it was the first time she had called him that and it snapped his attention to her. "Remember that essentially he is you and you are the only one that is able to control yourself. In the most base form, he is the dark part of you that you've cut off."
"How charming, but as him, as Israfel I can control him as well."
"I know you can do it Amou, you've controlled Israfel for the past couple of years. He's only had a little power boost."
"Okay, I'll do it," Amou whispered.
"You are pathetic," Israfel snickered, taunting his already damaged self esteem.
Amou ignored Israfel's words and stepped towards him, gathering his power around him like a cloak. Israfel mirrored his actions and likewise their shared power gathered around him, though Mythrel's power sided only with Amou.
"You cannot defeat me," Israfel announced.
Amou sent a ball that was a mix of fire and light hurtling towards Israfel and the other him didn't even attempt to dodge. He let the attack hit him straight on. Oddly enough as the attack burned the skin Israfel's chest, Amou felt the burn stinging on his own body. The pain caused him to gasp.
"You cannot defeat me," he repeated. "After all I am you."
It occurred to Amou that Mythrel had told him to "control" Israfel not kill him and so he now only had to figure out how he was going to go about doing so. He remembered the chains that the Erasers had chained Kagome with and set about forming them in much of the same way as he had done with his wings.
The links would be heavy and strong, but instead of linking up singly and into a chain he created a web, a linked net. Israfel saw his concentration on the net as a distraction he could use to his advantage and moved to attack. However his previous practice with Dream Creation allowed Amou to finish the net in the span of a few seconds and before Israfel could move he found himself entangled in the heavy metal links.
Moving quickly Amou connected the links making escape impossibly for the evil side of himself. Amou knew that this way he could keep Israfel stashed in some dark corner in his mind until the event that he may actually be needed, which was extremely unlikely.
"Well done Amou," Mythrel congratulated.
Amou blushed and moved back to the woman that had helped him so much in recent times.
"Are we finished Mythrel-sama?"
"Indeed we are. I wake you up in a second, as soon as you are oriented check your new wings to see if they're functional, and then we'll find my host, after you put them away of course."
"Alright."
"Close your eyes Amou," Mythrel ordered.
As he obeyed he could feel his body swimming back into the world of the living. It was as if he was coming out of a dream.
Amou sat up, pushing off the rough, dirt ground, and looked around. He was alone and the sky which had been bright when he had entered the park was now darkening with the coming nightfall. The slight weight on his back caused him to check the area anxiously. Two large fluffy wings rest there, dampened slightly with blood. Amou touched one touched one carefully and it twitched, he could feel the touch and a shiver trailed over his spine.
The feeling cause him to look around, again. This time however, he was searching for Kagome. She was no where to be found. Placing up the disguise that hid his wings he stood and headed off towards the school, figuring that Kagome might have gone back.
Talking further ahead caused him to peer down the ways and he spotted Kaname, Isshin, Itsuki, and Haruna coming towards him. Amou quicken his pace. If anyone knew where Kagome was it would be one of them. They met halfway and both Amou and Itsuki's mouths opened at the same time.
"Have you seen Kagome?" They both asked.
Both blond boys' eyes widened in surprise and slight panic.
"Itsuki-san!" Another voice called.
They all turned and saw Sota running towards them, the ends of his bandana flopping behind him. He was in his uniform but his face was twisted in fear and he was clutching a paper tightly in his hand.
"Sota?"
The boy stopped in front of the group, attempting to catch his breath. He had obviously run a long ways to get there.
"Itsuki-san," he panted. "Kagome's been kidnapped!"
. : End Chapter : .
: . Author's Note . :
Ohh, cliffy. You hate me don't you?
Too bad, if you kill me the story ends with me! At least this chapter is on time, though I can say that the next will be. At least the next chapter promises to be good, right? One chapter down; four more, and an epilogue to go. For some reason I don't count the epilogue as a chapter.
As it is, I'm already planning on what I'm going to be doing when this story is over. This is how my plan goes, for now at least: first put in a couple of chapters of uninterrupted Muichimostu, next finish and post Bandit By Day the prequel to Thief in the Night, after that I'm going to hop onto a xover that I have never seen before, IY will be AU, I'm doing this at a request of my beloved Steppy.
And that's it so far.
Till next time.
. : Next Time : .
Itsuki: the family betrayal
The secret behind the eyes
Kun Loon's spite
Kagome, meet your mate
Rescue