A/N: Thank you reviewers for the reviews. A cookie to each of you.
This took a while at first cause I was trying to channel Akito's personality for a dialog…I still don't know if I got it right, but at least I was able to get out of the "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO SAY" phase.
More notes when you finish this chapter, just so you don't gotta read though this side to get to the story. Nya.
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The whole place looked unreal. It was made out of black stone that was coated in soot. Fire was blazing out of strategically placed cracks on the floor they walked on, almost in decoration as they lit up their path. Shadows danced off the walls and made the somewhat mysterious and foreboding atmosphere seem almost lively.
Kyo was restrained by the arms, forced to walk down a narrow tunnel that led to a large gate that was made out of black marble. A fair skinned woman stood at the gate, wearing all black robes and holding an axe. She looked as creepy as Hanajima, he thought.
"Azrael is waiting for you." The woman spoke in an eerily quiet voice as the gate opened for them.
The red eyed demon nodded and poked Kyo with the scythe, making him move again.
"Will you STOP DOING THAT!" Kyo shouted, his voice echoing across the stone citadel.
Devilyn smiled sweetly at him, "Not when I'm enjoying it so much." She giggled playfully.
Kyo glared at her and turned his head to look forward once more, he wished he could get his arms free and shut the woman up. The walk from the gate to a building that looked like a stone mansion was long and irritating as the top end of the scythe kept jabbing him in the back. Along the way to the mansion, the two would pass different people in black robes, some with hoods covering their faces. They hurried from one place to another, some carrying glowing orbs in their hands; others holding lists of people whose souls need to be carried into this world. It all seemed too normal, as if those lists were to get goods from a store and those orbs were something other than souls.
Eventually the two started up the steps and entered the large mansion; it was entirely empty save for one blood red carpet that led down the corridors and into a single room. By the time they got to those doors, the demon knocked on it twice.
"Enter." A dark voice replied from the other side.
The doors opened automatically as if on cue and Devilyn pushed Kyo in before she walked in. "I have a little present!" She chimed happily, reaching for the bracelet on Kyo's wrist and pulling it off. The small glowing swirl in the beads dimming as it was taken off.
"HEY!" Kyo's eyes widened, he felt the pull as the bracelet was taken off. He now felt a little hollow inside, it was a feeling he didn't like one bit.
The demon removed herself from Kyo's side and went over to a desk, where a man in dark robes sat staring at Kyo with glowing eyes. The man had an air about him that made him more threatening then Akito himself. Kyo began to think that if the Sohma met this man, he would be cowering on his knees right now.
"Is my dear Chiyo alive and well now?" The man stared at the demon while holding the bracelet in his hand; he glared at her as the name made Devilyn grimace with distaste. "You may leave now; I want to speak with Kyo alone. Leave the weapon."
The red eyed demon hesitated when she was told to give up the scythe, holding it closer to her chest protectively before giving it up quickly as bony fingers snapped at her. She squeaked and obediently left the room, the first time Kyo saw her acting weak and quiet.
At the sound of the doors closing, the robed man rose to his feet and smiled disturbingly at Kyo, removing the hood to expose a scarred face with long black hair and red eyes. "I have word that you are quite the character, Kyo Sohma." The dark voice purred. "I think you will be a perfect replacement, as my dear Chiyo definitely has forgotten her place in the Underworld."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Kyo shouted, trying to free his hands, "What makes you think I'll be working for you?"
"I don't think, I know." Azrael held up the dead cat's bracelet, "If this breaks, then you will really be dead. I began to own you once my little Demon Witch recited the request to make your curse trade with Chiyo's. It is a good thing too, since I need someone to act out my request." The man stepped over to Kyo and grinned maliciously, "I have made a deal with a mortal that gave me access to keep your soul."
Kyo glared, "Deal? What in the hell are you talking about? Who are you?"
"My name is Azrael. I am the God of Death, and the one who creates loyal workers to serve my cause. I create my workers when they sell souls for requests. You, my dear Kyo, had your soul sold."
"BY WHO?" Kyo screamed. This was impossible, his soul was his! How could someone else sell his soul? No one else owned him – unless… Kyo paled at the realisation. "Akito."
"You are a bright one!" Azrael said in an oddly bright tone, "Yes, your Akito, your 'God' had traded your soul to me after he found out about your…accident. He is a very nice young man." The raven haired man added with a smile.
"What did he trade for my soul?" Kyo asked darkly, becoming infuriated from what he was discovering. He watched as Azrael took a step back and turned so Kyo was staring at his back. "ANSWER ME!"
"He had a list of requests really…the most important one was not to have his curse kill him, as he himself is growing intimate with Death. I do not have hold over such power that his curse has over him, yet I am able to give him more time. The second was that he wanted me to spare the life of dear Chiyo…oh he's very interested in her; it seems that she was able to make a fool of him during some sort of party…and once he found out that she is now cursed by the Cat spirit, he became enthusiastic about her. I normally don't permit such things…though by the look on his face, I believe I won't need to kill her to have my revenge for her insolence." Azrael smirked at the thought, "I should think about saving his soul once he dies…he'd make a great addition to us."
"That BASTARD!" Kyo was able to snap the restraints and he lunged at Azrael. "I WANT MY DAMNED SOUL BACK!" He screamed as he tackled the man, throwing punches until he felt that he was hitting the stone floor. He stopped to find that he was on top of a pile of black robes. He looked around frantically, looking for him.
A chuckle came from the shadows, "You are so full of fire, Kyo. I think I made the right choice when taking a new apprentice. Although, you should know that by having your soul, you cannot harm me in any way. You are forced to listen to my word and abide by it. Or…" Azrael's grip tightened on the beaded bracelet.
Kyo collapsed to the floor and writhed in agony, a feeling much like an electric shock ripped though his body. The feeling left as fast as it came and he just stayed on the floor, staring blankly at the wall before him. "This can't be happening…" He said to himself. No, this had to be a nightmare. This isn't supposed to happen. Thoughts flooded his mind as he stared at the reflective marble floor. 'Was he going to see Tohru again?' was the thought that took priority. He didn't want to think of it. He started to re-think the two curses. This man was much like Akito, though he used physical torture than mental torture. However; at least Akito had en end, this man Azrael seemed like he had no end as well as a beginning. Kyo thought about last night when Tohru embraced him, he dreaded not feeling her that close again.
How did that woman do it? How did she get out of this hell that he was now told to live?
With that in mind, Kyo shut his eyes and got to his feet. Until he could figure out how to get his soul back, he had to endure whatever Death is forced to do. "Fine." He hesitated, hating to admit defeat. It was a stab to what pride he had left, and it left a terrible feeling in his mouth as he said it.
"Wonderful!" Hands clapped together as Azrael appeared from the shadows, clothed in another robe. "You will be sent to learn what you need before I give you a list of your first clients." His red eyes seemed to have turned black as his eyes narrowed. "Though...we cannot have you remembering the life you once lived now, can we?"
Kyo had no idea what the God of Death was talking about, but he tensed as a feeling of weariness crept up behind him. The sudden look of satisfaction in Azrael's eyes made Kyo step back. He then began to hear the man chanting in Latin.
Kyo felt the effects of the chanting immediately as everything in his mind began to become blurry. He was starting to forget things! Kyo fell to his knees and screamed in pain as flashes of memories began to fade away from his own mind. Azrael was removing everything he knew; everything that he'd lived though.
"No--NO!" Kyo shouted as the image of Tohru began to fade from his memories. "Not her! NOT HER!"
After that, everything went black.
"Kyo-kun..."
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Chiyo watched the scenery go by as she sat in a black car that made its way to the Main Sohma House. She – or rather the 'Cat' was oddly requested by Akito to go over and meet with him. Shigure had tried to talk to Hatori when he came to get the woman, trying to use her cold as a way to keep her from seeing the man. Though, in the end, Akito's word could not be denied and Chiyo ended up sitting in silence as Hatori drove to the front gates.
The man had barely said a word to her, which wasn't surprising since Chiyo had almost killed him when they last met. Her hands fumbled with the necklace around her neck, something that once held her soul now kept the 'other' part of her curse under control; though she did not know what it was. It was funny how she longed to be rid of the object that kept her alive and it now was being used to keep her as human as possible. Green eyes watched the sidewalk as it passed, she wondered if Kyo had gotten to Yuki. She knew it was a little dangerous for him to leave the house, but then Neko-bozu was stubborn and wouldn't have listened to her if she tried to say anything anyway.
A cough coming from the woman made Hatori glance at the rear view mirror, he stuck his free hand into his pocket and took out a cough drop, tossing it back. It landed next to her and rolled into the middle of the cushion. Chiyo stared at it before taking the small piece of cherry flavoured relief into her hand, looking back up at him and mumbling a small 'thank you' in return. She decided to save it for later.
The car soon pulled up to the front gates and both of them got out of the car. Chiyo was met by two nameless maids in kimonos and ushered in; she was to meet with Akito at that moment, cold or no cold. The woman frowned inwardly, wondering if he was expecting Kyo. What would the man do if he had requested for the Cat and came face to face with her? It would be an amusing discovery, she thought with a smirk. Her view of Akito was unlike the former Cat, he didn't deserve to be called 'God'.
Though, no matter how strong the person was, he could still nearly break them. She didn't realise it yet. All it took was something personal…
The maids gave Chiyo scrutinizing looks as they walked, mostly it was her clothing – which was the same thing she wore when she first arrived in Japan; the same black skirt, the same black long-sleeved turtleneck, stockings, gloves, boots. She never really took the gloves off even though she was alive and now, she felt naked without them. Chiyo idly sniffed a sleeve, the clothes weren't dirty, but still the maids frowned at the attire. Perhaps they were the ones that tried to stop Chiyo from entering the main hall on New Years; she never really paid attention at that time. Of course, the clothes and her hair was a dead giveaway to who she is – was.
The three stopped in front of a room. Green eyes watched as one of the maids knocked on the door and went in only to come back out a moment later and look down at her, "Akito-sama will see you now." She spoke quickly and the two maids shuffled away, leaving her to stare at the door.
Akito-sama, Chiyo rolled her eyes; he sure had them fooled. With a sweep across the skirt out of habit – to dust off invisible dirt, Chiyo stood straight and assumed the stance that she had when she had encountered him the first time. She turned the knob and walked in with an impassive look on her face. "Akito-san…" Her eyes looked around the room. They zoomed in on the frail body sitting at a round window, staring at her with a smile on his face.
"Welcome back, Death-san." He said coolly.
Chiyo folded her arms and stayed where she was, "You've expected me to come instead of him, did you?"
Akito nodded slightly in reply, standing up and walking over to her, "I heard of your unfortunate accident…tell me, how does it feel to be alive again?" The question was too casual in itself.
The woman decided to play along, with a bored smile she said, "It's annoying really, I had to start breathing again…"
"Yes, I suppose after all that time, you may have trouble to remember that you needed to do so." A sardonic smirk played at Akito's lips, "I was quite surprised when I learned of your accident, and that is why I requested for your presence. Are you familiar with the Legend of the Chinese Zodiac?" He asked.
"I'm familiar with the Juunishi, Akito-san. I was assigned to reap here many times in the past. If you are asking why I know of your curse, then it is because my former employer had known. He has future sights on you," She smiled, hoping to frighten him a little. Azrael was known for his sights on those he deemed worthy for greater things when they would finally die. The man was twisted enough to value those with cruel hearts or not hearts at all.
"Yes, Azrael would have told you that would he?" Akito grinned, calling her bluff. He laughed inwardly as her eyes widened in shock; no mortal would know the name of the First Death unless he had made himself known to them. A pale hand rose to touch the woman's cheek, "It's nice that I have your full attention now, Chiyo."
"How—" She couldn't bring herself to say anything else, she just stared as the grin became sadistic as he watched her fumble. "You're so shocked, but how else would I learn of what happened to you and Kyo? I also know about why you needed my dear Yuki, poor Katsu – you must not love him that much if you let him in harms way so he could travel here…or maybe he just wanted to get away from you?"
The comment about her beloved made Chiyo narrow her eyes at him, "Shut up! I let him do it because he wanted to – he had wanted to do that ever since he was a child!"
The rise in the woman's voice made Akito glare at her, the hand on her cheek starting to tremble. No, he wouldn't strike her yet, despite the gruelling temptation.
"He came to you didn't he?" Chiyo stated, "He appeared to you and told you something. You wouldn't know his name otherwise!"
"Yes, yes. We had a nice meeting over tea. He's an understanding man, someone that earns the title of Death-sama. He told me about you, you were his successor, ne? He raised you ever since you died, and how do you treat him? You go against everything he taught you and run off with a mortal that was meant to die."
"He was NOT meant to die!" Chiyo shouted, "Azrael had him killed just because I fell in love with him. Every lifetime he lived, he was killed again and again, and why? Because that bastard wanted me all to himself! He doesn't deserve any title, just as you don't deserve to be called God."
Dark eyes flared as the hand struck across the woman's face, hard. Chiyo stumbled and caught herself before she fell, raising a free hand to feel the sting on her cheek.
"You may have shown disrespect to him but you are not going to show disrespect to me. You are not Death anymore. You have no power here now that you're the Cat, the monster." Akito's words came out like venom, "Azrael gave you to me. You're mine now, as Kyo is now his."
"What—?" Chiyo looked up at him, "Kyo—what did you do?"
The man smirked, "Just a fair trade…I was getting sick of him anyway…" He replied coolly. "Azrael let me keep you in return for me giving him Kyo. It was simple, really."
"We are not things you can trade off!" Chiyo shouted, only to feel a hand grab her hair and pull her towards Akito. She tried not to make a noise as his eyes bore into hers with a dark fire. "You do not scare me…" She whispered harshly.
Chiyo was tossed back down and Akito turned and moved back to the window, "You will be staying here for now on. You will be sharing the fate that he did, however – since you do not go to school, I will lock you up once I'm bored with you."
Chiyo glared, rubbing her head. "You sure think highly of yourself, how do you know I'm going to stay willingly?" She snarled.
Akito's eyes looked back at her with annoyance, "I can punish Yuki if you try to leave. And since punishing him means punishing your dear Katsu as well. I think you get it, unless you're too stupid to understand. Leave me now." His eyes returned to the window as he waved a hand in a 'shooing' motion.
The woman stood, wishing she was dead once again so she could just touch the bastard with her hands. Rules of the Underworld be damned! She left the room grudgingly, her hands still caressing the sore spot where he pulled her hair. She had forgotten what physical pain felt like, it was different from electrocutions from Azrael – he used the contained soul to transfer the pain. If she was injured in another way, she wouldn't feel a thing. Chiyo let her hand fall away from her head to look at it, there was blood on her palm, obviously Akito, the sadist, pulled hard, but her mind was too flooded with thoughts to actually register the full amount of pain.
The maids were waiting for her outside, standing up at the sight of her return and wordlessly leading the woman to her new room, which looked like another play to her mind. Was this a joke? The room was nicely furnished, like an apartment. Chiyo narrowed her eyes at the sight; she was dealing with someone who liked mind games. At least Azrael was straight forward and just inflicted pain on you via electricity and left you for… well, 'dead' wouldn't be a right word in that case now was it? Her thoughts suddenly went to Kyo, the damned cat…Neko-bozu…he should have stayed at the house. Though, she was too weak to do anything at that moment.
Chiyo was now the stupid Cat; the stupid Cat that had gotten herself into a situation worse than when she was dead. At least with Azrael, she knew all of his tricks. That and she knew how to protect herself from his rampages. With Akito, he was a whole different book. Akito seemed to prefer using someone's weakness to his benefit – and if he didn't want to do that, he'd inflict pain upon his victim. Akito was a wild card, whereas Azrael was too predictable.
Despite everything however, she couldn't go against him. Not if she wanted to invoke his wrath upon Yuki and Katsu. She wouldn't put both of them though that.
Chiyo walked over to a couch and sat down, not realising that the maids had long since left the area. She wondered if Tohru and the others knew about what happened to Kyo…she doubted it.
Perhaps there was a way to tell them.
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"Kyo-kun…"
The sound of an angelic voice plagued Kyo's thoughts as he laid on his bed in a sleepless dream. The voice sounded so lovely, so familiar, yet he couldn't remember who it belonged to. All he knew was that it was female, with a voice of pure innocence. Who she was calling for though, he had no idea.
Ever since Kyo had entered The Underworld, time had vanished. Both worlds, above and below had different flows of time. What can seem like a day in the World of the Living can seem like forever. Time was not an option for the dead, as they had all the time in the world. Kyo had existed in the World of the Dead for a long while now, and he still had no idea of who he used to be when he was alive.
It was a mandatory when someone was marked with a fate to work for Azrael. They would be given a new identity and forget their old lives; a way to detach the person from the Living World and make them indifferent to their task. With losing their given name, they would lose themselves and their past life. Kyo had been known as Hadyn for quite some time; a Welsh name that meant 'Fire' which Azrael had given him because of his orange hair and red eyes.
The day he first met Azrael, Kyo had forgotten everything about his life as Kyo Sohma - everything except the female voice that made his heart feel alive.
"Hadyn!"
An edgier female voice broke him out of his relaxing trance. His eyes lazily opened to see a woman in a blue and black outfit staring down at him. Her brown hair was done in a Lolita style, with tight curls hanging on each side and her eyes matched the blue on her outfit.
"Laylah." Kyo growled in annoyance, "Stop coming into my room without permission."
"Well excuse me for wanting to be your alarm clock." The woman smirked sarcastically and pushed his legs aside so she could sit on the end of his black sheeted bed. "Never knew Azrael's pet had immunity when it came to being late for his classes."
"Stop calling me that!" He spat. "I am not his 'pet', I'm his damned successor!"
"Hah." Laylah giggled to herself and decided to ruffle his hair with a gloved hand (which were actually fingerless gloves).
"STOP THAT!" Kyo got up and got away from the woman, "What did I tell you about touching me!"
Laylah stood up and frowned, twisting her face into a bitchy Kyo-like expression and shouting, "NEVER FUCKING DO IT!" He face went back to an innocent smile. "See? I listen, I just don't care."
"Idiot girl." Kyo muttered while going over to a wardrobe to change a black shirt. "Shouldn't you be up there with the living right now, playing that god awful game…what was it? DMV?"
"DDR." Laylah corrected him, "You should try it Hadyn, it relieves stress. For you, I think you need at least five years." The dead brunette grinned as Kyo rolled his eyes. "I thought my time would be better down here, I'm still waiting for Azrael to assign me to something." She shrugged, the first time without any wit or sarcasm to her voice. She let her eyes trail away from the one who was ignoring her in favour of grooming himself, settling on the scythe that lay against a cabinet on the other side of the room. "I still can't believe he gave you Chiyo's scythe." She sighed to herself.
The name caught Kyo's attention as he spit toothpaste from his mouth. "That damned woman again, who is she and why do I keep hearing about her from you?" He didn't mention that the name itself sounded familiar, but she didn't need to know that.
"Oh…I thought you'd know by now." Laylah pointed at the scythe. "That was Chiyo's weapon," Her eyes mapped the room, "This was Chiyo's room too, actually. She was Azrael's successor before she kinda went insane."
An eyebrow rose, "Insane?"
"Yeah. I remember her, she was always aloof and stuck up, sorta the spoiled Maiden of Death… she was Azrael's pride and joy. Then after a trip to collect spirits, something odd happened and ever since then she acted all spacey and just not like herself. Rumour was that she found love in a mortal being, but that in itself is insane – since how can Death love a mortal without accidentally killing them?" Laylah idly twirled her finger as if to make a point that it was foolish. "Azrael noticed her odd behaviour and gave her more assignments to try to take her mind off of it. Something must have been weird with the assignments though, because afterwards, she snapped and ran away. Though, I was just fairly new to being dead back then, it happened a long time ago."
Kyo stared at the weapon for a while, going though the story again and again in his head. The only thing that stuck was the fact that she fell in love with a mortal, a living being. He had no idea why, but the thought didn't seem too farfetched.
"What ever happened to her?" He found himself asking.
"Oh, well I dunno that. I was in the Living World at the time, but I bet Zeru knows!"
The name made Kyo cringe in disgust. "Him?" He glared at her as if she just said the most horrible word in existence – which she did.
"Don't act like that." Laylah frowned. Zeru was Laylah's friend and honorary 'Older Brother'. He was quiet, serious, soft-spoken, cold, and straightforward. Many of the dead girls adored him and treated him like an idol. Kyo hated him, mostly for the fact that Zeru insulted him when they first met each other. The encounter went from bad to worse when Kyo had an instinctive feeling that he should challenge the bastard to a fight, but Zeru whipped his ass because he was more experienced.
"Anyone but him." Kyo stated flat out.
"Zeru is the only one I know who might have an idea." The brunette said, "But you don't have to ask him now, come on. I want to get to our classes on time for once." Laylah took a hold of Kyo by his sleeve and dragged him out of the room. Kyo had to reach out and summon his weapon before the door automatically slammed shut.
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I like where I went with this, give some sort of a peek at the other life before something happens so Kyo can regain his full identity and remember that he shouldn't be there in the first place.
I know Zeru is like Yuki, and I have it thought of this way – have a few connections to his past memories and it will keep him from losing himself to the point of no return.
I hope it doesn't take long for the next chapter, since I'm getting prepared for real life thingies. I know where it's going though, so expect it!