IMPORTANT! The first part is a dream sequence. Just so no one gets confused :)
I found myself walking alone on a deserted road, only half aware of my surroundings. I knew my destination, and I felt an odd determination to reach it, yet with each passing second I felt more and more lost. A black haze surrounded me, and I tried uselessly to peer through it. Soon, it grew so thick that I could barely see half a foot in front of my face. Out of nowhere, there was a loud roar. I was stricken with fear and began to run. The roar grew louder and louder, and no matter which way I turned, I couldn't escape. So I ran blindly, sheer terror mitigating my actions. Eventually, when my legs were burning so badly that I didn't think I could possibly take another step, I tripped. An eerie silence descended upon the area as I lay there shaking.
I stayed put for what seemed like hours, completely drained of energy. I felt a strange calm settle over me and wondered distantly if I was going to die. Oddly enough, the thought didn't bother me. I was tired to my very core, and for the first time I realized that there was an aching pain in my chest.
Out of nowhere, a hand was outstretched towards me. Suddenly overcome with a fresh wave of determination, I allowed the stranger to help me up. The hand withdrew for a moment, only to return with a lit lantern. I took the lantern and raised it, so that I could see the stranger's face.
Blank crimson eyes gazed back at me, piercing through my innermost mind and throwing their gaze into the abyss beyond. I felt my soul twist beyond recognition, too much, too sharply… I stumbled, my feet suddenly like lead weights. I tried to scream in agony, but the sound wouldn't come. I backed away only to trip again on the same object as before, and stared at it in silent horror.
It was a severed arm, fresh blood still dripping from the stump where it had attached to the shoulder. Even as I stared, the hand convulsed in something resembling agony. Soon, the entire arm was writhing on the ground, painting the dirt with its blood.
Blood.
The scene began to melt into another, one I knew all too well.
No, please… Anything but this. But my pleas fell on deaf ears as I was sucked into the scene.
Blood.
Screaming.
Why is there so much blood?
Flash
No! Not them! What have I…done…
Flash
Wings everywhere. Torn from the severed heads of the Celestials…bloody feathers raining down…
Flash
The survivors are huddled in a corner. I'll protect them…I promised her I would protect them!
Flash
A child's head separated from her body… The feasting demons fall on her before her scream finishes echoing through the dark chamber.
Flash
I-I can't…go on…fatigue courses through my veins like poison…
Flash
Screams…more screams, so much screaming… I fall to the ground. I can no longer muster the strength to stand.
Everything is lost.
Life blood falls on my face and around me. I can feel it splatter against my face. It's still so warm…
I'm going to drown.
Flash
Darkness. Horrible silence. If I strain my eyes, I can see limbs and faces twisted in agony, though they won't remain for much longer. The demons are still feasting.
Everyone is dead…
Is this…my fault?
Flash
Is anyone alive? Where? Where are you?
Why… Why was I spared?
'You were spared for me.'
"Wh-who…?" It is all I can force out through dry, cracked lips. My voice is hoarse, barely a whisper. I must have been screaming.
Flash
Even when I close my eyes, the sounds of bones crunching and demons quarreling over remains are stark against the silence of the vessel. So I force them to remain open, to burn into my memory what has happened here today. What I have done.
Did they not see me? Perhaps if I cry out, they will grant me the mercy of death.
I can't cry out. My strength is gone… Everything hurts.
Flash
The voice again. Am I going insane? Not that it matters much, I suppose. Not now…
'Mine…you belong to no one else now…'
Who are you? I can't voice the thought out loud. My voice has left me completely now.
'No one else will go near you now… My little pet.'
Did you kill them? Why? For being too close to me?
Murderer… 'Sinner…'
What have you done? 'You caused this.'
'Look around you. They're all dead.'
Because of me.
Dead. Dead because of me. It's my fault. I can hear their ghostly voices now, cursing me. "Ushiwakaaa…" I will offer myself up to them, if that is what it takes.
"Ushiwaaakaaaa…" I won't let their souls drift aimlessly through this world. I will force myself to suffer as they did. It's only what I deserve. I grab my sword and prepare to make the first cut, tip hovering over the center of my hand.
"Ushiwaka, waaake uuuup…" Now I'm confused. Wake up? I'm asleep?
"Waaaaake uuuuuup…" What do they mean? Do they want me to reach some sort of spiritual connection with them?
"USHIWAKA!"
The next afternoon saw Isshaku and me standing before a dilapidated fountain in an isolated part of the garden. It was an overgrown area, long since forgotten by time and gardeners alike since a row of mushrooms had been planted in front of it, and appreciated by lovers for that very same reason. I knelt down, brushing tall sprigs of moss aside as I searched for a particular crack in the fountain's wall.
"Is it going to be much longer?" I rolled my eyes at Isshaku-kun's impatience, neglecting to answer. "Ushiwaka?"
"Ah —found it." I wormed my fingers into the narrow crack until they reached a small button at the back. There was a faint rumble as the fountain moved back away from me, revealing a narrow staircase that reached down into the shadowed depths below. Silently motioning for Isshaku to follow, I began my descent.
Isshaku's POV
As I followed him, I couldn't help but look down at the stone beneath my feet with trepidation. The aging stairwell appeared to be falling apart at the seams, with entire chunks missing in places. Glowing lichen grew from the cracks in the stairs and plastered the walls, the faint green light giving the entire scene a strange, ethereal effect.
As I descended, I couldn't help but feel that I was leaving this world and travelling into another, like the realm of the faeries spoken of in a faraway land.
Eventually, crumbling stone faded to polished metal and lichen changed to strange lines and figures that lit up blue from within. I began to look at the walls and ceiling now, transfixed by the angular patterns. "What are these?"
"Not much longer, now." I glared at Ushiwaka's back when he brushed off my question. It was silent for several seconds before he spoke again. "The patterns you see are glyphs originally drawn by a people from far away. Of course, they're all dead now."
"Why? What happened?"
"They were killed by their own greed… Here we are!" We both came to a halt as the tunnel widened into a large chamber that was surrounded on all sides by metal and those strange glyphs. A man dressed in the garb of a warrior monk stood before a massive door that at first glance appeared to be part of the wall. Ushiwaka dipped his head in greeting. "Hello, Benkei-san."
"Ushiwaka-sama," Benkei intoned, giving a deep bow. "What brings you here today?" Sama? I stared at Ushiwaka blankly. That was certainly no way for a slave to be addressed.
"I have a potential... New member, shall we say?" he motioned me forward with his hand and I stepped into the light. Benkei glared at me suspiciously.
"Him?" It came out as a growl, and I fought the urge to shrink back. I didn't want to seem weak in the face of this new threat.
Ushiwaka just continued to smile pleasantly. "Oui. If you don't mind, could you ask the gatekeeper to open the door?"
Benkei pressed what appeared to be a well hidden button by the side of the door. "Yatagarasu," he announced in a gruff voice, still eyeing me suspiciously. "Open up."
Benkei stepped aside as the doors swung open quietly, revealing yet another passageway. This one was short and crowned by a large torii gate. I could see a second pair of guards on the far end. These two were both clothed in a strange white and purple outfit, and one wore a gold mask over his eyes. Gold mask kept his expression neutral, but maskless had a look of growing horror on his face as Ushiwaka and I walked forwards. "What's with all the security?" I muttered quietly to myself. When we were about eight feet in front of them, maskless apparently couldn't contain himself any longer and rushed at me with his spear, practically bawling.
"TAICHOOOOU!"
Ushiwaka stepped in front of me calmly. I wanted to shout out at him to move and was already preparing to spring into action, but maskless beat me to it by tripping and landing in a heap at our feet. I blinked in surprise. From where I was standing, the action had almost looked deliberate. I wondered if he was actually that desperate not to harm my Ushiwaka-chan.
Maskless turned bright red as he stared up at Ushiwaka. "U-um, hello, taichou," Ushiwaka chuckled (really, it seemed more like a giggle – I made a mental note to tease him about it later) and reached down a hand to help him up. Maskless stood, laughing sheepishly and staring down at the floor, embarrassed.
Ushiwaka smiled. "Abeno-kun," he nodded to maskless, "Kamono-kun," this time he inclined his head towards gold mask, who was still standing quietly in the corner with a tense grip on his spear. Kamono bowed deeply before straightening. "Could you two run ahead and tell our friends that I will be bringing a guest along? So far I'm afraid that he has been met with a certain amount of," his eyes flitted to Abeno, "hostility."
"B-but taichou!" Abeno burst out, clearly unable to contain himself any longer. "He's your… Your master!" he pointed his spear at me in accusation. "Did he hurt you? He forced you to bring him here, didn't he? I won't allow it! I won't let anybody hurt taichou!"
Gold mask – Kamono, I believe his name was – made a sound of agreement. "Taichou, I have to say I agree. If he's done anything to hurt you…"
Ushiwaka just raised an eyebrow. "Do you two really think so little of me? I would never let anyone force his way into the base, torture or no."
Kamono lowered his head in shame. "No, taichou… I'm sorry."
"But he's a master… And taichou…" at this Abeno's face went slightly red and a thin stream of blood dripped from his nostril. "Taichou is so pretty…!"
"Abeno-san!" Kamono sounded mortified. Ushiwaka, on the other hand, was laughing his ass off, much to my surprise.
"Ushiwaka-chan…" This really wasn't appropriate behavior for a slave of the royal family.
"Abeno-kun, I'm fine," he forced out between peals of laughter. "Kamono-kun, could you go ahead and inform everyone of our guest's arrival?" Kamono nodded and ran deeper into the passage until it opened up into a wide room, where he turned the corner and disappeared.
This may have a small part added after the dream sequence, but I thought that it's been so long that I should really go ahead and upload the chapter. If I do add it, then I'll mention in the next chapter (or whenever I upload it) whether I think it's particularly important to the plot at the moment, so if it isn't then you can just skip over it.
So Ushiwaka's got a similar past to the original game...hmm... I wonder what happened to change things so much (no seriously, I have no idea).
Sorry I took so long. I always tend to get lazy around the start of summer vacation.
Again, if you're reading this, then please please please review! Thanks to the people who already have. It's very hard to get reviews for rare yaoi parings, it seems. Or I just suck. One of the two. I don't think I do, though. Well, I hope I don't... *blinks*
...on a completely unrelated note, N!
...uh, I mean, I'm SOO looking forward to Black and White 2 coming out in America! *squeals like a fangirl...which she is*
The anticipation is building...
Hey, do you think I should break my chapters up a bit and make them shorter? I mean, this chapter and the last could easily be broken into two chapters apiece.