Ayashi no Yuugi II: The Final Sunrise
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 12: Possession
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May 28, 200 AC; 3:05 AM
Colony L2, Asuka Residence
The first thing Shinn was aware of as he woke was the quiet tap-tap-tapping of the rain. The second thing he noticed was that he was warm and comfortable. Slowly, pale lilac eyes opened, and fixed on the familiar white ceiling of his room, and even more slowly, his lips curved in a faint smile of contentment.
He was home. And life was good. For now, at least.
He turned his head and spotted a figure slumped over the bed, his blonde head resting on crossed arms. His smile widened in affectionate amusement, as he lifted a hand and ran it gently through light gold locks.
He wasn't quite sure when he fell into the warm embrace of sleep…
8:34 AM
Quatre woke to find the bed empty, and for a moment, he panicked. Then the bathroom door swung open, and Shinn entered the room, one-handedly toweling his hair, his other arm in a sling. The American smiled at the sight of the rumpled Arabian, his eyes flashing relief for a brief moment before disappearing under a playful demeanor.
"So sleeping beauty wakes at long last," he teased.
Quatre barely heard what Shinn said. He couldn't take his eyes off the immortal, whose damp hair was freed from its usual braid, and was dressed in a white dress shirt, which was unbuttoned, and a pair of black slacks.
Shinn raised an eyebrow and leaned against the door while his smile morphed into a familiar impish grin. "See something you like?"
Quatre flushed and looked away. Shinn chuckled, pushing off the door and walking over to the Arabian. Gentle fingers slid under his chin, lifting his head to stare into pale lilac eyes.
"Why does the lack of my presence worry you so much, Quatre?" Shinn's voice was amused but serious.
"You were injured…" Quatre said, hesitantly.
Shinn's eyes narrowed slightly. "Your empathy should have been allowed you to sense that I was still in the house," his voice was low, worried.
Quatre's aura had always stood out in his senses, mostly because of his empathy, but his aura seemed off somehow… The blonde still had his empathy, but then why hadn't he been able to sense his presence in the next room? What would have happened if he hadn't sensed the panic that Quatre had felt?
Someone was meddling with Quatre's empathy, and Shinigami was going to get to the bottom of this. Whoever was meddling with what belonged to him was going down; all he had to do was find them.
((Mitsuki Cosmos::snicker: Shinigami's on the warpath::snicker:))
May 30, 200 AC; 2:45 PM
It had been five days since Duo had returned to his house to rest and recover before the inevitable next mission arrived, but he had been doing anything but rest. In fact, he had been working himself half to death in the apartment over the garage, on some project, which he would not divulge, not even to Quatre.
The pilots, when they were there to watch the braided pilot, and occasionally when they were not, were becoming increasingly worried.
Quatre had a vague feeling that it had to do with his empathy, but he had nothing to prove his suspicions.
June 4, 200 AC; 5:34 PM
Trowa looked out the window worriedly. The other pilots were out on a mission, and should be returning soon, in about two hours. Duo had stormed out of the house nearly two hours earlier, a dangerous look on his face, one that was rarely seen outside the cockpit of his Gundam. The look on Duo's face wasn't what had worried him though; it was what the American had been wearing…
June 4, 200 AC; 7:06 PM
Colony L2, The Sartoria Night Club
Shinn grinned maniacally as he slipped into the crowded club. The third he had been to so far. This was the one, all his sources had pointed that the demon Oriel hunted at the Sartoria more often than not, so this was where she was most likely to be found. His revenge would soon come to a close. He was Shinigami, and no one, not even a Master Demon like Oriel, was allowed to play around with what was his.
Even in the early evening hours, the Sartoria was packed. The Sartoria was one of those many places scattered throughout earth and the colonies, which was hyped with the supernatural, attracting Slayers, Wiccans, Mystics, Witches, and other Immortals, be they Divine, Demonic, or Neutral, like bees to honey. Like other Clubs of its kind, the only human in the Sartoria was the bartender. It was toward the fat, balding man (Caucasian, in his late forties, if he wasn't mistaken), that Shinn made his way.
With his Immortal heritage flaunted for all to sense if they could (which most could, considering the type of people who congregated here), no one attempted to accost the immortal. The crowds parted for him. Instinctively, the club goers knew better than to approach him, not even to say hello. To do so was to ask for several years, centuries, or millennia to be shaved off your life.
The bartender stiffened when he saw a young man with a long chestnut braid, in his early twenties, dressed in a red silk long sleeved shirt with a plunging neckline and a tasteful fall of lace at his throat, black leather pants, black leather ankle boots, black silk fingerless gloves, and a black trench coat stalked toward the bar. The bartender could see the gun holstered at his side, and the daggers in his boots. Human though he was, the bartender could tell that this wasn't your average immortal, demon, or Mystic, and the young man wasn't exactly human either.
A single cool amethyst stare was enough to make one of the demons at the bar scramble off his stool, offering it up to the immortal's use. The immortal took the seat, and his eyes roamed the club, watching, analyzing, calculating; he was obviously looking for something, or someone. The bartender knew that it was only a while of time before he turned on him for information, and he knew it wasn't going to be a pleasant experience in the least.
It was times like this that he hated his job.
As expected, ten minutes later, the young man turned to the bartender and crooked a finger, motioning the bartender to come over to him. The bartender gulped and walked over to the young man, all too aware of how the other immortals around the man had started to edge away from him, or attempted to ignore him.
"Well?" the bartender said, "What do you want?"
"Information," Shinn said calmly, his voice cool and level.
"Don't know nothing."
Shinn turned slowly and pinned the bartender with a cool amethyst stare, his eyes level and calculating.
"Indeed."
His voice was level and intense, and the bartender gulped nervously, detecting the hint of amusement hidden in Shinn's husky voice. There was no doubt that the immortal was playing with him.
"Very perceptive," Shinn said lightly, his lips twitching.
The bartender's eyes bugged out in shock. A mind reader!
Shinn's lips stretched into an unpleasant smirk. "We can do this the hard way, or the easy way. I am looking for a demon by the name Oriel."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Wrong answer.
Shinn's immortal aura flared, and large bat wings unfurled themselves, his ears pointed, and his lips peeled away from his teeth, revealing canines that were longer and sharper than that of any Master Vampire, his fingers lengthened, and the nails became dangerously sharp. His pupils morphed into pitch black slits, and the whites vanished, swallowed by the amethyst hue of his eyes, the different shades of violet swirling around the pupils. The dim lighting flickered, and all light surrounding the immortal seemed to be sucked into his person, making his dark aura even darker.
((Mitsuki Cosmos: Scary…))
If Shinn had been frightening earlier, he had become outright terrifying.
Everything in the club froze. There was no longer any doubt about who was now among them. Death had arrived in the Sartoria…
7:34 PM
It was a very satisfied God of Death who left the Sartoria Night Club. Shinn grinned malevolently. The demon Oriel would pay for meddling with what was his…
His wings surrounded him, and a blanket of darkness surrounded him. When it faded, the street in front of the Sartoria was empty.
((Kamui Gaia 07: Possessive, isn't he?))
7:35 PM
Colony L2, Asuka Residence
The other pilots had just returned from a mission, and Trowa was telling them about the actions of the American earlier that evening.
"Maybe he's on a mission," Wufei suggested.
Trowa shook his head. "No, I asked Lady Une. She said that the Triad forbade sending any GTK Pilot on any missions until July, when they would be fully rested and recovered from the strain put on them in the past few months."
7:36 PM
Somewhere on Earth
The Demon Oriel, well known for her hatred toward empaths, especially well known for the empath called 04 that kept her away from gaining the powers of Gundam pilot 02, was enjoying a meal; a Witch from Japan, a dark haired beauty with the most enticing curves who was a very powerful Wicca. She had no idea that Death was coming for her, seeking vengeance for his meddling with what was his.
She started in shock when a pitch black mist coalesced in front of her. The mist solidified into a pair of bat wings which unfurled, revealing a very peeved God of Death.
"My Lord!" Oriel cried, surprised. "What brings you here?"
"Discipline," Shinn said calmly.
"My Lord?" the demon asked, confused.
"You have been a very bad girl, Oriel," Shinn said in a mildly admonishing tone. "You have meddled with the powers of what belongs to me."
"Sire!" Oriel flung herself to her knees, throwing aside the half conscious Wiccan. "I would never touch what belonged to you, Sire!"
"You were never fond of Empaths, Oriel," Shinn's voice was deceptively good natured, "and you did not try to keep your hatred toward the Gundam Pilot 04 a secret. Very recently, I have found that his powers are being blocked where the Pilot 02 is concerned."
Oriel paled and gasped, "Sire?"
Shinn's eyes narrowed dangerously and without warning, he grabbed the woman by the hair and yanked until she was bent over backward over his knee. With a decidedly feral grin, he said, "You know whom I speak of. Did you think that Pilot 02 was human? I am 02, and 04 belongs to me."
"Please, Sire," Oriel cried, "I did not realize!"
"Silence…" Shinn said lightly, his voice amused. His eyes sparkled with enjoyment as he forced the demon's spine to arch several degrees more, causing her to yelp in discomfort.
His smile hardened. "I don't think you're suffering enough, my dear," he said, his voice deceptively mild, as he grabbed Oriel's arm and wrenched it behind her back. Oriel gasped in pain.
"Nope, still not enough," Shinn said in a conversational tone. He twisted her arm a bit higher, and one of his wings swept forward, shattering her kneecaps. Oriel grimaced and started thrashing, and Shinn's smile widened fractionally. His wing slammed down, dislocating her free arm as a quick stamp of his boot broke one of her legs, causing the demon to howl in pain.
Roots emerged from the ground, binding the demon's knees and ankles to the floor, preventing her from shifting to lessen the discomfort. Shinn chuckled malevolently and forced her spine to arch ten degrees more, this time, she truly did scream.
More roots shot out of the ground, wrapping around her neck, wrists, and across her torso, along her shoulders, keeping her spine arched, and Shinn released her hair as he stepped back, smiling maniacally. A thin, spiked metal cane materialized in front of him, and Shinn calmly took hold of it. Several more roots shot out of the ground, and tore apart the skimpy black leather clothes that covered her. Oriel couldn't help but flinch as the cane came down with a swish and stopped a mere millimeter away from her face.
In a brisk voice, Shinn said, "Ten for being an incompetent, ten for breaking etiquette, ten for touching what belongs to your Liege Lord, and ten more for lying to me."
Throughout the chambers, the servants and slaves winced at the screams echoing through the complex.
XoXoX
The last stroke was applied, and Shinn stepped back, studying his handiwork with a critical eye.
He nodded in satisfaction. There were forty distinct bloody welts, not one overlaying or crossing another. The metal cane melted out of existence as he made a barely detectable flicking motion with his hands, and the roots moved Oriel, who was choking on harsh silent sobs, into a spread eagle position and turned the demon over so she faced the floor. Another root tangled itself in her hair and jerked her head up so Shinn could look into her pain glazed eyes.
"Don't feel so relieved, Oriel, dear," his voice was light, and a leather whip appeared in his hands, "we're not finished yet."
Oriel let loose an anguished wail as the whip came down.
((Kamui Gaia 07::giggles: Ouch :giggles: ))
June 4, 200 AC; 9:56 PM
Colony L2, Asuka Residence
The four Gundam Pilots looked up expectantly when they heard the door open, and Shinn strolled leisurely into the house, a faint smile of satisfaction on his lips, his eyes sparkling.
"Maxwell!" Wufei snapped.
Shinn paused and slowly turned his head toward them. "Yes?"
Wufei gulped as the braided pilot's intense violet gaze locked on him. Refusing to be intimidated, he snapped, "Where have you been all day?"
"Caning the crap out of some moron who thought she could get away with interfering with what is mine," was the shockingly blasé reply.
The other pilots stared at him in horror.
"Duo…" Quatre whispered.
Shinn sighed and said, "She's still alive, if that's what you're wondering. She'll be alright in a day or two."
Instead of continuing into the house, Shinn turned and left the house once more.