--Second Movement: Demons--

::Prelude::

Deep within the heart of the Spiritual Realm, amidst a swirling mass of grey mists and black nothingness, the Weaver still sat, gazing pensively at his world, the earth, laid out in front of him. He had various important tasks to handle, as always, but had decided to let many of them take a back seat to the incident among the seishi - the incident that could very well decide the fate of the world.

"Is that all, Weaver-sama?" a young Genbu messenger asked, shifting from one foot to another anxiously. The deity waved a dismissive hand in his direction, too lost in his thoughts to answer. "Ah, very well, then. I shall give your regards and tidings to my master Genbu-sama. Sayonara." The Angel offered his superior a low, nervous bow, then waved a hand and disappeared in a flash of green magic.

A small sigh escaped the Weaver's lips as he watched the messenger depart, allowing the young Angel's information to sink in. Byakko had been reluctantly swayed to his brothers' sides, but Suzaku still bitterly refused and the gods were making little progress. Things were not looking any easier for he who guided Fate. He could only hope that Asatenshi would arrive soon, so he could set the next step of his secretive plans into motion. The Weaver's delicate hand drummed against his leg in irritation as his grey eyes darted across the Void, searching for some sign of the angelic woman. "Where is that impossible Angel? I called for her long ago..."

"Perhaps if Weaver-sama would exercise some patience, he would not find the wait quite so unpleasant." Shortly after the words were spoken, the Morning Angel appeared, bathed in an aura of emerald light. She bowed in mock formality to her current employer, a teasing note in her voice. "You called for me and I have come, despite the risk it adds to our mission. Should a wayward bandit enter my room and find a soulless shell, I should think they would be most surprised, do you not agree?"

The Weaver scowled. "Point taken. I shall make this brief."

"I don't suppose this meeting would have anything to do with the gods reaching a decision?" Asatenshi wondered hopefully. Her lips turned downwards in a childish pout. "Or, is that asking too much from the quarrelsome quartet?"

"Much too much, I fear," the deity grumbled, leaning his elbows against his "chessboard" and lacing his fingers together thoughtfully. He was silent for a long moment, puzzling over his never-ending game of lives. He moved one of the many pieces upon his board, this time farther away from another, then looked up at the Angel. "How fare you with the seishi? I have been focusing intently upon that battle, whenever I am allowed the time, but I have other duties I must attend to, and unlike my troublesome Mother I am not omniscient. Have I missed any details of importance?"

Asatenshi lowered her eyes respectfully, immediately businesslike. "Your plan worked marvelously, Weaver-sama. The monk's greatest weakness is slowly proving to be his downfall. He is Trapped tightly, and is too closely connected with his deceased comrades to be in any real hurry to discover the truth." She glanced up, just slightly. "However..."

"A part of him still desires to return to that which is his true world," the Weaver completed with a frown. "That blasted monk never fails to surprise me... just when I think I have everything perfectly planned..." he trailed off, extensive memory fading back to a day so many years ago. He looked up again after a moment, blinking, as if he had forgotten that the Angel still awaited his orders. "Chichiri is stronger than even I imagined, both in body and in soul, and it does not help that he has quite a bit of outside aid. Your sister is reaching him, bit by bit, as is that other seishi."

"Hai, that they are." Asatenshi snorted. "Nee-san's magic has grown; in the past, she would have been helpless against my barrier. And I never would have believed that just the sound of that bandit's voice would so easily call Chichiri back to reality. Seishi really are quite aggravating, deshou?"

"Never mind that," the deity snapped, growing impatience in his voice. "Our issue lies with the monk's connections to reality. If this continues, his return is imminent, and if he returns then our game is ruined, as is this world. Something must be done, and I believe I may know what that something shall be."

The Angel raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Oh? And what do you propose we do? The only way we can get the bandit to stop speaking with the monk is to force him from the stronghold, or perhaps..." her emerald orbs lit up with realization. "Are you suggesting that we move forward with the process, and destroy the seishi pair simultaneously?"

"Precisely." The Weaver of Fates waved a hand; in moments, the image of the dark-haired Reikaku co-leader appeared in his palm. "And this is the tool we shall use to eliminate him." Asatenshi tensed with curiosity, but said nothing. "I have noticed that this one, this soul mate of the bandit seishi, has managed to fall in love."

"Hopelessly so," Asatenshi agreed with a small, annoyed frown. "It is really quite disgusting, if I must be honest. Human emotions are pathetic." She chuckled, just slightly. "My charming sister has attempted to halt such thoughts of romance, but I feel that, for all her trouble, she only kindles the fires."

"Odd; I was under the impression that you were the one trying to staunch his ideas."

Asatenshi flashed a quick grin. "Reverse psychology is a lovely device. I had hoped to draw them further apart, so it might be easier to dispose of the seishi bandit." She frowned, putting her chin in her hands thoughtfully. "However, there is a very large difference between drawing them apart and turning them against one another. I fail to see how you are going to make that seishi's comrade his killer: they are true friends, to the very core."

The deity nodded, grey eyes alight with planning. "Perhaps... unless properly motivated." His illusion disappeared, and the Weaver turned to his board once more. "In anticipation of such troubles, several months ago I enlisted some, shall we say, reinforcements for my mission. My brother, Enma-sama, has agreed to send some of his greater underlings to aid in my cause."

The Angel's eyes widened in surprise. "The Lord of the Shadow Realm?" she blinked, alarmed by the sudden announcement. "Then that means... you have gone so far as to make bargains with...?"

"Hai, Asatenshi," he agreed, voice a deadly whisper. "You will have the aid of a pair of demons - a pair of very powerful demons, I may add." The Weaver's stern visage broke into a small, amused smile at her unhappy expression. "Ah, so all Angels truly despise their counterparts so fiercely?"

"Those... things... are not our counterparts," she spat. "While we faithfully serve our Masters, working at their bidding and completing their will, they only serve themselves, cooperating out of their own sick pleasure."

"Nevertheless, they are experts at their line of work: cruel, clever, vicious, and beautifully efficient." The Weaver's pale grey eyes darted in the direction of the woman, making sure that she was paying full attention. "One of them is a Souleater, and the greatest of his kind. I have made a deal with him, Angel, a deal that you must help me complete."

"I shudder to think what you offered such a loathsome creature."

"The bargain was nothing extravagant, certainly nothing that shall cause you any unnecessary pain," he assured her. "I have simply made an exchange. He shall give me his services in eliminating the seishi, and I shall allow him to have a... host."

"A host?" Asatenshi looked away, eyes reading something near reluctance. "So, the stories were correct, all along. You really do not care how many lives you destroy for the 'greater good,' do you, Weaver-sama?"

"The Fate of our world is at stake," the deity snapped, not at all in the mood to argue with the Angel. "A few sacrifices mean little in the grand scheme of things. One death for a million lives? Hardly tears at my conscience."

She kept her emerald eyes on the dark void below her. Asatenshi's voice sounded suddenly quiet and unsure. "A few lives, perhaps... but a soul as well...?"

The Weaver's grey orbs narrowed in accusation. "Have you been spending too much time in the company of humans, Asatenshi? Beginning to care for them? Going the way of your meddling sister, hm?"

Her head snapped back in his direction, eyes flaring indignantly. "Never!" she cried. "They mean nothing to me, they are nothing to me, nothing but another mission. Not the miserable monk, that pathetic bandit, or his little friend. I serve Genbu-sama, and no one else. Do what you will, Weaver-sama."

The deity nodded his approval, a flicker of a smile on his thin lips. "This game is growing larger than I expected; even more players may become involved before all is finished. Nevertheless, I shall do everything I can to move the pieces into position, just in case there are further complications. For now, though, all we must do is implant the Souleater into that bandit. From then on, Asatenshi, you may manipulate the situation as you see fit."

"Implant the Souleater," she repeated, fighting back a shudder at the thought of working in such close proximity with a demon. "I suppose that shall call for another Oath, then. No doubt my sister will attempt to prevent it. Still, I should not have many problems. Possession is one of the simpler spells." The Angel looked at the Weaver with a smile of feigned sadness on her lips. "Mm, this seems almost too simple, Weaver-sama."

"Do not be so certain of your predictions, Asatenshi," the Weaver warned. "He will not fall into our hands quite so easily. Like the monk, that bandit has an unusually strong will."

The Angel snorted. "His love makes him weak."

"Perhaps," the Weaver assented quietly. He glanced back down at his chessboard, frowning at a situation developing in Sairou. "Ah, my eternal game requires my attention. Do you have any questions concerning your role, or shall I inform the Souleater of your cooperation?"

Asatenshi stood, bowing regally. "No questions, Weaver-sama. I am prepared to perform your will, as it is also the will of my Master, Genbu-sama." She looked up, eyes hard with determination, but was unable to erase the look of apprehension that lurked within the sparkling emerald orbs. "Tell your Souleater to be ready. I shall soon call him out of the shadows."