Chapter 16

Misery's Wake

Mitsuru's Room

Mitsuru is lying on his king-sized bed completely lost in thought. Every time I get someone dear to me, something terrible happens to him or her that leaves me utterly alone again. Tatsumaru's death has left me a devastated mess to say the least. Mitsuru sits bolt upright. He can still feel Tatsumaru's Aura in his room. I think I'm going crazy, because Tatsumaru is dead and yet I can feel his Aura in my room…

A man appears at the foot of Mitsuru's bed. He has long pink hair tied at the nap of his neck, the rest falling to his lower back. He has brilliant sapphire blue eyes and pale skin. He is dressed in simple jade green robes and is barefoot. "Lord Mitsuru, it is a pleasure to meet you finally," the pink-haired man said in a lurid voice.

"Why do you smell like Tatsumaru?" Mitsuru asked.

"I am his twin brother, Inumaru the Light Master."

"Why are you here, Inumaru?"

"Of recent, I lost Tatsumaru's Aura. I'm wondering why he disappeared into thin air. Your apartment is as far as I could track him." Mitsuru swallows the lump that has formed in his throat unable to speak right away.

"I had nothing to do with his disappearance…"

"I never said that you did, Lord Mitsuru. I just want to know what happened to him." Mitsuru draws in a shaky breath before he begins speaking. He is sitting Indian style on his bed with his hands folded.

"Well, he met me here and we did things that I would rather keep between him and me."

"That's understandable."

"It turned out that Tatsumaru was wanted by Lord Solomon."

"Tatsumaru was wanted by Solomon for what."

"To be stripped of his Godhood."

"And why was he being stripped of his Godhood?"

"Rose filed for a divorce through Solomon."

"Rose divorced Tatsumaru after all these years."

"Yes, it seems that she no longer loves him. When he came here he was a slight mess, but he had made up his mind."

"What a pitiable woman Rose is."

"Rose also took his eyesight away from him."

"How and why did she do that?"

"Tatsumaru had been spying on Rose while she was with Ryuzaki. When Rose found out, she scratched his eyes out until he was blinded."

"That filthy little whore of a bitch! I should have killed her when I had the chance all those years ago!"

"That would not have solved anything between you and Tatsumaru. Anyway, Tatsu was pregnant (through his Dragon form) when he went to Solomon."

"What happened to the egg?" Sadness rakes Mitsuru causing him to shudder.

"It died…"

"How did that happen?"

"When Solomon stripped Tatsumaru of all his powers (and I mean all of them), his body no longer had the means of nurturing the egg."

"That must have devastated both of you greatly."

"I know it upset me. I'm sure it upset Tatsumaru as well, only one could not really tell."

"How come?" Inumaru sits down on the chair by Mitsuru's desk, his legs crossed at the knee, and his arms folded over his chest.

"After his powers were stripped, he became a mere shell of himself. No emotions towards anyone and he could not be blamed for that…"

"That I can understand."

"After his powers were drained, Solomon threw him in the Hellbound Cellar below the Council Room."

"For what?"

"To weaken him further would be my only logical guess."

"I do not like where this is going."

"Neither did I, to be honest. Anyway, Hades and I got him free. I told Hades to bring Tatsumaru to my apartment here in Italy. The egg I took with me to Solomon's room."

"Oh dear God, this could not have been good at all…"

"Indeed, it wasn't good…"

"Tell me what took place in Solomon's chambers." Mitsuru looks around briefly before looking back at Inumaru.

"It turned out that Solomon was not in control of his own body. I believe Tatsumaru figured that out when he appeared next to me."

"Then who or what was controlling Solomon's body?"

"At first, I didn't know and Tatsumaru would not tell me what he knew. A weapon appeared in Solomon's hands; a weapon known as the Dragon Lance." Inumaru's eyes open wide at the mention of the dreaded weapon.

"The Dragon Lance? Yaichiro's Dragon Lance?"

"That very one. Anyway, using Solomon's for the first strike, he stabbed Tatsumaru through his midsection. Then he separated and showed us his true form. Again, Tatsumaru would not let me fight. He held his own for a little while. However, when Yaichiro infused his lance with Fire, Tatsumaru didn't have the time nor the strength to dodge the coming attack. Yaichiro sliced him from his right shoulder to his left hip."

"How very gruesome…"

"Yes, it was horrifying… I caught Tatsumaru's body and made him disappear, sending him to Hades. Then I finally confronted Yaichiro. Using the Spear of Longinus, I stabbed him in the chest, close to his heart. Then using my power I made him suffer for eternality. Finally, I imprisoned him in the pits of Hell."

"That served him right. He killed my brother, you lover, and your unborn child."

"Had the egg lived we would have had twins…"

"That makes it even worse then."

"I passed out after that. I only really came to when Hades said that it was too late for Tatsumaru. I nearly strangled my youngest brother because of it."

"Thank you for telling me everything that happened." Inumaru stands up. Mitsuru stands up and walks stand in front of Inumaru.

"You deserved to know. I mean Tatsumaru was your twin brother after all. He was my lover for only a day."

"And yet you miss him dearly. The two of you made a better match than he and Rose ever did." Tears stream down Mitsuru's cheeks causing him to shake violently.

"Thank you, Inumaru." Mitsuru and Inumaru hug briefly. Inumaru disappears from the room. Mitsuru paces his room, his hands behind his back. There is a knock on the front door. Mitsuru goes to the door and opens it. Standing there are Reid and Kiyumi.