"You have a twin?" His voice was barely audible.
She nodded solemnly.
"Had a twin. She's dead now."
He was shaken by how bluntly she said this, but didn't say anything.
"You're a twin too, yes?"
He hesitated. Should he tell her? Would it lead to more questions? Did he care?
He nodded.
"You've lost yours as well?"
He considered telling her his plan to bring Fai back, but decided it just wasn't the time.
"Yes."
She shook her head slowly, staring at the wall.
"It's like looking in the mirror and not seeing your reflection."
They sat quiet for a moment before Mangetsu broke the silence.
"Should I keep going?"
"Only if you don't mind."
"It's okay, I don't. Shingetsu and I, being twins, looked exactly alike except her hair was black and her eyes were dark purple. We never met our parents because as soon as we were born they realized what we were and gave us to Ruskia's royal priests. They took us and raised us together in our own rooms in the palace. We could do whatever we wanted as long as we didn't leave our rooms. Oh, and we had to practice magic. Because of what we were, we started really young, I think we were three. Shingetsu was always good at all the things you want me to practice; lettering, potions, all that stuff. I always liked attack magic, Mind and Matter Manipulation, Physical Enhancement. A couple of the guards noticed and offered to teach me how to fight. They started with hand-to-hand and when I got good at that they started me on weapons. That's how I got so good with my double swords.
"Anyway, the point is, everything was fine until we turned five and the High-Priest explained what we were being kept for. It turns out, every ten years a set of Tsukuyomi Twins are born. They're kept alive for one-hundred thirteen lunar cycles which is, like, almost nine-and-a-half years and then they're sacrificed thirteen days before their namesake moon phase to give their spirit time to float to the heavens and continue he lunar cycle. That means that the May after our ninth birthdays, Shingetsu would be killed thirteen days before the new moon and I would be killed one day after the new moon, thirteen days before the full moon.
"The reason they were telling us this now was because it was time for the citizens of Ruskia to start making offerings. Ya' know what that means?"
Numb, Fai shook his head.
"It means that they started sending gifts, food mostly, along with their name in the hopes that once we were gone and supposedly looking down on them from celestial positions of power, we'd remember how good their lemon bars were, decide that they more then made up for putting us to death, and grant them good health or fortune or something."
The last sentence was dripping with sarcasm.
"So that was how it went. We got letters and gifts from people all day, but we never got to meet any of them. Not that I wanted to." She shook her head, "Shingetsu despised those people, but I was always pretty indifferent as long as I didn't have to talk to them. In fact, it wasn't until the new moon thirteen days after Shingetsu's death, her first celestial manifestation, that I realized how much I hated those people. How disgusted I was by them and their assumption that their lives, their health and their happiness were all worth more than ours. That we should die andwatch over them. I got so overwhelmed with …well, everything I guess, that I remember passing out. But my maids…" She paused, thinking, "My maids told me that during the time I'd thought that I'd passed out, my hair had turned black and my eyes had turned purple. I looked just like Shingetsu except my pupils had shrunk to the point that you couldn't see them… my eyes were just solid purple. I stood up, looked around and saw the New Moon Priest; he was in charge of Shingetsu's magical training and offerings. Apparently I'd used Blood Whipping (Blood Whipping: Taking control of someone's body without controlling their mind. This includes, but is not limited to, controlling fine motor skills, like writing, or gross motor skills like walking, running, and fighting. It is also possible to simply pick someone up and throw them. Subjects under control are typically aware of the situation but are unable to resist.) to make him turn a ceremonial dagger on himself. I don't remember any of it, but I trusted my maids and they all seemed to like me so I don't really know. They did cover for me and say I had nothing to do with his death; that he'd done it on his own.
"Anyway, not the next day, but the day after, a few minutes before dusk which was when I was supposed die, I'm alone for probably the first time in my life and Ashura shows up out of no where. He told me he was going to help me. Take me to a different world so I wouldn't have to die. I wouldn't be confined to certain rooms; I'd get to actually go outside,"
"You've never been outside?"
"No, shut it, I'm not done. He said that I could still practice magic, essentially do what you do. All I had to do was come with him. I saw the orange in his aura, but I thought maybe he just really wanted me to come with him. It wasn't until I got here and he pretty much did the opposite of everything he said that I thought it might be something different. So," She stretched like a cat, "here I am, that's where I came from and that's why I hate it here. It's also why I hate Ashura."
Fai sat in stunned silence. How could King Ashura do something like that? Maybe he hadn't intended to do this from the beginning but then he realized how powerful she is and he didn't have choice. That had to be it except…he could feel the doubt like a hot coal in his stomach. That was impossible; one of the first things you noticed about Mangetsu was how powerful she was, even under a suppression. You couldn't underestimate her, couldn't overlook the power that radiated off of her like steam. That only left…he didn't want to think about it.
"Look," Mangetsu said, rocking forward onto her knees before sitting back with her legs tucked up next to her, "I'm gonna say one, no, two things and then we're gonna get off the subject because you're the first person my own age, other than my sister, that I've ever met and I don't want to hate you should you start defending him, understand?"
Fai nodded.
"Okay, one: have you ever seen Ashura interact with servants or regular citizens?"
"No…" Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen King Ashura interact with anyone but guards, lords or one of the Nine Generals of the army.
"Well, neither have I. I have heard gossip though and guess what?"
Fai shook his head.
"What?"
"They're terrified of him! I've heard stories about people being arrested for no reason, people being stripped of they're powers, not to mention constant police supervision! The 'kindness' you're always going on about is not the norm. His treatment of you this afternoon is. At least towards anyone he doesn't deem 'important'. You get all that, angel?"
He nodded.
"Two: Chances are if he's using me, he's using you. People like him don't just turn around and nice things for no reason."
They sat quiet once more as Fai absorbed it all. Once again, it was Mangetsu who spoke first.
"You know what we have to do now, right?"
"What?"
"You have to teach me."
"What, why?"
"'Cause he told you not to. Knowing all that how can you think what he told you to do was right?"
"Well, because…"
He was about to say that it made sense, but it only really made sense if you trusted Ashura completely which, up until now, he had. Now he saw the flaws. First, saying Mangetsu couldn't learn magic because he wasn't sure what she'd do with it due to her temper was a self fulfilling prophesy: If he'd given her what he'd promised in he first place, her temper wouldn't be so volatile.
Second, if power was the problem, King Ashura could have easily given her a charm to suppress it and still allow her to practice magic. Insisting that her power grow but not her skill was practically teasing her and it just didn't make sense. He wasn't entirely convinced, but Fai's confidence in King Ashura was beginning to falter.
"You teach me more magic and I'll teach you how to fight."
"I-I don't really want to fight."
"Yeah," She said, stroking Natalia's tail, "but you should at least know how."
"I guess, but I don't think this is a good idea…"
"Why?" She snapped, "'Cause 'Master' didn't tell you to?"
"No," He said, ignoring the insult, "Because he specifically told me not to."
"So? What could happen?"
"He could find out."
"And… he makes us stop? Who cares?"
"I do! I don't want to … disappoint him."
"No, you don't want to upset him. You're afraid him now, aren't you?"
Fai looked away.
"There's nothing wrong with that, I mean, there's definitely something going on. I'd be more concerned if you weren't worried. But the fact that you're scared should tell you what you need to do."
"I… okay."
She looked surprised.
"Really? That easy?"
He nodded.
"Regardless of King Ashura, you should know this."
That wasn't the explanation she had been hoping for. He hadn't acknowledged that Ashura was doing anything wrong, but he really didn't know.
That's not true. He thought, but he wanted it to be. For know, he could just tell himself he was doing this for the sake of magic, anything to keep from acknowledging King Ashura's obvious betrayal, even if it was just for a little longer.
"You have to let me teach you to fight." She warned.
"That's fine."
"Okay then."
She spat in her hand and held it out. He stared at it like she'd offered him a live eel.
"Mang-mang, we're not in a bar, I'm not touching your hand until it's clean."
"Priss…" She wiped her hand on her skirt, "Better?"
He hesitated, then shook. She grinned.
That was how it started.
Huh? What d'you think? Make sure you tell me, 'kay? Also, for the 95th time, MAKE SURE YOU CHECK DEVIANT ART FOR STORY ART! My username's the same and only drawings with Fanfic in the title go with this so don't get confused. ^^
ありがとう
ShingetsuXMangetsu