Love Hurts 5 Ways (OUTDATED STORY) Chapter 36: My Body, My Prison, a Fushigi Yuugi + Ouran High School Host Club Crossover fanfic

ATTENTION READERS: This is the Beta version of LH5W, if you want to read the official, updated version of the story, you'll have to go over to DeviantArt. com and head on over to my page. My username is Aloubell. You can also get there by going to my fanfiction. net profile which provides a link over there.
In any case, this Beta version is basically the rough draft of LH5W, my first attempt at it. Much of the plot points from this version will be the same in the official version, but there are significant and consistent characterization changes, a few (but very important) plot differences, expansion of past ideas, and overall better quality in storytelling.

All of this will be done over on DeviantArt. I no longer will write the story in traditional prose nor submit/update it here to fanfiction. net. The Beta version will remain here, just know that it isn't the 100% official story.
The official version will be written in a lazy prose mixed with play-writing elements (you'll get what I mean when you see it).
This is the new format for the story from now on.
So please head on over there if you're interested in updates to the story! Thank you for stopping by =D

-Aloe

PLEASE NOTE: The official version is being written somewhat out of order. The official version will start on chapter 46, the place where the Beta version left off. The official version will go on to complete the last chapters of Season 2. Once those are done, I will redo the story over again from Chapter 1 which will be the official version.

Having said that, if you choose to continue on reading, I hope you enjoy the Beta version and look forward to the official!

*On the last chapter of Love Hurts 5 Ways, the Suzaku Warriors and their priestess held a meeting as a chance to regroup back at Konan's palace and discuss the events that unfolded in Kutou. Chichiri revealed to everyone that Akimoto had lost the ability to move or physically feel, she can't fathom positive emotions or remember any positive memories due to the negative effects of the Shadow Maiden Stella. With her Darkness dominating her Light, Aki is being kept in a barrier protected room so that no one would be harmed by her chi gone rogue.

Everyone feels in some way that what happened to her is their fault, but none of them can deny that, with the war going on, they can't sit around and wait for her to heal for too long. Chichiri tells them that no one can tell Aki what she lost or else the result will doom them all.

Aki can now only remember the suffering she had been through, putting her on an unstable edge that could end up turning her into a Shadow Maiden.

The story continues to unfold…*

Her words from that day of our first encounter played on in my head like some unwanted record player.

"Others aren't perfect like you Aki, they are corrupted, and betray each other—love and friendship basically mean nothing to them. Those terms are just titles they stick on certain weak bonds that only last for a short time. With them, nothing is forever. They continue to kill and lie and cheat, and many of them aren't even sorry for the sins they commit."

Shokyoku had told me this before, and at the time, I was washed in a pool of denial. As I lie on my bed, mulling over my thoughts—examining every detail since any other physical feat was virtually impossible given the circumstances, her words never seemed truer until that moment. What had blinded me before? What was I thinking? My part and motive then remained unclear to me, cloudy at best, but that little girl's words came out at me—every enunciation—every meaning—clear as day.

How did I not see it before? My world had been nothing but misery, deception, and too many disappointments to count—almost to a point where I became desensitized to most of it. Only when the curse inside of me, the constantly replenishing cup filled with Darkness, seemed to overflow would I display to the world my pain through tears or outrage, not that it was their business to care. And yet, with all of that going on for the vast majority of my life, I couldn't recall ever admitting to myself that things truly were as bad as both Shokyoku and that Shadow Maiden Stella made them out to be. Truly somewhere, sometime I had to have had that epiphany. It shouldn't have taken all of the events in Kutou to perspire in order for me to realize it. Had I been blinded? Or was I simply ignoring the obvious?

It didn't matter.

My eyes were widening to the truth…and I didn't like one bit of it.

For years on end, the two teens, Miaka and Yui had been virtually inseparable—an unusual sense of loyalty, experience, unspoken communication and laughter had been shared between the two. Never could I understand what it was they had…but their expressions, their mannerisms spoke another language in itself, one that I was not versed in. So I'd sit and observe—intervene when brought in—trying to decode this unsettling mystery. To bring two people who were so different together for such a long period of time had brought to my attention the existence of some magnetic force that had people caught up in its deception. Of course, I had been fascinated, but wary.

Bonds can break.

As time went on, no one even suspected that their (now apparently unstable) unity would come to a crashing end. Who would've thought that the solvent that would deteriorate their "friendship" would end up being a diabolical mixture of wrongly placed betrayal, miscommunication, lies, and most likely, careful planning. Surely one would think that those two, Miaka and Yui's, peculiar magnetism could be disrupted with something so stupid.

Yui's faith and trust in Miaka was as brittle as the bones of an elderly person. Her being raped had distorted her judgment and thought processes so much that she allowed someone like Nakago the access to her broken spirit. Logic dictated that none of this was Miaka's fault—she had absolutely no idea. Yet Yui had broken so easily and passed on the blame to Miaka.

How sad.

There was no friendship here—there's no way there could have been. This thing called "friendship" seemed but a myth in the world of intelligent beings—either that, or, what it truly was, and what people perceived it to be, were completely different concepts.

I was confused as to why people would put themselves through something like that. All of that effort put into something so fragile was the move of a fool. As angry as I was at Yui and the majority of humanity for being so incompetent, a part of me felt sorry for them. As Shokyoku mentioned, they were blind because they couldn't fathom the Darkness in such way to where they could control it or learn from their faults. The predictable patterns of deceit, misery, and disappointment would continue—almost as if the universe were in possession of some type of remote control as it repeatedly pressed the re-wind button to re-witness a shamed moment in time.

To think that I once thought I was one of them…This had been one of the secrets that the little girl was holding out on me.

Yes, I had always felt detached, like I didn't belong, but still I played in that game believing I was a species that was not. But now, I was finally on the outside looking in, realizing my role as a spectator of the human race—making observations of how imperfect they were.

Like I was honestly one to talk…at least I could comprehend my mistakes, but more often than not, I'd end up learning from theirs.

Here I was thinking about such things…It wasn't long ago that I was told that I wasn't even human. I didn't know what I was, yet I was sounding so condescending, as if I had them all figured out, ranked as inferior—detaching myself even more. But who was I to raise myself up so high? I had clearly made some mistakes—otherwise, there was a chance that I wouldn't have even been in the situation I was in. Shadow Maidens were miles away from perfect and if what I was happened to be correlated to what they'd become, then I had absolutely no sense of who the winner was in this situation—no options seemed any more appealing than the other. At least those parties knew what they were, where they were going, where they'd hope to end up—though the hope was more than likely far-fetched. I was just stuck there, in a pitiful state, unable to move, trapped in a whirlpool of confusion and dread.

Was it better to know? Or was it better to forget? I believed that I witnessed too much when it came to these things—more than I honestly wanted to…Perhaps if I were blind, things would have gone better for me…Unfortunately, the curse left me with no such luxury.

They had all been in my shoes at one point or another—the Shadow Maidens that is. It wasn't until some sort of negative interaction with humans that things went horribly wrong for them. One by one, with every new journey beginning, and with the realization that they were different, the beings of my species came to view humans as untrustworthy and hopeless, making it seem almost impossible for the two species to coexist. They allowed Darkness to consume their humanity in response to the bitterness they acquired.

So…was it really that impossible to form bonds with humans? Was that to be my fate if I continued to pursue my wish?

I didn't want to become a Shadow Maiden, and I was fairly certain that I didn't want to remain in my current place either.

I was conflicted.

And I was alone.

Those people who claimed to call me friend…how could I possibly believe that? I've see the people of many worlds perform the same dance over and over…and more often than not, they didn't end so fantastically. With all of these different interpretations floating around, it was no wonder why I had such a difficult time understanding what it was like to have a friend—or what the appeal was.

If disaster was destined to be set at anytime some "friendship" was established, then why go for it? Why head into what you know will ultimately fail?

Those people who called me friend…so many from different worlds, too many to count.

But the ones here—in the Universe of the Four Gods…How could they call me such a thing without responding anyway other than frightened or angry? When I was attempting recovery back at Mt. Taikyoku, each one of them showed me a smile and spoke gentle words. The meaning behind them I could not tell…there was no way that those smiles were meant for me…

No one had ever smiled at me in anything other than a snide or maniacal manner.

I couldn't take it as genuine.

One of the things that bothered me the most? That Nuriko was pretending to act like something other than the hateful bitch that I know he truly is. Who did he think he was fooling? No one else seemed to see past his act—they accepted him and that shameful grin of his. Acting as if I was okay? Why would he…HE do something like that? That cross-dresser never wanted me around—he'd never be concerned about whether or not I was still alive. It would be a relief to him if I were dead—there'd be no one around to fight him or challenge his social authority. After all, I wasn't a part of the Suzaku Seven, so I was expendable, right? That guy told me straight to my face that I wasn't necessary.

His words from that day still spun around in my head:

"You know what? You should just mind your own business…

"You think that you're involved in all of this, but you're not! And you know what? I am sick and tired of you butting into everything. Let me give you a small bit of information that you seemed to have missed along the way.

"I belong here. Miaka belongs here. Tamahome belongs here. His Highness belongs here. And there are four others who belong here. But you? You don't even matter. What are you? Older sibling of the Priestess of Suzaku? Please. You aren't even related. Even if you were, you still wouldn't be all that important. You're just a powerless, useless, pointless, and selfish little pest who is only taking advantage of the emperor's kindness and thinks you're all that just because you're from a different world.

"You have no special abilities and would only end up getting in the way with whatever you do. So why don't you do us all a favor and beat it!"

Though he ended up being dead wrong about the being powerless bit, the rest of it was…for the most part true. I hated him for saying it in such a way, but he was right. In a sense, I didn't belong with the Suzaku people…and honestly, I was still so confused as to why I even stuck around in the first place.

Why is it? Why am I still here? What's keeping me with these people? How come I still seek them out?

No matter what I did or how far I searched my mind, nothing seemed to make much sense. From my history with all of them, there was no point in our history where I can honestly say it was anything less than aggravating or miserable.

From the very beginning…

Miaka had always been incredibly annoying, Inuyasha and Kyo just thought that I was a huge burden on them, Hikaru and Kaoru just treating me like their plaything, Nuriko was a he/she devil…the list of personal complaints with people could extend forever. In some way or another, isolation always ended up being my default setting. My sister killed herself and left me alone, my parents wished that I was never born, every single time I go into a new world, it's inevitable that I'll be forced to leave and have everyone forget that I ever existed. Due to my curse, it was only a matter of time before my Darkness went haywire and drove everyone away.

Seriously, why did I stay? Whether or not the wish was improving my life or not was a definite matter of opinion.

Things were so difficult. The fact that I made it this far was an amazing feat in itself. But…worth it? There was nothing motivating me, but I was still around somehow. My fondness to life was progressively thinning to a point even beyond nonexistence.

And it wasn't exactly making me cherish it even more—what with me lying there on a bed without the ability to move or experience the sensation of touch.

In that dark room of mine, no beam of light seemed to have the capability to survive in such an environment. Shokyoku, as the dark ring around me had long since overflowed with Darkness, trapping me in a swirling cloud of negative energy. The limits set on the mysterious entity had long since deteriorated, allowing it a taste of freedom—forgetting all sense of control, trying to release its hidden potential. The ring attempted to expand outwards, enveloping any victim that happened to cross it's path. With a spell on my sheltered solitary confinement, it too, was forced to be trapped against its will—just as I was a soul floating around, trapped in a motionless physical form.

Constantly hitting the walls to make it outside and expand, the space was transformed into a dungeon of sickening black haze from the dark ring's impatience. Candles that were once lit had been extinguished—it's hopeful glow having been absorbed by the chilling force of the Darkness.

How appropriate…

If there had been any light from the sun, I wouldn't have known. Like a heavy black curtain, the haze emitting from the ring blocked every possible entrance that any light could possibly shine its way through. My sense of time had been distorted slightly—how much time had passed? Without the light of the sun, my judgment was invalid. Had it been a few hours? A day? A week? It could have been just a lowly minute, only seemingly feeling like an eternity in the condition I was in.

Before this whole incident, the dark ring—Shokyoku's less prominent manifestation—had never been this visible to me. In the past, it would flicker in and out and even when it wasn't seen, I knew it was there—I felt her presence. But now, with the concentrated amounts of Darkness it was taking full advantage of the situation and trying to make up for the loss times during which I had kept it more or less suppressed. With its influence, the world around me was just a dense cloud of black—that was all I was truly able to discern.

Inside of me, I felt it even more now as it was the only thing I could invest my focus upon—the curse. What was inside of me felt nothing less than a plethora of diverse movie strips playing all at the same time with the volume blasting at MAX. Each strip played through the painful experiences of my crappy existence—forcing me to relive every single one of them as if I were experiencing them once again. Somehow, someway these memories managed to slip my line of consciousness for the longest time and I hadn't even realized. They were almost muted, coming only to my attention when the sudden events of the journey seemed to die down and the world around me became quiet, if only for an instance.

"You know, you'll never find anyone."

"How pathetic…"

"Just…go. You are giving us a headache."

"It was her fault…"

"She's a demon!..."

I was no longer used to this…why wasn't I used to this? It had become second nature for me to endure this curse during my younger years—especially since I was living in the moment of those memories being created.

"No one else bothers to even be with you"

"No one will help you."

"You will never understand us."

"What makes her so special?"

"You don't even matter."

There was a time in my life when I could remember, very faintly, having a blurred picture of the events that plagued me—their effects had lessened and I was stuck in a state of confusion. What happened during that period? My mind was blank…But I was positive that something had done something to me. I had been teased with a speckle of freedom, only to dread the day when it all came rushing back, like I knew it would. This release…was caused by something…and it did happen. How else would I not be used to hearing and seeing all of those memories again? It shouldn't have hurt that much.

So…there was no true freedom after all. This torture was no better than repeatedly dunking someone's head into water and allowing them only a second of breath before making them deal with burning lungs and a desperate need to not drown.

Upon reliving the worst of this unwanted curse, my head was pounding violently from the meshed up—yet perfectly loud and clear memories.

"You're just powerless…"

"useless…"

"pointless…"

"selfish…"

"You could just die for all I care."

"Get her away from me!"

"Freak!"

My heart was pounding as if some rock star who was having a seizure was banging away at the base drum as if there were no tomorrow. My visual recollection being the first to be targeted, I witnessed once again all of the disappointed faces—the ignorant and jealous scowls—the frightened expressions—the quivering bodies—the clenched fists—the pointed fingers—the punches—the kicks—the exchange of hurtful gossip—the isolation—the blood—the tears—the aversion of eyes—the looks that could kill—I wanted to crawl into some corner somewhere, anywhere and just scream my head off hoping that the end of my life would finally put a stop of it all.

And then, my endurance kicked back in. My ability to withstand all of this had to be retrieved once again. Forcing myself to calm down, desensitizing myself for the sake of staying sane, I used sheer willpower to mentally switch those ongoing memories into a storage system I had developed in my mind years ago—no longer allowing it to take over my entire being. This way, those harmful memories were pushed to the less prominent spot in the back of my mind to where they could continue to play, but I regained the freedom of natural thought processes without the interference of unwanted retentions.

Considering, though, that all I was able to do was lie down on a bed and wallow in my misery, the focus of said natural thoughts had happened to hone back in on those memories—only because there was nothing else to distract it during the time.

Damn. It. All.

Just then, I was surprised to discover the cloud around me beginning to swirl around feverishly all on its own. My eyes automatically caught on to a peculiar sight: a small, dark purplish-black jewel of some sort, or rather, a grain-of-rice-sized, almost unnoticeable fragment of a jewel flew past me as I was only able to see such a miniscule object for a split second. The negative energy then flew into the same direction that the fragment went, beginning to concentrate itself into mini-tornado of clouded Darkness.

Unable to do anything about it, I just lied there, focusing on the scene unfolding in front of me—preparing myself for anything that could—and probably would happen. My senses, what was left of them, were put on high alert as my first instinct read this incident as a sign of danger.

What if it's Stella? Was my first thought. But that couldn't be since I didn't get that same chilling sensation down my spine that I usually got whenever a Shadow Maiden was around. Then again, my mind and body were all screwed up by this point, so who's to say that I didn't lose my ability to detect Shadow Maidens? If it did turn out to be Stella, then I wouldn't have any means of fighting back. She'd end up winning all because I lost my mobility. I was a sitting duck for her—she'd get me, convert me over to Darkness and I wouldn't be able to lift a finger in protest. In some sneaky and underhanded way, she left me in this state—all alone and…ugh…helpless.

Damn.

All I needed was just one arm! Just one arm and then I'd destroy that bitch for trapping me in this f&%$ing in-between state!

Then, a familiar, yet unexpected female, somewhat high-pitched voice emerged from the swirling cloud. "Aki calm down—you don't have to be alarmed!" As I blinked a few times in bewilderment, the energy began to condense as it took a child-sized, humanoid form. Soon, fingers could and feet be distinguished from the rest of the body, as well as long, wavy hair that almost touched the ground. A gothic/Lolita style dress soon discerned itself from the form by fanning out at the skirt portion while the dress' shoulder portion puffed out per the style. The icing on the cake that set in stone the identity of this visitor were her eyes—those two, different-colored cat-like eyes—a bright orange in one and turquoise in the other.

A smile came to the child's face as those eyes locked onto mine.

Shokyoku.

But something was different about her. She had no technicolor to her whatsoever—except for her eyes, her whole form was in grey-scale—as if she were in an old-fashioned movie. Even her black and white dress had faded, not bringing out its usual vibrancy (as vibrant as the colors black and white could possibly be anyway). Her skin was a light grey, almost white and her usual dark magenta locks were more of a burnt-grey color.

Still despite her outer appearance, she stared at me with those big eyes of hers as a smile still played on her lips.

Seeing as how it was Shokyoku and not Stella, my adrenaline suddenly shot back down, leaving me rather exhausted, yet baffled with how it was possible for her to be out there in the real world instead of in the confines of the dark ring. Perhaps…I was just going insane and she wasn't really there…It would have taken too much energy to explore the thought.

Putting her hands on her hips, the little girl inspected the room. "So, this is what it's like on the outside? It's much too cheery." She giggled. "Too many bright colors can end up blinding a girl!" It wasn't until she made that statement that I realized how a good majority of the black clouds that were once polluting the room had been extinguished, or rather, absorbed by Shokyoku (I supposed), allowing me to recognize the room that I was brought into—confirming that I wasn't just lying around in some dark abyss. I could actually see the door and a few dressers, and the drapery of my canopy bead. The windows near the ceiling exhibited no light whatsoever. Therefore…it was nighttime…

Being lost in my thoughts caused me to miss Shokyoku's advances towards me. Before I knew it, she was hovering over my stilled body, her arm extended out near my head as it made a smooth, repeated notion. I think…she was patting me…I couldn't tell for sure.

"Oh Aki…" Her smile fell and her usually peppy, yet scheming eyes, drooped. "I can't stand seeing you like this…I'm so sorry that this happened to you—that it took all of this to happen in order for you to really understand…" How could I believe something like that? Ever since we met she had been trying to instill into my brain about how her views of the world were more ideal. "I never wanted things to go this far. I never wanted you to get hurt and lose your positive emotions." Lowering her head, she added with a sympathetic smile, "You're just not the same Aki that I love without them!"

Positive emotions? What did she mean by that? She made it seem like I had changed somehow. But I hadn't…this was how things had always been for me—except the not being able to move part. I didn't exactly have the motivation required to demand an explanation. With the possibility of her being there as a mere hallucination, then there wasn't much of a point in asking such a thing.

Though my memories of the time were a bit fuzzy, I could recall Shokyoku trying to keep Stella at bay back when they were in Kutou—in Seiryuu's shrine. It was a battle of whose Darkness was stronger. As far as I could tell, there was no definable winner in that situation since Chichiri ended up intervening at the last moment.

Still, none of that explained what the mysterious little girl was doing there at that moment.

"Why are you here?" I asked weakly—a bit louder than a whisper without looking directly at her. Not being able to move my head made looking at her out of the corner of my eye sort of exhausting.

She perked up. "Why am I here? Of course I'd be here! I'd never let you face something like this all alone—"

"No," I interrupted. "I mean…how are you here?"

"Oh! Well…" Cupping her cheek in her hand while the other held that arms elbow, she lightly swung from side to ponder on the thought. "To save you from the long and tedious explanation, let's just say that I used the surrounding resources in order to manifest in the physical plane. So…yeah! That's pretty much how!" I sighed. She didn't really answer the question. Shokyoku had always been about vague answers and retaining important information. You'd think that a person would get used to something like this after a while, but mostly, it was more infuriating than anything else. Had this been on any other occasion, I'd force her to tell me. But with how things stood at the moment, I couldn't do a thing. Aside from not having the energy to retaliate, Taiitsukun told me not to use my magic since my system had been polluted with an invading, foreign Darkness that could make my powers malfunction (somewhat similarly to what happened back in the maze during the final trial)and ultimately end up in destruction.

Shokyoku held up a shaky fist and growled lightly. "This is all Nakago and Stella's fault! They were all acting as if they knew what was better for you—like they really knew who you were." She then began stomping in a repeated, bratty motion and in a huff. "I'm supposed to be the only one who knows all about you! Me! And only me! I'm the only one who understands and knows what's good for you! For anyone else to think they can even begin to believe…!" Shooting her fists downward, her stomping ceased. "I can never forgive them for doing this!" Pretending as if she could crack her knuckles, her threats persisted on, "Next time I see those two, I'm gonna—"

"Don't you dare blame this on someone other than yourself!" I forced myself to cry out. In response to my outburst, Shokyoku's arms limply fell to her sides, as she blinked at me innocently and in confusion. Doing my best to scowl at her, I felt anger well up inside of me from the plain fact that had been staring at me in the face ever since my curse came crashing into me with full force. "That Shadow Maiden and Nakago may have played a part in this, but it was you and your mother who are the originators of my torment!" If I could, I would have shook my head then. "All Stella did was take advantage of my excess Darkness and use it against me…" Shokyoku straightened up and rested a hand on her chest near her heart as she gazed upon me with a look mixed with sympathy and guilt. I doubted at all if she even felt any remorse for what she had done. Even if she didn't, I planned on alleviating the problem the very moment I got the chance. "I assure you—once I'm able to move and use my powers again, I'll deal away with all of you…somehow…even if I'll never know a life outside of this Hellish prison." It wasn't fair…it wasn't fair at all that no one else was stuck where I was. It wasn't until I got paralyzed like this that it truly came to light how awful my life had been. I had sunken from bad to worse—a place that I didn't even think existed. Averting my eyes away from her, I added with a whisper, "It's all your fault…"

Bringing her hands down to the edge of my bed, she displayed a determined expression. "Aki, I understand why you're mad—really I do! In fact, I'm ticked off as well!" Silently scoffing, I thought, There's no way in Hell that she can compare whatever mediocre negative feeling she has to mine. What a joke. "But I'm not the one to be angry with. Remember that the 'curse' wouldn't even work in the first place if humans were more reliable. The effects of my influence are designed to show you their true nature—you quite literally have an innate database that permanently records and stores how cruel they can be." Innate database, huh… "Other people are ignorant and choose to nonchalantly and foolishly forget the wrongs that had been done to them—which I don't think is very smart at all. The very fact that you can't do that—whether you wanted to or not—is much more of a blessing than a curse!" Being able to store all of those instances in my life where I witnessed the ever-present flaw of human nature was nothing to brag about—and here Shokyoku was revering the fact that I remember everything. She wanted me to be thankful for all of this? Smiling as if her statement was correct, she said with a wink, "You've just been going about the whole idea the wrong way!"

You have no idea how much I wanted to strangle her.

Sensing that I was storing loads of resentment towards her, the little girl quickly added, "Look Aki, it's my job to keep people away to protect you and reveal their true intentions. So don't be mad at me—I'm your friend! Hate those humans for all they are and causing your pain in the first place. They're the reason why you're hurting so bad!"

If I could, at that moment I would have sat up and glared at her, hoping my eyes would strike some fear into that petty soul of hers. "Saying all of that crap like you actually gave a damn…This is what you've wanted all along…"

"You will be all alone in this world—in a dangerous, foreign world full of mystery. They will all shun you and think that you do not matter."

…

"The more of them you add to your life, the greater the pain will be when they hurt you. And you know that pain…the despair of loneliness. You'd never experience it if you just kept yourself away from all those that could hurt you—everyone."

…

"I'm trying to give you that happily ever after Aki, but the way to do that is just let go. Let go your negative waves of energy and show others just how much pain you're in…maybe then they will finally understand what selfish fools they are. Let go of your desire to be accepted into a society that is too primitive to even see how wonderful you are."

For the longest time, even before her identity had been revealed, everything Shokyoku ever said had been her trying to get me to convert over to her side and embrace the Darkness. Whispering into my ear, conditioning my outlook on humans—through every chance she got, she'd use it as her advantage to have me become their enemy and join her in her in the ideals she had come accustomed to. It would seem like, if she could, Shokyoku would go through any lengths to win me over. That's all she really cared about—that "I love you oh so much" façade was a gigantic load of crap. That "innocent" child's face didn't affect me in any way shape or form…and I was onto her deception.

"Whether it was you who made it happen or Stella…the results all the same." Adding a chilling tone to my voice, I made sure that she got the message loud and clear. "Well, congratulations, I'm even more screwed up than I was before." Losing all of her confidence, Shokyoku began to lose her composure as tears began appearing in her eyes. Even with her sudden vulnerability, I continued—unfazed. "But here's the difference between reality…and that sick little delusion that keeps replaying itself in your head—I have no desire whatsoever to even be around you…" It didn't matter what show she was putting on with the puffy cheeks and the tears—I knew she only wanted to put on this—this performance to get me on her side. Well, given the circumstances, I wasn't some chump who could be swayed by big, hopeful eyes. Stella may have paralyzed me, and I hated her for that, but my lifelong torture was the work of Shokyoku and her damn mother. I'd never had the pleasure of seeing Light or felt the supposed joy of genuine laughter or even felt that warmth and satisfaction a person received from being needed and appreciated. If it weren't bad enough that I had to remember every horrible thing that happened both to me and those around me, it was a thousand times worse seeing everybody else living so peacefully and content with themselves…as if they could always see the possibility of a happily ever after. To know for a fact that I would never have that…

…it wasn't fair…

Shaking her head vigorously, only a few tears managed to run down Shokyoku's cheeks before she put in the extra effort to hold back. "I never wanted this to happen to you!" She sniffed. "I never wanted you to become all disoriented and lose the strong person you had become." Strong person that I've…become? What's she talking about? I was the same person I had always been. If she honestly thought I was something other than what I was, then it was obvious that she didn't know me at all. Scowling towards the ground, she blinked hard and wiped her eyes with her arm before she started protesting again. "I just wanted you to know the truth about humans—that they couldn't be trusted—that they weren't all of the effort you were putting into them." Exactly how much effort did she think I invested? It wasn't like I ever got close to anybody. "You're my family Aki, my home. I just wanted you to be with me 'cause we need to be together in such a deceitful world—because we're superior and those humans…just aren't worth it!" Bringing back a melancholy smile to her face, she told me, "Your Darkness doesn't affect me like it does everyone else—it doesn't hurt me at all. Besides, I know your pain Aki—I've always been there for you even if you weren't aware of it. I'm the only one who can understand what you've been through—I'm the only friend you've got." It was then when she gave me a "whether you like it or not" look.

Growling, I tried my very best to stay calm by closing my eyes—not allowing my powers to escape through. Damn if only I could move! "Look you, I'm not interested in playing in this twisted little game of yours. And there's no way in Hell that I'd let you turn me into a Shadow Maiden for your sick satisfaction!" Even if I didn't exactly condone anything she had done, she was right on one account: humans weren't worth it. In fact, it still remained a puzzle to me why I continued to stay around them. While growing up, I usually did what I could to avoid being around people. In school, it was sort of unavoidable—but just because I had to be around them didn't mean that I had anything to do with them. For all the years of my life, I had always wondered why I stood apart from them—why I was so different. Finding out that I wasn't human really put things in perspective.

However, none of this meant that I had chosen sides since I remain by what I had said before—neither of them looked appealing—humans only brought trouble and Shadow Maidens were a bunch of sorry bitches. All I could do…was stand alone.

"I wouldn't dream of you becoming a Shadow Maiden—in fact, I totally protest the idea," Shokyoku rebutted. Crossing her arms, she persisted, "Aside from being total posers," she rolled her eyes when she said "posers", "Shadow Maidens are basically just outlines of their formal selves colored in with ugly black crayon—unlike you who was colored with just the right colors in the perfect balance of 'sweet and spicy' That's why I love you soooooooo much!" My eyes shot open. What the hell? "Sweet and spicy"? Who came up with a stupid phrase like that? I also happened to notice that she said "was", implying that in some part of my life, I rose up to these standards of "sweet and spicy"—whatever that meant. Shokyoku was obviously delusional—which brought up another point: what did she mean by she loved me? The concept of love was still quite the mystery to me—a mystery that I often tried not to think about since I knew it wouldn't apply to me. I had learned about that particular emotion in school and witnessed people's different versions of it…but me, I could never for the life of me grasp onto the idea. And now this freaky little girl was claiming that she harbored this supposedly strong emotion towards me—saying it out of virtually nowhere. Did that actually mean something? Or was it a trick?

Seeing as how I was at a loss of words (or more like…didn't know the proper reaction), Shokyoku began to jump up and down, resulting in her turning around in a fit of pique. "I know what the problem is—you can't remember anything regarding our friendship. You can't even understand my feelings!" She started scurrying around the room as if she were some angry, hyper squirrel-child who ate too much sugar. In my position, it would have been hard to see her be so animated, but I was curious enough to continuously strain to look out of the corner of my eyes to see what was going on. "It's not supposed to be this way! It's not fair! It's not fair! It's not fair! It's not fair! It's not fair! No, no, no, no, no!" Blinking hard in order to correct my eyes, I attempted to process everything that was going on. Though I seemed to fail to forget the things she was talking about, I did remember that the last time we met the little girl was explaining stuff about me as well as reflecting every spell I threw at her. As far as I was concerned, Shokyoku seemed more like a source of information as well as a main source of my pain—nothing else.

But…Now that I think about it…How exactly did Shokyoku get her name? When she had first brought me into her space, I kept referring to her as "little girl" since she never bothered to introduce herself other than "the dark ring". Somewhere along the way, though, she acquired a name. She didn't have a name before that. Which would mean that something would have to have happened in order for that to happen. Did she give herself that name? No…I'm pretty sure that's not how it went. Being alone in that space all by herself for so many years, she would have come up with her own name if she actually cared enough. Let's see...I appeared in the world, talked with the at first nameless little girl, she talked for a little while (in irritating riddles for some of it…being so elusive with her answers)…blank… we fought for a moment…blank…blank… talked some more...blank…blank…blank…then she suddenly had a name…some more blanks… and then I left. Argh! Why are there blanks in there? What was going on? Plus she was, for the most part, being nice to me which didn't make any sense at all. Why would someone like her even care to be nice to someone like me? It was because of my existence that she was being forced to torment me all her life instead of getting to live a life of her own—away from me. If I were her, I'd hate me.

Was this all really just a trick?

Turning back around, Shokyoku put her hands on her hips—her wide, different colored eyes containing a look of determination. "I'm going to fix this…somehow. I know that I can…somehow." For split second, she blushed. Then she turned her head and gave a fake confident smile while closing her eyes. Chuckling nervously, she added, "Yeah, I know that I said 'somehow' twice…b-but that' only because this requires a little bit of thought." Letting out a small cough, her face went back to determined—the embarrassed blush disappearing. "First things first…you have to distance yourself from these humans you've—" Quickly, she changed what she was going to say. "…these humans that you used to be attached to. Their problems aren't yours—ours—so there's no point in sticking around for them any longer. Knowing those brain-dead monkeys they're bound to screw things up eventually." Part of me really wanted to agree with that. Their plentiful dilemmas and drama hadn't exactly done me any good. Then that made me wonder: were they honestly holding me back from achieving my wish? I sighed. Or did this whole situation that ultimately ended in my immobilization turn out to be some cruel joke or sign that my wish was just some crazy dream that could never come true?

Hearing shuffling coming from my side, I looked over to see Shokyoku pacing back and forth with a hand holding her chin in thought. "All of that is well and good I suppose, but the problem still remains that you can't move." Stopping to glance at me, she then started up again with her striding. "I'd be more than happy to move you but…" Groaning, she fell to the ground and crossed her legs, keeping mind of her dress, resting her head on her hand. "My connection to this plane isn't as strong as it could be...therefore this physical form of mine is too unstable."

Pretty much losing all motivation to confront her anymore, I sighed and dropped my eyelids halfway, not caring to look at her anymore. "Unstable?"

She nodded. "Yeah." For a few seconds, she didn't say anything, but I was pretty sure that I could hear faint footsteps next to me. "Watch this." Not feeling like complying, my eyes continued to stare at the ceiling of my canopy bed. Shokyoku pouted. "C'mon Aki, watch!" Figuring there was nothing better to do, I looked at her as best as I could just to humor her.

Next to the door was a dresser with an impressive, multicolored vase placed on top of it. Considering it was in such a lavish palace, you know that it has to be nothing less than priceless. I knew it was there to add flare and an aesthetic taste to the space, but frankly, I didn't give a damn.

"This is what I mean by unstable," Shokyoku told me. Extending her arm out, the girl's tiny hand reached out and grabbed the vase, holding it in the more slender part of the structure in order for her to have an easier grasp on it. Holding it up to her face, Shokyoku's expression was fairly indifferent, showing that she didn't exactly care much for the pottery either. That was when something surprised me. In an instant, the fragile vase phased through her hand and fell to the floor, shattering immediately on impact as its many shards scattered all over. Shokyoku didn't even look shocked or mildly surprised. All she did was stare at the now broken remains of the (once again, extremely expensive) vase and sigh. Putting her hands back on her hips, her head turned back to me. "See? I can only make contact with a solid object for a few seconds—maybe a little longer if I concentrate." Hanging her head, she added meekly, "But definitely not long enough to get you out of here." Even if she could touch me, it's not like that small body of hers could actually carry me. Her aspirations were obviously bigger than her sense of logic. She began to whimper, "Dammit…"

Just then, a sudden cadence of footsteps could be heard from the outside—quickly getting closer and progressively louder. "Aki! Are you okay?" Someone came rushing through the door—the loud slam causing the room to vibrate and make the objects in the room shake for a split second. The remaining black wisps of Darkness in the room began to swirl rapidly as the intruder interrupted its steady flow in our confinement. With the increasing negative energy, my vision began to become clouded once again—allowing me to only see the thick, black winds of the hurricane. "I heard a crash in here, ya know?" Oh…so it's Chichiri. Not exactly a threat, but not really welcomed either. Right as I was about to avert my eyes due to disinterest, they widened instead from the sight based at the room's entrance. A faint yet brilliant golden-yellow appeared, outlining a humanoid figure. The light seemed to shine past the threatening winds, proving to be my only point of reference in this chaotic abyss. Even as my eyes strained painfully to shift them the way I had, my curiosity and interest had been aroused from the peculiar phenomena. Never before had I seen such a radiant glow…it almost seemed to call out to me. However, being trapped in my own body made the whole thing seem like a huge tease—just a treat that the universe decided to whip out in order to intensify the searing agony.

Where is that coming from?

"Seriously?" Shokyoku scoffed. The Dark energy then concentrated itself into one spot as it brought as it rushed into the palm of the little girls' hand—almost as if she were some kind of vacuum cleaning sucking up all of the dirt without effort. Soon, I was able to decipher the objects in the room as well as the room itself once the air was clear from Darkness. "Stupid monkey barging in for something so stupid." She crouched down to the floor and fidgeted with the sharp shards all around. "Nosey vermin…"

"Huh, this is quite the mess here, ya know?" The monk must have been talking about the broken vase. "How exactly did this happen? Did you use a spell? That would have been against Lady Taiitsukun's orders, ya know?" His voice became less perky. "Or did you…walk perhaps?"

Staying silent for a few seconds, I replied with, "I didn't do it." What's up with him? Can't he see Shokyoku? She's sitting there plain as day. Before, I was really the only one who could even see the dark ring. But that was only at times…it wasn't always visible to me. And since my journey had begun, I had heard her voice when no one else could. And now she was here—in the physical word though not exactly perfect in the technical sense.

Actually, I wasn't the only one who could see her…Tasuki could as well. After coming back from her space, he admitted that to me. It was peculiar that out of all the people, it was him who could already see more of me than anyone else ever could.

…

Aside from that…

I supposed that even though she left her space, Shokyoku could still only be seen and heard by me—almost as if she were a ghost or something and I was a medium. Either that or I suddenly developed schizophrenia. The only silver lining there was that none of those were the case due to plausible reasons.

"Hey Aki, there's someone or something else in here with you, isn't there?" He asked. Figures. Of course he can sense her. More than anyone else I had ever known, Chichiri was rather perceptive, despite what one might think from his innocent, faux face. "I mean, I'm just wondering. I could be completely wrong, ya know?"

"Huh, so the blue monkey can't see me," Shokyoku mentioned in an exasperated yet condescending tone. "Didn't expect anything less from such a primitive species." I noticed how her tone almost completely changed once Chichiri walked into the room. Now it seemed more like she was talking at him than talking with me.

Once again, the faint, golden halo progressed closer, revealing that it was Chichiri who was emitting that Light. The more that I noticed it the more I realized that it wasn't that impressive. In fact, the glow was flickering in and out—like a failing light bulb. He couldn't hold onto that power he was summoning—that was visually apparent with the struggle shown on his face.

Well perhaps he shouldn't be even trying.

"So…how're you doing? Feeling any better? We've all been worried about you, ya know?" Yeah, sure you have. "Everyone else wishes that they could be in here to talk with you, ya know?" He chuckled. "Even Nuriko tried to break his way through to come see you!" I immediately sneered at the sound of Nuriko's name being said to me. That was how I knew Chichiri was lying to me. There was no way that Nuriko would give a damn about me. And it wasn't like it mattered to me whether or not Tamahome, Miaka, or Hotohori felt sorry—I didn't need their pity. Their attentions would soon be shifted and it would only be a matter of time before I became yesterday's story and moved to the bottom of their priorities lists. Please just save me the crap now and leave me be. "You're probably wondering how I'm doing this, right?" The guy had the capability to read my mind. Whether or not Stella impaired the capableness of him probing my thoughts was still indiscernible, but nonetheless, he still had the ability to read me pretty well—much to my chagrin. The bigger question was if he caught my comment about not wanting him around—though I was a bit curious as to what magic was allowing him to glow. Right has he was about to continue with his explanation, he took a seat on the edge of my bed. "I'm pretty sure you've learned by now that everyone has Light and Darkness inside of them since birth, ya know?" Shokyoku was the first one to tell me that.

"Of course she knows that, I'm the one who told her." Shokyoku's voice said from across the room. "Leave it to a human to be slow from the get-go."

Not being able to hear her to argue back, Chichiri kept his focus on me. "Well, using that knowledge, I've learned how to actually use my Light," He crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, "not to its fullest extent, however. Especially since people shouldn't be able to access either their Light or Darkness on their own, ya know?" Turning his head and down to face me, he smiled. "Actually, you're the exception, ya know? You're capabilities are much stronger than mine when it comes to summoning Light." What does he mean by that? I had never been able to call forth Light—I didn't even know what it felt like. It was beginning to feel as if he were making fun of my inabilities and rubbing into my face how he could do something that I should be able to do. "Not at the moment of course…but…" His smile widened as he tried his best to not look too gloomy. "We all believe in you…so get better soon, okay?" Who the hell does he think I am? I wasn't some genie who could grant my every whim. If I had that ability, wouldn't this moron think that I'd have fixed myself by now? This wasn't some everyday sickness that one could get over with a little rest and TLC…this was—this was…well…complicated. And I certainly didn't need things getting more screwed up.

I needed to be able to walk again.

Maybe Shokyoku can't do anything…I looked up at Chichiri's hopeful face. But maybe he can. The monk specialized in magic, and chi, and stuff like that so he had to have known something that could help me. It wasn't like I was willing to put my faith in him or anything, I just needed to use anyone that could fix what Stella had done since it was so obvious that I wouldn't be able to get to the bitch on my own. What a big hit to the ego it was knowing that I had to rely on everyone…when no one could be trusted. Already being in that vulnerable state were torment reigned day and night was horrible enough without having to allow others to see me in my misery.

If I'm going to get my way in this, I'll have to get a bit out of character. I began to beg as I swallowed my pride. "Please Chichiri, I need your help."

Shokyoku shot up from the ground and shouted in the background. "Aki! What're you doing?"

He looked surprised from my sudden cooperativeness. "Sure Aki, anything! I'm here to help, ya know! So what is it that you need me for?"

Running up to yell at him in his ear Shokyoku's volume remained high. "What do you think she wants simpleton? She's gonna ask you to fix her." Remaining worked up, she stepped away and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Don't do it Aki, you don't need him! This human will bring nothing but bad-luck!"

Ignoring her foreboding, I put on a weak, fake smile—forcing it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. My words came out as a pleaded whisper. "I need you Chichiri—help me out of this…" If I actually had any mobility, I'd add a little more to the act by tugging on his sleeve like some sad child. However after some point, I'd probably throw my hands up and quit the whole damn charade from the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

Face twisting into an uneasy expression, he turned away from me to avoid my gaze. "I'm really, really sorry about this, but…I can't make the pain go away, ya know?"

I didn't accept that. "Please Chichiri…"

Instead of refusing me once more, the monk stayed quiet as he searched through his thoughts. "Well…" He's caving. Fake sincerity and you could get anything…interesting… "I can't exactly undo what the Shadow Maiden did but…I can get you out of this bed, ya know?" Well mobility is better than nothing. "There is a way to make this happen…however it comes at a serious cost. It's really risky, ya know?"

"There, see?" Shokyoku chimed back in. "There's already a risk and he didn't even do anything yet! Human? Can. Not. Be. Trusted! Completely incompetent in every way. Putting your life in his hands will be a big mistake!"

My eyes sent her a quick, threatening flash. Will. You. Shut. Up? Stay out of it you miniature pest! She was beginning to give me a serious headache—making me regret keeping her alive as long as I had.

Luckily, Chichiri didn't happen to catch my nonverbal threat to the being next to him. Closing his hand, there was a flicker of white light. Then as he opened his palm, a silver ring emerged and grew steadily—changing from the size of a penny to the size of a smaller Frisbee. The strange ring hovered over his hand for only a few seconds before losing its majestic glow and falling into his grip. Once the light dimmed out, I found that the ring's edges were an intricate, braided design—a surge of energy raced through the twists adding even more bewilderment to my person.

I blinked a few times while my brain attempted to fathom on its own the object that was presented before me. Chichiri explained. "My mentor gave this to me just in case you wanted to move around before you healed, ya know?" So once again Taiitsukun was one step ahead. If that hag was so damn important in the Universe of the Four Gods, then why the heck couldn't she do anything to heal me herself? Why send her lackey to do things for her? How useless that woman was. Her role in that world didn't even make any sense—what made her so freakin' high and mighty in the first place? It wasn't like she actually did anything important. In fact, she probably only brought me into the picture to do her dirty work. How irritating… "You'll be able to move just fine if you put this on your head, ya know? But here's the thing…" Of course there's a catch. "You, uh, won't be able to feel anything still…and…well…"

Just spill it! Containing my inbuilt assertiveness, I gently asked, "What is it?"

He sighed and scratched his cheek sheepishly, attempting to stall. "Well…er…If you were to use it, you'll lose all of your emotions. Period." I gasped lightly. Lose all of my emotions? What…what would something like that be like? The whole idea of it was sort of difficult to imagine."If you were to go out in your current condition, certain…handicaps of yours would end up…um…enabling the people around you, ya know? So Lady Taiitsukun just wanted to take some…precautions…haha…" In other words, Taiitsukun thinks that I'm some dangerous monster who could end up hurting people if my emotions weren't kept in check. Shokyoku as the dark ring would always bring out the worst in people and at the same time, making them feel downright awful—experiencing only a fraction of the agony I had to endure all of my life. Now my Darkness was flaring like mad, so it was no wonder why I had to be put into a room that would prevent my power from influencing anyone. You could tell that Chichiri was trying to explain the whole situation in the most docile way possible, but no matter what the delivery was, the message was still the same—I was the type of person you had to approach with caution. There might as well have been a "BEWARE" sign stapled to my forehead. "Aki, for what I think are obvious reasons, you shouldn't go through with it, ya know? But it's your decision so I won't stop you—"

Before the monk had a chance to finish his reasoning, he unexpectedly stopped in the middle of his sentence—his face reading alarmed. At precisely the same moment, the world seemed to spin around me—turning completely distorted and indiscernible with lightning flashed of purple strikes appearing in my vision. Blinking hard, I endeavored to distill whatever was occurring. Opening my eyes slowly, I was shocked to find that the purple flashes still persisted—almost like someone was flipping the switch on to a room in a randomized rhythm. I closed my eyes again.

Please…stop it! Go away! Stop… This time, I kept my eyes closed up until Chichiri abruptly got up, dropped the ring onto the bed, and took a few steps forward. "That presence…" With the numerous flashes, I was forced to squint in order to see. Though I wasn't sure, I think that he looked back at me while he said, "Sorry about this—I'll be back to check in on you later." What's going on? Closed my eyes again. "Try not to worry about what's going on—we'll handle it, ya know?" Just like that, a similar slam from earlier was heard, though I still kept my eyes shut to avoid the flashes that were plaguing me.

Why won't this stop? What is this?

"Damn, I recognize that feeling…It's a Shadow Maiden," Shokyoku hissed. Hearing that prompted me to shoot my eyes open, despite the irritating flashes.

Glaring to nothing in particular, I asked with a strained voice and through gritted teeth, "Is it her?" Since my body couldn't feel any sensations, the flashing and dizziness must have been an alternate way for my mind to alarm me to the appearance of a nearby Shadow Maiden.

A few seconds of silence before she responded, "I think so…"

She came back for me…If there was anybody more deserving of my wrath at that moment, it was the one who took away my ability to take care of myself—making me look like some weak fool. Stella played with me as if I weren't even a challenge—caused me to wake back up into the nightmare that was my life. And I had a fairly good reason to think that she's the one who was screwing in my head in such a way that was influencing my sense of judgment. Some things in my mind just weren't making much sense so I wanted—no, needed to take my frustrations out on someone.

That slices it.

"Shokyoku!" The little girl jumped at the harshness of my voice as she slowly turned to face me. "I'll need you to put the ring on my head." She may not have been able to hold onto it for too long, but she should have had enough concentration to do what I demanded from her.

"What?" She slammed her hands on the bed and got in my face. "Now listen to me Aki, I do not trust anything those humans and especially that woman Taiitsukun give to you. I mean, take away your emotions? That's absurd! You've already been messed up enough by Stella! And I forbid that trinket going anywhere near your beautiful head. I mean…" Coming closer to me, she wrapped her arms around my head as if I were some cherished stuffed animal or something. "You'll be a completely different person without your emotions and I don't want you to change anymore." She growled. "That monkey does not know what he's talking about. He calls this a solution to the problem? He's lucky that I don't show him my ugly side—"

"Dammit Shokyoku we do not have time for this!" I shouted as loud as I could manage. "I refuse to just sit here like this and do nothing. It's horrible knowing how pathetic I must look right now… and what would Kajou say?" She'd look down at me in disgrace…that's what would happen. To think that she'd turn her back on me for a second time if she could—as if dying on me wasn't bad enough…"If I am going to suffer, then I'm going to make sure that I won't be the only one."

Shokyoku sat up and stared down at me, her differed eyes showing concern. "But your emotions—"

"F%$# my emotions! I don't give a f$#ing damn!" The dark winds in the room began to start up again—its force making everything in the room sway and fall over from its influence. "As far as I'm concerned, my emotions can just go to Hell…as long Stella and anyone else who gets in my way goes down with them." Tears clouded my vision without warning, soon falling and rolling down my cheeks. I'd rather not feel anything than have to go through life like this much longer. Shokyoku slowly rolled off of the bed—a sadness in her eyes as she looked down at the ring next to her resting hand. Her lips were shaking, as if she wanted to protest some more. But she knew my answer—I was dead-set on doing this. Is it worth it? I don't know…but…its' better than nothing… My voice softened. "Please Shokyoku…I need this…"

It took a few moments of silence as she kept her eyes shut. Then she bared her teeth and shrieked just as she picked up the ring and jammed in onto my head.

~*With Stella, after her fight with Aki*~

There the powerful Shadow Maiden stood, in some a large chamber constructed with what seemed like black crystal. The lighting in the space was dim—the only lighting coming from several torches emitting what seemed like a purple and grey flame. Even the ceiling was ominous as it couldn't have been seen past the dense, eerie black fog that covered it. Stella stood alone in between two long columns of lesser Shadow Maidens that seemed to stretch on for forever, each one of them glaring at her with their glowing yellow eyes as they swayed from back and forth. Stationed in front of a tall, flat slab of crystal that displayed specific images on its surface, she ignored her subordinates as she smugly watched the events that had unfolded with Akimoto once her friends came in and "saved" her. Everything seemed to go downhill for little Aki after that attempted rescue—she was a complete wreck. On surviving on half of her emotions and memories? That ended up turning into a rather entertaining spectacle for the nefarious Stella.

With the Cheshire-cat-like smile plastered on her face, the Shadow Maiden had her arms crossed as she just witnessed Akimoto's outburst against her "friend" Nuriko.

"Hearing your voice has always disgusted me you fag," The red-eyed woman shouted in fury. She was being carried by the one named Tamahome as she stopped to have a "chat" with the cross-dresser Nuriko. The mere sight of him absolutely infuriated her. The sight was just too precious, widening Stella's grin. "Don't insult me with your faux sympathy."

The Shadow Maiden giggled. "This certainly wasn't exactly how I planned things to be but," her Southern-Bell accent came through clear as day, "I'm mighty satisfied with the turnout—things couldn't get more entertainin' than this!" Before, Akimoto was loyal as could be, though with a bit of an edge, and now she was chewing her friends out left and right—as if they were her enemies.

"You dare laugh at your mistakes Stella?" A woman's voice roared out from behind the voyeur Shadow Maiden. Her body shuddered a bit before slowly turning to the one who had addressed her so threateningly.

"N-No! Of course not Your Highness!" The Shadow Maiden stuttered as she spoke humbly to the mysterious feminine figure sitting atop a high, blackened throne—her grin shrinking down into nonexistence. "I'm not exactly proud of everythin' that perspired milady, but, if I may point out, they didn't exactly win—"

"It's not about winning or losing! It's about getting Aki to join us—here, where she rightfully belongs." The woman's voice became even sterner as her hands clenched the arm rests. "And you couldn't do that."

Stella tried to reason with her. "If I just had a little more time—"

"It doesn't matter anymore! It never mattered…not at the rate things were going…" The woman paused as her mind wandered off into her thoughts. "From the beginning, I've sent out my Shadow Maidens to observe Aki and her progress—seeing if she was worthy enough to be a part of the revolution." She chuckled slightly, making Stella feel a bit uneasy from the sudden shift in attitudes. "As expected, she didn't disappoint." Then her voice went back to menacing. "But then, nobody took into account how she'd react to the attacks led by you all—she misinterpreted what was going on. Instead of revering us, she felt frightened and even shreds of hatred, pushing her away from what we know is best for her destiny, making her cling to those useless humans as support—even if she wouldn't admit to doing so." Sharpening her glare, the woman's words seemed to have cut right through Stella as if they were a chainsaw. "Directly forcing her to accept the truth is not the efficient way of going about this. You, Stella, proved that point a little too well by failing so miserably on your little plan." Stella took a few defensive steps backward. "What I should do is punish you for your embarrassing disappointment."

Eyes widening with fear, Stella spoke out to save her life. "Your Highness—it was a mistake that shall not be attempted again—I promise ya that. Just please spare me—"

The woman held up a hand. "Let me finish." Stella immediately kept her mouth shut, not even thinking of ever interrupting again. "Our methods were…pushing her away. But with this new development," She smirked. "Well, let's just say that the rules of the game have changed. I'm actually rather pleased with the turnout actually."

The yellow glow from Stella's eyes instantly shimmered with the apparent praise from her monarch. Smile creeping back, she managed to say, "Th-Thank you milady! And there I was beginnin' da think that you were gonna kill me."

"Oh no, I was," The woman intervened—drowning Stella's retrieved confidence once again. "But then I thought of the possibilities your screw-up could do for us." She explained herself. "Before, Aki was much more in tuned with her Light than I really wanted her to be. Despite the curse I put on her, she still managed to somehow overcome adversity. Although I respect her strength and willpower, I do not appreciate that it's dedicated to the humans and the ones she has so foolishly trusted to be her 'friends'." She growled as she pictured Akimoto laughing and having cherished experiences with the ones she had come to meet on her journey. "It's sickening…seeing her happy with that sorry excuse for a species…when she should be here…with us." Sighing, the woman rested her head on her hand, her lips curved into a frown. "I'm ashamed to admit that I was beginning to have doubts about whether or not we could Turn her—that we'd have to kill her without allowing her to live in the truth…because of course, she cannot continue living and fighting for them. However," She grinned at Stella, "Your little blunder gave us back the home-field advantage—and it made me aware of what was necessary in order for us to get our way."

For what seemed like forever, the woman sat there in her seat, playing with the ideas in her head as Stella watched and waited for her to make a move. It didn't take long before the silence got to her. "Well, don't leave me hangin' with anticipation—what is it?" The woman shot an intimidating glance at Stella, causing her to withdraw a bit and respectfully bow and add, "Your Highness…"

Flipping her long hair, the woman informed the curious Shadow Maiden. "If you're that impatient to know, then I'll tell you Stella." She pointed to the tall crystal slap, revealing an image of Aki being confined to a barrier-protected room in the Konan palace. "Aki now only has half of her emotions—the negative ones, and as an added bonus, her happy memories have been wiped out as well. While I'm sure that this wasn't your intention, things couldn't have played out any better. No longer is she so faithful to the humans she had allied herself with. She's on the fence—skeptical of their trustworthiness and wary of their actions. No longer is Light muting my gifted curse on her—she hears and sees loud and clear the evils of man—just as she once did before they got to her. More than anyone else she knows their flaws and their repeatedly occurring sins."

Shooting out of her throne, the woman stood and raised her hands in the air with delight. "Now her Darkness is blocking the Light and therefore growing closer to us than ever before!" Losing some of her excitement, her hands fell down to her sides as she began making her descent from the high throne. "Because of my daughter and curse, she'd be too wounded to recover both her memory and her emotions." In the image of Akimoto, the dark ring around her began to pulsate and grow exponentially—emulating the forcefulness of a deadly hurricane as it swirled and hit all four walls and corners of the room. She was sunken in a dreadful, personal abyss. "Yes, it's all a matter of time before she permanently belongs to me."

"All of that is dandy and all Your Highness, but," The woman faced the bold-speaking, doubtful Stella who was glancing between the image on the crystal and the woman fantasizing about Akimoto's destiny. "What about this guy?" With a finger, she touched the crystal and the image rippled, changing to show a scene with a flame-headed man.

This didn't seem to faze the woman making her way down. "Ah yes, Tasuki—an interesting, yet meddlesome addition to Aki's tale. I'm familiar with him."

"Won't he be a problem? I mean, if he were to touch Aki, I can imagine this plan goin' down the drain…" Stella crossed her arms. "They do have that sparky-bond-thing goin' on after all. I say we just kill him and extinguish the threat here and now."

Once the woman reached the bottom of the stairway, she halted and looked up at replays of when the bandit and Akimoto had a connection. "No, we can't dispose of him—not yet anyway."

"What'dya mean? It'll be simple to take him out!"

The woman sneered at her. "I'm not saying that we can't—you foolish girl. I'm saying that we won't." Seeing the confusion on Stella's face made the woman sigh in exasperation. "His death would be too much of an impact on Aki. If we were to end the lives of anyone close to her than that will produce the opposite effect of what we want."

"And that is what milady?" Even as the woman explained things slowly, Stella still didn't seem to catch on to the gist of what she was saying.

Lowering her head in shame for the Shadow Maiden, the woman walked up to the crystal slab and peered up at the playing images. "We want Aki on our side—therefore she has to accept and trust us. If we go around killing anyone she's made any kind of bond with, we'll just stay labeled as monsters and she'll want nothing to do with us." Punching the crystal as hard as she could, a menacing black energy sprayed out from the crack she made, shutting off the playing picture. As blood trickled down her fist, the woman smiled. "This…erasing of her emotions and memory is a blessing in that it more or less wipes our slates clean and raises our ideals above humans, even if only by a little." Slowly, she turned to face Stella who continued to look at her curiously. "So for now…we'll lie low—allow this change in events to take its course on its own and see where it leads. This can only be a great help to us as the scale tips in our favor."

"So we won't do anything about Tasuki?" Stella asked, trying to make sure that she understands all of the woman's intentions so that she wouldn't make a mistake again. "Their bond—"

"Won't change a thing. They haven't developed enough together to cause any real threat. Even if he were to touch her, try as he might, there's no way in Hell that he could reverse what had already been done." Putting her attention back onto the crystal, a plethora of moving images of many different worlds containing people Akimoto has met and even ones she hasn't been to, appeared like some sort of collage. She crossed her arms and grinned widely at the glow from the pictures. "But don't you worry your pretty little head Stella. For one day, every single human will be dealt with—none will be spared. Darkness will consume Light—creating an eternal night—taking its rightful place as the dominant element and ruler of the universe…"

It all begins with you…

My dear Akimoto~

-Aloe

Having said that, if you choose to continue on reading, I hope you enjoy the Beta version and look forward to the official!