Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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The bus that carried passengers finally came to a halt in front of the Hakuba shrine, the hydraulics that worked to pull open the doors pulled the sliding doors open. Staying open for a bit before then sliding shut again. Releasing a single passenger out into the world once more, while the shrine normally got a regular stream of visitors, it wasn't a large endless stream for every bus. Sometimes these white buses with their blue and black colors would only drop off one person.
Like today for example, where the lone passenger wanting to arrive at the shrine was a regular visitor.
A regular visitor wearing a long, white coat; a wild Soma had appeared at the bottom of the stairs to the Hakuba shrine!
He knew she wasn't home, might as well put the fairies to work outside the estate and now he was going to carry out what he threatened to do since day one!
Rescue Leon from a life as a Plushy Fashion model!
He walked up the same stone steps that he walked countless times before, either in ascension or descending in departure. The stone walls that were placed beside him, holding back the rest of the hill the shrine was built upon with their white stone and lightly grayed shade of concrete. Much like the white clothed arms of a particularly burly bodyguard really, if he had stepped off a limo and onto the red carpet.
Not to say Soma was vain in any way shape or form, he just liked to walk like he was on the red carpet to some trendy event. Better the red carpet of an event rather than the red carpet of his Castle because he moved back in, right?
Right?
He could hear the sound of the birds sitting among the trees of the shrine ahead of him, as well as the occasional vehicle behind him. Climbing the steps he could see only the white of more steps, but knew from well practiced patience, eventually he would see the shrine. Then he would have to carry the nifty little backpack he brought with him out in the open. At that moment it was folded and tucked away under his coat. Since he normally didn't carry such a bag he didn't want anyone realizing what he was potentially up to.
Until he had Leon safely back in Arikado's estate, where no one could dress the poor Lion back up again. He was pretty sure Leon wouldn't mind being packed away in a backpack, since Soma didn't have anything on par with the bag that Kazu had. But the Medium 'did' have a good way of carrying around Trevor without drawing suspicion. Save when Trevor stuck his nose out of the bag.
Soma tried to think of how such a bag would accessorize with his clothes and could come up with nothing. He just didn't wear clothes that made towing a bag around look 'good', and he didn't have a means to have a personal butler following him around. Not to mention that would draw even more attention to himself that he didn't necessarily want. But it was a good mental diversion as he walked up the stone steps and began to see the top of the shrine.
He knew there was something wrong with the shrine, the way it felt before his arrival to the True Castle and the second time after the Fake Castle. The shrine was holding the seal in place, but after the second castle run, it felt more like he was walking along the front gates of The Castle itself. As though if he stuck his hand out he could easily run his fingers across the metal bars of the front gates. It was minor now, but he could still feel the Castle now which was an improvement.
Though he found himself pondering if the Castle could steal people ascending to the Shrine, just slipping the gates open and letting people walk in. None the wiser as it were, meaning he probably should start checking to see if there were any missing persons reports going on around the shrine. Though, then what? He couldn't force the castle to open the gates at random without returning to it or bringing it back.
Though he still found himself pondering why Leon would want to be put into this situation. Everyone else was literally like butterflies for Yoko to capture, why would he throw himself into the net in the first place? Well one day he was bound to have enough strength and control to hold a proper conversation.
Reaching the top step, Soma could see Grandpa Hakuba sweeping the grounds, the slight breeze carrying the softest sound of brushing of the broom on the ground. A sound that, when done long enough, and knowing that Grandpa liked to hum, made naps very appealing on the grounds. The old man was with a full head of white hair, wearing his age with a good nature upturn at the corners of his eyes.
Mostly from laugh lines Soma expected.
Soma walked along, his boots clicking along the stone pathway, creating a counter beat to the steady pace of sweeping that grandpa was making. Indeed Grandpa Hakuba looked every bit the traditional role of a shrine priest. Much the same as his granddaughter when she was attending to her duties as a shrine maiden.
"Eh?" Grandpa turned to adjust where he was sweeping when the sight of black boots caught his aged eyes. He lifted his head from his work and pulled the broom in as Soma leisurely made his way over. Were he younger he probably would have reacted with the surprise he felt with Soma just appearing, out of the metaphorical thin air. The boy was getting more quiet with every passing day it seemed. "What brings you here? I'm not used to seeing you come here when Mina isn't home."
"Oh I needed to pick something up is all," Soma answered with a serene half smile on his face and a mild shrug.
"Ahh ok, well in you go then!" Grandpa chuckled as he went back to work on the steps leaving Soma to his walk.
'Pick up something' equaling 'pick up Leon and make a run for it' same thing really. But now with that hurdle out of the way, Soma bowed his head and resumed his path. He really didn't want to chunk Leon over a wall and go looking for the poor soul down below. Though Leon was fully capable of walking on his own now. So all Soma really 'had' to do was get Leon to walk to some discreet place where Grandpa wasn't looking and make his getaway.
The home part of the shrine was quiet with only the faintest sounds of the other members of the family in the distance. Soma slipped off his boots and switched out for a pair of slippers before he made his 'casual' walk towards Mina's room. Glad that he had cultivated this relationship to such a degree that no one would think it weird that he was going into a girls' bedroom.
The halls of the house held hung pictures of both family and of the shrine, as well as hung scrolls that spoke poetry and secrets. The air was clean and flowed naturally about, speaking of the health of the household and the family. While down the hallway Mina's room door was shut to the world, only to be open by a Soma with a mission.
"Is..." Soma was floored as the backdrop that he had seen in several of Mina's pictures of Leon turned out to 'not' be a set piece from somewhere else. Rather an actual set piece in her 'room' as a series of cardboard boxes stood. Not to say it was ugly or unattractive, indeed it appeared she was putting a great deal of effort into this, and possibly getting help from others to make this into as close as she could to a proper home for Leon.
'Well now I'm starting to feel bad wanting to rescue Leon from his plushy model life...' Soma thought in amusement as he walked over and dropped down to his knees. Before giving the clear and present door before him a polite knock. "Leon? Are you home?" Were those curtains just super bright or was there an actual light source in there?
Which at that moment found Leon currently in the middle of push ups in his little cardboard castle home. His tail flipped over as he turned to look at the door, in surprise realizing that Soma had come to Mina's room. Though, why? "Yes."
Leon pushed himself to his feet only to get his feet stuck on the inside of the kimono that Mina had dressed him up in. Sending him slipping and falling onto his face before he could get his limbs under him properly. But finally he got himself standing up and went to 'his' window and pushed the curtain aside, finding that Soma indeed was there. He dropped the curtain down and walked over to where the wall mounted touch light was and pushed it off. Once the light went out he made his way to the door, trying to use his paw to brush his mane into something respectable. "Greetings."
"Well, I... She made you a castle of your very own..." It was about all Soma could think to say, his lips twitching as he leaned back a bit, watching as the stuffed lion walked out in a white kimono and a bright red haori jacket over it. At least the rest of his mane wasn't tied up like a samurai, because that would have spelled the end of Soma keeping any semblance of a straight face.
For his part, Leon appreciated this chance to study Mathias on his own, without the distractions of family or friends. This new form, with the white hair, the pale skin and the too pale blue eyes, yet this was him. This was Mathias, reborn in a new age, a new life and a new identity, or at least that was the 'hope' back at the time. He turned to look at the 'castle' then turned back to Mathias, still unsure why he was getting a visitor.
"So you're probably wondering why I'm here..." Soma offered before he started fussing with Leon's mane so it would go back to how Leon used to wear his hair.
"Yes." Normally Leon would be insulted that he would be babied so, save that his paws didn't afford him much in the ability to manage his hair. Even if he wasn't a knight anymore he still felt the need to maintain a neat appearance.
"I'm here to bust you out... rather I'm here to rescue you from the life as a plushy model," Soma explained as he gathered up the lion.
"Rescue? People question?" Leon asked, trying to string more words together.
The Dark Lord carried Leon like a doll in his arms as he approached Mina's window, "I'm going to put you out here, go outside and pick you up from here. So don't run off," Soma instructed as he unlocked the window with his free hand. Pushing up the window and then leaned out before placing the lion on the ground. Soma shut the window and locked it back up before he left the room with all the casual air of someone who wasn't planning a plush heist.
Leaving Leon free for the first time outside on the grounds of the shrine. A place he had been struggling to get to since he arrived on the shrine, made even better since Mina wasn't here. So he wasn't going to be rude by excluding the young lady from the conversations that could take place. He began to examine the grounds from where he stood behind the bushes.
There were several portals that he could use, but if Mathias was coming for him, it would be best to be out of sight. Not so much from Mathias, he was sure Elizabetha would be over joyed to see her husband once more, just from the shrine residents. He needed something on the ground though, otherwise he would be forced to shout and that would draw undue attention on himself. Pushing his way through the deep green foliage of bushes, he emerged from the other side.
The grounds looked pretty empty as he made his way towards where he knew one particular portal rested. He wanted to fiddle with his kimono and make sure it looked right, but he was still a little confused about how these things were worn. Leaving him forced to hope he looked presentable as he finally got to walk on the grass.
'Now to report in about Mathias' status and find out how the seal is holding,' Leon thought as he moved along. The grounds were neatly tended to, he didn't have to worry about tripping over leaves or sticks. Though he was also exposed to anyone who would happen to be looking about outside the windows. At least until he could put the tree between himself and the shrine, even if the tree's presence seemed impractical to him. Trees were fine where the grounds were guarded by soldiers, but to be left open like this welcomed threats.
Yet as Leon thought more on it, he was forced to push the thoughts aside, 'you are no longer a knight, and this is a place of worship and peace. It would be unbecoming to have this place protected like a garrison when it is meant to welcome the spiritually weary... At least that's what's going on I suppose.'
There was an irony that he found himself living on a shrine dedicated to a different faith, dressed in the attire of men from this country... It made him wonder if on some deeper level if Mathias felt the same way. From the way Mina spoke of him, there were very subtle signs of Mathias' old personality were manifesting. But again, he didn't always have the memories, so perhaps he was comfortable here and only the modern awakening of those memories were causing problems.
Maybe Leon 'should' have taken the time to exam some other types of toy lions before he settled on this form...
From behind he could hear footsteps and turned to see who it was, hoping that it was just a staff member at most. Instead of some poor visitor watching a stuffed lion move on its own, he wasn't up to all this Japanese style faith. But he was pretty sure that 'self moving toys' were not something that would be normally visible. Yet he was in luck, what he heard turning out to be merely Mathias walking along the lawn towards him.
Mathias appeared well despite the pale features, though that might have been accentuated by the white hair and coat. It was almost amusing to see how much Mathias liked his original attire that he would willingly opt to wear it in this modern age. Leon had already spent a surprising amount of time watching people walk by the shop window of that store.
People in this day and age had an incredible diversity in attire that he found fascinating, and he regretted that he couldn't just watch the world go by longer. Just to study more of this modern age, but Death, of all beings, worried for Its Master. Leon never even thought it possible that he would be approached by Death for a meeting. The notion that somehow, Death went from being a type of enslaved servant to Mathias into some form of genuine friend was actually touching.
While Lady Elizabetha 'was' in the Castle and working to help maintain the seals on her own, Death was clearly aware of other machinations going on. But worriedly enough, was not able to 'communicate' those issues. Whether it was because he wasn't Mathias and Death didn't trust him, or because there was a power that surpassed Death holding the Entity back.
"I told you to wait at the window," Soma commented lightly as he bent down and picked up Leon. He glanced around and saw no one was around, but he still wanted to make doubly sure that no one would see and thus report the Leon theft to Mina. There was a suitable tree nearby though so he carried Leon over there, unaware of the portal and Leon's own desire to reach said spot. Putting the lion down, Soma detached the bag he carried under his coat, and began unfolding it.
"Wait..." Leon spoke before he turned towards the portal and walked towards it.
Soma glanced up at the words, but shrugged as he shook out the bag and settled back to watch Leon on the move.
Leon walked over to the portal before calling out, "Lady..." Her name was just too long for him at the moment. But she was aware of that restriction, or at least the sound of his voice because she quickly answered. Manifesting herself at the portal and her eyes already on the ground to scout out the toy lion.
"Sir Leon, I see you finally managed to escape," she teased lightly her eyes lifting up to view the shrine and saw Soma. Seeing her husband again was a relief, she looked him over with almost a hungry gaze. Taking in every inch of him in an effort to reassure herself that he wasn't injured or falling into his deep rage. While she would have loved to see her husband and son together, if for no other reason than as a reminder that the pair 'could' be side by side and not try to kill each other. She was able to find peace in the mere presence of her husband. "Oh, you brought my husband... thank you, Sir."
"Why... can he... not see..." Leon struggled with each word, trying to keep it modulated so he didn't bring anyone down to notice the pair standing on the grounds. Wondering if she understood his question, and worrying that she might not or that Soma would assume he was being spoken too.
"Why? Do you mean why my Lord Husband can not see me?" She asked, addressing Leon though her eyes stayed on Soma. "Oh, he needs his power, if you could just get him to use a Ghosts' soul he would be able to see me, and hear all your fellow plush kin," she explained.
"I... see... Thank you..." Leon began when Soma distracted him.
"Ghosts around the shrine, Leon?"