Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
A/N: not much changed here, just fixed up a few things.
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The wolf was away, so the panther was left to play.
The new routine remained the same, go to school, come back to the estate and be greeted by the Forgotten Clock. Soma's own name for the grandfather clock that stood in the main foyer of the estate's interior. Time in the castle was eerily like the time in the estate, in total suspended motion. Strange how Soma wanted to 'escape' the Castle and ended up in an estate, darkness only, version of said place. After the first day that Arikado left to 'take care of business', his words not Soma's, the teen inquired the beings of the Estate about that clock.
"Why doesn't anyone wind it back up? Is it broken?" Soma asked standing before the clock itself. Save the castle, Soma hadn't seen a true grandfather clock his whole, modern, life. There was something nostalgic about wood and metal working side by side to keep time. A tree was killed to make such a clock, yet after it's 'time' was over it proceeded to keep time for other living beings. On darker nights, the irony of the Grandfather clock resonated into Soma's soul. But for that moment he was only interested in the way the wood was carved to make the images, and walls of the clock. Idle thoughts. Keep moving.
"It stopped on the day that the Young Master left into battle in 1999," the Fairy in blue answered hovering behind him, below his left shoulder.
"1999? Wait...wouldn't that make Arikado roughly the same age as Julius?" Soma turned to look over his left then his right shoulders.
Both Fairies looked up from where they hovered, below his shoulder blades, first at him, then at each other, before returning their gaze upon him. "He is far older than that."
Soma was bored, a dangerous thing to be, when one was Soma, so once again he began investigating the estate. There were secrets to the gentleman who owned it, secrets he wanted answers to. Arikado, who's name seemed to mock the curious, hinting of a dark linage and that everything about him was an illusion. There was a strange sense of connection between himself and the Gentleman, a connection that Soma didn't understand. Like an idea that was on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn't grasp it.
That elusiveness fed his curiosity about Arikado, clearly the man didn't have a woman of his own, or a life outside of work. No hobbies were discernible, save for his 'banter' with Yoko, it was as though Arikado existed solely for work. That once the work day was done, he disappeared completely like mist. Yet Arikado was supposed to teach him how to control his dark nature and had spent zero time with him since that Lunch. The man struck Soma as such a perfectionist that it seemed impossible to think that he would allow Soma to wander around loose.
Ignoring the ring still stuck on him, Soma strode out of the room, his blue eyes scanning the hallway for something to take his boredom away. Boredom or anxiety, either word worked, so long as he wore the ring that sealed away his powers. He had nothing to do, yet he felt this strange anxiousness that he couldn't put his finger on, so he assigned the blame to the ring. A cursed diamond surrounded by bewitching blood red rubies, Soma could not remove the ring to save his life. Nor could he summon his souls without endangering his health. The Pope had stated it was his punishment for his actions, which he understood. But there was a deep seated distrust that he didn't know where from, that made him wary of the ring on his hand.
"There is more to you, than you are able to process or deal with."
Those had been Arikado's words to him, the last time he had seen the man several days ago. Since then all Soma had been doing was attempting to distract himself. He just had to wait until the older man returned, Arikado would help him. He promised to do so, as long as Soma didn't succumb to his evil nature. With that in mind Soma had stayed restricted to the estate despite his ever growing boredom in hopes for that training. Though there were occasional thoughts that whispered that he didn't 'need' training, not from Arikado.
The servants did their best to accommodate him presenting him with such things as a step pad for games, a television for said games and well.. a video game system, it was expansive yet Soma was never really a 'gamer'. Living in Japan meant constantly being surrounded by people, while Soma was somehow isolated on this estate. Even if the nation was on a state of population decline, after all a nation busy with technology had little time for children. Proof could be found in both the small classrooms and when they went out into the farm lands and found only the Neets and those lacking the skills to survive the corporate world.
"The modern world has little use for the old ways. People have come to decide that the old ways are not necessary and disregard it with increasing frequency."
"Yes, people tend to forget what isn't in front of them at any given time. The scars of the old wars get forgotten, people try to turn into spin doctors making the pain suffered seem bearable. Even if it's a distortion of the truth. I suppose the Dark Children could live openly in society to remind humanity that they are not the lone inheritors of this world. But humans have proven to be incapable of coexisting on this planet with other humans, much less non-human beings.
Oh, the blue dressed fairy was floating by, giving Soma a distraction he needed. Since he had neglected to ask how on Earth the Fairies got their hands on an old gaming system to start with. Old gaming system with save cards loaded with Yoko's or her Bears' name on them.
"Hey! Fairy, I want to ask you something," Soma followed the fluttering winged being causing her to stop. Turning in midair to give him her full attention, dusting her dress off to try to look as proper as possible. "How did you guys get Arikado to allow for all that entertainment equipment to be brought here?"
"'Entertainment equipment'? You mean the television and games? Oh they've been here, as the Young Master had permitted the witch to bring them into the estate," she answered promptly.
Which raised an amused eyebrow on Soma's face as he tried to figure out why Yoko would want games in the first place. Why bring them here, rather than keeping them in her own room? Considering their banter, Yoko clearly knew Arikado off the clock as on for years so it was reasonable to think that he would allow her. But on the heels of that thought came another one, as he remembered what they said. That Arikado was as older than even Julius, thus meaning he was old enough to have been an adult during Yoko's childhood. "What was it like when she was here as a child?" Maybe Arikado had more personality back then? Was there a reason that resulted in Yoko actually 'living' here?
"Allow me to get the other Fairy, between the two of us, we can do more then just tell you what happened," the Fairy offered. With a nod from him she fluttered off into the estate while he was left standing in the hallway.
The walls were bare of any artwork, everything within the building held a solid design. It was unto itself an opposite homage to the Castle of Dracula, Soma decided as he stood there. For every hallway with elaborate paintings, designs, or decoration in the castle, the estate was the exact opposite. As though Arikado was trying so hard to be the exact opposite of Dracula, but Soma didn't want to dwell on those thoughts or questions. The memories of Dracula were more akin to a hallway with thousands of shut doors. The more he thought about them, the closer he got to those sealed doors, and heard what was on the other side...
"Here we are! We can provide the Master with a much better display then if we tried to orally explain," the blue dressed fairy announced. The pair fluttered up to him, before linking hands and weaving a bewitching spell. Well if not for the power that Soma had he wouldn't have known it to be any form of spell. Nothing in the area changed the slightest, to the point where he wondered if they messed up.
It wasn't until he heard a knock on the door down stairs and saw the same emerald green fairy floating before him, 'leave another room'... that he thought maybe something 'had' happened.
"Oh come on! He had to have done 'some' alterations to this place at some point!" Soma proclaimed, while the green dressed fairy opened the front door of the estate. He walked to the railing, watching as a Spanish lady walked into the house, her blond hair and lightly tanned skin could have been Japanese reproduced, save her non-Asian eyes gave away her foreign birth. At her heels was a young blond girl, holding what Soma knew to be Snuggywuggy. Which made it clear that the girl was Yoko, trailing along, her eyes huge with excitement.
Odd though to see the bear doing nothing, Soma was used to watching it acting on its own without direction. Yoko was rocking on the balls of her feet, before dashing into the entryway, a pink girlish dress with a yellow sash around her waist. The typical European little girl clothes to be expected he thought. After all it wasn't as though he watched little girls to know what they wore. But he could see the Japanese blood in Yoko's eyes, the slant that proved she wasn't purely Spanish. Yet the light in her eyes that showed she was purely Yoko. No witch was quite like this.
The little blond bounded about in the room, looking excited as the servants of the estate began to enter the area.
"Oh you've brought your kid."
Arikado had a rather unique familiar, a Nose Demon. One who wore a mask, had the most flippant personality, yet it was as faithful to Arikado as any of his other more formal familiars. But it's antics had an ability to bring a smile to Soma's face. The girl walked up fearlessly to the collection of familiars that resided within the Estate. Then again, Yoko was probably used to this stuff or getting used to it.
Yoko moved cheerfully, while her mother walked up behind her. The girl looked about at the various familiars, her small hands reached up to touch the hovering demons and fairies, the ghost and hovering bat. The sword hung back studying, not the child, but her mother as his booming strong, yet solemn voice asked, "be she worthy to serve our master?"
The question was clearly aimed towards her mother, yet Yoko answered with a bright "Sure am!"
There was so little sound, it was easy to miss, as the door opened to one of Arikado's offices. He stepped out of that office and Soma could only gape, it was as Mina had said. The man simply did not age. Soma could have been in the past, or that Arikado been standing right there before him, but either way you sliced it. Arikado looked absolutely no different than he did back when Yoko herself was a child, giving far more credence to what Mina had once said. From that cold expression to the taste and style of his clothes Arikado never changed.
"I see you have arrived promptly, and brought your child with you," Arikado noted as he stood at the top of the stairs, not ten feet away from where Soma stood, observing these things.
"Hi! You're that important person!" Yoko called up to Arikado before she ran to the stairs.
"Yoko! What did I tell you!" her mother scolded, walking quickly after Yoko.
But for all intents and purposes, it seemed that Yoko had put her mother on ignore. Smiling up at the older man, Yoko beamed before saying happily, "hi! I'm Yoko!" Then as a more thoughtful expression danced across her face she added, "and you look so sad. Why?"
"Yoko!" her mother hissed grabbing her hand and pulling the girl down a step.
Yet the outburst did nothing to phase Arikado, not even into raising an eyebrow in surprise. "I have been 'sad', as you put it, for well over six hundred years, child."
Six hundred YEARS? Soma went from trying to process how Arikado could look so young for so long, to how he could be alive for so much longer. Arikado couldn't be a vampire, he walked in direct sunlight!
"Well that's going to have to change! I'll cheer you up!" Yoko replied, right before her mom finally gave her a hard shake to get her attention.
Arikado said nothing, his face blank of any possible emotion before turning on his heel, "there is potential within this one. She is acceptable."
"My bloodline will never fail to produce anything, but the best in the witches lineage, you need not worry," the older woman commented.
"You forget yourself witch, those of your kind have served my father as well. Forget not your humanity and humility lest you become that which you loath."
Yoko clearly couldn't keep up with the topic of conversation, thus she continued up the stairs to meet Arikado in her own fashion. She grabbed his hand, an act that went seemingly against protocol considering the weight of the introduction. Arikado had all the aloofness of nobility with a greeting line walking by him. But it didn't bother Yoko as she wrapped one small hand around his fingers to stop him from leaving. More over she beamed up at him before saying, "I'm Yoko and this here is Snuggywuggy!"
He paused when she grabbed his fingers, turning only slightly to look down at her, while her mother finished climbing the stairs. She was clearly displeased with her daughters refusal to follow a privately spoking script between them.
"Belnades," Arikado answered back with no inflection in his tone towards the child. He spoke Japanese as fluently as a full blood, but... There was little to no sign of the traditional Japanese culture in the man. At the same time, he was driven to realize that this grown woman before him, would have been the one who took part in killing Dracula during the War.
"Nooo, it's 'Yo-ko'," the child repeated, adding emphasis on her name, her toy bear pressed tightly against her cheek. But Arikado didn't try to walk forward as Yokos' mother pulled Yoko back and Yoko struggled to keep a hold of those fingers she had grabbed.
"Stop this Yoko! You're embarrassing myself and your ancestors!" her mother scolded, her lips twisted into a frown.
"But I'm 'Yoko'," the child pouted, her tone held a form of confusion that Soma didn't quite understand. Strange to see a child struggle so hard to have a clear, individual, identity of her own at such an age.
"Yoko, your name is Yoko. Very well then, if you're going to be insistent upon that, I will address you as that." Both blonds stopped and looked at Arikado as he disappeared into the estate, his fingers free of Yoko's tiny hand.
"The young master has never addressed anyone by their name before, unless there is a significance to them that makes them memorable to him. Due to the number of people of the same family he meets, he just uses the family name as a reference point," the blue dress fairy explained.
Well over six hundred years old, sure why not?
"Umm Great Master?" the green dressed fairy spoke, her tone nervous at Soma's odd silence. She had though that by seeing this, it would amuse and entertain him, not make him more silent. After all, was it 'not' the bumbling antics of humans that usually entertained Lord Dracula?
"Why? Why won't anyone tell me about him? Why am I surrounded by so many secrets?" Soma asked looking between the pair.
While the voice in the depths of his soul whispered, there 'is' a way to find out. You just have to let go...
"That information has been classified, Great Master, the Young Master has already informed us of what we may, and may not inform you of." The Sword familiar was an overly ornate blade that hung in the air as it floated along. Its voice was oddly deep and resonating.
It, along with the two demons, served as the estates' defenders. The bat stayed along more as a faithful pet, while the Ghost simply haunted the place. Yet for whatever reason, they were beginning to gather around him now, focusing on him.
"Great master, if your thoughts turn dark, they will make the young master sad, so please, do not think on such questions," the winged Demon spoke, from where he dropped from above to join the rest.
"Yeah, Al's not a social butterfly, but it would really hurt the guy if you stop being the pleasant you," the Nose Demon rose up from the ground floor.
The pleasant you. The other way of saying, 'if you stop being Soma and become Dracula'. But no, it was as he said the first time in the castle. He was tired of the wars, tired of the hate, all Soma wanted to do was sleep. Dracula sought his war on humanity because he wanted to protect the Children of the Night from humanity. At least that's what he told himself after awhile to justify things, but in the very end. There 'had' been a reason that Dracula went all out, only Soma couldn't recall what that reason 'was'.