Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

Pawn	By : Macx Category: Descendents of Darkness/Yami No Matsuei > General Views: 2478 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Descendants of Darkness (Yami no Matsuei), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Pawn
- 2-part 2
- 3-part 3
- 4-part 4
- 5-part 5
- 6-part 6
- 7-part 7
- 8-part 8
- 9-part 9
- 10-part 10
- 11-part 11
- 12-part 12
- 13-part 13
- 14-part 14
- 13
- 14
His body began to revert back to its human shape, now that Tsuzuki's
powers had finally been cut. He bit back a scream as his wings were forced
inside, the broken appendages pure agony for him to bear. He stumbled and
slid down the wall, leaving a broad, blood smear. His whole back was an
open, bleeding wound. Each breath was a challenge.
Watson made a reappearance, his misshapen face full of worry, and Ryu
smiled tiredly.
"Get a message to the others. But warn them to come here."
"Yes, sir," was the immediate answer and the servant disappeared again.
The decision whether or not Tsuzuki would be safe from whatever had
tried to take him awake was not up to Ryu, not even up to Touda, but the
demon suspected that while they had battled the darkness that had changed
their friend.
Later. Later he would find out. Later he would ask.
Now... now he just needed to heal, like all of them.
And around him, the Palace repaired itself.
° ° °
Sohryu startled awake out of his doze when he felt the non-stop feed
of power snap and break. It was like being able to breathe again and he
inhaled deeply, his soul trembling with relief. On the bed, Tenkou finally
fell into a resting sleep and Kijin followed her, while Suzaku sagged against
the headboard, eyes closed, face pale.
"It's over," she whispered.
Sohryu nodded. He only wished he knew what had happened. He wanted to
know how Hajime was, he wanted to see him, he wanted to check on everyone,
but his body demanded rest. Closing his eyes he allowed his mind to finally
quiet down enough to slip into sleep, to regenerate.
° ° °
Watari was asleep. Finally. On Tatsumi's bed, under several blankets,
still mostly clothed. Tatsumi looked at the tousled blond head and smiled
with exhaustion. He felt so tired as well, his whole body aching from exertion,
from channeling so much power and controlling such an amount of shadows,
but he just couldn't sleep. Not after what had happened, what was still
happening.
Terazuma was back and currently drifting in and out of sleep, too weak
to do much more than eat and sleep anyway. Sohryu had appeared in Meifu
a few hours ago and he was refusing to leave.
No one but Tsuzuki would dare to order him to do so anyway.
But Tsuzuki was in no condition to do so at all. He was still at the
Palace with Hisoka and Touda by his side, recovering.
He shivered, feeling so abominably cold. Regeneration of his body had
jumpstarted only slowly since he had again given up speedy healing for
more fighting power. There was a mumble from his lover and Watari snuggled
closer to him, arms tightening around Tatsumi's chest.
"Sleep," a drowsy voice murmured.
"I can't."
Because there is so much I need to understand. Like your own position
in this, Taka. Who are you? I thought I knew. I thought you had told me.
But there is so much more. You were one of the Five! You were the Chief
Researcher and you gave life to Mother!
Sleepy, amber eyes peeked out from under the blond curls.
"Sleep, Seii," Watari whispered, his own eyes reflecting so much pain
and sorrow. "Right now, that's what we need. Later, we talk. I promise."
But they had already talked and it was what had Tatsumi in pieces.
Watari reached up and cupped the pale face with one hand. "Seii..."
he implored.
Blue eyes closed in desperation and Tatsumi felt the caress even more
intensely. "Taka..." he whispered.
"We will get through this," Watari promised. "Sleep."
And exhaustion dragged him down. Safely ensconced in his lover's arms,
Tatsumi Seiichiro allowed his mind to finally surrender � but his dreams
were another matter.
° ° °
Tsuzuki wanted to scream at the suffocating darkness that surrounded
his mind. He had thought he'd gotten away, but he was mistaken. He sought
to find his way through this nightmare and his body tried to force itself
out of its prison.
Power churned at the edges of his consciousness, alluring and cold and
dangerous and demonic.
He looked into the eyes of his other self, of the demon.
A voice whispered to him, but it couldn't be heard over the panic his
mind projected.
The link to Touda.
Shields.
So many shields.
I hurt Touda, he thought as memories flashed by. I hurt Ryu.
I... killed Muraki.
-- 'Please... release me, Tsuzuki. I beg of you. Give me freedom.'
-- 'Thank you.'
He sobbed softly at the memories. As much as he had hated and feared
this man, he had never thought about cold-bloodedly taking his life.
-- 'I am a failed product. Give me your mercy.'
It hurt so much feeling the icy blackness coming from the bond, telling
him he was alone. His body wanted to react by fighting, but he was too
weak. His breathing pattern changed; it became rapid. He was beginning
to find it hard to get the air he needed into his lungs.
A hand touched his face and he couldn't help but jerk away from it.
The voice began to talk to him then, calling his name and telling him that
he was going to be fine, that he was here with him now. His mind finally
forced the scream to leave his body. His pain-filled form began to fight.
He couldn't stop it. It was more a reaction than a request. He wanted it
to stop but it wouldn't. He tried to ward off the hand touching him, but
something was keeping him down.
Hands gripped his face and held it tight. A voice began to whisper in
his ear, but he couldn't calm down; the fear was too great. He struggled
even harder. The hands still held his head in a vice-like grip and finally
words filtered through.
"Asato.... you're safe....."
Hisoka?
"Open your eyes."
His body went limp and he tried to force his eyes open. It was an effort.
The blurry image that greeted him turned into face.
"'soka...?" he whispered, his voice rough and weak.
"Yes. You are safe, Asato. Relax."
The green eyes filled his whole field of vision, so deep and calm and
filled with more than was possible. They held emotions that threatened
to overwhelm Tsuzuki.
"'soka..."
"It'll be okay," his partner said softly, those emerald eyes drilling
into Tsuzuki's blurry ones.
"...stay...?"
"Forever."
He smiled a little.
"...thank you..."
With that, sleep claimed him again.
° ° °
Hisoka sat at Tsuzuki's bedside in one of the many guest rooms in the
Palace of Candles, wondering how often that had happened lately. Well,
it hadn't been such a long time since the last bedside vigil, when Tsuzuki
had battled the mirrored effects of a virus that had struck down Touda.
How long ago had that been?
He didn't know.
He sighed and reached for one lax hand, stroking over the slender fingers,
noting how unblemished, how unhurt Tsuzuki was this time. No harm had come
to him physically, but he had completely exerted himself.
Hisoka shuddered as he remembered the darkness that had come forth,
the power that had leveled most of the OmniFair grounds.
"You're so powerful," he whispered, for the first time no longer envious.
No, there was nothing to envy. Tsuzuki was bearing a curse, just like
he had until recently. With the death of Muraki, that curse had been lifted.
Hisoka felt little like celebrating right now. Tsuzuki had always been
living a life on the edge each time he used that power, each time Touda
pulled him away from the final step into the uncontrolled rage that could
mean the end of them all. He was controlling something he feared, something
he didn't want, and Hisoka understood that wishing for that kind of power
on his part was foolish.
Now, that power had been unleashed, had been triggered by Muraki's actions.
Hisoka had yet to understand so many things about what had happened.
How could Muraki have entered Meifu undetected?
-- the same way those devils had managed, a voice murmured.
Why had Muraki wanted to trigger Tsuzuki and then asked of him to take
his life? What had been the plan? Why Tsuzuki? Why had all that happened
just recently and not in the last seventy-plus years? Touda had become
Tsuzuki's shikigami so long ago... why had he been bonded to him only just
recently?
So many questions, but he had at least one answer.
Power meant nothing. Power was just the easy way out. Tsuzuki was doing
more without those powers than others with theirs. His fear to use what
he could had made him into what he was today, and in Hisoka's eyes he was
the bravest shinigami to walk this realm.
"I love you," he murmured and leaned over, kissing the pale lips.
Tsuzuki was suffering from total exhaustion. He was healing inside and
so was Touda, who was never far from his master. Right now he was curled
up and sleeping in the bed next to Tsuzuki's, face lined with exhaustion,
pale, and with shadows under his closed eyes. One hand was outstretched,
spanning the gap between the two beds that had been pushed next to each
other, and touching Tsuzuki's other arm.
Hisoka finally crawled into the bed with Tsuzuki and closed his eyes.
Feeling his lover close, feeling those familiar emotions again, not the
aberration of before, he allowed his mind to relax.
° ° °
Ryu had recovered quickly after Tsuzuki had nearly taken him apart.
His demonic side was taking care of that, and it wasn't like he could really
die. But he had also grown quiet, had pulled away, even from Watson, and
the gnome was growing more and more worried about his master. Touda and
Tsuzuki were mostly sleeping, and Hisoka didn't leave his lover alone.
The Count was hiding � from himself.
Hugging himself, the slender man was leaning against one of the high
windows, staring out into the distance, his mind flashing back again and
again to the moment of pain when his true self had broken through. The
seal had dissolved the first time when he had entered Hell and he had become
the demon that he had absorbed over two millennia ago. It had been agony.
Back again in Meifu, he had once again shown his human façade,
thanks to the reinserted seal. Only Enma or a being of the same power could
forever remove the seal, and Astaroth had only triggered him without shattering
what locked the demon inside the beautiful human body. It had been a game
for the Lord of Hell, showing Ryu who he was, dangling that horror in front
of him.
Tsuzuki's attack had ended that brief respite. Ryu had never been the
least disturbed by his appearance, but now the red eyes told him what lurked
in there, what he was.
A creature of Hell. A monster.
Ryu shivered and screwed his eyes shut. He had seen little of himself,
but he had felt the thing inside, the insidious, terrifying strength, the
power, the violence and the lust for... more power.
He felt so sick.
The pain echoed through his mind and he groaned softly. His stomach
clenched and his insides twisted in pain.
There was a shift in power in the Palace and a moan of denial left his
lips.
No, not him. Please...
But there was no mistaking who had entered. His lover's aura was unique.
Ryu bit his lower lip and straightened with an effort. It was bad enough
that he had guests here, but he could at least hide behind the mask. For
Rikugo... there was no barrier. He could see him. It was his ability.
°
Rikugo realized from the moment he looked at his lover that something
was terribly wrong. First, there was the mask. Ryu never wore it when they
were together. Then there was the aura. It felt... sick. He had heard briefly
from Touda about the attack, but the serpent had been rather close-mouthed.
Rikugo had thought it to be exhaustion and worry about Tsuzuki.
Now he wasn't so sure.
"Ryu?" he asked softly.
"Hey," was the tremulous reply.
"Ryu, take off the mask, please?"
Rikugo had no problem seeing the Count as Ryu, but he wanted his lover
to voluntarily show himself.
Shaking fingers took off the half-mask and Rikugo felt shock settle.
Gods, he looked bad. Pale, haggard, like he hadn't slept for a very long
time.
"Ryu?" he queried.
"I'm okay," was the reply.
Sure...
"Ryu?" he asked again.
Those red eyes held his for a moment, then dropped. Rikugo stepped closer,
but Ryu moved back.
"Ryu, what's wrong?"
"Everything," was the soft answer.
Everything... like Ryu himself. He had been his true self for the very
first time, had been to Hell, the home realm of the creature he had become,
and Rikugo had seen the demon form.
"This is about what happened," the shikigami murmured and his lover
flinched. "Ryu, I knew what you were. Not from the first day on, but I
saw you once. Briefly. In your full form."
Ryu paled and stared at his lover. "W-when?"
"When you lost it. When you attacked Tsuzuki in front of me. I Looked
at you and for a moment two images overlapped. I saw you and I saw the
creature of Hell."
Ryu stumbled a few steps back until he collided with the wall. He was
trembling with the reaction to Rikugo's words.
"No..."
"I saw you, Ryu. I accept what you are."
"How can you? How can you love this monster?" he yelled. "I'm your worst
enemy! I could... I could kill you... if I ever lost control of myself
completely..."
Rikugo closed the distance between them, looking down into the terrified
eyes. "You lost it once and it was very much completely. You attacked Tsuzuki,
but you never once turned into your other form. Only Hell can do that.
The seal Enma-Daiou put on you prevents that."
Ryu closed his eyes, shivering more. Rikugo pulled the stiffening form
into his embrace.
"I love you, Ryu. I saw what you are, I know what you are, and I love
you."
"Why?" came the soft whimper.
"Because I do. Do I need a reason to feel as I do?" Rikugo placed a
gentle kiss on the pale lips, feeling each quiver. "We've been through
so much and I will always be at your side, Ryu. I love you."
--
Ryu cursed himself for his weakness as he clung his lover, seeking his
warmth, his reassurance, and Rikugo just gently kissed him, holding him.
He couldn't understand why Rikugo even touched him any more. He was a monster
and scared by himself, of himself... How could the shikigami even trust
him?
"I Looked, Ryu," came the soft whisper. "I Saw and I accepted. You're
no monster. I love you. You're a man. I love you."
Tears tracked down his cheeks, emotions from the last twenty-four hours
breaking through. The horrifying discovery of what he was still echoed
in his sleep and he was terrified of the creature laying dormant inside.
Rikugo kept him in his embrace until Ryu finally detached himself. He drew
a deep breath and steadied himself.
"Ryu, I don't lie," the shinigami said calmly. "And I love you. Never
doubt it."
"I'm just... scared, Rikugo. Of myself. I knew what I am... but I've
never seen it before. Never felt it..."
"Now you know. You can be stronger because of it."
"I'm not so sure."
Rikugo's smiled. "I am." He gently tugged his lover with him. "C'mon.
I think you could need something nice to eat."
"Rikugo..."
"Ryu," he said firmly.
The demon sighed. "Okay... okay."
° ° °
Byakko stretched, feeling sore muscles complain, but it was a good feeling.
He was still tired, exhausted from the strain of the last few days, but
he was still happier than before. He knew that Touda was okay, that he
would remain with Tsuzuki until their friend was better. Tuszuki himself
was sleeping a lot, like Touda, and he was his old self once more.
What had launched the outbreak was still not clear. The name Muraki
had come up once or twice, and while Byakko knew that Muraki was a sore
spot for Tsuzuki, he couldn't believe that their master would truly lose
himself in the darkness like he had over him.
No, there had been more. There had to be more!
He was sure that answers could be found, but for now everyone had to
recover.
Walking into the main room where the servants had prepared a meal, Byakko
had the niggling feeling that this had only been the beginning. Something
had finally broken free, and it wouldn't be tamed again.
Whatever it was, they were all ready. The first alert had been Tsuzuki's
loss of control. Now... now everyone was apprehensive, wary, and ready
to fight back � against a faceless enemy.
An enemy that had been around for a while now.
Byakko took his place and the servants poured tea and offered food.
He nodded at them to leave it to him. He wanted to be alone, read the news
scrolls another servant had delivered, and he wanted to think.
There was a lot to think about.
And it all made some strange kind of sense. Everything. Even his own,
personal problems.
Byakko knew he had to talk to the others soon.

To be continued in Empty Spaces
- 13
- 14
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Pawn