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Terra Incognita	By : Macx Category: Descendents of Darkness/Yami No Matsuei > General Views: 1658 -:- 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-Terra Incognita
- 2-part 2
- 1
- 2
Tsuzuki set his last piece and Genbu frowned, leaning over the board
for a moment, then the Protector of the North looked up, smiling.
�You won.�
�But I only have one piece left!� Tsuzuki protested. �You have three.�
�That doesn�t matter. Throughout the game you announced a new level
a lot more often than I did. You won by points, my friend. You mastered
me.�
Tsuzuki stared at him, dumbfound. �Huh?�
Genbu chuckled slightly. �You won,� he repeated.
�Oh� wow��
The old shikigami rose with the help of his walking stick and bowed
his head. �You were a worthy opponent, Tsuzuki Asato. I knew you had potential
the day you beat my student.�
Tsuzuki blinked. �I... that�s...� He stopped, frowned, then his eyes
widened in shock.
With an almost helpless expression he looked pleadingly at the other
two shikigami present, meeting the equally shocked red eyes of Byakko.
�You can�t mean� Genbu, I never challenged you!� Tsuzuki protested.
�You did. I chose to test you through this game and have found you worthy
of my service, Tsuzuki. I am yours, master.� Genbu raised a hand at the
renewed protest. �I have chosen my path, young one. I have chosen you as
my master.�
The young shinigami paled dramatically, shaking his head in disbelief.
�No�� he groaned. �I didn�t want that. Genbu, I didn�t want to challenge
you to a fight like that��
�Well, you did, and we�re both bound to this outcome.� Genbu looked
at his new master. �I�m honored, my friend.�
Tsuzuki swallowed. �Byakko�� he asked helplessly.
The tiger shook his head. �It�s a done deal.�
�But I didn�t know��
�You challenged, he accepted,� Byakko told him.
�But��
Genbu walked over to the still seated man, expression serious. He leaned
onto his stick, holding the non-human, violet gaze.
�You won this challenge fair and square. You�re the first to beat me
on this level, and believe me, Tsuzuki, I have actually been challenged
before. I will not go back on the promise of a challenge, on the contract
this forms between the two of us. I will serve you faithfully. I hope you
will accept me with the same love as you did the others.�
�Genbu�� Tsuzuki stuttered. �I� I will accept you. I�m honored.�
The small shikigami bowed again, smiling. �So it is settled. Now�!�
He turned and looked at the shocked countenances of the other two. �I think
it calls for some food and drink. We played for hours and I�m parched!�
Rikugo cleared his throat, still stunned beyond words, and finally went
to find a servant. Byakko remained, shaking his head at what had happened.
Tsuzuki sat on the floor, looking at the board game. He was pale. Byakko
walked over to him and knelt next to his master. He reached out and touched
the young man, smiling a little.
�Tsuzuki?�
Huge, violet eyes met his.
�It�s okay,� the tiger whispered. �It was Genbu�s choice to accept the
challenge.�
Tsuzuki sighed. �I wouldn�t have really challenged him,� he murmured.
Gentle hands stroked over the pale skin. �We know that.�
The shinigami rose and Byakko rose with him. �I need to get some air.�
Byakko hesitated, but when his master gave him this pleading look, he
smiled and accompanied him to the outside. There he changed into his alternate
form and the two were off into the sky.
########
They had returned to the canyon and Tsuzuki reclined against a fallen
tree, watching the water of the near-by river rush past him. Byakko had
settled down beside him Indian-style, waiting, now and then gazing at him.
There was a comfortable silence between them and Tsuzuki was infinitely
glad his shikigami had come along. He needed the space, but he didn�t want
to be alone.
Being alone hurt.
And the memories of his latest partner came back.
�He left,� he whispered, almost surprised that he had said it out loud.
Byakko tilted his head. �Who?�
�Imaki.�
�Your partner?�
A nod.
�Why?�
�He said he needed a different job, that he couldn�t work as a shinigami.�
Byakko�s eyes narrowed a little. �Oh.�
�We were partners for four months, Byakko. Four measly months.� Tsuzuki
drew a shuddering breath, feeling the constriction clamp around his heart
again. �It wasn�t very long, but I liked him. He wasn�t so bad, really.
He just� freaked the first time I used Suzaku to help us out. He has a
mid-level shikigami himself and when she appeared� he was really shocked.
I thought everyone knew about you, but he didn�t really believe it, I guess.�
Violet eyes closed and Tsuzuki listened to the rush of the water, the
soft whisper of the winds, and he wished he could focus only on those peaceful
sounds. As it was, his mind was in turmoil and it was hard to think past
the pain of abandonment.
�He said it wasn�t normal to command a God. Or two. Now I�ve got Genbu,
too.�
He started to tremble.
�He hated me for being different.�
Strong arms curled around him, embraced him, drew him to a firm chest.
He fell against the Protector of the West, felt a dry sob leave his throat,
and Byakko held him tightly.
�You�re not different,� Byakko whispered fiercely. �You�re you, Tsuzuki
Asato. We love you as you are. Everyone who can�t see past prejudice and
such childish fear is an idiot.�
He clung to his support, to the first shikigami he had won here. Tsuzuki
didn�t care how weak he appeared to any of the ones serving him, to his
friends, because here he was never judged. They were true friends, would
never abandon him, and he trusted each and every one with his life.
Byakko stroked over his head, carding long fingers through the tousled
strands.
It was how Tsuzuki fell asleep, exhausted. Byakko watched over him with
alert eyes, all senses primed on his master.

It wasn�t much later that Byakko felt Suzaku�s arrival. The female shikigami
approached openly, her sword strapped to her back, and she smiled when
she discovered the two men.
�Hey!� she said softly. �How is he?�
�Shocked.�
She settled down next to them and ran a gentle hand over the tousled
hair. �Understandable. I always knew Genbu was a devious old geezer, but
to voluntarily let Tsuzuki challenge him� why?�
�We don�t really know.�
Byakko rested a hand on his master�s body, feeling the warmth, each
breath. It was very reassuring to have the young shinigami this close.
He loved Tsuzuki and would do everything for him. Just like Suzaku. Why
Genbu had willingly maneuvered himself into the position of a challenged
shikigami, no one knew. What he might gain from it, it was speculation.
Byakko just knew that he himself had only won from this partnership, that
he had grown.
He watched Suzaku as she caressed Tsuzuki, a warm, loving smile on her
features, how Tsuzuki unconsciously leaned into the caress in his sleep,
and he had to smile himself.
Whatever Genbu�s reasons had been, they were his own. Sohryu would probably
go through the roof, but so be it.
########
Rikugo scowled down at his sensei, dark eyes narrowed, expression more
than misgiving.
�What were you thinking?�
Genbu gave him a mild smile. �I found it an interesting challenge.�
�You manipulated him!�
�No. He freely spoke the challenge.�
Rikugo chuckled darkly. �Because you conned him into it, old man.�
Genbu gave him another toothy smile. �It was my game. You always lost,
so why would I con anyone into playing against me� knowing I�d win?�
The blond glared at him. Sure, the game had been true. Genbu had played
as he always did, with cunning and deviousness. But Tsuzuki had bested
him.

How?
�Then how could he beat you?� he asked.
�Because Tsuzuki Asato is two people. He is the one you see, the one
who interacts with everyone. And he�s the warrior, the one who is both
a strategist and an instinctual being. That instinctual being challenged
me. That man entered the game and won against me. You are a strategist,
Rikugo, but not flexible enough to see the game as what it is. He is flexible,
he is the man who absorbed himself in the levels, accepted the rules, and
adapted quickly each time.�
Rikugo rubbed his forehead. He knew he was no good at instinctual decisions.
He was a thinker, a strategist, but when it came to gut feeling he usually
lost. For him the battle was one of the mind, not the heart.
�What do you think to gain from having a master?� the astrologer finally
demanded. �You pledged servitude to a shinigami. You never did so before!�
�So have you,� was the quiet reminder.
�I was challenged!�
�So was I.�
Rikugo shook his head in frustration. �You never told him that the game
was a challenge, Genbu!�
�You, as the impartial watcher, didn�t protest.�
�Because I was as clueless as Tsuzuki!�
Genbu just sipped at his sake, looking satisfied to the world.
�Genbu!� Rikugo exclaimed. �Why did you do it? Why did you accept a
master?�
�For all your Seeing abilities, you are blind, my friend,� was the simple
answer. �Don�t you see the potential in this young man? Don�t you see his
power? Can�t you feel his power coursing through you?�
Rikugo stared at him. �I can�t believe you did it for such selfish purposes,�
he whispered.
Of course he felt his master�s power. Of course he had Seen what lurked
beneath that innocence and child-like exterior. He knew what Tsuzuki harbored
inside of him, this dark power, this potential.
�Everything we do in life is selfish. Why did you accept his challenge,
Rikugo?�
The astrologer hesitated. Yes, why? Why had he agreed to the challenge?
Because he had thought no one could beat him? Maybe. But something about
the young man had fascinated him.
It still did.
�I wanted to get to know him,� he murmured.
�So did I. I saw what he has achieved so far. He bested Byakko, Suzaku
und you. All of you are powerful and still, such a young shinigami gained
you as his guardian spirits.� Genbu placed the sake cup onto the low table.
�I want to get to know his potential. It�s still developing, he�s very
young, and in time I believe he can have all of us.�
Rikugo�s eyes widened and he could barely refrain from snapping open
his additional eyes. �What? All twelve of us? Even Sohryu?�
Genbu chuckled. �Even Sohryu. He can do it, he has the power, the strength
and the energy. He might not realize it, he might not like what he touches
when he really goes deep to draw on what he has to, but he is what he is.
You know it more than I do. You Saw him.�
Rikugo nodded. He had. He had Looked into that wonderful soul and he
had seen the difference, and it had hooked him to Tsuzuki.
All twelve.
He shook his head. Well, maybe Tsuzuki could win one or two more; he
was powerful enough to attract others high level shikigami, but not Sohryu.
The dragon would never accept the challenge, let alone lose against a shinigami.
Tsuzuki was strong, but Rikugo doubted the young man could win against
this dragon.
And there was one last high level shikigami no one would ever have:
Touda. The fire serpent was rotting in his eternal prison, his name erased
from all official lists.
But no, Rikugo decided, Tsuzuki would never challenge any other shikigami.
He had four now, three of the Gods.
Why would he try for more?
- 1
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Terra Incognita