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Bete Noir	By : Macx Category: Descendents of Darkness/Yami No Matsuei > General Views: 1911 -:- 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-Bete Noir
- 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
Sohryu had shooed his personal servants away, unnerved by their hovering,
their questions as to his condition, and he had finally executed his right
as their master, almost kicking them out. They had scurried away, disturbed,
but Sohryu didn't care. The events of the last few hours had rattled him
badly.
Gazing at the closed door to the room where Byakko lay, he asked himself
the same questions again and again: what had happened? Why had a devil
made it into GensouKai as a stowaway in Byakko? And how come the young
tiger had been under his control so completely? For a devil to possess
a shikigami... the shikigami had to surrender to him, and Sohryu doubted
Byakko had simply rolled over.
At the moment, Rikugo was taking care of their fellow God. The astrologer
had looked horrified by the condition Byakko was in, as well as Touda's
state, but Kochin had pushed him to their young friend while she would
take care of Touda.
Steps alerted Sohryu to the arrival of their second patient and he almost
smiled. Touda was shuffling toward him, looking like roadkill, swathed
in bandages, but there was a determined expression in his eyes. Sohryu
hadn't expected otherwise. It was hard to keep Touda down and right now
he was more than worried about Byakko, who just happened to be the most
important person in Touda's life, right after Tsuzuki.
"Sit before you collapse,� the dragon rumbled and nodded toward a couch.
Touda shot him a brief glare, but he did sink carefully into the cushions.
"Any word?� he demanded.
"No. Rikugo is still trying to figure out what happened.�
Touda snarled softly, his uninjured hand massaging over his bandaged
one.
"Thank you,� Sohryu broke the silence between them.
There was no answer, just Touda's brief smile. Sohryu knew that his
friend was loyal to him, despite their past, and that he would always be
a protector of the representative of the Emperor in GensouKai. What he
had done had come from that vow. That the attacker had been his lover had
only briefly stopped Touda's defense. He had done what had needed to be
done, getting wounded in the process. Had Byakko attacked outside the palace,
Sohryu would have been able to defeat him on his own. The element of surprise
had been to Byakko's advantage.
° ° °
Rikugo looked at his patient, feeling a sigh escape his lips.
What was going on here? What was happening to them? For centuries there
had been no conflicts other than a political opposition or discussion,
but lately, things were getting worse. Just a few weeks ago he had been
trying to save Touda from death, and with him all realms from collapse.
With Touda's death, Tsuzuki would probably have died, too, and then chaos
would have struck. They had skidded sharply away from a total catastrophe.
And now Byakko...
"What happened to you?� he murmured.
Physically Byakko was fine. A bit on the thin side, but the Protector
of the West had always been rather slender, even as a child, and Rikugo
knew that he himself was still in need to replenish lost reserves. He had
just now regained his full healing powers, and apparently not a day too
soon.
The white tiger was unconscious, but it wasn't a healing sleep. He was
very deep inside his mind and it had nothing to do with getting knocked
out by the devil.

Rikugo didn't understand how a devil could have broken the will of
the God so easily. Byakko was a strong person... what could have happened
to him?
Devils worked on the mind. They manipulated, coerced, coaxed, promised
and threatened. They were quite good at their job and humans were easy
prey. Mostly humans even called out to them to get their wishes fulfilled.
Byakko wasn't human. Far from it. He also hadn't called the devil; he
had fought it. And lost.
Why?
Rikugo gently stroked over the unruly mop of hair. Byakko looked almost
peaceful; almost. There were fine lines of stress on his smooth features,
and they were deepening. Now and then the eyes would roam behind the closed
lids and a finger would twitch.
"What happened?� Rikugo whispered.
Only one way to find out, to find Byakko, and get him back.
Rikugo opened his other eyes and concentrated on the man lying in front
of him on the bed.

He found himself surrounded by high granite walls, a labyrinth of walls
and corridors, only interrupted by heavy wooden doors, and he understood
he had managed to step into Byakko's soul. A soul that had transformed
into a web, into corridors with dead ends or circles, with memories closed
away behind those doors. The astrologer had seen something like this before
but not so complex, so multifaceted. Difficult. That devil must have done
a fairly good job, but that meant he would need time to find Byakko who
could hide himself behind any of these walls or doors, shut himself out
from the outside world.

Rikugo sighed. He really didn't want to this... and he opened the first
door.

Semi-darkness enveloped him, and he waited for his eyes to adapt.
Heavy walls, no windows, and a slightly moldy stain... a cell. There was
a soft clinking of metal and when he turned Rikugo swallowed. There in
a corner, chained to the wall, sat Byakko, huddled into himself, his clothes
shredded and stained with something rusty red... what the...?
With a creak the large door opened and Byakko looked up, confused
red eyes blinking into the sudden light. The person standing in the door
was tall and when he stepped into the cell Rikugo recognized Sohryu. The
dragon's face was a stony mask, his eyes hard and unrelenting, unforgiving
as he stared down on the almost naked prisoner.
"S...Sohryu, I..."
"Silence! I just came here to look at the one who slaughtered my
family.�
"I didn't do anything... Sohryu, please..."
Byakko's pleas met deaf ears, as the dragon turned sharply.
"Tenkuu. Seal this cell. Forever,� he ordered and then the door slammed
shut.
Byakko's desperate screams went by unheard and the tiger broke down
sobbing as the palace moved its walls.

Rikugo closed the door of the soul chamber and inhaled sharply.
Yes, something like this had happened five hundred years ago, but it
hadn't happed to the tiger. Rikugo shook away the dreadful feeling when
he thought about Touda and his incarceration. Back then they had sat in
council over the serpent, who had been unable to defend himself at the
time. He had been struck down and remained unconscious. They had ruled
over his future, his fate, without listening to the reasons for his total
loss.
Touda had been the one to be sealed away in Tenkuu.
Not Byakko.
So why...
He shuddered. The devil. It had started to manipulate Byakko's mind,
as it seemed, playing with actual events, twisting them so that the white
tiger was the guilty party.
Rikugo collected himself and straightened.
On to the next door.

It was like a déjà vu � same cell, same smell. But
from the looks of it Byakko must have been here for a very long time. What
had been left of his clothing was hanging from his thin form in small shreds
and it wasn't white anymore. As was the hair which had grown. But when
the door opened this time, Byakko didn't look up. He just did that when
he heard the soft voice.
"Byakko.�
Hope shone in the tiger's red eyes and awe when he seemed to recognize
the voice. A voice that had always meant hope and safety and love for him
� the voice of his master.
"Byakko � do you regret what you did?�
"Tsuzuki...� the tiger's voice was hoarse from the long time of not
using it. "Tsuzuki... what did I do? Why am I here? Why is everybody mad
at me?�
"You still refuse to see, Byakko?�
"Tsuzuki?�
"You killed Sohryu's family, his kids, for crying out loud, in simple
bloodlust, and you still refuse to see?�
Horror reflected on the tiger's face.
"I... no, please, I never..."
"You tore apart their little bodies and you still refuse? You disemboweled
Terazuma in front of Sohryu's eyes and you expect us to be nice to you?
And when Touda tried to stop you...?�
"Touda?� Byakko whispered. "What..?�
Tsuzuki snorted in disgust.
"Last thing I remember is you chewing on his throat. You killed him,
Byakko. You almost killed me in the process, that's why I needed so long
to come here and look into the eyes of a traitor. Rot in hell, Byakko.
Thanks, Tenkuu. You can seal it again.�

Rikugo closed the door after him softly, not needing to see the expression
on Byakko's face. There were many more doors and many more things for him
to witness. Hopefully he would find the tiger soon. He chose the next one
� and frowned.

A little run down hut at a small clearing, the sound of a little
stream behind it. There was a small but well kept garden with some vegetables,
and even a goat was enjoying the warm sun, tied at a long rope behind the
hut. Somebody walked down the path toward the cabin, opening the door without
even knocking. Rikugo stepped closer, wondering where he was or what he
was witnessing. The figure froze and a ray of sunlight glittered on a metal
blade, telling Rikugo that the owner of the hut hadn't been too pleased
with his visitor and was holding a dagger. The knife disappeared and the
figure threw away his coat, revealing long white spiky hair � Byakko. Strangely
enough he wasn't wearing his usual white attire, but was clad in black.
But who was the other person in the hut? Taking a much closer look Rikugo
gasped when recognizing the man. Touda.
"Are you suicidal, cat?� The serpent snarled. "You know I can't sense
your aura.�
"Yes, I know,� Byakko purred. "Due to that punishment of yours. I
found out, Touda. You did kill Sohryu's wife, didn't you? Along with his
son � your lover, I may add. Did you enjoy it, snake?�

Rikugo gaped in shock. He had never heard the gentle tiger use such
malevolent words or speak in such a venomous tone. He saw golden eyes widen,
the serpent shocked, too, before Touda regained his composure, turning
his back to the tiger dismissively.

"Get lost.�
"Do I remind you of him, snake? Come here and make yourself useful.�
Touda stood frozen to the spot for a second, fists clenched at his
side.
"Don't you dare order me around, Byakko. You better leave.�

Rikugo watched in growing horror as Byakko raised a training katana
which seemed to have been increased by heavy iron weights. It crashed onto
Touda's shoulder, making the serpent cry out with the pain. And then �
Rikugo couldn't tear his gaze away from the vicious scene, watching as
Byakko systematically beat the living daylights out of Touda, who due to
the initial blow was too stunned to fight back. The wet sounds of tearing
flesh and the snapping of bones made Rikugo shiver.

Breathing heavily Byakko stood in the middle of the hut, blood was
dripping from the katana, before he kneeled down beside the bloody broken
figure that was supposed to be the man he loved, regardless of the blood
soaking his pants.
"Fool,� he hissed, clenching his fingers into Touda's hair and pulling
his head up brutally. "And the really funny thing is, Byakko truly loves
you, can you imagine that? Now,� he pulled the other man closer, opening
his pants, �make yourself useful, whore.�

Rikugo slammed to door shut.
The astrologer was confused. Shocked, too, about what he had seen so
far. It were Byakko's memories of a life he had never lived like this,
of a life where he was both Byakko, wind shikigami and Protector of the
West like everybody knew him but also this twisted and jaded creature that
liked to torture others � or was tortured, for that matter. Rikugo wondered
what it could have been that had turned the gentle happy white tiger into
that dark and hateful creature. He hesitated to open the next door ...
but he also knew he had to.
And stood in his own study all of a sudden.

tbc...
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Bete Noir