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Phoenix	By : Macx Category: Descendents of Darkness/Yami No Matsuei > General Views: 2183 -:- 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-Phoenix
- 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
- 15-part 15
- 16-part 16
- 2
- 3
- 4
Rikugo woke to the sensation of warmth and safety. His frazzled
aura was surrounded by a protective shield, strong and fierce, but also
gentle. He let himself float in that strength, too weak to do more than
just exist. Everything around him was soft, calming, without a single edge
or any pressure. When he finally opened his eyes, he blinked into the twilight
of a late afternoon. Sun was coming into the room he lay in, filtered by
the blinds. He lay on a bed, covered by a blanket.
Someone was close by. The source of the protective shield that kept
him safe, and Rikugo turned his head. He gazed at the man curled up on
the other side of the bed that was large enough to hold two easily. Tsuzuki
Asato was asleep, his face relaxed, the longish strands falling into his
face. He was on one side, facing Rikugo.
The astrologer studied the young face, so sweet and innocent, but also
so much stronger than he could ever be. His master. His friend. His protector.
Like the shikigami protected him, Tsuzuki protected them. He loved the
young man who had survived his challenge, who had mastered him, and coming
to Meifu to flee from GensouKai had been almost instinctual. He had wanted
to go to Tsuzuki right away, but the shinigami had been on a case and it
had taken him away from Meifu for too long. So Rikugo had retreated into
the less populated areas of this realm. Enma-Daiou probably knew of his
presence, but the Lord of Hades had let him stay without interference.
Until Tsuzuki had found him.
He had felt his master's aura, had felt the power, and he couldn't but
go there. Rikugo had wanted to be where this man was, wanted his strength,
needed this support.
Reaching out, he touched the slumbering form. Tsuzuki's eyes blinked
open at the touch and a smile crossed his lips.
"Hey," he whispered. He sat up, violet gaze resting on his shikigami.
"How are you?" he asked.
"Fine," Rikugo answered almost automatically.
"You're not," his master begged to differ.
No, he wasn't. Not really. He was weak, his body was drained of energy,
and his mind was like molasses. He felt like a newborn kitten, unable to
coordinate his movements, let alone his thoughts.
"You up for something to eat?"
Did he feel hungry? Rikugo didn't know. He felt nothing at all, but
when he looked into those huge eyes, saw the worry, he found himself nodding.
°
Rikugo slept a lot. Tsuzuki was always with him, was there, fed
him, helped him with whatever he needed, and he stayed when Rikugo slept.
It was reassuring to wake up to his master's presence, to the gentle aura,
and Rikugo reached automatically for it while waking.
It was on the second day that he sat in the bed and ate that Tsuzuki
asked the question he had dreaded.
"What happened?"
He lowered his spoon and sighed. "Too much."
Tsuzuki waited, silent.
"Did... Byakko tell you what that devil did to him?"
"Yes," was the soft answer. "I doubt I know everything, but he told
me a few things. We talked a lot."
Tsuzuki's face was serious, the expression very empathic. Rikugo knew
that Byakko would turn to his master in his need, though he had never done
too often in the past. Usually it was Tsuzuki who needed their support,
but the young man had grown. He had finally accepted what he was, what
he could do, and it had done wonders.
"You know that this false reality the devil created involved us?"
A nod. "I know what he thought I did."
And Rikugo knew all Byakko had been shown, had been made to believe.
"You saw it all," Tsuzuki spoke out loud what his shikigami had thought.
"You never talked to anyone."
Rikugo lowered his gaze. "I was in that reality as well," he murmured.
Tsuzuki was silent, eyes widening a fraction.
"I... hurt him. Not the Byakko you know, but the child he was when his
father died... when he was alone and afraid and turned to me for help,
for consolation... to talk, to sleep over, to help chase away the horror
over his agile mind."
He looked up and saw understanding rise in those expressive, violet
eyes.
"I would never hurt him, Tsuzuki," Rikugo whispered. "Never... But that
thing showed it to him, made him believe I would... that I would..."
The horror was back, the screams and cries, the huge red eyes staring
at a Rikugo that had never existed, pleading for him to stop.
Rikugo screwed his eyes shut and drew a shuddering breath.
There was a warm presence all of a sudden, pulling him close. Strong
arms curled around him, held him tightly, and he felt his master's aura
cocoon him. Tsuzuki pulled him close, whispered soft words, and Rikugo
felt his dams break again. Tears streamed down his face and he cursed himself
for his weakness, but he couldn't stop it. It was too much, too painful,
and he knew all Byakko had endured.
Crying for a child that Byakko had never been, crying because of the
horror he had witnessed, he let himself fall into Tsuzuki's strength, wishing
he could be stronger himself. Hands stroked over his back, a voice told
him that it was okay, that it was all right to be like this, and Rikugo
held on.
° ° °
The wounds in his soul didn't really heal, but they were no longer as
painful as a week ago when he had arrived in Meifu, and Rikugo was getting
some of his old personality back. He smiled more, he actually went out,
though only into the unpopulated areas, and he talked to Tsuzuki whenever
his master was around. Tsuzuki in turn listened and heard of the horror
Rikugo had faced inside Byakko's mind while trying to heal him.
His heart went out to the wounded shikigami and he did whatever he could
to help. Rikugo's presence didn't go unnoticed, but no one said a word.
Not even Enma-Daiou made himself known. If he had, Tsuzuki would have fought
for Rikugo. He knew he would at least try.
It was throughout one of his long walks through the realm of Meifu,
a world that was as real as GensouKai, with just as many illusions, that
he stumbled over one institution everyone knew about and which resided
at the edge of Meifu. It was an immense building, a palace of incredible
proportions. The white walls very intricately established, rising before
him as far as they eye could see, like reaching for the sky. It looked
like an Italian baroque villa, blown up ten times and set into a dream
realm.
Sohryu's palace came close to this masterpiece of architecture, though
the style was vastly different. This had only European influence, which
was curious for a realm that didn't even reach that far. And it was probably
just as old, if not older.
Curious, the shikigami walked up the stairs that led to the high doors.
They were made of solid wood, but when he touched them, they swung open
easily.

Rikugo raised an eyebrow, but he took the silent invitation and entered.
The entrance hall was as high as the building itself, awash in light that
couldn't come from the candles alone.
The Palace of Candles, he thought. So this was it. An incredible building
at the edge of the underworld. He felt the energy everywhere, the life
of the millions upon millions of candles. Souls, he knew. Every soul of
every living human being was in this place. No one came here except for
business. Rikugo himself had no official business, but he had been curious.
Since he was already in Meifu, had no duties, and since Tsuzuki couldn't
be around him all the time, he had started to look around.
And had ended up here.
Walking through the hall he let his senses adjust to the energy-laden
environment. As a shikigami he was sensitive to the shifts in energies
and here there was so much life in all stages, it was like a pressure on
his senses, like being underwater.
There was no one here, but he knew he was being watched. Someone was
curious, just like he was, but he didn't see anyone.
Entering a room, Rikugo stopped, amazed.
The room was stretching into infinity as it seemed.
Seventeen windows overlooking the garden were matched by seventeen arcaded,
exceptionally large mirrors along the wall. The arches were set on marble
pilasters whose gilded bronze capitals were decorated with the astrological
symbols Rikugo could easily tell apart. Solid silver tables, lamp holders,
and pots adorned the gallery.
Rikugo slowly walked into the room, fascinated.
"Who are you?"
The voice was a cool tenor, demanding, wary and with a slight edge.
Rikugo turned, caught by surprise since he hadn't felt anyone approach,
and... his second set of eyes opened in surprise.
There was no one there. Just a roughly cut half mask floating at head
level of a normal-sized human being, and a pair of white gloves resting
against the frame of the doorway, as if the invisible man had placed a
hand there.
And he had.
Rikugo knew that opening his other eyes was impolite but the sheer surprise
overwhelmed him � and he Saw.
He Saw a human being, wearing the mask, dressed in a formal outfit of
a black tuxedo with a delicately ornate cravat around his neck, looking
at him with a wary expression. Dark eyebrows were drawn down over eyes
that struck Rikugo as odd. They were dark, of a color he couldn't define
from this distance, but there was a shimmer to them that made them inhuman.
The black hair was unruly, reminding him of Tsuzuki, though the face looked
older while still remaining young.
But the aura of the man... Rikugo inhaled sharply. Ancient. Very, very
ancient. He felt life but not like anyone he had ever met. He wasn't a
true shinigami, he wasn't a creature of magic, he wasn't human, but something
in between.
Like Tsuzuki...
"My name is Rikugo," he answered the question, still staring at the
man. "I apologize for coming in unannounced."
The frown deepened and the man seemed to be unaware that Rikugo actually
saw him. "You're a shikigami," he said, coming closer.
His movements were lithe, slow, careful.
Rikugo bowed his head in acknowledgement. "I am."
"It's rare that a shikigami appears in Meifu. Especially to this place."
"You are a bit remote."
Had he seen a wince? And why was this man wearing a mask?
"Can I offer you a tour?" the man asked, a slow smile suddenly crossing
his lips. "Since I get so few visitors, I can at least entertain the one
I have."
Rikugo smiled slightly and bowed his head once again. "Thank you."
"You already walked into the Hall of Mirrors," his host said. "So welcome
to the Palace of Candles, my friend. I am the Count. How may I address
you?"
The man behind the mask smiled widely, eyes alight with something like
happiness but not quite it.
"I don't have a title," the shikigami answered, only briefly wondering
why the man hadn't told him his name, just his position. "Just call me
Rikugo."
"Then follow me now as we begin the tour to this magical place."
And he turned, his formal clothes so very fitting into this regal environment.
"We'll start with the ground floor, wind our way through the gardens
with its fountains and little private groves..."
Rikugo listened to the words, smiling to himself at the expressive way,
the gestures, the smiles that the Count thought he couldn't see.
°
He had no idea what had driven him to let the tall, blond shikigami
enter the Palace. As master of this place, master of the Candles, the Count
controlled every aspect of the huge building. He decided who was allowed
to enter or not. He could just as well have locked the entrance and be
done with it. But he had left the doors open, had allowed the stranger
to enter, curious about why a shikigami was in Meifu.
He knew all there was to know about their kind. Centuries of boredom
and a huge library had helped along with that. He also knew who Rikugo
represented, who he was. All twelve of the highest shikigami were known
to him, the Divine Commanders.
So this was one of Tsuzuki's, one he had challenged and won.
The Count let his eyes trail over the slender form, noting how unusual
his outfit was for such a proud being. If he hadn't sensed the aura, he
would have taken him for a run of the mill visitor. Rikugo, despite his
fearsome reputation, had a rather.. reduced aura.
Curious.
And then there was the thing about the hair.
The Count remembered reading about shikigami, especially the dragons,
and Rikugo was a dragon. Their power resided in their hair and the blond
strands were... way too short for his age and standing.
Very curious.
But he reined in his questions, just guided his visitor through his
home, his prison, and enthusiastically explained the Palace to him.
It felt too good to have someone here to ponder about inconsistencies.
Later. If there was a later.
Yes, maybe later.

tbc...
- 2
- 3
- 4
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