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Truth of Darkness	By : KiraDouji Category: Descendents of Darkness/Yami No Matsuei > General Views: 2219 -:- 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
- 4
- 5
Chapter: Five:
Freedom and Fate

Pairing/Character/s: Touda, Erel, Byakko, Sohryu,
Taimou

Disclaimer: The author holds no
license of nor makes claims to any of the characters, concepts, or story the
above originated from in any way. The characters are used without permission of
the original creator for the sake of entertainment only. No profit is gained
from the writing found hereafter, nor any personal
credit taken for the character designs, personalities or concepts stemming from
the original story used. All situations below, unless otherwise stated, have no
bearing on the creator’s original work, and are solely the creation of
the author based on personal interpretation of the above mentioned works or are
parodies exempted from copyright laws. It is the responsibility of the reader
to observe all warnings before proceeding to the fiction below, as it may
contain any number of situations, themes, ideas, views, or lifestyles not
suitable for those under the age of 18 or which may be contrary or offensive to
the beliefs of some. In the event that the following is the author’s
original work, or contains an original character, the author holds the copy
write and should be contacted before either is used or distributed in any way.
All questions and comments concerning the written work or otherwise can be made
directly to the author.

Warning/s: If you’ve come this far, you already know there are
spoilers left and right.

Word Count: 8,808

Summary: Reality is often harder to believe than dreams and
belief more elusive when our dreams become reality. The true reality
of idealistic concepts tease us as dreams, something that if we ever
achieve, may then go unnoticed and unloved, for its sparkle has disappeared. We
should never forget our dreams, even once realized. Hold them close and
treasure their reality, for dreams are not the only things which haunt the
night.

Author’s Note: There were
two scenes which originally inspired me to write this story. The first, you
will see here, at the end of the chapter. The second, a few
chapters from now. Both scenes are integral to the story and have
festered in my mind for quite some time. Originally, this chapter was going to
be two, but given the possible places to cut the story, I felt it worked much
better as a whole to round out the first third of this tale. The length should
be easily negotiable.

Also, I wish to thank those
of you who have reviewed and stuck with this story. I appreciate it more than
you know, and it’s a great motivator to keep typing away. I realize I
move at a somewhat slow pace getting these chapters out (what with my other
stories sometimes taking priority) so it really makes me glad to find a new
review occasionally and know that I’m not the only one enjoying the
story. Without further ado, chapter five.

Freedom and Fate

”Chaos and Order are not enemies, only
opposites.”

- Richard Garriott

Touda awoke to a shaft of early morning light
touching his carpet for the first time in over 500 years. The initial moment of
disorientation fell away as he slid out of bed and took in sights and feelings
so long denied to him. With a light sigh, he entered the unlit bathing area off
of his bedroom. It felt so surreal going through the same routines he set for
himself thousands of years ago, yet had never expected to fall into again. The
steam rose hot from the water as it filled the tub, the tile cool beneath his
feet. The fresh smell of early morning drifted in through a small window above
his head, and oddly, it felt as though he’d never left. Touda quickly abandoned his clothing, trading claws for
hands as he did, and unwound his hair from the large rings. After settling into
the tub, he leaned back and closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment of
reflection before the day began. Perhaps… he really had missed this.

Merely a few minutes
had passed before Touda re-emerged from the bathroom,
leaving it as clean as when he’d entered it. He ran another wave of
heated air through the long strands of his hair to make sure all the moisture
had been removed before continuing into his room. There were still some papers
he needed to sort through before he looked into precisely where and how to
perform his new job

Touda closed his eyes and smiled slightly, drawing
a long breath and then exhaling just as slowly. He opened his eyes again and
looked around. This was real.

It would be another
few hours before people began their normal bustling, judging by how the rays of
the sun were still struggling to peek over the horizon. With that in mind, Touda cleared off a spot on his desk and picked up the
papers he had sorted on the floor the previous night. With renewed determination,
he began sifting through the remainder of his previous life. The sun rose
slowly, quietly illuminating the ancient room. For a while after, it seemed as
though the silence of the room was broken only by the soft scratch of a quill
or ruffled turn of a page. The silence pervaded so heavily that when it was
broken by a sharp rap on his door, even Touda gave a
start… just a small one.

The fire serpent sat
up, placing his quill neatly next to the parchment he’d been writing on
and glanced out the window. It seemed as though roughly an hour had passed
since he began. Curious as to who would be knocking on his door so early, Touda rose and swiftly moved to the other side of his room,
unlocked the door and quietly pulled it open.

“Ah,
good morning, Lord Touda!” Erel greeted
brightly with a quick bow. “I wasn’t sure when you awoke, so I came
a little late. I hope you don’t mind.”

Late? What does she consider early? Touda considered
the young woman for a moment before conceding to himself that since he had
specifically gotten rid of all his assigned servants so many years ago, that
this could just be normal time for any normal maid.

“It’s fine,” he answered eventually, opening the
door a bit more to let her in. “I awoke a few hours ago, so this time is fine.
There isn’t much for you to attend, though.”

“I thought
so!” Erel bubbled, casually pulling what seemed
to be a rather laden cart in with her. “You seemed like an early riser.”
She paused a good way into the room, looking around for a moment before turning
back to Touda, who had just closed his door again.
“I brought breakfast,” she indicated the covered dish on the top of
the cart, “if you want some, that is. I’m
afraid I wasn’t able to find out if you even ate breakfast,” she
finished a little embarrassedly.

Touda shook his head with a sigh. “I never
had any… attendants before; I cannot imagine you’ll be able to find
anyone in Tenkuu with knowledge of my likes or
dislikes.”

“…Ah.” Erel paused to
think for a moment. “Well, why don’t you tell me what you prefer,
then? Here, I’ll set up your breakfast… um, you do want something
to eat, correct?”

Without understanding
why, Touda felt a little bad for the woman.
“Something to eat would be wonderful, Erel.”
She beamed, setting to work cleaning his table and arranging his breakfast. Touda watched her contemplatively. Even if she hadn’t
known who he was before, certainly asking the older servants would have led her
to at least a few bits of information. It felt strange, then, that she
didn’t seem to care about her assignment, but equally, he didn’t
feel like pressing her about it just yet.

Admittedly, he could
easily request to have no servants again and leave it at that, but… Touda had to allow to himself, at least, that he was a
little curious about this woman. And, truth be told, some contact outside of
tense conversations, mock battles, and serious debates would be nice…
even if he wouldn’t confess to wanting it. “What is it, exactly,
that you were put in charge of, Erel?” He asked
suddenly, moving to take a seat just as she finished setting everything.

Erel looked up as he sat, considering the
question. “Ah, well, normally a group is assigned to each General
depending on their wants and needs. In addition, one person is given the job of
personal attendant to manage this team according to personal preference and the
amount of work to be done. For example, my friend Tora
is in charge of Lady Suzaku’s personal needs,
but since the Lady is usually at her own estate, Tora
mainly resides there as well, and is in charge of the household there, with
only one or two people set aside here. Whereas Lord Sohryu
spends all his time here, and so has a larger group here, although, only Zakare works specifically for him. The others are charged
with Sir Kijin and Miss Tenkou’s
welfare.” She paused and blushed lightly, rubbing her temple with her
forefinger in a curious sort of nervous gesture. “Although,
I was the only one assigned to you, so my job is simply taking care of
you.”

Touda sat back, contemplating this new information.
If Erel was the only one assigned to him, then at
least he didn’t have to worry about a crowd of people in his area, which
for someone as private as him would have been quite an annoyance. However, if
it was normal to have a group of attendants supplied, then… “Was
that because you were the only person who accepted the position?” he
asked quietly.

“Ah…”
Erel blushed more and glanced to the side, obviously
embarrassed. “I was running a little late and came in after the job was
announced, so they just switched me and told me to run. I didn’t get to
hear who I was working for or anything, but I was still surprised that the job
hadn’t been taken by the time I got back. I mean, though, it’s
still a promotion and… you don’t seem like-” she stopped
short, eyes wide as she caught herself mid-sentence. Her hands shot up in front
of her mouth. “I mean- that is, I don’t-!”

“… think I act like a mass murderer?” Touda
sighed as he finished her sentence. So, she really hadn’t known. “I
trust that is what you were told when you made inquiries to your
superiors?” Erel nodded a little guiltily.
“Why did you keep the job?” His golden eyes looked up at her,
locking gazes, and keeping her effectively rooted to the spot.

Erel’s hands moved to nervously pull at the apron
she had on over her livery. “If I may be completely honest, Lord, I need
the raise and, well… I just thought it was so rude of them to act like
that towards you!”

“Rude?” Touda found himself completely mystified by the comment,
but his question seemed to give Erel a bit of
courage, as her gaze became harder and her hands stopped nervously yanking her
apron.

Erel nodded angrily. “Lord Sohryu pardoned you completely, but none of them even
seemed to notice or care. They just… I mean, a lot of them lost someone
in that war and when… but I did, too! My parents were killed when…
when… but you… you were very nice… and calm, I just
couldn’t believe what they said. And even if you were… the charges
were dropped! I read the legal record: they held a trial based on new
information, right? And because of it, the charges were dropped. It
didn’t say why, but Lady Suzaku and Lords Byakko, Genbu and Sohryu were the council that made the decision, and
everyone respects them.” Erel paused to collect herself, becoming rather
embarrassedly aware of the outburst she’d ended up having.
“I’m sorry… I’m getting out of hand.”

Touda sat back in his chair, looking darkly at the
table full of food. This woman was more intriguing that he’d initially
thought. At the same time, though… “You realize that if you keep
this position it won’t get any easier,” he sighed, “and I
can’t tell you that I never killed anyone, though I apologize for the
loss of your parents. I am sure they did not deserve a death such as I
provided.” Touda raised his eyes, holding Erel’s gaze again. “I wouldn’t fault you
for simply leaving now,” he paused a moment, but continued when she made
no move to leave, “but I can see you meant every word of what you said. I
won’t mind having someone take care of things here, however I insist on
knowing who gave you this position in the first place.”

“…Lord?”
Erel blinked confusedly.

“So that I can
transfer you out from their authority and into mine. Is that acceptable?”

Erel stared for a moment, trying to get her mental
footing back. “Acceptable…?” Her face lit up suddenly,
“Yes, it’s acceptable! Of course it is! I- I mean, if you’ll
have me, I’ll do my best to prove I’m worth the effort, my
Lord,” she finished with a deep bow.

Touda allowed himself a smirk, still getting used
to being in control of his emotions again, and idly wondered if this was what
Tsuzuki felt like when they acted too formal for his tastes. The serpent
wasn’t as stuck on propriety like some shikigami,
but did recognize differences in position and power, and thus wasn’t
bothered by Erel’s somewhat spastic bowing, nor
did he mind displaying his loyalty and respect for his master.

“Have a seat, Erel,” he instructed suddenly. “Since you will
undoubtedly learn of my life, I wish to know you as well.” He pushed a
small plate of fruit and bread in front of the chair she was slowly sitting in
and found a second plate for himself.

Erel glanced awkwardly from the plate to Touda, but let her natural personality win over propriety
for now and let her face melt into a brilliant smile. “Thank you. What
would you like to know?”

“Why do you
work here?” he began, breaking off another piece of bread.

“Because
I’ve always worked here,” she answered brightly. “After the
war I was still young and didn’t have a place to stay. Apparently there
were a lot of people like me, so Tenkuu’s area
and functions were expanded and people like me were taken in by various people
who worked here. When we were older, we were given jobs here. A lot of people
left, though, to go back to villages and homes once they were able. I liked it
here, though, so I stayed.”

Touda nodded lightly and took a sip of the water Erel brought. “And do you still live in Tenkuu?”

Erel shook her head, finishing off a grape.
“I moved out about fifty years ago to a nearby village. It’s nice
there, and much more open.”

“You’re a
wind type?” Touda concluded. She nodded easily.
“Well, that answered my next questions.”

Erel furrowed her brow in confusion. “Your next questions?”

“As to how you
were able to finish my room and fetch dinner so quickly the other night, or how you could find my chambers so quickly after
just being assigned to them.” Touda answered.

If anything, Erel seemed more embarrassed about this than anything that
had happened earlier. “I-I’m sorry! I- If you don’t want me
to do that anymore, I swear I won’t!”

“… Why
wouldn’t I want you to use your natural-born talents?” Touda queried, a little confused by the outburst.

“… You
don’t mind?” Erel answered, equally
mystified.

“Should
I?” Had this whole place gone mad in the last 500 years?

“It’s
just that… it’s a little pretentious for me to… be so open
when I’m not nearly the same level as you… yes?” The woman
looked honestly confused by his question.

Touda sighed. “You don’t need, nor do I
want you to hide things from me. Especially something as trivial as how open you are with your
powers. I don’t know who told you that, but it’s not
something I or anyone else, as far as I’m aware, ever worries
about.”

“Well… if
you don’t mind, then I won’t worry about it…” Erel eventually answered with a smile. She put her hands on
the table and pushed her chair back as she stood and collected her plate.
“I’ll just pick up the plate I left you last night while you
finish, then.”

“You can take
the rest as well: I don’t eat much in the morning,” Touda answered, handing her his now empty plate.

Erel nodded and took it along with her own and the
serving plates back to the cart. “I will bring less next time, then. Is
this time about right?”

“About half an
hour earlier will be fine.” Touda stood and
picked up the utensils, handing them off to Erel.

“Will you need
anything for the rest of the day, or would you rather I just work on your other
rooms for now?”

“I’ll be
out for most of the day, I assume.” Touda
answered as best he could, realizing that he
didn’t really know his schedule yet.

“If
you’re leaving, you’ll probably want a change of clothes, ne?” Erel bubbled, pulling
a package out from inside the cart with enthusiasm. She held it out for Touda’s inspection. “I hope you don’t
mind, but I noticed the other night that the part of your wardrobe that
didn’t crumble was still rather old, so I took some pieces over to my
village’s seamstress and we put together something. If you like it,
I’ll put in an order for more.”

Touda moved closer, taking the package and looking
at it a little strangely. He wasn’t used to being provided for, and he
certainly wasn’t used to people thinking about him that much. He fingered
the material lightly, surprised to find that while nice, it wasn’t
anything overly luxurious as he’d expected. Golden eyes rose back to
expectant blue ones. Exactly how much had she already figured out just from
their meeting yesterday? She was obviously smarter than she portrayed herself if
she already figured out that he had wanted to work on everything alone last
night, or that he wouldn’t have minded the small dinner plate, or that he
rose early, wouldn’t mind breakfast and preferred practicality.

“… Thank
you,” he managed eventually, holding the garment up to see more of it.
And a change of clothes was something he did sorely need.

“It was
nothing,” she answered with a smile. “Tell me how it fits. We were
just working off your old clothing, so I don’t know how close we came. I
noticed you like black, so that’s what we used, but if you want anything
else, I’ll be sure to mention it.”

Touda nodded. Erel
didn’t go away. Touda gave her a questioning
look.

“… You
don’t want any help getting ready?” she asked hesitantly.

Oh. “I assure
you, I am perfectly capable of dressing myself.”

Erel blushed again; it seemed to be a habit.
“Yes, of course… ah, and you don’t want to pull your hair
back or…?”

He took pity on the woman
and gave her a small smile. “I would rather have it down today, thank
you.”

“All right
then, I’ll get to work. Have a good day, Lord Touda.”
Erel recovered gracefully and bobbed another bow on
her way out.

~*~

Another
hour, another knock. Touda set down the books he’d been looking through
and glanced out the window again. It seemed about time for everyone to be up
and about, but still a little early. Maybe about eight
o’clock. That aside, who would be visiting him? Touda crossed his room once more and opened the door again.

“… Byakko?”

“’Morning,
Touda!” Byakko replied with a cattish grin.

“… What
are you doing up at this hour?” Touda
couldn’t help asking, knowing the Guardian of
the West’s typical sleeping pattern consisted of a whole lot more
sleeping and a lot less getting up early to pester newly-freed fire serpents.

“I wanted to
catch you before you left.” The hair on Byakko’s
tail was noticeably… straighter than usual. Almost like a cat who
couldn’t decide whether to hiss or not.

Touda quirked an eyebrow.
“Why?”

“I heard you
were assigned to look into the tears-”

“You mean, you pestered Sohryu until he
told you.”

Byakko rubbed the back of his head but grinned at
the same time. “Guess I did,” he laughed. “Anyway, if
you’re looking for somewhere to start, I could use the help in my area.
I’ve had a lot more than usual lately, and it’s getting a little
strenuous…” He trailed off, one eye open and glancing up at Touda.

The serpent shikigami remained silently in his doorway for a good
moment before nodding once and stepping into the hallway. “I’ll come.”

“Great!” Byakko’s hair seemed to relax again.

Was that really what he was so worked up over? Touda pondered,
closing the door behind him. His attention turned back to Byakko
himself when the shikigami made an indistinguishable
sound in his throat. “What?” Touda
queried bluntly.

“Is that
new?” Byakko asked, gesturing to him. The brand-new
black pants and shirt in his usual style clung to the serpent’s pale skin
nearly as tightly as his previous outfit. Instead of the tails of fabric flowing
from his shirt, they now came from an equally black, separate overcoat, also
sleeveless as he liked. Overall, the image hadn’t changed, but it was
fairly obvious that the clothing had.

Touda sighed. “Erel
had it made last night,” he offered by way of explanation.

“… Erel?”

“The woman that
was put in charge of this hallway,” Touda
elucidated as they started to walk.

Byakko snickered, “You let her dress you
up?” Touda glared, which was much more
effective now that his eyes were actually visible. The tiger waved it off,
“I know her. She took over for a while when Nare
came down with something. She’s very nice, but I can’t imagine how
she got assigned to you.”

“She was late
for work, apparently,” Touda offered.

“You
didn’t interrogate her, did you?” Byakko
laughed.

Touda shrugged. “I asked.”

“Hm, well you don’t seem to mind her,” the cat
observed.

“She reminds me
of Tsuzuki.”

Byakko considered that for a moment and nodded.
“Yeah, I guess I kind of see it too.” He turned his attention
forward again, intent on where they were going.

The hallways of Tenkuu were spacious and grand, lined with occasional
furnishings, tapestries and various people hustling by to get the day’s
work done. It would be another hour or so before anyone aside from servants
left their rooms or whatever desk they had fallen asleep at the night before,
so the tiger wasn’t all that surprised when most of the servants cast
glances his way. After a few instances, though, he noted with a bit of a frown
that the early hour wasn’t what was making the servants glance furtively
in his direction.

“Something
wrong?” Touda asked, picking up on the other shikigami’s
mood swing.

Byakko shook his head. “It’s
nothing,” he replied, pulling his eyes from the most recent passerby.

“Don’t
pay attention to it.”

When the serpent
didn’t give any more explanation than that, Byakko
glanced to his right, catching Touda’s eye and
replied just as quietly. “That doesn’t bother you?”

Touda shrugged. “It’s been the same
since he released me.”

Byakko swished his tail a bit and looked forward
again, taking a left when they intercepted another hallway.

Why are you doing
this, Byakko?” Touda
asked suddenly, though he seemed absorbed in straightening the cloth on his
left arm.

“Doing
what?” the tiger blinked back at him.

“You know what
I mean.” Golden eyes rose enough to catch blue in a demanding gaze.

Byakko sighed and looked away. “Is there a
reason I shouldn’t be?”

“You were one
of those who set my sentence,” Touda reminded.

“So was Sohryu,” Byakko quickly
defended.

Not being able to
deny that, Touda inclined his head a bit in
acceptance. “But he is not here offering his time and energy.” He
looked purposely at the shikigami next to him.
“You are.”

Byakko shrugged uncomfortably. “You never
acted like someone I should hate,” he answered after a moment.
“Tsuzuki always trusted you completely, and he may not always make the
best decisions, but he doesn’t give that kind of trust often. You never
once broke that trust, so… I started rethinking things. Everyone treats
you pretty badly and, especially after yesterday, I don’t think you
deserve it. So… I wanted to try again, I guess.
I’d like to work with you at the very least.” He scratched behind
his ear a bit self-consciously. “I know it’s not much-”

“It’s fine.”

Byakko looked up, pulling his hand down a bit as he
tried to catch Touda’s eye, but failed as the
serpent was studiously avoiding his gaze. He smirked a bit: at least he
wasn’t the only one a little embarrassed. “‘It’s
fine.’ That’s all I get?” he teased, grinning. “After
waking up that early to drag you out here, ‘It’s fine’ is all
I get?”

“It’s not
my fault you chose to wake up that early, or that you’re too lazy to wake
with the sun,” Touda answered in his usual
monotone.

“I am not
lazy!” Byakko huffed.

“Says the man
who was challenged because he was off napping instead of doing work,” Touda smirked.

Byakko blanched. “Who told you that?!”

“Who do you
think?” Even the fire serpent couldn’t keep a little amusement from
coloring his voice a bit from watching Byakko’s
reaction.

“That-that
human is going to lose his ears when gets back here!” The tail was up and
bristling.

Touda sighed, “If you plan on doing that,
I’m afraid I’ll have to terminate this arrangement in order to
ensure our master’s appendages remain in one piece and firmly attached to
his body.”

Byakko nearly fell over laughing, instead latching
on to Touda’s arm to keep himself upright. A
servant passing by gave the two a very peculiar look at the sight of a hell serpent
standing stoically in the hallway as if one of the great Celestial Generals wasn’t
clamped to his arm, trying not to fall over as peals of laughter echoed through
the hallway. Touda glared appropriately, and she
hurried away.

~*~

As the days went by, Touda found himself developing a pattern that, despite
himself, revolved around other people. In the morning he’d wake and dress
in time for Erel to bring breakfast, which they ate
together, awkwardly at first, but soon as if it were perfectly normal. When
they were finished, the dishes were put away and Touda
would look over the previous day’s paperwork while Erel
went about fixing the little things in his room until Byakko
showed up. Erel would wish them both a good day,
occasionally hand Byakko a treat saved from brunch,
and then he’d spend the next few hours in the tiger’s company.
After a day of observing, testing and closing portals by the Western Gate punctuated
by spurts of absence on Byakko’s part to attend
his other responsibilities, Byakko usually all but
demanded he stay for dinner. Originally, it had taken a few days before Touda had, weary from the amount of work he’d done,
accepted out of exhaustion, yet somehow it became part of the routine. Finally,
he’d return to his room with enough of the day left to transfer the
day’s findings over to electronic holdings, as he was more used to now,
and have a few moments to himself before going to
sleep and starting the whole cycle over again.

It was tiring, but at
the same time it felt… nice. Interacting with people who actually wanted
to be around him, not having to listen to one person’s demands, not
having to worry about being private and inconspicuous… all these things
were slowly growing on the fire serpent. He enjoyed the pattern more than
he’d like to admit, and still had many other things on his mind, but
overall his life seemed to have taken a turn for the better.

Touda looked down at the stack of paper in his
hands and sighed. Already two weeks had gone by since he’d been freed,
and while some things were drastically different, others were exactly the same.
Tsuzuki was still in Meifu; the rips were still
occurring at the same rate; Suzaku still tried to
stab him every time they met (though, admittedly, it seemed a lot less hostile
in the past few days), everything in Gensoukai was still done on paper, and he still
hadn’t seen the very person responsible for pushing this new life on him.
Well, until today. Apparently, the groups that had been put together so long
ago needed his reports in detail and on paper. Why they couldn’t use the
extensive computer system that ran throughout the country, in which he had
placed all of his findings, calculations, and results, was a mystery to him.

All it really meant
was that he was finally forced to sit through a meeting turning in and
explaining said reports to Sohryu. Of all the things
to be micromanaging, Touda had to admit that this one
actually made sense, but it still irked him. Especially since he’d been
sitting in the man’s office for about twenty minutes now, waiting and staring at the wall since
he’d already memorized the exact layout of the dragon lord’s desk.
It wasn’t so much that he was an impatient person - there were plenty of
times in the past when he’d had to stay still for hours on end - rather
that he was stuck waiting on someone else. Someone he most definitely did not want to see on top of that.

“- understand
that this important, but I have other things- yes, I know – yes I am
aware.” The door flew open suddenly, admitting a group of loudly arguing people
shoving paper back and forth at each other. Sohryu
seemed to be the center of moving mass of flesh, coolly looking at each thing
shoved in his face as if it was supposed to be there, and replying in tones
that couldn’t be picked up over the other disputants.

Touda arched an eyebrow. “Busy?” he
queried needlessly.

Five sets of eyes
immediately snapped to him, five matching mouths suddenly becoming much
quieter. Touda tapped his claws against the stack of
paper on his lap. A woman said something under her breath to Sohryu, bowed and left. As if that was the cue, each other
person quickly and quietly excused themselves and
deposited a piece of paper in Sohryu’s hands as
they left the room. After a minute, the door closed with a soft click.

Sohryu crossed the room, straightening the paper
before he put it on his desk. “That was uncalled for.”

“You’re
twenty minutes late,” Touda answered blandly.

The dragon lord sat
down, easily returning Touda’s gaze.
“It’s no reason to terrify my staff.”

“It’s not
my fault your staff is afraid of a question. Perhaps you should be more
concerned with getting a better staff than berating me for their
weaknesses.”

“Touda,” Sohryu growled
warningly, clearly not in the mood, whatever his attitude had seemed like before.

Five inches worth of
paper landed on his desk with a respectable thwack. “The number of trees
murdered producing this report should be worthy of another 500 years or so. I
hope you find it helpful, because I doubt your teams will,” Touda replied dryly.

Sohryu narrowed his eyes, but started skimming the
documents. “And why is that?”

“They should be
accessing the electronic copies of this data and viewing the examples from
there as well. It’s nearly impossible to put this kind of research on
paper. I don’t know what you expect to use it for except a very large
paper weight.”

“You’ve
been spending too much time around Byakko. For a
moment there, it almost sounded like you were joking,” Sohryu parried easily. Touda
glared but didn’t say anything immediately, choosing instead to let Sohryu read some of the report before continuing.
“These look no different from what we had before.”

“I’ve done
all I can with power alone. You’ll not find anything in there that
hasn’t already described,” Touda
clarified. “In order to get anything new or more concrete, you need a
more concrete method of gathering information. This is exactly why you
can’t do paper collection in this matter.”

“Then why
haven’t you done that?” Sohryu
questioned, closing the stack of paper.

“It requires
someone who knows the equipment, another with the same amount of raw power as a
General to watch the rip and maintain it, and a third
as backup should anything happen. Also, there should be at least two teams
monitoring the returned data in case the rip fluctuates, any of the equipment
malfunctions, or there are irregularities, which could potentially cause the
rip to collapse, taking the gatherer, the equipment itself, and whatever else
it manages to hit before being cancelled with it.”

Sohryu exhaled softly and sat back, looking
thoughtful. “The amount of risk…”

“… is impermissible,” Touda
finished, “… unless it’s worth it to try.” He looked
back at Sohryu, trying to gauge the dragon lord’s
reaction.

“… It
can’t be helped,” Sohryu finally answered
with a sigh, looking down at the table, then back up at Touda.
“We need more information.”

“Then you need
to choose three people. I’m sure the rest can be handled.”

“Taimou’s abilities would be best in the monitoring
position,” Sohryu began, mind already working
through all the possibilities. “Byakko has been
closing too many already to be steady… Suzaku
could perform either of the other two positions, but I’d have to see how
much she’s extended herself lately… probably too much…”

“Everyone has
pushed themselves lately,” Touda acknowledged
quietly, noting silently the small signs of stress Sohryu
was showing.

Sohryu shook his head lightly, “I’m the
only one who hasn’t exhausted their energy lately, so I’ll have to
take the third position. That leaves-”

“Me.” The
dragon lord glanced across the desk, slightly annoyed at being interrupted. Touda shrugged. “I haven’t overtaxed myself
yet, I know the equipment, and if something goes wrong, you’re not losing
anyone important.” He gave an immodest smile.

Sohryu seemed to change his mind about saying
something, and instead just nodded at the proposition, changing his gaze to the
top of his desk for a minute. “All right,” he finally answered and
looked up again. “You will be informed when a date is set. Until then,
you are in charge of locating the proper equipment or having it made. You can
go.”

Touda frowned, but stood up and turned to leave.
His hand tightened on the back of the chair he vacated, and he stopped to look
down at it. Somehow… “You should get some
more sleep,” he said suddenly, and turned to look back at the other man,
“or you’ll be too physically exhausted to help.” He left
before Sohryu could answer.

~*~

“Hey, how was
it?”

Touda looked up as he walked in, not having
expected Byakko to be waiting for him when he got
back. He sighed and closed the door. “I don’t know.”

“What’s
that mean?” the tiger yawned, leaning on the table.

“If
you’re that tired, take the bed.” Byakko
waved off the offer, blue eyes still aptly watching him despite the way he
leaned on the table. Touda shook his head lightly and
sat down across from the other general, sitting back. “I don’t know
how I expected it to go.” Byakko made a rumble
of acknowledgement. “He looked tired.”

Byakko shrugged and sat up with another yawn,
stretching with his tail sticking out behind him until he relaxed again.
“I don’t think he’s been sleeping well lately,” he
explained. “So what happened?”

“He agreed to
my idea.” Byakko blinked in surprise at that. Touda shrugged lightly. “There was no way he
couldn’t. We need the information.”

“So then,
who…?”

“Taimou, Sohryu, and myself.”

“He’s not
serious about that, is he?” Touda only nodded. Byakko growled lowly, “He can’t expect to do
everything! He should have gotten someone else!”

“Who?” Byakko hesitated,
but Touda continued before he could answer.
“No, you can’t. You’ve been too busy with the rips lately. I
know it. Sohryu knows it. Suzaku
has been as well, she might have been able to perform my job, but I’m not
going to allow anyone else in that position.”

“What about Genbu?” They shared a look. Byakko
sighed, “All right, not Genbu. Kijin?
No, he’s been taking care of things here…”

“I don’t
see why you are so upset about it. The person in that position is the least at
risk out of all three.” Touda interrupted.

Byakko sank down on the table with a long exhale.
“Ever since he and Kurikara became enemies,
he’s refused to let anyone else take over for the work he used to let Kurikara deal with. Occasionally, he lets Kijin stand in for him, but… he’s been
determined to fill the gap by himself. I can’t blame him for thinking
that way after all that, but it’s going to backfire on him eventually. It
already almost happened once during… well, the last month. We can’t
afford to have him out of the picture right now, not when he’s
what’s holding everyone together. And he knows that, damn it!” Byakko’s tail swished agitatedly, hair on end,
thumping the carpet.

“If it worries
you that much, I’ll just make sure he won’t have anything to react
to,” Touda answered simply.

Byakko glared at him. “Don’t think
I’m not worried about you, too. It’s already dangerous enough to
mess with those things the way you have been lately. Going into one is only making it worse.”

Touda looked up at the ceiling, extending his
senses inward to feel out the bond between him and Tsuzuki. His power curled in
response to the repressed energies within his master, but he held it safely at
bay. He knew he had to be careful… Tsuzuki…
“Don’t worry,” he dropped his gaze and looked at Byakko again. “I don’t plan on making a
mistake.”

Byakko snorted but seemed a bit more settled.
“And you’re comfortable with Sohryu being
your back up? Do you trust him enough to worry about your job and let him
monitor your safety?”

“It’s not
a matter of trust.” Touda glanced off to the
side contemplatively. “Ever since I met Sohryu,
he’s been the same in one regard: when he decides to do something, he
does it to the fullest extent. We may not like each other, but he’ll do
his job.”

“I don’t
see how that’s not a matter of trust,” Byakko
grumbled under his breath.

~*~

“Are you sure
this is necessary?” Byakko asked with the air
of someone who had already tried and failed to stop the inevitable from
happening.

“Would
I have allowed it if it wasn’t?” Sohryu parried
easily, watching the final preparations with a critical eye.

Byakko’s tail swished impatiently, but he didn’t
reply. Instead, he settled for crossing his arms and surveying the mounting
disaster. Two large sets of mechanical something-or-others stood with their
personal teams of scientists to the right and left of him, each humming loudly
as their operators pushed buttons and observed blinking lights. The Guardian of
the West would be the first person to admit he didn’t understand or see
the point in this exercise. Science was not his forte, he knew. He let his eyes
trace the length of cables that streamed like hair from the machines across the
field. The cables fed into strange contraptions surrounding various body parts
of a certain fire serpent, who stood only yards behind
a crackling, shifting mass of nothing they expected to shove not only a person
but electronic devices through. Honestly…

Touda glanced up from fixing the wires around his
left arm piece when Byakko approached. He looked back
at his work. “If you’re going to tell me again not to do this,
consider it said.”

“Obviously, my
opinion doesn’t count for much,” Byakko
grumbled unhappily, “so I’m seeing if you need help with any
preparations.” Blue eyes skeptically regarded the metal contraptions
surrounding Touda’s lower arms and legs, which
connected him to the machines on the other side of the field via very long,
multi-colored wires.

The serpent looked up
again. “It would be safer if you didn’t touch any of the
equipment,” he observed. Byakko bristled, so he
shrugged. “However, you could help attach the visor.”

Byakko looked around, sharp eyes searching for
something that matched the given description. “This?” he
questioned, doubtfully holding up something that less resembled the gear
already attached and more the fire serpent’s old power limiter. He quirked an eyebrow when given the affirmative.

“It’s the
interface I’m used to,” Touda explained.

“But it
doesn’t-”

“No,” Touda answered with a rather dry smirk, “its only job
is to relay information to and from me and the equipment so I can make
adjustments.”

Byakko eyed the head piece for a moment, but then
shrugged it off. “All right, lean forward a bit…” Touda did as instructed and Byakko
quickly snapped the visor in place. He paused, watching as the other shikigami straightened.

“What?” Touda queried, bluntly as usual.

“It’s
just strange,” Byakko shook his head lightly. “Never mind. Do I need to attach anything?” Touda turned a veiled gaze on Byakko
once more, seeming to consider his words for a moment and then dismissing them,
instead guiding the tiger with short descriptions and instructions on how to
properly ready the last piece of gear.

“Lord Sohryu?”

Sohryu turned his attention to the right and the
scientist currently addressing him. “Yes?”

“If you
wouldn’t mind, we would like your help calibrating the sensors,” he
answered, holding up a short length of what looked like metal tubing.

“That’s
fine,” the dragon lord answered, fully turning to face the other shikigami.

“Wonderful,”
the scientist smiled and held out the bar. “We just need a small, steady
stream of energy channeled into this.”

Sohryu quirked an eyebrow but picked up the tube,
noticing belatedly that it had wires streaming out one end. It only took a
short moment of concentration to funnel the small amount of energy needed into
the contraption, which now crackled with power.

“Ah! Only a little!” The scientist waved a little, glancing
at the readings on the larger machine.

“… This
is a little,” Sohryu answered, but dropped the
amount further until the bar stopped crackling. “Is that better?”

The other shikigami coughed a little, staring at the numbers that
appeared on the paper streaming out from his invention. “Ah… yes,
yes that’s better… that’s… roughly… 4% of your
total capability?” he asked suddenly, looking back at Sohryu.

“It’s
closer to 2%,” the dragon lord answered calmly.

The scientist nearly
choked, but recovered admirably. “Such should be expected,” he
managed, glancing back at the rest of his team. “If you
could, slowly raise the amount to about 10% over twenty seconds.”

“You’re
certain that won’t damage it?” Sohryu
replied skeptically.

“With all due
respect, Lord Sohryu, if this machinery failed at 10%
of your capacity, as powerful as that is, it would do us no good inside what we
wish to test.”

Sohryu nodded lightly, “Very well, then. I
shall begin when you are ready.”

The other shikigami turned back to his team of assistants, and
together they fiddled with the larger contraption again, until they seemed
satisfied with the stream of results. “Begin.” Slowly, the numbers
on the readout grew larger.

“Calculated
rate of increase… 2.382%.... 2.482%.... 2.328%... 2.303%... Average rate
of increase: 2.374 percent per second,” one of the assistants read off
until the power leveled out. “Ten percent power level reached. Total
energy applied within .08% of calculated. Results within
acceptable range.”

“All
right.” The
scientist turned to the other side of the field. “Team two report!”

“Within .078%
of calculated. Results within acceptable range,” a female shikigami read out from the identical machine yards away.

The head scientist
nodded and turned back to Sohryu. “Thank you
for your assistance. That’s all we need for now.” Sohryu nodded and handed the strange sensor back over to
the shikigami. “Are we almost ready for the
final test?” The man asked of his team as he took the sensor back.

“All equipment
has been attached and is in working order,” another assistant recited
immediately.

“Prepare for
secondary testing. Use the same percents as before.” Touda
glanced over his shoulder slightly, acknowledging that he heard the
instructions, even if they weren’t specifically addressed to him. “Two
percent stream… begin,” The scientist
instructed, leaning over the shoulder of one of the machine operators to watch
the input before the results were read off.

“Two
percent stream steady,” an assistant announced seconds later.

He nodded and finely
tuned the sensors just a bit more. “Increase to 10% over twenty seconds
on my word.” He adjusted the sensors one more time. “Begin.”

“Calculated
rate of increase… 2.281%... 2.254%.... 2.250%.... 2.250%... Average rate of increase over twenty seconds: 2.259 percent per
second. Ten percent power level reached. Total energy applied within
.002% of calculated. Results within acceptable range.”

“That’s
enough,” the head scientist announced and straightened to look across the
field again. “Team two report.”

“The same as
heard before,” the same woman answered instantly.

“We’re
ready to begin,” the scientist announced and turned to Sohryu. “On your word.”

“Taimou, take your position,” the dragon lord
announced, staring straight forward. Touda held his
gaze for a moment, and then turned to face the anomaly. Sohryu
waited a moment longer before turning to see if Taimou
was in place.

“Ready,” she
announced after a minute.

He nodded and turned
back to face the tear as Byakko finally moved to join
him. The tiger looked at him expectantly, but Sohryu
didn’t give any indication of noticing. Turning his attention back to his
part in the exercise, Sohryu closed his eyes for a
moment to concentrate. A slight distortion appeared around Touda
for a second and was gone. Sohryu opened his eyes
again. “Proceed.”

Touda took one last look at his bond before walling
his side off as much as he dared and slowly entered the swirling mass of
chaotic energies. Careful to let the sensors adjust and pick up anything, it
took nearly half a minute to fully immerse himself. A
faint shiver traveled through his form, and he paused, wondering what had
caused the internal reaction. After a moment of nothing it coursed through him
again. He pondered over the sensation, quickly surmising the source to be Sohryu’s probing energies. What better way for the water
shikigami to keep track of him than through the water
composing his form? He frowned; it seemed rather… invasive. The shudder
ran through him again, but he shrugged it off as easily as most other emotions
and concentrated on the world around him.

The first thing that
accosted his senses, or rather didn’t, was the complete lack of sound.
Whereas outside the portal the chaotic energies were loud and clashing wildly,
inside seemed more like a void, silent and motionless. Touda
frowned lightly, and focused on the readings sent through the visor. Low to no
energy was being read. He adjusted his position slightly, watching the
multitude of numbers spread out before him. In actuality, they did no such
thing, but the visor’s interface was something he was quite intimately
aware of and more than capable of manipulating.

To his vision, the
numbers shifted away from him and pulled apart, allowing for more information
to be pulled through, bar graphs showing as they compiled, a
circle that changed like the color wheel, a stream reminiscent of a sound wave.
Everything came and went as he needed them, providing different information, showing
him different locations and referring to different sensors. It was an interface
designed and built on knowledge of energy and power so intimately it could
react to the slightest fluctuations in either, making control perfect for
anyone who could perfectly manipulate the power within them.

Spending only the
smallest amount of time needed to compile the first set of data was their first
goal, and so Touda continued on soon after running a
check on all the sensors. It was a strange feeling to move through the
dimensional space around him. Everything looked the same, one giant mass of
grey that he’d managed to squeeze himself into. It was as if he’d
stepped into a large volume of nothing.

The moment of
stillness was broken by an almost unnoticeable curl of energy slinking down his
spine. It was a strange, sharp power that felt as though it should sizzle, but refrained.
Touda flipped through the information display
quickly, modifying the sensors to fit the much smaller energy fluctuations than
they had been initially set to monitor. Slowly, the data collection adjusted,
but the energy changed quicker, sending conflicting signals to the devices and
causing more than a little discomfort on the serpent’s behalf. Finally
giving up on objectively discerning what the energy was or precisely what it
was doing, he looked inward. Muscles and organs all but groaned in distress,
his innate energy the only thing supporting his body as it sought to exist in a
place it could not possibly live. He’d automatically reverted to a state
he knew so well it hadn’t even dawned on him, and now that it did…
the fire serpent quickly called his power to him, focusing enough to thread it
through his body –

And was abruptly
yanked backwards, dragged by some unseen force back through a maelstrom of
energy and into the bright land
of Gensoukai,
landing with a muffled thump. The sudden transition disoriented him, and his
body instinctively gasped for the breath it had been denied within the anomaly.
Faintly, he was aware of people approaching him and gathered enough control to
throw up a barrier before they reached him. Carefully, Touda
rolled to his side and pushed himself up, forcing his body to make the
transition back to normality. There was an insistent push on his hastily
erected shield and he finally looked up, meeting an intense blue gaze.

He dropped the shield
with a sigh.

“What was that
for?!”

“He needed
air.”

“He
didn’t need that much air,”
Byakko protested, kneeling down next to the slightly
annoyed fire serpent and giving him a quick once over.

“Yes, he
did,” Sohryu corrected, walking forward as
well. He nodded to Taimou as he approached the tear
and the people now gathered in front of it. “Considering
he didn’t have any in there.” He stopped, mere feet away
from the shikigami he was addressing.

“Then
how…?” Byakko trailed off, moving his
gaze from Sohryu to Touda,
as did most of those assembled.

Sohryu frowned, sapphire eyes cutting through Touda’s veiled gaze with an intensity usually
reserved for battle, a gaze which the serpent held defiantly. “Whatever
it is you did to survive that long… don’t do it again,” the dragon
lord warned in a low voice.

“If you
hadn’t waited-” Touda began.

“Don’t.
Do. That. Again,” Sohryu interrupted,
accentuating each word individually.

Byakko looked back and forth between the two shikigami, not the only one wondering exactly what was
going on, or why it was causing so much tension so suddenly.

Touda pushed off the ground and rose to his feet in
a single graceful maneuver. “You did not notice anything until I tried to
correct it-”

“We are
finished here,” Sohryu cut him off mid sentence
again. He turned his gaze to the assembled onlookers, mostly the assistants
from the sidelines who were there just in case. Getting the message quite
clearly, they backed away from the powerful lord and swiftly began shutting
down and repacking the equipment. “Taimou,
close the rift.”

The faceless head
nodded silently, and Sohryu turned swiftly on his
heel. “Analyze what you have and return to Tenkuu,”
he announced loud enough for everyone assembled to hear.

~*~

“You came in
contact with it,” Sohryu growled lowly, his
voice just barely above the echo of his office door slamming shut behind him.

Touda crossed his arms. “You could have
brought this up before you decided to cancel the project,” he answered
neutrally, though he was frowning openly.

“And sent the
entire group into fits of terror when you already… already…”
The dragon lord glared angrily across his desk, one stiff arm on its surface
supporting him.

“Took care of
it?” Touda offered.

“Before
you did… that.”
Sohryu paused, trying to gather his thoughts and
reign in his temper. He exhaled tightly. “I don’t know what you did, but I have never felt
something as chilling in the whole of my life.” His gaze all but demanded
an explanation, in detail, right that second.

The fire serpent narrowed
his eyes. “Since you do not usually take complete control over all the
water that creates these forms, I cannot say I’m all that
surprised,” he bit back.

“What did you
do, Touda?” Sohryu
asked once more, now vocally.

“I devoured it
before it could do more than disrupt my system.”

“…
Devoured? You consumed Konton?” Sohryu’s
eyes widened in shock and then narrowed in sheer anger. “You cannot think
to take that in and maintain yourself – what of your bond with Tsuzuki?
Do you have any idea what that would do if it touched him?!”

“I am more than
aware of the consequences, Sohryu!” Touda’s hand fisted tightly as he shifted his stance,
squaring off against the other shikigami. “If
you think for a moment that Tsuzuki’s safety wasn’t foremost in my
mind the whole time, then you have no right questioning me about what I do!
Yes, I devoured it. What you felt was my power breaking it apart and sifting it
through me so it couldn’t reach my
bond. I let my fires burn within me to consume what was there. It was attracted
to the darkness of my power; it wanted to be a part of me. You’re more
than lucky that someone with no such affinity wasn’t chosen to go in,
because it would have overtaken or destroyed them!”

“And you expect
me to believe that Konton had no affect on
you?” Sohryu challenged, still angered and
starting to show signs of… worry?

“You still have
your trace in me. Prove it to yourself,” Touda retaliated, dropping his usual shields and guards.

Sohryu hesitated a moment, battling with himself
over the possibilities of encountering the entity, but quickly resolved to take
the offer if for no other reason than to destroy whatever remnants he found.
Without another thought, he launched his power across the room and into the
water that called to him. Touda visibly shuddered
from the sudden move, but otherwise kept himself upright and gaze forward. The
examination was thorough and slow, but eventually left Sohryu
with a very clear answer in the matter. Touda had
been right. He retreated, pulling his power back into himself.

“I still
don’t approve of the method used,” he announced coldly. “It
was unbelievably dangerous –”

“Only as
dangerous as the entire mission was in the first pl–”
Golden eyes widened suddenly as Touda emitted a
short, strangled sound halfway through his sentence. Sohryu
was around his desk in a second, drawn forward by the sight of an inky cloud of
energy curling up around the fire serpent. Touda
stumbled forward, bending over slightly as if in pain, and before either could
so much as form a word, disappeared with a choked yelp of surprise.
- 4
- 5
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Truth of Darkness