Fan Fiction ❯ Corruption of an angel ❯ Prophetic apparition ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

Prophetic apparition

The group of Taihen had been traveling for five hours now; and they finally stopped to rest. Tenshi painfully slid off the horse's saddle and straightened up; he looked over and saw Kaia effortlessly jump off the brown horse and onto the ground next to him.

"Show off" Tenshi sneered playfully; Kaia only stuck her tongue out at the young man, "you're just jealous that I'm a better rider then you" she boasted. Tenshi cocked an eyebrow at her and began to take a flask of water down from its confines in the saddle.

"You're not a better rider" he said after taking a swig of his water, "it's just, a little painful riding a horse that long when you're a man". Kaia laughed at him "Oh, so it's the old twig and giggle berries is it" she chuckled tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yea, that's exactly what it is" he confirmed "I'll probably never have children" This made Kaia burst out laughing; Tenshi only smiled, and tossed the blue haired girl the flask, which she almost dropped.

Tomoe watched the two youths banter back and fourth; he could only hear so much of the conversation, something about children, twigs or berries, he decided to stay out of it, too strange for his tastes. He continued to look over at the two adolescents; he saw Tenshi toss a flask to Kaia, which she nearly dropped. The two adolescents walked to a tree and sat down tiredly; and began eating small amounts of ration.

Once the horses were watered and the people had a rest, they set off again towards Yoake. The rest of the trip went by fast, and as the sun was soon to set, the group reached the gates of Yoake. Guards at a watchtower ushered the gang in, and they quickly made their way to the castle.

When they arrived Tenshi saw a man a few years older than Kuroku, with black hair and dark blue eyes walk out with a three youths and a woman, which he assumed was the elder king's wife or mistress. Tomoe jumped down onto the ground and walked over to the other king and embraced him. //How can Tomoe act so kind to a man that he has been trying to kill for thirteen years, I just don't understand him sometimes \\

"Tomoe it's wonderful to see you" the hearty king greeted, pulling out of the hug, "what have you been up to?" Tomoe smiled at the king, "You know how it is Katsuhiro, do this do that, behead him, command this". The friendly king nodded, laughing lightly, "and who are these people" he asked.

Tomoe turned to the small group and pointed to Kuroku, "this is Kuroku Ichiro, my first in command, his wife Katsumi" he said referring to the dark skinned woman. He introduced the rest of them and stopped at Tenshi and Kaia, "and this is Kaia Ishu and Tenshi Hikari" he finished.

Katsuhiro greeted them all and turned to his family he motioned to the older woman, "this is my wife Aleena, my son Zujou, my youngest daughter Sakura, and my daughter that is to be wed, Maika" he said proudly.

Tenshi looked at each of the king's family; Aleena had long brown hair and dark chocolate coloured eyes, the young man Zujou had short navy blue hair and silver eyes. The youngest daughter had blond hair braided and green eyes, and the eldest daughter had long burgundy hair and blue eyes.

He also noticed that the youngest daughter was looking at him strangely and had a light pink hue to her cheeks, "so Tenshi is it" Katsuhiro addressed him, Tenshi looked toward the gentle king, "yes sire" he retorted. "You're a Chouwan are you not?" the king asked.

"Yes, I am, how did you know" he asked quizzically; the benevolent emperor smiled warmly at him, "I could tell because of the colour of your bottom eyelashes" he stated. Everyone looked over at the young man as if they finally noticed that he was not human. Tenshi could feel his face growing hot as the people continued to gaze at him; sensing his discomfort, Tomoe spoke up, "so Maika" he accosted the blue eyed girl, "who is the eligible young man that you are to espouse?"

Maika face lighted up as she spoke, quite fondly of him to everyone. Tomoe looked over at Tenshi and smiled then winked //He got me out of another uneasy situation, what's up with him lately \\ he mused //Tomoe seems almost pleasant lately \\

Tenshi was ripped from his thoughts when he felt a hand smack his head; he held his head and turned to see Kaia grinning at him, "snap out of it Koto". Tenshi let out a growl at the stupid nickname his best friend referred to him as, "would you stop calling me that please Kaia" he requested. Kaia stopped grinning and looked at Tenshi solemnly, "alright I'll stop" she said quietly, it made Tenshi guilty, she was only trying to be his friend.

Tenshi stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her; at that moment Kaia almost melted at that very point as her crush held her. Regaining her senses she returned the hug and snuggled into his embrace, "you can call me anything you want okay?" he whispered to her, his breath tickled her ear, which sent chills down her spine.

Meanwhile Katsuhiro was talking with Tomoe, but the younger king wasn't listening to him, he was too busy watching Tenshi and Kaia, //Who does she think she is, touching my possession \\ he thought infuriated //she'll learn her place soon enough \\

Tenshi let go of Kaia and smiled at her, "come on, we should stay with the others" he said cheerfully. Kaia nodded in agreement; the two of them walked to were Tomoe and Katsuhiro were talking. The sadistic king looked at Tenshi then to Kaia, "what were you two doing?" he asked bitterly. Both individuals in questions exchanged glances "we weren't doing anything Tomoe" Tenshi replied to the dark haired man. Tomoe was about to accuse them when Katsuhiro broke through the conversation.

"Come Tomoe, you and your guests must be tired and famished" he asked the disgruntled man. Tomoe nodded in response to the question the kind king had presented. The now large group advanced towards the castle when Tenshi stopped.

"What's wrong Tenshi?" Kaia asked; the young Chouwan didn't answer instead he ran back to where his horse had been grazing the turf. He unclasped the small cage that the dove had been perching in and walked back with it in hand. Kaia smiled at Tenshi as he was talking to the bird; as if understanding the little creature's plight he removed it from it's cage and had it perched on his hand.

"I just couldn't leave her in that cage now could I" he said to Kaia; she gave him a quizzical look, "how do you know it's a she?" the blue haired girl asked. "Simple, she told me" he stated matter-of-factly. Kaia's eyes widened //Oh, yea, he's losing it \\, she looked at him bemused, "she told you" Kaia asked.

Tenshi only nodded and walked past his friend, smiling as he thought about the look on his friend's face. He spun around and happily bounced over to Kaia, "I know what you're thinking Kaia," he said to the amber-eyed girl; she looked at him dumbfounded, "you think I'm losing my mind, right?" Tenshi concluded.

"Exactly!" she yelled patting him on the shoulder and walking away. Tenshi stared after her before running to catch up with her. The two of them walked into the large castle, and managed to find the group. Kuroku and Katsumi acknowledged them when they approached. Kuroku looked down at Tenshi's hand and saw the little bird still perched on his hand, and it appeared to be sleeping.

Kuroku looked away; Katsuhiro could be heard explaining about the castle to Tomoe. Tenshi decided to leave the group and explore the halls of the palace on his own. //Wow, so many tapestries, and mirrors, what is it with kings and mirrors \\ he thought. His gaze fell on some weaponry on the walls; he unsheathed his dagger and looked at one similar to it on the wall. The dagger the hung on the wall was made up of a pure gold blade and an amethyst handle.

//It looks like the one my father owned, I wonder if it's the same one \\ he mused as he removed it from its place on the wall. Tenshi checked it over for any sign that it was his father's; in the amethyst the initials K.H where inscribed //It is my father's, but what's it doing here? \\

"Who are you?" a small voice asked; Tenshi turned to see a small boy with short brown hair and large owlish brown eyes. The little boy stared at Tenshi with curious eyes, awaiting the answer from the young man.

"I'm Tenshi Hikari" he answered the boy, "I'm a friend of Tomoe Rokushin". The child continued to stare at Tenshi, which was unnerving the Chouwan; he realized that he was still holding the dagger and placed it back on its mantle.

"That's better," the child said; Tenshi turned to see the small boy's face beaming, as if understanding what the Chouwan was thinking the boy spoke up. "I don't like weapons"

Tenshi made a made a small "oh"; he smiled at the boy and crouched down in front of the child unsheathing his dagger. The boy coward slightly "I don't like weapons that much either, especially when you get hit or stabbed by one" he said smiling. The small boy took a timid step forward, "Have you ever been stabbed before?" he asked.

"More than I can count, see" he said pulling the collar of his shirt to reveal a long, yet faded, scar where the shoulder meets the neck. The boy looked at it "wow, did it hurt?" he asked with curiosity, "It only hurt for a minute, but when the wound was healed it hurt like he-, well it hurt" Tenshi explained.

"I imagined it would" the child laughed, //what a nice kid \\ Tenshi thought //kid? I don't even know his name \\ Realizing his fault he locked eyes with the child, "What's your name anyway?" he asked curiously. The boy blushed when Tenshi asked, obviously embarrassed to the fact he had withheld his name, "My name is Yoake Yukiko" he said still slightly flushed.

Tenshi smiled at the kid and shook the boy's hand vigorously "Nice to meet you Yukiko" he said enthusiastically; the young boy looked at Tenshi strangely, he had never seen anyone act so informal with him. Even though Yukiko was eight years old, people always treated him either as a child who could not grasp the concept of hegemony or as someone they feared, simply because he was the king's son.

Tenshi stopped smiling when he notice the boy's expression of confusion, "hey, are you alright?" he asked, concerned for the boy; Yukiko focused and looked at the vivacious teen to see him completely serious. "Oh yes I'm fine" he clarified; Tenshi continued to stare at the boy with a questioning look, "That's good, I was worried!" he said, the mirthful demeanor returning to the young Chouwan.

Yukiko laughed heartily at the young man, "Wow, you're nothing like the adults I know" he said kindly; Tenshi smiled "why, how am I different from them?" he asked inquiringly. Yukiko paused for a second then replied "well, the adults I know, are snooty and treat me like a child" he confirmed, "but you're different, you treat me like an equal, and I like that"

Meanwhile, Tomoe was becoming increasingly more irate then usual; Katsuhiro was going on about the castle and what had been going on lately in Yoake. It was all right at first, but then his wife and children started to talk about certain things that were boring him out of his mind. //I should just kill them all \\ he contemplated //but if I did that then Tenshi would never shut up about it \\

Tomoe then realized that he had not heard nor seen the Chouwan since they got into the castle. He told Kuroku that he would be back in a minute, and to cover for him. He left the ballroom and walked towards the large winding staircase. He stopped when he heard two loud voices; one was very high pitched, which indicated that it belonged to a child and the other was very familiar to Tomoe.

Not caring that he should ask permission to explore the castle, he began to climb the stairs and he could hear the voice getting increasingly higher. //Tenshi is always so loud when he's around children \\ Tomoe pensively; he turned the corner and saw a door at the end of the hallway that was slightly ajar. Again, not having any decency to knock, he entered the room; inside Tomoe saw a small boy out on the balcony with a tall, slender young man, with shoulder length silver/teal hair next to him.

On closer inspection, Tomoe saw that Tenshi was showing the child a flute that, aside from the dagger Kuroku carried, he referred to as his second precious possession. Tomoe remembered that an elderly medium had given it to him as a gift when he was seven years old.

The child said something to Tenshi, and the Chouwan obliged to the question or demand. Tenshi brought the flute up to his lips and began to play a soft melancholy melody. The sound of the music was sad and ethereal, and Tenshi resembled the song so well as he played, almost becoming the music. Tomoe watched in slight awe as Tenshi, eyes closed, played the enchanting aria for the young boy, who at the moment was starry eyed and had a goofy smile on his lips, as he listened intently.

Feeling a new pair of eyes on him, Tenshi stopped playing and turned to the door where he saw Tomoe leaning on the door's frame. Yukiko seeing that Tenshi had stopped playing, looked in the direction of the young Chouwan, to where Tomoe was standing. Closing his eyes and lowering his head, Tenshi smiled and placed the flute behind him. For years Tomoe had wondered how he was able to keep so many items on him, without dropping even one.

"Tomoe, do you always go into places that your not suppose to?" Tenshi asked smirking; Tomoe glared at Tenshi for the comment, but the Chouwan's smirk never wavered. Yukiko looked between Tenshi and Tomoe. Though he was only eight years old, he knew all about love and infatuation from what his older siblings had said. Right now, regardless of the scowl Tomoe was giving Tenshi, who could see a look of desire in the older man's eyes for his new eccentric friend.

"Katsuhiro wont mind" Tomoe said, fixating his insatiable gaze on the young man. Yukiko could see the frigidness in the man's eyes, and was suddenly very concerned for the wellbeing of Tenshi. //This guy gives me the creep's \\ the child thought //I have a bad feeling about all of this \\. Yukiko felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to meet the worried gaze of Tenshi, "Are you alright?" he asked; the boy only nodded and felt his eyes wander back to the strange man.

Tenshi walked towards Tomoe, with Yukiko cautiously following behind. The Chouwan glided by Tomoe, and went towards the stairs to wait. Yukiko tried to pass but instead was met by Tomoe's harsh stare; the tall man knelt down to the boy's view and patted his head lightly. "Keep your questioning gazes and your little comments to yourself" he whispered unsettlingly. Tomoe smiled wickedly "I know you're a smart boy" he continued "and I'm pretty sure I knew what you intended, with that little look of yours; so to protect yourself, I suggest you drop it and leave my Tenshi, the fuck alone".

Yukiko's eyes widened at the threat as Tomoe stood up and walked to where Tenshi was standing, //that man, he's evil, I can sense it. I know that he's going to hurt my friend, I have to- \\ "Tomoe, what are you doing up here" a voice interrupted the brown-eyed boy's thoughts, "I've been looking all over for you". Yukiko saw his father at the bottom of the stairs and ran down to meet him, "Papa!" he yelled, jumping in the man's arms. Tenshi watched the father and son in happiness, but also with horrible guilt //If I go along with Tomoe's wishes and kill Katsuhiro, then what will happen to his family? \\

Tenshi heard footsteps and looked up to see Kuroku, Kaia, and the others come over to them, "Is everything alright?" Kuroku asked, keeping his gaze locked on Tenshi's, "Yes, don't worry about anything while you are here" the jovial king said, "now, since you are all here, let me show you your rooms". Doing as they were requested the Taihen followed the benevolent king up the stairs. Kuroku and Kaia stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to Tenshi, "Are you alright Tenshi?" Kuroku asked, concern evident in his voice, "Tomoe didn't hurt you or anything did he?

Tenshi smiled and shook his head, "no, nothing happened" he clarified for the tanned man. Tenshi and the others were led down the halls towards the bedrooms that were situated on the right. Katsuhiro stopped at a large door and turned to Tenshi, "this is where you will be staying for the time you are here" he said, smiling like a child. Tenshi looked into the room and gasped; the room was huge. It was flourished in burgundy and plum colours; the bed was smaller then the one at Rokushin, but it was still big enough, and there were French-doors that led to a terrace.

"This is great," Tenshi said in awe; he walked into the room and opened the doors to step out onto the veranda. The place were Tenshi stood revealed the entire landscape of Yoake, //wow, Yoake is so much nicer then Rokushin, and so is the king \\ Tenshi thought looking out at the region and then to Katsuhiro. "So, how do you like it?" he asked; Tenshi smiled at the king, "I love it"

Kuroku walked into the room and handed the small dove to Tenshi, who held the small creature gently and placed her in the small cage, that Kaia had passed him. "Well now, let me show the rest of you to your rooms" Katsuhiro addressed the group; all but Kaia left the lavish room. Kaia ran over to the bed and jumped on it, "Wow, it's really comfy" she giggled, rolling over and hugging a pillow while looking up at Tenshi. Tenshi smiled at her weird antics and walked over to the bed; he could see a faint blush on Kaia's cheeks as he stepped closer.

Kaia rose slightly as he sat on the edge of the bed; he turned his head to her and smiled before getting on his hands and knees and slowly approaching her on the bed. "Tenshi what are you doing?" she asked, her face turning crimson as he got closer. He didn't reply, instead he pounced on her knocking her back on the bed, and straddling his hips. Kaia was too shocked to say anything as he lowered his head down to meet hers, he leaned down to her ear, "now you know how I feel when you annoy me" he whispered. Kaia's eyes widened at the comment and she glared at him, still blushing, "you ass, get off me!" she yelled, but Tenshi only started to laugh and hugged her. "No" he said playfully, quite aware of the fact that he was turned on slightly, but also because he knew she'd kick his ass later.

After a few minutes of struggling, Tenshi lifted himself off her and grinned down at her mischievously, "Aww, and I thought you loved me!" he mewled. Kaia looked at him and felt like crying at the comment //I do love you, that's the problem \\ she thought sadly //but I know you're just playing around \\. Tenshi noticed that she had gone quiet and that she had a sorrowful look; Tenshi was about to say something when he felt Kaia pull him down to her. His eyes widened as he felt Kaia's lips on his own; he just stayed still, not really knowing if his friend was kidding around or if she was sincere in her actions.

After a few seconds Kaia broke the kiss and looked at Tenshi; he was more confused then anything //oh well, I might as well have tried \\ Kaia thought. She smiled brightly, yet falsely and pushed Tenshi off of her onto the floor, "Got you!" she cheered, but she still had the feeling of knots in her stomach. Tenshi looked up at her and rose from the floor, "What?" he demanded, "nothing, I fooled you" Kaia boasted //Why am I doing this to myself? \\ She thought sadly.

Tenshi stood up and walked to the bed again and sat down next to Kaia, "you and I, we are really strange aren't we?" he asked the blue-haired girl. Kaia nodded her head before sliding off the mattress and walking out of the room, leaving Tenshi alone. //That was odd \\ he thought //it looked like she was crying \\. Tenshi laid back down on the berth and stared at the ceiling sadly, "I'm getting mixed feelings about everything lately" he said to himself, "I had something with Yuumei, but that was three years ago, I still miss him, but now there's Kaia"

Tenshi sighed and rolled over onto his side; he closed his eyes, and drifted off into a dream filled sleep.

*Dream*

"Where am I?"

"I don't remember this place"

"am I dead?"

"I feel so light, as if I'm not of physical body anymore…… what is all this?"

Tenshi Hikari slowly fell down a large excavation; the only light was that which guided him down the hole. He could feel his body going vertical, and his bare feet touched a soft surface. He slowly opened his luminous green eyes; squinting through the sun's bright rays; he observed his surroundings. He was on a hilltop and mountains could be seen all around; he turned around to see large open fields and trees that were all connected by a long winding road.

"This place is beautiful," Tenshi whispered looking at his surroundings. He could see a lone tree far from where he stood; he began to walk towards it, completely in catalepsy, as though the tree beckoned him. As he neared, he could smell water and heard the light rustling of the leaves in the tree; he stopped at the lake that shimmered before him. He saw small rainbow fish swimming about playfully and saw butterflies all around. One flew to him and landed on his chest. He looked at the little insect and for the first time noticed that he was now clad in white clothes.

"What is all this?" he asked poking at the white shirt he was wearing, which the butterfly still remained on. "This is a version of paradise, I would say" Tenshi gasped at the new voice; he turned quickly and saw a person leaning on the tree. The person looked to be the same age as Tenshi, only he exceeded the Chouwan by a least a foot; he had short black hair, lightly tanned skin, and he was dresses in the same fashion of clothes as Tenshi, only they were black.

"W-who are you?" Tenshi stuttered trying to regain his lost demeanor; the strange young man opened his eyes to look at Tenshi, "well, I guess you could call me Yang, seeing as you are my Yin". The raven-haired man's knowledge confused Tenshi //what is he talking about? \\, Tenshi closed his eyes to concentrate on what the other man had said. When he opened them he was face to face with the stranger. Tenshi could now see that the youth had emerald green eyes, and smelled like the trees, he could also feel his face growing hot from the closeness of the stranger.

"What's wrong with your face?" he asked getting closer; he reached his hand out and touched Tenshi's face "why are you so warm?" Tenshi's eyes went wide at the physical contact between the stranger and himself //well, this guy's obviously not used to personal space \\ the Chouwan thought uneasily. Tenshi snapped back to reality when he felt the stranger's arms wrap around his waist; he looked down to see the stranger holding him, looking quite content with his eyes closed and smiling.

"Um, excuse me" Tenshi began; the strange youth looked up at him, "what are you doing?" The "Yang" looked up at him like a lost child, "I was making sure you were real" he stated. Tenshi made no move to pry the young man off him instead he stood there while the strange boy remained holding him; he also didn't notice when the strange youth pushed him down, so that he was flat on his back in the grass.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Tenshi yelled finally registering what the coal haired boy was doing. The other man just continued to lie on Tenshi, "you know that none of this is real, right?" Tenshi looked down at the other man; //what is he talking about? \\ he thought //I don't understand this guy \\. The stranger looked down at him with curiosity, "What's wrong, are you afraid of the unknown, Ten-chan?" Tenshi looked at the youth skeptically before sitting up and looking the black haired boy in the eyes.

"No, I'm not afraid" Tenshi said to the taller youth, his voice challenging the other to speak. The strange teen smiled when he heard the answer before getting to his feet and offering his hand to the young Chouwan. "Good answer, I can tell that you are very strong and distinctive, but remember, being strong doesn't always work, and it never hurts to have help from family, friends or just a stranger". Tenshi looked up at the nameless youth before taking the offered hand.

The dark haired teen released Tenshi's hand and began to walk away; "HEY, wait" Tenshi yelled running after the other, but he felt that his feet had been weighed down, "what the hell?" Tenshi looked down to see that his feet were completely submerged in a strange pool of pitch-black water //what is this? \\ he though erratically. The Chouwan felt himself being pulled down into the darkness of the pool, "ah, Yang HELP ME!!!" he screamed to the ebony haired teen.

Tenshi began to sink further into the black abyss //please gods help me \\ he prayed; he suddenly felt someone take his hand. He looked up to see the stranger trying to pry him from the darkness but was failing miserably "Hold on!" he said to the Chouwan, but Tenshi could feel his grip loosening. "I can't hold on anymore" Tenshi said, he could feel the pressure on his legs before letting go of the strangers hand and falling into the black mist.

*End dream*

"AHHHHHH!!!" Tenshi rose off the bed and looked around. //what was that? \\ he thought shakily //it seemed so……real \\. The silver haired man fell back onto the bed and looked at the ceiling. "What was that all about?" a voice asked. Tenshi sat up and looked to the source of the voice; there sitting on a chair near the bed was a young lady with long blond hair, fair skin, green, almost cerulean eyes, and wearing a long lavender dress. //I remember her, now what's her name again……..Sakuya, Sakuma, what, oh yea, Sakura \\

"Hello Sakura" he greeted the girl; she was sitting there and looking at him rather strangely, "what?" he asked. The blond girl got up and walked in front of him and slapped him in the face, "How rude of you" she yelled. Tenshi looked up at her in utter shock before getting up, towering over her as he did so, "What the hell is wrong with you, you crazy bitch!?". Sakura's eyes narrowed at him "how dare you!" she yelled before trying to slap him again, but he simply evaded her attack.

She scowled at him, "how dare you speak to me in that fashion you little vagabond" she seethed. //What's wrong with her? \\ Tenshi thought; "Hey, what is your problem?" he asked. Sakura backed away from the Chouwan and crossed her arms over her chest "you shouldn't just leave your host to go and sleep" she said stoutly. Tenshi stared at her completely shocked before responding "sorry, but you didn't have to hit me" he explained.

Sakura smiled a little "well, what are you going to do about it" she challenged giving Tenshi a hard stare; he only rolled his eyes "nothing!" he said quirkily. The princess fumed as he walked away from her //that bastard, I'll show him! \\ she thought following the Chouwan. "Hey!" she yelled at him, which he turned to her in acknowledgement "how old are you?" she asked. Tenshi obliged by answering the vexatious girl "seventeen" he answered, "why, you looking for a lover?"

This comment left the insolent girl completely enraged, but she kept her cool, she didn't want Tenshi to see that he was getting to her, "no" she said calmly "how old is your king?" she asked. Tenshi gave her a questioning look, "thirty four, why?" Sakura giggled and walked next to Tenshi, "no reason, now let's go, dinner is to be served soon, and I want to get to know you" she beamed locking arms with the Chouwan.

//*sigh* this is going to be a long two weeks \\ Tenshi thought as he was dragged out of his room and down the stairs //Tomoe owes me big time for this, who cares about murdering Yoake, I just want away from her! \\ Tenshi smiled falsely at Sakura.

//Idiot! \\ they both thought before entering the dinning room.

*End Chapter 2*