InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Feudal Stars ❯ Chapter 3

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Aries ran her pale finger tips down the backbone of newly animated corpse. She wasn't one to mind, being a young demoness. This was her gift, to give life to the bones and flesh of the dead.

The bone of the small lizard like creator was peacefully resting in Aries' lap. Even though Aries had once been what killed it, the lizard didn't seem to mind to be so close to it's killer.

The dark midnight sky above was empty, clouds covered the light of the stars and the moon. The night around Aries seemed dark, and almost evil. Like it had a bloodlust of it's own.

"Aries, what are you doing at this time of the night?" Aries heard a concerned voice ask from behind her.

The small demoness' crimson eyes looked towards the owner of the voice. "Playing, mother." Aries said weakly as she cuddled closely to the animated corpse in her lap.

Pieces was silent for a moment, before sitting down next to her child. She stared deep into the crimson eyes of her daughter, and reflected in her own eyes... was fright?

No demon of their blood line, had ever been gifted with powers over death. With mere will, Aries had the ability to kill small insects, but nothing stronger or larger. She could also give another life to the things she killed, by hand or will.

"Do you want to play as well mother?" Aries asked with a weaky smile she jestered towards the shadows, "I've made many friends tonight.".

Pieces glances over, and noticed the small red lights that cut through the darkness. But when the light came closer and moved into the light that came from the halls of their home behind them, Pieces could make out what they were. Rats, tons and tons of rats. They looked like something had cut their stomach, and removed their insides before finally making them move once again.

Pieces tryed not to look sicked by the sight, she couldn't help but feel odd. Her daughter killed things with no mercy, tortured them, and finally brought them back to life. She shook her head weakly, wounding why Aries couldn't at least remove their rotting flesh.

"Aries, let me see your hands." Pieces was finally able to say.

The crimson eyed child looked slightly puzzeled, but finally nodded and showed her mother her hands. They were caked with dry blood, and under her demonic claws was the flesh of the rats she had cut open not long before.

Pieces was silent, and closed Aries' fingers into a fist gently. She then looked up into her daugher's eyes and spoke calmly, "Have you ever wondered, if you were different?".

"No, I am just feared." Aries said, her crimson eyes seeming to be full of sorror, "But this is what I am, something that is not what is know as normal.".

Pieces weakly smiled at her daughter, and placed her forehead up against Aries'. She closed her eyes, thinking of the words to speak.

"That is true." Pieces claimed sternly, "But what about in your heart?".

Aries was silent, not sure what her mother wished of her. The question was odd, didn't human only have hearts. Stupid organs that caused them to have emotions, feelings, and weakness.

"I don't have a heart." Aries replied coldly to her mother's question.

Pieces had to let the answer to her question sink in for a moment. Once it had, she quickly grasped her daughter tightly, .

"That's right, demons don't have hearts." Pieces said as she contiued to hold her daughter tightly.

"Mother... are you crying?" Aries asked weakly, sure that she could feel small droplets running down her mother's face.

Pieces was silent, she had to fight back her tears. It was silly, she was crying. Yet she couldn't even see why. She was just over come with a intense feeling of sorror so suddenly.

"Aries, know this..." Pieces said, her voice was stern and showed no hint of the sadness inside of her at the moment, "I care for you deeply... no I love you, for you are my child.".

Aries wiggled a bit, almost like she felt uncomfartable for a moment. "Does that mean you'll play with me?" Aries asked weakly.

"Yes, Aries, I will." Pieces said with a smile, "That means you won't need to play with the dead any longer.".

A look of joy seemed to fill Aries' emotionless crimson eyes. A emotion that a child would feel when they are finally excepted, finding themselves a friend.

"Alright then..." Pieces said as she gently ruffled Aries' short raven black hair, "Clean yourself up, then I'll tell you a story before you go back to bed.".

Aries nodded her head weakly, and got to her feet. The skeleton of the lizard followed the young demoness as she returned into the halls of her home. Pieces watched her daughter walk away, looking like a heavy borden had been lifted from her shoulders.

"It's so clear..." she muttered quietly to herself as she looked up into the dark sky above, "The death that embraces her soul... I wish I knew how to remedy it.".

"Nights like these..." Pieces thought to herself as she closed her cream coloured eyes, "Never lets me, get him out of my mind.".

----- Present Date -----

Pieces waited inside the gates of her home, waiting for you children to arrive. There had been a report that one of the guards had seen them coming. So it was only a matter of time before her children would come home, and the ceremony could begin.

She glanced up into the sky, the sun was beginning to set. The night was coming closer.

"There is no going back now." a male voice claimed as he moved beside her, "Everythings almost in place, the wheels of fate are already in motion.".

Pieces looked towards the voice, yet she knew who it belonged to long before he even spoke. "You are right, Authual." she said calmly to the fallen angel, "I don't have any thoughts of turning back.".

Authual weakly smile, and gave a nod of his head. "That's good to hear." he said as he too looked up at the sky that was slowly changing from red to black.

It was strange, no one moved through the garden at the moment. Even though there was a ceremony to take place in a few moments. Although, Pieces and Authual had readyed what few things needed to be.

The silence between the two brought a strange comfort to Pieces' mind. Authual had his ways, that always seemed to complete herself. Like her weakness, were his strengths, a missing piece of a puzzel. Pieces knew that the two of them were close, yet she also knew it would never change from that status.

"So, how much longer to we have to wait." another voice asked, sounding tired of waiting for the offerings to arrive, "Aries will be revived tonight, correct?".

Pieces turned towards the demon lord whom the voice belonged to, Sesshomaru. He had arrived a few nights before, after he recieved a message that a ceremony reviving Aries would soon take place. The odd thing was one of the followers her brought with him. A human girl.

Pieces could easily see in his yellow eyes that he was tired of waiting. "Yes, all we need is the offering my children bring with them." Pieces said calmly.

"You've already waited sixty years, so why are a few minutes make such a big deal." Authual asked sternly, who seemed not to care for Sesshomaru much. Perhaps it what something that someone had once told him, that left a bad impression.

Sesshomaru didn't reply to Authual's question, just simply scowled at him. Clearly that was a good enough answer.

Not long after the three had fallen silent once again, the sounds of the front gate opening floated to their ears. They were back, with the offering for the ceremony with them.

-----

"Look, the gates to our home." Gemini said weakly with a smile, looking glad to finally be home, "We're finally home.".

Leo smiled as well, he finished recounting the jars for about the hundredth time before glancing over to see that their home was just in the distence.

"But we can't put your feet up yet." Cancer said sadly from the front of the carriage, "Mother said the ceremony would take place as soon as we returned home.".

'True enough." Gemini said with a weak laugh, "But can't we dream of a nice dip in the hot springs?".

Gemini paused for a moment, then moved towards the back of the carriage. "I'll tell the others we'll be arriving soon." Gemini explained to her brothers, "Although maybe they might have assumed that already.".

With that said, she hopped from the back of the carriage and on to the ground below. She turned around to see the others following along side the cart. Gemini walked over to were Inuyasha marched beside the carriage, looking like the only one outside that wasn't tired of walking.

"Inuyasha, we're almost arrived at our home." Gemini said as she pointed towards the wall in the distence that was coming closer every moment.

"I was guessing that was your home." Inuyasha said weakly, his yellow eyes fixed on the wall before them, "Or at least some sort of out post.".

Gemini walked along side the dog demon for a few moment in silence, she wasn't sure what else she could say to him. It felt odd just acting like a messanger, then running away without another word.

"Being Sesshomaru's brother and all..." Gemini said weakly, not sure how her question would affect Inuyasha, "How well did you know Aries?".

Inuyasha looked over at Gemini with a puzzeled look on his face, almost like he wondered why she was asking him such a question. "Good enough." he said sternly.

Gemini laughed weakly, scratching her head as she did. "Sorry about that..." Gemini said weakly, "I guess that was a question from the middle of no where.".

Gemini remained outside, having a off and on chat with the dog demon. She was hoping that in a way, he would be able to paint a picture of Aries for her. The Aries in which she didn't know for ten years. She also wanted to know more about her death, which was covered in mystery.

-----

"Shippo's seemed to have made a couple new friends." Kagome said with a laugh as she jestured towards the fox demon playing with the twins.

"It seems so." Sango replied with a smile, "It's good to see him playing with demons around his own age.".

Kagome smiled, and nodded as to agree with Sango. She then glanced over at Miroku, who didn't seem to be enjoying himself, not one bit.

"Miroku, you havn't talked at all this afternoon." Kagome said to the monk, "What's bothering you?".

Miroku looked towards Kagome, with a stern look on his face. "Can't you hear them?" he asked weakly, "The screams of the souls trapped here?".

Kagome was silent, knowing that she had heard a distant voice in the back of her head. Yet she didn't give it any more attention.

"These demons take the souls of the living, and trap them here until they use them." Miroku said silently, sounding sickened by the mere thought of it.

"Yet, these demons are Inuyasha's friends. They've also treated us like their guests, not like weathless humans." Kagome noted weakly.

"Black and white, blurred to grey." Sango muttered weakly, "Their goals, and actions are good yet evil.".

"You are right." Miroku said weakly with a sigh, "They fall in a place where we can not really know if we can completly trust them, nor if we should kill them.".

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see if they begin to move towards black or white." Kagome said weakly.

The three put their sights forward, seeing that the demon's stronghold was just ahead of them. Yet their minds were spinning wildly as they kept walking. Not knowing what to think of these Demons of Aliyma.

They finally arrived at the gates to the home of the Demons of Aliyma. Cancer gave a signal to the man that guarded the gates upon the wall above, and he began to open the doors.

Three figures waited beyond the gates, two in which they didn't know. But one they knew. It was Lord Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's older brother.

Almost as soon as the doors were open, the two youngest demons rushed towards the woman who waited. She knelt down and embraced them both. The demoness seemed more concerned about her children then the others that followed with them, and who they might be.

Coal then pulled the carriage into the garden beyond the gates, taking up most of the doorway causing the others to follow behind.

"Who are your new friends?" Authual asked Leo as he jumped out of the carriage.

Pieces looked up, finally noticing the others that followed her children here. She seemed to have a one track mind, that didn't notice people who weren't supposed to be there.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me to not notice we had guests." Pieces said as she got back to her feet, "I am High Priestest of Aliyma, Pieces.".

Pieces was about to bow to her guests, when a motion beside her halted her. She looked over to see Sesshomaru about to pull one of his swords from his waist. The one in which had no scabbered to be placed in.

"What is this bastard doing here?!" Inuyasha said sternly, has he too placed his clawed hands upon the halt of his Tetsiuga.

"You have no right to be here, little brother." Sesshomaru replied, just has sternly.

Pieces was silent for a moment, knowing that the brothers weren't the greatest of friends. She shook her head weakly and said, "If a drop of blood is spilt on these grounds, I will simply have to dispose of you.".

Both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru looked over at Pieces, that had a look in her eyes that dared them to try her. Inuyasha removed his hands from his Tetsiuga and mumbled to himself angerly. Yet Sesshomaru wasn't as easily convinced, still ready to attack his younger brother at any moment.

"You want to fight now?" Authual said with a roll of his eyes, "Won't this just waste more time. Since you were complaining before about how long they were taking to get here.".

Authual most of hit some sort of soft spot, for Sesshomaru removed his hand from his sword as well.

Pieces smiled weakly, glad to see that they had pervented a fight, or at least for the time being. "Alright, collect the offerings." Pieces orders her children as she moved towards the carriage.

The siblings took most of the jars, taking as much as they could. Leo and Libra taking the most out of the five. Leo, carried many in his large musclur arms. In a way it looked like he was hugging a bunch of jars. Libra easily carried the jars in gusts of winds, not carring any in her actually hands. Pieces then passed a few to Authual, while she collected the last few jars to carry herself.

"Look at all those jars." Kagome said weakly, "Are they all full of souls...?".

"Most likly..." Miruko replied with a weak sigh, "All to be offered for just this one ceremony.".

Sesshomaru walked among the Demons of Aliyma, while the others trailed behind them. Kagome could tell that Inuyasha was worried, yet excited at the same time.

He hadn't said anything about Aries to them, he didn't say how she knew her other then she was Sesshomaru's wife. Kagome just hoped the dog demon didn't secretly love her, since she already had her hands full with Kikyo.

Kagome could see a clearing ahead, a faint glow in the distence. She and the others walked into it's soft warming aura. A lake stood infront of her, it glowed a faint greenish blue tone. The waters moved softly, and the mist from the water floated around the clearing. No real water was here though, it only contained the souls of the dead. Trapped, unable to move on to the plain of death. Forced, to roam in this clearing for the rest of eternity, until drained of their memories.

Yet Kagome and the others did not yet know that the lake was just a river of souls.

In the center of this lake of souls, stood a tree, tall and proud. It's roots were visable in this lake, drinking the souls that were placed around it. The tree, looked like any of the other trees around it, outside the lake of souls. Although, it towered over the others, in height and size. Kagome could make out marking engraved in the tree, they faintly glowed with the same greenish blue tone that the waters below emitted. Yet there was body, trapped within the bark of the trunk, not yet encased by bark. Her body, still organic, but yet she was gone from this plain.

Kagome glanced up at the top of the tree, wanting to see the whole body of this grand looking tree. Her eyes, widen in shook at the site above. No branches were on the top of this tree, there was only four figures. The bark of the tree, encased their bodies above. Their eyes, watching Kagome, her friends, and the Demons of Aliyma.

"It's time..." Pieces said as she looked around at the others that carried jars. They all moved towards the edge of the river, surrounding themselves with the jars full of human souls. Authual left his beside Pieces, as he began to drift across the lake of souls. His body remaining out of the lake as he moved towards Aries' lifeless body, trapped within the bark of the tree.

The Demons of Aliyma began to pour the souls of the dead into the lake, one jar at a time. Kagome watched as the souls of the dead poured from the jugs and into the river surrounding the Tree of Aliyma.You could see the souls move about in the water, trying to escape. But none of them could, they were forever trapped here.

The glow around the river began to increase in size and brightness, as there were many jars full of pure souls to offer.

Authual began to chant something, that didn't sound like any launage Kagome had ever heard, not even by the many demons they had encountered.

Once Authual had finished, he began to float back towards land, his crimson eyes fixed on Aries.

After the last jar of souls had been offered, and Authual had returned to the shore, they opened.

Her crimson eyes, blankly staring forwards. Her face was as blank as her eyes were. Her eyes finally came into focus, and a hint of emotion could be seen deep within them.

Was it joy that she could see and feel once again?

The bark that held Aries to the Tree of Aliyma soon began to break away, and Aries fell to the waters below. It seemed deeper then she had once remembered.

"What ever happens, you must not go into these holy waters." Pieces said blankly to those around her as she watched her newly reborn daughter slowly get to her feet.

~End of Chapter 3

AN: A short chapter, and it took me forever to write it. -___-;; I've already started to work on chapter four. So hopefully it won't take as long.