Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Raiki, Dragon of Heaven ( Chapter 20 )

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Sacrifice

By: Melissa Norvell

Chapter 20: Raiki, Dragon of Heaven

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"Ever have one of those dreams where you died and went to heaven? " Chichiri looked around at the mass landscape, which was composed of fluffy white clouds and pale blue skies. "I kinda feel like that right now."

"I feel like I'm on drugs," Ko responded. It still had to kick in to her mind that this place was indeed real. The scenery was so surreal that it hardly seemed like anything that could exist in real life. It was silent and composed of pastilles. There was no one around, however, she did not feel alone- she felt at peace.

Hiroshima and Tsurugi, however, felt very threatened being in a place like this. They knew that they were filled with sins and under any normal circumstances; they would not be allowed to even set a tainted foot into something so holy and the only thing that awaited being like them was scorn and damnation. They simply wanted to do what they were sent there to do and leave.

Hiroshima was tense; it was almost as if something ominous had been laid upon his shoulders- something foreboding to even someone as strong as him. For the most part, his demeanor was composed.

Tsurugi, on the other hand seemed as if he were on the verge of turning psychotic with panic and paranoia. His eyes were widened and he looked deathly afraid. His form trembled with the uncertainty he felt. This caused his chains to make a slight jingling sound.

"What are you guys standing around for? Let's get to finding a Wind Cavern," Keiji knew that it would be better to just get one and leave. With the two angels being so tense, it made him feel uneasy and almost as if he himself was in danger. He knew that he too, had sins of his own and probably wasn't welcomed there any more then the angels.

"I shouldn't be here," Tsurugi managed to let out a small almost whispery voice that trembled with his mix of emotions that seemed to be battling it out within his body.

"This isn't heaven; it's just a heavenly realm," Hiroshima tried to quell his love's paranoia.

"Heaven is still around me," the blonde angel replied, sorrow and guilt evident on his features as he stared with emotion-filled eyes at the landscape ahead of him.

"Okay," the drummer grumbled, a little irritated with the mystery surrounding Tsurugi's ordeal with heavenly places. He took a few steps in front of the trembling dark angel and leveled him with a serious glare. "What the hell is your deal? You've been against this from the beginning and if there's something we should know, then you'd better tell us now." He warned, not wanting any more surprises, especially those that were bad surprises.

"You're an angel. Why would you be afraid of this place? Don't angels live in places like this?" Ko still stuck by her cliché view on angels.

"Not all angels come from heaven," the dark angel told her, sorrow still evident in both his voice and eyes as he spoke.

"We're originally creations of God but we've separated from the group. There are many different types of angels; Cherubim, Seraphim, Dark, Fallen, Messenger, Guardians, Gin and Titans to name a few," Hiroshima informed.

"So what are you two?" Keiji looked to the four winged angel.

"I'm a Gin and he's a Dark Angel who's fallen from heaven."

"So, Dark Angels have black wings?" Ko glanced to Tsurugi's pitch-black feathers.

"What about Hiroshima? He has two of each color?" Chichiri asked.

"I have reasons but I don't feel like giving them to you," the legend spat, giving a defensive glare to the blonde.

"So, you're a schizophrenic angel?"

"I told you. I'm not good but I'm not evil either. I travel down my own path," Hiroshima replied coldly and began to casually walk past the light-hearted Chichiri. He suddenly felt something grip his arm, just above his elbow and turned his head to see Tsurugi attached to him. "What?" He glared.

"I can't…" The blonde angel looked away.

"Quit being selfish," the legend warned, growing irritated himself that his lover was slowing them down. While he understood the dark angel's situation, he had figured that if they hurried up and left that there would be less of a threat of any kind of harm befalling them.

"What?" Tsurugi's eyes widened.

"Tell them."

The blonde seemed torn as frightened innocence reflected off of his sorrow-filled eyes. He looked at everyone else and his frown grew a little deeper. "Everyone should just leave me here," he replied in a small voice, his blonde locks shading his eyes. He thought it would be for the good of the team that they leave him behind, since he was obviously being a burden. They could simply come back for him when they had a Wind Cavern in their possession.

"Why?" Keiji gave him a scrutinizing glare. "So you can keep your secret? Do you really think hiding it from us will help anything? If there's a reason you shouldn't be here then you should say it before you get us killed by the dragons up here."

"I'm not all that safe here either, but if Vespa is covering us then I'm not all that worried about my situation," Hiroshima said nonchalantly.

The torn angel's features only became more submersed in his warring emotions as he spoke. "I was cast out of heaven because I've sinned way too much. I washed these hands in blood," he told the drummer, holding up his trembling hands and gazing upon them with shame. "I loved someone I shouldn't have…These shackles and chains I wear to keep me from flying too long or too high. This weight is one I must carry for my sins. I was once a good angel but now, I'm reduced to a shadow of my former self. I shouldn't be here. I'm not even supposed to show my face in a world like this."

"Get over it," Keiji uttered the words with no sympathy for the dark angel's situation.

"Huh?" Tsurugi snapped his head up with a look of shock and realization. He hadn't expected something like that to come out of the drummer's mouth.

"You did it to yourself, so live with your consequences."

Hiroshima had thought of his words as being just a little too brazen of Keiji. He himself felt a large weight of guilt because he was one of the reasons why Tsurugi was filled with terror at the moment. He couldn't take seeing him fall apart like this, especially in front of mere humans- who could never understand the pains and hidden secrets of angels.

"It's not that easy," he told the green-haired boy, narrowing his glassy blue eyes at him. "It isn't so simple to live with things you regret-"The Gin told Keiji, and was about to tell him of his guilt before something had come speeding out of the blue at a high velocity, slamming into his stomach and knocking him off of his feet. This object was hard and composed of feathers and robes of some sort. It beat the breath out of him and caused him to lose some feathers. They danced around in the air before floating to the ground. After being slammed to the ground, he quickly arose, a serious look plastered to his face and a hand over his wounded stomach. He wore the steel look of an angry statue. "What the hell?"

A few feet away, a large pelican-type bird in dark blue robes sat on its bottom, rubbing its head. It had very dark blue feathers- nearly black in coloration. The robe was the same color and short, only going to mid-thigh. They were tied with a rope belt and had a large hood, shading the bird's eyes and covering all of its wings but the very tips, where large feathers stuck out. It also had a long tail, composed of feathers which curved at the ends and had large orange feet.

"What did I run into? It felt like a brick wall!" The bird spoke in a young voice.

"You're not exactly soft either," Hiroshima grumbled, still clenching his stomach.

"What is that?" Ko asked.

"Is it a Wind Cavern?" Fife wondered out loud.

"What's the big idea?" Hiroshima seethed.

"I'm terribly sorry. I was flying very fast and my hood blocked my eyes, blinding me," the bird explained, standing up and dusting off his sleeves.

"It looks like that happens often," Fife explained happily, pointing to his over-sized hood.

"Fife!" Ko scolded, thinking that the bird would somehow find that offensive.

"Hm?" The navy-haired man turned his head to Ko, goofy smile plastering his face.

"Don't be rude."

"But I wasn't."

Looking around, the strange bird saw that feathers had littered the ground all around them. Assuming they were his, he bent over and began to pick them all up. These feathers were very different, however. They were much larger than his own and held more of a silky texture. Long and slender flight feathers built for speed and of the most brilliant of colors- some were a pure white with a golden shine and some were the darkest of black with a shine of green and purple. These feathers were very strange and seemed to put off their own aura. The black ones were cold and mysterious- the white heavenly and surreal.

"Oh, these aren't mine," the large bird replied kindly. "These must be angel feathers."

"They belong to me," Hiroshima replied.

"You must be one of the angels I was told to meet."

"So you're a Wind Cavern?" Chichiri was amazed. The being before him wasn't exactly something he had pictured in his mind.

"Oh yes, my name is Musashi," the bird took a polite bow, his long beak nearly touching the ground.

"Well, now that we found one, let's leave," Hiroshima tried to make things as quick and effortless as possible.

"It's not that easy, I'm afraid," Musashi frowned a bit. He knew that wasn't exactly the information that the angel was dying to hear. "In order to get out, you have to get by Raiki, the ruling dragon of heaven."

"Can't we get out some other way?" Tsurugi asked, really not wanting to take that way. Something bad would surely happen to him then.

"No, Maori would be the other way that would get you out, but unfortunately she stepped out to deal with a few issues." The Wind Cavern spoke.

"Well, who's friendlier?" Ko asked, wondering which side of the deal she'd be getting.

"Raiki, well…It's my opinion anyway. So today might be your lucky day." The Wind Cavern examined the feathers in his hand, putting another hand under his beak in deep contemplation. "Say, some of these feathers are black…"

Other Wind Cavern of all colors and genders immediately froze in place, turning their heads at Musashi's words as if it were grave news. Tsurugi flinched at their gazes, his tension mounting far more then it was before.

"Black winged angels aren't usually allowed here."

"But we have permission to be here," Undine tried to defend her allies.

"Vespa did say that I wouldn't be dealing with typical angels."

"Dark angels must leave this place immediately." A white female Wind Cavern remarked, flying in to the ground and landing a short distance away. This bird was similar to Musashi, except white in coloration with pink highlights at her legs, beak and tips of her wings.

Tsurugi flinched again.

"Screw off you," Hiroshima began to grow defensive. He didn't like being in a place where the odds were clearly stacked against him. "We have permission."

"We shall not let you pass," a deep-voiced black Wind Cavern spoke, standing in front of them along side of the white one, they both held protective battle-stances ready to fight if need there be.

"We don't want to hurt you, little bird things. We actually need your help," Chichiri tried to reason.

"You get no help from us, betrayer of God," the white Wind Cavern spoke holding her wings were held out as a pink, glowing Japanese kanji symbol for 'heaven' appeared on Tsurugi's forehead. This symbol and the unearthly glow coming from it sent chills down the angel's spine as sheer dread and fright plagued him. The chains on his wings pulled tight in an instant, causing him to wince and his wings to become crumpled. Black chains shot up from the ground around him at great speed, wrapping around his torso and pulling tightly around his arms, bending them up. The chains pulled down as the angel stood his ground, fighting against them as much as possible. He knew what they were trying to do. They were trying to pull him out of Cloud Kingdom, and although he truly didn't want to be there, he didn't want to cause any unnecessary burdens by making the team go and look for him. He knew that this would happen. It was all part of a plan much grander than he. The chains on his wings pulled tighter with every second that passed causing the bones to snap and break.

He could feel the chains as he put resistance on them, grounding his feet in the clouds. The pain was immense as the chains squeezed his body tightly and his wings even tighter. He gritted his teeth and attempted to lightly struggle against them.

'What? How come the other one isn't affected,' the white bird thought in surprise as she looked at Hiroshima, who was simply turned with a stern look on his face. His emotions were hidden by his façade. 'One of them has a curse, which makes my spell stronger because it activates his spell…But I don't understand why the other isn't going on?'

Undine looked at Tsurugi and although her eyes showed no emotion, she felt bad that the blonde angel was going through unnecessary pain because of a misunderstanding. Hiroshima glared at the Wind Caverns with a look of malice. This caused the Wind Caverns to steer clear of making eye-contact with him. They didn't dare look into his eyes, which could rein his of his wrath upon them.

Ko ran over to the wounded angel and began to pull on the chains that ran up to his arms, trying to free him from their grasp. She tugged and strained, but the chains didn't move. If she didn't do something fast, they would crush him! She could see the look on his face and read his pain and torment. Everyone else was simply standing there. What good would that do? She wasn't about to watch him die! Not after what happened to Kabuto!

"Don't Ko," Tsurugi replied in a kind voice, and through his pain, he managed to let a smile seep through at the girl's efforts. While he appreciated her concern and kindness, he knew the effort she made was futile.

"Stop! You're hurting him!" Azmy pleaded, noticing that his blood had been dripping from a few of the chains. Tsurugi wore black and this made it hard to tell if he was bleeding from wounds like that. All of the damage would be beneath his clothes. He only looked a little wet around the chains.

"You're going to kill him like this! He didn't even do anything to you!" Ko shouted, beginning to get angry. How could they call themselves such heavenly beings when they executed behavior like this?

"Please stop! Kuro, Hikari!" Musashi also begged, knowing that the situation had gotten out of hand.

"You know as well as we do that those types aren't allowed here," the black Wind Cavern with the deep voice, now addressed as Kuro, spoke."

"But they have permission," Musashi pleaded.

"We weren't given the word," Hikari argued.

"And as long as we do not have the word, we will not allow it," Kuro added.

"This is crap!" Chichiri fumed, enraged by this whole ordeal. His anger seethed through his body and he tensed up, remaining quiet for a few moments before lunging forward and punching out Hikari. He was more than fed with their attitudes and he really didn't want to hurt her but this was going too far and they refused to stop.

Hikari landed with a thud in the clouds a few feet from him, rubbing her head with a pink-tipped wing as the cloud fogged up around her form being disturbed by her landing. She had little time to recover as she was grabbed by the neck of her robe with two masculine hands and pulled towards Chichiri's angry face. "Look! We've got permission to be here, so just let us come in!"

The sound of deep, malevolent laughter filled his ears as he turned his head to Hiroshima who was laughing causally.

"What? What's so funny?" He fumed at the inappropriate gesture. Of all people, Hiroshima, whose boyfriend was about to die from a misunderstanding of holy people and sinners was laughing. What the fuck was that about? Was he stupid or did he just have a morbid sense of humor? He turned to Hiroshima and dropped Hikari back on the ground.

"You're real funny if you think punching the little bird brain's lights out will help you convince them to let us in."

"I'm so sorry for this! Raiki must not have been informed," Musashi felt bad for putting such a burden on everyone and causing their team mate so much pain. He felt Tsurugii's pain and sympathized with it. This was unjust on their behalf and it was far from decent to judge them without knowing their intentions.

"Ugh…" Tsurugi trembled from the loss of blood as several drops of it littered the pure white haze of the clouds below his feet. His black clothes were soaked in his own blood as he attempted feebly to free himself from the chains, even though it was a losing battle.

"Please…Let Tsurugi go…" Ko softly told him, looking with a defeated and saddened expression to Kuro and Hikarii, her eyes on the verge of shedding tears.

A silent exchange in conversation was made between Hiroshima and Fife. The feminine one looked to Tsurugi with a torn expression, as if he could do something substantial. He wanted to help, he truly did, but he forced himself to hold back. Hiroshima's looked to the boy, exchanging silent words through his eyes and this gaze caused Fife to wear an expression of guilt.

"You're magic, Hiroshima," Azmy looked to the angel, who turned his glances back to the shy girl. "Can't you do something?" She asked as Fife looked down.

"Well..." He started, but was cut off by an explosion of air, which sent all of them flying back. Tsurugi's bloody form was caught by the chains and suspended in the air as the winds rushed by him, making his blonde locks flutter in the wind with rapid motion. He looked over to the others, who were steadying themselves, being blown back and clinging to the ground to keep from getting blown away.

"Everyone!" He shouted, but his voice was lost to the wind.

"Raiki!" Musashi shouted from his position on the ground, where he was lying on his stomach, clutching the cloud for dear life as his robes fluttered in the high winds.

Out of the big gusts, a large white dragon that stood on two legs appeared. This dragon didn't have scales, but long white fur. His tail appeared more like a dog's then reptiles and his eyes were reflective and a very pale blue. Around his tail, a few feet before the end of it was a long, dark purple tie of sorts. His mighty horns resembled tree branches with long stalks that branched out into two larger branches. They were pale beige in coloration. This dragon was slim and elegant in body and loomed over the small being below him. Even Hiroshima, who was the tallest of everyone, seemed to be nothing more than an action figure to something so large.

Tsurugi's form crashed into the clouds beside of Ko, who was now seated on the ground. She pulled him close, wrapping her arms around him protectively as she looked to the massive beast before her with a stern look. "We were sent here by Master Mage Vespa. We need to talk to you."

Tears streamed down the short-haired girl's face. "Please, please don't hurt him." Azmy begged, sobbing.

"…Tsurugi…" The dragon's deep voice boomed through the heavens as he lowered his head to the fallen angel.

"I know…" The dark angel replied from his position in Ko's arms. He looked a bit ashamed and cowered submissively before the mighty dragon. "I know what you must think…and now I know I shouldn't be here…But please hear my friends out…" He then turned his head up towards Raiki, a small stream of blood now running from the right corner of his mouth.

"Perhaps this can be explained," Raiki spoke kindly, but leveled Kuro, Hikari and Musashi a grim stare. The Wind Caverns knew that they had some explaining to do. Kuro felt that he could justify their actions beyond the shadow of a doubt, so he spoke first.

"They say that they're allowed here but we got no word from you, so we've decided to detain them."

"Detain?" Hiroshima questioned his use of words.

"Don't you mean retain?" Ko asked.

"Yes, retain them," Kuro corrected himself.

"But our powers wouldn't work on him," Hikari replied a bit timidly, sensing that she may get in trouble by her superior and gestured to Hiroshima.

"Of course it won't affect him," Raiki sensed the very reason that the angel hadn't brought up with the others. "He already has a curse on him and it repels heavenly magic."

The legend narrowed his eyes, not happy at all that Raiki just revealed one of the things that he had been hiding all this time.

"WHAT!?!" Everyone but Tsurugi said in unison. Then everything was dead silent as Keiji glared at the legend. The chains slowly loosened around the angel as his form went limp in Ko's arms. A small amount of blood stained her clothes.

The dark angel was happy that he didn't die and that he could now move and breathe freely without restriction. He then looked to Hiroshima, who had all eyes on his form now. Fife was silent, he knew he shouldn't dare speak because he too was hiding things and he didn't want them revealed in a fit of rage. Interrogating Hiroshima on a matter like this would only arouse his anger.

"Is that it?" Keiji emotionlessly replied, steely gaze locking with Hiroshima's.

"It doesn't matter," the legend stated simply.

"Why didn't you tell us?" The drummer asked.

"Like I said, it's none of your business," the angel warned.

"It is our business. We need to know about these things. What if we get in trouble because of it?" The drummer interrogated.

"You won't. All you need to know is that I have one and don't worry about your precious lives, it only effects me."

"Yes, but what about you?" Ko was concerned about the legend. She might not think too highly of him, but she didn't want him to be in constant pain because of it. No one deserved that kind of existence.

"It's none of your concern and it won't hinder me in battle. I know how to deal with it," Hiroshima replied coldly, not really thinking that Ko truly cared about him, just his ability to protect her.

Upon feeling stared at he turned his gazes to Azmy, who was looking up at him with big, expressional eyes. They were plagued with kindness and worry for the angel. Something about them made Hiroshima part of the ice chip away from the legend's frosty heart. He felt awkward and exposed in front of this small girl. Feeling the need to harden back up and reinforce his weak shield, he narrowed his eyes and his frown deepened.

"Don't look at me like that," he said coldly but strongly and ripped his gaze from hers. "All we need to worry about is getting a Wind Cavern, so let's hurry," the angel finished his sentence, dodging the incriminating stare from the drummer.

"Well, I was informed by Vespa, Red Witch of Zameln to get permission to accompany his group. It seems that they are having trouble with Flora down in the City of Plants and needs our assistance," Musashi explained.

"Yes…Flora has been out of hand. But why would she send a dark angel here?" Raiki asked.

"Well, she sent us all here together and he's with us," Fife said.

"You didn't have to do that," Ko replied.

"His curse activates when he is sent here," Raiki stated.

Hikari looked down in shame, "sorry that I helped activate it. I thought Musashi was lying."

"Yes, Musashi has often steered us wrong," Kuro agreed, remembering the ways Musashi misinformed them in the past.

"So let me get this straight," Hiroshima looked at Musashi. "Out of all of the Wind Caverns, Vespa assigned us the stupid one."

"Musashi is a young Wind Cavern. He just needs time to gain experience. Vespa knew what she was doing. Out of all of the Wind Caverns, Musashi can help you the most with your mission. He is the main Wind Cavern who delivers messages to Flora," Raiki informed the group.

"So he'd know best how to get to Flora," Keiji stated the obvious.

Musashi nodded. "I know how to get there very well. First we need to get to the Forest of Illusion."

"Then let's go," Hiroshima ordered.

"What about Tsurugi?" Ko now stood and looked to the angel beside of her, who struggled to stand. His head was hung, wings broken and knees bent inward, almost as if he would collapse at any moment. "He's hurt." She said as clouds began to swirl around them in a familiar way. It was similar to the time they had been sent away by Vespa to the City of Plants at the beginning of their journey.

"It doesn't matter," Hiroshima replied, his long green ponytail flapping in the wind and his black cape fluttering about, exposing his wings. "I can't do anything about it. He'll have to deal with it until he can heal his on his own."

Those words still hung in the air as the group disappeared, leaving Raiki and the two Wind Caverns standing there.

"Are you sure that you did the right thing by sending Musashi?" Hikari looked up at Raiki in question.

"Yes," Raiki replied simply as the sun's rays bathed them all in an urethral glow. It was almost as if they were level with the sun in the sky. It was halfway over the clouds and its light reflected off of the surface, causing everything to become red-orange with tints of blue and yellow. This made the scenery particularly striking. Raiki looked into the sun with a gentle smile upon his face. "I have faith in him."

'This is your time, Musashi. Like the sun, your dim feathers will take on a radiant shine…and you will glow.'

To Be Continued…