Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Into the Dark Night ❯ Chapter Eight ( Chapter 8 )

Into the Dark Night

Nagia

Chapter Eight: Tormentum Insomniae

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The chapter is named after a room from Vagrant Story, located in the Iron Maiden B2. "Tormentum Insomniae" is old Latin (I think- if not it's close enough) for "Torment of Insomnia," or "Torment of the Waking." These are VERY rough translations. No one is really kept awake, though everyone is as emotionally raw (not to mention just plain waspish) as if they had been kept awake.

What I like about this chapter? Mostly present tense, mostly rather descriptive and it has Serious Sobbing Action ™ from Ryoko.

Prelude named after the fifth room in the Catacombs, the second "level" in the game. First Interlude named after the eleventh room in the Catacombs. Second Interlude named after the fourteenth room in the Catacombs.

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Prelude: Rodent-Ridden Chamber

She lies there, having curled into a ball, and awaits Him to grace her with His presence. He did not kill her, as she had expected. The stench of rotting flesh is shamingly* familiar and all about her. She puts her head on her knees. One hand absently reaches for her promise beads, a necklace she conjured when she returned from His clutches. It is long enough to loop twice around her wrists but small enough that she can only slip it onto her head and not over. She suddenly remembers that her beads are not there. He cast them away from her, left them in her room. She grits her teeth at the thought. He enters and she lifts her head slightly. It is not a sign of respect.

10:07 AM, November 10, 1993

1

Nasuti opened her eyes and moaned. About nine Harpies were attempting to claw their ways out of her head. Seiji blinked down at her. She could see the worry in his gaze.

"You're awake." Seiji said.

"Indeed, and I'm not happy about it." Replied Nasuti.

"What happened?"

"Rya told me about Lloyd. Well, she showed me. And then she showed me his old castle. He threatened us and she cast a spell to leave. Is she okay?" Nasuti sat up and looked around.

"So Lloyd has her again," Ryoko muttered in a dangerous voice.

"It would seem so," Seiji admitted.

"Please, please, don't tell me this has happened before…" Nasuti begged.

"It has. Ryoko came to me and begged me to get her daughter back. I did so and neatly destroyed his hideout in the process." Seiji sighed and sat down.

Nasuti looked over at him. His blonde hair had lost its shine, his skin had become a grayish color and his face was gaunt. He apparently didn't have enough energy to cast a Glamour.

"What drained you?" She asked.

"Taking care of you. You're still in your first trimester and the child is leeching energy. I may have to take you to the Daemon realm."

"Why?"

"You need to be able to draw energy almost constantly. The Daemon realm is the only place you can do that."

Nasuti nodded and closed her eyes.

Interlude i: Faith Overcame Fear

His lips twist darkly at the sight of her. How low she has fallen! She, who once was so proud and beautiful! She, who was fit to be His Queen! Only the cruel chains that bind her to the wall hold her up. Her head sags and her silvery-blonde hair blocks His view of her face. He gently lifts her head by the cheek. Her eyes fly open and she gasps softly. He murmurs His apology.

12:03PM, November 10, 1993

2

The nurse had black hair and green eyes and the kind of voice that said she wouldn't tolerate bull. She gave him the straight up-and-down and promptly announced that she would be glad to listen to the Fated One. Seiji could only glare his disapproval; this was a place of healing-and therefore holy.

" Her name is Nasumi Yagiyuichi. She is my wife and is pregnant with our child."

" Her injury?"
" Drained by the cultist Lloyd."
" Ahh." The nurse nodded and announced briskly, "We will place her in room eleven ten. Would you like to accompany her?"

Interlude ii: Repent, O Ye Sinners

She only looks at Him balefully. The sadness on His face hurts her. She recalls sadly that so many of the women in His cult would do anything to have His undivided attention. His apology is true, she senses. She longs to forgive Him, to say that she accepts His apology, but she cannot. She swore that she would never forgive the murderer of their child. He asks her if she still hates him. She does.

12:09PM, November 10, 1993, Daemon Realm

Postlude: Smashing Young Man

Ryoko paces the room, her eyes lingering on the WyrdStone. Her hands clench into fists at her sides. The tears spill into her eyes. She hold them back, thinking, I am strong!

"Ryoko, I'm sure she's fine. Rya could be a valuable asset to Lloyd's purpose, so he probably won't harm her." Seiji speaks quietly. He had been staring out the window, but now he faces her.

"I can't be sure. We don't even know if she survived whatever drained them…"

"Nasuti had a child and she survived."

"Whatever." She cannot help but wonder if he will call. He had called the first time, then sent those assholes to keep her from following. Seiji glares at her as the tears spill from her eyes and down at her cheeks. Ryoko knows that Seiji cannot stand weakness, hates it when people cry. And yet she cannot stop. Her daughter is gone, taken by some asswhole who doesn't give a rat's ass whether she loves him or not, and probably being tortured and Seiji is staring at his wife's prone body and thinking why us? as though whatever god he prayed to gives a damn and would help them. She can't bring herself to say it, though. And then the WyrdStone rings. He is calling! That rat bastard has the guts to call them in a hospital!

Seiji only looks over at the Stone with the perfect insolent glare. The expression on his face becomes increasingly waspish as he sees Lloyd's smirking face.

"What do you want, you asswhole?" Ryoko demands harshly. This draws more energy than she has, and she sinks to her knees.

"My, my. Language, Ryoko."

"What do you want, Lloyd?" Seiji asks crossly.

"Nothing. I have no demands."

"Then why did you call?" Seiji demands, his waspish voice and harsh glare combining to make a truly terrible impression.

"Why Ryoko," Lloyd says almost conversationally, "I believe I have your daughter."

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Not quite a cliffhanger, but damn, I love that ending! Postlude named after Collective Soul's song, Smashing Young Man (I love it, and it is so Rya to Lloyd). But I finally have sort of an idea of where to go with this (I have a wonderful, supportive Guardian Angel who helps me act out possible scenes and this is the one I chose). My asterisk (shamingly) is a word I (think I) made up. "Shamingly" is something that puts one to shame or causes them to feel shame or embarrassment. Blaargh! Blaargh! Blaargh!

Tell the next person you see "Panserbjorne".

My thanks.