Tsubasa Chronicle Fan Fiction ❯ Tsubasa: Revolutions ❯ Shadows and Dolls ( Chapter 11 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

“Good morning.”

It’s the second time I’ve heard that phrase today, and I’m going to have to disagree.

He looks up at me with a calm smile, motioning to the chair I’ve been led to.

The cold hand around my arm all but shoves me into my seat and then leaves without a word.

My hair is still wet, plastered against my face. But he looks as handsome as ever: sleek, black hair, crystalline green eyes. His coat and shirt are neatly pressed and his black tie perfectly centered.

I sit, and remain silent.

“Not very chatty this morning?” he raises a single inky black eyebrow.

I knew he was going to be a jerk eventually…

“Not particularly,” I screw on my smile.

“Strange. I was sure you’d have questions,” he shrugs, his eyes drift from me to a plate of toast. He grabs one then slides a jar of jam across the table and dips his knife in. “Please. Have some breakfast.”

“I’m not very hungry, I’m afraid.”

“Oh!” he smiles. Dangerously. “I forgot about your condition. I’m sorry.”

“Where is he?” I drop the smile and come right out with it. I don’t care anymore. He’s the one who brought it up anyway.

“I’m not too sure for the moment. But don’t worry. I’ve already told you that I’m not going to let you starve.”

“What do you want with us?”

“Us,” he laughs. “I don’t really want anything to do with the other one. I’ve given him to Werra. It’s you I have interest in.”

“Me?! Why?”

“What interest would I have in a man who is nothing but a bodyguard and snack food?” he chuckles. “And you could do much better, by the way.”

I’m choosing to ignore most of what he just said, and instead smile and tell him calmly, “That wasn’t really what I asked.”

“I never really said I would answer,” he shrugs, taking a bite of his toast.

Touché.

“What is Werra going to do to him?”

“I don’t know,” he brushes crumbs from the corer of his mouth. “Probably add him to her collection.”

“Collection?” I cannot help but ask. Though I don’t really think I want to know.

“She collects things she likes.”

“She likes him!?” I growl.

I like her even less now.

“Well, maybe not ‘like,’ exactly. She’s frustrated because she can’t get him to do what she wants him to do… whatever that is. But he won’t. So she’s upset. And obsessed with getting her way now. She’s always been like that.”

“You mean he won’t let her have his soul?” I smirk. I see no point in playing nice with him. I know at least that much of what Werra’s up to.

He just chuckles. His true smile is very… unnerving. “That’s my understanding of the situation.”

“Well,” I shift a little in my chair and fold my hands into my lap, “That doesn’t really work for me.”

“I suppose, I could make a deal with her.”

So… wait. What? Was all this planned? To blackmail me into doing… I don’t even know what. Or is she such a crazy bitch even Sarûs can’t control her?

Wow... my vocabulary is full of Kurogane words today.

He waits for my response, which I haven’t decided to give to him yet.

He sighs. “But enough about him. Aren’t you curious to know what I want from you?”

“Not really.”

“Too bad. It’s rather interesting, I think. Oh well,” he just shrugs and takes another bite of his toast.

I just grin again.

He finishes his breakfast without another word, and when he stands, he nods to me and beacons that I follow.

I would politely decline, if I thought I could get away with it. However, it’s quite clear to me that I would not.

Unlike most kings/rulers/evil dictators I’ve met, Sarûs waits for me walks at my side. I suppose I shouldn’t look deeper into that really, after a second thought. He just wants me close so I’m easier to catch if I run.

“You don’t belong here, you know.” he says.

“What do you mean, Sarûs-chan?”

“I can smell your kind from a mile away.”

“My kind?”

“People who want to make the world a better place.”

“I don’t really care much about the world I’m afraid,” I shake my head in disagreement.

“But you would seek to redeem yourself for any wrong doings you have done. You would not subject others to your own selfish desires.”

“That isn’t entirely true either.”

He laughs as though he doesn’t believe me.

I’m not as good of a person as he is assuming me to be.

“You’ve got enough power in your left little finger to make incredible things happen. You could kill me right now. So why don’t you?”

“Why would I want to kill you, Sarûs-chan?”

“Because I’ve kidnapped your friend and am holding you hostage, and all for the purpose of my own self gain. You should want to kill me. I have no problem killing you once you become useless to me after all. It would be in your benefit to do so while you have the chance.”

All of this, he says with a smile.

“But you aren’t going to kill me,” I only smile in return.

“Not yet. No. But you won’t like it, if I decide to do so. I don’t particularly deal well with disappointment.”

I think that was a threat just now.

“You’ve never said what you wanted from me.”

“You said over breakfast that you didn’t want to know.”

I shrug. “But you we’re planning to tell me eventually anyway. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”

“True,” he nods. “But we’ll get to that later. I don’t feel like talking about that anymore.”

I think its because I’m so angry with the situation, I don’t realize where we’re going at first.

It isn’t until I look to my right, and see a mostly vacant room with a single easel at its center that it dons on me.

The wide, airy hallway is dull on this overcast morning. The sky outside is heavy and looks to be threatening rain soon.

How fitting.

“Please,” he opens the door for me.

I’ve seen this door before.

I don’t want to go in there.

“After you,” he continues.

I try to keep my expression indifferent. I don’t know if it’s working.

“I have something to show you.”

“A present?” I raise an eyebrow.

“I suppose you could call it that.”

No thanks.

He enters the room further and flicks the light on before pushing the door wide open.

Vacant eyes look straight at me beneath a fringe of chocolaty curls. A life sized doll dressed in frills and lace with ribbons in her hair. Pale, white skin done up with rosy cheeks and thick lashes. She is very lovely in a rather disturbing way.

Disturbing?

Because she is alive.

“Fai,” Sarûs smiles, walking over to the girl in the chair, “I would like you to meet Reira. She is my newest addition to the palace. I would like you to have her.”

“No thank you,” I cannot decline fast enough.

“That’s not very kind to say in front of her,” he scolds me teasingly before he leans over to the girl and says into her ear with a smirk, “Reira, go up and say hello to your new master.”

I back away.

She blinks only once before standing. With an awkward, mechanic grace she makes her way to me and flings her arms tightly around my waist.

“Fa-Ai,” she says and gazes up.

I have never seen her before. But I know who she is none the less. I have a feeling Sarûs knew I would know this as well.

“She will keep you company for now.”

“Until what?”

“Her replacement can be made,” he shrugs. “You see…. She is very much alive still. And she will do whatever you tell her. Your own little toy. I would think you would enjoy something like that.”

“You shouldn’t talk to people as though you know anything about them,” I warn. It is unlike me to take such a tone. Very unlike me. But I can see where this is going and I am not pleased in the least.

“I don’t have to know anything about you,” Sarûs only shrugs. “You’re easier to read than you think. He’s getting to you. I’m really going to be doing you a favour you know: giving you a new toy that won’t care to know anything about you. They will do whatever you want. They will never question you. They will never care about your past. Your future. And they will solely depend on you for everything… but never feel sad if you get bored with them and cast them aside.”

“I don’t want that,” I shake my head and wriggle my way out of Reira’s grasp.

“Sure you do,” he grins and stalks towards me.

“No. I don’t. Where is he?”

“I’ve already told you I don’t know where he is. But I can’t do anything to stop it now. I’ve already told her she could do it.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be in command of like… everything?”

“I am in command of everything!” he growls.

“Then you could stop her if you wanted.”

“And there in lies your predicament,” he sneers.

“What do you want from me Sarûs?”

This is very unusual for me to be acting like this. But lets face it… they’re threatening to steal Kurogane’s soul. For no particular reason I can think of. I’m not exactly pleased right now. I don’t feel like playing nice.

“I want you to send me there.”

“Where?”

“The other side.”

I look at him confused. “You won’t last five minutes there.”

“Don’t think I’m not aware of that. But I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Yes you can.”

“No. I can’t. Do you know how hard it is to send someone to another world!?”

“It isn’t another world, Fai,” he takes a dangerous step closer. His voice is softer now. Like he’s trying to smooth talk his way back onto my good side.

Unfortunately for him, he was never really there for too long.

“It may as well be. I can’t do it. I’m sorry. I don’t use magic anymore.”

“Not even for your friend?”

“You seem to be pretty set in your plans for him anyway…”

I can only look away.

He just smiles. And take another step.

Get away from me. It’s what I want to say to him. But I don’t. Instead, “I want to see him,” comes spewing out of my mouth before I can even stop it.

I hear his laugh. He is so close to me, I can almost feel it against my ear. “Does that mean you’ll play nice?”

“I want to see him.”

I’m not going to say anything else to him.

“Good,” he chuckles again. But before he moves away I hear him whisper under his breath a phrase I don’t believe he meant to say aloud: “So do I.”

He backs away, his polite smile and perfectly straight posture waiting for me to look at him again. He places a light hand on Reira’s shoulder and says, “Shall we go then?”

Of course, he knows exactly where Kurogane is.

I don’t believe a word this man says. I never expected to.

We walk together, through the maze of golden corridors. I am unbound. Unchained. Untouched. But I have not felt like such a prisoner since…

A very long time ago.

Back then, I chose my own life. I cursed myself then. I am still cursed. I’m not going to do the same thing again. Who knows what ill will could befall me this time.

There is something bothering me though. I have to ask.

Even though he probably won’t tell me.

“How did you know?”

“About what?”

“Me. How did you know?”

“My brother has a skill of making compasses. Magical compasses. We hoped that one day one of them might lead us back. None of them ever did. A few years ago, a young man came looking for a particular compass. Said it was for some sort of payment and to help him find his own brother who was off traipsing through the universe looking for dimension-crossing vampires.”

“I’m not…”

“You don’t expect me to believe that you were born on Monagan’s side of the world, do you?” he laughs. “You may not be qualified to be over here, but you are certainly not from Monagan’s crazy dream world.”

I’m not one of those vampires. But he won’t believe me if I try and explain this to him. And I’ve pretty much already admitted to him that I have almost the same powers as they do anyway. There isn’t much point arguing with him about it. He can believe whatever lie he wants to.

I think I’ll change the subject.

“I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“No. I suppose you haven’t met.”

“He must be a dragon as well.”

“Yes. He is. There are not many of us left anymore.”

“I’ve met so many of you lately, and yet you all look like humans to me.”

“I’d be trying to eat you right now if I didn’t appear to you like this,” he laughs. “And that would be a shame. You’re so pretty. Never mind that you’re too skinny to possibly taste very good.”
I’m not pretty. And you’re a creep. Don’t talk to me like that - That’s what I want to say. But I smile and give a polite laugh instead and tell him, “Then I guess that’s lucky for me.”

“I guess it is,” he nods.

We pause before two large, cherry wood doors for a moment. There is nothing but silence until Sarûs leans over and says to Reira “Will you hold onto Fai’s hand for a moment?”

He looks so very, gentle and big brother like when he does this.

It’s weird.

“Fa-Ai,” she says, grabbing my hand like she was told to do and then looking up at me with those big, vacant lavender eyes and a blank, vague expression that really just gives me… jibblies.

Yeah. I think I may have just made up that word.

I don’t think there is a real word for it anyway.

I’m not sure what I should be expecting to see behind these doors. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do once I see.

He pushes them open wide and allows me to pass.

The room is wide, with tall ceilings and dangling chandeliers. Gauzy blue and white fabric seems to be draped all around the room like cascades of fabric pooling onto the polished marble. Low setting, overstuffed couches, bookshelves full of books, shelves full of trinkets, ornate rugs, clumps of half-burned candles all lay about the room in a very elegant fashion.

“Oh look,” a voice calls to us from behind a stretch of curtain, “just in time.”

My heart drops into my left shoe.

A slender set of fingers wrap around the curtain and then delicately pulls it aside. “Is everything set?”

“I believe so,” Sarûs nods.

“Excellent. But are you sure he can do it?”

“If he can’t, you’ll just have someone else to add to your collection.”

“I don’t want him,” she laughs and shakes her head. The curtain moves slightly as she moves her head – it’s still partially concealing her face.

“Then I’ll take him,” he shrugs. “He’ll make a fine toy.”

I’m not prone to violent tendencies, but the first thought that runs though my head is this: I seriously want to punch him in the face.

Surely that is a sign that I am around Kurogane a lot more than I realize.

Her black eyes narrow as she looks at me for a moment until she tilts her head and says “He’s a little skinny, but you could dye his hair black…” she teases. “He’d look a lot like him with black hair. You’d like that, wouldn’t you Sarûs?”

He just laughs.

They creep me out.

“He wants to see him” Sarûs says flatly. “Is he ready?”

“Like I said,” she says, slinking her way towards her master, her long black gown trailing behind her on the floor. She reminds me somewhat of an evil, black-eyed Yuuko in appearance. But comparing her to Yuuko-chan would be insulting to Yuuko herself so part of me doesn’t really want to think like that.

“You’re just in time,” she smiles. Clutched tightly in her other hand is the chain of what I assume to be a necklace. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it just by looking, but I can feel it.

I’m not even trying to, but whatever she is holding in her left hand is something very, very magical.

“Kurogane. Please, come and say hello to your guests,” she says, calling for him like a dog.

If I killed her…

No.

I’ll wait.

The curtains before us wave slightly from the obvious motion behind them, but….

My heart just stopped beating.

I can’t seem to find a damn thing to say. All I can do is stare.
Like Reira, the pretty girl dressed up as a doll, Kurogane stands before me. But he is not the Kurogane I know.

Vacant, dull, red eyes. A docile, expressionless face.

He’s donned in some net-like fabric they apparently thought could be turned into a shirt and some form of loose fitting, low rising pants that… might actually be skirts now that I look at them. I can’t seem to distinguish where his legs actually are. I’d approve of the outfit if I wasn’t furious right now.

I only look at him for a moment before I turn to look at Werra. My eyes are so narrow I can’t see anything else but her face.

“What did you do!?”

It’s all I can say.

“He’s fine,” she shrugs. “And I’ll make him as good as new as soon as you hold up your end of the deal.”

“I can’t do that. I can’t send him there,” I shake my head. “You have to give him back!”

“No,” she shakes her head. “If you can’t do it, then I’m keeping him. I’ll add his soul to my collection and use the rest of him how I see fit. Which will exclude you entirely, might I add.”

The object in her hand. The chain. She releases it, then raises her arm to dangle it in the air above Sarûs’s shoulder.

A soft, blue light glows from a small vial connected to the chain.

She doesn’t even have to say what it is.

“A human soul is the only source of energy that will never die. There is nothing more powerful than eternity, Fai,” she smiles. The chain, the necklace is unhooked and placed around Sarûs’s neck.

He remains silent as she does this. He just watches.

“Don’t you already have eternity? Aren’t you immortal?” I demand.

“No. We remain here, waiting for those who will come to challenge us to live again. We wait for someone worthy enough to bring us death.” Sarûs says. “We are not really alive anymore. And we will not live for forever.”

“Have you been gathering souls in hopes to gain enough power to bring the world back to normal then?” I cannot help but ask.

“No,” Sarûs laughs. “Monagan will find a way to do that. The gathering of souls is for a purely selfish reason. I thought you would have guessed that.”

“So you’re the one collecting them?” I look at him. I… thought Werra was.

“She does my work for me,” he shrugs. “You said yourself that I was in control of everything. That includes Werra,” he smirks and his face seems to harden, “That includes you.”

“I can’t send you there,” I shake my head.

“Sure you can.”

“It isn’t exactly very easy to send people to other dimensions, you know.” I say with quite possibly one of the most forced smiles in my life.

“Funny. I thought the thought of stealing away his soul would be incentive enough for you to figure something out,” he smiles.

I can’t say anything.

I don’t know what to say.

“I’ll give you two days to figure it out. You’re under some stress, and I don’t really want you doing something rash like shipping me off to a place I don’t want to go.” he grasps the glowing vial in his hand. “I’ll give this to you as soon as I return. I don’t expect sweet little Annabelle will allow me to stay for very long after all.”

“She’ll send you back the moment you try to touch him.”

He laughs. “No. The moment I try and hurt him,” he corrects me. “There is quite a difference.”

A small set of arms latch around my waist again. But I don’t have the energy to push her away right now.

“So until then. Please, make yourself comfortable here. I’ll post someone at the door, incase you should need anything.” He nods to Werra and not a moment later, they’re already out of the room.

I can hear the turning of a key.

I’m locked in here now. Alone with my two little dolls.

Kurogane is still standing before me. Expressionless. Oblivious.

I don’t realize I’m crying until find that my cheeks are wet.

“Kurogane?”

He does look at me, but I doubt he knows who I am.

What am I supposed to do?