Akatsuki Chapter Thirty-Four
Title: Akatsuki
Genre: AU/Fantasy
Rating : PG-13
Disclaimer: I made the poster from images I got from flickr, heavily influenced by an original, final fantasy/kingdom hearts/legend of Mana but the plot and characterization are my own hard work. The Idols are Johhnys but because they've engraved an irreplaceable position in my heart so I based my characters on them and yeah used their names...the end.
Note: Summaries are different for each Arc.
~Arc Four -Two of A Kind~
Summary:
Amongst the velvety richness of the sky, a storm is brewing, shrouding the growing turmoil below in ever growing darkness. The rushing tides of revolution carry with it the pieces of betrayal, greed and death, snuffing any glimmer of hope in its wake. Two flames have been ignited, hidden from the world but will their light and warmth be enough to protect their crumbling nations? Or will they burn it all to ashes as they pit themselves against each other?
Chapter 34: The Elder Sages
“I’m bored,”
“You’re always bored,”
“But I’m really bored this time,”
“What am I supposed to do about it?”
“You’re so mean Ryo-chan,”
The smaller boy sighed and stared…no wait glared up at the skinny figure pouting (yes literally POUTING with his lips puckered up ridiculously) at him from across the room.
“I have work in the kitchen, and Daiki’s going to go crazy when he finds me missing again,”
“He still doesn’t know that I get my people to secretly kidnap you and bring you to my study now does he?”
“No…he thinks I go missing on purpose, he wouldn’t believe anything else,”
Yuto stretched his hands and smiled contently.
“Good for me,”
“Yeah, cause you don’t have to handle him sulking around the rest of the day and shooting you accusing glares that make you feel like you’ve betrayed him or something,”
Yuto chuckled.
“He’s so cute I wish he was my brother!”
Ryosuke sighed and placed down the book he had been trying to read as Yuto did his homework on a side table before getting to his feet.
“Say Ryo-chan, where did you learn to read?”
“My parents taught me,”
“You didn’t go to school?”
“No,”
“Why not?”
Ryosuke sighed.
“Because there were rumors that I was somehow associated with demons and all the children in my village were scared of me,”
Ryosuke grabbed the book again and slid upon a sofa, opening it and placing it above his face to shield it from the sunrays streaming in through the window. Yuto was looking at him weirdly and he wanted to avoid that as well. He tried to hold back the bitter taste in his throat at the following silence before he heard Yuto sigh.
“You clearly look like a squish-able, cheeky little bunny rabbit, that would probably be most insulting for the demon-folk,”
Ryosuke snatched the book off his face and scowled at the rather silly grin on the prince’s face.
“What kind of King makes fun of his subjects?” he snapped clearly irked.
“Why? Do you think you would make a better king, someone who’s more… well-loved then me?” Yuto replied, a challenging twinkle in his eyes. Ryosuke narrowed his.
“I won’t need to be well-loved to be a great leader, I could still rule even if I’m feared,”
“I’d like to see that, I really would…you’d make a great rival I’d reckon,”
“I believe I would,” was the heated reply.
~*~
The world was filled with the extraordinary that was for sure. He couldn’t tell for certain what had befallen his precious cousin, was it an illness? Or maybe some spell casted upon him by an evil mage. What of these sprites Aoi had told him about? They seemed to exist solely to carry out Yuto’s orders. The sprite that had led them to this room, the topmost chamber of the tallest tower had just told them to stay until called. The room had been locked but devoid of enchantments as Aoi had managed to break the lock easily. The entrance to the stairway that led up this tower had been hidden by one though and thanks to that sprite, they were able to break through.
The room was circular and tall with a cone shaped roof. The wooden beams sported a large chandelier, with fluorescent crystals that were the only source of light in the room. His eyes ran over the long sofa on which his attendant lay snoozing, tucked under his cloak. He realized that the furniture seemed of a fashion no longer practiced by the people of Akatsuki, with its rough and chunky carvings and deduced that the room might be as old as the castle itself. He strode over to the desk and stared at the book Aoi had been reading earlier, frowning as he realized that the time beaten pages were completely blank. He turned the leaves carefully to discover the whole book was just plain parchments bound together in leather. He stood pondering for a while, tempted to wake Aoi up but then his eyes fell upon her glasses that she had left by the book. Thinking it was worth a try, he picked the object up with trembling hands, tsk-ing as he almost dropped them before fixing them upon the bridge of his nose. He felt his jaw fall slack as through the lenses, he saw that the plain pages were filled with a flourishing script written with a sapphire blue ink.
Turning to the first page he noted that every new entry was headed with a date and the oldest entry dates back to the founding of Akatsuki, he turned to the page Aoi was reading which was near the end of the book and was the most recent entry. The name of the writer and the date showed that it was written by Aoi’s grandfather almost 18 years ago.
He seated himself on the desk and pushing the glasses further up his nose he began to read.
Entry #
The rumors about the birth of a child that elicits reaction from both the crystals were confirmed by our brothers abroad. The child though was left to his own fate as interfering with his life seems too sensitive an issue. For we are but students of the mysteries surrounding the mystic, and interference seems a thing out of our capabilities. We have stayed close to both royal families, for these bloodlines have shown to be irrevocably tied to the crystals from the very beginning.
My own personals views are on the royal family of Akatsuki. Their will to keep ‘guardians’ close through marriage though intended to keep the crystal under control may just be their undoing. A line of young women have reigned as queens due to their sensitivity towards the crystal but this child, a male guardian, due to having blood of both Kingdoms of the Crystals is the first to react to both. I have met him, with the privilege of being the only one to know about his dormant abilities and was surprised to see just how ordinary the boy is.
A few days ago, the current royal family was blessed with a prince. Being the King’s personal mage I was with His Majesty as he held his child for the first time. Having my lenses on, I was shocked to see winged creatures hovering protectively around the boy. Remembering the previous entries by my predecessors about how they believed that if the crystal had a mind of its own; it will become impossible to control, I was filled with both wonder and dread. It struck me as odd that the creatures that protected the crystal would be showing so much affection for this boy. Realization dawned upon me and I hypothesized that this child might be the Crystal Child of legend. This legend came in the form of relics that was believed to have belonged to an older Kingdom that existed before Akatsuki, but like it was built around the crystal. The only remnant of that Kingdom is the chamber where the crystal is housed.
The Legend spoke of a chosen human that would be mysteriously bound and linked to the crystal as if he/she were part of the crystal. The extent of their power or influence over the crystal’s dormant abilities were either never recorded or destroyed when the older Kingdom was brought to an end.
The Elder Sages have made it their mission--------
Keito frowned as he noticed the next page was actually blank.
“Someone has taken the next few entries,”
He jumped suddenly, earning a quick apology from the recently awakened Aoi. He took off the glasses as she approached him.
“These entries were written by my grandfather, he was a member of an underground society known as the Elder Sages and they were studying that,”
Keito followed the finger she was pointing up to see the sparkling chandelier.
“So, the stones in the lamps…are actually crystals…and Yuto is the crystal child?”
Aoi nodded.
“What about this other boy? The one he mentioned before Yuto?”
Aoi shook her head.
“I’m afraid his writings don’t really satisfy my own curiosity either,”
“So…what do we now?” Keito asked her. He realized that she looked quite tired.
“I don’t know what our role is in all of this or what the Elder Sages want with the King Yuto…my priority is your safety…and your orders will be my absolute,” she replied firmly.
Keito sighed.
~*~
“Really Kouta, do we have to do this every single day? You know I don’t want to hurt you,”
The young man kept his gaze upon the scarlet carpet, refusing to speak. Miura sighed.
“The young King must not remain on the throne and you know that as well as I do! Have you forgotten our original mission? We did not assign you to stick close to the prince just to get this attached to him,”
“Why did you kill the King and Queen, was that part of the plan too?” the young scholar shot back, holding Miura in a deadly gaze. The man shook his head, sitting down upon the steps that lead to the throne with a groan.
“We just wanted them to stand down and show no resistance,”
“How did you expect them to show no resistance? You wanted to kill their son!”
“For the good of the country-”
“You’re just after the crystal’s power I know that! The Monarch and this country mean nothing to you!”
“Have you forgotten why the Elder Sages were established in the first place Kouta? It was to avoid this from happening!”
“Yes, based on just petty predictions! You can’t end an entire blood line based on hypothesis!”
He knew he had gone too far when the calm and usually composed Miura grabbed him by the shoulders and nearly shook the life out of him.
“Our forefathers knew things we don’t Kouta! Our best option is to end this abnormal power hold,”
The young man slumped upon the floor as Miura walked away fuming. Miura’s mage and right hand Joel walked up to the young scholar instead.
“Miura has read the old records of the previous sages, there is weight in his decisions Kouta, this Monarch monopolized the throne, intending to have power to themselves in any way possible…now they were planning to use it against Valian, no matter the cost…it’s better to stop a war before it happens,”
“By making our country more vulnerable to Valian?”
Joel shook his head.
“Valian is as vulnerable as Akatsuki, if not more…we have brothers on that side as well,”
Kouta frowned before turning his gaze towards the anxious man.
“How long are you planning to hide in the throne room?” he grumbled, joining the two enchanted soldiers in watching Miura pacing back and forth.
“Till someone comes and tells me who or what killed my entire mercenary force, it’s been days and still no news,”
“Should I go find out?” Kouta asked getting to his feet. Miura shot him a glare.
“Like we’ll let the King’s most trusted scholar die at the hands of whatever it is out there! Having you in the council will guarantee support from the part of the community loyal to the Monarch and your words on how the Monarch was going to use up all the King’s finances to fuel a war will help our cause,”
Kouta rolled his eyes. All three men literally jumped when there was a knock at the door.
“Joel!” Miura ordered. The man nodded and brandished his staff. The enchanted soldiers took a defensive stance by the door.
“Come in!” Miura called out. The double doors opened to reveal a figure clad in a white flanked by two more guards under Joel’s control. Kouta’s eyes widened as they travelled over the lanky young man dressed in white pants and shirt under a large coat, the collar rimmed with soft feathers. His jet black hair framed a glowing complexion and thin pink lips were pulled in the most charming of smiles.
The mole under his one eye, it was no mistake…
“Yuto?”
The boy smiled wider.
“Your…,”
Miura shook his head trying to overcome the shock of seeing the young King in such good shape. He was used to the boy being sickly growing up.
“You look well,” Kouta spoke, eyes upon the floor. The way Yuto was smiling at him, with so much affection made his heart heavy with guilt.
“I’m no longer eating the poison you’ve been feeding me, maybe that’s why,”
Kouta stared at the younger man in shock.
“Oh? You thought I wouldn’t figure it out? You were adding a bit of poison into my food, every meal…I always thought it would be medicine for me…but…well I was hinted off about this by another friend see,”
Kouta bit his trembling lip, staring at the floor.
“It’s alright, I found out while I was at the Academy…and since it’s you…I can’t be angry,”
“Enough!” Miura snarled as the guards tightened their hold around the boy’s arms. He rolled his eyes before fixing them back onto Miura.
“We were wondering where you had run off to,” Joel spoke, an eyebrow arched.
“So you’re the one controlling my men? I never knew that even the Advisor to the King was allowed a mage, my father was surely generous,”
“So you just decided to escape, find a change of clothes and then get caught? You do know we are planning to publically execute you,”
Miura paled as the young man nodded, looking genuinely pleased.
“Well, I am not going to run, in fact, I’m here to surrender!”
~*~
A/N: I've already plotted the whole thing out and I'm not sure if i'm making everything too complicated or I haven't explained enough, for those following my page on facebook, you guys are getting a lot more information aside from these chapters than the readers only following the community, not that I'm not going to share that info here it just goes on that FB page sooner, so please give me your feedback if things are getting too confusing or if you guys have any questions so I'd know what to include in the coming chapters or what too explain furthur. We are reaching the climax of Yuto's story for this arc then we will shift to Ryosuke. Only a couple of chapters remain before the start of the final arc which will be more fast paced as there will more to do than learn there. Thank you for being so patient and love you for giving my fic your most valuable time!