Strife: Chapter Seven

Strife: Part Seven

~Silver Effigy~

Summary: In which Tsukissu is found, but... Etheram's condition also degrades by quite a bit.
Note: Starting with Kissu's PoV, peeps!
And recall, -/- means PoV switch! >w<U
---

Lost... I'm so lost...

Master loved me, he really did, I knew, but... Master has been horribly cold recently as well.

He thought I didn't know about his accident. I knew of it. The scent of his pain, of his attacker, had been so clearly stuck to him when Master's friend had brought him home.

To be treated as a child is one thing. To act like one...

(Master hates me because I cling to him. But Master clings to me as well...)

Where I'd been headed was quite clear to me. Master's garden seemed to be a good place, as Master was always happy when he came back from his visits.

Even though I wanted to take revenge for Master... Even his friend had seemed scared after what had happened to him.

Master would hate me forever if I died in such a reckless way, and so I let begrudgingly let it be...

I'd underestimated how large that tiny forest really had been, though. Right now, I was lost in the bramble, similar to the time Master and I had met... Except I couldn't weasel my way into any burrows I found as I pleased.

(I'm a lot bigger than before... Is it a good thing?)

I was feeling so bad at the moment to boot. Master's blood kept me alive--bagged blood didn't do much for me after it was put in the cold box. It was the magic that it came with that I liked. Bagged blood lost those traces of magic after a few minutes of being away from Master's body.

Besides... I should have told Master about it. I could survive on magic alone. I ate, after all. For the creatures of Mode, blood wasn't so necessary to live happily; it was the power of the magic the people of this world held.

Creatures of Vulcan...they were the violent ones with the need for blood. They lived on death...

And yet... Master's magic was strongest in his blood, for some reason... Like he literally lost some of his powers everytime he bled... A piece of himself... It was already missing when we moved to the Flame Region. When we met.

Alongside my tummy ache, I got the feeling Master was hiding something from me. Some kind of disease or something, because my chest had been hurting recently... And it became hard not to lash out or...kill...

Was this what they called Lunar Madness? I wasn't a bad child--I'd never been bad, even when I'd bitten Master. And so... I was scared sick.

(Only bad children want to go out and hurt others... I've only crippled people, never really killed... Unless that time with the dart counts?)

I was only "bad" when I was getting revenge for Master. So, it couldn't really have been bad if it was for a good reason, right?

Still, it was...not right...

More distressingly, I'd begun to notice that the bond Master and I had created on our meeting day seemed thinner these days. Worn out, as if Master was...

I shook my head, careless about the tree branches ahead of me.

Master wasn't dying! He couldn't be! His mind was on vacation leave, but Master was alive and well, I was sure of it!

I whined the moment I became trapped in a bush of burrs, crying when they stuck me to the branches.

I'll never get free from these! My fur sticks to my skin like glue!

I was certain by now that Master was worried for me. Master was scared, that I knew... He was always scared when I went out alone, even if it was only for a minute.

Master had a lot of enemies. Some he'd deserved, but many just wanted to use Master for his powers. Master's weakness was none other than me, and so I'd done my best to become strong for Master...

Master was strong for me. He was always there for me. Therefore, I did my best to be there for Master as well...

When his friend had come over, I'd been jealous...and thrilled. Master didn't depend on me so much anymore. "Ryoku" helped him with his paperwork, so we could all spend more time together.

But... Master spent that extra time in the valley garden, or with Ryoku. I was sad for a while, but I knew...

Master was lonely. He was always lonely. Even with me, he never stopped being sad.

With Ryoku, he wasn't so sad anymore. Therefore, I couldn't really stay jealous of Ryoku for too long...

It was fun to make him funny-angry, but he'd just been scary-angry nowadays. Around Master, he was careful, which was good--I'd kill him if he hurt Master.

But around me... Ryoku...

He was hurt. Whatever had affected him was like Master's experiences. Master's brother and mentor were both gone, and his own parents hated him and treated him like he wasn't there.

Ryoku didn't have that same "lonely" hurt. But he did hurt.

It was confusing... But it made sense too. That was why they were perfect for one another. Loneliness plus loneliness equals no more loneliness, right?

They hadn't seemed so lonely when they were with each other...

This was what being friends was all about, huh? I mean, I had friends in Accel and Sui, but Master...

What kind of friendship did they have? Surely, it was strong--Master's loneliness came back when Ryoku left, along with worry.

I didn't worry for Ryoku. He was an adult. Adults are strong, right?

(But Master...)

He's an adult too, and he's...

(Weak? No. Tired, I think.)

After a few minutes of struggling, I gave up, a certain nightly glow to the forest making my fears become closer to reality...

(What's that feeling, when the full moon comes up? Loneliness? Or do I...just miss my home?)

I still recalled a bit from the planet Mode. It wasn't something I ever shared with Master, as he would become sadder if I did.

My life there...was a happy one.

I'd had lots of friends... I'd been told I had lot of potential as well. I could've very well been the leader of my gang of friends, and yet...

One day... I just...slipped.

A new mode (no pun intended) of transportation had been created during the time I'd become insanely curious about the worlds around us.

(Were they pretty? Did they have nice people, like Master?)

I'd slipped into one of the ships entirely by accident. Someone had polished the floors earlier that day, and I'd gone scrabbling around after snooping in one of the ports...

To say I was distraught when the ship took off was one thing. To say I was scared when it failed was completely true, too.

When I landed on Ceres, I'd had a somewhat soft landing on a bush. I'd still gotten a huge bruise on my tummy for it, but I was alive... No broken bones or anything.

But then again, my body was much harder to break than someone like Master's body...

The first thing I recall thinking about was the gravity of the planet. It was much harder to bounce around here than it was on Mode... Although, my legs were quite strong, so I could still move quite far with one stride...

The second thing was the air around the place. It felt like I'd just come down from a mountaintop with how easier it was to breathe here...

And then...I got hungry.

Since I was stuck in the brambles at the time (my fur has always been short), I could do nothing but wait around for help, trying to cut away at the branches with small, baby teeth that just ground down uselessly, instead of remain firm and strong...

Master showed up then. He took me home, even when I bit him out of fear, and then fed because it was good. Master tasted good. Such things were bad things to think about, I'd heard, but I didn't know why.

Until I'd gained a "human" form, I hadn't understood the double meaning behind those words. And then, I...began to hate desires, just as Master did.

Master has always been kind to me... He's always defended me from horrible people like his dad, who always threw parties and locked us away in the attic.

"No one wants an incomplete family," he'd said to Master at the time, "So even if you are my son... You'll have to stay here for the night, okay?"

At fifteen, Master had been fine with the arrangement. Still reeling from being taken away from his mentor, he gladly shunned any attention his father gave him, good or bad. He wasn't keen on the aspect that his father was playing his divorce card to his advantage, but he reasoned it could've been worse...

It did become worse, however. It was bad to the point that every night was a party for his dad, and another night of entrapment for Master and me.

None of the women that man hit on ever came back... I believe Master called them "flings"? "One night stands"?

Whatever they were, they just made Master angry and hurt...

When he was sixteen, Master made a huge fuss about our living conditions, saying how he had rights as well and that he wanted to at least be stuck with another demon, to quell his boredom.

I was still a child at the time, and so he grew bored when all I did was sleep during those times...

What could I say? It was always late when we were shut up there...

The person that came the nights after that is why Master hates...everything but me.

(Hate, or fear?)

Sasaki was nice. For an Earth Lord, he wasn't cruel at all. Rather, he was what people describe as "cute", with odd mocha eyes and a charming grin.

I thought Master and he got along.

I was quite mistaken.

After an incident in which Sasaki told my Master he liked him...

Master began to attend the parties after he threatened his father with blackmail, too wounded to be able to stand anymore weird things like being stuck in an attic. He was used to his father's advantage, using the pity they gave him to move even further with some of the ladies there...

Sasaki was not bad. He'd simply confessed to someone who had been raised from birth to think of desire as the ultimate sin.

It was kind of funny how that worked for Master. Both of his real parents sinned on a daily basis, his father a shameless flirt, his mother a judgmental cow, and yet Master was the one who was punished whenever he so much as scowled.

The injustice of it all eventually got to Master, but he learned to let it go... Or so I'd thought.

People called him the demon of pride, of wrath.

I could easily agree with that.

(It's gotten darker,) I noted, feeling scared when sounds started up. (Wolves and all sorts of scary monsters come out at night, right? So then...)

Trapped as I was... Could I hope to defend myself, like this?

It got colder...

Against my will, I began to cry in fear.

As much as I wanted to deny it... I was just a useless child...

"Master... Master! Where are you? Please, save me...!"

I'd never regretted a decision more than abandoning my own Master in my entire life.

Even sneaking around the ships hadn't made me feel nearly as bad as betraying Master's trust in such a way...

(Etheram...)

-/-

Everything hurt.

It hurt to run, it hurt to breathe, and it hurt to even think of what Tsukissu might've been going through.

Regardless, I kept searching. If I didn't...

(I don't even want to think of that...)

"Tsukissu!" I cried out, coughing with the force of the cry, "Where are you?!"

Ryoku had come running when he'd heard me scream. He had seemed insulted when he saw my neck, but I refused to let him treat it until I saw that Tsukissu was safe and accounted for.

Ryoku decided he'd scout around the city for the little rabbit, feeling confident that if Tsukissu was there, he'd find him immediately with how fast he could fly.

I really hoped he did... He had his cell phone on him, but he had yet to call me...

As for me, I ran around the wild lands, hoping to see if I could spot Tsukissu.

The wild lands around my home were quite dense and scary at night... I bet even my secret garden was terrifying this late at night.

(The garden...)

...Why hadn't I thought of that sooner?! Tsukissu knew of it. He knew where it was, but he didn't know how to get there, with all of its shortcuts and dead-ends...

If I knew him as well as I hoped I did, Tsukissu was probably stuck in there, looking for an exit or the entrance...

It worried me, but it was soothed moments later.

(The forest is small. Finding Tsukissu won't be too hard, then...)

If only my vision was good at night...

I had the Mastery of Light, which wouldn't help me see in the dark in the slightest. Not unless I used my magic, but I...couldn't. I didn't want to.

The magic of Light... It felt undeserved to someone like me.

Ryoku had Dark magic, however... That could be helpful...

I called him.

After he'd flown to my location, I'd done my best to convince him of my plan, to make him see that his Mastery could help me.

I didn't plan on letting Ryoku help me search the forest. My garden was frail, and someone like Ryoku would easily kill the whole thing.

The life in there was my responsibility.

(But so is Tsukissu...)

And so...

"I won't!" Ryoku yelled, seemingly at his limits, "I won't hurt you like Akuro did!"

I just scoffed at his words.

"A strong blast is just what I need. If I had the Mastery of Darkness, perhaps I could better protect myself in the future as well?..."

It was a cheap tactic, to insinuate that I could be critically hurt if I didn't get that particular Mastery one day. While it could be true, moving Ryoku in such a way was...

(Just low...)

"Alright," Ryoku finally conceded, after some thought, "But I won't do this again until you're better, got it?"

I just smiled gratefully at him, to his immense shock.

How long had it been...?

"Un! Alright, just aim for the chest..."

As stupid as it sounded, I wanted Ryoku to shoot me. A blast of Dark magic would be enough to force me into an Elemental Change. A cherry tap would do nothing for me. Therefore...

(The stronger the strike, the easier it would be to master that particular element...)

If I'd asked the Lord of Darkness for such a thing, I could easily master it in no time. But as I'd said before, power was not my gain. My goal was never power. I'd always wanted to live a quiet life, but... It had never been possible.

(Am I glad for it? I've done so much...but...it feels meaningless now...)

Regardless, after tonight, I was willing to bet the magic would be just as strong as it would've been by that method anyways.

The forest was small, but so was Tsukissu... So the search could take hours.

I just hope I didn't keep the Elemental Form. I liked the dark, but I liked my own natural element more...

"Alright," Ryoku uttered, taking a deep breath, "Prepare yourself..."

Bracing this time didn't end in futility.

The strike was painful, I'll admit. I think one of my ribs almost cracked with how fierce it really was.

Ryoku was not a gentle person...but... I was glad.

My vision went white for a moment as the Elemental Shift made the way my body functioned change completely.

Not since I'd gained the Mastery of Water had I felt so...different.

My body didn't recover with the change. It became stronger, but not better.

Regardless, that strike was just what I needed...

Blinking darkened eyes, I grinned at Ryoku, who seemed stunned with the change I'd gone through.

(Adorable...)

"Come on, let's get looking."

I made Ryoku search the valley, of all the places. I took the forest, of course, but I convinced Ryoku that looking where I wasn't was a better action plan that looking in a small place together.

It was a lie, although it held some truth to it, but...

The more I walked, the more pained I became. Surely, I'd find Tsukissu soon... If not...

(My waist... And chest...both hurt...)

Even if it was sheer willpower, I kept going though. Tsukissu meant a lot to me. He was obviously hurt...

(I will...find a way to fix these things... I promise...)

And fulfill it I did.

Tsukissu, as it turned out, was trapped in a burr bush, to my immense dissatisfaction.

(Burrs make everything worse. Does it hurt, I wonder?)

I'd never been unfortunate enough to land myself in one of those things, shocking as it might've sounded...

Tsukissu looked pretty miserable, though. So it must've been terrible to be in that kind of position.

Despite his current state, I embraced him as I should've done earlier when he was hurt, feeling teary-eyed when I heard him cry.

Had I caused such pain? Wallowing in my own pain... Tsukissu had become darker. I myself had become a creature of darkness just to find him, but that didn't matter to me in the slightest...

"You're safe~."

"Master! Master! I... Uwaaa..."

I don't think I ever held him closer to me than at that moment, burrs be damned.

They were easy to pluck out, anyways. It was Tsukissu who would suffer and had...

"I'm so sorry, beloved." I uttered, feeling my eyes begin to burn, "I won't ignore you like that ever again...!"

Tsukissu sniffled a bit before making a happy sound in the back of his throat, his eyes seeming a bit brighter than usual...

"That's okay, Master. It wasn't your fault. I can't hate you, after all~."

The whole confession made me smile with its simple innocence, and yet...

(My...chest...)

"Tsu...kissu..." I uttered, feeling the world go dark as my body went cold.

The leveret in my arms screamed, although he was strong enough to hold me up when my body gave out.

He knew how to use my cell phone as well. I wonder how Ryoku felt?

"Master!"

I bet this whole thing was like a long nightmare for him...

"...sorry..."

"Ah, ahhhh, Master!..."

--

When I woke up again, I felt nothing. No pain, no fear...

(Was it...all a dream?)

I sat up. No pain.

I looked around. I guess my body was back to normal, as I couldn't see in the darkness anymore.

Stood up. No change.

Tried to walk. I immediately collapsed, to my disgust.

(What...what happened...?)

The last thing I recalled was being embraced by something light and warm. Familiar, but it was neither Tsukissu nor Ryoku...

(Brother...?)

Crawling to the jewelry box on my nightstand, I managed to get up enough to open the box, beholding the precious item within.

(Griever's pendant is glowing...)

Without much thought, I slipped the silver necklace on, feeling warm as the magic within began to flood through me.

(Griever...)

I can't recall much else after that. All I can really recall is my name being called, and softness...

(Brother... Are you...here with me?)

Something about Griever's pendant was unusual. Whenever I touched it, I felt the presence of Griever himself. It was soothing.

I dreamt of him that night. He was just as he'd been before he died, grinning and light as he was. We just talked that night, but...

It helped me a lot...

(You are...?)

Maybe he junctioned something of himself onto the pendant. I wouldn't know of such advanced abilities. But I... To be speaking with his spirit...surely...

(Hmhm! Griever... You are loved~.)

I blacked out again...

--

When I woke up for what was probably the third time that day, Ryoku was leaning over me, the head of the lion pendant in his claws...

(Do not touch...)

I could've freaked out at that moment. Really, I could've lost my mind, just having Ryoku hang over me in such a familiar way.

I didn't, though. It didn't feel like it had before... And his intentions were curious, not dark.

"Ryo..."

Ryoku immediately jumped, apologizing to me as his doing so almost caused him to land on my arm under the covers.

"Cute..." I muttered, grinning when Ryoku only looked confused.

Whatever had happened to me, I didn't feel so heavy anymore. So dark...

Was it ironic, to have the Mastery of Darkness waiting for me, and to be feeling better after gaining its abilities?

I still had to hone its power. Akuro or no, I'd always done my best to master whatever powers I'd been given.

They helped me in a pinch. I otherwise didn't use it.

People hated me for it... Was it...justified?

The dark thoughts left when Tsukissu came barreling into the room, pouncing on me when Ryoku quickly backed up.

(A wise choice, my friend! You'd have been crushed if you were any slower.)

"Master!" Tsukissu cried out happily, nuzzling my cheek with his own when I returned the hug, seemingly overjoyed.

The light in Tsukissu hadn't completely faded away, but something about Tsukissu felt...different.

Was it my imagination, or...did his eyes glow just the tiniest bit red?...

"Ah, I've missed you so much, Master!" Tsukissu exclaimed, seemingly recovered from his incident with the brambles.

I just smirked.

"As I've missed you, beloved~." I replied, feeling better when Tsukissu seemed pleased.

(Ah, that's right... I have to apologize...)

Sitting up a bit, I motioned for Ryoku to sit once more, to his and Tsukissu's curiosity.

"Etheram?"

I inhaled deeply before I began, feeling goaded on by Tsukissu's very presence beside me.

"I am...very sorry for what I've been doing for the past few weeks." I began, letting my eyes roam when Ryoku adopted a look of utter disgust.

(Why...?)

"I've been nothing but a burden...to the both of you. And for that, I..."

I never got to finish, as Ryoku swiftly stood up before I even got onto my next words.

Tsukissu and I both seemed stricken.

"Ryoku-sama...?" Tsukissu uttered, tilting his head when the title made Ryoku twitch.

(Hm?)

"You're an idiot." Ryoku stated tersely, crossing his arms, "Plain and simple. You don't have to apologize for being hurt, Eth!"

I simply shook my head, holding Tsukissu closer when Ryoku's fangs were bared.

He feared pain as much as I did...

"I was a burden... Rather than fix my pain, I shared it with you two. For that...I'm despicable. And so, I..."

Ryoku would've yelled at me further, I could tell, if he'd been allowed. The look in his eyes was one of utter disbelief and agony.

In fact...he looked to blame himself for what had happened so long ago...

(Ah...?)

As it was, Tsukissu was what prevented him from doing such a thing.

"Master..." he mumbled, leaning in closer when I made a sound of questioning.

It was replaced with one of surprise when he bit my neck again. It wasn't done gently, either.

"T-Tsu...?!"

Unlike every other time he fed from me, this was painful. He did it quickly and with force, to my utter confusion.

(Have I really deprived him...?)

When it became hard to breath, Ryoku pulled Tsukissu off of me, seeming to have suffered a moment of immobility like me himself.

Tsukissu still seemed tired, although he seemed a bit pleased when he wiped away at his mouth with his sleeve.

As for me, I just looked at him in confusion.

"Tsukissu...?"

He only smiled at me, his teeth an ugly shade of pink.

"Sorry... Master..."

When he collapsed, something in me seemed to snap.

(The bond...!)

"T-Tsukissu!"

---

Ah, have a shorter chapter y'all, the next chapter begins the lesser endings after Tsukissu's condition is made known. :3
For those wondering, no, Kissu won't die. That's only in the bad endings, which we sorta passed halfway through here... Oops. ^_^U
Anyways, Lunar Farewell is coming up soon... As a note, the Kazuki twins might like Etheram, but they hang around Tsukissu a lot more than him. They actually are more attracted to Kissu than Ether, actually, and begin drifting from Ether if Tsukissu is sent home.
I DID say Tsurugi of the Stars would make a cameo here, after all. So there's your spoiler for the day. x3
Ah, and for those wondering how Ether found Kissu so fast here... He's a canine demon. Add night-vision, and his tracking skills become legendary! xD
Til next time~.
TBC...