Just a quick little bit of self promotion, but my Insta is @ dark.kai.art (I've done art of some of the characters there) Anyway, enjoy this chapter!
~~~~~~~~~3rd Person POV~~~~~~~~~~
"Kaage," the man swathed in dark cloth growled. A pale, shirtless man raised his head that was covered in disheveled black hair to reveal frightening red eyes. Grimy bandaged were wrapped around his knuckles like a boxer would as they trained for a fight. His lack of shirt showed off many battle scars covering his strong back, chest, and shoulders. They ranged from small cuts to massive lacerations. Dirt and grime covered his naked torso as well as his arms and face.
"What?" the man hissed from his spot on an overturned crate that threatened to splinter under his weight. His snarl displayed sharp fangs that glinted in the half light of the dingy room. The walls of the old cabin where the two men were hiding were in shambles, looking so weak that one might suspect the slightest bit of wind would cause it to collapse.
"Are you going to preform your little magic trick or are you just going to let us rot in his disgusting dump?" the first man said.
"Patience, Ishida," Kaage snapped, standing from his spot on the rickety crate. He walked over to the far wall of the cabin, looking out between the wooden slats. He grumbled something inaudible under his breath and walked over to the door, and threw the door open, nearly taking the entire thing of its hinges. With no doorstop, the door smacked the wall with tremendous force causing the entire shack to shutter. He stepped out into the bright sunshine, shielding his eyes with a hand. "The sun has to be at the perfect spot to cast a shadow of the perfect size. I shadow too small, and I can't work. Too big, and I'll kill the girl," he explained as he reentered the hut.
"Why don't we just kill her?" Ishida asked, anger thick in his voice. "It would make our lives a lot easier."
"No," Kaage immediately snapped. "She dies and the contract breaks. With no successor, the rings will he destroyed, and I will be dead along with them." Kaage swing around and glowered at Ishida. "You were a fool to attack her like you did. You almost killed me!" Kaage screeched, bearing his sharp canines. "I would have died and then where would you be? Huh? Did you ever think about that?" Ishida was left in silence. He didn't say a word and didn't look anywhere near Kaage. The latter let out an exaggerated sigh and collapsed back into the overturned crate, running a hand through his hair. "What?" he snapped for the second time in five minutes, knowing that Ishida had a question.
Ishida shifted his weight from foot to foot, still not looking at Kaage. "Can you explain this...ritual you are performing again. I can't wrap my head around it," he explained, having the decency to look sheepish; Kaage has already explained twice. Kaage sighed once more and stood up, looking disgruntled.
"That necklace that you wear when you have not summoned me, I am contained by that moon shaped pendent. Katsuro and Kitiara are contained by the rings. Do you follow?" Ishida nodded. "That pendent and the rings are connected because all three swords were forged with the blood of Ishida. The girl has made a spiritual connection with my siblings which means I'm connected to her. Does that make sense." Ishida nodded slowly. "I can tap in to her conscious. I can gain information from her without her knowing. I can eventually take control of her when her body and mind are capable of handling that much raw power." Kaage opened the door and stepped out, motioning for Ishida to follow him.
Kaage walked over to a huge stone tablet that was hidden between a few trees. There were three figures carved perfectly into the dark stone. The carvings were worn, but anyone could see that there were three figures as well as many symbols present. One figure, one larger than the others, rose above two smaller figures. Above the larger figure was a crescent moon. Kaage knelt and dipped his head as if completing some kind of ritual before placing his hand upon the top of the stone tablet. "This rock has old, dark magic imbedded deep within it, placing there by the Ishida's. It allows me to more easily connect to the girl. It gives me a path way."
"So, like a portal?" Ishida asked, wringing his hands, clearly afraid of the other man. Kaage sighed and stood.
"You daft humans," he muttered under his breath with a shake of his head. "It's a gateway through the mind. Any mere human can create a portal if they're skilled enough, but you have to be a demon or witch to enter the mind," he said, stepping up to Ishida and tapping him on the forehead. This made the man stumble back a step.
"This stone tablet," Kaage began, turning back to the tablet. "It contains magic, like I said. It must create the perfect shadow for me to contact her," he explained.
"Why a shadow?" Ishida asked, confusion as well as fear mixed into his voice.
"Kaage," the black haired man said. "It's means shadow. I'm connected to them. It allows me to create a connection to the girl because there are shadows everywhere; you can't escape them." Kaage turned back to the man, looking at him expectantly. "I don't expect you to understand the ritual. That's the thing about magic, you have to hav faith that it will work. Magic is so outside this realm that you won't be able to understand the dark magic that was written thousands of years ago."
Ishida didn't look happy, but a look of understand washed over his face. He understood that he was no meant to understand. This man, this demon standing before him was more powerful than he could ever hope to be. He could end his life in a split second if he wanted to, and that frightened Ishida. Not much frightened the man, but this dark creature did. He was frighteningly powerful.
The demon glanced up at the sky and then back to the stone tablet. "It's about time," he said, crouched down by the tablet, his knees in the dirt. He placed his hands on the dirt, covered by the shadows. Kaage began to mutter words of a language the other man did not recognize.
Ishida gasped as he watched the ritual. It appeared that Kaage's hands had completely disappeared, sinking into the shadow cast by the stone tablet. Ishida stood quiet as Kaage continued the ritual, only making a noise when he stumbled back with a shout of Kaage's body seized. His head flew back, the whites of his eyes completely gone, taken over by his red irises and vertical pupils. He gasped and pulled away from the shadows, his hands completely intact. He was left breathing heavily for a few minutes before he gathered his composure and stood, shaking out his hands as he glared at the stone tablet.
"Damn," he muttered, cracking his knuckles. "The magic is overwhelming. It'll take a while to get used to it, but I'll get there soon enough," he said.
"What happened?" Ishida asked breathlessly. "What did you see?"
"Not much," Kaage admitted. "I only got a little information, but it's a start," he said with a sadistic grin, showing his bright white fangs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Y/N)'s POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I shifted my weight from foot to foot, bouncing on the balls of my feet nervously. Ryuji's strong hand wrapped around my smaller one, squeezing it gently in a small sign of comfort.
It was the last weekend that the Myoda Sect would be at True Cross, and there was someone special that was coming to visit. Ryuji's mother was coming to True Cross so she could meet me. She was coming for that sole purpose. Ryuji insisted that I had nothing to worry about, but I wasn't so sure about that.
Looking up at my boyfriend, I smiled at his new look. Just a few days ago, he had insisted on doing something new with his hair now that he knew he didn't have to prove himself to anyone. He didn't need to stand out in the crowd to be noticed, he just needed to be himself. His hair was now shorter, no longer needing something to keep it out of his face. He had also dyed his hair back to its natural color, making him look older and more mature. The piercings remained, still giving him that rugged look that I loved so much.
I felt him squeeze my hand again, bring me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I looked up to see a smirk on my boyfriend's face as he looked down at me. "What's got you zoning out?" he asked, an eyebrow raising. I shrugged and dug my toe around in the grass where we were standing outside the dorm, getting some fresh air while we waited for his mom.
"A lot," I admitted. "Thinking a lot about a lot of different stuff," I said cheekily. His small smirk turned into a wide smile at my words.
"Babe, there's nothing to worry about," he reminded me. "She'll love you," he insisted, squeezing my hands in his. "But not as much as I love you," he murmured, pressing a kiss to my temple. I giggled, liking this new side of my boyfriend that had emerged in the past week. He was more open about our relationship in public, making sure others knew I was taken, but he didn't make me uncomfortable. It was holding hands in the hallway and quick kisses to my forehead or top of my head. It was the little things. And I loved them.
"Love you, too," I said with a shy smile. He smiled and pressed a quick kiss to the back of my hand that was still intertwined with his.
We waiting for a few more minutes, just standing together, enjoying the warm sun, when voices entered our ears. We both looked up to see Juzo and Ryuji's mother walking toward us. Juzo had offered to pick up Torako from the train station. I let out a deep breath, suddenly feeling nervous all over again. "(Y/N)," Ryuji's soft voice came, and I looked up at him expectantly. "There's something else isn't there?" he asked. He was right, there was something, but this wasn't the time to talk about it.
"We can talk about it later," I promised. He didn't looked entirely satisfied, but he nodded anyway.
"Ah, Ryuji," Torako called as she neared us. She immediately approached her son and pulled him into a tight hug, rocking him back and forth slightly.
"Hi, mom," I heard him say. His mother pushed him back and held him at arms length, looking him up and down. She was wearing a bright pink kimono embroidered with beautiful purple flowers. The woman herself was even more beautiful, her long brown hair tied up, and her flawless skin almost glowing.
"You've finally gotten rid of that ridiculous stripe on your hair," she commented, putting her hands on her hips. "I will have no rooster for a son." I couldn't hold back a snort of laughter and slapped a hand over my mouth. Torako looked over at me with a dazzling smile. "Well, Ryuji, Are you going to introduce me to this beautiful young woman, or are we just going to stand here all day?" she asked, looking back at her son. Ryuji rolled his eyes with a shake of his head.
"Mom, his is my girlfriend (F/N). (Y/N), this is my mom." Torako smiled again, placing her hands on my shoulders.
"I've heard so much about you, (Y/N)," she gushed. "All good things, I promise," she said with a wink, causing me to smile. "It's so nice to finally meet you," she said.
"N-nice to meet you too, Mrs. Suguro," I said, slightly stuttering as my nerves hadn't completely dissipated yet.
"Oh, none of that, sweetheart," she said, waving it off. "Just Torako," she requested. and I nodded.
"Shall we head inside?" Bon asked, gesturing toward the doors. We both nodded and headed up the steps and into the dorm. As we walked, I talked with Ryuji's mother, quickly coming to like her very much. I could tell we were going to get along.
Though Torako was a very kind and wonderful woman, it only made me upset. She gave me a small glimpse of what a mother should be, what she should act like, how she should feel. It only reminded me of my own mother. Reminded me of what I could never have again. I couldn't help but feel of hurt in my chest as I spoke with my boyfriend's mother. It only made me miss mine even more.
I'm not super happy with how the ending of this chapter went. It was kind of rushed, but I didn't want the chapter to be very long. I promise there will be more of Tanner and Torako next chapter. See you next week!