Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Ritual of the Dead ( Chapter 7 )

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Sacrifice

By: Melissa Norvell

Chapter 7: Ritual of the Dead

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"I see we have guests, Chichiri," Ohanna turned her gaze from the man and looked at the group accumulated at the door. Now she had a crowd of guests to observe her ritual. This would prove interesting, considering one of their team members was about to be drug into the depths of hell itself.

"Then they can witness the bond we share," Chichiri's voice was monotone, dead of all feeling.

"Chichiri!" Ko pleaded. "You can't do this!" She ran up to him and looked him dead in the eyes. "This isn't you." She reached out and tried to take the glass from him and he struggled against her, fighting to keep it in his hand.

"Stop it!" She yelled as the two forms struggled against each other and the glass turned sideways, a splash of fluid spilled from it and made contact on the floor producing a sound. His eyes looked down to see a red splatter on the tile and widened as a sense of fear shot through them, reflected through the light play upon them. She gasped as soon as she realized what it was.

"You don't understand," Ohanna told the girl, "what it means to live an eternity…to be trapped in this coffin."

"You have no idea, Ohanna," Kabuto stated sorrowfully from across the room, causing the bride's eyes to be drawn to him.

"Please stop this."

"You've always been so accepting of this until now, Kabuto." Ohanna didn't understand why he was suddenly siding with these mortals. Why were they so important to him?

"My feelings have changed." It wasn't the mortals. It was him.

"What's done is done. We've already drank from the glasses," she smiled. "There's nothing you can do, even if you tried." He was too late. They were all too late for the fate that was about to befall them.

"Can't you reverse it?" Kabuto asked.

"At this moment, there will be no way to negate it," Ohanna turned and out stretched her arm. "Now it's time to join me. Take my hand, Chichiri."

Ohanna's hand reached out once more, gripping Chichiri harshly. The blonde turned to look into the pleading eyes of Ko. "No! Don't do it!" Chichiri looked coldly to the girl and brought his arm swiftly back knocking her to the ground. Ko fell on her back and slid a little across the hard surface of the floor from the force of the blow.

"Stay back," he warned malice laced in his voice. Above all things, he didn't want anyone interfering with his plans. Chichiri agreed to this, it was his destiny and his alone.

"Chichiri," Ko's voice was faint from her position on the ground. A look of worry crossed her features. It was as if he had truly hated her, or even not known the girl. She seemed nothing but a forgotten memory to him at this state and it was all the dark bride's doing. In that moment, she had never felt so helpless. Deep in her heart, Ko feared that she would see her most cherished thing broken or dead, and that broke her.

"I am ready." Chichiri faced his new love, ready to accompany her to hell and back.

"What are you doing? Do you really think this is worth it?" Keiji tried to desperately talk some sense into him. If he looked down deep, Chichiri knew he didn't want to do this. He didn't even know who this woman was. Why would he want to die for her sake?

"He can't hear you. The real Chichiri is incoherent to your words. It's solely the spirit of the past speaking," Undine informed. The bride's hold on him was strong, stronger than any normal possession, and stronger than anything that she used on Azmy.

"The sacrifice will be made. There's no way around it. "Kabuto held sorrow to his voice. He was far too late. Chichiri would be drug down to hell.

"No!" Ko protested, getting up from the floor hurriedly as everyone looked to her. "I won't let that happen! I can't let that happen!"

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A small artist's brush made strokes upon a colorful canvas. Each stroke was made with versatility and ease as they combined together to make a beautiful portrait of an angel lying amongst the fruit and flowers of the display. Black feathers were produced in many shades of blacks, silvers and grays.

Blue eyes concentrated as each stroke was produced. They then looked ahead to their target. It was a burlesque man with a body of the gods. Long and lean muscles and magnificent wings, this being was majestic as the pose he strutted. He lay on his back with one leg bent up, giving the painter a full frontal of his unclothed body. He had his head turned to the side and gave a regal profile.

"What do you suppose it happening now?" Tsurugi asked the model.

"Well, there was a commotion, and I noticed that one of them split from the rest."

"That means that Tobito's soul possessed them, especially if they went into this room."

"Idiots. Didn't Kabuto warn them?" Hiroshima questioned.

"This is another fickle thing. Human's curiosity tends to get them in trouble…Finished!" The dark angel smiled happily, pointing the brush up. This would be his finest masterpiece. He just knew that Hiroshima would love how it turned out.

"How do I look?" Hiroshima was curious.

Tsurugi turned the easel around to reveal his masterpiece. "Gorgeous. I paid attention to every detail."

"Heh," the other smirked, "you flatter me so."

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"No!" The white haired girl called out in dispair once more as the room filled with gentle breezes and snake-like spirits rose from the ground, slithering around the bride and Chichiri. They acted as some type of spiritual barrier to both protect them and drag them down to the depths of the afterlife. Ko bolted off into their shroud, headed straight towards the two. She was bound and determined not to let him be drug down with her, even if she had to give her life, she was going to stop this unholy union.

"Hotohori!" Keiji yelled in an attempt to stop her, but it was to no avail.

"Ko! You mustn't!" Fife yelled after the other's call, but the girl still didn't listen.

"I don't care!" She retaliated. "Like Keiji said…I'm not going to let anyone die. Chichiri has always been there for me, so I'm going to save him."

Chichiri looked to the girl who was headed swiftly to them.

"Don't touch him!" She yelled and tackled Chichiri to the ground, causing him to release the bride's hand.

"Ugh!" The blonde called out as he was forced down, the impact beating the air from his lungs and jarring him. "What are you doing?" He shot a glare over his shoulder.

"Saving you."

"I don't need your help!"

"Like I care what you need. It's not about you this time…It's about us. Nothing is going to tear us apart, because we're going to look for that legend together. You're too important to lose," the girl's voice was strong before turning soft. "You're my best friend."

"Stay out of my business," Chichiri shot angrily.

"I don't want you to die."

"Huh?" The blonde blinked, seeming to slowly snap back into reality. "Die?"

The dark bride's body suddenly swayed from side to side in a twisted manner and a burst of blood flew from her chest, as if she'd been shot.

"It seems that I'm doomed to eternity as my fate," she said sadly, looking at the blood now staining her dress and hands, "to never find solstice and peace in my never-ending quest to move on from this world." Her body began to fling itself around once more; several sprays of blood forced themselves out of her being, as if someone were murdering her, shooting her to death.

"What's going on?" Fife watched her helplessly from the sidelines.

Crestfallen eyes looked to the floor and a frown plastered itself on Kabuto's face. It was as if he were silently mourning the woman's torture.

"She's reliving her death," Undine stated in monotone.

"No, she's dying again because of the curse. It's killing her. A sacrifice had to be made and it wasn't going to be denied." The black haired man told her as he looked to the bride, who was lying on the floor in a puddle of her down blood. Her wedding dress was splattered, as was the room. It was as if an artist had gone mad and flung red paint about. She didn't move, her form appearing lifeless.

"I thought she was dead. What is going on?" The blonde was in utter confusion, looking to the bride who was now sitting on the floor, her hands covering her face in shame.

"Don't look at me!" She sobbed disgracefully.

"You're sad and your soul is unrested," Undine told her.

The white spirit snakes returned, and began to flow up from the floor once more, like haunting ropes, as they wrapped around the bride's dejected form. "Stay away," she warned as water began to creep up from the tile around Undine. The girl closed her eyes and raised one hand as they created flowing streams, which wrapped around her in much the same way as the spirit snakes did to Ohanna.

"I will not be purified! Go!" Ohanna called out, extending her hand forward and sending her minions to the slate-haired girl.

"What?" Chichiri never knew that Undine was magical. He knew she was no ordinary girl, but at the same time never thought of her as a magician of sorts.

"Cleansing Waters!" The girl raised her voice slightly, the waters obeying her silent demand to go forward and unleashed themselves, lashing out towards the bride.

"Undine is showing her powers," Fife smiled, "I never thought she would."

Kabuto watched the events unfold as nostalgia befell Fife. He recalled the day when he had learned the mysterious girl's powers and secrets.

"I can control the water," Undine told him simply.

"So you're like a sorceress?" He questioned happily, beaming at the girl.

"Much more than that, something that you can't comprehend, I was given the name Undine for a reason," She spoke.

"Why don't you use your power more often?" He asked. Her powers could help a lot of people, it was a shame that she felt as if she could never display such wonderful attributes.

"Because…If I do that, I'll end up like the Winged Boy. People often fear what they don't understand, and magic is no exception." Undine knew the prejudice of the world, and she knew it was best for her to keep her powers to herself. She would only use them in a dire situation, when she was willing to risk persecution.

"True. Maybe it's good that you keep it under the rug for a while," Fife looked up to the sky as the two sat beside of the stream in a deep forested area. He didn't want anything bad to happen to his friend, he would have rather have had her hide it than have her face the harsh world and it's cruel blows.

"I only use my powers when I absolutely have to. The time will come when I have to use them constantly in a dire situation, but until that time arises, I shall unearth my skills," she told him. Undine knew how to handle herself, and she always made sure that she was extra careful.

'This must be one of those times,' Fife pulled pulling his mind out of its reminiscent state.

As the water and spirits clashed, the bride began to dissipate in a white cloud of ghostly ectoplasm (1), which dispersed throughout the room before disappearing completely, as if it had been burned away like smoke to a doused fire.

Just shortly after that event had taken place, the curse has still been in effect. It was bloodthirsty for the sacrifice of two lives and the window behind Chichiri shattered, the pieces flying at him, aimed for his most vital places. They threatened to pierce him. The white haired girl grabbed him, turning his body away from the impact and leaving herself vulnerable for the hit.

"Barrier!" Undine called out, outstretching her arms and holding her hands out, as if trying to stop someone. A large wall of water surrounded the group, shielding them from any stay pieces of glass that happened to fly their way.

Ko and Chichiri fell to the ground from the impact of the glass. The girl had chunks of glass sticking out of her back, and fresh blood pouring from her newly opened wounds. The rest of the shards of glass embedded themselves in the wall nearby.

"Ko?" Chichiri said weakly to the girl who lay upon him. From over her shoulder, he could see the glass shards sticking out of her back. She had saved him, using her own body as a human shield.

His eyes soon met with her blue ones. "Are you alright?" She smirked and tried to ignore the pain. "Uh…" Ko winced, closing one eye.

"Ko…"

"What is she?" Keiji had sights on Undine in awe. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. It was like he was stepping straight into a fantasy show on the television. Things like that only existed in the realm of an animator or story teller's mind, not in real life.

"She has the power to control the water," Fife informed him.

"What about other spells?"

"She can cast any spell really. She loves water and various forms of it."

"What the hell is she?"

"She's magic," Fife beamed.

"Let me help you, Ko," Chichiri offered. It was his fault that this had happened to her. The least he could do was help pull them out.

"I'll be fine. It's just a few cuts. Nothing I can't handle," Ko was happy that no harm came to him. His safety was the only thing she worried about. As long as he was alright, she could take a million hits and suffer through them like they were nothing.

"You shouldn't have thrown yourself in like that," Chichiri looked disappointed, wishing he could have taken the hit. He didn't like to see Ko in pain. This was his fault, and he deserved the backlash from it.

"Don't worry about it. I'm tough. I'm not one of those frail girly-girls. I can handle myself." Ko didn't want him to worry anymore. She was tough; she could pull through it as long as he was still at her side. Despite the pain, what she had saved was more than worth it.

"Thanks Ko…"

"No problem."

"Could someone explain all of this to me?" He helped Ko up off of the ground. "Why do I keep thinking about Ohanna? Why do I zone out and end up in places that I don't remember or have never been to?" He didn't understand it. From the moment that he had come to this house, creepy occurrences had been taking place. Now that someone had been involved and nearly died because of him, he wanted answers.

"I'll explain it when things calm down." Kabuto sensed the frenzied feeling still clinging to the air. He didn't want to do anything that would bring the bride back from her realm.

The girl in Keiji's hands was finally coming through after her attempted suicide. She opened her eyes slowly, vision in a blur, then clearing upon Keiji's face. "Huh?" Azmy murmured weakly, and attempted to wake herself up more to be able to clearly take in what was going on. "Keiji-?"

"Huh?" Keiji blinked, ears catching the faint sound of Azmy's voice.

"You're awake, Azmy," Fife said with a gentle voice.

"What happened?" The girl was still in a haze.

"I'll explain things," the dark haired figure sensed that the unease was beginning to fade. "Let's get out of this room."

The group headed out of the room and down the hall. Keiji still carried Azmy in his arms. He wasn't sure of what type of toll the possession had taken, and he didn't want Azmy out of his sights. The drummer also didn't know if the girl could even walk. He wanted to play it safe. Fife walked silently beside of him, watching the two. Ko and Chichiri walked a few feet behind everyone. They made sure to keep them in their sights, however. They were beginning to understand why Kabuto had told them to stay together. The singer held a sad expression and was in complete silence for a while, thoughts mulling over in her head.

"Did I get all of the glass out?" Chichiri asked.

"Yeah," Ko was dejected.

"It doesn't hurt, does it?" He continued to question her.

"A little, but I'm fine. Good thing I'm wearing black," She joked, "can't see the blood."

'Ko's nonchalant about this. Any other girl would flip out, but not her. She acts like its normal, like she goes through it every day.' He looked at the white haired girl with a visage of concern. He wondered if she was really as alright as she said she was.

The feminine boy poked his chest where a small red spot had surfaced. "Hweew…I busted my stitches…"

"Idiot. You're supposed to take it easy," Keiji growled.

"Sorry."

"I'm okay, Keiji-kun," the small girl below him finally spoke.

"Are you sure?" Keiji asked a little concern in his voice.

"Yes. I think I can walk now," she smiled kindly.

"Let me help you," Keiji offered. Azmy agreed as he gently sat her down. Her feet touched the floor and he gestured for her to put her arm around his shoulders. The shy girl hadn't stood in a while and her legs were wobbly like a new born foal. They began to walk slowly. Navy blue eyes observed the kind look in the drummer's eyes. He inwardly felt a pain deep in his heart. Whenever Keiji looked at him, it was always with malice, but he held such a gentle gaze to this girl.

"What?" Cold green eyes looked to navy ones.

"If you don't mind, would you sow up my broken stitches?" Fife covered his true feelings with a happy facade. "I'm really bad at sowing." He figured that excuse was good enough to get him some well-deserved attention. If there was something he wasn't going to let the green-haired teen forget, it was going to be that he wanted to spend time with him as well.

"Sure," Keiji looked back to Azmy, "I'm going to let you walk on your own, okay?"

She nodded in response. "Okay," the small hand slowly let go of his slender arm, her legs attempted to take a few steps unsurely.

"Her soul must be weak from fighting the possession. She's strong…I wish I could be like that," Keiji said in admiration.

Behind him, Fife's gaze hit the ground.

"Ah!" Azmy yelped as she began to lose her footing, falling backwards. Her arms reached out for anything she could grab to keep herself up, but only found air. The drummer walked up to her, catching her, the girl's head and hands landed on his chest.

"Sorry, I tripped," Azmy's tone was worried, not wanting to be of any trouble to Keiji.

"Its fine, can't have you hurting yourself," he hugged her tightly; "I'll protect you."

Fife's eyes slightly widened as the words began to echo in the confines of his mind, bouncing around in repetition. His sights befell the two in a friendly embrace and for some reason; those jealous and hurt feelings began creeping their way back into his heart. It hurt, not just emotionally but physically. He couldn't stand to see them that way and he just wanted to run away without anyone noticing that he was upset. He casually walked by as the shy girl said 'alright' to Keiji's proposition to protect her. This made the boy more upset.

"My chest hurts," Fife frowned as his longer bangs shaded his eyes.

"Let me help you. You saved my life after all," Keiji turned his attentions to the wounded male.

Fife turned and smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine, Keiji." (2)

Keiji looked wounded by Fife's choice of words. "I thought you wanted to call me Keiji-kun?" a small amount of hurt leaking through his usually stoic voice.

"You said not to," the other male replied simply.

"No, you have the right to. You can call me crap head for all I care. You saved my life and it would be disrespectful to not allow you to call me what you want," Keiji's voice held more emotion than he would like to, but he didn't like being disrespected by someone who made such an effort to him. He wanted to redeem his good standings with Fife.

"Alright," the other closed his eyes and smiled, "Keiji-kun."

The drummer's face held a deep sadness and he couldn't figure out why. In a way, he knew that he treated the feminine boy badly, so he figured that this was the least he could do. He didn't want Fife to shun him, and felt like he already earned that from him. He wanted to make it up to Fife and he wasn't sure why.

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The four-winged angel sat on the corner of the modeling platform, holding his clothes over his crotch with one hand, the other propping himself up.

"Beautiful as always," Tsurugi complimented.

"Of course," Hiroshima closed his eyes and smirked in agreement.

"I wonder if we could possibly go and hang this here."

"I think I'll keep it. Besides, I may have to come back and destroy this place and all of your hard work," Hiroshima explained.

"How true, when the final act is complete, this place will have changed its fate," the blonde angel spoke calmly.

"Hopefully they will begin to understand. This is a test of optimism. If they can get past this, then it will be inevitable that we cross paths again soon," Hiroshima's words were grave.

"How soon?" The other angel leaned on the modeling block with his elbows planted on the hard surface and hands holding up his smiling face as he looked to the nude man.

"When the final act is complete."

"We should prepare ourselves then."

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The group of travelers was assembled back in the original room they had spent the night in. Most everyone was either sitting on a bed or standing erect. Kabuto was among them, placed in the center of the group and all sights were upon his form as he began to talk.

"I think it's about time that I told you all what truly has been going on," he prepared to unravel the mysteries that surrounded them, the house, the dark bride, and even him. It was time that he had given them what they so sought - the truth.

NOTES:

(1) Ectoplasm- is a strange, visible, semi-fluid substance that is believed to emanate from the body of a physical spiritualistic medium

. The ectoplasm may or may not go on to form materializations.

(2) "I'm fine, Keiji." - Some of you who are not familiar with Japanese culture may not know why Keiji was offended by this. The lack of honorific could mean something as close as love, but could also be said in a degrading and disrespectful way. Fife meant this as the latter of the two. He wanted to wound Keiji so he ditched the honorific.

To Be Continued…