Voices in the Dark
spoilers: manga vol. 22
characters: Shinkouhyou, Nentou Doujin, Ryukitsu, Youzen, Nataku, Choukei, Taijou Roukun
chapters: 1/1
retrieved from: Bunnyhat
Umm, if you have volume 22, you’ll be able to understand this fic. If you don’t have volume 22, spoiler warning!!
I wrote what was going through Shinkouhyou, Nentou, Ryuukitsu, Youzen, Nataku, ChouKei and Taijou’s minds while they were trapped inside Jyoka’s ball of silent darkness. It’s sort of stream of consciousness, so the structure may not be great. ^_^; Not to mention the order of the characters follow the manga. It was hard making a transition between some of the characters. O_o;; Take out your vol. 22 and turn to pages 78-9 for visual aid! ^_^
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Will Taikoubou fully recover and make a triumphant return? If he does not, how am I supposed to find a new rival? Taikoubou was so very interesting. I could have watched him for hours! ...I did watch him for hours. Fu... And I do not regret a single minute of it. Why, in all my years of living, he is the only rival I have ever declared to be mine! But I digress. What am I doing? I never worry. There is nothing to worry about. With his flesh and bones perished and his soul in Outenkun’s hands, his road has now diverged into two paths; one will lead to certain life, the other will lead to certain death. Outenkun has a way with negotiation – I know his character well, but I know Taikoubou’s character even better. Watching him certainly did pay off, fufufufu. Ah, how fun it is to deduct the enigma that is his mind. Everything he does is like a game; a riddle, which I must solve to find out what he’s doing and what he’s up to – before someone else does, of course. Yes... If I have been watching correctly, he will take the path he always chooses for himself and everyone else. Life. So that he may keep fighting for...
...Peace. Tranquility. My mind, body and soul must stay as one. One. Don’t let the painful silence rip you apart. Calm. Stillness. Use the darkness to your advantage. Don’t let the darkness take advantage of you. That’s what Jyoka wants. Jyoka. She’s been getting what she wants for far too long now. It must be put to an end. History has been repeating itself, destroyed over and over again because of her dissatisfaction. Take advantage of the darkness. Keep the anger inside. Keep it burning low inside of you like a fire that can’t be put out. Calm. Tranquility. Stillness...
...stillness. Everything is still, except for this apprehension beating in my heart. I cannot help but worry for the fate of everyone’s lives, for this world... Many souls have been sacrificed in order to bring us to this abominable place. ...Hope is lost for me. The only place in which I can survive now is gone. That is why I pushed myself and came here with Genshitenson-sama’s paopei, Bankohan. It is heavy... and I must endure it as the poisonous air slowly deteriorates my lungs, diminishing my strength. But I will not die in vain. I will do whatever I am capable of to help those who suffered in order to get this far. The others must live on... live on, for the sake of everything good and pure left in this world. Therefore... I will pray. Everyone... please be safe... never let fear stop you...
...Fear. What is there to fear? I used to be afraid of two things: losing the people I love, and having my true identity revealed to the world. And during that war, all those fears became reality. It all happened too fast. So fast, I couldn’t handle it at first. A new fear was born from it – fear that my grief would become shackles on my feet, holding me back from going on with my life, keeping me chained to old memories and regrets. But... that didn’t happen. I soon got over it, and went on with my errands, almost as if nothing had happened. ...I may’ve gotten over the deaths too quickly. It maybe a bit too cold... because I’m a youkai, perhaps... however, I learned one thing from that experience. Fear is a parasite. The tiniest bit can crawl under your skin, invade you, eat at you, cause you suffering and become a hindrance in your life. To rid of it isn’t easy, but once it’s done, you discover its insignificance in size. Well, I won’t fear anything from now on. Not even this empty darkness that was created to drive us mad. No. I will become the darkness itself. Then I won’t be afraid of anything.
...And anything that doesn’t have idiots running around telling me what to do or not do must be good. Everything’s quiet. Not bad. Wish I had something to do. Hmm. I know... I’ll train, with this new paopei I have. I like this paopei. I like this power flowing through me. I feel... stronger. A lot stronger. I was reborn, my master said. This must be the second time. The first time I was reborn, I didn’t know why... Ever since, the only thing I wanted was more power. Stronger paopeis. I kept getting what I wanted – there sure wasn’t a reason to complain, except for when they broke. ...When I was reborn again, I realized why. Why I was created, and why I’m kept alive: it’s to fight. I was born to fight... nothing more. I’m a human paopei. There’s no need for a human paopei except in battles. There’s nothing I can do other than fight anyway. What else is there for me to do? Just be quiet, and keep giving me stronger paopeis. So I was created to fight. Hnf. I can live with that.
...Wh-who can keep living with this?! How long are we going to be stuck in here for?! When is Jyoka gonna let us out?! What am I supposed to do?! Which way am I facing?! Gaaaagh!!! ...Okay. Okay. Just breathe deeply... okay. Damn, I hate psychological attacks. This is so annoying. Uhhh, let’s see, what other happy memories are there I can think of? Hmmmm... There was that time... there was that time when I brought KouRanei and Uen down to Chouka because I was feeling lonely. And as coincidence would have it, Bunchuu-sama had returned from Kingou the very same day! That was so-- ...this makes me wonder... Jyoka said something about how she repeatedly created the same world and destroyed it. Does this mean that in each of those worlds, there was someone exactly like me? ...A parallel ChouKei? Bunchuu-sama, KouRanei and Uen, too? Brrr... that’s a disturbing thought. Knowing that this could be the tenth, maybe even hundredth world she’d made. To think... this isn’t such a unique world after all. It can be destroyed and re-made, just like that. The entire planet... such a vast planet that supports so much life... She can easily blow it apart and start a new one. To her, we must be nothing. Mere annoying insects buzzing around, messing up her plan. We may not stand a chance against her. How can we kill someone who can create an entire world? So then... so then, what if we fail? What if we aren’t able to stop her, after all this effort? ...Would the sendous in the next world she creates defeat her? Should we... reconsider the value of our lives...? ...Wow...this place really makes you think.
.......Zzzzz....