And here is the next part of fire. I couldn't remember who all knew about
Kuyou's prophacy regarding Ashura's child, or what the other characters
thought about it. Can anyone help? I forgot to put a spoiler warning on
the first part, but there are spoilers for the end of RGVeda here. Um, is
there any fanfiction that doesn't have spoilers? ^_^
ONCOMING STORM
A RG Veda/Seiden fanfic by Inarae
RG Veda and everything associated with it belongs to CLAMP and anyone they
have given rights to, which does not include me.
This is the sequel to FIRE.
Rating: PG-13 for . . . oh geeze, I don't know. It's not violent, no one's
having sex, it's just kinda disturbing and not something you show to a
little kid, you know?
**************************
There are burdens that are too heavy for any man to bear and
remain sane. I do not think I am evil, or guilty of any great sin. Is it
evil for a father to want his child to live? Is it a sin to want to protect
the world from destruction? But they are the only paths open to me. If I
had been mortal, I would have asked what sins in a past life made me deserve
the pain of balancing the life of all three worlds in one hand, and my child
and the continuation of my clan in the other. But I am a god, and the only
sins I carry are my own.
A sudden noise catches my ear, and I glance out the window
as I walk by. Princess Kisshouten and Bishamonten are chatting under a
flowering plum, the petals slowly drifting to the ground around them. The
princess is smiling happily with that pureness she's always had, and it was
her tinkling laughter that had caught my attention. Bishamonten watches her
shyly, a quiet love and gentle yearning suffusing his stance. They are
beautiful. But there is a darkness in Bishamonten, the darkness of having
an all-consuming desire and the power to fulfill it, if only he'd give in to
evil's seduction. He reminds me of another, who's already taken that step.
And perhaps of myself.
I look away and continue down the hall, the cold white
marble stretching up into darkness far above my head.
"There is no pain for one who refuses to feel it."
There is also the one who told me those words, lounging on velvet cushions
with silken robes gaping open to show the muscles he used to dominate and
kill, while gods and servants alike tended to his every desire.
This elegant palace took over a thousand years to build, and
the best artisans of history designed it, from the smooth patterned tiles I
trod upon to the detailed carvings that adorn every wall. Only a people
used to peace and prosperity would have the leisure to build such a thing.
And we have been a happy people for a very, very long time. Oh, certainly
there have been revolts, murders, hatreds and betrayals. But those are
little things, compared to that which will awaken soon, regardless of what
path I take.
It is my child who is destined to demolish all this.
From the moment the prophetess Kuyou first told me that, I
knew it to be true. I have felt the bloodlust rising in my soul with the
passing years. The seals that bind us gods of fire and war are weakening.
A youth burning with the fires of puberty would have no chance against the
overwhelming lust for destruction that I feel even now. And if the seals
keep failing . . . The Ashura clan will regain its true form as the
destroyers of the world.
Taishakuten doesn't understand how I could prefer to remain
in a false form, he who delights so fully in the power of the storm that is
his alone to wield. Sometimes I think that the only pleasure he feels is
that which stems from the knowledge of his own power. He is a sensualist,
every movement intended to accomplish only one purpose, that of his own
gratification. If there is one man I would wish never to see in power, it
would be him. And yet I am about to offer it to him, because he is the only
one who recognizes the darkness descending as a true threat, the only one
with the power to have a chance at defying fate. He is the only one who
would even be willing to try, because he is the only one who would never
acknowledge the existence of a power greater than his.
Given power, he will murder millions. His rule would be
cruel and oppressive. His capriciousness will bring suffering to an
unimaginable height. But . . . he is my only hope. In he alone is there
the possibility that the world may be saved. Under his rule alone may both
my child and this world continue to exist?
And yet, if doing this fails to stop the destruction, and
merely increases the suffering . . .
I close my eyes.
"There is no pain for one who refuses to feel it."
I understand its attraction.
As I walk the dark path towards his quarters, seeking a
solution in offering that twisted mind all it ever desired, I wonder if I
would still act this way if the lust for destruction wasn't clouding my
thinking.
Ashura-Oh
*************************
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
(Inarae blinks in surprise.) I thought that writing
Ashura-Oh would be a little less depressing than writing Taishakuten. I'm
not sure why I'm so into these two at the moment. I just reread the last
volume of RG Veda, maybe that's why. I'm kinda in a, "there aren't any
perfect solutions," mood too . . . someone needs to keep me away from
CLAMP's works when I'm like this. Oh, and I honestly think that by the end
of the manga, Taishakuten truely loves Ashura. But I doubt that he did at
the time they made their deal- he was just looking to dominate the war god.
There is a sequel to this trying to deal with them coming to love eachother,
but it's really hard to write because it's NC17 and I generally don't write
NC-17. So I can't promise that it will ever be posted.
Thanks for reading, C&C welcome and enjoyed.
Inarae
ginabrae@aol.com
http://www.geocities.com/ginabraeBack
