The Devil\'s Last Name

Chapter 5

Written by: Fox

Notes:

Wow, kinda impressive when it’s all fixed up, huh?

This and the next couple chapters may seem like a bad drug trip, but I promise it’s not. It’ll make sense as it works through itself.

The idea behind “the game” came from a mix of Kingdom Hearts and Grimm Fairytales, and was induced by a dream that mixed the two. The stories are very familiar (as they should be), but they are the original stories, not the Disney versions. No faeries in Cindrella, no sewing mice, nothing like that. Just the original german version of the stories before they were adapted.

I, of course, applied my own adaptation just because we all know Cinderella was a girl and parts had to be given out to people for it to work. I did some add-ins (You wouldn’t believe just how little detail there is in the Grimm tales) to make it a little nicer than “....and he said “....”

~*~

The eleven conscious shiki stood in a circle, eyes closed as each focused his or her energy into a single thought, their colors blending and bleeding through each other until it was nothing more than simple blinding white bubble.

The bubble expanded before bursting, a stream of light flooding all of Gensoukai quickly. As the light faded the eleven found themselves separated into smaller groups and cast into the role of observer of a separate world.

[World One: Cinderella]

Tsuzuki suddenly looked up as he felt a drag on his soul, only to find himself in odd surroundings. He stood outside a small mansion, the gardens well tended and the street before him was covered in cobblestones. The mansion was english style and had many small trees grouped together in the front yard.

But something felt completely off.

Kurikara stood on the doorstep and sighed. “There are three worlds that you must go through. Each world has a different guide, and at the end of the world you will participate as someone from the world. Don’t worry, you’ll know what to do and say when the time comes.

“This is the world known as Cinderella, and you must enact this correctly. You will be a spirit and an observer, but nothing more until your part. At the end of the world a riddle will be presented and you must answer it correctly.” Kurikara said before stepping into the house.

Tsuzuki took his cue and slowly walked inside, his shoes clicking on the wooden floor and was shocked to hear the sound of sobbing. As he progressed through the house by following the soft sobs he was stunned to come across an elaborate bedroom dressed mainly in silks and velvet. On the bed lay Suzaku, her eyes shut softly as she barely breathed. At her side was Touda, his own eyes closed as he clasped one of her hands.

Slowly she opened her eyes and looked up at Touda. “I wish to be with my son.” she said softly.

Touda nodded, the feeling seemingly to be understanding. Suzaku was dying and she didn’t have long to live. His boots thumped almost lifelessly as he left the room, and soon the door gently pushed open to reveal a quiet young Hisoka, his eyes still oddly lifeless.

“Mother?”

\"My only and dearest child, be good and pious. If you are God will always protect you and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you.\"

With those softly spoken words she closed her eyes and took her longest and last breath.

Hisoka immediately clasped Suzaku’s hand and fell to his knees at her bedside, his eyes closing as tears somehow forced themselves out from under the tightly shut eyelids.

Every day after the funeral was over, Tsuzuki would witness Hisoka would take time out to visit his mother\'s grave and cry softly as he cleaned the stone and planted around it. He cared for it with all his heart and would spend his time speaking to his ‘mother’ softly.

No matter what happened though, he remembered and kept his promise by remaining pious and good. Suddenly time flashed before Tsuzuki as if it was a fast forwarded movie with small snippets for details. When winter of that same year came the snow spread a white sheet over the grave and by the time the spring sun had drawn it off again, Touda had taken Rui as his second wife.

Rui had two daughters from a previous marriage and whom turned out to be Yuma and Saya. Of course when she moved in with all her power hungry glamour both girls came with. Both were beautiful, but venomous toward Hisoka. Whenever Hisoka was around they would insult him and degrade him, laughing with triumph at the spectacle they proceeded to make out of him.

One of the worst things that occurred toward Hisoka was only half a week after the trio had moved into Touda’s home.

At lunch Hisoka was preparing to sit with the rest of the family in the parlor to sip on his own tea and nibble a cookie when Saya sneered at him and stood. She turned toward Rui, demanding her mother’s attention.

“Is the stupid goose going to be allowed to sit in the parlor and have tea with us?” She asked angrily.

Hisoka merely blinked helplessly between Saya and his step-mother, his hands trembling slightly. He threw a quick glance to Touda whom was pouring over a newspaper and ignoring the discussion.

Rui looked at the defenseless Hisoka and smirked. \"He who wants to eat bread must earn it. Go serve in the kitchen...wench.\"

Hisoka sputtered but sighed when he saw he wasn’t going to be rescued by his father. Unbeknownst to him though was that Saya and Yuma had followed, and they stopped him halfway to the kitchen.

“Wait, we have to fix you up!” Yuma squealed as they began to strip him down and took his favorite and most beautiful clothes away from him, leaving him standing there in nothing more than his undergarments. He clasped his arms around himself, trying to hide his body when suddenly they put an old grey bed gown they had found on him and gave him a pair of hard wooden shoes.

\"Just look at the proud prince, how decked out he is!\" Saya cried as the two of them laughed, and led him into the kitchen. There he was forced to do hard work from morning till night. His chores started by getting up before daybreak and carrying water to the baths and kitchen, lighting the many fireplaces to warm the old stone home, cook all the fancy meals perfectly and wash all the clothes.

Besides all of these menial chores the sisters did everything imaginable to degrade him even more. They mocked him and emptied his only meal of peas and lentils into the ashes so that he was forced to sit and pick them out before washing them and eating them.

In the evening after he had spent the day working until he was exhausted he didn’t even have a bed of his own to go to. He was forced to sleep by the hearth in the ash and cinders. Since doing this made him look dusty and dirty, they mockingly called him Cinderella.

One day a year later Touda announced that he was going to the fair, and he asked his two step-daughters what he should bring back for them.

\"Beautiful dresses,\" said Saya.

\"Pearls and jewels.\" Yuma quickly answered after her.

\"And you, Cinderella.\" Touda said as he turned to face his blood child, \"What will you have?\"

\"Father, break off for me the first branch that knocks against your hat on your way home.\" Hisoka said timidly.

So once at the fair Touda spent a large amount of his money buying beautiful dresses, pearls and jewels for his two step-daughters. On his way home as he was riding through a green thicket, a hazel twig brushed against him and knocked off his hat. He looked at the twig and carefully broke off the branch. Tucking it in his waistband he gathered his hat again and took it with him back home.

When he reached home he presented his step-daughters with the things which they had wished for, and to Hisoka he gave the branch from the hazel tree.

Hisoka thanked him with tears running down his cheeks and immediately went to his mother\'s grave. Carefully he planted the branch on it and cried so much that the tears fell down on it and watered it. Tsuzuki found himself tearing up as he watched Hisoka hiccup and sob lightly on the ground in front of the tombstone, his body chilled from the cool night air and his own sorrow.

Watered by the child’s sorrow the stark little twig grew and became a large and strong tree. Three times a day Hisoka went and sat beneath it and would pray, and in answer a little white bird would always come and perch on the tree. But the bird was special and if Hisoka expressed a wish, the bird threw down to him what he had wished for.

To Tsuzuki the bird resembled the messenger for pursuit shiki he was fond of using and he wondered if perhaps this happened because of his own sadness for Hisoka’s plight. Next to him Kurikara sighed.

“I know what your thinking, but those birds are not yours.”

Tsuzuki nodded and watched as time began to fly again. Suddenly it slowed and he blinked as he found himself in front of a notice to the house. The king had given orders for a festival which was to last three days, and to which all the beautiful young girls and boys in the country were invited in order that his son might choose himself a bride.

Kurikara smirked mischievously and pointed at the word son to which Tsuzuki’s eyes widened in shock.

“M-me?”

“Exactly, your highness.” he said haughtily.

Tsuzuki blinked as he heard loud shrieks from the house and looked up to see Saya and Yuma practically dancing with the notice in hand. When the two had heard that they too were to appear among the number, they were delighted and called Hisoka to attend to them.

\"Comb our hair for us, brush our shoes and fasten our buckles! We are going to the wedding at the king\'s palace.\" Saya bubbled. Hisoka obeyed, but inside he cried, because he too would have liked to go with them to the dance and begged his step-mother to allow him to do so.

“Of course you can go Cinderella,” she smirked mockingly, “...covered in dust and dirt as you are. You have no clothes and shoes, and yet you think you can go into the ballroom and dance. What are you thinking!”

Not willing to give up yet, Hisoka went on asking and Rui slowly relented.

“I have emptied a dish of lentils into the ashes for you, and if you have picked them out again in two hours, you can go with us.\" She said quickly.

Hisoka nodded and went through the back door and into the garden. He looked up at the sky and called in a soft voice.

\"You tame pigeons, you turtle-doves, and all you birds beneath the sky! Come and help me to pick the good into the pot, and the bad into the crop.\" he recited.

Immediately two delicate white pigeons came in through the open kitchen window, followed by turtle-doves, and at last all the birds from outside skittered in and landed softly in the pile of ashes.

The birds quickly began to pick through the pile, gathering all of the lentils into the dish. Hardly had one hour passed before they had finished, and once done all of them quickly flew out the window.

Hisoka waved gratefully at the birds before taking the dish to his step-mother. He smiled happily as he moved through the house, believing that now he would be allowed to go with them to the festival.

Upon seeing Hisoka’s dish filled with the lentils, Rui became defensive.

\"No Cinderella, you have no clothes and you can not dance. You would only be laughed at.\"

Hisoka bowed his head tiredly and started to cry softly.

Unable to stand Hisoka’s soft sobs, Rui quickly spoke up. “If you can pick two dishes of lentils out of the ashes for me in one hour, you shall go with us.” Inwardly she doubted Hisoka’s ability to repeat the job.

Once Rui had emptied the two dishes of lentils into the ashes and had left the room, Hisoka once again went through the back door into the garden.

\"You tame pigeons, you turtle-doves, and all you birds beneath the sky! Come and help me to pick the good into the pot, the bad into the crop.\"

Once again the birds came to him and helped him by picking through the ashes, and before half an hour was over they had already finished and departed through the window again.

Hisoka was again delighted, and believed with all his heart that he might now go with them to the wedding.

But Rui became angry at the sight.

\"All this will not help. You still have no clothes and you can’t dance! We should be ashamed of you!\"

After pointing this out to Hisoka, she turned away in a huff and hurried off with Saya and Yuma.

Once no one else was at home, Hisoka went to his mother\'s grave beneath the hazel-tree and looked up into the branches. The small white bird was sitting there looking down at him and choked back a sob. He sighed as he sat beneath the tree, looking at the bird and quietly thinking.

Suddenly an idea formed in his mind and he rushed into the house. He smiled as he pulled out his sister’s makeup and began to expertly apply it to his own face. After years of doing this to his step-sisters he knew exactly how to apply all the right shades.

He smiled softly in victory at his reflection. He now had soft looking red lips, his eyes softly outlined in silver and his complexion was perfect for the light shades he had chosen to enhance his features. He then looked through Saya’s stuff and picked out some blonde hair extensions. He winced slightly as he carefully began to add them to his own short hair. Once that was completed he styled it in a sweeping up hairstyle that curled and flowed in small falls over the top of his head.

Once finished he went out to the tree, looked up at the bird, and called out with all his might.

\"Shiver and quiver, little tree,
Silver and gold throw down over me.\"

In response the bird threw a soft gold and silver dress down to him, the hem embroidered with tiny silver flowers as the bell hooped skirt rustled under it’s golden layers. Matching slippers came down with the dress, the edges embroidered with silk and silver. He quickly pulled on the dress and slippers, as well as stuffed the bodice with a pair of Saya’s falsies, then hurried to the wedding.

Much to his relief, his step-sisters and step-mother weren’t able to recognize the now very feminine Hisoka, and thought he was a foreign princess. He looked so beautiful in the golden dress and easily made everyone believe he was a girl. His own family believed that he was sitting at home in the dirt, picking lentils out of the ashes.

Suddenly Tsuzuki found himself dressed in a prince’s outfit and was pushed forward by Kurikara.

“Would you go play your part already?!” Kurikara hissed impatiently at him.

Taken aback, Tsuzuki walked toward Hisoka on unstedy knees and took him by the hand gently.

“May I have this dance, beautiful lady?” he asked with a small smile.

Hisoka blinked and blushed before nodding with a small smile.

All night Tsuzuki spent entranced by the sweet Hisoka and would dance with no one else, nor did he let go of his hand. If any one else came over to the beautiful pair to invite Hisoka to dance with them, he would jealously state that Hisoka was already his partner.

They danced as if made for each other until late in the evening before the blushing Hisoka wanted to go home.

Tsuzuki smiled. \"I’ll go with you and bear you company.\" for he wished to see to whom the beautiful maiden belonged, having already become lost to the game. He no longer remembered Hisoka’s part as Cinderella, or Meifu, or anything else of that nature.

“Really... you don’t need to go to those lengths.” Hisoka said quietly.

“It would be an honor to me.” Tsuzuki replied. He patted Hisoka’s hand. “I just need to inform my parents.” he said as he left.

Hisoka saw his chance and went outside, looking around the gardens. He saw a large white bird house and shut the door. Tsuzuki turned and faced the bird house and immediately went to it, pounding on the door, but Hisoka wouldn’t come out.

Tsuzuki went inside and found the first man he could and told him what happened. Touda was called to help get the woman out of the bird house. When he arrived Tsuzuki told him that the unknown maiden had barricaded herself into the bird house.

Touda thought of Hisoka. ‘Can it be Cinderella.?’

Upon his request, they brought him an axe and a pickaxe. Touda took his jacket off and immediately set to work wrecking the bird house. Once the last bit of wall was broken down and they looked in no one was inside it.

Touda apologized to a very perplexed Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki merely looked at the bird house and shook his head, trying to see how his beautiful love could have gotten away.

When Hisoka’s family got home, Hisoka lay in his dirty clothes among the ashes with a dim little oil-lamp burning on the mantle above him.

Hisoka had jumped quickly down from the back of the bird house and had run to the little hazel-tree, where he had taken off his beautiful clothes and laid them on the grave. The bird had immediately taken them away again. After quickly undoing the extensions and rubbing off his makeup he had seated himself in the kitchen amongst the ashes in his grey gown. The dust had flown up to cover any smudges of makeup and he looked as if he’d never left home.

The next day when the festival began afresh, and his parents and the step-sisters had gone once again, Hisoka repeated putting on the makeup and extensions and went to the hazel-tree. He looked up at the bird.

\"Shiver and quiver, my little tree,
Silver and gold throw down over me.\"

After spinning the air around it quickly another dress appeared which was much more beautiful dress than the dress from the preceding day. This one was a deep royal blue with soft white lace edging and tiny rhinestone studding along the collar and hem. When Hisoka appeared at the wedding in this dress, every one was astonished at his beauty. Tsuzuki had waited until he had come, and instantly took him by the hand and danced with no one but him.

Again when others came and invited her, he would look at them and say \"This is my partner.\"

Again evening came and she wished to leave, and Tsuzuki followed her and wanted to see into which house this beautiful stranger went.

Knowing he was being followed Hisoka took advantage of a blind spot and sprang away from him once opportunity allowed. With all of his speed he rushed behind a neighbor’s house and into the garden.

In the middle of it stood a beautiful tall pear tree on which hung the most magnificent fruit. Hisoka climbed up it so nimbly between the branches like a squirrel that the king\'s son did not know where he had gone.

Again he called for Touda and told him that the unknown maiden had escaped, and that he believed she had climbed up the pear-tree.

Touda looked at the the tree. \"Can it be Cinderella?\"

He called for an axe and cut the tree down, but no one was in it’s branches. When they returned home and went into the kitchen, Hisoka lay there among the ashes, as usual. He had jumped down on the other side of the tree, had taken the beautiful dress to the bird on the little hazel-tree, and put on his grey gown after removing his makeup and hair extensions.

On the third day, when the parents and sisters had gone away, Hisoka went once more to his mother\'s grave and spoke to the little bird.

\"Shiver and quiver, my little tree,
silver and gold throw down over me.\"

The bird immediately threw down to him a dress which was more splendid and magnificent than any he had yet had, and his slippers were now golden. This dress was pure white with golden trim and lace cuffs.

Once he finished getting ready for the dance, he went to the festival in the dress and no one present was able to speak for astonishment. Tsuzuki again danced with him only, and if any one invited him to dance he would say that she was his partner alone.

When evening came, Tsuzuki pulled Hisoka close outside and kissed him gently on the forehead. Hisoka felt dizzy as he looked at Tsuzuki and blushed, his eyes quickly averting away.

Unforunately, Hisoka didn’t see the look of surprise on Tsuzuki’s face as he felt the tiniest of bulges in the front of Hisoka’s dress. He blinked but knew for certain that this was not extra clothing, it was shaped to much like the bulge that had begun to grow in Tsuzuki’s own pants.

“...You’re a boy aren’t you?” The question was soft but honest.

Hisoka looked back at him, eyes wide. “W-what? No! Of course not!” But Hisoka had spoken in his true voice and he immediately looked frightened.

Hisoka quickly turned and rushed off, Tsuzuki trying to stop him, but Hisoka escaped from him so quickly that he could not follow. Tsuzuki, however, had asked that the whole staircase leading out to be smeared with pitch once all the guests had arrived, and when Hisoka ran down the steps his left slipper remained stuck. Tsuzuki picked it up and looked at it, noting how small and dainty the golden slipper was.

The next morning he the beautiful shoe to his father SohRyu.

“Father.”

SohRyu looked at him, watching him carry the small shoe as if it was a precious crystal. “What is it son?”

“I know you have your suspicions about my well being, but I will have no one else as my wife but she whose foot this golden slipper fits.”

“So do what you will.” And with that SohRyu granted Tsuzuki the ability and the means to search the village.

After having searched the village he finally came to Hisoka’s house.

Immediately upon his arrival, Saya and Yuma were glad as they had pretty feet. First Saya went with the shoe into her room and wanted to try it on, Rui standing by and watching. But she could not get her big toe into it, making the shoe too small for her.

Rui glared at her and gave her a knife. \"Cut the toe off! When you are queen you will have no more need to go on foot.\"

Saya looked at her foot and nodded, then cut her toe off. She quickly forced her foot into the shoe, and took a breath to swallow the pain before carefully walking out to Tsuzuki.

Believing Saya to be the one, Tsuzuki took her out to his horse and began to ride away with her as his bride. In order to leave, however, they had to pass the grave. There, on the hazel-tree, sat the two birds.

\"Turn and peep, turn and peep,
there\'s blood within the shoe,
the shoe it is too small for her,
the true bride waits for you.\"

The two birds sang.

Tsuzuki turned and looked at her foot. There, streaming from the toe of the shoe, blood was trickling down.

Frustrated he turned his horse around and took the false bride home again. He pointed to the bloody toe of the shoe and said she was not the true one, and that the other sister was to put the shoe on.

Yuma then went into her chamber and got her toes safely into the shoe, but her heel was too large to fit the narrow back of the slipper.

So Rui immediately gave her the knife. \"Cut a bit off your heel! When you are queen you will have no more need to go on foot.\"

Yuma looked at her foot and nodded, then cut a bit of her heel off. She quickly forced her foot into the shoe, and took a breath to swallow the pain before carefully walking out to Tsuzuki. He looked at her and took her to his horse to be his bride, and rode away with her. But when they passed by the hazel-tree, the two birds sat on it and watched.

\"Turn and peep, turn and peep,
there\'s blood within the shoe,
the shoe it is too small for her,
the true bride waits for you.\"

He looked down at her foot and saw how the blood was running out of her shoe, and how it had stained her white stocking quite red. He glared at her for her deception and turned his horse and took the false bride home again.

\"This also is not the right one,\" said he, \"have you no other daughter?\"

\"No,\" said Touda. \"There is still a little stunted kitchen-wench which my late wife left behind her, but he cannot possibly be the bride.\"

“Send her up to me.” he replied.

Immediately Rui answered. “Oh, no. You see, the wench is a male, and is much too dirty. He cannot possibly show himself.”

He gave Rui a cold glare. “I absolutely insist on you sending him up to me. There are much stranger things than for a prince to marry a man.”

Rui recoiled and went to get Hisoka.

Hisoka immediately rushed about the kitchen, washing his hands and face clean. He then went and bowed before Tsuzuki, who gave him the golden shoe.

He carefully seated himself on a stool in front of them all and pulled his foot out of the heavy wooden shoe he was forced to wear. He carefully put it into the slipper, which fitted like a glove.

When he stood up Tsuzuki looked at her face and immediately recognized the beautiful maiden who had danced with him.

He smiled as he walked to Hisoka and gently put an arm around him. \"This the true bride.\"

As Rui, Saya and Yuma stood there horrified and pale with rage, Tsuzuki took Hisoka on his horse and rode away with him. As they passed the hazel-tree, the two white birds sang.

\"Turn and peep, turn and peep,
no blood is in the shoe,
the shoe is not too small for her,
the true bride rides with you.\"

When they cried that, the two came flying down and placed themselves on Hisoka\'s shoulders. One lit on the right, the other on the left, and remained sitting there with her.

On the day of the wedding between Tsuzuki and Hisoka, the two false sisters came and tried to win Hisoka’s favor and share her good fortune. When the betrothed couple went to the church, Saya walked on the right side and Yuma on the left. The birds immediately flew down to them and pecked out one eye from each of them. Afterwards as they came back out, Saya was on the left, and Yuma on the right and the birds pecked out the other eye from each.

“And thus, for their wickedness and falsehood, they were punished with blindness all their days.” Kurikara commented as the scenery around Hisoka and Tsuzuki melted away, snapping them out of their trance like state.

Tsuzuki blinked and Hisoka immediately drew away from him.

Kurikara watched them and sighed. “Your riddle is simple. In the mortal world, I am, yet I am not. I whisper in your ear, and I move you to my will.”

Tsuzuki blinked in confusion while Hisoka watched Kurikara.

“A demon.” Hisoka murmured.

Suddenly the world went black.

~*~

To be continued