Heavenly Affairs by kidoairaku

God of Mischief

Elysium had to, always, be somewhere in the corner of her mind, and when she was on duty, it had to be the only thing on her mind. Then again, Elysium could not be referred to as a 'thing'. No, Elysium had to be addressed with proper respect, as did everyone whom spoke of Its residents. The deities were each chosen, born into this world, for a specific reason. And that reason was to take his or her place among the sacred spirits of Elysium, the heavenly kingdom of gods and goddesses. The goddess Kagome sighed as she strode towards the Celestial Chamber, the place in which the balance gods and their counterparts stood 'on duty' assuring, with their energy, the path of the future, present, and past.

As she neared the great gates of the courtyard of chambers, her counterpart Naraku strode gracefully to and fell in step with her. Their loose silk kimonos flowed carelessly behind them, running over the flawless white ground like water. Elysium was all that it was imagined to be. The sky took night and day as it did in the living world. Thin, wispy clouds supported their feet and kingdom. Flowers and trees were abundant, but the season never changed, which made it, in a way, dull. No fungus or animal could feast on the lush vegetation of Elysium. After all, the land was sacred; so by all means, damn those who would dare mar the perfection of such a place.

In order to actually enter the Celestial Chamber, the balance gods would have to enter at the same time with the same breath on the same step. Strict? Yes. It would have to be so in order for everything to remain constant. This was the way Elysium worked. Every deity, be he man or woman, knew his place and followed the rules without protest. After all, they got everything they wanted. What were they to complain for?

Kagome cast a glance at her companion, tall and handsome, but not necessarily dark, quite the contrary, actually...in a way. His complexion was a creamy pale color, but his manner and mood could very possibly be considered dark. Nature had to have balance, and therefore, had to have good and bad. In short, Kagome was the good, and Naraku was, so to speak, the bad. Naraku was, indeed, not bad-looking at all. Appearances can be deceiving, Kagome warned herself, setting her gaze to her path once again. She quieted her breathing, listening for Naraku's. As the steady rhythm began to ring in her ears, she synchronized her breathing with his. Their steps were already in sync, and all there was left to do, now, was enter at the precise same moment. Kagome had done this a million times over already, ever since she was a child, but the fluttering butterflies in her stomach had never quite worn off. She had been warned, as a young one, that if ever she failed to enter the chamber correctly, Fate would slip from Elysium's hands. When it would return was up to the power and will of the deities. Once Fate was restored into their care, the sacred ones would have to replay everything in dream sequence, erasing the solid memories of the days of free Fate. Then, they would replay the days, as they wished them to be. Elysium was a place for order, most definitely.

Waterfalls spilled from either side of the immortals. Each of the walls of liquid was a door to a different chamber. There was no mark of identification on any of the curtains of water; gods were left to identify them for themselves. In any case, usually, they only used two or three, but nonetheless, they were born with a mental map of the entire heavenly kingdom; they would never get lost.

The pair turned a corner smoothly and walked through a curtain of water. Kagome remained calm, delighting in the cool, silky sensation that caressed her flesh whenever she ventured through one of the enchanting doorways.

Another pair stood in the center of the vast chamber, eyes closed and an orb of energy floating between open hands. One of the deities, a female, had dark, wavy hair and a posture to challenge that of a redwood. When her eyes were closed, she definitely fit the description of goddess, a serene expression resting on her beautiful face. Dark lashes fluttered open, staring, first, at the dark orb of energy floating between slender fingers, and then across to her counterpart.

The light-brown haired man, too, opened his dark eyes and glanced at his lightly colored orb before looking across to the goddess. Smiling warmly, he brought his hands down slowly in sync with hers. The energy crystals flashed simultaneously before disappearing between their dropped hands. For about five minutes, the positions did not have to be changed.

The goddess, now with her eyes open, looked much more like a statue than anything. Her cold expression could almost freeze the flowing water of the doorway. Kikyo, she was called, and she was not one to mess with. The harsh reality of her gaze landed on Naraku, and she nodded to him in a girlish way. Kagome shifted nervously; conversation was never easy between the two pairs. It was strange. Though not entirely known to the four immortals, most of them didn't want to be with their destined spouses. In the rules of Elysium, you had to unite with your counterpart, in due time, of course.

"Kagome!" Hojo, the light-haired god, hailed her.

"Hojo," Kagome answered, smiling amiably, "all's going well?"

"Hai, it is!" he answered cheerily, sweeping towards her in the flowing kimono of dark green. "And you?"

"As it always is," she answered, rolling her eyes slightly before smiling again.

"Therefore, I assume everything's going well!" he laughed, eyes twinkling merrily.

Really, you couldn't tell much by his antics, but Hojo definitely wanted Kagome rather than Kikyo. Yet, the rules were set, and he was to follow. But who was to say he couldn't be extra nice?

"Naraku-sama," Kikyo called smoothly, brushing past Hojo to stand at Naraku's side. "How have you been?"

"Fine," he answered bluntly, glaring slightly at Hojo.

Now, maybe, from this scene, you could tell that Kikyo wanted Naraku and not so much Hojo. But, Naraku was spiteful of Hojo for his flirtatious attitude towards Kagome; Kagome was Naraku's by law, after all.

"We should get to work, ne?" Kagome suggested good-naturedly, turning to face Naraku. "Lest the universe fall into imbalance."

Kagome seemed to be the mediator of it all. She neither Naraku nor Hojo and wasn't too partial to Kikyo, either. Of course, she was unaware of all the attention she was being given, but maybe it was all for the better? Still, she was smart enough to realize there was tension about something between Naraku and Hojo, so she didn't keep them in the same place very long. Dismissively, she waved a hand at Hojo and smiled assuringly at Naraku before striding towards the beams of light erecting from the ground, where Kikyo and Hojo had once stood.

Naraku, reassured by her warm smile, also walked towards the beams of light and took his place in the center of one of them. Staring across at the beautiful Kagome, garbed in a pale, pale blue kimono, he smiled disarmingly and raised his arms with hers. They stood across from each other, moving like reflections. Slowly, they elevated off the floor and closed their eyes, lifting an orb of energy, exactly like the ones before them, into the air between their hands. A fourth of the way up to their destination, Naraku stole a glance at his counterpart. She was absolutely stunning. The excess cloth of her kimono fell elegantly below her feet, face set in serene concentration as black tresses flowed down her back and shoulders. Dark lashes kissed pale skin; deep red lips were parted slightly, teasing him with their mere existence. It was absolute torture. But soon, they would be united...it was only a matter of time before the elaborate ceremony, of which Naraku was sure Kagome did not know of. Then, finally, she would be his and his alone. The thought was a comfort to him, and he, too, let his dark eyes flutter shut as they neared the halfway point of the ascent.

Kikyo watched disdainfully as Naraku shot curious glances to Kagome. What does she have that I haven't got? The vain goddess sniffed arrogantly as a frown carved itself in her proud features. Turning to Hojo, she shot him a command with her piercing ice-blue eyes before whirling to leave.

"Hey Kikyo!" a boy called cheerily, teasingly.

The goddess faltered in step, and the raucous shot startled the ascending balance deities, causing them to plunge from their heights. It was the God of Mischief's job to cause disarray, was it not? From their crumpled positions on the ground, the two immortals glared venomously at Inuyasha, God of Mischief. He, in turn, smirked at all present before mentally complimenting himself for a job well done. He had actually managed to catch Kikyo off guard! That, if anything, was a major accomplishment. You would leave it to him to find some kind of kink in the working of the chambers and somehow, manage to slip in unnoticed. Of course, his accomplishment came with a price. Since the deities had already been ascending in the light, then the transfer had already officially begun only to be broken by this white-haired disturbance. And what that meant was the whole of the universe was to be un-handled until Elysium could regain control. Kikyo cursed under her breath, a very unholy thing to do in her position.

"You fool!" Naraku reprimanded harshly, lifting himself up to stand, "Do you have any idea of what you have DONE?!"

"Yeah!" Inuyasha answered, smiling like a child having been given cotton candy, "I just surprised Kikyo and the rest of you!"

Naraku growled in frustration and started towards the demonic Inuyasha, golden eyes dancing as he stood tall in his fiery red kimono. White, furry ears stood atop his fair head, twitching every so often to a sound around him. The boy's appearance was strange, not quite suitable to his personality. He looked, obviously, formal and handsome (with the exception of his cute dog-like ears) but in all actuality, you would describe him as anything but that. "WE HAVE LOST CONTROL OF FATE!!!! CAN YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU IMBECILE?!?!?!?!?!?!" Naraku exploded.

"That, too," Inuyasha said thoughtfully, stepping over to Kagome, whom he had taken a fancy for. "How's it goin', Kagome?"

"Fine until now," she said warily, pushing herself off the ground.

She stood behind Naraku, placing a hand on his shoulder. His enraged state left him almost immediately, his tense body relaxing under her soothing touch. It was one of the reasons he wanted her to himself so much: her kindness and understanding. She also, shown now, had the ability to calm him in an instant. The simple facts amazed him to no ends. Perhaps, though, she could do a little bit without so much kindness from her. If she were less kind, maybe she wouldn't be so positive towards others? Then, he would have her to himself. But, it made her who she was, so he couldn't really do anything about it. Sighing softly, he unclenched his fists and folded his arms.

"We should tell the Higher Lords," Naraku said firmly, an icy glare set on Inuyasha.

"Hai, let's go," Kagome said, throwing a look of contempt at the God of Mischief before exiting the Celestial Chamber.

Kikyo and Hojo, also angered by Inuyasha's foolish antics, similarly left the chamber. Inuyasha, now left alone, was in a bit of a plight.

"Hey!" he called, running to the doorway that would not let him leave. "I don't know how to get out! Wait!!!"

Grumbling incoherent phrases, he slid down the wall and sat on the floor. Just have to wait until they come back then... Letting his head fall in his hand, he pondered a way to squirm his way out of this mess.