Angels
The Village Hidden in the spectrum.High in the mountains where the rivers run shallow and crash over a thousand waterfalls. A myriad of colours shine through the crystal droplets and when the light of a summer dawn shines across the insect wing one only has to close ones eyes. It sounds like paradise. But for Shuya it was just her home...
I awoke with a gasp, the air was cold. I rolled over and took my mothers photo in my hands, told her good morning kissed the frame and got to my feet. The wooden floor was freezing on my bare toes and through my thin dress. I looked through the glassless window in the wall of the shack we lived in – my father and me-and saw the ground glittering with frost. I heard my father stir in the room next to me and knew I would have to get some food ready before he awoke, if I didn't it would be the worse for me. I boiled some water and put on some breakfast for the old man.
With the rice softening in the pan I went out into the frost to clean my dirty face and hair in the well round the back. The air smelled of horses and a bonfire from the night before. The smell would get into my hair but I really didn't mind. I splashed some ice cold water onto my face to wake me up and when the ripples dispersed I could look closer at the reflection shining back at me from the black water. A streak of shimmering purples and golds glimmered back at me from the depths of the well. I saw a teenage girl, her face was framed with iridescent purple hair, and her eyes were a vivid green – an unusual colour in this part of the world. Her eyelashes were long and tipped with gold and her skin was so pale that in the right light her blue veins glowed through. I looked a lot like my mother, thankfully nothing like my father. I appeared delicate but the tough life of a kunoichi had hardened me, I gasped and dropped the jug of water I was carrying when a thought raced across my mind. Today was the day I became a jounin!
I'd passed the exam with the other ninja from my village and today was the ceremony, I rushed indoors with my wet hair slapping at my back, I needed my best clothes and shoes.
"Father!" I ran up to the unshaven drunk I used to call daddy, "father, today is the ninja ceremony, will you come and watch-" he cut my sentence short with a vicious backhand across my cheek and turned his back on me.
"No daughter of mine will become a ninja, women serve their place in the house and stay where they belong" he grunted and raised a bottle to his lips. A tear slid down my face and I fled the house with only one hurtful backwards glance. I grabbed the bundle of clothes I'd laid out the night before and escaped out of the back door, leaving it to blow closed in the wind.
I knew exactly where I was going, I'd found this place a long time ago but something told me I hadn't found it by accident. I knew the way there even in the dark, even in blizzards, even in the pouring rain. I scampered up muddy slopes and around the trunks of enormous trees, the leaves shone a million shades of green and the birds that flew around me displayed feathers of every imaginable tone. In this part of the village everything seemed more alive, and time seemed to slow down to a better pace, the grass was greener and the water was cleaner. The bundle I was carrying seemed to feel lighter and I practically skipped the rest of the way.
Here, up ahead I saw the first outcrop of rock that told me I was heading in the right direction. I danced past it and onwards through the twinkling and almost magical wood. Only a little further and I came upon a hollow, it was still filled with the morning mist and looked more beautiful than ever.
Here was where the mood changed, everything became still and the birdsong could not penetrate the crumbled stone walls, here was a temple. It used to be tall and grand but it appeared that time had taken its toll. All that remained was one great glass window still intact and standing up proudly, a low wall ran around marking the boundary, higher in some places than in others. A shallow pool in the courtyard was filled with water that shone with a mixture of colours – this wasn't called the Spectrum village for nothing. There were no chairs on the pale sand coloured stone, so I sat on the large floor tiles where weeds had been growing through for centuries. A clue to the church's age was the gigantic oak tree which had grown over one of the lower walls, it must have taken hundreds of years to get to that size and now it was supporting the crumbling architecture. The roof was long gone, so sometimes I sat here exposed to all weather. It didn't matter – I felt safe here.
I checked no one had followed me and danced down into the hollow where the holy church had stood since before my great great grandmother had drawn her first breath. I cleaned myself in the pool and pulled on my better clothes. Then I sat down to pray. My father jibed at me about it all the time, said I was stupid and that there was no one 'up there' looking out for us. Secretly I had proved him wrong. Not long ago in a training fight I'd received a fatal wound to the neck, a kunai had pierced my jugular and I fell unconscious through blood loss, everyone knew I was dead. And then I woke up.
This alone proved there was someone looking out for me, a miracle had happened to me. After finishing my prayers I got up and headed out of the wood and towards the town, today I would join the ranks of jounin that protected the village. Today I'd find a use for my life and fill this void that had grown inside me since my mother passed away.
Benches creaked, feet shuffled and small children whispered. I stood in the draughty hall, 22 chunin and me. The place was filled with parents and relatives, some were crying. I stood searching the rows of faces looking hopelessly for my father. He'd come I know he would! He wouldn't miss this would he? My one moment of glory! Then I saw him stagger in at the back, drunk of course but he'd made it hadn't he. I beamed at him but all he returned was a sarcastic snigger. Laughing at me even now, even after all my hard work. My attention was distracted, however when our village leader walked slowly up to the stage where we stood and began to call out names.
He moved along our row handing out shiny medals to the lucky young men and women. He eventually reached me at my place on the end. I noticed with despair that his hands were empty, there were no more medals left! He looked at me then hastily looked away.
"I'm...sorry, we couldn't pass a person like you" he said in a low voice that no one else could hear. He moved away and left me standing there with tears in my eyes. As if in slow motion I saw the front row of parents stand up and rush on their successful sons and daughters, hugging and congratulating. Hats were thrown into the air. My vision swam and I searched the sea of happy people looking for my own family, there in the corner was my father almost on his knees with drunken laughter. I couldn't hear him over the noise but I knew his words off by heart,
'Stupid woman! You'd never make it, just like your useless mother. Should have had a son...'
Silently I dropped off the stage and tore off my hat, I shook my hair free and left through the back door. I headed up the hill running and ripped off my ceremonial cloak leaving it lying in the dry grass. I pushed my way through the undergrowth and ripped off the white gloves that covered my hands. Finally I kicked off my high healed shoes so I could run faster. And boy could I run, I reached the temple breathless and red in the face but I felt better for it. I dumped my shoes on the floor and flopped down next to them, before I realized it, I was praying again.
I couldn't believe everything had gone to my father's plan. Without my mother to protect me I'd been used as a slave and been marked as an unlucky woman. My mother had died bringing me into this world so some viewed her death as my fault, and with her gone my bloodline limit would have to develop on its own with no guidance. In that respect I was both dangerous and an ill omen. Before long I would be married off to some rich man and never become a ninja – just as my father planned.
Tears leaked from my closed eyes but my mouth continued forming the words of my prayer. In this state I never noticed the shadow moving over me, never realized the man kneeling opposite me. I was not alone in this place anymore.
"Sshh now" were his only words. I looked up startled and was drawn into his violet eyes. This man wasn't from my village – purple was even rarer than green when it came to eye colour. In fact I'd never seen it before. The men in the stained glass window pictures had purple eyes I remembered.
"W –who are you?" I stuttered, pushing myself into a sitting position and staring at him. He wore baggy blue trousers and ninja sandals, he was topless. Round his neck was a silver pendant which I noticed matched the mosaic pattern picked out in black on the floor. A lot of things about him seemed to tie him to this church, but not to my village. He looked into my face and found confusion there.
"Who are you then?" his voice was confident and clear, somewhat cheeky and rude and it made me smile through my tears. He noticed my smile and grinned as well. "That's what it's all about – smiling through the tears" he said cryptically before nodding at me to continue.
"My name's Shuya" I explained, "I'm from the village just the other side of this wood, just been denied chunin status." I untied my headband and threw it across to him to look at.
"The village the other side of the wood?" he asked with a question in his voice, "this temple isn't built in a wood, and the only village over there is my village. I've never seen you before"
"What?" I asked, "I come up to these ruins every day, it just feels...right somehow."
"Ruins? What the hell? This temple is only a few years old!" he exclaimed and jumped to his feet. I saw him coming closer and rose to my feet to back away.
"I... have to go" I stammered and turned away. I fled through the trees, down the hill and home.
The fog moved in around our little hut and I contemplated the events of the past week, I'd hardly thought about the ceremony at all- my thoughts lay only with the temple and the man I met up there. I realized I had told him my name and got nothing in return. I worried about him constantly, he was on my mind every daylight hour, and seeing as I could find no sleep- every moonlit hour too. I hadn't found the time or courage to go back up to those ruins yet, so I skulked about in the gloom of my wooden hovel hearing my drunken father crash around and snore noisily. Tonight though was different, I felt tired and worn down from lack of sleep. I hadn't eaten much in days, I had no appetite from worrying my days away, but the night seemed to beckon to me.
Slowly I pulled a pair of boots on and crept across my room, lifting the shutters I climbed out of the window and landed softly on the damp grass. I left footprints in the dew but it didn't matter – the fog shrouded me already. With superhuman speed I made my way through the jungle of trees and bushes until the stark shape of the ruined temple loomed out of the mist. There was no one there.
I almost cried with disappointment and relief – both emotions came to me at the same time and I rushed down into the foggy hollow, in between the standing stones and white pillars. I searched every nook and cranny until I found myself stumbling back into the centre of the church. I stood inside the symbol on the ground that matched his necklace so very well, and a voice pierced the silence,
"Looking for me?"
I whipped around, my clothes rustled but that was the only sound. I searched the icy clearing for his face, his purple eyes his silver hair. The images that had haunted me these last few torturous days. I'd been pining for just a glimpse of him. How had this happened to me?
The first thing that caught my eye were his clothes and his incredible height. He must be over 6 feet tall and dressed outlandishly. The folks here mainly wore plain clothes but he was dressed in a full length cloak. It flapped about him majestically as he stood staring down at me, he was grinning again.
"I...you –where?" I stuttered and straightened up. If I stood tall I wouldn't look so unsure and frightened.
"I've been here all along, princess" he drawled, "but what brings you here in the middle of the night?" He flopped down onto the floor and crossed his legs completely at ease. I settled to the floor as well, mirroring his actions. He swept a hand through his perfectly slicked back hair, I did the same with my oddly coloured flyaway mop. We stared.
"What's your name then?" I asked of him, and absent mindedly drew patterns in the dust. My eyes met his.
"Why would I tell you that?"
I avoided his gaze once more, if he looked into my eyes he might see what was growing there. A flimsy connection with a complete stranger was all it was, but I didn't want him to see the extent to which he bothered me. And he did bother me.
I looked down to the pattern I'd been marking in the sand on the dry floor and noticed two things. One: why was the floor here dry when it had been raining all night? And two: I'd copied out the pattern on his necklace– a necklace I now realized to be a rosary. I looked up slowly and he glared right into me.
"Do you even know what that is?" he hissed. I shook my head. "You shouldn't concern yourself with things you don't understand" he narrowed his eyes and made to brush the symbol away. My hand shot out and he stopped. We didn't touch. I was still wary of him and so we sat there, my hand on one side of the symbol and his on the other.
"Tell me." I demanded
"No"
"Why not?"
"Because you're a heathen bitch like all the rest!"
"I come here twice every day to pray, if I'm a heathen then you're one too! What is this symbol and what does it mean?"
My defiant stare met his sarcastic one. The air seemed to vibrate between us. It was as if some magnetism was acting on us. Neither breathed, neither blinked. We sat still for a long minute, each assessing the other. He looked over my rough hair, plain face and odd clothes. I scanned his vibrant eyes and the way he wore his cloak, it was obviously a mark of high rank amongst his people.
"I know you're not a heathen" he commented after the long pause
"How's that?"
"A common bitch wouldn't have found this temple. I was thinking do you know what year it is?"
"Year of the horse...duh"
He leaned forwards conspiratorially, "see for me, it's the year of the rat"
I gazed at him for a split second then did the maths. "That means you're at least 6 years..."
"6 years what though? Forwards in time? Backwards in time? It's interesting, you saying this temple is in ruins-my people would never let it get to that state. I'm guessing, you're from the future."
"No you're from the past"
"This is my temple, you're the alien it's you who's in the wrong fucking time!"
"Just shut up already you're confusing me, I need to pray..." I shifted onto my knees and turned my back on him.
"But to who?" he whispered softly.
The question dug into me, it turned my blood to ice. It frightened me, because I realized then that I had no Idea who or what was listening to my prayers. I just did it because it made me feel better about the world, I froze up.
He saw me hesitate, "I think it's time I told you about this symbol" he twisted the rosary in his hand, winked and got up. "Later princess!" he called lazily and was gone between the marble arches. Before I could turn round he was gone again, not a sound or trace of him left. The swirls his cloak had left in the dust were gone, and the place seemed somehow empty without him. I rose and searched the bushes near the archway he'd gone through. I knew I'd find nothing.
Disspirited and frightened I returned to my home just before dawn. I had no one to get back for and nothing to wake up for. "Until the night..." I whispered to the empty skies.
Sleep was a long time coming. Every time I fell into a doze I'd see his sarcastic smile, hear his voice in my head telling me I was praying all wrong and then he'd disappear through mist as silver as his hair. I hadn't found an appetite for dinner and I was starting to look ill, not that anyone cared. I was a failed ninja, I had no sensei to guide me, and no mother to nurture me. No one needed to speak to me except the men looking to marry me off. I was becoming obsessed with the man at the church, but it was all I had to cling to. I clung with both hands.
From Hidan's P.O.V
Twice. Twice I'd seen her fucking face and twice I'd known she was not from this village. Who the hell dressed in such a way? And that strange hair colour, and the way she spoke.
'Oh fuck I'm doing it again' I thought. I promised myself I wouldn't think of her today. Too many important rituals to be done, too many people to see. A man barged past me, nearly spilling his food over my new robe.
"Fuck you!" I screamed aloud then noticed the long beard and magenta robe, "Father Baku, gomenasai" I bowed hastily.
He glared down at me disapprovingly, "You've only just earnt your immortality; it doesn't mean you're the king of the hill yet. You're the foulest mouthed priest I've ever ordained" with a huff he elbowed his way through the crowd. And left me standing there.
I continued up to the high temple by myself. Now I was immortal I was expected to participate with the serious rituals and I was scared. Apparently it hurt a lot. It was difficult to concentrate on anything when I had that girl's voice bouncing round my skull. I entered the inner halls and had to stop to take off my shoes and pray. The others around me saw my robe and had to clear the way to let me pass. Getting my immortality this early was pretty sweet, it meant I would be 19 forever and only lord Jashin could take that away from me.
My breath hitched as I found myself approaching the centre of the temple. It was closed off to nearly everyone, and had no windows and only this one door. It was guarded at all times. I half hoped the guards would deny me entry and I could go to my room and sleep, but as I drew near they lifted their weapons and I walked through with barely a nod in their direction. The corridor grew quieter and darker until the only sound and light came from the torches on either side of the thin passageway. Up ahead I could her chanting, the monks preparing the room for the ritual. Once I got there they'd have to leave, then only priests and higher priests were allowed in. My heart hammered in my chest, as if reminding me it was still there whether I needed it or not. As soon as this thing got underway it would be pumping my blood all over the stone floor. My palms were sweaty and by the time I approached the door I was psyched enough to jump at my own shadow.
I pushed it wide and strode in, feigning confidence. The bald monks got up from their positions around the sacred floor and filed out in a line. That only left me and two others, one for each point of the holy triangle. We didn't say a word, words would be inappropriate – even rude within the confines of this room. We knelt and began the lengthy prayers, at the end of which I would find out what it really meant to be a high priest of lord Jashin.
Covered in my own blood and gasping for breath I emerged from the temple into the cold spring morning. My fingers clutched at the gaping hole in my chest as if trying to pull it closed. I was amazed I wasn't dead – but that was the whole idea – only a priest with complete faith would take part in a ritual so intense. I put my hand against the stone wall to steady myself and I squeezed my eyes shut against the throbbing pain. It would be a while yet before I learnt to just enjoy it. In my left hand I now held my new weapon, it was a massive deadly triple bladed scythe. One blade for every side of the triangle – it made sense. It shone in the darkness with a light of its own. Inside the inner temple my other weapon was still lying inside the markings on the floor where I'd been stabbed through with it not so long ago.
I'd been so nervous, I'd hardly stopped to think that Jashin would never let me die. Not now. I leaned against the temple walls and watched the sun come up, contemplating my new position and life. I could do anything, go anywhere, forever. Suddenly I remembered the girl at the old church on the hill, might she still be there? I'd missed her again. The pressure of the ritual had forced her out of my mind but as soon as I was alone again, the memory returned. Could I make it up the hill in this state? I was willing to try.
From Shuya's P.O.V
I sat huddled in a blanket in the ruins of my favourite spot. My knees were tucked up under my chin and I wrapped the blanket tighter round my fragile form. The wind whistled through the standing stones and created an eerie wailing, the rain lashed at the outside but for some reason it never rained inside the tumbledown walls. I was thankful for that. I'd waited up nearly all night just to see him again. All day I'd toiled around the house doing mundane tasks to please my father, and as soon as the red sun set behind the fir trees I was out and running through the forest. I hadn't slept or eaten properly for weeks, I was only focussing on seeing that man again. I still didn't know his name.
He hadn't shown up for a week now. I was afraid it had all been part of some dream, but still every night I made sure I was here, waiting. I could see the sun sleepily rising again signalling the night was over. With a disappointed sigh I picked myself up off the floor and stretched my aching limbs. I folded my well worn blanket and began to walk away.
"Shuya!" a gravelly voice called out to me. I turned round, thinking in horror it was one of the elders of our village come to find me. They would surely hate the fact that I came here alone and prayed to a deity I didn't even know the name of. My eyes grew round, however when I realized it was him – the guy I'd waited so long to find. There was blood all over him – was he dying? Had he been attacked? He reached out to grab hold of the wall but missed and fell to his knees.
"Oh my god!" I breathed and rushed to him. I knelt down beside him and looked into his sparkling purple eyes. I didn't touch him – something, maybe some sixth sense stopped me. He choked and blood ran out of his mouth, I glanced down and saw a gaping hole in his chest.
What was going on?
"I...I'm fine. Seriously" he insisted and slouched against a pillar. "Don't look so concerned, this is nothing!" he continued upon seeing my expression.
"What's happened to you?" I asked with a quaver in my voice, "have you been attacked?" I desperately wanted to reach out and stroke his pale face, to comfort him, but it didn't look as if he needed my attention. He cringed away when I made to inspect the wound, and tried to shuffle off.
"Tell me what happened!" I demanded, my pent up anxiety of the past week was frustrating me.
"I had to...had to come and see you" he said through ragged breaths, "the ritual..."
"Ritual? I don't understand?" I said loudly trying to get just a smidgeon of information out of him before he collapsed. I could be unfeeling at times. He sat up straight and glared into my eyes as if willing me to know what he knew. But I knew nothing.
"I have a lot to tell you..." he began, then sighed and digressed into the whole story he had 'forgotten' to tell me all those nights ago. He told me what the symbol meant, how he had devoted his life to his god, how he had now become high priest and completed his first ritual – one he must now do without question. He told me his real name and the rank of immortality he had now achieved, and he told me all this...
"...because I want you to share it with me..." he reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a shiny silver pendant like the one he wore himself. It glittered in the faint light as he hung it around my neck, wearing it I felt empowered and I wondered why he had chosen to present me with this. "Because you deserve it..."
He said this last sentence as little more than a whisper into my ear. With all my heart I wanted to believe him, but some part of me refused – the same part of me that was screaming out for me not to touch him, not to brush my hand against his. I sat back and looked at him,
"Take me to your village" I suggested. But we both knew it was more than that. It was a test. Would the laws of his religion plus the laws of time and space let me pass from here to his village more than a hundred years in the past? We stood.
He led me out through the archway and through the early morning mist. I couldn't see much except trees and fog and his silver head bobbing away in front of me. After a pause he turned around.
"We're here" he announced.
I strode up to him and looked out, eager to see the place he called home. I gasped with surprise as I looked and a lone tear rolled down my face. Below me I saw an empty field, with the remains of grand architecture pushing up like broken teeth through the grass. I saw fallen statues laying on their sides, their faces worn away through the passing of time. Hardly a wall remained upright and yet with the light at this angle and Hidan by my side I saw something else. The light fell on the ruined village and lit it up, and, like a mirage the old city was revealed in golden light. Like ghosts the grand temples seemed to rise up from the foundations and gleam for a moment before me. The sun illuminated ancient pathways and intricate mosaic courtyards, fountains, churches and shrines. And yet if I looked closely I could still see the grey damp field behind it all, the golden city was only a reflection of years gone by – a phantasm appearing beneath me because lord Jashin made it so.
I turned to the man standing at my side, looking eagerly forwards, "Do you see it?" he asked
"Yes... but I cannot go there with you"
"It's not meant to be... not yet" he murmured as realization dawned, I met his eyes and an understanding passed between us. For the first time he reached out to take my hand. My breath caught as I felt not the firm grip of flesh and blood fingers, but the gossamer grip of a spirit dancing on my skin. He pressed his lips to my hand and bowed in the custom of his people, then he was gone, limping down the hillside and turning slowly into nothing. The sun moved and I was plunged back into the grey reality of the rainy once more.