Introduction & Disclaimer
This story is intended as a continuation - of sorts - from the Shinzahou Chronicles...set approximately a year and a half on from the events in Kutou. So some characters will be reprised. But it is - in many ways - more of a typical Miko legend. In as much as I ever write anything typical to the original concept...lets call it a spinoff of a spinoff, shall we? :D
It is not intended as simply Suzuno's legend as Byakko no Miko. This is largely because I'm not well enough informed on the period from a real-world Japan perspective and I don't want to venture into things I don't understand. That said, I do intend on including my interpretation of Suzuno's legend extensively in this story in one way or another. It's hard to really explain, but I suppose this will run the past legend (as interpreted by me) alongside the future one (as created by me). I just didn't want to write too much about Morioka and Suzuno's life there, because, as I said, I'm not informed. (I may have used the Genbu Kaiden manga for some corroborating data relating to Suzuno and Takiko, but in incidences where GK conflicts with original manga, I've gone with original manga every time).
I have also interpreted Suzuno as being sixteen when she enters the book. Simple reason for this is that Miaka and Yui were fifteen, Takiko was seventeen. Sixteen seems nicely in the middle :)
The most important part of this disclaimer is the fact that at times I've been wilfully toying with the souls of Watase Yuu-sensei's Byakko characters to suit my own ends and purposes. For this reason I've devised my own backstory for the Byakko and the manner in which they and Suzuno saved Sairou years before. Obviously, if she ever writes an official version, this kind of fiction will be a bit of a nonsense. But eh. It's still fun to do.
(P.S - what is WITH ffnet's character list?! Only Tatara features on it! Meh!)
As I've observed before, my fanon and the Gaiden Eikouden continue to part ways . I'll add to that elements of Yuuaiden and possibly ShugyokuDen too, although in the latter case it won't be a complete parting. I'm just fed up of Kutou always invading the other countries and the same story rolling out over again. So I've given it a different twist. It was a case of, do I stick rigidly to the handful of throwaway details and make the story jerky and confused, or do just plot a story and not worry too much about those details. In the end, artistic pride won over accuracy. To any purists, gomen :S
((One other thing. Sukunami Hikari girl in Vraie's brain.Hikari is a girl's name, darnit. A girl's name! To that end, when reading my fanfic, assume that the child at the end of the manga is who Makoto is written to be, since that's why Hikari was given a brother in my writing in the first place.
Again, to the purists, gomen.))
Hopefully my interpretation of the past and future Byakko incarnations and legends are not impossible to fit into the existing world as we know it from the manga, etc. Tokaki, Tatara and Subaru will continue to possess the same gender and powers in their new incarnations as the last, just to keep it from being confusing. Any other Byakko Seishi - beyond the basic name - have been devised by me.
Obviously a proportion of this story is going to be connected with Sairou and Sairou's court. For this reason, a royal family of Sairou has been spawned. There will also be a lot of travelling as regards various characters in this story...ah, you'll see what I mean. Place names in Sairou have also been invented to suit the story where they've been needed. I have no idea if any canon place names for Sairou exist beyond the valley with the giant buddha. So I stuck with my own concept of Sairou, its geography and people.
((Makan-mura has been left in Hokkan as indicated in the original manga which puts it 'near the Sairou border', whatever later sources have to say about it. So Amiboshi probably won't be in this story.))
Final comment is on the title - back to the tacky novel copying I'm afraid. The kanji mean "White" "Tiger" and "Legend" although the kanji for "Tiger" isn't the usual kanji for the animal - rather it's the one belonging to the stellar Chinese zodiac Tiger. Somehow it seemed appropriate that way... The title of Volume One is "Rekishi" which means "Past" or more aptly, "History" :)
As ever, I do not own the Yuugi world and all original FY characters and concepts are copyright to Watase Yuu-sensei :) The Gaiden, with whose canon I am wilfully meddling, are also copyright to Nishizaki Megumi-sensei.
白寅伝
Hakuinden: The Legend of the White Tiger
第一巻：歴史
Volume One: Rekishi
"Betsu no sekai ni itemo, kokoro wa hitotsu ni musubarete iru"
(Even when you're in a different world, our hearts are tied together into one)
Tatara "Seed"
Synopsis
It's been eighteen months since the disappearance of Sukunami Hikari into the book world and as her family try and move on with normal life in her absence, her best friend Arina is determined to find out as much as she can about the ShijinTenchishou. After receiving Oosugi Suzuno's diary from Hikari's uncle Keisuke, she begins to find that there is more to the legend of the Miko than she had ever realised before. Inexplicably drawn to both Suzuno and her adventures, Arina makes up her mind to go to Morioka to visit the woman's grave and discover exactly what it is that makes her story so compelling.
In the Eastern capital, Myoume has put both her Celestial past and her memories of her brother to rest as she awaits the birth of her first child, whilst Hikari has settled into life in the South and is a regular fixation at Reizeitei-sama's court. And yet, as the atmosphere becomes ever more unsettled, both Seishi and Shinzahou are unaware that what is coming may threaten both their lives and their friendship. For in Sairou, the Emperor Heiboutei's court astrologer Han Rouhei is already making predictions – that before too long their country's peace will once more be threatened, and that, just as before, those born with Byakko's spirit will once more be called into action to defend both people and country with their lives.
Meanwhile, Heiboutei's daughter Princess Ouba is preparing to move half a world away to take up her role as a political pawn of marriage between the East and West. With her loyal companion Kinka and her brother's faithful man of arms Sayo as her guardians, Ouba is certain she is in safe hands, and yet she cannot help being fearful of the road ahead. Kintsusei may have brought peace to Kutou, but he is still the son of the reviled Emperor Shoukitei, and he is still more than twice her age. As they travel East, Ouba becomes more and more aware that Kinka is hiding something important from her – but what could it be?
The answer is sealed deep within a cave in the Tanin mountains, as a darkness threatens to unleash itself once more over the West…
Prologue
The Kanin Mountains, Sairou
A Century Earlier
So now there was no doubt.
The young woman sat back on her heels, regarding her reflection in the water with a sense of resignation as she took in the spreading darkness that reflected in the depths of her distinctive emerald gaze. All around her, she could sense rather than see the flickering of the crystals as they hummed and glowed with energy and light. Yet even they too were fading, little by little, as the magic invested in them began to break and die away.
There was nothing that could be done to change it. Of all people, she knew that better than any of them. It was, after all, written in the stars.
"The battle is not yet over, is it, Byakko-kami-sama?" She whispered, raising her gaze to the ceiling of the cave as if hoping for some divine light to strike down and illuminate the shadows that cloaked her heart. But she knew that they would not come. That time had passed.
"Suzuno-sama." Gently the woman slipped the black gauze gloves from her fingers, stretching them until a distinctive white mark began to glitter on the uppermost tip of her right index finger. "Byakko no Miko, in whom we all placed our faith. You saved Sairou – but you couldn't save us. You went home – as a Miko must – your wishes granted and your deed done. I cannot fault you – I will not fault you. You are someone in whom I pledged my faith and I would do so again, even knowing what I know now. Thanks to you, Sairou's people can live in peace without fear of persecution or war. These are great things indeed. And yet…"
She trailed off, eying her finger for a moment then, very slowly and carefully she reached out towards the water's surface, feeling the buzz of energy strike through her skin as her stellar mark made contact with the cool, bitter mountain liquid.
"Time is running out." She murmured. "I cannot change it – I cannot stop time, not can I turn it back. But…even so…would I? If I had that choice…could I?"
"Toroki?"
A voice from the cave doorway made her turn and her lips twitched into a tired smile as she drew her hand away from the water, folding it idly in her lap. The speaker was a young woman of seventeen or eighteen, thick silver-white hair drawn back from her face in curls, and her usually cheeky, minxish countenance uncharacteristically solemn as she met her comrade's gaze.
"You are still here, then. You truly intend to keep guard over this place until you waste away to nothing?"
"I'm doing what I have to, just as all of us do." Toroki said simply, spreading her hands in a gesture of resignation. "This place is tainted. There is darkness here. Our duty is to protect Sairou from harm, isn't it? In which case, somehow…the story of this place must be told."
"You'll do no good if you starve yourself pacing round an empty cavern." The other woman scolded, dropping gracefully down at her side and crossing her legs as she did so. "You've already lost weight, Toroki – you need to eat, you know. What kind of foolish prophet can't even feed herself, when all is said and done?"
Toroki was silent for a moment. Then she shook her head.
"I saw it." She said softly. "It's too late, Subaru. I saw it already…it can't be changed now."
"Saw it? Saw what?" Subaru stared at her in consternation. "What are you talking about? I thought your duty – and your visions – had come to an end already!"
"Does it ever end, the service of the God?" Toroki raised a humourless smile. "The demands of Byakko on our souls cycle round generation after generation, Subaru. We won't be the first or the last people to live these lives. Whether we are the first to answer Byakko's call so decisively I couldn't tell you. But we won't be the last. Of that I am sure. This war is not over yet. Byakko's fight…has only just begun."
"I hate it when you're like this." Subaru complained, shaking her head impatiently. "I came to drag you away from here – to the place where Tatara and Tokaki are secluding the Shinzahou. That's our duty now, if anything is – protecting Suzuno-chan's treasure from prying eyes and hands. Tatara gave Suzuno his word, when she left, that he'd guard it with his life. And we all made her a promise, too - to stick together - live and die together - no matter what. Suzaku and Seiryuu have not yet played out their legends, after all. We must protect the mirror, if we want to uphold Byakko's faith in us. Not sit around in an empty cave whispering about the stars. This battleground is deserted. We should go too."
"Amefuri is dead." Toroki got slowly to her feet, and Subaru gazed at her, shock glittering in her eyes.
"Dead?"
"Yes." Toroki's lips twitched into a bitter smile.
"But...Suzuno's promise..." Subaru faltered, and Toroki shook her head.
"A naive promise none of us can easily keep." She said softly. "To live and to die together - well, perhaps there is truth in it, though I really hope not. To live and to die...Subaru, we are already divided by something beyond our control."
"I don't understand." Subaru frowned. "Stop talking in riddles and speak clearly, Toroki. I want to know what you mean."
"Amefuri is only the first." Toroki said frankly, settling her thin frame more easily on the ground. "Subaru-chan, listen to me and listen well. When I touched the Shinzahou – when I connected with the energy from that thing, my vision soared far and wide and I saw so many things – pasts, presents, futures…lives and voices all merged into one morass of sound and colour. And in that melee I saw something else – something which none of us were able to forsee. Not even me, with the powers Byakko gave me…not even then."
"But I don't…Amefuri is…"
"We summoned Byakko, we brought peace to Sairou, we confined a demon to a place where she cannot leave." Toroki said quietly. "All these things we did with Suzuno's help, and for that reason, people across the Western lands can live in peace. But it isn't over, Subaru. That demon is confined, but she is not gone. And her magic still taints this world. In a deeper way than I ever realised it could."
She sighed, slipping on her black gloves.
"Amefuri was the first." She said simply. "I saw it, his wits and mind driven to madness and his soul struck from his body as he fought to drive the darkness back. We all knew that after his encounter with Makiko he was never in full health - yet he even kept from me, his kinswoman, the true depth of his pain. Perhaps I was just not close enough to him, in the end...perhaps the time we spent apart meant that the gulf between his branch of the clan and mine was too wide for him to breach and confide. Had I had warning...but even then I don't think we could have stopped it. Short of not summoning Byakko, there was no way to avoid it happening like this. And as for Amefuri himself, in the end, he could not fight it any more."
She shivered involuntarily.
"You're still not being clear." Subaru scolded. "What was he fighting? Amefuri was my friend and comrade as much as yours - even if you were estranged, you Han-ke are alike, Toroki-chan. Sometimes you keep everything locked inside your heart and don't speak about it, even if its burning you to the core. Amefuri was that way, and now you're proving to be the same. You were kin, but we were all Byakko brethren. At least tell me the truth about what happened."
Toroki sighed.
"Amefuri's death isn't an end to the story." She murmured, genuine grief in her gaze. "Each of us are cursed, Subaru. Cursed beyond Byakko's coming – cursed to disaster by that wicked woman's foul spirit. In sealing her, we were each touched by her. Maybe Suzuno was too – I don't know. I pray that, by leaving this world, she has somehow escaped it. But even so…even if she has…we are not so fortunate. Amefuri was only the first. Each of us are doomed to fall foul of it in some way, Subaru. To suffer under her curse, one by one. Perhaps to die, perhaps to live with shadows dogging our every move. Even Suzuno's wishes haven't changed the damage the witch has wrought over all of us."
She spread her hands.
"He kept it from all of us and even I didn't see it." She added helplessly. "Till now. Till the moment we were all connected into one spirit. Then the curse's taint surged across our bond and poisoned us all. He tried to protect us from it, yet in the end we had to summon Byakko. And in doing so, we spread that darkness between us. I think that as much as anything drove Amefuri to the ultimate despair. He worked so hard to prevent it - but in the end, he failed. And now we'll all pay the price for it."
Subaru was silent for a moment, digesting this.
"There is nothing we can do to change it?" She asked at length. "This is Byakko's will – he won't intervene on our behalves?"
"How can he act, when his Miko has fulfilled her purpose and gone home?" Toroki asked helplessly. "Her job is not to protect the Seishi…it's ours to protect her."
She sighed.
"Although…it did occur to me…that you and you alone might be strong enough to escape the demon's fate." She added slowly. "Which is why you should watch over Tatara, Subaru, and keep him safe from harm. The curse will undoubtedly strike each of us one by one…yet your ability to stave and change the age of people's forms may yet allow you – and even him – to withstand it. If you could take him to Byakko's shrine and use your power to still his life force at the age he now is…that may at least protect him from death, and allow him to do the last thing he can for Suzuno – protect her treasure from harm. Perhaps we can't all keep our promise to Suzuno - but you, at the very least, might."
"Tatara broke his heart over that girl." Subaru mused, uncharacteristically serious. "I understand what you're saying, although it seems almost a curse in itself that he be forced to live like this, separated from her, when he so bound himself to her."
"He should have known better." Toroki said softly. "As Seishi, we had a duty to do…he was foolish to let it go beyond that. We both know it, Subaru. Even as we both miss Suzuno and grieve for Tatara…that it had to end…was of no surprise."
Subaru sighed.
"All right." She said quietly. "I understand what you've said, at least as much as I think I'm going to. You're saying that that witch cast a final spell on us when we locked her in this place, and through that spell she's still able to hurt us, one by one? Without Suzuno, we can't call Byakko back. And all I can do is try and keep the curse at bay within Tatara's body – and mine, if I can. But what about you, Toroki? Or Kokie, or Karasuki…or…or Tokaki? I can't…even if Amefuri is…I can't…"
"I will probably not live much longer." Toroki admitted, a wistful look touching her expression. "You commented on my lost weight – but it isn't that I don't eat, more that I can't. My delusions and dreams are becoming violent and desperate…I think soon they will consume me. This is how Makiko's poison works its way through me – there is no way for me to escape it now."
She chewed absently on her lip, contemplating.
"And I do not fear it." She added. "I have done the things that I most had to do, after all."
"Toroki!" Subaru shook her head. "I've never known you to be defeatist – why now?"
"Because our duty is over. Mine is, anyhow." Toroki responded simply. "Not yours, however. I feel that very strongly. Your focus should be Tatara and Tatara alone, Subaru-chan. He is the one trusted to protect the Shinzahou. It must be him whose life you still. Within Byakko's shrine, where the Tiger's aura is still strongest...you must."
Subaru glanced at the floor.
"I could still try and help everyone."
"Don't be foolish. You'd kill yourself trying to use your power so much for so long on so many people."
"The Byakko are my brethren – why wouldn't I want to take the risk?"
Toroki closed her eyes, composing herself as flickers of darkness threatened to slip through the cracks in her mind.
"I told you. I've already seen it." She said quietly. "Our fight is over. The curse will poison us – each of us – one by one, in a way even our deaths can't end. You are the only one whose power might at least hold it back – but Subaru-chan, be careful. Just because you might not submit to that witch's magic in this lifetime doesn't mean that the darkness won't touch you in some way. I can't explain it – I don't know what it means, and my time to decipher it is running out. Only that Makiko's bleak vision of the future hasn't been destroyed – only postponed. And at some time in the future we will be like this again, you and I."
"I don't understand what that means." Subaru admitted. "Toroki, you've never been like this before. It scares me, to be honest."
"I've told you as much as I know." Toroki smiled. "Subaru, you mustn't come back to this place. Not now and not ever. Do you understand? Never. Even to bury my body or say prayers for my soul. Because if you do come back here, you will be the one who sets the demon free…and such a thing must not be allowed to come to pass."
"Why would I do something like that?" Subaru snorted. "Don't be silly. After all the work we went to to put her away? The last thing I'd do is let her roam the land again. Especially if it's at such a high cost as this."
"Even so, promise me." Toroki said quietly. "I mean it, Subaru. You must not come here again."
Subaru grimaced.
"All right." She relented. "You have my word, Toroki. I won't come back here. But it seems harsh. Especially if you are…weak. You won't come with me?"
"I won't leave this place." Toroki shook her head. "This is where I belong…this time, and next time, and maybe some time again."
"You're confusing me again." Subaru objected, and Toroki sighed, rubbing her temples.
"I'm sorry." She confessed. "Since I made contact with that mirror, nothing has made clear sense in my head. It's probably better I don't speak any more to you, in case I muddle you further. Just go back to the place where Tatara has the mirror concealed. Stay near to him and guard him as best you can."
"Tokaki is there too, Toroki." Subaru hesitated, then, "I don't intend on letting him die either, you know."
Toroki eyed her keenly, then she shrugged.
"I know that." She admitted. "And perhaps, through the bond you share, you can manage it somehow. But the most important thing is the Shinzahou, Subaru-chan. One day, a foreign Priestess will come to claim it, and you will have to make the judgement as to whether or not she is worthy. Such a task Byakko leaves in your hands – you who of all of us may yet live to see another God's summoning."
"Another summoning? In Sairou?"
"Yes. In Sairou."
"But…?"
"I won't explain what I don't know." Toroki sighed. "My head aches and I need to sleep. Just do as I say, Subaru. Promise me you will. One day we will meet gazes again and speak as strangers, and I pray in that time I'll be of more use to you than I am in this. But till then, do as I ask you. Protect Byakko's treasure from harm…until the time we next meet again."
Subaru got to her feet, then hesitated, turning to glance back at her friend.
"I'll send Tokaki with food." She said softly. "Because no matter what you say, I won't abandon you to die here alone and uncared for. You're not going to starve to death, whatever other forces are involved, Toroki. Byakko might be gone but I have no intention of abandoning my comrades. That goes for Kokie and Karasuki too. However hopeless you think it is, I won't just turn my back. I can try, at the very least. And I will protect Tatara – for as long as there's breath in me, I'll ensure he can do the job Suzuno left him to do. But I'll protect the others as well, as long as I can. That includes you. Don't think otherwise."
At this, Toroki managed a faint smile.
"Byakko would like that, if he heard it." She reflected. "Whatever you think is best. The future is in your hands now, Subaru-chan. And I know…somehow…you'll manage it. For the sake of all we fought for and all we went through…I know that somehow you'll succeed!"
Writer's Note: Suffixes
It should be mentioned briefly that a lot of my characters will be referring to their family in the manner Subaru uses above - ie, with the suffix -ke. It dawned on me therefore that a brief suffixography would be helpful at this point...So, for future reference here it is:
-ke "family (for example, Han-ke- Han family)
-mura "village" (for example, Shouki-mura - Shouki Village)
-gawa "river" (for example, Shouryuu-gawa - Shouryuu River)
-zan "mountain" (for example, Reikaku-zan - Mt Reikaku)
-shi "city" (for example Touran-shi - Touran City)
-ken "province" (for example Kusou-ken, Kusou province)
-jin "people" (for example, Sairou-jin - people of/from Sairou)
The word 'ichizoku' or clan/tribe may also make an appearance (eg Hin-ichizoku, the Hin Clan)
Hopefully that will clear things up if anyone is confused!