Fushigi Yuugi -- Crimson Feather, Azure Scale
She woke up with a sweat. She tried to forget one of the many nightmares that had been plaguing her for the last month or so. She glanced at the clock, and sighed as she got up to get ready for school. Her waist-length, emerald-green hair wasn't brushed, and fell carelessly down her back. Groggily, she trudged to the upstairs bathroom that she shared with her older brother. The red-head was gelling his hair, and combing it to perfection.
"Move over..." the younger of the too commanded half-heartedly, pushing him to the side as she grabbed her toothbrush.
"Jeez, what's up with you?" She didn't respond, and continued with her daily morning duties. "No sleep again? You can't keep getting up so late, or you're gonna be late for school..." She shrugged, and he went downstairs for breakfast.
Less than five minutes later, she had regained herself, brushed her hair, got dressed, and grabbed her homework, putting it in her bag. When she got downstairs to grab the egg-on-toast waiting for her, she kicked her brother's shin.
"Oniichan!! If you're so worried about my attendance record, why don't you wake me up in the morning??" she growled at him.
"Wow, Ayako-chan! Speaking of records, this is the fastest you've been able to respond in the morning!" She smacked him over the head.
"Shut up, Akito..."
"Hey, hey! Abuse!" The boy looked to their mom for support, but she just chuckled at the two and ate her own breakfast. Akito sighed, and stood up.
"Alright, let's go. Ja ne."
"Ja matta ne, Okaasan!" Ayako chirped, a little bit of her usual cheerfulness returning as she waved their mother good-bye.
---
Akito had walked on ahead of her, and she had to jog up hill to catch up.
"Why don't you ever wait for me?" she breathed a little more heavily.
"Yer not gonna make ME late for school! I can't take that damn woman yelling at me again..."
"Aww, Oniichan actually care what his teacher thiiiinks!" she teased. He rolled his eyes, and they smiled as they saw a girl up ahead, light-brown hair in shoulder-length braids with spectacles in the same uniform as Ayako.
"Seta-kun!!" She called, running up to her best friend and forgetting her fatigue.
"Ohayo-gozaimasu, Ayako-san, Akito-sempai", she said with a slight bow. Even though they'd known eachother their whole lives, she was always so formal! It never really phased Ayako, but Akito wished she would loosen up.
"Hey, Seta, can we talk at lunch?"
"Another one?"
"Yeah..."
"Me too..."
"What are you two whispering about??" The fiery red-head exclaimed, half-teasing.
"Oh, nothing!" Ayako cooed, and Seta giggled.
"Well, whatever. See ya guys later." He winked at Seta, and she blushed a little. He turned off and walked toward the closer end of their campus as they arrived.
"Sooooo, how's work?" the green-haired girl asked, casually.
"It's good, it's good... My boss hasn't given me TOO much work, yet. What about you?"
"There are just too many tables to serve! If I get sent to cater to 10 tables at once again, or if I have to clean one more child's spit-up...." They laughed a bit. They tried to act like adults, playfully, once in a while, but there was just too much kid in them.
Suddenly, Seta was grabbed by an upperclassmen, her glasses falling to the ground, revealing her strikingly blue eyes. They liked to bully her, thinking she was weak and overly conservative.
"Hey there, sweety.." She struggled, but he was stronger. Ayako fumed. No one messed with her best friend as long as SHE was around... The man tried to force a kiss on the girl.
Seta's heart pounded until, quite unexpectedly, he let go of her, almost throwing her. Ayako had kicked him hard at the knee.
"Get yer hands off my pal!" she said, sounding rather like her brother. He recovered after a moment.
"Aww, the little Daidoji girl wants to play body-guard. You're too much like your brother."
"Oh really?" the upper-classmen froze up. Akito had returned on instinct, and smacked the bully at the nape of his neck, hitting a pressure point. The boy immediately felt the effects, and ran off, crying. Akito sighed, letting his shoulders slack as the bell rang.
"Great, now I'm late...Ayako, I shouldn't have to baby-sit you." Ayako would have retorted, but Seta, who had never been late before, grabbed her hand and led her off in a flash.
---
Thankfully, the morning didn't last long, and it was soon lunch. They had been only been lightly scolded, but it was enough to hurt the brunette's pride... She was a straight-'A' student who was never absent or tardy. She worked so hard at school and at work to support her lifestyle--she'd been alone as long as she could remember, and rented an apartment all by herself when she was only 14. She thought that if her grades were good enough, she could get into a good school and get an even better job than the one she had as a secretary at Minamotto Industries (c), and if not, perhaps her boss would give her a raise or promote her if she took down enough notes. Come to think of it, they had recently gotten a new classmate with the same last name. As common as it was, she thought nothing of it. She had begun to space out, and Ayako looked at her, worriedly.
"What's bugging you, Seta-kun?"
"It's nothing. Now, what about the dream?"
"It was that same guy...I heard his voice, and I know I saw him, but it's so fuzzy. He kept saying 'Help me, help my feathers, repair my wings' and such & such. The whole thing was just so weird! And then I was surrounded by flames...it was terrifying. Then I just woke up, sweating."
"In my dreams, a man with a rather deep voice spoke to me, softly, saying 'help my lost stars and wounded scales. I have not forsaken them, but still they are lost.' It was horrible...I felt like I was drowning..." She grasped her throat, for emphasis.
"I wonder what it all means...Normally, I'd think nothing of it, but we've been having them for so long..."
"Excuse me, but may I sit with you?" The new girl in their class stood before them holding her boxed lunch, letting her long, royal-blue hair flow over her shoulders, and her violet eyes sparkled.
"O-oh! Of course!" Ayako acknowledged, after Seta nodded.
"Minamotto Akuru desu", she introduced, bowing before she sat.
"Daidoji Ayako!"
"Atashi no namae wa Aokaze Seta desu. Are you, by chance, the daughter of Minamotto Setsuna-sama?" she inquired, glasses shining.
"Hai. Why do you ask?" She looked curious, cocking her head to the side.
"I work as a secretary at his company, however I am not of high ranking", she admitted, smiling anyway.
"Oh, I see! Well, Hajimemashite! My brother and I just transferred here from a private school."
"Why is that?"
"Well...normally I wouldn't say, but I enjoy teasing him. Seki-kun, my brother, has a bad habit for getting into fights. He always feels justified, but the teachers couldn't take it anymore, sooo..."
"So why'd you transfer with him?" Ayako questioned.
"Somebody's gotta keep a tight rope on that kid!"
"Hey! Akuru! You talking about me again??"
"Oh, hey, Onii-dork!" The boy with light blue hair clenched his fists, and growled at her.
"Who are you calling a dork?? And what are you doing telling strangers about my personal life???"
"Calm down, Seki! They're not strangers, we're friends, now!" she announced, cheerfully, "Right?", she smiled at them, and they both nodded. "This is Ayako-chan, and this is Seta-chan!"
Ayako found herself blushing at his garnet-colored eyes before she could help herself. She had never seen eyes like his, and it intrigued her! Simultaneously, as Seta, took off her glasses to wipe a smudge off of them, the boy called Seki looked into her unique eyes, and blushed as well. Seta, of course, was entirely oblivious, breaking the spell as she put her glasses back on, making him shut his eyes.
"Nice to meet you. Minamotto Seki desu. I work at the National Library as a part-time security guard."
"That's ironic", Ayako muttered and snickered. The teen glared at her, but Akuru just laughed.
"So, you're name is Seta, right?" He took the brunette's hands in his own, and smiled at her, making her blush profusely.
Akito, who happened to be nearby, was enraged and stormed over.
"Whaddya think yer doin????"
"Oh, I'm sorry, is this your girlfriend?" he asked with a slight sarcasm that everyone caught but the girl in question.
"No, he's Ayako-san's brother; our relationship doesn't extend beyond friendship." Akito paled; did she have no feelings for him? Seki chuckled.
"Oh, I see. Does that mean you are single?" She nodded.
"I don't really have time to date anyone with my job and homework."
"She works for Daddy as one of his underling's secretaries!" Akuru boasted.
"RIght, so as long as I have a living to worry about..."
"What if you didn't have to worry about that anymore?"
"Huh?"
"We have plenty of money; we can cover your expenses!"
"I don't think that's ethical...besides, I don't enjoy the thought of being in debt."
"Well, what if I can get you promoted?"
"That depends; it would have to be because of my work skills."
"Are you good?"
"I think I'm decent."
"Then I'll get Dad to notice you, that's all. Akuru, you're closer with him, could you--?"
"Yeah, yeah, but not because you asked me."
"You two get along so well..." Ayako said, sarcastically.
"Really? I thought they got along poorly...Oh! I get it, arguing is a sign of affection!" Seta was happy at the realization, and smiled.
"In response to your offer, I suppose I have no choice but to accept. Arigatou-gozaimasu, Seki-sempai!" She bowed low for a moment in appreciation.
"The formalities aren't really necessary just because of my father; wer're schoolmates." She nodded, happily, and continued with her meal.
Akito, having been totally forgotten and with a heart on the mend, skulked back to his classroom to eat.
---
Ayako stretched as the bell rang, and grabbed her schoolbag. Overall, it had be a decent schoolday, with the exception that she had an urge to punch that Seki in the stomach...perhaps he was ethical enough not to fight girls.
"Ayako-san, will you please walk with me? I'd like to visit the library for the report due tomorrow." Ayako sighed.
"You just wanna see Seki-kun", she teased, and Seta shook her head quickly, "How'd we ever end up in the same class? You're so smart! And I'm, well...not"
"Don't be hard on yourself, you know plenty of things! More than I do, anyway."
"I doubt that, besides, it's my learning ability that's got issues, not how much I know." Seta nodded in understanding.
A drop of wetness dropped on her nose, and she groaned.
"The one day I forget to bring my umbrella..." Seta sighed.
"Use mine", Ayako handed her a transparent, child's umbrella with a duck-shaped handle.
"It's not big enough for both of us."
"I love the rain, so it's no problem."
"I'm happy you do..."
They had been walking quite a ways, by now, and came across the subway station. Within 20 minutes, they finally arrived at the library in question, and Seta smiled.
"There's so much to learn.."
"You're such a brainiac!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Hey, at least I read fiction!" They chuckled and hurried inside before they got too much wetter. Ayako sighed.
"What's the report on, again?"
"If you'd stop spacing out in class, you'd remember."
"Yeah yeah, just tell me", she blushed, a little embarrassed.
"It's for history class on World War II. It's mostly about the Holocaust, and the nuclear bombings on Japanese soil."
"That should be pretty easy."
"If you pay attention", Seta corrected, smiling her innocent, intelligent smile.
They gathered their materials and sat at a nearby table. After a while, Ayako suddenly felt something dripping on her head.
"Aww jeez...the rain is leaking through the ceiling!" she grumbled, somewhat quietly, given the atmosphere.
"Ayako, this is the first floor, it can't be the rain. You're still soaked, so it's probably your imagination." She didn't even look up, just continued on with her report.
The girl sighed and tried to continue, herself, even as the drops began to fall on and smudge the ink on her paper.
Seta was nearly finished, when she suddenly felt a breeze. She looked up to see if anyone had walked past her, but there was no one else in this section. She was about to dismiss it, when an even stronger gust flew her braids into her face and causing her glasses to lay at an angle on her face.
"Ayako-san, I do believe something's up" she said, annoyed yet dignified. The green-haired girl had to stifle a giggle after seeing her best friend in such a state.
"...no miko...." They heard a voice whisper.
"What was that??" Ayako had moved to the other side of the table, in a flash, to hug onto her equally startled friend.
"Perhaps this library is haunted?"
"Meep! Ghosts are supposed to stay in horror flicks where they belong!!" she whispered loudly. She did enjoy a good horror story, but in real life, such things scared her senseless. Seta's glasses shined; she, despite her by-the-book nature, believed in ghosts and demons and was fascinated by them.
"Come on, let's go check it out!"
"I'd rather not...." Seta shrugged, and followed the breeze that was pulling her in. Water began to drip on Ayako's head again, and, being fed up, she changed her mind and rushed after her friend, who smiled in acknowledgment.
"mizu no...kaze....miko" the voices persisted, and it sent shivers up their spines. Soon, they came upon a staircase that they overlooked earlier. Once they reached the top, the voices stopped, and the wind and water stopped harassing them.
"In that room?" Ayako asked, referring to the one at the end of the hall.
"It appears so."
"We gonna check it out?"
"I'm surprised you need to ask."
"Right...you first?"
"If you're that scared." Ayako sighed, Seta always won the battle-of-wits. There was a soft 'click' and Seta turned the doornob. When they opened the door, they found an open book laying on the floor. "How careless...leaving the door to a restricted room unlocked and leaving a book open on the floor! I'll have to scold Seki-sempai later."
"Hehehe! I want to be there for that."
"Is it really so amusing?" She blinked kawaiily and confused, and Ayako nodded. "In any case, we'd better put the book back on its shelf."
She leaned over and picked up the book, glancing at its title in the process.
"ShiJinTenChiSho...The Universe of the Four Gods! How interesting..."
"What a name! What kind of gods, I wonder?" Ayako smiled, then looked at the pages as she saw Seta shaking. There were Chinese characters forming on one page, and a picture seemed to draw itself on the other!
"'The...girl was distraught to learn of what had really happened to her best friend three months ago... She was feeling more discouraged than ever, but the sage, Taiitsukun reassured her, and she once again called herself the Priestess of Suzaku.' Suzaku no miko..?"
"Oh..my gawd..." Ayako was terrified at what she saw, and was prepared to run out of this library as fast as she could with Seta in hand. "It...really is haunted.."
"If that's what you can call this...." Seta was trying to find some reason in what she had seen, but before much more could happen, a blinding light errupted from the books pages, and they were swallowed into it!
A girl stood in the doorway, horrified at what she had just seen, and torn between finding out what just happened and running to get help. Realizing that no one would believe her, she slowly walked towards the enchanted, or was it cursed, tome. She just wanted to surprise them and say hello, but she had only just spotted them as they were going up the stairs. Akuru pulled part of her bangs behind her ear, sat down, and began to read.