Together...
DISCLAIMER: Nope, not mine. Well, maybe in my wildest dreams, but they're never considered a part of reality.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: HA! I finally wrote a one-part fic! One really LONG part, but one part nonetheless. Shweet!
This's been sitting on the shelf for awhile... it's been a good three weeks since I started it, I think. And now I'm done! Wai!
This is about the Genbu people, mostly Hikitsu, Tomite, and Takiko, with mentions of all the others.
Much thanks goes to Mouse-chan for proofing, and to the Wizard of Oz.
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Takiko lay asleep in her chamber in the Imperial Palace of Hokkan. In the hallway where the two of us sat, perched in chairs set outside her room for the purpose of watching over her, there was a strange silence. Almost calm, yet vibrating with invisible energy, as if the air itself was moving. No one passed by, everyone being centered on the defense of the outer wall - everyone except myself and the other Genbu no shichiseishi, protecting our miko after the god-calling ceremony.
I risked a glance in his direction. There was something about that boy that made you want to look out for him - yet at the same time you knew if he caught you doing just that, he'd punch you in the face with no hesitation. He truly was a formidable warrior, aside from myself the most powerful on the team. Over the past months each of the seven seishi had grown to fit together like the pieces of a child's play toy; if one part was missing, nothing would function. We knew our companions so intimately, as if we'd been together all our lives rather than less than half a year. Even Takiko, our beloved, regal miko, was a snug, custom-made part of our puzzle. We could read each other's moves, predict reactions with a startling clarity that had made even those familiar friends wonder if we had a mind-to-mind connection, which we didn't. We simply knew how each person would react to a situation and acted accordingly.
My companion caught me looking at him and grinned cockily. "Gettin' bored, Hikitsu?"
I grinned back. Around Tomite, I wasn't the reserved person most people knew. Something in his personality reminded me of a sibling, a younger brother I was still in charge of when Kaa-san was doing the cooking. "Well, there's certainly not much going on in here." I gestured around us to the empty corridor, stretching away to the horizon in either direction, the smoothness of the walls broken by heavy doors of dark wood. There were lanterns lit intermediately around the doors, but several had gone out, throwing the area into half-shadow.
Tomite sighed and leaned back in his chair, letting his head rest against the door frame. "Aa… I mean, I know guarding Takiko's important, and I'm glad they respected me enough to choose me for it, demo… I still wanna be out there. I wanna be in the action again." His young eyes sparked with the imaginary light of heroism during battle, and it was my turn to sigh. I had learned, long ago in the wars between clans, that there were almost no heroes in battle, and that I would definitely not be one of them. Tomite had yet to discover that, though, and I knew he lived for the day when he could prove his worth on the "glorious field of battle" - impressing Takiko along the way, of course.
But… for now, let him have his fantasies. I leaned back in the chair, resting my head against the smooth, cool wood off the doorframe, drifting into my thoughts like a leaf on the water - if the water wasn't frozen to ice. I faintly heard the sounds of battle, the screams of dying men, the agony of those who would live, but it all seemed so far away. Much closer was the shallow breathing of my fellow seishi, the light thump-thump-thump as he restlessly tapped his foot on the ground over and over. And over and over and over…
Me eye snapped open and I gave him an annoyed look. "Stop that, it's irritating." I aimed a whack at him with my left hand.
He ducked it easily and grinned. "Getting slow, eh Hikitsu?"
I folded my arms over my chest and huffed. "Sometimes you even ACT like a younger annoying brother."
"Ain't that a coincidence, because sometimes YOU act like an over-protective fusspot of an older brother." He smirked. I reached over and grabbed his hat off his head. "MATTE!" He dived for the hat, only succeeding in knocking his chair over and spilling himself ungracefully onto the floor. I laughed, something I didn't do enough, practically doubling over my stomach, still clutching his ridiculous little hat in my hand.
He glared and stood up swiftly, flapping his clothes to get them to lie straight and not strangle him anymore, then grabbed his hat again and jammed it on his head. "That's MY hat."
"What makes you think I'd want that thing?"
"Why did you take it in the first place?"
"Revenge."
"The HELL?!"
"Just shut up, you'll wake up Takiko." His eyes widened and his mouth clamped shut at the thought of waking up our Genbu no Miko. He hurriedly righted his chair and sat down with a heavy thud. I was very amused.
We retreated back into the comfortable silence of close friends, both of us thinking our own thoughts. I wondered what his were; what Iname and Uruki and Namame and the others were doing; what Takiko would do with her wishes… the ceremony… my mind drifted back to just that morning, when we seven seishi had stood in a connected ring around our miko at her alter, heard her chant the sacred ritual and throw the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho into the fire. The brilliant green light had come through the snow, the ceiling, then plummeted into the ground in a pillar surrounding Takiko… we were all washed with that light, bright yet gentle, like a parent's smile… I had felt… complete, needed, wanted even. Without me, this wouldn't have happened… without any of us, we couldn't have done it… Then the light surrounding Takiko had vanished, and the feelings with it, as she slowly collapsed. Urumiya and Tomite both ran forward from their places in the circle to catch her and lower her gently to the ground. Namame, our group's solitary female seishi, had taken charge of our miko at that point, taken her to her room and put her to bed. The whispered conference afterwards had been tense: despite the summoning, the Kutou army was attacking, and was winning. We seishi were going to have to fight again. With Takiko unconscious for Genbu knew how long and unable to use her wishes the only things we could do to prevent the enemy from completely overrunning the palace were fight and pray. We had all wanted to fight, but someone had suggested that two remain to guard Takiko in case anything should happen, or she should awaken. Tomite and I had been elected to that duty, and the others went out to face the invading army… without us…
"Ne, Hikitsu." I snapped back to reality, blinking my lone eye rapidly, turning my head to face my companion. "Was what you said before true?"
I blinked in confusion, a slight frown furrowing my brows. "What did I say before?"
"Y'know… that stuff about me being as annoying as a younger brother. Was it true?"
"Of course, you're one of the most annoying people I know."
"Iya, the brother bit."
"Oh."
He waited a moment before asking, again, impatiently. "Is it?"
I shrugged. "What else would it be?"
He laughed shortly, almost a bark, leaning back in his chair, slumping so his head rested on the back rung, pushing his hat forward at a rakish angle. "Don't ask me, a lot of times I can't tell whether you're being serious or joking."
"Hint: I don't usually joke."
"I know, I know. Listen, I was wondering, what are you going to do after all this is done? Are you gonna go home? Where is your home, anyway?"
I hid the wince his questions had evoked in me, long surpressed memories, scenes I'd tried again and again to forget but never truly was able to, everything swirling inside of me like a tornado of emotions. The thoughts, the remembered screams, cries… "Run! Run Emtato! Get away! Get awaaaaayyyy!" "You bastards! You hid from us?! Cowards in leather armor!" "Ototo! Ototo, where are you?!" The smell of fire, smoke, of my sister's clothes and dolls and mother's cooking utensils, father's leatherwork… all burning… burning to ashes… and I, new and young and powerless, unable to stop it, only able to hide and stare in horror…
"Hikitsu? Nani? Daijobu?"
I drew a shallow, shuddering breath, muting it to not catch his attention any further. But if I didn't say anything he'd keep giving me that almost-torturous puppy-dog look. "They're dead," I said flatly.
He shallowly sucked in breath, eyes widening minutely, mouth opening slightly; even though I wasn't looking at him I knew what was happening, it always happened when I told people… which was partially why I tried not to whenever possible. "H… How?"
I stared at the pale blue wall in front of me, so reminiscent of the clear, cloudless sky on that last day… "Our clan, the Kan Tribe, was always at odds with the stronger one just to the west, the Gen Tribe. They wanted our lands to graze their flocks on, but we fought them off repeatedly. When I was thirteen we heard that the Gen were planning to attack us in three days. We began preparing, but during the night some of their horsemen rode into our camp and set everything on fire. My sister and father were caught inside our burning home. My eldest sister, mother, and I somehow got out. We tried to get away, but the Gen grabbed my mother. She screamed at us to run. Then she shrieked. My sister and I kept running, but we lost each other in the smoke and dark. I could hear her calling to me, but I couldn't find her. I slept under a tree that night, and in the morning I went back. I found my mother, run through with a spear. My sister's throat had been cut. It seemed she'd at least been asleep at the time. I knew the rest of my family had been trapped in our yurt. There were only three survivors, me and two other children, a brother and sister who'd been hidden in a large hollow log overnight. I was old enough then to take care of myself somewhat, so I simply wandered, doing work and staying with other clans. Until I found Takiko." It was the most I'd spoken at one time since my family had been killed. It felt… strangely empty to have given away such a large part of myself, part I'd tried hard to ignore for eight years, especially to this inexperienced boy next to me… and somehow, it didn't.
I had been such a happy person before the raid. Even knowing the terrible burden of the glowing green symbol that had taken the place of my right eye hadn't dulled me. But… after losing everything… my sisters, my parents, my entire world… I'd closed up, like a flower at the dusk. Could it be, that after all these years of repressed pain and hidden emotions, stoic fronts and controlling my words… was I finally ready to trust others again?
His hand was suddenly solid on my shoulder. I didn't turn to look, just stared at the wall, waiting for him to speak. He seemed unable to gather his thoughts and make his mouth form the sounds he wanted, and sat there for a few moments quietly thinking. And when he did speak, it was formulaic, something I'd heard time and time before. "Hikitsu… I'm so sorry…"
"I know. It's not easy. But I'm fine." I wasn't, really, but I wasn't letting him know if I could help it.
"Look… if you wanted… you could come with me after we're… done here. I know Kaa-san would love to meet you. And my ototo, too, he reminds me of you in some ways…" He trailed off, running out of words and unable to express himself.
"I'll just go on my own, it's what I'm used to." I wouldn't pay attention to the small voice inside me telling me to listen to him… take him up on his offer… "I need to find a job soon, I'm almost out of money."
"C'mon, come with me, we could use some help at home."
I leaned back in my chair. "I'll think about it."
A soft noise to my left drew my attention, and I glanced up to see the door to Takiko's room swing slowly open, and our miko appear. We both stood respectfully and bowed, silently thanking the girl who would save our country. She smiled, that beautiful smile which had captured most of our fellow seishi in its spell, binding us to her from the beginning - even me. But even as she smiled I noticed the look of weariness on her face, in her eyes, and knew it was taking an immense amount of willpower for her to not show these things to us. I repressed most of my questions. "Takiko? Daijobu?"
She smiled tiredly at me. "I think so… it's just… calling a god takes more energy than I thought it would. I guess I'm a little worn out."
"You should go back to sleep." Tomite couldn't mask his anxiousness. I knew if anything happened to Takiko he'd blame himself till the end of time.
She shook her head slightly, smiling a little, a secret smile I couldn't understand. "Iya… I have to do something else first." She reached into a pocket of her pale red robe and withdrew a necklace - a bejeweled, elaborate necklace that sparkled in the light from the torches, glinting almost to the point of absurdity, but not quite. It was the necklace she'd worn at the ceremony to call Genbu, just a few hours before. But… there was something different about it. I just couldn't quite put my finger on what. "I want you to have this."
"Takiko… we can't, it belongs to you." Tomite began protesting, as I knew he would, but I looked slightly away, my mind beginning to work. Refusing sleep when she was that tired, coming to give us the necklace, having something else to do… none of it seemed right. She could have waited till she was completely rested to see us. Why was she coming now?
"Takiko." She turned to look at me inquisitively. "What are you going to do?"
She didn't answer for a long moment, looking at the floor instead. Her hands twisted together in front of her, her fingers weaving in and out of the necklace, a sure sign of her nervousness. "I'm… I'm using my wishes."
"And what will you wish for?"
Another long pause. "Peace… in Hokkan…… and…"
"And?"
She could only stare at me helplessly, her dark eyes large and shining with unshed tears, looking more like the fragile child she sometimes behaved as more than ever before, even when I had found her freezing in the snow all those months ago. I suddenly wanted to hug her, comfort her. She reminded me so much of my sister…
"And?" I repeated, letting none of my emotions show.
"Hikitsu…" I didn't look at her. I couldn't, for some reason. But suddenly she was grabbing me, wrapping her arms around my waist and burying her face in my arm, crying softly. "I'll miss you all so much…"
It hit me.
She…She was…going home?
"You're… you're… leaving us?" Tomite could barely speak. I glanced at him, and his still-boyish face was stunned. "T-Takiko… why?"
She didn't speak, just shook her head, still clinging to me tightly. I hesitantly put my arms around her, stroking her long brown hair, trying to tell her that everything would be all right… it would be all right.
A few moments later she took a deep breath and stepped back from me, her eyes reddened with tears and… pain? "I can't stay…" she whispered, so softly I almost didn't catch it. "I can't… I have to go… home… so…" She stepped forward again. My eye widened as she pressed the necklace into my hands. "Take this… so you'll remember me…" She gave me one last, painful look before turning to Tomite and sweeping him up in a hug. He started a little, then relaxed and hugged her tightly, his fingers tangling in her hair. He was close to crying, but he wouldn't do it, not in front of her… the one he wanted to impress…
She kissed him on the cheek and pulled away. His face clearly showed his pain, his disbelief that she was going, really leaving us. She glanced at him again and turned away swiftly, unable to take that look. Then she drew in a deep, shuddering breath, slowly looking up, straight in front of her, her eyes slightly unfocused and gazing over my shoulder. "Kai… jin."
There was a flash of brilliant green light that erupted from her forehead, but for some reason had no affect on my vision. I could see the mark of Genbu shining there, bright and promising and full of hope and sorrow at the same time. And suddenly, I was afraid.
"Genbu! Hear my wish! Protect Hokkan for all time!" Her voice was clear, loud, confident, the voice of the miko she was. The green light blazed on her forehead and exploded in a circle, enveloping us, and somehow I knew the entire palace, the entire city, the entire country with its radiance, granting Takiko's first wish to Genbu. She stood there, her arms raised in front of her, still staring unseeing at the wall, as the light seemed to flow around her, molding itself to her shape. Then it winked out, as fast as it had come. Takiko gave a little gasp and sank to the ground, the symbol gone, bracing herself on her hands and knees and breathing hard.
"Takiko!" We quickly dropped to the ground next to her, one on either side, and slowly helped her sit up. Her eyes were closed and she was shivering, despite the more than adequate warmth in the hallway, clenching her jaw and wrapping her arms around her small body. "What is it? What happened?"
"I don't know… It's just… it's painful. I don't know why…"
"Takiko, you should rest more before using your other wishes. I'm taking you back in your room." I stood up, bringing her with me, supporting her so she could stand on her own two feet. She looked so small and frail…
"Iya… Iya, I have to do this…" Her voice was choked, pained as I had never heard it before. That wasn't right, it should be rich and melodious and full of life, as it had always been, even through the roughest times at the very beginning. I put my hand under her chin and tilted her face gently upwards.
She was… crying… again…
I barely had time to register it before she was hugging me again, hanging on my neck even though I was so much taller. "I'm so sorry… I just can't stay… please don't forget me…"
I hugged her back again, my fear growing, and I didn't know why. "We won't, how can we? You're our miko."
"Iya… don't forget… Takiko…not the miko, just Takiko…" She kissed me on the cheek as she had Tomite and stepped back into her door, bracing herself with her hands, eyes shining with tears, still looking painfully at me. "Kai… kaijin."
Again the light. The green brilliance. The manifestation of her power, our power, the power of our god Genbu. The symbol appeared again, shining brighter than before. "Genbu, onegai… onegai… send me home!"
Something inside me snapped at hearing those words, the fear pouring over as if a dam had been opened. I jumped forward, my arm stretched out in front of me to stop her. "Takiko! Matte! TAKIKO!"
"Gomen nasai Hikitsu…." Her arm reached out to mine, and I felt her fingers lace between mine, grip them hard. "I… Aishiteru…"
Then… She was gone…
My hand tightened around nothing but empty air, still colored slightly green with the light that had vanished into nothing, taking Takiko - my Takiko. I felt myself falling to my knees, my right hand still held as if hers was in it, my left clutching the necklace so hard it would snap if it was not as fluid as water. The necklace… the necklace she had worn… it was all I had left… Oh Genbu, gods above, why didn't I see it earlier?! Why hadn't I realized it before she made that reckless wish?! Before she was ripped away from me forever?!
"Takiko… Takiko… come back…"
My words were cut off in a gasp as the ground beneath me heaved as if it were alive. I was thrown to the floor and next to me Tomite grabbed the wall to keep upright. One of the chairs fell over, striking me in the head sharply but not painfully. Then all was still again.
Tomite carefully pushed himself back on his feet, looking a little shaky. "Wha… what the hell was that?"
I got to my knees again, then carefully stood up, holding my arms out slightly to keep my balance. "I don't know…" I blinked and shook my head slowly, taking a tally of my physical and mental state. My head stung a little where the chair had hit it, but it was only a minor bump, one that would go away in a few minutes. My legs were still somewhat shaky from the earth's upheaval, but it was quickly fading. My heart, however… I looked away from Tomite, unable to be face-to-face with him at the moment. I had known all along that he was in love with Takiko; it was painfully obvious to everyone but the girl in question. She had never seemed to realize how deep Tomite's feelings ran… and now I knew why. Gods, if only I'd seen! Maybe she wouldn't have wished to leave us! I understood her reasoning, now that I saw: it hurt her to be around the one she loved without having him… me… return the feelings. I was blind, and not just in my eye.
"Ne, Hikitsu…" Tomite's voice was quiet, subdued, so unlike his normal brash, confident tone. "If it couldn't be me, I'm glad it was you."
I slowly looked at him, not quite sure what he was saying. He smiled, seeing the confusion written over my face. "Y'know… with Takiko. I kind of realized it awhile ago… she wasn't gonna come with me, because she'd follow you." He shrugged. "I got used to it after awhile. So like I said, if it wasn't me, good thing it's you."
"I… Thanks, Tomite."
"It's nothing, like I said I was kind of resigned to it awhile back. C'mon, let's go get some sleep, it's getting late." He began walking down the hall in the direction of the rooms reserved for the seishi.
I was slightly surprised. "You don't want to go out and fight?"
He stopped, looked back at me. "Not really… I've kind of lost the taste for it now."
I nodded silently, stepping up to walk next to him, my eye trained on the floor and fingering the necklace, wrapped in my thoughts. I could feel his concern for me plainly, but he remained silent as we took the short trip from the miko's room… former room… to our own.
Tomite gave his door a practiced kick when we got to it, then gave a satisfied grin as it popped out of its normally stuck position and swung into the room. "Oyasumi Hikitsu."
I grabbed him arm before he could go in, afraid all over again. I had lost Takiko before I had even realized I had her. The dark thought that I might lose Tomite as well bubbled to the surface of my mind. "Tomite, matte." He stopped, looking at me expectantly. "Is that offer still open?"
"Always is, always will be. You accepting it now?" He raised one dark eyebrow and smirked slightly, pulling out of my grasp.
"Hai. I don't… I don't want to make the same mistake twice."
A grin spread slowly over his face, one of his bright, cheerful grins that had kept all of us going many a time. He held his hand, thumb pointed upward, out to me expectantly. "Brothers?"
I smiled back, clasping his hand in mine. "Brothers."
"Good. Now I can stop worrying about you." He turned back to see the door had swung shut - and gotten stuck - again. "Damn thing." He kicked it again, making it bounce on its hinges.
"Ne, I though I was supposed to worry, I'm older." I hid a smile.
"You worry about everything else, I'll worry about you. Oyasumi…" he grinned. "Aniki." He stepped into his room and wedged the door shut behind him.
I smiled at it. "Oyasumi… ototo"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Tomite! TOMITE!" I shook him, I banged around the room, I slammed his door. Nothing would wake that boy up. All that had been accomplished was he'd buried his head under his pillow and blankets, and he hadn't even woken up to do that. I glared at the outline of his form under the quilts. "Fine, if that's the way you want it." I left his room for a minute and returned quickly, carrying my basin. I set it on the dresser and pried the pillow off his head, not worrying about the blankets. I dipped my finger in the water, testing the heat. Still frigid. Good. I poured the water on his head.
"YYYYYYYYYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was midmorning. Despite Takiko's wish, the Kutou troops were still attacking. I had no idea how Genbu proposed to protect Hokkan if the soldiers were still there, but we seishi had continued with our jobs. The others had taken the news of Takiko's leaving with expected reactions; shock, grief, and the question why seemed to prevail. I left Tomite to explain, not feeling up to it, trusting to his discretion. I sat to one side in the room, my hand in my pocket, fingering the necklace I kept there, focusing on the wall in front of me. Once I felt a gaze on me and turned in the direction of the others. It was Namame, watching me with a small, sad, comprehending smile. I looked away again, not ready to face the reality of why she had left.
My hand strayed to my pocket again as I tried to calm the skittish horse I was riding, wishing I had kept the necklace there. But no, it was better where it was - in my dresser, in my room, safe from harm. It might be dented or scratched or worse out here. I couldn't bear it if that happened. Tomite had let me keep it, asking no questions. I was grateful to have someone so understanding in my confidence. I shook my head and forced my attention back to the battle.
It was a hopeless melee. The organized formations had long since been abandoned and every man was fighting for his own life, striking at anything that came at him, even if it was a compatriot. I saw more than one Hokkan soldier hacked down by another, simply because of a mistake in identification. Kutou soldiers as well were sometimes fighting their own, not hearing the calls of their commanders above the clang of armor and swords and the whiz of arrows overhead. They outnumbered us nearly two to one, but we seven seishi kept the odds evened somewhat.
I chased a charging attacker away from Iname with my ice snakes. He gave me a look of complete thanks and charged into the fray again, taking down soldier after soldier with his special potions and poisons. Namame was perched on a rock behind me, singing in her beautiful, clear voice, hypnotizing some of the enemy soldiers and holding them till they could be properly tied. Tomite shot arrow after arrow, the ice darts forming in midair and falling to the ground, hitting mostly Kutou targets. A god's power could be equal to fifty soldiers, if used right. And use them right we did.
Then I saw Tomite yell and throw down his bow, grabbing the reigns of his horse again and charging into the troops, ducking wild swipes at his head and turning his horse to avoid others. I looked beyond him to see what had thrown him into a frenzy. There, backed against the wall, was a small child, maybe eight or so. I couldn't tell if it was a girl or a boy, but it didn't matter. Its eyes were wide, scared, it was clinging to the wall, scrunched into a small bundle. Just five feet away from it was the mass of battling soldiers. If someone didn't do something, it would be killed. And Tomite was doing something.
I looked back at him, and was suddenly filled with immense fear. He was riding through foot soldiers, a good two feet above them and exposed from the torso up. A clear target. Without a way to defend himself. His bow lay not fifteen feet from me on the snowy ground. If something happened to him…
"TOMITE!" I spurred my horse into a gallop, shoving through the soldiers as fast as I could go. I heard Hatsui call after me to wait, but I paid him no mind. If something happened to the little brother I'd just found, after I'd lost Takiko, I knew I'd die. Losing both of them would put me over the edge.
Tomite was getting closer to the kid. Only twenty feet to go, and he'd be there. Hope rose in me. He'd make it, he'd save the child, he'd be was he'd always wanted to be, a hero…
A… hero…
No…
The dark flower bloomed on his blue tunic as the arrow pierced his chest. The head, red with his blood, pointed at me, back the way he had come, as if it were some bizarre direction sign telling me to forget about him, go back. But I couldn't. Everything slowed, the battle, the horse, the swords, the noises dimmed to nothingness, as Tomite tilted his head down, looking at his wound. His arm came up, carefully touched the life flowing out of him, came away sticky. He gazed at his fingers for a moment, then turned to look back, staring at me for what seemed an eternity. Then he fell, a bare ten feet from the child he'd been rushing to save. He fell from his saddle, his feet slipping out of the stirrups, landing behind the horse, which kept running. The fighters closed in around him, covering the hole where he lay, another battlefield casualty.
No… not him… Genbu, no…
A pain like none I'd ever felt before ripped through me: the pain of nothingness. What had once been a part of me had vanished, gone forever. Tomite… was…
NO!
"TOOOOMMIIIIIIIIIITTEEEEEE!!!!" The harsh cry of a beast rang out over the roar of the fight, all heads swiveling to watch the source, stunned. To watch me. It had been my voice, my unrecognizable howl, that had silenced the fight. I kept riding, riding, knocking over friend and foe alike, to get to him, find him, pick him up and have him tell me it didn't hurt that much, he'd be fine soon…
And…
No…
It couldn't happen…
Not me, too…
The arrow…
In my… throat…
I fell into the darkness, following the last person I'd had who had been dearer to me than life.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I opened my eyes slowly.
Wait… eyes?
I felt my face. Yes, eyes… the normal layer of skin that covered my right eye socket, where my seishi symbol had appeared time and time again in my life, was gone, and the eye that should have been there all along was in its rightful place. It felt slightly strange to be seeing everything literally in perspective after twenty-one years.
A chuckle next to me drew my attention. "Y'know, you've been lying there awhile. Stop pokin' yourself and sit up."
"T… Tomite!"
He grinned. "The one and only. Ah, we were both stupid - me for running headlong without thinking and you for following me."
I pushed myself up with my arms, looking around. "Where are we?"
It was certainly nowhere I'd seen before. A long, clean white hall, sculpted entirely of ice and marble, stretched before us. We were sitting on a red carpet stretching the length of the hall, comfortable and luxurious. There were graceful columns everywhere, supporting a ceiling glowing with an unearthly light. I turn to look behind me and saw a pair of massive doors that all seven seishi could easily fit through at once, and easily as tall at the Imperial Palace in Touran. They were hanging open, and through them was a dark ice-blue cave, rough stalagmites and stalactites placed everywhere on the ceiling, the floor, even the wall. I turned the other way and saw…
There was no way.
"Hikitsu?" Tomite asked inquisitively as I stood and walked slowly to the pedestal set at the end of the hall opposite the imposing doors. "What're you doing?" he scrambled after me, half-jogging to catch up. He pulled to a sudden stop behind me, seeing what rested on the pedestal. "Gods above…"
I reached out my hand to Takiko's necklace, arranged just so, looking as perfect as the last time I had seen it, as when she had worn it, when she… had left. How could it have left my room?
My hand went right through it.
"No… Don't do this to me…" I passed my hand back and forth several more times, each time feeling, yet not feeling the cool metal and stones slide through me. I couldn't touch it. I couldn't. Couldn't hold, couldn't feel the last thing I had to remind me of the love I had lost… "NO!"
Hikitsu, don't.
The voice came into my mind. I couldn't make the mistake of thinking I'd heard it. It was too forceful, too solid, too important to have been a mere sound. It was clear Tomite could "hear" it as well. He was looking around, searching for the person - or thing - that could produce such a non-voice, a look of surprise on his face.
The voice chuckled. You will not see me, Tomite. It is useless to try.
"Where are you? Never mind that, what are you?" Tomite called, slightly loudly, the sound echoing back repeatedly from the polished marble and glass-like ice.
I am Genbu-seikun.
Of course.
Only a god could have a voice like that, piercing yet not painful, forceful and gentle all at once. And what other god would two Genbu no shichiseishi have speak to us but our father god himself? "What are we doing here?" My own voice came back to me time and time again.
You are here to listen to a proposition I am going to make you.
"What proposition?" Tomite sounded slightly wary, understandably. We had just died. Who knew what our god wanted us to do?
You may say yes or no, whichever you wish. Would you, Genbu no shichiseishi Hikitsu, and you, Genbu no shichiseishi Tomite, remain in this hall of ice to guard the shinzaho?
"What's the shinzaho?"
It is an object of power formed when a miko couples with a beast god. It is made of something the miko was wearing at the time of the coupling, and has tremendous power. Two of them are enough to call another beast god without the aide of the seven seishi. If you accept this offer, you will remain here and guard the Genbu no Shinzaho until it is claimed by a worthy miko, perhaps in the far future. If you say no, your spirits shall return to the sky to await the rest of the Genbu no shichiseishi, except for the one or ones who remain to guard.
"Where is it?" I called.
It is there in front of you.
The only thing in front of us was Takiko's necklace. Which meant… "You can't be serious."
I can and I am. Genbu no Miko Okuda Takiko was wearing this necklace when I coupled with her, and it was imbued with my holy power. This is your shinzaho.
I tried once again, futilely, to touch the golden metal and perfect stones, and once again I swept through it. I let out a low moan of defeat and sank to my knees next to the pedestal. Tomite gave me a concerned look and stepped past me, holding his hand out, a bare inch above it. His eyes widened and he gasped slightly. "I… I can feel it! The power! I can feel it in the necklace!"
Of course you can. You are a Genbu no shichiseishi. Tomite, Hikitsu. I need your answer now.
Tomite looked down at me, silently asking the question with his eyes. What was I going to do?
He'd stay with me, whatever I decided. We'd sworn to be as brothers, and we'd fulfill that vow even in death. Why else would we be here together? But as to what I, myself, wanted to do… It was torture being with Takiko's necklace and not being able to touch it, hold it as I'd never gotten to hold her. Especially now that I was not blind to my feelings. But what would it feel like with it not there?
Even worse.
"I want to stay," I said softly from my position on the floor.
Tomite looked at me for a second more, then looked up at the ceiling, addressing Genbu as if he were there. "I'm staying, too."
Very well. A green light flooded into the hall, wrapping around us, seeming to carry us away for a few brief moments. I felt powerful again, the light flowing into me and filling me to the brim. I opened my eyes… no, there was only one again, the same one I'd had all through my life. The familiar patch was back over my right eye. Tomite was staring in shock at the bow and quiver that now rested in his hands, the same ones he'd had all along and had been carelessly thrown aside when he went to save the child. Death stripped you of your seishi powers, but now you have them back. Use them well, guard the shinzaho and preserve it for the worthy miko. And then, unquestionably, he was gone.
I slowly stood up, turned to look at first the hall, the doors now closed, then the necklace, the memento of my love, and then at Tomite, my new brother. "There is a bright side to this."
"What is it?"
I smirked slowly. "Now it won't be so hard to wake you up in the mornings."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Time passed, endlessly. We needed neither sleep nor food. There wasn't much to do in the hall and cave, but we weren't bored. We talked, discussing our lives, and other things. We got to know each other better than we had in life.
The others lived through the battle, and two days after we died the Kutou army was pushed out of the country, never to return, thanks to Takiko's wish. After the battle the others somehow knew where we were and every day at least one of them would make the trek. We would open the doors, move the huge boulder sitting in front of the entrance, and admit our friends. Iname was the first, and he told us where we were: on Mount Black, in the cave we'd used for shelter the night before we'd arrived in Touran, the night of the great blizzard where we'd almost frozen and Hatsui, the fifth seishi, had saved us. It was almost as if we were still alive, except for not being able to touch and feel.
Namame was the most frequent visitor. Eventually, after many private, sympathetic talks, she managed to draw out of me the exact circumstances behind Takiko's departure. She understood what Takiko had been going through better than I could have believed, and also confessed in me: she was in love with Uruki, but he didn't seem to realize. I took care of that fairly swiftly, dropping hints when he came to visit, gently prodding him in the right direction. I didn't want what had happened to me to happen to my friends. And soon they were married.
But after awhile, they stopped coming. We knew it would happen eventually. We had watched them slowly aging, growing older, their hair fading to gray, but not a healthy gray like mine. First Urumiya no longer showed up, then Iname, then Hatsui, then Namame. On his last visit, not long after hers, Uruki told us how they had all died, claimed by old age and sickness. And he never came back either.
But others did. The legend of Hikitsu's and Tomite's "last stand" had spread, and people came not just to catch a glimpse of the elusive spirits, but also to steal our treasure. The former type never got past the boulder, but the latter sometimes did. We did our duty, persuading some to go away, driving off others, and occasionally, killing. We never liked it, but it had to be done.
And then…
That girl. That silly, naïve girl, nothing like my Takiko - at first. But she proved her worth. We'd felt the flares of ki outside when the two seishi had died; the first felt blue, the other red. And then she and her seishi were there, fighting us… and she let us test her, and she passed the test. She had won the shinzaho.
And we returned to the sky.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Present day…)
I sat in a small coffee shop, occasionally sipping from a large mug at my elbow and reading the paper I'd gotten from the dispenser. It was nice to relax every once in awhile.
The place was crowded. Something large hit my table, making it rock back and forth, coffee splashing out of the mug, which I hurriedly scooted away from.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." A slim hand reached into my view and began dabbing at the spilled coffee with a paper napkin. "I'm sorry, I tripped."
"It's all right, don't worry about it." I rescued my paper and looked up at the girl. She appeared to be my age, maybe a year or two younger, just out of high school or maybe still in it. She had very long brown hair, dark eyes, and a kind smile which at the moment was more apologetic than anything. She was beautiful. I blinked. "Say, do I know you from somewhere?"
She looked up at me, tossing the sopping napkin in the nearby trashcan. "No, we've never met." She did a double-take. "But you look familiar…"
I nodded slowly. "I get that feeling too…" I hit my forehead. "Where's my mind? Have a seat, please."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't, I have to get to work."
Damnit. "Do you have enough time to tell me your name at least?"
She grinned. "Sure. It's Takiko. What about you?"
"I'm Emtato. It's nice to meet you." I held out my hand, which she shook, then glanced at her watch. "I'm really sorry Emtato, but I have to go. Hope to see you again soon!" She began to run for the door, dodging chairs in a way that must have sent her flying into my table earlier.
I was suddenly afraid. Something in me told me not to let her get away. I picked up my newspaper and mug and ran after her, out the door and down the block in the direction she'd gone.
I caught her a block away from the shop. "Takiko! I need to ask you something!"
"Nani?" she asked, slowing to a walk to allow me to catch up, which I did so easily.
I grinned at her. "Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow?"
She looked at me in surprise for a second, then smiled slowly, a light sparking in her eyes. "I'd love to. Meet you at the coffee shop at noon?"
"Fine with me."
"Good! Then I'll see you tomorrow!" She waved and took off again. I smiled after her, feeling great.
I continued home, letting myself in, and began shouting. "CHAMKA! Chamka, where are you?"
"COMING! Damnit aniki, you can't be quiet at ALL, can you?" My little brother came running down the stairs. "What is it this time?"
"You'll have to walk to practice tomorrow, I can't drive you."
Something about me gave it away. "Ohhhhh, aniki's got a da-ate, aniki's got a da-ate!"
I threw a couch cushion at him to quiet him.
*************************************************************************************
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Coupla quick things.
One: Hikitsu's real name is Emtato. Tomite's real name is Chamka.
Two: When they felt the ground shaking, it was because the beast god was trying to follow Takiko to the real world.
Three: All this stuff can be found at http://www.onewingedangel.com/suzaku in the character profiles for the Genbu. That place is my FY bible, no kidding.
Four: As always, PLEASE REVIEW! I LIVE on reviews! I thrive on them! I shall whither away into a pile of DUST if you do not review! Aaaahhhhhhh! Thankees! ~Kaze-chan ~_~
DISCLAIMER: Nope, not mine. Well, maybe in my wildest dreams, but they're never considered a part of reality.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: HA! I finally wrote a one-part fic! One really LONG part, but one part nonetheless. Shweet!
This's been sitting on the shelf for awhile... it's been a good three weeks since I started it, I think. And now I'm done! Wai!
This is about the Genbu people, mostly Hikitsu, Tomite, and Takiko, with mentions of all the others.
Much thanks goes to Mouse-chan for proofing, and to the Wizard of Oz.
Takiko lay asleep in her chamber in the Imperial Palace of Hokkan. In the hallway where the two of us sat, perched in chairs set outside her room for the purpose of watching over her, there was a strange silence. Almost calm, yet vibrating with invisible energy, as if the air itself was moving. No one passed by, everyone being centered on the defense of the outer wall - everyone except myself and the other Genbu no shichiseishi, protecting our miko after the god-calling ceremony.
I risked a glance in his direction. There was something about that boy that made you want to look out for him - yet at the same time you knew if he caught you doing just that, he'd punch you in the face with no hesitation. He truly was a formidable warrior, aside from myself the most powerful on the team. Over the past months each of the seven seishi had grown to fit together like the pieces of a child's play toy; if one part was missing, nothing would function. We knew our companions so intimately, as if we'd been together all our lives rather than less than half a year. Even Takiko, our beloved, regal miko, was a snug, custom-made part of our puzzle. We could read each other's moves, predict reactions with a startling clarity that had made even those familiar friends wonder if we had a mind-to-mind connection, which we didn't. We simply knew how each person would react to a situation and acted accordingly.
My companion caught me looking at him and grinned cockily. "Gettin' bored, Hikitsu?"
I grinned back. Around Tomite, I wasn't the reserved person most people knew. Something in his personality reminded me of a sibling, a younger brother I was still in charge of when Kaa-san was doing the cooking. "Well, there's certainly not much going on in here." I gestured around us to the empty corridor, stretching away to the horizon in either direction, the smoothness of the walls broken by heavy doors of dark wood. There were lanterns lit intermediately around the doors, but several had gone out, throwing the area into half-shadow.
Tomite sighed and leaned back in his chair, letting his head rest against the door frame. "Aa… I mean, I know guarding Takiko's important, and I'm glad they respected me enough to choose me for it, demo… I still wanna be out there. I wanna be in the action again." His young eyes sparked with the imaginary light of heroism during battle, and it was my turn to sigh. I had learned, long ago in the wars between clans, that there were almost no heroes in battle, and that I would definitely not be one of them. Tomite had yet to discover that, though, and I knew he lived for the day when he could prove his worth on the "glorious field of battle" - impressing Takiko along the way, of course.
But… for now, let him have his fantasies. I leaned back in the chair, resting my head against the smooth, cool wood off the doorframe, drifting into my thoughts like a leaf on the water - if the water wasn't frozen to ice. I faintly heard the sounds of battle, the screams of dying men, the agony of those who would live, but it all seemed so far away. Much closer was the shallow breathing of my fellow seishi, the light thump-thump-thump as he restlessly tapped his foot on the ground over and over. And over and over and over…
Me eye snapped open and I gave him an annoyed look. "Stop that, it's irritating." I aimed a whack at him with my left hand.
He ducked it easily and grinned. "Getting slow, eh Hikitsu?"
I folded my arms over my chest and huffed. "Sometimes you even ACT like a younger annoying brother."
"Ain't that a coincidence, because sometimes YOU act like an over-protective fusspot of an older brother." He smirked. I reached over and grabbed his hat off his head. "MATTE!" He dived for the hat, only succeeding in knocking his chair over and spilling himself ungracefully onto the floor. I laughed, something I didn't do enough, practically doubling over my stomach, still clutching his ridiculous little hat in my hand.
He glared and stood up swiftly, flapping his clothes to get them to lie straight and not strangle him anymore, then grabbed his hat again and jammed it on his head. "That's MY hat."
"What makes you think I'd want that thing?"
"Why did you take it in the first place?"
"Revenge."
"The HELL?!"
"Just shut up, you'll wake up Takiko." His eyes widened and his mouth clamped shut at the thought of waking up our Genbu no Miko. He hurriedly righted his chair and sat down with a heavy thud. I was very amused.
We retreated back into the comfortable silence of close friends, both of us thinking our own thoughts. I wondered what his were; what Iname and Uruki and Namame and the others were doing; what Takiko would do with her wishes… the ceremony… my mind drifted back to just that morning, when we seven seishi had stood in a connected ring around our miko at her alter, heard her chant the sacred ritual and throw the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho into the fire. The brilliant green light had come through the snow, the ceiling, then plummeted into the ground in a pillar surrounding Takiko… we were all washed with that light, bright yet gentle, like a parent's smile… I had felt… complete, needed, wanted even. Without me, this wouldn't have happened… without any of us, we couldn't have done it… Then the light surrounding Takiko had vanished, and the feelings with it, as she slowly collapsed. Urumiya and Tomite both ran forward from their places in the circle to catch her and lower her gently to the ground. Namame, our group's solitary female seishi, had taken charge of our miko at that point, taken her to her room and put her to bed. The whispered conference afterwards had been tense: despite the summoning, the Kutou army was attacking, and was winning. We seishi were going to have to fight again. With Takiko unconscious for Genbu knew how long and unable to use her wishes the only things we could do to prevent the enemy from completely overrunning the palace were fight and pray. We had all wanted to fight, but someone had suggested that two remain to guard Takiko in case anything should happen, or she should awaken. Tomite and I had been elected to that duty, and the others went out to face the invading army… without us…
"Ne, Hikitsu." I snapped back to reality, blinking my lone eye rapidly, turning my head to face my companion. "Was what you said before true?"
I blinked in confusion, a slight frown furrowing my brows. "What did I say before?"
"Y'know… that stuff about me being as annoying as a younger brother. Was it true?"
"Of course, you're one of the most annoying people I know."
"Iya, the brother bit."
"Oh."
He waited a moment before asking, again, impatiently. "Is it?"
I shrugged. "What else would it be?"
He laughed shortly, almost a bark, leaning back in his chair, slumping so his head rested on the back rung, pushing his hat forward at a rakish angle. "Don't ask me, a lot of times I can't tell whether you're being serious or joking."
"Hint: I don't usually joke."
"I know, I know. Listen, I was wondering, what are you going to do after all this is done? Are you gonna go home? Where is your home, anyway?"
I hid the wince his questions had evoked in me, long surpressed memories, scenes I'd tried again and again to forget but never truly was able to, everything swirling inside of me like a tornado of emotions. The thoughts, the remembered screams, cries… "Run! Run Emtato! Get away! Get awaaaaayyyy!" "You bastards! You hid from us?! Cowards in leather armor!" "Ototo! Ototo, where are you?!" The smell of fire, smoke, of my sister's clothes and dolls and mother's cooking utensils, father's leatherwork… all burning… burning to ashes… and I, new and young and powerless, unable to stop it, only able to hide and stare in horror…
"Hikitsu? Nani? Daijobu?"
I drew a shallow, shuddering breath, muting it to not catch his attention any further. But if I didn't say anything he'd keep giving me that almost-torturous puppy-dog look. "They're dead," I said flatly.
He shallowly sucked in breath, eyes widening minutely, mouth opening slightly; even though I wasn't looking at him I knew what was happening, it always happened when I told people… which was partially why I tried not to whenever possible. "H… How?"
I stared at the pale blue wall in front of me, so reminiscent of the clear, cloudless sky on that last day… "Our clan, the Kan Tribe, was always at odds with the stronger one just to the west, the Gen Tribe. They wanted our lands to graze their flocks on, but we fought them off repeatedly. When I was thirteen we heard that the Gen were planning to attack us in three days. We began preparing, but during the night some of their horsemen rode into our camp and set everything on fire. My sister and father were caught inside our burning home. My eldest sister, mother, and I somehow got out. We tried to get away, but the Gen grabbed my mother. She screamed at us to run. Then she shrieked. My sister and I kept running, but we lost each other in the smoke and dark. I could hear her calling to me, but I couldn't find her. I slept under a tree that night, and in the morning I went back. I found my mother, run through with a spear. My sister's throat had been cut. It seemed she'd at least been asleep at the time. I knew the rest of my family had been trapped in our yurt. There were only three survivors, me and two other children, a brother and sister who'd been hidden in a large hollow log overnight. I was old enough then to take care of myself somewhat, so I simply wandered, doing work and staying with other clans. Until I found Takiko." It was the most I'd spoken at one time since my family had been killed. It felt… strangely empty to have given away such a large part of myself, part I'd tried hard to ignore for eight years, especially to this inexperienced boy next to me… and somehow, it didn't.
I had been such a happy person before the raid. Even knowing the terrible burden of the glowing green symbol that had taken the place of my right eye hadn't dulled me. But… after losing everything… my sisters, my parents, my entire world… I'd closed up, like a flower at the dusk. Could it be, that after all these years of repressed pain and hidden emotions, stoic fronts and controlling my words… was I finally ready to trust others again?
His hand was suddenly solid on my shoulder. I didn't turn to look, just stared at the wall, waiting for him to speak. He seemed unable to gather his thoughts and make his mouth form the sounds he wanted, and sat there for a few moments quietly thinking. And when he did speak, it was formulaic, something I'd heard time and time before. "Hikitsu… I'm so sorry…"
"I know. It's not easy. But I'm fine." I wasn't, really, but I wasn't letting him know if I could help it.
"Look… if you wanted… you could come with me after we're… done here. I know Kaa-san would love to meet you. And my ototo, too, he reminds me of you in some ways…" He trailed off, running out of words and unable to express himself.
"I'll just go on my own, it's what I'm used to." I wouldn't pay attention to the small voice inside me telling me to listen to him… take him up on his offer… "I need to find a job soon, I'm almost out of money."
"C'mon, come with me, we could use some help at home."
I leaned back in my chair. "I'll think about it."
A soft noise to my left drew my attention, and I glanced up to see the door to Takiko's room swing slowly open, and our miko appear. We both stood respectfully and bowed, silently thanking the girl who would save our country. She smiled, that beautiful smile which had captured most of our fellow seishi in its spell, binding us to her from the beginning - even me. But even as she smiled I noticed the look of weariness on her face, in her eyes, and knew it was taking an immense amount of willpower for her to not show these things to us. I repressed most of my questions. "Takiko? Daijobu?"
She smiled tiredly at me. "I think so… it's just… calling a god takes more energy than I thought it would. I guess I'm a little worn out."
"You should go back to sleep." Tomite couldn't mask his anxiousness. I knew if anything happened to Takiko he'd blame himself till the end of time.
She shook her head slightly, smiling a little, a secret smile I couldn't understand. "Iya… I have to do something else first." She reached into a pocket of her pale red robe and withdrew a necklace - a bejeweled, elaborate necklace that sparkled in the light from the torches, glinting almost to the point of absurdity, but not quite. It was the necklace she'd worn at the ceremony to call Genbu, just a few hours before. But… there was something different about it. I just couldn't quite put my finger on what. "I want you to have this."
"Takiko… we can't, it belongs to you." Tomite began protesting, as I knew he would, but I looked slightly away, my mind beginning to work. Refusing sleep when she was that tired, coming to give us the necklace, having something else to do… none of it seemed right. She could have waited till she was completely rested to see us. Why was she coming now?
"Takiko." She turned to look at me inquisitively. "What are you going to do?"
She didn't answer for a long moment, looking at the floor instead. Her hands twisted together in front of her, her fingers weaving in and out of the necklace, a sure sign of her nervousness. "I'm… I'm using my wishes."
"And what will you wish for?"
Another long pause. "Peace… in Hokkan…… and…"
"And?"
She could only stare at me helplessly, her dark eyes large and shining with unshed tears, looking more like the fragile child she sometimes behaved as more than ever before, even when I had found her freezing in the snow all those months ago. I suddenly wanted to hug her, comfort her. She reminded me so much of my sister…
"And?" I repeated, letting none of my emotions show.
"Hikitsu…" I didn't look at her. I couldn't, for some reason. But suddenly she was grabbing me, wrapping her arms around my waist and burying her face in my arm, crying softly. "I'll miss you all so much…"
It hit me.
She…She was…going home?
"You're… you're… leaving us?" Tomite could barely speak. I glanced at him, and his still-boyish face was stunned. "T-Takiko… why?"
She didn't speak, just shook her head, still clinging to me tightly. I hesitantly put my arms around her, stroking her long brown hair, trying to tell her that everything would be all right… it would be all right.
A few moments later she took a deep breath and stepped back from me, her eyes reddened with tears and… pain? "I can't stay…" she whispered, so softly I almost didn't catch it. "I can't… I have to go… home… so…" She stepped forward again. My eye widened as she pressed the necklace into my hands. "Take this… so you'll remember me…" She gave me one last, painful look before turning to Tomite and sweeping him up in a hug. He started a little, then relaxed and hugged her tightly, his fingers tangling in her hair. He was close to crying, but he wouldn't do it, not in front of her… the one he wanted to impress…
She kissed him on the cheek and pulled away. His face clearly showed his pain, his disbelief that she was going, really leaving us. She glanced at him again and turned away swiftly, unable to take that look. Then she drew in a deep, shuddering breath, slowly looking up, straight in front of her, her eyes slightly unfocused and gazing over my shoulder. "Kai… jin."
There was a flash of brilliant green light that erupted from her forehead, but for some reason had no affect on my vision. I could see the mark of Genbu shining there, bright and promising and full of hope and sorrow at the same time. And suddenly, I was afraid.
"Genbu! Hear my wish! Protect Hokkan for all time!" Her voice was clear, loud, confident, the voice of the miko she was. The green light blazed on her forehead and exploded in a circle, enveloping us, and somehow I knew the entire palace, the entire city, the entire country with its radiance, granting Takiko's first wish to Genbu. She stood there, her arms raised in front of her, still staring unseeing at the wall, as the light seemed to flow around her, molding itself to her shape. Then it winked out, as fast as it had come. Takiko gave a little gasp and sank to the ground, the symbol gone, bracing herself on her hands and knees and breathing hard.
"Takiko!" We quickly dropped to the ground next to her, one on either side, and slowly helped her sit up. Her eyes were closed and she was shivering, despite the more than adequate warmth in the hallway, clenching her jaw and wrapping her arms around her small body. "What is it? What happened?"
"I don't know… It's just… it's painful. I don't know why…"
"Takiko, you should rest more before using your other wishes. I'm taking you back in your room." I stood up, bringing her with me, supporting her so she could stand on her own two feet. She looked so small and frail…
"Iya… Iya, I have to do this…" Her voice was choked, pained as I had never heard it before. That wasn't right, it should be rich and melodious and full of life, as it had always been, even through the roughest times at the very beginning. I put my hand under her chin and tilted her face gently upwards.
She was… crying… again…
I barely had time to register it before she was hugging me again, hanging on my neck even though I was so much taller. "I'm so sorry… I just can't stay… please don't forget me…"
I hugged her back again, my fear growing, and I didn't know why. "We won't, how can we? You're our miko."
"Iya… don't forget… Takiko…not the miko, just Takiko…" She kissed me on the cheek as she had Tomite and stepped back into her door, bracing herself with her hands, eyes shining with tears, still looking painfully at me. "Kai… kaijin."
Again the light. The green brilliance. The manifestation of her power, our power, the power of our god Genbu. The symbol appeared again, shining brighter than before. "Genbu, onegai… onegai… send me home!"
Something inside me snapped at hearing those words, the fear pouring over as if a dam had been opened. I jumped forward, my arm stretched out in front of me to stop her. "Takiko! Matte! TAKIKO!"
"Gomen nasai Hikitsu…." Her arm reached out to mine, and I felt her fingers lace between mine, grip them hard. "I… Aishiteru…"
Then… She was gone…
My hand tightened around nothing but empty air, still colored slightly green with the light that had vanished into nothing, taking Takiko - my Takiko. I felt myself falling to my knees, my right hand still held as if hers was in it, my left clutching the necklace so hard it would snap if it was not as fluid as water. The necklace… the necklace she had worn… it was all I had left… Oh Genbu, gods above, why didn't I see it earlier?! Why hadn't I realized it before she made that reckless wish?! Before she was ripped away from me forever?!
"Takiko… Takiko… come back…"
My words were cut off in a gasp as the ground beneath me heaved as if it were alive. I was thrown to the floor and next to me Tomite grabbed the wall to keep upright. One of the chairs fell over, striking me in the head sharply but not painfully. Then all was still again.
Tomite carefully pushed himself back on his feet, looking a little shaky. "Wha… what the hell was that?"
I got to my knees again, then carefully stood up, holding my arms out slightly to keep my balance. "I don't know…" I blinked and shook my head slowly, taking a tally of my physical and mental state. My head stung a little where the chair had hit it, but it was only a minor bump, one that would go away in a few minutes. My legs were still somewhat shaky from the earth's upheaval, but it was quickly fading. My heart, however… I looked away from Tomite, unable to be face-to-face with him at the moment. I had known all along that he was in love with Takiko; it was painfully obvious to everyone but the girl in question. She had never seemed to realize how deep Tomite's feelings ran… and now I knew why. Gods, if only I'd seen! Maybe she wouldn't have wished to leave us! I understood her reasoning, now that I saw: it hurt her to be around the one she loved without having him… me… return the feelings. I was blind, and not just in my eye.
"Ne, Hikitsu…" Tomite's voice was quiet, subdued, so unlike his normal brash, confident tone. "If it couldn't be me, I'm glad it was you."
I slowly looked at him, not quite sure what he was saying. He smiled, seeing the confusion written over my face. "Y'know… with Takiko. I kind of realized it awhile ago… she wasn't gonna come with me, because she'd follow you." He shrugged. "I got used to it after awhile. So like I said, if it wasn't me, good thing it's you."
"I… Thanks, Tomite."
"It's nothing, like I said I was kind of resigned to it awhile back. C'mon, let's go get some sleep, it's getting late." He began walking down the hall in the direction of the rooms reserved for the seishi.
I was slightly surprised. "You don't want to go out and fight?"
He stopped, looked back at me. "Not really… I've kind of lost the taste for it now."
I nodded silently, stepping up to walk next to him, my eye trained on the floor and fingering the necklace, wrapped in my thoughts. I could feel his concern for me plainly, but he remained silent as we took the short trip from the miko's room… former room… to our own.
Tomite gave his door a practiced kick when we got to it, then gave a satisfied grin as it popped out of its normally stuck position and swung into the room. "Oyasumi Hikitsu."
I grabbed him arm before he could go in, afraid all over again. I had lost Takiko before I had even realized I had her. The dark thought that I might lose Tomite as well bubbled to the surface of my mind. "Tomite, matte." He stopped, looking at me expectantly. "Is that offer still open?"
"Always is, always will be. You accepting it now?" He raised one dark eyebrow and smirked slightly, pulling out of my grasp.
"Hai. I don't… I don't want to make the same mistake twice."
A grin spread slowly over his face, one of his bright, cheerful grins that had kept all of us going many a time. He held his hand, thumb pointed upward, out to me expectantly. "Brothers?"
I smiled back, clasping his hand in mine. "Brothers."
"Good. Now I can stop worrying about you." He turned back to see the door had swung shut - and gotten stuck - again. "Damn thing." He kicked it again, making it bounce on its hinges.
"Ne, I though I was supposed to worry, I'm older." I hid a smile.
"You worry about everything else, I'll worry about you. Oyasumi…" he grinned. "Aniki." He stepped into his room and wedged the door shut behind him.
I smiled at it. "Oyasumi… ototo"
"Tomite! TOMITE!" I shook him, I banged around the room, I slammed his door. Nothing would wake that boy up. All that had been accomplished was he'd buried his head under his pillow and blankets, and he hadn't even woken up to do that. I glared at the outline of his form under the quilts. "Fine, if that's the way you want it." I left his room for a minute and returned quickly, carrying my basin. I set it on the dresser and pried the pillow off his head, not worrying about the blankets. I dipped my finger in the water, testing the heat. Still frigid. Good. I poured the water on his head.
"YYYYYYYYYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!"
It was midmorning. Despite Takiko's wish, the Kutou troops were still attacking. I had no idea how Genbu proposed to protect Hokkan if the soldiers were still there, but we seishi had continued with our jobs. The others had taken the news of Takiko's leaving with expected reactions; shock, grief, and the question why seemed to prevail. I left Tomite to explain, not feeling up to it, trusting to his discretion. I sat to one side in the room, my hand in my pocket, fingering the necklace I kept there, focusing on the wall in front of me. Once I felt a gaze on me and turned in the direction of the others. It was Namame, watching me with a small, sad, comprehending smile. I looked away again, not ready to face the reality of why she had left.
My hand strayed to my pocket again as I tried to calm the skittish horse I was riding, wishing I had kept the necklace there. But no, it was better where it was - in my dresser, in my room, safe from harm. It might be dented or scratched or worse out here. I couldn't bear it if that happened. Tomite had let me keep it, asking no questions. I was grateful to have someone so understanding in my confidence. I shook my head and forced my attention back to the battle.
It was a hopeless melee. The organized formations had long since been abandoned and every man was fighting for his own life, striking at anything that came at him, even if it was a compatriot. I saw more than one Hokkan soldier hacked down by another, simply because of a mistake in identification. Kutou soldiers as well were sometimes fighting their own, not hearing the calls of their commanders above the clang of armor and swords and the whiz of arrows overhead. They outnumbered us nearly two to one, but we seven seishi kept the odds evened somewhat.
I chased a charging attacker away from Iname with my ice snakes. He gave me a look of complete thanks and charged into the fray again, taking down soldier after soldier with his special potions and poisons. Namame was perched on a rock behind me, singing in her beautiful, clear voice, hypnotizing some of the enemy soldiers and holding them till they could be properly tied. Tomite shot arrow after arrow, the ice darts forming in midair and falling to the ground, hitting mostly Kutou targets. A god's power could be equal to fifty soldiers, if used right. And use them right we did.
Then I saw Tomite yell and throw down his bow, grabbing the reigns of his horse again and charging into the troops, ducking wild swipes at his head and turning his horse to avoid others. I looked beyond him to see what had thrown him into a frenzy. There, backed against the wall, was a small child, maybe eight or so. I couldn't tell if it was a girl or a boy, but it didn't matter. Its eyes were wide, scared, it was clinging to the wall, scrunched into a small bundle. Just five feet away from it was the mass of battling soldiers. If someone didn't do something, it would be killed. And Tomite was doing something.
I looked back at him, and was suddenly filled with immense fear. He was riding through foot soldiers, a good two feet above them and exposed from the torso up. A clear target. Without a way to defend himself. His bow lay not fifteen feet from me on the snowy ground. If something happened to him…
"TOMITE!" I spurred my horse into a gallop, shoving through the soldiers as fast as I could go. I heard Hatsui call after me to wait, but I paid him no mind. If something happened to the little brother I'd just found, after I'd lost Takiko, I knew I'd die. Losing both of them would put me over the edge.
Tomite was getting closer to the kid. Only twenty feet to go, and he'd be there. Hope rose in me. He'd make it, he'd save the child, he'd be was he'd always wanted to be, a hero…
A… hero…
No…
The dark flower bloomed on his blue tunic as the arrow pierced his chest. The head, red with his blood, pointed at me, back the way he had come, as if it were some bizarre direction sign telling me to forget about him, go back. But I couldn't. Everything slowed, the battle, the horse, the swords, the noises dimmed to nothingness, as Tomite tilted his head down, looking at his wound. His arm came up, carefully touched the life flowing out of him, came away sticky. He gazed at his fingers for a moment, then turned to look back, staring at me for what seemed an eternity. Then he fell, a bare ten feet from the child he'd been rushing to save. He fell from his saddle, his feet slipping out of the stirrups, landing behind the horse, which kept running. The fighters closed in around him, covering the hole where he lay, another battlefield casualty.
No… not him… Genbu, no…
A pain like none I'd ever felt before ripped through me: the pain of nothingness. What had once been a part of me had vanished, gone forever. Tomite… was…
NO!
"TOOOOMMIIIIIIIIIITTEEEEEE!!!!" The harsh cry of a beast rang out over the roar of the fight, all heads swiveling to watch the source, stunned. To watch me. It had been my voice, my unrecognizable howl, that had silenced the fight. I kept riding, riding, knocking over friend and foe alike, to get to him, find him, pick him up and have him tell me it didn't hurt that much, he'd be fine soon…
And…
No…
It couldn't happen…
Not me, too…
The arrow…
In my… throat…
I fell into the darkness, following the last person I'd had who had been dearer to me than life.
I opened my eyes slowly.
Wait… eyes?
I felt my face. Yes, eyes… the normal layer of skin that covered my right eye socket, where my seishi symbol had appeared time and time again in my life, was gone, and the eye that should have been there all along was in its rightful place. It felt slightly strange to be seeing everything literally in perspective after twenty-one years.
A chuckle next to me drew my attention. "Y'know, you've been lying there awhile. Stop pokin' yourself and sit up."
"T… Tomite!"
He grinned. "The one and only. Ah, we were both stupid - me for running headlong without thinking and you for following me."
I pushed myself up with my arms, looking around. "Where are we?"
It was certainly nowhere I'd seen before. A long, clean white hall, sculpted entirely of ice and marble, stretched before us. We were sitting on a red carpet stretching the length of the hall, comfortable and luxurious. There were graceful columns everywhere, supporting a ceiling glowing with an unearthly light. I turn to look behind me and saw a pair of massive doors that all seven seishi could easily fit through at once, and easily as tall at the Imperial Palace in Touran. They were hanging open, and through them was a dark ice-blue cave, rough stalagmites and stalactites placed everywhere on the ceiling, the floor, even the wall. I turned the other way and saw…
There was no way.
"Hikitsu?" Tomite asked inquisitively as I stood and walked slowly to the pedestal set at the end of the hall opposite the imposing doors. "What're you doing?" he scrambled after me, half-jogging to catch up. He pulled to a sudden stop behind me, seeing what rested on the pedestal. "Gods above…"
I reached out my hand to Takiko's necklace, arranged just so, looking as perfect as the last time I had seen it, as when she had worn it, when she… had left. How could it have left my room?
My hand went right through it.
"No… Don't do this to me…" I passed my hand back and forth several more times, each time feeling, yet not feeling the cool metal and stones slide through me. I couldn't touch it. I couldn't. Couldn't hold, couldn't feel the last thing I had to remind me of the love I had lost… "NO!"
Hikitsu, don't.
The voice came into my mind. I couldn't make the mistake of thinking I'd heard it. It was too forceful, too solid, too important to have been a mere sound. It was clear Tomite could "hear" it as well. He was looking around, searching for the person - or thing - that could produce such a non-voice, a look of surprise on his face.
The voice chuckled. You will not see me, Tomite. It is useless to try.
"Where are you? Never mind that, what are you?" Tomite called, slightly loudly, the sound echoing back repeatedly from the polished marble and glass-like ice.
I am Genbu-seikun.
Of course.
Only a god could have a voice like that, piercing yet not painful, forceful and gentle all at once. And what other god would two Genbu no shichiseishi have speak to us but our father god himself? "What are we doing here?" My own voice came back to me time and time again.
You are here to listen to a proposition I am going to make you.
"What proposition?" Tomite sounded slightly wary, understandably. We had just died. Who knew what our god wanted us to do?
You may say yes or no, whichever you wish. Would you, Genbu no shichiseishi Hikitsu, and you, Genbu no shichiseishi Tomite, remain in this hall of ice to guard the shinzaho?
"What's the shinzaho?"
It is an object of power formed when a miko couples with a beast god. It is made of something the miko was wearing at the time of the coupling, and has tremendous power. Two of them are enough to call another beast god without the aide of the seven seishi. If you accept this offer, you will remain here and guard the Genbu no Shinzaho until it is claimed by a worthy miko, perhaps in the far future. If you say no, your spirits shall return to the sky to await the rest of the Genbu no shichiseishi, except for the one or ones who remain to guard.
"Where is it?" I called.
It is there in front of you.
The only thing in front of us was Takiko's necklace. Which meant… "You can't be serious."
I can and I am. Genbu no Miko Okuda Takiko was wearing this necklace when I coupled with her, and it was imbued with my holy power. This is your shinzaho.
I tried once again, futilely, to touch the golden metal and perfect stones, and once again I swept through it. I let out a low moan of defeat and sank to my knees next to the pedestal. Tomite gave me a concerned look and stepped past me, holding his hand out, a bare inch above it. His eyes widened and he gasped slightly. "I… I can feel it! The power! I can feel it in the necklace!"
Of course you can. You are a Genbu no shichiseishi. Tomite, Hikitsu. I need your answer now.
Tomite looked down at me, silently asking the question with his eyes. What was I going to do?
He'd stay with me, whatever I decided. We'd sworn to be as brothers, and we'd fulfill that vow even in death. Why else would we be here together? But as to what I, myself, wanted to do… It was torture being with Takiko's necklace and not being able to touch it, hold it as I'd never gotten to hold her. Especially now that I was not blind to my feelings. But what would it feel like with it not there?
Even worse.
"I want to stay," I said softly from my position on the floor.
Tomite looked at me for a second more, then looked up at the ceiling, addressing Genbu as if he were there. "I'm staying, too."
Very well. A green light flooded into the hall, wrapping around us, seeming to carry us away for a few brief moments. I felt powerful again, the light flowing into me and filling me to the brim. I opened my eyes… no, there was only one again, the same one I'd had all through my life. The familiar patch was back over my right eye. Tomite was staring in shock at the bow and quiver that now rested in his hands, the same ones he'd had all along and had been carelessly thrown aside when he went to save the child. Death stripped you of your seishi powers, but now you have them back. Use them well, guard the shinzaho and preserve it for the worthy miko. And then, unquestionably, he was gone.
I slowly stood up, turned to look at first the hall, the doors now closed, then the necklace, the memento of my love, and then at Tomite, my new brother. "There is a bright side to this."
"What is it?"
I smirked slowly. "Now it won't be so hard to wake you up in the mornings."
Time passed, endlessly. We needed neither sleep nor food. There wasn't much to do in the hall and cave, but we weren't bored. We talked, discussing our lives, and other things. We got to know each other better than we had in life.
The others lived through the battle, and two days after we died the Kutou army was pushed out of the country, never to return, thanks to Takiko's wish. After the battle the others somehow knew where we were and every day at least one of them would make the trek. We would open the doors, move the huge boulder sitting in front of the entrance, and admit our friends. Iname was the first, and he told us where we were: on Mount Black, in the cave we'd used for shelter the night before we'd arrived in Touran, the night of the great blizzard where we'd almost frozen and Hatsui, the fifth seishi, had saved us. It was almost as if we were still alive, except for not being able to touch and feel.
Namame was the most frequent visitor. Eventually, after many private, sympathetic talks, she managed to draw out of me the exact circumstances behind Takiko's departure. She understood what Takiko had been going through better than I could have believed, and also confessed in me: she was in love with Uruki, but he didn't seem to realize. I took care of that fairly swiftly, dropping hints when he came to visit, gently prodding him in the right direction. I didn't want what had happened to me to happen to my friends. And soon they were married.
But after awhile, they stopped coming. We knew it would happen eventually. We had watched them slowly aging, growing older, their hair fading to gray, but not a healthy gray like mine. First Urumiya no longer showed up, then Iname, then Hatsui, then Namame. On his last visit, not long after hers, Uruki told us how they had all died, claimed by old age and sickness. And he never came back either.
But others did. The legend of Hikitsu's and Tomite's "last stand" had spread, and people came not just to catch a glimpse of the elusive spirits, but also to steal our treasure. The former type never got past the boulder, but the latter sometimes did. We did our duty, persuading some to go away, driving off others, and occasionally, killing. We never liked it, but it had to be done.
And then…
That girl. That silly, naïve girl, nothing like my Takiko - at first. But she proved her worth. We'd felt the flares of ki outside when the two seishi had died; the first felt blue, the other red. And then she and her seishi were there, fighting us… and she let us test her, and she passed the test. She had won the shinzaho.
And we returned to the sky.
(Present day…)
I sat in a small coffee shop, occasionally sipping from a large mug at my elbow and reading the paper I'd gotten from the dispenser. It was nice to relax every once in awhile.
The place was crowded. Something large hit my table, making it rock back and forth, coffee splashing out of the mug, which I hurriedly scooted away from.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." A slim hand reached into my view and began dabbing at the spilled coffee with a paper napkin. "I'm sorry, I tripped."
"It's all right, don't worry about it." I rescued my paper and looked up at the girl. She appeared to be my age, maybe a year or two younger, just out of high school or maybe still in it. She had very long brown hair, dark eyes, and a kind smile which at the moment was more apologetic than anything. She was beautiful. I blinked. "Say, do I know you from somewhere?"
She looked up at me, tossing the sopping napkin in the nearby trashcan. "No, we've never met." She did a double-take. "But you look familiar…"
I nodded slowly. "I get that feeling too…" I hit my forehead. "Where's my mind? Have a seat, please."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't, I have to get to work."
Damnit. "Do you have enough time to tell me your name at least?"
She grinned. "Sure. It's Takiko. What about you?"
"I'm Emtato. It's nice to meet you." I held out my hand, which she shook, then glanced at her watch. "I'm really sorry Emtato, but I have to go. Hope to see you again soon!" She began to run for the door, dodging chairs in a way that must have sent her flying into my table earlier.
I was suddenly afraid. Something in me told me not to let her get away. I picked up my newspaper and mug and ran after her, out the door and down the block in the direction she'd gone.
I caught her a block away from the shop. "Takiko! I need to ask you something!"
"Nani?" she asked, slowing to a walk to allow me to catch up, which I did so easily.
I grinned at her. "Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow?"
She looked at me in surprise for a second, then smiled slowly, a light sparking in her eyes. "I'd love to. Meet you at the coffee shop at noon?"
"Fine with me."
"Good! Then I'll see you tomorrow!" She waved and took off again. I smiled after her, feeling great.
I continued home, letting myself in, and began shouting. "CHAMKA! Chamka, where are you?"
"COMING! Damnit aniki, you can't be quiet at ALL, can you?" My little brother came running down the stairs. "What is it this time?"
"You'll have to walk to practice tomorrow, I can't drive you."
Something about me gave it away. "Ohhhhh, aniki's got a da-ate, aniki's got a da-ate!"
I threw a couch cushion at him to quiet him.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Coupla quick things.
One: Hikitsu's real name is Emtato. Tomite's real name is Chamka.
Two: When they felt the ground shaking, it was because the beast god was trying to follow Takiko to the real world.
Three: All this stuff can be found at http://www.onewingedangel.com/suzaku in the character profiles for the Genbu. That place is my FY bible, no kidding.
Four: As always, PLEASE REVIEW! I LIVE on reviews! I thrive on them! I shall whither away into a pile of DUST if you do not review! Aaaahhhhhhh! Thankees! ~Kaze-chan ~_~