Triangle

Crossing Over

All I remember is a bright light.

There was no sound… Not even a scream.

It was coming to me. Coming towards us.

I didn't feel anything back then too.

That was a year ago.

The night brought mysterious things with it.

One always thought that the night brought the darkness or danger. Children would be afraid of monsters and ghosts. One would never imagine that it would be the gateway from the heavens and the underworld for the spirits to roam free on the Earth's surface. They would wait during the day then quickly pass through the gate at night. Those from the underworld traveled to human-inhabited places, whereas those from the heavens would go forth and do good deed, such as saving a kitten's life.

What about purgatory? The sprits could not travel to either place. No, they were chained to the world of the living in search of rest. They wondered why they had no passed on yet, but if one spoke to a spirit in purgatory, the most common answer would be 'I have something left to do'. Of course, that was the common excuse. There would be a minority that said 'I was neither good nor bad', and often, those people were quickly labeled 'liars', as it was impossible to be neither good nor bad in the first life.

Spirits that were left in purgatory sought comfort in the warm waters of the bath- a certain one at that. At the border between human and spirit world was a bathhouse. It was around six feet tall, its exterior showing clearly the use of Chinese architecture. At night, golden light shone brightly from its translucent shoji windows. It was often considered the 'lighthouse' of the spirit world, especially for the ferry that ran between the human world and spirit world, taking spirits who have just been 'born'.

There was a bridge that bowed before the building. It bore a path from the mainland of the spirit world to the lone island that was inhabited by none other than the bathhouse itself. During the day, the area was asleep, waiting the night, which brought forth the spirits that linger. Opposite of the bridge from the bathhouse was an amusement park, long past its time. Stands still stood, untouched by time, and the silverware of restaurants still remained as young as ever, occasionally glistening when the sun struck it through the tin cloth that was over the shop.

This is the world of the spirits; the world of the night.

"We can't call for help; nobody will hear us!"

His eyes looked up innocently, terrified at the immensity of the world. The sunset shone clearly in his faded forest eyes, his face with a frightened look to match. Panting rang throughout the open sky of the meadow as footsteps crashed onto the ground, splashes made as they ran.

"Hurry up, Kame!"

She knew all too well how terrified he was- she was as well. The water was beginning to rise at an alarming rate, and it felt like winter up to her ankles already. They felt the grass beneath their bare feet, and the rocks of the stone path pierced the bottoms as they dashed. Her hand was gripped tightly to the boy beside her, nearly digging her nails into his hand. The night was due to come very soon, and if they did not make it across the meadow, they would be gone for good.

"I'm hurrying, but the sun is setting faster than we can run!"

There was pain in his voice, and nobody needed to look at him to see that. He was coughing as he and the girl dashed cross the drowned meadow. All he could see ahead of him was the light of a tall building in the distance… And it was certainly getting bigger by the step.

"Don't worry! We're almost there!"

Her eyes were fixed on the stone steps just ahead, only about a mile away. The water was already up to mid-thigh, and movement was beginning to become impaired. Normally, in this situation, one would have that moment where their life would flash before their eyes, and they would have a miraculous burst of energy that would have helped them reach the steps. Sadly, they had already gone through that… A year ago.

"Yuna, I don't want to die again!"

Kame's voice was deep and certainly in panic. The water was rising quickly, but the reassurance came when his head beginning to tilt downwards to look at the stone steps. His heart felt as if it were about to explode, and his body would soon collapse from the non-stop running. His body felt warm as he and Yuna dashed from the water, running up the steps, throwing themselves onto the concrete ground as they reached the mainland. Both were panting and coughing, the aching from the running beginning to take its toll. The tips of Yuna's black silk hair were dripping water, as was her red hakama, the sleeves of her white kimono underneath wet. Her hollow eyes of midnight looked at her friend beside her, who was clinging to the ground mercilessly.

"Kame, are you alright?" the girl coughed through breaths, struggling to return her heart rate to its original steady beat. Her gazed wandered from his light brown hair down to his chest, which was rising and depressing greatly with each breath he took. The navy coloured-shirt he wore was only wet from the bottom, his ripped jeans soaked through.

"I'm fine," the boy groaned, heaving himself off of the cold, hard ground. His body ached greatly as he sat himself, his head turned to look down at his friend beside him. "Are you?" His voice was quickly raspy, as if the water had sucked him dry of the moisture in his own throat.

"Barely," was all that Yuna managed to breathe as she looked up at him. The dawning night was darkening his soft hair quickly, and half of his face would soon be caught in the night and the other half would still be with the light of the twilight. She could see the fading green in his eye, looking down at her with utmost concern. Sighing, she brought herself up from the ground, aching slightly.

"Remind me again why we've come all the way here?" Kame requested as he and his friend stood on their feet. The night was surely upon them, and there was one factor that certainly indicated so: the amusement park ahead was already flooded with dark, faceless spirits. The boy felt out of place, wearing modern-day clothing. His eyes wandered to his surroundings, looking at the many people from many time periods. There were bright lights shining from every stall, and the scent of food lingered heavily in the air like smoke. The sound of people shuffling from every direction was deafening, and colours that appeared vibrantly against the night sky were more blinding than the lights around them.

"The bathhouse past this amusement park," Yuna replied bluntly as she walked in front of the boy, a strong look on her face. She was, needless to say, putting on the mask she often wore: the mask that she was a strong individual who was not afraid of anything. Of course, this was only a façade; in truth, she was very curious about the new world around her.

Kame said nothing. The girl's swift reply was nothing new, as harsh words and simple replies were all he ever knew of Naki Yuna, whom he had known since childhood. He knew that she had matured quicker than most, as her mother passed away during the girl's childhood. Living with her father brought no sense of parental guidance either: he was always 'working'. Yuna knew better than that. She knew that he did, in fact, go to work, but would be quick to drive to the bar to pick up women he would sleep with soon afterwards. Kame had been close with Yuna just before her mother's passing, and often treated her as a younger sister. The only problem was that he could be very cowardly at times and often did not make such a masculine impression of himself towards her.

As the two walked, stalls passed quickly, and looking forward, it felt as if the shops were moving aside to let them through the crowd to make way to the bathhouse. The many sounds of hollering for customers and the sizzling of food often caught the attention of Shoushin Kame. His eyes traveled in every direction with each step he and Yuna took, acquainting himself with the new surroundings around him. It felt as if he were five again, when he was observing his new home in Japan after the move from England with both his parents. The experience of going somewhere new was always exhilarating to him, but in this situation, it was somewhat frightening.

"Woah! The bathhouse is so big!" came an excited squeal from Kame as he lifted his head to look at the immense building basking in all its glory. None turned to look at him or Yuna as they stood near the edge of the bridge to enter the bathhouse. It lay before them, giving them the final piece of the journey towards the building. Soon they would be drenched in the boiling herbal water of the bath, pampered to perfection. They felt their feet begin to take steps, bringing them across the bridge. They walked peacefully, Yuna completely ignoring the obnoxious frog at the bath's end of the bridge. It was no surprise that she received a spiteful reaction from it, and it was certainly no surprise that she could not have cared less.

Upon entry into the bathhouse, the two were greeted by a maid. Her bangs parted through the middle to greet and join her long hair that fell behind, and her coral worker's uniform was quite eye-catching, as was her kind smile. "Welcome to Yubaba's bathhouse!" was what she was clearly paid to say. She was greeted in return with a respectful bow from Yuna and Kame before they were lead away by another maid who had the job of assigning rooms to the customers. If it were not for the difference in face, the two maids would have looked exactly the same. As they were lead away, Yuna could hear "Rin, you're done your shift; you can go now" behind her, where the greeting maid stood.

The upwards pull of the lever brought life to the lift. The world began still, followed by the quick blurring as they gained speed. The maid remained still as she stood before the lever facing to the open floors before her. She was very statuesque, her hair the only part of her moving due to the wind rushing into the elevator through the bottom crack of the door, and even that movement was very minimal.

"Yuna, are you sure it's okay for us to be here?" Kame whispered as he leaned into Yuna's shoulder, which was just in front of him. At nineteen, one would imagine that this boy would already not be so cautious about everything. As he leaned in, he could smell the faint smell of roses in her hair. Goodness was her hair soft and silky…

"We've saved enough money for this trip," Yuna whispered quietly to him, turning her head enough for her eyes to see him from the corner, "We've worked so hard for Kayuro even though he offered to pay for us himself."

It was true.

"Where are we…?"

"Yuna, where are you?"

"I'm right beside you. Can't you feel me holding your hand?"

"I can't feel anything, Yuna…"

"Neither can I."

The bright light disappeared, revealing an empty town. The roads were empty and houses remained uninhabited. A breeze passed and all curtains blew in sync. The need for air was non-existent, and so were the people that once lived in this town. It was so familiar...

"Yuna, where did everybody go?"

Just then, it hit her: they were in the town of Gujo- they were home. Yet… It did not seem right to Yuna. People were always here in downtown Gujo, whether it was a ramen shop owner or just a child playing with their friends. After all, were they not just driving there?

"Yuna… Are we dead?"

Kame was constantly asking questions, and it was getting very irritating, but she, herself, had no answer. Were they dead? All she remembered was a bright white light. He was standing beside her, holding her hand; both of them were afraid.

"Yes, you are."

Yuna and Kame turned around to face a man. He looked no older than twenty, wearing a long grey hakama over a black kimono. He looked very similiar to Yuna, who had been wearing a white kimono with a red hakama at the time.

"What do you mean 'yes, you are'?" It was Kame, and he certainly was not too pleased to hear such news.

"You got into a car accident," the man replied as he approached the girl and boy before him. He quickly stopped as he saw them step away. "You are spirits."

"Spirits…?" It was Yuna. Her voice remained calm as she stared at the man before her, cautious. The girl could not find her bow and arrows, which she had been taking lessons for, and was the reason she was wearing the hakama at the moment.

"You could not pass on to heaven because you have not accomplished a goal yet, and you could not fall to the underworld because you have not done anything cruel to the world." His voice was warm, much like a father. He had a smile on his face, and his kindness shone from his dark eyes behind his glasses.

"How do you know this?" It was Yuna again.

"I have been wandering this human world ever since I died two years ago." He paused for a moment. "Tell me, have you ever heard of Yubaba's bathhouse?"

Silence came from Yuna and Kame.

"We are still on the human world. While you are here, you can do whatever you wish because you will never pass on or fall below. People like you and me linger here for the rest of our lives." A grin twitched on his face for a moment. "But if you find the gateway between the human world and our world, the spirit world, on the other side will be the bathhouse at which you can seek comfort."

"Not to question you, sir, but a bathhouse is quite expensive," Kame whimpered as he cowardly looked at him from behind Yuna, who was a year younger than him.

"I have enough money, and I do not go to the bathhouse often." The man smiled. "I will pay for you."

"No." It was Yuna. She was firmly standing her ground, her face showing the respectful individual inside. "We cannot take your money without earning it. Kame and I will work for you." With this, she heard Kame groan behind her, only to have him shut up as soon as she turned her head to him.

"Very well then." The man smiled as the two turned their attention to him. "Come with me. In the human world, there is an in for spirits where I work for those who have ventured from the spirit world to explore the world of their first lives." He had begun to walk, then stopped, turning around slightly.

"Don't think of me as a stranger. My name is Kayuro."

Note: Oh, hey! So... I've just finished up an Alice in Wonderland fanfic on my xXbittersweetWonderlandXx account and rushed it so I could start working on this one. What I have planned for this story is out of my comfort zone in regards to writing, so I can't wait to see how it turns out! Yes, this story has been labelled 'M' because of the future chapters (which is why i say 'out of my comfort zone'). Anyway, here are some things I thought you should know.. (btw, scenes in italics are flashbacks)

Shoushin Kame: Cowardly(Shoushin) Turtle(Kame)

Naki Yuna: Weeping(Naki) Lovely Maiden(Yuna) - [Yuna can mean either Lovely Maiden, Moon Maiden, or Power]

Kayuro's name has no particular meaning

Hakama: (look up Kikyo from Inu Yasha. It's her white kimono with the red cloth over it. Yuna wears the andon hakama, where the red cloth is a skirt. Kikyo's cloth is divided to pants.)