CHAPTER 1 - BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
"G-Go away from me!"
The female ran, as fast as she can. She knew at this rate, she wouldn't be able to escape but she had no other options other than fleeing. Her heart beat faster and it became harder for her to breathe due to lack of oxygen. She grew weary. Regardless of how far she ran, the unknown creature continued pursuing her from behind.
You can't go anywhere. YOU ARE MINE..
The eerie voice echoed throughout the forest. Hearing this, she felt a chill ran down her spine. For a moment, she could not feel the presence of the monster behind her - but something didn't feel right. When it felt safer, she stopped running. She needed the break. Pressing her hand against a tree, she panted. The female had lost a lot of energy and she didn't know if she could run any further.
Suddenly . . .
FOUND YOU.
A large dust of flame suddenly appeared before her - the fiery and burning heat emitted from the creature could almost bake her.
"W-What do you want from me?!" she screamed, feeling helpless.
I WON'T ALLOW A WEAKLING LIKE YOU TO MANIPULATE ME AS YOU WISH.
In a blink of an eye, her weak body was binded by a swirl of flame. She expected her own death at any time. Nonetheless, she felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. Her body didn't hurt; the fire didn't burn her. It was strange.
"Master, you must control him."
A faint voice advised her.
"Who's that?" Puzzled, she looked around her but she saw none.
"Don't allow him to control you. You — My master, has the power to control this spirit,"
She didn't understand anything. She was only a powerless human – a weakling like her couldn't possibly do anything. But the voice said otherwise – she can control a spirit. How could she believe in those words?
"Believe in yourself."
Believe in.. myself? Is this a joke? She thought. One thing for sure. She had to live. She just had to. But alas, she was still trapped within the bind of fire, unable to move. She had to do something before the spirit pushed any further and ate her whole. She began closing both eyes.
Believe in myself.
In her own vision, she saw the earlier fight of a group of people. She had been there. Watching them all the time. Since she was unable to do anything, she just sat at the back. During the fight, they were mumbling something – a single word that sounded simple to her - yes, it must be the key! Trying harder, she eventually managed to remember the word.
The word recovered in her mind. Her blue eyes flared.
~ end of Chapter 1
CHAPTER 2 - MASTER, SERVANT I
A black cat followed the female from behind. It was quite fast to catch up with her too, considering that she was already far ahead. Ignoring the cat, the female continued walking around the forest in her usual pace. Her bare feet were unscratched and her white kimono was long enough to touch the ground. Under the sunlight, her long silvery hair seemed shimmering.. beautifully.
"Why did you call me 'Master'?" she asked. "We haven't met each other before."
It was odd but true, nonetheless. The voice that talked to her just now belonged to a mere cat. Despite that, she was grateful that she is still alive. Because of its guidance, she was able to manipulate the Spirit of Flame and assimilate it into her own power. Not all humans are gifted. Usually, the spirits that lived in the world became aware of the presence of the users. However, the spirits will only lend their powers after acknowledging them. At least that was what she thought. She didn't know the story behind the gifted ones.
"I used to serve your ancestors. It took me awhile to find you."
Hearing this, the female stopped. She turned around, facing the feline.
"You – what? What does it have to do with my ancestors?" she questioned, frowning.
The cat stared at her for awhile. Instead of answering, it asked, "Do you know who you are? What you are?"
Without much hesitant, she simply answered, "I'm just.. a girl? What else?"
"Your name? Do you remember your name?"
"It's..." she paused. A scary thought suddenly struck her. Her name. She realized that it's the only thing she remembered.
"Anya. My name's Anya."
"Then Anya-sama...," In all of a sudden, a thin whorl of wind covered the cat. As it gradually faded, she could see a figure. A figure of human.
"It seems you haven't realized it yet."
~ end of Chapter 2
CHAPTER 3 - MASTER, SERVANT II
Anya gasped. She was confused. Who were standing before her right now? On top of that, she could not see the presence of the black cat anywhere. "You are..," she paused, unable to speak out a single word. The person in front of her understood this immediately. He stepped forward. The blowing wind took the elegant man's dark hair straight behind him. His golden eyes were glowing brightly and they were fixated on the silver-haired female's. He then slightly leaned and knelt before her.
"I'm here to serve you, Master."
Anya remained silent before she finally spoke, "You are a cat just now."
Nodding, he agreed to her statement. "Yes, this is my human form," he replied.
Verily, Anya was surprised by this. Even though she had encountered hideous creatures in the forest countless times, she would never expect such a petite animal could transform to a human.
"Why did you call me 'Master'?" the same question was asked.
It took some time before the man eventually stood up and once again, instead of answering, he asked, "May I take you somewhere?"
Anya sighed. "Where to?" she was completely puzzled, puzzled with the identity of the person in front of her and not to mention, her own self.
"You will see it for yourself. I shall explain everything to you there," Turning his head aside, he raised his right arm to the same position as his head. A bright light glowed over his palm and soon, a wide, dark portal appeared a few inches from him. He turned back to his master and reached out his hand.
"Let's go."
~ end of Chapter 3
CHAPTER 4 - THE ENCOUNTER
The street was brightly lit with lamps, shiny decorations and banners on the shops. Nice and mouth-watering smell crept through the whole atmosphere. The place seemed lively even though not even a person could be seen anywhere. Still having a side-effect from entering the portal, she rubbed her eyes a few times while turning her head around. Strangely, it was already night when both of them reached the place.
"Where are we?" she questioned, having no idea about where on earth she was.
The elegant person beside her just glanced at her once before looking back ahead. "This is Ukihara Town. A place.. where you are supposed to be, Anya-sama," he said calmly. Anya, who was still confused with everything, was getting tired of having too many questions inside her head. "Why so?"
The male turned to face Anya. "Have you been in the forest all the time? Then, that must mean they were trying to hide you there."
Anya tilted her head. "Who are 'they' you are talking about?" Having asked the question, he was about to open his mouth to answer but turned to look at the front. Anya noticed that he was staring at the empty space of the street. Only then she realized that someone was approaching from the corner of the street. A woman with long, black and pointed-end hair in white kimono revealed herself. Her face was pale white and her horrific eyes were locked on both of them.
"So, who have you brought this time, Dark Knight?" her voice, even from far away could be heard clearly.
The male slightly turned his body to face the woman directly. "I am not mistaken this time. She's the one," he responded, with certainty in his words. Upon hearing this, the mysterious woman suddenly laughed. Her laugh was loud enough to wake anyone who were already sleeping. It was ear-aching. After finishing the shattering laugh, the woman started walking towards the both of them. "I see she's the rumored Riyo-sha," her lips twisted to an ugly grin.
The male skimmed in front of Anya. "Please, let me have a talk with Sanmoto-sama first,"he said, sounded almost pleading. "Please."
The woman stopped. She let out a sigh and criss-crossed her arms. "Fine.. She's going to be mine either way," A wry smile on her face. "Come, you both."
Raising an arm, she started enchanting a word before the three of them vanished altogether.
xxx
"You think they might ruin our plan?" A black crow talked. Standing above the shoulder of his master, it flapped its wings slightly. "They have no chance to stand against me.." an old-looking man with long and white beard giggled whilst looking through the window. He has a strangely long bald head. One hand rested on a wooden staff.
"We have guests," the crow flapped its wings again. The old man turned just to find three persons were standing below the steps. He scanned each of them. Two of them were already not strangers to him but the other one...
"My, my.. Hari-Onna, it's surprising that you would hold back," he giggled in amusement.
"I was being generous for your sake, Sanmoto-sama," the pointed-hair woman laughed, fortunately not as loud as before. The old man then shifted his bloody red eyes to the man standing behind Hari-Onna. "Dark Knight Mutsuki, you did a great job bringing the Riyo-sha to us,"he grinned.
~ end of Chapter 4
CHAPTER 5 - BETRAYAL
A clan famous with its agility, swiftness and ability to sneak – their fighting styles are not to be taken lightly. It's a no wonder that they had became victorious multiple times. On top of that, they possess a unique ability to transform, making their appearances similar to the human's. Nevertheless, they are not only fearsome because of the abilities, but also because of the Twelve Knights in the clan. They are- the Bakeneko clan, a clan which resembled the cat and lived their own way. However, ever since a huge war which occur several years ago, the Bakeneko clan was being reduced and rarely seen. Rumours had it that there were traitors in the clan.
"I would expect no less from a survivor," the old man smiled, rubbing his own beard.
One of the Twelve Knights is the Dark Knight Mutsuki and he became one of the survivors from his clan. Hari-Onna stepped aside to let Mutsuki presented himself to Sanmoto.
"I am here to negotiate with you, Sanmoto-sama," Mutsuki knelt, with his head bowed down.
"What point there is to negotiate? You know that Riyo-sha is the key to counter their attacks," the crow protested. Sanmoto just let out a snickering laugh. "That's right. Bring her to me," he insisted, pointing a finger to Anya.
"Sanmoto-sama.. I must object," he said with his golden eyes now fixated on the old man. His words, however raised the temper of Sanmoto.
"You dare to disobey me, Mutsuki?"
"Let me finish him off," Hari-Onna spoke out, grinning at Mutsuki. The presence of evil aura around her was enormous.
The dark-haired male then stood up. "I thought you would hear to reasons, Sanmoto-sama. But I was wrong."
Anya, who was standing behind him panicked. She knew for sure a fight would occur between them at any moment.
"I can't sacrifice anyone anymore," Mutsuki said. He spoke a single word which immediately brought white light to emit from under his feet. He then quickly took hold of the silver-haired female's arm. "Forgive me. Let us leave, Anya-sama."
~ end of Chapter 5
CHAPTER 6 - DANGEROUS TRUTH
The sky was dark but the town was still luminous. It was as if the town had never slept. Inside an old safe house lacking of furniture except for two chairs and a long rectangular table, two persons were standing at the corner, seeking for a shelter. A man dressed in black walked around several times whilst enchanting a few words. In a minute, glowing green metal chains arranged crossed to each other were covering the whole house.
"We are safe for now. They can't follow us here," he assured the blue eyed female who were standing a few inches from him.
"Why are you doing this?" the female raised her voice.
When she didn't receive any answers from the man, she dashed and grasped the golden eyed male's arm.
"Mutsuki. That's your name, right? I demand an explanation," she looked closely to his eyes, awaiting for a respond.
"Of course, Anya-sama," he finally answered his master.
"Then tell me what a Riyo-sha is."
"Riyo-sha is the user. The user who has the ability to manipulate the spirits."
The female wasn't fully surprised by this as she knew she could manipulate a spirit. She had absorbed the power from the Spirit of Flame earlier. Gradually, she loosened her grip.
"How did I become one? I thought I was normal.. and I have seen some people with those powers...," she looked at her own hands before continuing, "..will I be like them? Who am I, really?" her eyes were almost brimming with tears.
The girl could not remember who she was or what she had been doing before this. All she remembered was she had been inside the forest. Forest full of scary monsters and strange people. After that, she was chased by a spirit and encountered Mutsuki in the cat form, who was calling her 'Master'. He brought her to another place and there, she met strangers named Sanmoto who owned a talking crow and a woman called Hari-Onna. Both of them seemed dangerous and they had the thought of making her 'theirs'. Even if she didn't understand why, at the moment, she only wanted to remember her own identity.
"Anya-sama.. you actually have been resurrected.. to this world. That is probably why you don't remember anything," Mutsuki said calmly.
"I was.. dead? That's absurd..," she slowly looked up at Mutsuki with terror clearly seen on her face. Mutsuki seemed hesitated to speak a word. However, it was time for the person before him to know the truth. He rested his hand on his master's shoulder as an effort to comfort her.
"You may you think you're a yuurei but no, you're more than that. You are a Riyo-sha youkai."
~ end of Chapter 6
CHAPTER 7 - THE BOY WHO CAN SEE YOUKAI I
Putting on a pair of shoes, the laces were tied up neatly. A blonde boy picked up his school bag and stood to his feet. Standing in front of the door, he glanced over his shoulder, to the dining room. A woman around the age of 30, sat on a chair. Her long hair was a bit messy and she was smoking, ignoring even the slightest idea of bad-smelling surroundings.
"Ittekimasu..," he said to the woman before turning back and walked out of the room.
He didn't have to rush because of the short distance between the apartment and his school. After leaving the apartment area, he took a shortcut in the forest. There were thick bushes and high trees everywhere. However, one would rarely see wild animals here. Excluding them creatures.
His light brown eyes looked solemn and not even a trace of emotion could be seen on his fair face except for - loneliness. He was always alone.. always. Ever since he was little, he never stayed at one place for a long period of time. He was being passed to the relatives each time due to the death of his parents. No one would care to give full attention to him. He felt out of place and didn't have anyone to depend on. Friends? He didn't have friends. No one would dare to befriend him and he blamed it all on them.
Whilst walking, he abruptly collided with someone, causing him to lose his grip on his school bag which then fell onto the ground. He rubbed his head.
A person? In here?
Just as soon as he looked up, his eyes turned wide.
Before him, stood a tall creature in black. One eyed, it didn't have a neck, except for the hands and legs.
FOOD.
It talked and its large teeth flashed into an ugly grin. The boy hastily picked up his bag, running past the creature. Nonetheless, however much he tried to speed up, the creature was still following him from behind. He had been expecting this. Turning to the side, he jumped into one of the bushes. Bringing his knees up to his chest, he rested his chin on his kneecaps and wrapped his arms around his chins, holding his breath. The one-eyed creature continued following the route ahead and didn't notice him hiding. He heaved a sigh of relief.
When he was sure it had lost sight of him, he stepped out of the bushes and walked to the direction which leads to the outside of the forest. A large building could be seen from afar. The sound of ringing bell echoed.
~ end of Chapter 7
CHAPTER 8 - THE BOY WHO CAN SEE YOUKAI II
Leaves from the tree fell gracefully to the grassy ground, followed by the chirping of the birds, singing cheerfully. The leafy tree was the only distinct decoration that could be seen at the center of the field. A boy was sitting under it, his back leaning against its huge stem. The peaceful area had been his most favourite spot during lunch break – at the back of the school. The hallway could be reached not too far from the area. Through the large window, a number of students was seen wandering and talking to each other. They all took no notice of him who were resting under the tree. He could care less. He would rather avoid all the hassles.
"Natsume! Oiii, Natsume!"
A male voice was yelling his name from afar. It distracted him and he quickly turned his head to find out the source of the voice. It was Ogata Sakurai, a boy from the same class.
"Fukushi-sensei is calling for you!" Ogata said loudly enough so that the blonde could hear him.
"I'll be there in a moment!" Just as he replied, Natsume stood up and brushed his clothes.
He was about to walk away from the tree when all of a sudden, a strange and huge butterfly approached him out of nowhere. The butterfly had circular yellow patterns all over its body. The blonde kept staring at it until he finally noticed the face of a human on the small creature.
He screamed. A very loud scream.
The butterfly glided around him, making him uneasy. He threw his arms in the air, trying to keep the beastly butterfly away from him. Ogata, who was watching his strange action, felt scared.
That boy, Natsume Takashi is very weird and scary.
He had never believed in those until now. Suddenly screaming and acting as if he was fighting something, no wonder the students had been avoiding him. His fingers trembled and quickly, he left the place.
~ end of Chapter 8
CHAPTER 9 - DILEMMA
"I know a lot of people have been talking about you. I know how it feels like," the woman in glasses crosses her fingers. She has dark brown eyes and straight hair with the same color. Her attire, tone and gesture, all present her maturity and feminism.
"But even if the fate is being cruel to you, you have to find the solution, or make an effort to bring back the happiness in your life," she continued.
Standing still, Natsume remained silent in front of the teacher who was sitting on a chair with a desk separating them. The glasses woman then passed a sheet of paper on the desk. There were several multiple choice questions on it and at the top right corner, there were two numbers bounded in red circle. Natsume's light brown eyes stared at the numbers.
"You better do something about this," the teacher's tone sounded almost pressing.
"You are dismissed."
xxx
I have to do something..?
Natsume kept remembering Fukushi-sensei's words. They were being replayed inside his head many times. However much he thought about it, he still couldn't figure out what he was supposed do. Being able to see hideous monsters was like a curse to him and avoiding them sounded almost impossible.
Resting his hand on the underside of his cheek, he flung his eyes to the window outside of the class. A male teacher was still teaching on a subject called Mathematics. Natsume hadn't really been a fan of Mathematics but he was not half-bad himself. Even Fukushi-sensei said that if he really focused, he could excel in the examinations. Remembering the woman, he felt guilty. The teacher was caring towards him although he never talked to her much. He decided to avert his eyes back to the male teacher and then to the blackboard. Half an hour left before the bell rang.
Maybe this is just what I need to do.
~ end of Chapter 9
CHAPTER 10 - THEFT
It was autumn still and the leaves fell on the ground all created monochrome colors, which represented the season itself. In the middle of the forest, one may find many unexpected things. Even if there were many routes in the forest that can be used as shortcuts, people would usually avoid the place. The same goes for Natsume, now that he had bumped into a youkai earlier.
After school, he walked at the streets the students usually took. Regardless, he walked alone and further away from them. His hazel eyes kept positioning themselves to the ground as he walked above it, not even looking at the group of students all around him. They all looked happy and cheerful as typical high school students would be. He wondered – how would it feel like to have someone called.. friend?
As he passed a playground, he stopped. He could feel a presence. An ominous presence.
Feeling anxious, he inspected his surroundings. He turned left, and right and left again. Nothing.
A sigh he heaved.
The blonde was about to start walking again when suddenly, a thin finger-like grabbed his bag and pulled it in full force until he lost his grip on it. Stunned, he spun around just to find his bag was already captured by a shadowy creature.
"My bag!" he shouted.
Without much thinking, he ran after it.
It must be a youkai, he thought.
The young man could not count how many times the creatures had played trick on him. Some were trying to scare him, some wanted to feed on him and some were just, too excited that he was able to see them.
The creature ran through the forest he had been trying to avoid earlier. Now, he had no choice but to pass through the place again. The thief led him deeper into the forest, until he saw it climbing up stairs leading to an unkown building. Natsume followed, climbed the stairs and it became clear to him now that there was an old shrine built deep inside the forest. Unfortunately, the creature was already lost from his eyesight. Natsume stopped running, clutching his knee joints and panting.
"Now what?" he breathed out a sigh.
Thinking that it was probably best to search the place around, he stepped forward while his eyes ran through the wide area until they spotted a leafy tree stood nearby. The tree was just like any other trees in the forest, but what caught his attention the most was a person was resting under it. Curious, he took a few more steps.
It was a girl. She was sleeping and had a long, shiny silver hair.
~ end of Chapter 10
CHAPTER 11 – THAT WHICH BROUGHT A MEETING
Natsume inspected closer. The girl was still sound asleep whilst the wind carried her hair gracefully. Why would a girl be here all alone, was what he thought. As he was briefly staring at the girl, he noticed that the way she dressed herself was odd. Her white kimono was long and she wore no shoes, however. Even though he still hadn't lifted his eyes from the female, it was barely noticable when her fingers began moving a little and her eyes slowly opening. The now-waking-up-girl suddenly screamed as if she had seen something monstrous before her. Her sudden scream brought Natsume to scream at the same time. Both were surprised.
The silver haired looked up at the blonde. "W-Who are you?" she asked, a bit trembling.
Natsume gasped. "I.. I didn't mean to disturb you. Gomen," he bowed, politely apologizing.
Hearing this, her fear gradually ceased and she was no longer trembling. It seemed that she now knew that the person before her couldn't mean any harm to her.
"What are you doing here?"she asked, making sure of Natsume's intention.
Natsume let out a small laugh, slightly touching the back of his head.
"Ah, I was searching for something," as he answered, the female tilted her head, eyebrows furrowed.
He knew immediately by this that she wanted a detailed answer. "It's.." he paused. His eyes averted to another place, as if hesitating before they shifted to the female again,"It's a school bag. Have you seen one?"
The girl, however looked more and more confused. "What does a school bag.. look like?"
Shocked, the boy of the age 15 blinked his eyes twice. Has she never heard of a school bag before? Or maybe she just wanted to know how my bag look like? Either way, he raised his arms slightly and shaped up a rectangular shape with his two hands.
"It is around this size and black in color.." he then began explaining the exact feature of his bag.
The girl fell into silence before eventually, an 'Oh' was the only word she managed to let out from her mouth. Then, she slightly shook her head as a sign that she had never seen one. Natsume sighed. Of course, what did he expect from her? The bag was already in the hands of a thief and the thief- was not someone a regular person such as her could see with naked eyes. "What am I supposed to do.." he muttered. It wouldn't be a problem to replace the bag but the books inside...
"Never mind.. I probably should return now."
As if perplexed, the girl with oceanic blue eyes asked, "You going somewhere?" Natsume nodded his head before answering, "Yes.. I have to go home," he tried not to make it sound so desperate even though in actuality, he was. Her aunt, wouldn't be pleased for him to go back from school unusually late than before. As much as he wanted to know why the girl was there and such, he still had to leave. He slightly bowed at her and started walking away.
"Wait!"
The voice which belonged to the fellow female earlier halted him. Natsume quickly took a glance at her over his shoulder.
"If I find the school bag, I'll give it to you. Will you.. come again later?"
Natsume was speechless. For a moment, he stared at the blue-eyed girl who was now standing before him. Slowly, his lips twisted to a bright smile which was carved upon his fair face.
"Yes, I'll come again tomorrow."
~ end of Chapter 11
CHAPTER 12 - COLD NIGHT
He's just deceiving you.
Yes, he's going to bring you back to them.
And they are going to make you as the weapon.. to serve them.
"No.. I don't want to..."
Sweats covered her whole face. Her body trembled. She cupped both of her ears, unwilling to hear any of the voices. The sky has turned dark wholely. The forest had became colder. After the voices gradually faded, Anya wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her shins. She was scared, but not because she was alone. She was scared of the truth unveiled before her. She could not accept any of it.
When both of them were hiding inside the safe house, an unexpected guest came along. She was taken by force and she didn't know what happened to the man named Mutsuki after that. After long, she realized that she was back into the forest once again. The voices just now appeared out of nowhere and was telling all the bad things about Mutsuki. The meeting with a young man just now relieved her somehow.
"If he can see me, then that means.. I'm not a youkai after all."
Youkai.
Traditional Japanese monsters which only certain humans could see them. Anya had long believed that she was a mere human girl. That is why, after being told by Mutsuki about her belonged to the youkai, she decided to turn a blind eye on it. Suddenly, in the midst of darkness, a loud bang twitched her. Anya craned her neck and looked around her. Only then, her eyes captured on something fell on the ground a few inches in the distance. It was weird, but she was able to detect such a thing even in the dark.
Curious, she decided to stand up and walked up to the area. She observed it thoroughly. It was a solid black case in rectangular shape. Immediately, she recalled the school bag mentioned by the blonde.
"Is this.. the school bag?"
As to why it was there in the first place, she decided to ignore it and picked it up. Just as she was about to search for the school bag, it suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She considered it as luck.
~ end of Chapter 12
CHAPTER 13 - AMBUSHED
Natsume woke up early. Yesterday, he had to find a substitute to his school bag so that his aunt would not detect anything suspicious. He looked at the substitute. It was merely an old recyling bag. He sighed. Fortunately, it was weekend and he could to go to the forest again. The girl might have already found his school bag.
After leaving the apartment, he immediately made his way to the forest. It was eerie and as quiet as always. Somehow, it calmed him to see the leaves fell from the trees gracefully. That was probably one thing that he liked about Autumn.
Natsume followed the path where he had climbed the stairs to the shrine before. With the recycling bag in his hand, he finally reached the place. But the silver haired girl wasn't there. He tried searching around, but she was nowhere to be found.
"I'm here!"
A voice made him twitched. He turned his back. It was the same girl. The silver haired then ran up to him.
"Here, your school bag," she extended her arm and showed him the black briefcase.
"Ah, you found it! Arigatou," Natsume smiled in happiness.
He shifted the recyling bag in his right hand to his left and took the school bag with his empty hand. He scanned the bag briefly before opening it and looked inside its content. Nothing was missing. Before he could even sigh in relief, a strong muscled arm wrapped around his neck and caught him breathless. Both of his bags fell from his grasp.
The girl was shocked. A big hairy monster in mask was attacking the young man before her. It has the legs of a human and was wearing a pair of Geta, Japanese sandals. Without much thinking, she came closer to aid the boy. However, a strong wind suddenly blocked her path which in result, pushed her backward. Natsume was still struggling.
"W-What do you want from me?" he tried to speak up but the clutching was getting tighter.
SILENCE!
The youkai showed no mercy to him. In this case, Natsume had to do something. Pulling out all of his strength, he used his elbow to strike at the youkai's body and at the moment the grip was loosened, he used the chance to pull out the arm and escaped himself from the youkai. He then ran towards the girl and offered his hand. His offer was immediately taken by the girl and she stood up with his help.
"We have to run."
Hearing this, the blue-eyed girl nodded and they both escaped from the monster.
~end of Chapter 13
CHAPTER 14 - THE NAMES
When it was confirmed that they were already far away from the shrine, they stopped under a large leafy tree. Both panted in exhaustion.
"You sure are good at running."
Anya said after she had stopped panting and relaxed herself. She stared at the young man but he only smiled.
"Been used to it."
The smile on his face, however didn't last long. She noticed the change of expression in his face.
"Say.. are you able to see them too?"Out of blue, he asked her.
"See.. what?" Anya blinked.
Noticing this, the boy specified his question a little bit.
"Youkai. Can you see them too?"
This unexpectedly surprised her. She fell into silence, unable to let out a single word. His question just now explained everything. He was able to see youkai. Thus, completely eliminating her view towards him as a mere human and completely lowered down the possibility of her not being a youkai.
"Ano.."
The boy tried to get her attention back when he didn't receive any response. His voice brought her back to reality and she immediately recalled his question.
"I.. Yes, I can.." she answered and gulped afterwards.
She was feeling unstable. The boy looked at her for awhile. He smiled again.
"Then, we are both the same."
Anya turned her head to look at him. Seeing his smile somewhat relieved her. His words too. Perhaps, she was only a human who are able to see youkai just like him. Only that she was gifted.
"My name's Natsume Takashi. What's yours?" the young man asked her and she replied it with her name; Anya. Getting the reply, the blonde smiled. "Ja... Nice to meet you, Anya." He looked nice when he smiled but Anya couldn't understand why he seemed so happy.
"Oh no, my bag!"
Natsume's sudden yell surprised her. Changing from a smiling face, depression was written all over his face. He couldn't possibly wanted to go back there since they were already far away from the shrine. Plus, they might bump into the same youkai.
"We can get it back later," Anya suggested and Natsume nodded in agreement as he had came to understand the situation.
"More importantly, I don't think I know this place," Natsume looked around. He was telling the truth. He was never really familiar with the forest since he only took the shortcut route to go to the school.
"I know the exit," Anya smiled at him. "Follow me," she turned her heels and then gestured him to follow her.
Natsume was surprised but he could not just say 'No' and thus, followed the silver haired girl from behind. They went through thick bushes and large trees. They found junctions after junctions. He wondered how she was able to memorize all the routes. Suddenly...
"We are almost there."
Anya made a halt. She spun herself around. However, the person she wished to see was not there.
~ end of Chapter 14
CHAPTER 15 - AWAKENING
"Natsume?"
Anya panicked. She looked around, but the blonde was nowhere to be found. Where could he be? Anya was certain that Natsume was following her from behind. He couldn't possibly just left himself. Moreover, he was not familiar with the forest. Something was wrong.
"Natsume!" she shouted and the same goes for the next three minutes.
She called his name again and again as she walked around, searching for him. She almost gave up. Until she reached an open ground, Anya stopped. Her adrenaline went up high and her blue eyes stretched wide.
It was that youkai. The same youkai who attacked Natsume before. Natsume's neck was clutched tightly with its two hands and his feet were no longer touched the ground. His face showed his pain as he struggled to free himself.
Natsume.. he's going to die!
Anya ran quickly towards Natsume. She could not understand what she was feeling at the moment. Her chest felt hurt. It hurt so much she couldn't bear to hold it for long.
DO NOT INTERRUPT, RIYO-SHA!
A huge blow forced her to be flung backward until she hit the ground. Her body ached and her eyes went blurry.
"Natsume..."
She tried to get up but her whole body ached when she tried to rise her back. At that moment, she felt nothing but useless and helpless.
"Save him."
A familiar voice spoke to her.
"Mutsuki..? Is that you?"
"Use your own power. Hurry. You don't have much time."
It took her some time to understand what he meant. By the time she raised up her chin, she could see that Natsume was dying. All the pain felt by Natsume was also felt by her. She put a hand upon her chest and clutched it. Her eyes closed tightly.
How can I save him?
Just as she was thinking of a solution, she heard a deep voice inside her head. It was not Mutsuki's. It was something else. She listened to it closely.
Call my name.
The voice echoed silently. It was deep inside and it felt like she used to hear the same voice before. Again and again, it told her to call its name and the only name she could think at the moment was...
"Spirit of Flame."
The moment she enchanted the name, bright flaming aura surrounded her and she felt a boost of energy. The sudden awakening shocked her. The young lady almost couldn't control the high amount of power.
Now, do what you want. Imagine and focus on it.
Imagine and focus, Anya recited the words.
It didn't take her long to understand what the spirit was trying to tell her. As she raised her back slowly, she closed her eyes tightly. Both hands rising, she positioned her left hand to where a bow should be and her right hand on the string of bow. When she opened her eyes, immediately, her aura gathered and the flame burst into a real bow and arrow to where she positioned her hands. She aimed the youkai carefully and when she was sure it would hit the right spot, a flame of arrow was released.
~ end of Chapter 15
CHAPTER 16 - WHO IS SHE ANYWAY?
The moment the arrow penetrated the youkai's hollow body, it pierced into its soul and from within, the flame spread throughout its chest and then to its hands, legs and soon, the whole body. It screamed in pain, as every seconds, the fire was eating its limbs, leaving them into ashes. The human whom it tried to suck his life force from, was unwillingly released. Before its whole existence disappeared, a crying voice echoed,
I DID THIS FOR YOUR SAKE...
Anya collapsed with her back on the ground. The awakening just now used up an enormous amount of her spiritual energy. She was very exhausted. Before she could even close her eyes, she could feel something was approaching her. It was coming to her closer and closer. A pair of sharp golden eyes were staring at her and it possessed pointed ears. She could have guessed what its next reaction was but instead of 'meowing' or licking her, it talked.
"You did a good job, Anya-sama."
After recalling that it was her own servant, the blue eyed youkai laughed. She laughed so hard.
"Why.." Anya stared at the face of the black cat. "..why didn't you help him in the first place?" Inside the golden orbs was a reflection of the blue eyed youkai, through which it could be seen clearly that an answer was being demanded.
"I have no reason to. I also think that it is the right time for you to realize your own power."
She remained silent after hearing the response, then placed the back of her right palm onto her forehead. Eyes averted from the cat, to the sky above. The Spirit of Flame had been resided inside her for quite sometime. However, she had never once felt its existence until now. Perhaps, it had been waiting for the time when the user would call its name and awakened itself. Now, she could feel more of her own senses. Something was changing from deep within.
She wanted to ask, 'What happened to you, Mutsuki?', 'Were have you been?' and 'Why didn't you try to find me sooner?' but there was something else that averted her attention. Carefully, the silver haired raised her own back. She recovered fast, unexpectedly. Just as soon as she tried to stand up, the cat transformed itself into a young man in dark hair, aiding her. The young man shifted his pair of golden eyes to where his master looked at. Another young man in blonde hair was lying unconscious. He had no such thing as pity inside him but he could feel that his master, shared the feelings of a human.
"Let's go, Anya-sama." he tried to stop her master from being carried away by her own feelings. To him, he wanted to keep his master from growing attached to a human.
"No, I can't leave.." Anya gripped the servant's arm. Hard. "..I can't leave him here.." she turned her head, facing the face of the dark haired man.
"He is the first human I've talked to.." as she said this, she forced herself not to let any tears from welling up. She tried, very hard.
This could mean only one thing. The girl had finally came to realize that she was indeed a spirit; a youkai. No such normal human could hold a power she had been using earlier.
~end of Chapter 16
CHAPTER 17 – THE UNREACHED GOODBYE
Her blue eyes were telling him something. It was deep yet full of sadness. No matter what, he knew he could not go against an order from his own master. He shifted his eyes to the boy who was still unconscious. The pain he took from the youkai earlier might not heal yet as well. His master did not have to tell him what he needed to do as he already knew his own abilities. As if she could read his action, Anya spoke,
"Firstly, I want to retrieve his belonging."
She told him the details, as to where the location of the belonging she wished to retrieve. The man nodded, obeying her. As long as his master held onto him, he could teleport her to somewhere within the same dimension. Bright light emitted under their feet and in a blink of an eye, both of them vanished and traveled through the light and space. No sooner than that, they arrived at the old shrine.
His master quickly released her grip and ran to find what she came for. After finding it, she immediately returned to him and once again, he used his teleport ability. Soon after they came back to the place where the human boy was, Anya turned towards Mutsuki. She was still hugging the thing which belonged to the human and she had another wish.
"I want to return him to his home but.. I don't know where he lives," Anya admitted.
Nevertheless, she saw no worriness in the eyes of her servant. He was as calm and collected.
"Worry not, I know the location."
To this, Anya frowned.
"Like, how?"
The man, however didn't straight forwardly answered, but instead, he walked up to the human boy wearing a hooded jacket and a pair of slack trousers who was yet to regain his consciousness. He then hoisted him under his back before walking up to his master. Despite being reluctant to help a human, he still did so to fulfill his master's wish.
"I have been watching him because I know he and you, my Master, will meet," he looked at his master who seemed as confused as ever. "I'll get to the details later, Anya-sama," he said, knowing that his master would most likely demand an explanation.
Anya breathed out a sigh. She was lucky that being patient was one of her traits. Holding onto Mutsuki arm, both then traveled through light and space once more.
xxx
The room was small and there were several cracks on the wall and the ceiling. It seemed like it had been undergoing severe condition. A single table and chair at the top right corner of the room were placed facing the wall while a single old wardrobe was placed at the left corner. In between was a window, which through the window, rows and rows of houses could be seen.
Mutsuki placed the human under the window, resting his back against the wall. Meanwhile Anya, placed the black briefcase, the human's belonging on top of the table. She then turned to look at her servant who was standing by the window.
"You still owe me an explanation. Are we going somewhere after this?" she asked.
Since they finally met again, there must be something they had to do. If not, she would have just stayed by the old shrine inside the forest.
"Yes, Master. To Kurain Village."
She did not know the place, much less heard the name. But something, deep inside her was telling her that the village's name sounded familiar somehow.
Anya then looked at Natsume, the human boy. Even though their meeting was just for a short while, she would never forget the warm smile and kindness he showed. I used to be a human too, she thought and she wondered if back then, she used to have the same kind of smile.
"Sayonara. Mata.. aimashou, Natsume Takashi."
xxx
Ne, do you remember?
When we first met by the old shrine?
You know..
When I was a child, I used to hide at a shrine
Far away from people, far away from those creatures
Whenever I feel sad, I would go there
The old shrine deep inside the forest
I went there almost everyday
But I saw no one
Perhaps, you already left?
Ne, for the first time
I thought there is still someone
Who is not scared of me
Who can see what I can see
~ end of Chapter 17
CHAPTER 18 – THE MEDIUM VALLEY
Kurain Village. A village imbued with spiritual powers which is also the birthplace of all spirit mediums and the famous Kurain Channeling Technique. Located far away from the city, the females in the village outnumbered the males due to some complicated reasons including the spirit power which only ran through female's blood.
That day, the villagers were living their daily lives peacefully. A young female child in brown hair was playing a ball at the winding way of a large and elegant building. She was wearing the Japanese traditional outfit for mediums which looked similar to a kimino, only that the hem was much shorter. With her, was another teenage female, supposedly a spirit medium as well seeing as her outfit is similar to that of the child. The female has a long black hair, with only small portion tied up at the end of her long hair. They were playing happily, unaware that someone had been observing them with much anxiety.
"Harumi-chan! Mayoi-sama!"
As soon as the person called up, both of them looked up. The small child, named Harumi pouted.
"Mayoi-sama, is Bikini-san going to stop us from playing?" she said grimly with her hands holding a blue-green ball.
The other female who looked much older than her, namely Mayoi, simply flashed a smile to the child.
"I think she wants to tell us to play more carefully. Remember the Sacred Urn?"
At the exact moment she mentioned about the Sacred Urn, Harumi's face changed. She bit her thumb nervously.
"Y-Yeah.."
Noticing that the child looked troubled, Mayoi looked at the plump woman wearing a white hood who called them out earlier. She was the head nun of Hazakura Temple. Everyone simply called her 'Bikini-san' as was told to. It gives people a good image, or so the nun said.
"We will be careful, alright! Don't worry!"
Mayoi shouted loud enough so that the woman could hear it. The head nun just let out a sigh and shook her head.
"Okay, be careful not to break the urn again!" Bikini-san reminded them both and then, she walked away from the place.
"Yay, now we can continue playing!" Harumi said cheerfully just as soon as Bikini-san was out of the sight.
Mayoi nodded happily. The child then threw the blue-green ball at Mayoi and she captured it successfully. Mayoi threw it back at Harumi but unfortunately, she miscalculated the amount of force she was supposed to use which caused the ball to miss its target. The ball kept bouncing all the way outside of the winding way.
"I'll go get it!"
Harumi said and quickly ran after the ball. The brown haired child ran until the ball eventually stopped its motion in front of the entrance of the large manor. She quickly picked it up and just when she was about to head back, a voice spoke up to her,
"Is the Master here?"
Harumi twitched. She didn't notice that someone was already in front of the entrance. Since she was small, she craned her neck to look at the figure. A man in dark hair wearing cold expression on his face stood in front of her.
~ end of Chapter 18
CHAPTER 19 – SPIRIT MEDIUM
Mutsuki stared at the human child. It seemed that his so-called cold expression didn't manage to scare her at all. Curious, Anya tilted her head, to see who Mutsuki had been talking with. She gasped as soon as their eyes made contact. It was no mistake, the human child's eyes were directing towards ber.
She can see.. me? And Mutsuki?
Nonetheless, the child who was still holding the ball was as silent as ever.
Before long, she ran back into the manor, leaving the two of them in front of the entrance. Anya glanced at her servant who was sighing.
"We have no choice but to figure it out ourselves. Let's go," Mutsuki said, followed by his own footsteps.
The silver haired hesitated. She stood still, clutching her own kimono.
Her silence brought Mutsuki to a halt and he quickly turned his head just to find his master still didn't budge from her position.
"Anya-sama?"
His master was all quiet before she finally spoken, "Is it okay.. Isn't this a human's place? Wouldn't they feel scared of us?"
Clearly, she was troubled by this. Mutsuki had the urge to tell her that there was nothing to worry about, that she actually belonged to them and not the people from Ukihara Town but he couldn't expose the truth for now. The fact that he lied to his own master hurt him so much that he decided to let someone else do it for him. Slowly, he walked towards his master and touched her gently on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. The people here.. they are not scared of spirits."
xxx
Bikini-san was heading towards the entrance after she heard noises coming from the direction. That was when she spotted a person wearing black attire had already entered the place. Quickly, she ran towards the person to warn him.
"You..!"
The old woman stopped as soon as she saw the man. Jaw wide opened. Before her was someone familiar to the Ayasato family. Someone, very trusted by the family.
"Gomenasai. I didn't mean to enter just like that," he said, feeling remorse of his own action. Nevertheless, Bikini-san just smiled widely.
"No, you are welcome to enter this place whenever you want. I'm glad you have returned safely, Mutsuki."
Hearing this, the man shook his head and looked straight at the head nun. "I bring a guest. Can I speak with the Master?"
The nun looked somewhat surprised after hearing the question.
"Master.. you mean.. Master Maiko?"
The man nodded his head. The nun's face suddenly changed. She clasped both hands and closed her eyes in grief.
"It's been such a long time. Maiko-sama.. has already dead."
Mutsuki was shocked upon hearing the news. Maiko Ayasato was the Master of Kurain Channeling Technique and also the head of the Ayasato family until she died a few years ago. She was also the one who accepted him into the family despite him being a spirit. He was about to add something when someone approached them.
"Ah, a guest. Bikini-san, why don't you invite him in?"
A smile flashed on the face of the approacher. It was almost as if she anticipated a visitor to come. The head nun immediately bowed and apologized.
"My apologies, Mayoi-sama. I'll let him in." she then gestured the visitor to come inside.
The nun knew, she knew that Mutsuki and the current Master hadn't known each other. She made a decision to introduce him to Mayoi later.
xxx
Just as soon as Bikini-san and the man entered the building, Harumi appeared and clutched Mayoi's clothes from behind. Mayoi spun herself, bowing down and put her hands on Harumi's shoulders.
"Harumi-chan.. is that the stranger you met just now?"
Mayoi's bright face was unchanging. She was sure the man didn't mean any harm to them and that Harumi was just an obedient child who was told by her mother not to talk to any strangers. Harumi shook her head immediately.
"There's one more person besides him.. in a white kimono.."
~end of Chapter 19
CHAPTER 20 – TRUTH ABOUT THE PAST
"So? Who is this Bikini-san? You seemed to know him very well," Mayoi asked Bikini-san eagerly.
Her cousin, Harumi was just sitting quietly next to her. The child's eyes kept locking on another person next to the mysterious man who was sitting right in front of her.
Mayoi-sama and Bikini-san cannot see her?
She was confused, puzzled but she didn't find a need to ask about it for now.
"Ah, his name is Mutsuki. This man here used to watch over our family. You know, he used to serve your mother, Maiko-sama. It has been so long since his departure that you hadn't had a chance to meet him. What a lovely man, isn't he?"
She spoke, followed by a cheeky laugh, hand unconsciously patting Mutsuki's back. The man just sat quietly, without no response to the nun's action. He was neither irritated nor enjoyed it. Mayoi rubbed her cheek and couldn't help but to let out a shivery laugh. She knew how Bikini-san was fond of good-looking men. That was when Harumi abruptly spoke,
"But he's not a human."
Harumi's sudden response caused Mayoi to startle. She looked at the child in the eyes, her face stricten.
"Harumi-chan.."
She was about to scold the child when the man intruded,
"That's true. I am not."
Bewildered by the man's sudden confession, Mayoi turned to look at him and then to Bikini-san. The head nun simply nodded her head. She took a breathe, before finally glancing up at the man again.
"Harumi-chan said there's someone else besides you. Where is she?"
She decided to ask since it was clear now that the child couldn't have been lying. It was not like her to doubt her own cousin. Somehow, she felt relieved.
"She's right next to me," the golden eyed man answered.
Instead of horrified, Mayoi clapped her hands and smiled happily.
"Do I need to do the channeling, Bikini-san?" she asked the head nun.
It was Kurain Channeling Technique. A method of communicating with the dead whereby the spirit medium takes on the physical appearance of the spirit being channeled. However, Bikini-san shook her head in response.
"No, it's not necessary. There's another way in which her appearance can be revealed."
xxx
"A silver Magatama?"
Mayoi looked at the nine-shaped silver stone placed unto her palm. Every spirit mediums had their own Magatama. Each with different colors and abilities. Mayoi for instance, owned a red Magatama while blue for Harumi. Magatama is usually wore around the neck as a necklace. Mayoi observed the silver Magatama thoroughly before glancing at Bikini-san.
"By touching the Magatama, it can reveal the presence of its owner," Bikini-san explained.
"Hmm, I see..," Mayoi looked at Magatama once more and nodded. "Okay, then," she quickly handed the Magatama to Mutsuki, smiling.
The golden eyed youkai took it from Mayoi without hesitation, then handed it out to an invisible person next to him. He spoke something to her and soon enough, a figure emerged. A beautiful silver haired lady in white kimono appeared before them, her hand still touching the silver Magatama on Mutsuki's palm. She then took the Magatama and held it together.
Mayoi's face brightened as soon as she saw the other person appeared.
What a beautiful lady!
Even though the person looked the same age as Mayoi, probably older, she couldn't help but adore her. Noticing that the black haired girl was staring hard at her, she quickly bowed.
"M-My apologies.. My name's Anya," she then shifted her eyes to Bikini-san, the head nun.
"Can I ask you something?"
Knowing that the question was directing towards her, the nun nodded.
"I was thinking.. do you.. know me?"
Anya asked, eyes gazing at the nun. It was as if she was hoping a positive response. However, the nun shook her head and said,
"No, but I have heard about you. Anya Ayasato. That's your name. You used to be part of this family."
Upon hearing this, Anya clutched her Magatama tightly.
A family.. So I was not alone?
The fact that she had a family in her past life was bothering her. Although, she didn't understand why she felt it that way.
"But somehow, you went missing. Our ancestor, Master Kyoko insisted some of the nuns to search for you but it was futile. After years, Master Kyoko deceased and her place was taken by Master Maiko. That was when Maiko-sama met Mutsuki of the Bakeneko clan. He was in charge of finding you," Bikini-san explained everything she knew before continuing, "Of course, it's not surprising for him to be able to find you when many of us couldn't."
Anya lowered her head. Indeed, she knew what the nun meant by this. She was already, someone who had been revived at that time. Thus, there couldn't be anyone who can see her except for, a spirit such as Mutsuki of course. Still, that didn't satisfy her. She wanted to know more.
But how..? How did my life end?
Unconsciously, she clutched the Magatama in her hands almost too tightly. That was when a series of visions abruptly hit her mind. Bits of fragments of memories from the past quickly rushed in without her permission. Even if she said 'Stop!', it would still continue to fill inside her head. Unable to bear it any longer, she began to feel the pain and clutched her head, Magatama slipped from her hands.
A voice, a familiar voice was calling out for her.
Okaeri.. Anya.
~end of Chapter 20
CHAPTER 21 – A VAGRANT
She couldn't sleep that night. It was so cold and the small child barely had anything to cover herself with except for her tattered clothes and shoes. Her whole body was shivering. She hugged herself, in hope that the heat from her own body could at least give her some warmth. It was of no use, however.
She had decided to take a shelter in front of a large manor. She couldn't care less whose family lived inside the manor. Even until she reached the stage where she didn't care if they hit her or chased her away. She was used to it. People called her, a vagrant. Yes, a vagrant she was, since there was no place called home for her. Her parents died in an accident since she was very young and she never knew her other relatives. No one had really been paying attention to her. She decided to call them, ignorant people. Almost every people she met along the way were ignorant to her. Right about now, she felt like calling out her parents' names but she knew, they would never be there to answer her call. The lonely child sighed, unable to sleep.
It was then the door to the entrance of the manor suddenly creaked opened. Twitched, she turned her head to look at the direction. It was eerie enough since it was already late at night. Her heart beat even faster when she heard footsteps coming in the direction. Something or someone was going to appear soon. The suspense was too much for her to bear, so she cupped both ears and closed her eyes.
"Are you okay?"
A voice called out. A gentle voice at that. She slowly opened her eye, the left eye first, and taking a peek at the owner of the voice. When she eventually opened her right eye, she could see clearly a pretty woman wearing white scarf and a dress probably can be called kimono was standing in front of her. She had never seen anyone wearing clothes like that before. Decided to remain silent, she waited for the person's next response.
"Want to sleep inside?"
Those were the words that brought upon new events in her life. She, who once had no place to belong. However, every good beginnings didn't always bring the same outcomes and the eight years old girl hadn't realized this.
~end of Chapter 21
CHAPTER 22 – MUTUALITY
Many years has passed since she first came into this family. She no longer had to spend her night along the road, enduring the cold wind and being scared of unknown criminals. She was no longer someone hated by the society, now that she could wear the same clothes as theirs and able to spend money just like them. It was all thanks to the head of Ayasato family, Kyoko Ayasato. That night, she was the one who offered her kindness to the orphan child. As time went by, she still considered the people around her as ignorant except for this kind lady.
Kyoko's husband died a few years before the orphan was accepted into the family and she has a daughter named Maiko. Maiko is at the same age as her. Having a long black hair and beautiful grey eyes, she is loved by everyone. At a very young age, she was able to perform very well as a spirit medium. Kyoko's blood indeed flowed into her as the founder of Kurain Channeling Technique. The child knew nothing about the history of the family before. It was the head of the family herself who told her all about it. After a few years living with the family, she had seen with her own eyes on how they performed the channeling. It was, but a valuable experience. Now, she's already 18. Sitting in the winding way, the girl gazed at the beautiful garden maintained by the gardeners hired by Lady Kyoko.
"Moshi-moshi~"
A female voice suddenly spoke close to her ear, making her startled.
"Ne, do you have to surprise me like that, Ayasato-san?" she sighed but the other girl chuckled and took a seat next to her.
"Gomen, gomen. No.. wait. I'm not the one who should be apologizing. You are. How many times do I have to tell you.. just call me Maiko. Maiko~~! Aren't we already sisters, anyway?"
The other girl glared and pinched her cheek. Reacting to the pain, the blue eyed girl rubbed her already red cheek. "..But," before she could continue, Maiko pinched her cheek again.
"No but for you, or I won't eat your dishes next time!" she declared.
Seeing as there was no option for her, she nodded as a sign of agreement. It was sudden but only a few days ago, Lady Kyoko had decided to take her as an adopted daughter. Her family name changed too.
"Alright.. Maiko-san then."
Maiko was very happy the moment the girl said her name and started to mess her long silver hair. Feeling uneasy, the girl backed away from Maiko to stop her from messing her hair.
"Aww you don't have to be so cold, Anya," the black haired spirit medium chuckled.
"By the way, I have something to tell you.."
Maiko's face suddenly changed. She lowered her gaze to the ground below and a serious look was all over her face. It was a look that the girl had never seen before. Perhaps, she was about to tell her some bad news?
"What is it, Maiko-san?" the girl placed her hand on Maiko's palm.
The black haired girl slowly turned to face her and flashed a grin.
"Actually.. I'm hungry~ Can you cook me some fried Daikon radish, pretty please?"
Shocked, Anya's eyes opened wide, almost couldn't believe what she had just heard. The female glared at Maiko and crossed her arms.
"I can't believe you are still hungry!"
However angry she was, she still cooked for Maiko. It was her job after all. Ever since she was accepted into the family, she had been doing all the cooking job for the family. It was one of her way to express her gratitude. Nonetheless, something was bound to happen and the girl had yet to notice this.
~end of Chapter 22
CHAPTER 23 - SHARED FEELINGS
Anya took her apron off and wiped her hands. She had just finished cooking Maiko's favourite food - fried Daikon radish. A pleasant smell swept throughout the kitchen. She smiled alone. It was fun to cook and she never had the opportunity to do it before. Thanks to Ayasato family, she could now cook for them. Setting up the dish on a tray, Anya headed towards the hallway with the dish. A few more steps and she would reach the living room, where the members of the family usually assemble. She occasionally got to be inside considering she was the one preparing their food.
Maiko-san might be inside..
It was just a guess at first but when she was getting nearby, she overheard Maiko's voice from outside of the living room.
"Mother, please... let me do this! Just don't drag Anya into this problem."
Whilst she heard footsteps heading towards the door to the living room, Anya took a few steps backward, hoping that the person coming through wouldn't see her and suspect her as an eavesdropper. The door slid open and she saw the person hurriedly running out from the room, leaving the door opened.
Isn't that Maiko-san?
Shocked and curious, Anya put the tray she was carrying down on the floor, calling out Maiko's name while running for her.
xxx
"I don't care. I won't let mother do this to her."
"Are you certain about this, Maiko-sama?"
"Yes."
Anya who was hiding behind the tree, felt her heart aching. She knew everything now. Everything that was not meant for her to know.
It was a curse. A curse had been put on the family. One that could destroy the whole family completely. She did not know how it happened but in order to save the family, a member had to sacrifice herself to Spirit of Forest. Lady Kyoko did not want to lose the only heiress to the family. Thus, to keep the bloodline, someone else under the name of Ayasato had to be spared. Furthermore, she was of no use to the family. She didn't have the power to use the Kurain Channeling Technique. It's just not in her blood. Placing her hand over her chest, she grabbed her own kimono.
It hurts.. It hurts so much..
"I will stop this. By all means."
"But then there would be no heiress.."
"There will be."
"If you say so.."
Soon thereafter, Maiko and the other person left the place. Anya rested her back against the tree without any intention to pursue them. She closed her eyes. The girl had always admired Lady Kyoko as a very kind, generous woman and above all, not as ignorant as other people. In the end, she's not much different than them.
But why..? Why are those eyes..
Anya recalled back the moment when she first met the head of the family outside the manor. The gleam in her eyes was so pure, so.. undiluted.
"Why I'm taking you in? It's because I want to show that I don't see myself as the only one suffering."
Recalling those words, she finally understood.
Back then, as a vagrant, she had always wanted everyone to understand her, to know that she was suffering a lot more than them. So that later, she had reason for hating, betraying and avenging. The lonely girl felt that she deserved much better than anyone. Nevertheless, she finally understood. It was because she focused entirely on her own unhappiness that she did not think of the others who were also suffering. Maiko and Lady Kyoko. Both of them are important persons in her life. For everything they had done for her, it was time to repay.
~end of Chapter 23
CHAPTER 24 - GRATITUDE
Mutsuki slid the door open widely. The light coming from the morning sun rushed into the room located next to the winding way, which means he could see the garden just in front of him. All the birds were singing song of joy in sync. The youkai from Bakeneko clan turned his head to look at the lady under the warm blanket. Two days had passed and she still hadn't regained her consciousness. He walked up and sat next to his Master, who was still, perhaps sleeping. He observed the silver Magatama she held tightly in her hand.
Since when there is such Magatama?
For as long as he knew, he had never seen his previous Master held it, much less showed it to him.
Maiko-sama..
He lowered his head down. Not knowing that Maiko had already gone was such a pain that he almost couldn't bear. He realized, it must had been such a long time since he left the place in search of Anya Ayasato.
"Please, find her for me and when you do, she'll be the next person you'll serve."
"What do you mean?"
"I know you can protect her and this is my order."
"Mutsuki.."
He startled. Raising his chin up, he noticed that his Master was awake and she was the one calling his name.
"You have woke up, Anya-sama. I'm truly relieved."
The lady, who was supposed to be around 18 in her past life, managed a weak smile. She slowly raised her back. It was pretty hard since her body rested for so long. After regaining balance, she turned her face to him.
"I remember it now. I remember everything."
Mutsuki could pick up what she meant by this and he let her to spit it out.
"I was a vagrant. I lost my parents.." she swallowed hard before continuing, "..but that doesn't matter because I could meet two precious persons in my life. So tell me.. was I doing the right thing?"
Mutsuki stared at her. Surely, it wasn't her fault to begin with. There was a battle going on and the curse being put on the family was caused by the youkai group who wanted to own the forest- Labyrinth Forest; A forest which holds secret power that no one knows of.
"You saved Maiko-sama and Ayasato family. You are also the saviour of the forest."
Anya smiled upon hearing this. "Yes.. I know now why I was in that forest all this time."
"They were trying to hide you but I.."
Mutsuki couldn't help but to feel guilty. It was because he brought her to Ukihara Town that Sanmoto, the leader of the malicious group, who wished to conquer the forest now targeting the Riyo-sha youkai from Ayasato family. Only those who had been cursed by Sanmoto could be a Riyo-sha. However, there is only one Riyo-sha that holds a small portion of forest's secret power.
"No matter. They saved you from the stage of loneliness, right? If that's the only way to repay their kindness.."
Mutsuki averted his eyes. It's true. Before he met Maiko, it was Sanmoto who saved him and took him in after all the other clan members had been slaughtered. If it wasn't because of him, he wouldn't be here, living.
"I'm sure Maiko-san would understand too," the female continued with a smile.
Her words eased the Knight's feelings which are already full of guiltiness. He had always been tornt between two but now the Dark Knight knew what he wished for. No longer wanted to be a betrayer, he made up his mind.
Mutsuki stood up once again, kneeling in front of Anya before placing his right hand's fist on the floor and his left hand over the chest at the same time.
"I pledged my loyalty to you and will serve none other than you. Please accept."
~end of Chapter 24