Title: Climbing Scales (Falling Down)
Author: OnceABlueMoon
Rating: T
Pairing: Bluebell/Kozato Mami/Yuni
Tags/Warnings: Mentions of murder
Summary: ''I grant miracles, but I cannot return any person from the death, for it is not my realm.''
Oh.
Bluebell looks up.
Yuni-no-mikoto bites her lip. ''But I can help you find the one who is able to grant your wish. The thing is, I am certain this miracle will not be performed without a price.''
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
Written for the khrrarepairweek Day 5 - Rain Day: Mythology AU
The western temple is not a dark place, but it feels like it. The white walls shine with the power of the Goddess, the same colour as her robes. The windows, large and bright, are like eyes staring into the woods, keeping watch. The trees rustle as Bluebell takes in the red roof tiles, and the daunting, twisted iron spires.
She takes a deep breath, and treads the muddy path towards it, her naked feet digging into the earth below. She needs the reminder.
Mami is with her, even if only in spirit.
Some would call her stupid. Some did call her stupid. But Zakuro is not the one who Bluebell answers to. He can scoff all he wants, but Bluebell has gotten herself out of the hole seeing the bottom of her empty wine glass. She has gotten up, has begun walking. Even Byakuran, who Bluebell does answer to, could not have stopped her.
He didn't even try, though. That was a good thing. A good thing she clutches to her chest right along with the last sliver of hope she has left.
The Goddess is the answer. She must be.
She curls her hand around the doorknob, the wood of the stairs creaking below her. She inhales, exhales, and pushes the doorknob down.
Time to ring the bell. Time to make a wish. Time to ask for a miracle.
For Yuni, time is not the ticking of the clock. She does not notice the time that goes by, as her worshippers do, does not measure the days, does not watch the sand trickle through the hourglass. She floats in the darkness, or perhaps in such blinding light that her eyes cannot see anymore. She sleeps, yet she is awake, for her consciousness, her power, remains in her every stronghold, her every miracle given.
She sleeps like a flower, hidden away in the sky instead of the earth, waiting for winter to pass her by. Waiting for someone to ring the bell.
Prayers are the nectar to the gods, the thing that sustains her when no nectar passes her lips, but it is only when they enter her temple that her true power comes into play.
The bell is the key.
It wakes her once again.
When the Goddess opens her eyes, Bluebell cannot help but gasp. She drops the rope with which she rung the bell, the sound still echoing in her ears. She kneels before the altar, averting her eyes from the Goddess in all her glory.
The stone floor is cold against her legs and her heart goes a mile an hour as the Goddess slowly stands.
There is a hand in her hair, carefully sliding the cyan curtains aside.
''Please don't hide,'' the Goddess says, her eyes as blue as the heavens she rules, ''Stand, and meet me.''
As an equal, are words that do not leave her lips, and it confuses Bluebell. Whyever would a Goddess want to meet a mere mortal like her as an equal?
She not- for the only equal the Goddess has is the God.
''I am Yuni, she who rules over the Above, the incarnation of the fleeting wind. Why did you call me?'' The Goddess cocks her head, bangs falling sideways with the movement. They caress her lily cheeks, inky strands deep blue upon closer inspection.
There is something inhuman about the way her neck bends. It should look human, but does not, just a few degrees off, and a shiver works it way up Bluebell's spine.
The Goddess extends her hand. Bluebell swallows thickly, hands fisting her skirt in her lap. Clench. Unclench.
The temptation is too great. She takes the Goddess' hand and stands.
Straightening, she feels like she takes the first breath of her life. It is shuddering, it is loud, and the quiet around her is deafening, for this breath is not accompanied by a scream, though it feels like it should be. For all first breaths are followed by screeches, and silence? Silence means death.
How appropriate, considering her request.
''I… My love died, and I wish to retrieve her from the death.''
Yuni-no-Mikoto rocks from side to side. ''I grant miracles.''
Bluebell's heart jumps in her chest. Mami! She can get Mami back! The moment is here, everything will be all right. She surges forward, arms opened. But Yuni raises a hand to stop her, and Bluebell remembers who she is about to embrace. She stumbles in her aborted movement.
It is not her place to do something as forward as embracing the Goddess. She averts her eyes, gripping her elbow as if it will give her the reassurance she so seeks.
''I grant miracles, but I cannot return any person from the death, for it is not my realm.''
Oh.
Bluebell looks up.
Yuni-no-mikoto bites her lip. ''But I can help you find the one who is able to grant your wish. The thing is, I am certain this miracle will not be performed without a price.''
Bluebell throws her head back and laughs, vibrations shaking her entire body, resounding through the temple. A price! How ridiculous!
As the laughter dies away, she looks Yuni-no-Mikoto straight in the eye, piercing as the gaze of a mortal is only when deadly serious. ''My lady, there is not a single price I am not prepared to pay for Mami's life, and that is the truth.''
Yuni-no-Mikoto inclines her head. Then she whispers, so softly Bluebell has to lean in to hear, for some secrets should be spoken as quietly as possible, so not even the wind, not even the sun, not even the walls will hear.
''A thousand miles from here, in the deepest, darkest part of the woods, there is a well. You must go down it, but drown you will not. There, far beyond six feet under, there's a room where the light won't reach you. That is where he resides; The Lord of the Underworld, Enma.''
A shudder works its way down Bluebell's spine. Even speaking his name is taboo in some parts, and it feels so terribly cold, like frigid fingers gliding along her neck, tainting the warm skin with their ice. Attempting to pull her under.
Yuni reaches up and tucks a lock of blue hair behind Bluebell's ear, leaning in so close that Bluebell can see the faded freckles upon her nose. ''And there, beside his throne, Mami's soul is seated, on the ground, leaning her back against the throne.''
Bluebell blinks, and the spell is broken. Yuni-no-Mikoto closes her eyes, the vision fading before her eyes. She rubs her eyes, and slumps against Bluebell, all power suddenly leaving her body.
''I'm sorry. I do not often occupy living flesh, it will take some time before I am accustomed to it again. I must rest for a bit, before we leave.''
''We?'' Bluebell's eyes widen.
Yuni-no-Mikoto gives her a tired smile. ''I will not let you go out to wander about alone, sweet. Accompany you, I will, until your miracle has been granted.''
Bluebell beams at her.
Mami will be all right after all, and for the first time in a while, Bluebell's heart sings of hope.
They travel through the mountains, they travel through the valleys, they travel through the plains, both those of grass, and those of wheat. They travel past villages, but never do they enter, for Yuni-no-Mikoto is like the wind, and, perhaps, not as human-loving as she often seems.
She is lovely, though, Bluebell knows. Yuni-no-Mikoto is inhuman, but one…. No, acclimatizing is not the right word. But Bluebell does not know what else to call this, for she startles less every time she catches the Goddess glowing softly in the dark in the corner of her eye.
''Do you not sleep?'' she asks one night.
Yuni-no-Mikoto shakes her head. ''I do not, sweet, for I have slept so very long, my sleep-weary bones can take no more of it. I so rarely get to be flesh- I must enjoy it while I can.''
The flames flicker between them, keeping the darkness in the clearing at bay. Bluebell stares into the flames, watches them dance. What an idea. ''What is it like, the Goddess Sleep?''
Yuni-no-Mikoto reaches into the flames. Bluebell yelps in alarm, but Yuni-no-Mikoto only blinks at her, retracting her hand. Her fingers are curled around a small flame, dancing on in her palm as if it is a hearth.
''It is like the moment between sleep and wakefulness, I suppose. That moment reality bleeds into dreams, when you drift away, and your body is so very heavy that you end up forgetting all about it. I shrug it off, my human form, like it is nothing more than a cloak. Sensations, the way you feel them, leave me, and I turn into the wind, into life, into the very energy in the air around you. I am there, yet I am not, for I am tired, and I sleep… A warm summer breeze, I become, and I float past your window at night, during the twilight hours. Making sure the children are in bed, watching lovers reunite after a long day of work, caress the elderly reminiscing on the porch.
I am formless, and I love.''
It takes Bluebell's breath away.
Quietly, as if not to disturb the children she just tucked in, Yuni-no-Mikoto raises her hand, and softly blows, the wind carrying away the fire in sparks. They fly towards Bluebell, whose eyes are wide with wonder as the sparks die just an inch before her face.
There is something beautiful in the death of fire.
The next day, they reach the woods. They walk until the trees stand closer together. They walk until the canopy lets little light filter through. They walk until there is no light left, and they must lit their lantern before ghosting past the giant trees, so large that even when Bluebell cranes her neck, she cannot see the tops.
Then? Then they go deeper still.
This is where they find the well, wedged in-between two sequoia trees. The roots are thick, coiling around the stone of the well like the tentacles of a giant, possessive beast.
Bluebell swallows as she stares down into the well, the depths endless, and deep. She takes a deep breath, and swings her legs over the edge. She turns to look over her shoulder, at Yuni-no-Mikoto. ''Are you coming, my Lady?''
Yuni shakes her head, hands clenched around the lantern in her hands. The light colours her white clothing a warm yellow. ''I cannot join you down there. I am a Goddess of Life- someday, I must die, and then I will fade into the underworld just as any other, but before that, I may not encroach on Enma's realm.''
Bluebell nervously tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, sweat beading on her brow. She cannot wait. In the underworld, more than six feet under, Mami is waiting for her. She knows it. Yuni-no-Mikoto has seen it, and Bluebell will not make her love wait any longer.
''Please wait for me,'' she says.
''I will,'' Yuni-no-Mikoto answers.
Bluebell jumps.
The light of the lantern above faded all too quickly, and while the air rushed by her the first few minutes, she lands as softly as a leaf gently drifting down to the ground. It is too dark to see a thing, so she crawls over the floor, patting the air behind her until she finds a wall to follow. Blind, she feels her way to a door opening. Carefully, she crouches down and touches the ground. Before her is a staircase, and she knows what it leads to. It leads down, though, and she is deadly afraid of falling. What if she slips? The very possibility grabs her by the throat. She can't break a leg here, or she'll be down here forever, helpless, until she'll be dead herself. So she stays seated and descends the stairs that way.
She stumbles when the floor suddenly levels out. She squints into the darkness, sprawled over the floor. A soft glow begins to spread, and with a gasp, she realizes it comes from her. Her limbs, her hair, her very body is phosphorescent, emitting a blue glow illuminating the room.
It is only her refusal to show fear that stops her from taking a step back when she finally notices him. Lord Enma, seated on his throne. The room they're in is not a throne room, like she expected. There are no high ceilings, no grand halls, only a claustrophobically small room with rammed earth walls. The only object in it is a throne of marble. There are no embellishments, it is simply a vertical slab of stone with a smaller rectangle removed from the front to create a seat. It is white as bone, indistinguishable from the Death God's own pale, stone-like skin. He looks like a statue, seated there, unmoving. His eyes are rubies, glinting in the blue glow of Bluebell's soul.
Bluebell shivers. He sat in total and complete darkness before she came here, in this chamber only lighted by the souls of the living.
And there sitting on the ground, leaning against the side of Lord Enma's throne, is Mami's ghostly spectre. Just as Yuni-no-Mikoto had seen.
''Mami!'' Bluebell runs towards her, but Mami does not look up from the ground. She seems to be talking, but Bluebell cannot hear her voice and- why is Mami not reacting?
She squats, reaching for her, but her hand goes right through. It's like she just put her hand through ice water, so cold she has to cradle it against her chest.
''Cease your foolish attempts, mortal.'' Lord Enma's voice sounds like gravel. ''She is not aware of your presence.''
Bluebell's head snaps up, eyes widening. ''What?!''
This time she sees it happen. Lord Enma moves not a single muscle, yet his mouth opens. Yet he speaks. ''The dead cannot reach the living, nor can the living reach the dead. I'd tell you to come back on All Hallow's Eve, for then the barrier between worlds is the thinnest. But when in the stronghold of death…''
The implication is clear. Bluebell would not be able to leave. Besides- ''I do not wish to talk to Mami, I wish to return her to life.''
She straightens her spine and tosses her hair back, then winces. Perhaps, that was not such a great idea. Flinging her hair back tends to look terribly arrogant, and it simply does not do to be haughty in front of a god. Not to mention, certainly not before the God of Death.
All Lord Enma does, however, is shaking his head. It's too slow, like he has not moved in so very long, but too smooth for that to be the case. …Or, perhaps, too smooth to be human at all.
Bluebell digs her nails into her palm. She must stay calm.
''Dig up the bones, but leave the soul alone.''
…What?
Bluebell's jaw clenches. She has not gotten this far to get this nonsense for an answer! Yuni-no-Mikoto said it was possible, so it must be. She knows it is within Lord Enma's power. The only thing that rests is convincing him to use it for her sake.
The anger, white-hot, still moves through her, but Bluebell kneels anyway. Head touching the ground, she breathes in. The dust from the ground works its way into her nose and she fights a sneeze. God damn it all. She has to do this. She has to do this- for Mami! For herself.
So she pushes the anger down, and begs on her knees like she has never done before. ''Please, bring my love to life!''
Enma laughs, hollow as his heart must be, if he lets her cry out like this and still refuses her. ''You would not pay the price.''
She grabs his foot. She cannot believe she is doing this but- she kisses his feet.
This is her, the most prideful creature of the whole Western lands, kissing not only his feet, but also the ground he walks on. She feels sick, but Mami is within her sight, and she will not let go. Not ever.
''I beg of you, let Mami live!''
Enma is silent for a second. Bluebell opens her mouth, but he raises a hand to stop her. ''Thrice now you have asked. Hear my price, and tell me, will you pay it?'' his hand trails over the side of his throne, caressing the stone in a gesture that would have been nervous, had he been human.
But he was not, so surely, doubt it could not be. An intimidation tactic- that must be it, even if it were a failed one.
…Did gods fail? Bluebell had no clue.
''I will.'' Her voice does not quiver.
Ruby eyes glint in blue light. ''I wish to meet my lover.''
Bluebell frowns. ''Your lover, my lord?''
''The Sky God, living one.''
Something inside of Bluebell twists, her throat swelling up. The God belongs to the Goddess- for such adultery as this to take place… It is all she can do not to throw up.
By the gods, Yuni sent her here. Yuni does not know.
She chokes the sour taste in her mouth back. Mami needs her. No, Bluebell needs Mami, don't fool yourself, girl. You're selfish, and you want her more than anything.
''I'll do it.'' She'll betray Yuni for Mami's life.
She leaves with Mami's hand in hers, her ghost becoming more corporal with every step they take up the stairs, but nothing stops her from feeling sick.
Yuni levitates them from the well, and Mami throws her arms around Bluebell. A sound kiss, a sweet laugh, but over her shoulder Bluebell sees Yuni smile. Her own happiness wilts and dies. Her stomach has sunken to somewhere between her ankles, and all she can feel is the stones of guilt in it.
Mami's return is not all that it seems. The way back to Yuni's temple is not just filled with joy. Next to the stone of guilt within her stomach, Bluebell sleeps with her head against Mami's chest, just so she can feel it move up and down as she sleeps. She is deathly afraid of waking up and finding Mami breathless. Her heartbeat is a bonus, but is but so faint it scares her witless.
Bluebell wakes to their murmuring voices over charcoal left by the campfire and the chirping of birds overhead.
''I am the last incarnation of the Goddess. After me, the feminine divine will dissolve into all women.''
…What? Bluebell barely encompasses what that might mean, half asleep as she is. Rubbing her eyes, she hears Mami speak up, her voice reverberating against her. ''Huh? But the god-''
''Is not my lover. His previous incarnations might have been, for before me came Aria, who loved Gamma, and before her came Luce, who loved Reborn, but Tsunayoshi… Tsunayoshi has never once been anything else than a brother to me. He has fallen for the Earth God, you must know.''
Mami startles, and sits up, dragging Bluebell with her. ''My lord Enma?!''
…Yuni knew? Bluebell cannot believe it, as she squints through the bright morning light to see the face of the Goddess she follows. But the crisp morning air gives no answer, but for Yuni to nod decisively.
''Yes, Enma. The very one that was kind enough to release you. Once Tsuna dies, he will remain in Enma's embrace forever. Currently, I am what separates them, for Sky and Earth cannot meet as long as Air exists.''
Bluebell just sits there, shell-shocked. Neither of the other women notices, though, too absorbed by their conversation.
Mami cocks her head, frowning. ''So there will be no God anymore either? I mean, I am happy for my Lord, but…''
Yuni laughs. ''Oh, darling, there will always be a God! While the Goddesses are birthed by the previous Goddess, the Gods have always come from the Great Beyond. They are born in the heart of a star, so bright the world can barely witness their existence. It is like looking into the sun! I suppose that this time, if the world wants a Goddess, she will just have to come from the Great Beyond also. Or who knows, perhaps all the women of the world will carry a little piece of divinity within them, birthing their own sacred children. Granting their own miracles.''
Mami's posture softens, her hands folded in her lap. ''That sounds wonderful,'' she says, with a small smile playing around her lips, ''But let us not imagine a world where you have joined the underworld, alright? The thought of you dead upsets me.''
Yuni grants her a smile so bright and sweet and beaming that Bluebell can almost feel Mami's heartbeat speeding up. They start breakfast.
Their words ring through her head the entire morning.
''Currently, I am what separates them, for Sky and Earth cannot meet as long as Air exists.''
There are two choices only, now, to reunite Lord Enma and his lover, and they appear before Bluebell like an enormous mountain, a task impossible. A rock too large to swallow.
Either Bluebell would assassinate Tsunayoshi-no-mikoto, so he would embrace lord Enma in death, or Yuni would have to perish by Bluebell's hand so they could meet in life.
The crushing weight of the task bears down on her, heavier than any boulder or mountain could ever be, the stone crunching as it forces her down to the earth. Still, the choice is no real choice at all.
Yuni has been kind to her, and somewhere, Bluebell knows that her heart does not just beat for Mami anymore. She cannot kill Yuni- it would be akin to killing herself. She has to take up the sword and slay… and slay God.