Hooray for a new story! This is not in my list but I wanted to give it a shot. I initially got the idea from a "what if" situation that's been nibbling on my nerves for days. Anyway, it features my fave FY character and a series of other characters from other anime who just popped in my head – some I have developed a special preference for while some…well…just got there because they moved in the same environment. Enjoy reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters! Argh! But I do own the story so tell me what you think. Your comments would be greatly appreciated!
Chapter 1: Lady of the Dawn
by Slavedriver2008
Rays of light gently cascade through the thin opening of a wooden slide door. It glows, faint at first then gradually brimming, lighting the face of a sleeping girl with short blonde hair. The heat prompts the girl to open her eyes, ever so slowly, eyelids still heavy from sleep. The light momentarily blinds her and she turns her face away from the source of heat. She regrets doing so, as the turning send ripples of pain throughout her body.
She covers her eyes, waiting for it to adjust to the unusual brightness of the room. The ceiling catches her attention, there is something proverbial about it, yet it appears strangely unfamiliar. Sounds of footsteps emanates from across the paper walls, breaking the silence in the atmosphere. Yui wills herself to stand, pulling the white cotton blanket to cover her naked body.
The door opens to reveal an elderly woman with dark brown hair tied neatly in a bun. The woman enters the room in precise movements as if preparing for a tea ceremony. The aroma of matcha lingers in the air, making the girl thirsty. The woman places the tray of tea beside the futon and serves Yui a cup of the green liquid. Yui brings the cup to her mouth and bitterness spread throughout her tongue. She took another sip and immediately swallows it, this time, it leaving a sweet flavor on her taste buds.
The woman places a robe near the futon. Instinctively, Yui places the tea back on the tray and stands up to let the woman put the robe over her shoulders. The yukata feels cold on her skin but it smells of freshly picked flowers and young bamboo shoots. Yui loves that scent; the smell of spring, it reminds her of late afternoons sipping tea with her grandmother in Kyoto. Regret fills her, she cannot go back to those late afternoons. She won't see her. She did not even say goodbye.
The elderly woman motions for her to follow and she obliges. The calmness of the place troubles her and it heightens her curiosity. It is a calmness that fills her soul, putting it at ease, calmness that lie in stark contrast to the heady days of being Seiryuu no miko. Yui's heart misses a beat at the mention of the familiar title. She was a priestess for the god of war. Was.
Memories, both joyous and disturbing, flood her contemplation. Her thoughts flow back to the days of rain that ardently showered Kutou since her arrival, the coldness and loneliness that emanated from her room, shrouding a tiny flicker of candle that used to light it. She remembers the hatred, the betrayal, the lust for power. But above these, she remembers Nakago, the leader of her seishis. Her beloved Nakago.
Even if he hurt her, again and again, she would still yield to him. No amount of pain can ever make her forget the comfort of being in his arms. She smiles painfully. No wonder he never truly loved her. She was too weak.
Sadness sweeps through her heart. It is over. Her days as Seiryuu no miko ended the moment she uttered the third wish. The nightmare concluded the minute she allowed the dragon to devour her. She should be happy, yet the thought of not seeing his deep blue eyes leaves a pang of regret in her heart. She loved his eyes. And even in death, she loves it. She loves him.
The elderly woman ushers her inside another similar room and begins to untie the yukata. Yui stands still as she helps her into a garment of flowing blue and indigo silk. The dress reminds her of the ceremonial clothes she donned when she summoned the dragon god – blue top made of the softest finest silk tied in a long indigo ribbon that drapes around her hips and ends around her arms, see through sleeves that ends lazily at her wrist, and a thin lengthy skirt of the same color with slits high enough to reveal the length of her legs. On the hem of her skirt and on the top are striking markings of the dragon, marks that name her a priestess of the god of the east. A symbol of her power. A symbol of her destiny.
Yui turns to face a mirror. Big lonely eyes of blue look back, the familiar figure of the Seiryuu no miko haunts her of what she cannot leave behind. When she first wore the ceremonial robes, she hated it. The design is too structured, too revealing for a girl her age. But she wore it nonetheless.
The woman bows and leads her outside the house. At her heels, Yui walks without the least hesitation. Nothing matters now, nothing. They walk through a path with cherry blossoms lining the sideways and the faint scent lingers in the air. Tiny pink buds gently bloom in the branches of the trees as they pass by as if they bring the sunshine. She briefly remembers hanami, her grandmother's favorite festival. The memories of the tea ceremony in the Hongo residence drift through her thoughts. She will miss the tea and the company. She already misses her old life.
At the end of the path lies a river of the clearest deepest blue that Yui has ever seen. Her eyes measure the length of the river but found it endless, heavily draped in mist. A shadow moves within the thick fog and her eyes fall on a lone boat carrying a woman with blue hair. As the boat comes nearer and nearer, the elderly woman turns to her and motions for her to move toward the wooden edge of the dock. She walks forward and when the boat arrived, the woman raises her head, revealing a white pale face with a button nose. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she appears to be the same age as hers. She wears a bluish white kimono and a smile that lights her pale face. Her right hand holds onto an oar while the other holds on the boat's stern.
"I will carry you across the river, miko-sama." Her voice, though high-pitched and warm, sends shivers down Yui's spine. She instructs her to board the small vessel and sit across her. The moment she sits down, the boat starts to move steadily toward the mist. Yui turns toward the dock where she left the elderly woman but gets disappointed when she finds her gone.
Gently, the boat row into the mist and Yui could not see anything ahead. Everything – the land, sky, trees – fade into the fog. She can only see the boat faintly; even the girl disappears once in a while as the fog shifts. She can hear the gentle lapping of the water against the boat and the monotonous paddling. She can hear her breathing and feel the dampness of the fog on her skin.
Is she dead? Is she being brought to the underworld? Does making the third wish kill her? The scene reminds her of a Shinto myth where a young girl is believed to ferry souls across to the underworld. A similar Greek myth likewise mentions Charon and the river Styx. Yui realizes she has no money or treasure nor does she remember dying with one. She does not even remember dying in the first place. Her last memory was the face of the dragon god and the unexplainable wondrous sensation she felt as he took over her body.
She does not remember falling from the sky or drowning underwater – she only remembers waking up inside the room. "Where are we going?" she asks, unable to control her innate curiosity.
"Don't worry, we're going to where you should be," she answers warmly, continuously rowing the boat further and further to the mist.
"Where should I be?" Yui asks but her question hangs in the air. The girl did not respond nor showed any willingness to answer. The question, now fleeting in the cold piercing mist, has made her back prickle. She has the least idea what happens to characters within the book after they die. It seems logical that she experience what they had gone through – she has become merely a character in a book.
The boat shifts and Yui unconsciously hold on to the stern. Darkness seeps through the fog and she could no longer see the outline of the girl. She could not see the boat and her body either. The sound of water brushing against wood assures her she is still aboard the boat and she is still going to an unknown direction. She can hear her breath, this time heavier. As she exhales, clouds of white smoke appear, faintly giving her hope, probably she is still alive.
Yui could not remember how long they sail through the darkness. Time moves slowly, dragging, too tedious. But it moves, continuously like the river. She is freezing. Her skin prickles from the unearthly coldness of the trip and she realizes that if there is such a thing as dying after death, she must be experiencing the prelude.
"Are we there yet?" she whispers to the darkness. The sound of the paddling reminds her she is still there, ferrying across Seiryuu knows where.
"Be patient, miko-sama. The path for you takes longer than the usual." Yui shivers, is she being brought to hell? Fear envelops her body and she starts to tremble. Was she that evil to actually be tormented in the afterlife?
Yui wrap her hands across her chest, rubbing her hands on her arms, struggling to warm herself from the deathly cold. She closes her eyes and let her thoughts wander through her memories. It is all that she could do at this time, think of her past life. She might be unable to do so if she is to be brought to hell.
The girl knows her thoughts but chooses to stay silent. She was forbidden to tell her anything, it was the one condition Koenma gave her. The Lords across the river would not be pleased if she becomes too friendly, although she has been very much tempted. The deities have been troubled lately, with the appearance of two mikos at the same time. Even the beast gods are not pleased at the sudden twist.
A mere yokai like her has no say against the gods. She only follows and this instance, they asked her to ferry one of the mikos. The girl continues to row toward an unfamiliar place, a little wary. She seldom travels through this part of the river. It is forbidden. Forbidden for someone who serves the underworld like her.
Numbness fills Yui's body. The feeling is not new but it is unwelcome. Of all the time to be cold, she considers this as the most inappropriate time. Heat burns her cheeks and she opens her eyes. The mist has cleared a little, and it is starting to get brighter. Was it morning already? Did she survive the night? Is there even a night to begin with?
The boat sail away from the fog and Yui's eyes strain to see what lies beyond. The light illuminates the surface of the river, making it glow like crystals. It hurts her eyes and she covers them, slightly making out a wooden dock. Slowly, the boat nears the dock, which appears strikingly similar to the one she left. But instead of seeing the elderly woman, her eyes land on three men, all looking straight at her.
The blond man with amber eyes walks toward her, offering a hand to help her step up to the platform. Yui stares at his hand and then looks up to his face. He is handsome and warm, more appealing than any man she has seen before. She gazes through his features and finding no flaw, frowns at his perfection. Is it possible for someone to be physically perfect?
A warm smile spreads through his face and amber eyes look at her with undisguised fascination. He studies her features in the same way she did and he offers his hand closer. The action makes her unconsciously raise an eyebrow, arousing suspicion within her. The man laughs, stirring something in the air. She can feel it yet, like everything in the unknown place, she cannot put a finger into it.
"Your presence delights me. Please let me assist you," he says, warmly, like the feel of early morning sun. His amber yukata reflects the intensity of his eyes.
"Don't scare the little girl, baka." Yui looks behind the blonde man and sees another man with long grey hair tied in a ponytail. She almost let out a gasp when their eyes met. He was handsome, the ill-tempered types. For awhile, Yui thought she felt the same aura Nakago exudes. He smirks, as if reading her reaction. "We've been waiting all day. Stop flirting and let's just get this over with."
"I am not flirting, I am merely showing her our hospitality. And stop being brash, you're the one who's scaring her." The blonde turns to her, still smiling.
Yui turns to the girl and she nods at her, smiling to expose perfectly white teeth. "Domo arigatou gozaimasu, If we ever sail again, please do speak to me once in a while." Yui reluctantly raises her hand toward the blonde but before she does, another hand pulls her toward the platform. A sound escape from her lips and as she took another step on the wooden dock, her foot steps over her skirt, making her lose balance and sending her falling to a strong lean chest.
She looks up to see grayish blue eyes staring down at her. She gasps when she recognizes the angular face and the nose that seem to have been perfectly chiseled to match beautiful pale lips. Long grey hair tied in a high ponytail flow like streams along his back, with strands flowing to her cheeks. Their eyes meet and Yui feels the world stop, momentarily. He is more handsome up close.
"I was expecting more strength from the god of war's priestess. I have no idea he would choose a scrawny little girl," he tells her, smirking. Yui gasps and backs away, putting a space between them. She is not…weak.
"I'm not a little girl and I'm not scrawny," she tells him sharply, defensively. "My name is Hongou Yui. Get it right." Everything stay still after she spoke. The grey-haired bishonen look at her, shock registering over his face. He walks toward her and lift a finger to raise her head. His movements are so abrupt and sleek that Yui can only respond with a blush.
"What did you say?" He whisper and his eyes probe deeper into her blue hues. Yui's jaw tightens, starting to lose her temper. She opens her mouth to say her name again, this time clearer so he will not forget.
"Stop it," the blonde man pulls her away. She has almost forgotten about him but compared to the other two, he seems warmer and kinder. "I heed the Lord of the Rain to stop mocking the Lady of the Dawn."
"What?!" Yui's voice raises a notch higher. "I'm a what? Don't call me a name that is not mine. I'm–" The blonde covers her mouth.
"You came as serenely as the coming of the new day. You are as beautiful as the sunrise and as peaceful as the early morning sky. I am not calling you a name that is not yours, that title is yours and yours alone." His warm eyes stare through hers. "As long as you are in this land, you will not utter your name as a mortal."
Sadness suddenly creeps through her face and she can feel it filling her. She is dead. She knows it is possible yet a part of her wants to believe otherwise. Being dead meant she cannot touch or be touched. Being dead meant she can never see her family again and Miaka and her friends and Nakago. Her chest constricts and she inhales, needing more air, more space, more time. She swallows hard, controlling the building tears in her eyes. It would not help her if she cries, especially in front of these men. She raises her head – she will not be weak this time. She turns to the man with warm amber eyes.
"Take me to where Seiryuu is."
"As you wish, my Lady," he answers and Yui's back prickles, thousands of questions appearing in her head. What had she become? What will she become? She wonders and hopes it would be different.
Can she make things right this time?
Author's Notes: Matcha is the type of leaves used in green tea and during tea ceremonies. Yukata is the bathroom kimono or the inner robe in a kimono. Hanami is the flower viewing festival during spring. Koenma is the Lord of the Underworld and the girl who ferried Yui toward the world of the land of the gods is Botan from Yu Yu Hakusho.
In the original version, a man who looked like Charon ferried Yui across the river but in this revised edition, I'm following Shinto beliefs that a cute girl is the one who takes souls across the afterlife. I also changed some lines especially with the Lord of the Rain. You see, the characters of Rain and Night got a little mixed up so I'm trying to follow their anime versions so they'll be easier to identify.
Also, I realized I will retain the tense and rewrite Chapter Four instead. This way, I get to practice writing in the present tense—I suck at it, by the way. In Spanish, it's hard to write in the past tense but in English, I think it's hard to write in the present tense. Ahaha. I'm explaining myself too much. I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for those who have left reviews. I'm not a very good writer but reading your reviews warm me. Thanks again!