On the 60th Day
Authur: Kadyn
Date: 7/6/05
A quick mostly useless note: This story was concieved before Volume 14 of SDK was released, I decided to continue working on it because I liked it, and I decided to post it because I thought you might too. So please note that as of this story the encounter with the Wood Element Nurses of Nekidness (as I like to refer to them) never took place, and as such the resulting twist in the Manga timeline, Never took place. According to this story, Yuya still has the original 60 day deadline.
Disclaimer: I don't Own any part of Onime no Kyo...but I can think of some parts I wouldn't mind getting my hands on... o:
Day 55
Five Days. I have five days left to live.
Yuya's eyes slipped shut obscuring the deep blue sky and white frothy clouds surrounding the home of Kyo's former teacher Muramasa.
The light breeze drifted through the trees surrounding the grassy clearing to tangle the soft golden hair of Yuya's bangs.
It was Muramasa's final teachings that helped Kyo defeat the Mibu foe, the reminants of which were by now probably scattered across all of Japan. Burrowing deep into the backgrounds of rich and powerful men they could still control in hopes of rising once more to rule all of Japan.
Yuya sighed dropping her chin to her chest. The house seemed so quiet on this overly sunny afternoon. Too quiet.
After months of assian attacks, plots against rulers and old friends that had littered their path to Kyoto the calm and peaceful surroundings of the old dojo seemed stressed. Like a heavy weight placed on a glass stand, she could practically feel the air around her tremble with the strain, quivering ready to shatter into a million tiny peices that could never fit back into place.
Something inside her stirred and bile rose in response as a wave of nausea that nearly made her retch swept across her and was gone almost as fast.
Almost peaceful.
The mood had been the same since their defeat of the mibu forces earlier and the gained knowledge that Shinrei had been killed in the assualt, not by Kyo or the others but by one of the four elders that had escaped, no doubt in an attempt to slow Kyo's advance.
It had worked.
Three days now they had waited here with the same heavy air.
The same palitable fear and dread carried with the sweet spring sent of cherry blossoms somewhere among the trees soaked the air as it had in so many battles.
but there was something else too, Sadness.
A horrifing smothering blanket of defeat that covered them all.
They had failed her, their anger at themselves, their dread and fear of what was to come, their smiles and polite gestures did nothing to hide the shining of tears in their eyes.
They had won
And yet they had lost.
It was not something they had even allowed themselves to consider.
Sasuke had been the first and so far, only one,to break; much to Yuya's surprise--the young man had always seemed so removed and controlled.
She'd half expected him to throw her body to the ground to avoid poison arrows or a sailing knife when he'd launched himself into her arms.
and she had been assaulted,
not with blades or arrows,
daggars or fists.
But with tears.
White hot tears that she found now streaming down her own face from time to time.
"Why? WHy!" His anguished voice had promted no answer from the group or from her.
She didn't know why, it hardly seemed fair.
They had come so far and yet they might still be defeated even after the victory.
No one had cried after that, least not where she could hear or see.
Sasuke grew even more withdrawn and somber.Three days ago she'd have said that that was impossible. Now he'd taken to sitting with her on the porch as she stared out over the grass.
Wordlessly slouched against the beam that held the rooftop.
Defeated. The silence between them not even stirred by his wooden toy, Yuya hadn't seen it since the day they'd returned from defeating the Mibu.
Perhaps Yukimura had said something to him, perhaps they'd all spoken to each other, or maybe it was something that no one had said at all. Just a silent agreement and understanding between them:
Yuya was going to die.
And so no one cried sobbing into the empty night air for answers, no one screamed outrage into the sky, or slammed their fists through walls.
No one.
But it was still written in their eyes--
it was everything they wanted to do and more.
The same thoughts were reflected in her own eyes.
And yet here she waited almost patiently for death as if it would find her as an old maid instead of in 4 days time.
The scrape of barefeet echoed down the hall outside her door. They paused but did not enter continuing on as if deciding she would like to be in peace--or perhaps worried they would disturb her sleep.
She had been sleeping quite a bit since arriving back at Muramasa's. The dreams that were once filled with the travels of their company and the battles they'd witnessed were something she could only hope for as she laid down in her bedroll.
Far more sinister and haunting things visited in her sleep.
She saw the battle with Shinrei; the kiss that would end her life. Felt the clammy wriggling of death as it slid down her throat, felt it stir inside her.
Watched as Kyo approached Shinrei's lifeless body on the cold marble floor in the Mibu's Castle.
Gave into the dispair and fear as she knew there was nothing they could do to save her.
And finally with horror felt the creature inside her rip it's way through her with unimaginable power and agonizing pain that left her bolt upright, gasping for air and clutching her heart beneath the rumpled folds of her sleeping yakuta.
Her heart was still beating.
For a moment she could convince herself that it was only a dream, an imaginary horror concocted by too much blood and horror on their travels.
But then she would feel it move again inside her chest, stretching within it's confines ready to spring out and destroy her.
and in the still of the night when all others slept, she lay awake sobbing--
There was no hope left.
She was going to die.
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