Disclaimer: I own nothing, or else I demand to know where all the money went. ^_~ No seriously, please don't sue. ^_^
A/N: To me, Boushin always seemed like an intelligent child (even at 1½ years of age - or maybe I was just overwhelmed with his kawaii-ness ^_~), so he might sound a bit grown-up here. If you'd like, you can think of it as him reminiscing about the time he first saw Hotohori, his father, when he is older ^_^. Also, Boushin will refer to Huraiji (one of the officials) as 'Huraiji-jiisan' - Grandpa Huraiji. I think Boushin thinks of him like that =).
~*~
I was aware of a lot of things, even at my age. I knew Hahaue was ill. I knew... I knew Chichiue was not... here. I knew Hahaue missed Chichiue, and was partly why she was not well.
I missed Chichiue too, even though I have never seen him.
I had learned how to walk at a very early age. I wanted to make Hahaue happy. I did not want her to worry about me, even while I longed for her to hold me in her arms. I remember seeing Hahaue smile for the first time when I carefully waddled into her room and to her arms. She had cried, but I think those were happy tears, and she smiled at me and nestled me tightly in her arms.
I was happy too.
I began wandering around the palace, my home, exploring all the rooms and driving the servants insane with anxiety looking for me. I did not know what I was searching for, yet I knew it was important.
I found Chichiue's room.
I stumbled and fell for the first time since I took my first steps. I was always very meticulous about not falling , but I was too excited to be careful. Chichiue! I cried mentally, hoping that he would appear and pick me up, and all this was a joke, and Hahaue would follow behind him, healthy and well, and we would be a happy family.
No one came.
It was late afternoon, so it wasn't dark, and servants had come here daily to keep the room clean. Everything was left in its place; nothing was missing, as if the servants, too, had thought that Chichiue would return and reclaim his room.
Maybe Hahaue ordered it to be left alone.
The room, nonetheless, felt cold and empty to me, as if Chichiue was its source of warmth and light. I shivered slightly, despite the several layers of robes wrapped around me, and pulled myself upright, surveying the bedchamber.
Two ebony orbs gleamed from a corner of the bed, attached to a furry brown creature smaller than me. I toddled cautiously over toward it, warily watching it to see if it would move. It was a creature that I have never seen before. Crawling onto the bed, I tackled it, putting all my weight upon it so that it could not (hopefully) escape.
It was squishy.
Fearing that I have done harm to it, I immediately got off of it and repositioned myself to the other end of the bed. Glancing at the creature, I discovered it was in the exact same spot as I have left it. It hadn't moved at all.
I eyed it warily, in case it was tricking me into letting my guard down. When it did not move for a long time, I crawled once more over to it. Sitting down again, I started poking at it.
The room suddenly became darker, and I looked up to find Hahaue and Huraiji-jiisan running over to me.
"Boushin!" Hahaue cried, scooping me up into her arms. "Oh, I thought I had lost you!" Tears streaked down her cheeks. I reached up and tried to catch them with my hands. She gave me a small smile. "Don't run off like that again!"
I tried to reassure her that I wasn't, and pointed towards the creature.
"Boushin-sama, do you mean this doll?" Huraiji-jiisan asked, confused, as he picked it up.
A doll?! I've been worried about a doll? I glowered at it angrily, as if it were the doll's fault that I didn't realize sooner what it was.
Hahaue laughed when she saw me glare at it and said, "That doll was your Chichiue's, Boushin." Her voice softened when she said 'Chichiue'. "It was given to him, he told me, by Suzaku no Miko. She is from another world, so this doll is too. Would you like to have it?"
I examined it more carefully when Huraiji-jiisan gave me the doll. It was from another world, from Suzaku no Miko? I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but I knew it was special; and that fact it was Chichiue's made it more so. I clutched it to my chest possessively. Hahaue smiled again and carried me back to her room.
~*~
From that day on, I had the doll with me always. Sometimes the servants would try to take it away, but I always triumphed and they eventually left me alone. Yet they kept trying, and on one of those days I ran into a group of strange people. I listened to them with one ear, and they seemed to have known Chichiue. I stared at them, and a girl who was strangely dressed told me that she had given the doll (she called it a 'stuffed animal') to my Chichiue a long time ago. Understanding that this girl was the 'Suzaku no Miko', I held the doll tightly, afraid she was going to take it away from me too. She reassured me she wasn't going to take it back, and asked me my name. I stared at her warily. Huraiji-jiisan told her that I have never spoken to anyone before, not even to Hahaue and him.
I do not speak because I choose not to. I think they know that too.
Suzaku no Miko suddenly shrieked, and I heard Chichiue's name. I looked around me, feeling as if someone was gazing at me... someone familiar, someone I should know...
Another girl, who looked younger than Suzaku no Miko, abruptly told everyone to stay away from my doll when it suddenly split open and things started coming out of it. I held on to my doll, even as I watched the things seized everyone else. Huraiji-jiisan told me to let the doll go, but I can't. Don't they understand? It was Chichiue's - the only thing I have of Chichiue.
I watched as one of the things turned to me and grew closer and closer. I clung onto the doll, scared, until I felt something... entered me, and another presence seemed to have taken over my mind and body. I grew half-unconscious, and I seemed to curl up in a corner of my mind while the other presence took over it and controlled my body.
Strange, I knew I should be scared, but I wasn't. The presence was... warm. Comforting.
I watched in a half-daze as the other presence flew up, letting the doll go. A sword materialized out of my hands and pierced the doll, and I had cried to myself with the little awareness I had left, knowing I will miss my furry companion, and the things melted and disappeared. I held the sword for a while, and suddenly I was running, running towards...
Hahaue's room.
Hahaue sat up, and looked at me - him - bemused, until an understanding dawned on her face and her face broke out in a smile. It was then I realized, Chichiue... you came back...
A/N: To me, Boushin always seemed like an intelligent child (even at 1½ years of age - or maybe I was just overwhelmed with his kawaii-ness ^_~), so he might sound a bit grown-up here. If you'd like, you can think of it as him reminiscing about the time he first saw Hotohori, his father, when he is older ^_^. Also, Boushin will refer to Huraiji (one of the officials) as 'Huraiji-jiisan' - Grandpa Huraiji. I think Boushin thinks of him like that =).
~*~
I was aware of a lot of things, even at my age. I knew Hahaue was ill. I knew... I knew Chichiue was not... here. I knew Hahaue missed Chichiue, and was partly why she was not well.
I missed Chichiue too, even though I have never seen him.
I had learned how to walk at a very early age. I wanted to make Hahaue happy. I did not want her to worry about me, even while I longed for her to hold me in her arms. I remember seeing Hahaue smile for the first time when I carefully waddled into her room and to her arms. She had cried, but I think those were happy tears, and she smiled at me and nestled me tightly in her arms.
I was happy too.
I began wandering around the palace, my home, exploring all the rooms and driving the servants insane with anxiety looking for me. I did not know what I was searching for, yet I knew it was important.
I found Chichiue's room.
I stumbled and fell for the first time since I took my first steps. I was always very meticulous about not falling , but I was too excited to be careful. Chichiue! I cried mentally, hoping that he would appear and pick me up, and all this was a joke, and Hahaue would follow behind him, healthy and well, and we would be a happy family.
No one came.
It was late afternoon, so it wasn't dark, and servants had come here daily to keep the room clean. Everything was left in its place; nothing was missing, as if the servants, too, had thought that Chichiue would return and reclaim his room.
Maybe Hahaue ordered it to be left alone.
The room, nonetheless, felt cold and empty to me, as if Chichiue was its source of warmth and light. I shivered slightly, despite the several layers of robes wrapped around me, and pulled myself upright, surveying the bedchamber.
Two ebony orbs gleamed from a corner of the bed, attached to a furry brown creature smaller than me. I toddled cautiously over toward it, warily watching it to see if it would move. It was a creature that I have never seen before. Crawling onto the bed, I tackled it, putting all my weight upon it so that it could not (hopefully) escape.
It was squishy.
Fearing that I have done harm to it, I immediately got off of it and repositioned myself to the other end of the bed. Glancing at the creature, I discovered it was in the exact same spot as I have left it. It hadn't moved at all.
I eyed it warily, in case it was tricking me into letting my guard down. When it did not move for a long time, I crawled once more over to it. Sitting down again, I started poking at it.
The room suddenly became darker, and I looked up to find Hahaue and Huraiji-jiisan running over to me.
"Boushin!" Hahaue cried, scooping me up into her arms. "Oh, I thought I had lost you!" Tears streaked down her cheeks. I reached up and tried to catch them with my hands. She gave me a small smile. "Don't run off like that again!"
I tried to reassure her that I wasn't, and pointed towards the creature.
"Boushin-sama, do you mean this doll?" Huraiji-jiisan asked, confused, as he picked it up.
A doll?! I've been worried about a doll? I glowered at it angrily, as if it were the doll's fault that I didn't realize sooner what it was.
Hahaue laughed when she saw me glare at it and said, "That doll was your Chichiue's, Boushin." Her voice softened when she said 'Chichiue'. "It was given to him, he told me, by Suzaku no Miko. She is from another world, so this doll is too. Would you like to have it?"
I examined it more carefully when Huraiji-jiisan gave me the doll. It was from another world, from Suzaku no Miko? I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but I knew it was special; and that fact it was Chichiue's made it more so. I clutched it to my chest possessively. Hahaue smiled again and carried me back to her room.
~*~
From that day on, I had the doll with me always. Sometimes the servants would try to take it away, but I always triumphed and they eventually left me alone. Yet they kept trying, and on one of those days I ran into a group of strange people. I listened to them with one ear, and they seemed to have known Chichiue. I stared at them, and a girl who was strangely dressed told me that she had given the doll (she called it a 'stuffed animal') to my Chichiue a long time ago. Understanding that this girl was the 'Suzaku no Miko', I held the doll tightly, afraid she was going to take it away from me too. She reassured me she wasn't going to take it back, and asked me my name. I stared at her warily. Huraiji-jiisan told her that I have never spoken to anyone before, not even to Hahaue and him.
I do not speak because I choose not to. I think they know that too.
Suzaku no Miko suddenly shrieked, and I heard Chichiue's name. I looked around me, feeling as if someone was gazing at me... someone familiar, someone I should know...
Another girl, who looked younger than Suzaku no Miko, abruptly told everyone to stay away from my doll when it suddenly split open and things started coming out of it. I held on to my doll, even as I watched the things seized everyone else. Huraiji-jiisan told me to let the doll go, but I can't. Don't they understand? It was Chichiue's - the only thing I have of Chichiue.
I watched as one of the things turned to me and grew closer and closer. I clung onto the doll, scared, until I felt something... entered me, and another presence seemed to have taken over my mind and body. I grew half-unconscious, and I seemed to curl up in a corner of my mind while the other presence took over it and controlled my body.
Strange, I knew I should be scared, but I wasn't. The presence was... warm. Comforting.
I watched in a half-daze as the other presence flew up, letting the doll go. A sword materialized out of my hands and pierced the doll, and I had cried to myself with the little awareness I had left, knowing I will miss my furry companion, and the things melted and disappeared. I held the sword for a while, and suddenly I was running, running towards...
Hahaue's room.
Hahaue sat up, and looked at me - him - bemused, until an understanding dawned on her face and her face broke out in a smile. It was then I realized, Chichiue... you came back...