Shoujo Onmyoji~
The Adventures of Tominaga Yuiko
A Fanfiction by Miyuki
Based upon "Shonen Onmyoji"
Foreword: I do not own Shounen Onmyouji or its characters all rights belong to the original owners. This is merely a fan fiction for the purpose of fun and entertainment.
Welcome back! To the first official chapter of my new fanfiction, "Shoujo Onmyouji"! I hope you enjoyed the prologue, and I hope even more that the story I'm writing will be up to your expectations. I will be doing my best to make this a good fanfiction for everyone. Considering I don't know the first thing about Onmyoudo, this will be quite a challenge. But I am drawing on all my resources, for this, even my pathetically limited grasp of Japanese vocabulary, and all my tour guides.
I greatly appreciate any and all reviews- be they flaming or not. After all, if you can't take the bad along with the good, you can't expect to be a good writer. As always, I am up for critiques and ideas/suggestions. I have a general idea of where I'm trying to go with this story, but I expect it to take me a while to develop it. I know these first couple chapters came out quickly, but I ask that you not expect too much of me, and be patient. I highly doubt I'll be able to get the other chapters out as quickly as this. Besides which, you can't expect the action to really kick in for a few more chapters, anyways. But, I promise to do my best! And above all, I must ask that you keep pestering me about it!
Weird request, I know, but I find I'm better about keeping my deadlines if I have people urging me to get things done, so your encouragement is greatly appreciated!
Chapter 1: Yuiko
Kyoto, The Modern Age-
"…That'll be 5,567 yen."
"What? But it took you ten minutes longer than you said it would!"
"Hey, I had some trouble finding the place."
A pair of hands snaked onto the edge of the window, practically forcing it down into the taxi door.
"I told you how to get here! But you said you knew a shortcut!"
"So I was wrong. It happens, sometimes. What do you expect, with such a backwoods place?"
"You bastard!" A shrill, female voice echoed off the surrounding landscape. "You were just trying to weasel more money out of me, weren't you?"
"If you didn't like the rate, you could've always walked, lady."
"Why you….! Fine! Take your money! But don't expect a tip from me!" A fistful of bills was thrown through the open window. As the taxi pulled away, a woman's size eight collided with the bumper. "I hope you choke on it! Shmuck didn't even help me get my bags out- I had to get them myself! That's the last time I ever take a taxi! I'll stick to the damn bus!"
She had been dropped off in one of Kyoto's less-populated areas. A section that was more forest than city, located very near to Kibune-san, the old mountain that had stood near the old capitol since it was called Heian-Kyo. Some people might've said that the place was beautiful- indeed, it was a lush and fertile region, filled with ancient architecture scattered throughout nature's garden. But to a girl from Tokyo, the cab-driver's description of "backwoods" had struck a chord, no matter how much she disliked him.
"Ugh… Guess I better get marching." She groaned, regarding the intimidating steps that climbed up the mountain. They were in decent enough repair, considering their age, but the torii gate at their front looked in desperate need of a new coat of paint. It didn't give her a whole heck of a lot of confidence in what she could expect at the top.
Suitcase dragging behind her, the young woman started her long climb. Slim legs pumped rhythmically beneath a short, pleated uniform skirt in a red-and-black plaid, muscles toned from long hours of sports and practice. Her stature was average of a high school student nearing adulthood, and her slim build reflected her athleticism, giving her a good figure, if a little less endowed than she would've liked. But even after long hours practicing under the sun, her skin retained its porcelain coloring. Soft black hair was cropped at chin-length, feathering out in small layers that gave the tomboyish cut an air of femininity.
About half-way up the steps, she came to short stop, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Athletic or not, those stairs were a workout for anyone, and the trees surrounding them offered little in the way of shade, with the sun blazing so brightly overhead. She was already dreading the walks up these stairs she could look forward to every day, and was contemplating throwing something into her exercises to get herself used to them faster. As it was, carrying not only her suitcase, but her backpack and messenger bag as well, it was hardly any surprise that she was getting worn out.
Shuffling in the foliage behind her caused her to spin about. She had glanced a shadow, and a white tail disappearing into the brush- a fox, maybe? She'd kind of had the feeling that she was being watched, perhaps from somewhere deep in the trees.
"Well, I shouldn't be surprised." She laughed nervously. "Given the size of this forest, there're probably tons of animals! It'd be no shock if I saw a few of them!"
Her cheeks were flushed with mild embarrassment. It was pitiful, how much she sounded like she was trying to convince herself. Her shoulders drooped beneath the weight of her backpack. How pathetic, that she should be so jumpy. Pushing it aside, she grasped the extended handle of her suitcase, and continued her trek up the stone stairway.
…Once she was far enough up the steps, a set of white paws set themselves back upon the stone, red eyes following after her once again. As she'd been pushing herself up the hill, it had been difficult to get a clear view of her face. But for the brief moment she had stopped had been more than enough, letting the sun shine clearly onto sculpted features reminiscent of an older style of beauty. She was a pretty girl, that was certain, the kind of girl who was better suited to kimono than the western style of clothing so popular these days. No doubt, she would have been considered a great beauty, in height of Heian-Kyo's prosperity. What had most sharply drawn his attention, however, had been her eyes- warm eyes, of such an off-shade of brown as to almost seem red. Gentle eyes, bright and inviting…
Masahiro's eyes…
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"Konnichi-waaaa!" She called out from the top of the stairs, cupping her hands around the sides of her mouth. No answer.
Her arms folded across her chest, blowing a quick puff of air up into her bangs in an effort to keep them out of her eyes. She had thought that there would be someone here expecting her, when she arrived- the shrine's caretaker, or someone from his family. But given the old building's appearance, she was starting to wonder just how long it had been since anyone had come up here.
The shrine was one of many, along the slopes of Mount Kurama. Though sadly nowhere near as famous as the shrine on Mt. Hiei, or even Kibune shrine, which lay further down the road. It was precisely because of the many famed shrines in this area that this particular one was often overlooked. Located near the Firefly Rocks this particular shrine was visited primarily in the summer, when the fireflies would appear in great numbers, like a thousand-thousand little stars, come down to play along the banks of Kibune river. This is where the shrine- Hotaru Shrine- had earned its name. But no matter its charm, Hotaru Shrine was simply too far away to be worth straying from the paths of Kurama village. In comparison, the Yuki Shrine, which was easily reachable and not fifteen minutes away from the mountain cable-car, was the far more preferred to visit.
"Excuse me!" She continued to call out, her suitcase wheels bouncing along the flagstones, which had become loose and uneven. "Hellooo? Is anyone there?"
She must've spent a good ten minutes walking the shrine's outer perimeter- or the areas she could reach, anyways. The rear of the shrine- its garden and living quarters- had been fenced off some time ago, and the forest had crowded around it far more than she remembered. Further proof of the shrine's lack of care. As if the aged wood and chipping paint wasn't evidence enough. It wasn't that it was in poor condition, but from an aesthetic approach, the building was in need of some TLC.
"Excuse me! I'm looking for this shrine's care-taker!"
"Hai, hai- just a moment, young lady." An aged voice at last responded from within the shrine, relief flooded through her limbs. She was beginning to fear that she'd have to venture inside, or just go back and stay at a hotel for the night. And given the price of the taxi ride, she'd hate to think what nightly rates were, around the tourist trap of Mount Kurama. It'd be enough of a hike just to get to the train station!
An elderly gentleman, wearing the light blue hakama of a priest, made his way out of the main building, a broom clutched in weathered hands. The man's most distinguishable feature had to be his eyebrows, however- they were so large and bushy, that they completely swallowed his eyes! He regarded her with more than a little bit of surprise- how long had it been since anyone had bothered to come up here?
"And how can I help you, ojou-san?" He bowed politely, his enormous brows twitching upwards with his smile. "I'm surprised you came all the way up here, this small shrine is some ways off the beaten path of Kuramadera. Are you lost, by chance?"
She shuffled uneasily, her cheeks coloring with embarrassment. "Kubozuka-san… It's me. Don't you remember? I sent you a letter, about a month ago?"
"Eh?" the elderly priest looked startled, his slumped shoulders straightening, before he bent closer to examine her face. "Can it be… Yuiko-chan?"
"It's good to see you again, Kubozuka-san." She bobbed her head nervously. "I haven't seen you at all, since I was four."
"Yuiko-chan!" The priest, Kubozuka, exclaimed in delight, actually dropping his broom to grasp her hands warmly, welcomingly. "Oh, welcome home, Yuiko-chan! It's wonderful to have you back!"
"Ah…" The girl called Yuiko gave the elderly priest a soft smile, her warm eyes tinged with an echo of sadness. "Tadaima…"
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Tominaga Yuiko. Age eighteen. Her family- the Tominagas- were the rightful care-takers of Hotaru Shrine. The last priest had been her grandfather, Tominaga Seizaburo, and Kubozuka-san his assistant. When she'd been a child, her family had once resided in the shrine household. She had grown up playing in the surrounding forest. This place had been her sanctuary, a private world she'd had, all to herself and her family…
But after the birth of her younger brother, something changed. A great distance formed between her father and grandfather- the two of them started arguing, and eventually, their relationship crumbled. Within just a few days of their final disagreement, her father had packed up their entire family without a word to anyone, and moved to Tokyo, leaving behind Ojii-san and Hotaru Shrine, and never once looking back. After that, there was no more contact between Grandfather and them- they hadn't even been aware that he'd passed away, only a few years later...
And yet, despite all that, here I am… back again. Yuiko accepted the tea from Kubozuka-san gratefully, bobbing her head in thanks.
"Ah, it's so good to have you home, Tominaga-san!" The old priest laughed on, kneeling across from her at the table. "When I received your letter, I was so delighted, that I rushed back to make certain the living quarters were acceptable. I even bullied my son and daughter into helping me get the place cleaned up!"
"Yes, everything's fine, Kubozuka-san." Yuiko smiled patiently. "The old shrine's hardly changed, everything's exactly as I remembered- well, maybe a little overgrown." She sipped her tea, scanning the dining room. Unlike the shrine's exterior, its interior was in exceptional condition. Its wooden floors gleamed with polish, and the screen doors scarcely made a sound as they slid open on their tracks. The kitchen was perhaps a bit dated, but it was acceptable. A bit of work and some new appliances, and it would be just fine. "You know, Kubozuka-san, you can just call me 'Yuiko-chan', like you used to. There's no need to use my family name so formally."
"Oh, but I couldn't!" The priest straightened his shoulders. "After all, you are a young lady, now. And once you've completed high school, you shall be the rightful care-taker of the shrine. It wouldn't be inappropriate."
"I don't mind, really!" She laughed, waving her hands defensively. "Honestly, all this formality just makes me uncomfortable. I'd feel a lot better if you'd just think of me as 'little Yuiko', again."
"Hmmm… Very well, Yuiko-chan. But on one condition." Kubozuka's expression seemed very serious, but the smile that lightened it was as warm as she remembered- even if his eyes were lost beneath his eyebrows. "You must call me 'Kubo-jii', as you did when you were little. All right?"
"Hah, deal. I think I can handle that much."
She laughed, but Yuiko's eyes were not smiling. The old priest felt his heart drop. He remembered the girl before him as a child, with a smile so bright that the sun grew cold. In comparison to the young woman who sat before him, that smile now seemed like glass- fragile and easily broken.
It wasn't that she had returned to the shrine. This place was her home, and was filled with memories of a happy childhood, no matter how many years she had been away. Indeed, the shrine was likely one of the few places left to her that generated such peace of mind- something she was now desperately in need of…
"Yuiko-chan… Why don't you spend some time exploring the shrine for a bit, eh?" He offered hopefully, wishing to ease the pain behind her smile. "It's been a long time since you've been home- wander around for a while, and reminisce, while I get supper prepared."
"Eh? But Kubo-jii, don't you have to get home?"
"Don't be silly. If I were to leave you here to fend for yourself on your very first night back, why my wife would rise up out of her grave, just to chastise me! Not to mention your poor grandfather- he'd never let me hear the end of it!" Kubozuka laughed merrily, invoking an eased smile from Yuiko.
"All right, I guess it wouldn't hurt." The high schooler gave her socks a tug before standing, having never enjoyed that ridiculous 'loose socks' look. Why young women her age would risk getting hypothermia in winter for a fashion statement- and a bad one, at that- was beyond her. "Besides, I suppose I need to get my stuff settled into my old room, right?"
"There you go!' Kubozuka laughed encouragingly, collecting their empty cups and turning towards the kitchen. "I've been planning your 'welcome home' dinner ever since I received your letter! I hope you're hungry for some tonkatsu! Go on, and enjoy the house, while I get it ready."
"Yare-yare…" Yuiko pinched an eye closed, watching the bushy-eye-browed priest move with surprising energy, despite his age. She covered her bemused smile with her fingers- a habit she'd had since… well, she couldn't exactly remember, when. With a shake of her head, she slid open the screen door, and stepped out into the hallway.
The old shrine house really was the same. From the gardens, to the training dojo and central shrine, all the way back to the living quarters. The only difference she really had noticed, other than the outside being in need of some repair, was how much larger the forest seemed now- crowding in on the edges of the garden and outer walkways, and making the shrine- which was actually of rather decent size, seem much more cramped than it actually was. The peculiarities of growing up- things which had once seemed so large in childhood now seemed so small- the only exception being the ancient trees of Mount Kurama. Even now, those trees seemed to tower above the shrine, making it seem so much smaller in comparison to the rest of the world.
Her room was down at the rear of the hall, her bags having already been deposited there. Even now, the familiar ink-marks of badly-drawn cherry blossoms on the shoji screens made her hand pause before sliding the doors open, bringing a smile of nostalgia to her lips. Of course, she supposed she could've taken up the much larger master bedroom, she was now the rightful owner of the shrine. But something about staying in her deceased grandfather's room felt unsettling to her. And besides, the rooms of the shrine were rather spacious- unlike the rooms in a lot of other traditional Japanese houses.
Yuiko's suitcases had been piled neatly into one corner, near the closet. A low dresser provided storage for her clothes, though how much she would actually be able to fit into the child-sized piece of furniture concerned her. "I suppose I'll have to get a new one." She muttered absently to herself, sliding open the closet doors.
Her hands dropped onto the futon that had been carefully rolled away- it had been recently cleaned, no doubt thanks to Kubo-jii and his sons. But the familiar pattern of "Hello Kitty" gave her pause, even as she eased it out of the closet. Unwinding from its curl, the futon blanket shook out to its full length- barely reaching up to her chest.
"Guess I'll need a new futon, too." She grimaced at the child-sized bed, shaking it out. She could borrow one of the futons from the other rooms for now. The tiny pillow slipped out of the futon's folds, dancing across the tatami floors, and back into the closet, where it bounced into the furthest corner. A mild curse hissed passed Yuiko's lips as she dropped the futon, crawling into the closet's lower half in search of the pillow, so she could put the futon back away. Groping in the dark, her hand collided with pillow's soft front, rolling it into the closet wall. But instead of the expected "thump!" that should've accompanied it, the pillow seemed to drop down even lower- below the where the closet's floor should've been.
"Eh?" Yuiko stuck her head inside the closet, trying to gauge what had just become of her pillow. Her arm extended, hand reaching for the floor that should've been there… but encountered nothing. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw that instead of the closet floor, there was a hole just large enough for one person to fit through, if a bit snugly. It dropped under the closet, to beneath the floors of the house itself, leading out towards the western wall. Something clicked together inside her memory, and a grin made its way onto her face
"God, I'd forgotten all about this!" She chuckled to herself, pulling out just long enough to fish her pen-light out of her messenger bag. On hands and knees, Yuiko crawled into the hidden passageway, kicking her dropped pillow back out into the closet to worry about later. Her skin itched at the collected dust inside the tunnel, but the grin she wore, made with the pen-light gripped firmly in her teeth, never once left her face. To the tomboyish Yuiko, it was an irresistible delight.
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…The ancient zelkova tree towered well above the shrine, having long ago reached its maximum height. The sacred shimenawa rope tied about its center was worn, its once-white color stained from possibly centuries of enduring the weather of Mount Kurama. Honestly, Yuiko had no idea how old the tree actually was. The zelkova by Kibune shrine was over six hundred, and given the size of the magnificent trunk, it was entirely possible that this one was older- much older.
It went without saying that the zelkova tree was sacred, but to Yuiko, its holiness came from something other than the rice-straw rope tied about it. The arguments between her father and grandfather frightened her, as a child, and whenever they began, Yuiko would retreat into her room, and her own imaginary world, trying to blot out their angry voices. It had been one such occasion, when she'd been playing with her imagined friends, that she'd first opened the passageway beneath her closet floor. It was as if a voice had called her there, and upon emerging from the tunnel's darkness, she found herself at the zelkova's hidden garden. There was no other way to reach it, the small glade had been walled off long ago, no doubt during one of the shrine's many reconstructions. The old well near to it had been boarded up, having long-since run dry, and the ancient koi pond no longer housed fish. But the flowers were as beautiful as they must have been for a hundred years. Discovering this place had expanded four-year-old Yuiko's world in ways she never thought possible.
But it was more than that, the now eighteen-year-old mused as she circled the old zelkova, her hand absently caressing its bark. This place was a sanctuary, to her. In the presence of the sacred tree, Yuiko had felt safe and at peace. As if the tree itself were trying to protect her. Even now, it exuded a sense of comfort and security, and Yuiko found herself nestling in the soft grass between its great roots on the mountain's down slope, just as she had done as a child.
"I missed this place…" A sigh escaped her, hands intertwining behind her head. It was as if she could hear the echoes of her childhood laughter. Long hours of playing with imaginary creatures stretched before her nostalgic eyes- she could almost see herself in the past, kneeling over the koi pond in hopes of catching even one fish. But her small hands splashed in the water in vain, and she tumbled forward, headfirst, into the water.
"Not again… Yuiko, what have I told you about playing by the pond?"
A large pair of hands picked her up from the water's chill, wrapping her in the warmth of a shroud. Tears burned in her eyes, but the soothing feeling of a hand stroking her hair kept them at bay. The same deep tenor kept murmuring to her, softly, encouragingly, until she at last fell asleep beneath the zelkova, wrapped in strong arms…
Come to think of it, who was that?Her sleep-drugged mind struggled with the thought, even as a yawn escaped her lips. Surrounded by past memories and the scent of zelkova, with the weight of her long trip finally crashing down on her, Yuiko did little to fend off her exhaustion. She made a valiant effort, though, trying to recall the face that belonged with that voice. For some reason, it never occurred to her that the man could be a stranger- had he been a friend of the family? Heavy lids drifted shut- he'd spoken as if he knew her… Why couldn't she recall his face?...
…The leaves of the zelkova rustled, muffling the soft breathing that now came from beneath its protective canopy…
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Tokyo, Seven Months Prior…
"…So? Are you finally done with your club, Yuiko-chan?"
"Yeah, I am." Her cell phone was nudged between her ear and her shoulder, as she struggled to lace up her sneakers. "Sorry that practice ran so late, be we've got a tournament coming up, next week. Oh yeah!" Her foot dropped to the ground, laces secure. Excitement bubbled in the senior's voice, as she spoke to her mother. "Did I tell you? I'm going to be the lead starter, for the tournament, this time!"
"Oh, that's wonderful, dear! How exciting for you!" She could hear her mother cooking in the background, the clatter of dishes as her younger brother helped set the table. "Anata, isn't that wonderful? Yuiko-chan is going to be the lead at her upcoming martial arts tournament!"
"Is that so?"Her father's voice sang with pride in the background. "Well, then I guess we have two things to celebrate tonight, don't we?"
"Did daddy get his promotion?" She asked excitedly, scooping up her satchel, as she made her way out of the locker-room.
"He did! That's why you need to hurry home- we're having sukiyaki, to celebrate!"
"All right! Maybe if I run, I can still catch the train!"
Over the sound of her jogging, she heard the doorbell ring in the background. She could already imagine her mother, stuck at the stove, and unable to move.
"Ohh… Yuichi-chan, will get the door for me, please?"
"Hai, Kaa-chan!"
A smile tugged approvingly at Yuiko's lips, hearing her brother's voice. Yuichi was four years younger than herself. Thirteen, and already showing a tendency to follow after his big sister. Morning training that she had once done by herself now involved sparring practices with her younger brother, whose kempo was developing rapidly. Of course, they still argued, as could be expected of siblings, but whenever she popped in an action movie, or played a video game, Yuichi was there, ready to challenge her. She couldn't help but feel a swelling of pride for her otooto. The train station was just up ahead- she could already hear the loud clanging, as the train pulled in- she would only just make it. But she couldn't hear what her mother was saying, over the noise.
"What was that, mom? I didn't catch that." Yuiko plugged her opposite ear, struggling to hear her mother's voice over the train bells.
"Yuichiii!"
It wasn't a scolding… it was a scream. Yuiko stopped cold. There was an odd sound in the background that reminded her of meat being torn, followed by a sickeningly wet thump. Her mother was shrieking, her voice filled with terror and agony.
"Yuichi! YUICHI!"
"Dame, Yui! Don't get any close- Grraaughhh!"
"Anata!"
"Kaa-chan…" Her voice seemed caught in her throat, it was painful to swallow. "Kaa-chan, what's going on? What just happened to Yuichi and dad?"
"Eyyaaaughhhh!"
Her mother's voice was filled with pain, and her scream was followed by more of those terrible sounds. There was a clatter- the phone being dropped. Yuiko's arms felt numb.
"Okaa-san… Okaa-san! Okaa-san!" People at the station were staring at her weirdly, but Yuiko felt their gazes not at all. She continued to shout for her mother over the phone, calling for her father, her brother- anyone, if they would just tell her that everything was okay.
"Okaa-san! …Otou-san! Yuichi!… Please… Please, answer me!"
Heavy breathing was all she heard in response, like someone panting, their voice half-garbled from exertion. A lingering, sinister chuckle hid behind those breaths, causing Yuiko's blood to freeze in her veins. Just above it, she could hear watery coughs, like someone choking from a drink gone down the wrong way.
"…Yui…ko-chan…"
The too-soft sound of her mother's voice was abruptly cut off, as the line went dead.
When Yuiko got home, the apartment complex was crawling with police. Red and blue lights flashed, but with so much commotion, the officers couldn't react quickly enough to stop the one high school girl from running past their crime scene tape. She thundered up the stairs, ducking under the grasping arms of a surprised officer, as she rounded the corner to her family's apartment.
"Hey, wait! You can't go in there- kid!"
The police couldn't stop her, she was too fast, too well-trained from long hours of practicing kempo. Just in front of the open doorway, her foot came into contact with something slippery, causing her feet to slip out from under her. She dropped onto her rear in the substance, legs splayed, as she picked herself back up.
"Ugh! What is this-?" Her voice died, looking to the hand she had brought up to examine. Porcelain skin was stained crimson, and the substance soaked into her uniform. Blood.
She was sitting in blood.
Quivering eyes lifted slowly, not seeing the startled expressions of the CSI officers looking her way. She did not feel the hands trying to pick her up off the ground, nor hear those voices telling her over and over that she shouldn't be here. Yuiko's red-brown eyes were fixed on something else, on a small form lying just inside the entry way, as the police hurriedly moved to cover it with a shroud. But they had not been fast enough.
Past the blood smeared across his face, Yuichi's lifeless eyes seemed to be asking her.
Why?
She screamed.
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Yuiko practically jumped up from the zelkova, her entire body shivering. Her hands clawed at her arms, cold sweat trickling down the back of her neck. Slowly, the images began to recede. She remembered where she was, and became faintly aware of the hot tears stinging her cheeks- tears she had shed in her sleep, over those horrendous memories…
It had taken them a long time to calm her down, after that. Once it was learned that she was the household's eldest daughter, they ushered her to the nearest ambulance, wrapping her in a blanket, all things her shock-laced mind could scarcely perceive. The months that followed were all just as much of a blur- days filled with police officers asking her questions, and doctors monitoring her mental health. She missed the tournament. In fact, she missed so much of school, that it became necessary for her to completely retake her last year. But all these things simply slipped by her, as her grief gnawed away at her spirit.
The official police report stated that it had been a botched burglary. Some crazed gang members, or drug addicts had come up to the more respectable part of town, looking for a bigger score. Her family had just been the unlucky victims chosen… But even now, Yuiko didn't know how much she believed that. She had been spared by the dumb luck that her club practice had run late. But the screams of her mother and father on the phone still haunted her. For those first two months, sleep had been an impossibility. Every time she passed out from exhaustion, the nightmares would take her, and she relived that final phone call.
Slowly, very slowly, Yuiko had been able to drag her spirit back up from the depths. She recovered enough to sleep again, and to eat regularly. But meals that had once been filled with familiar laughter and voices were now barren. She couldn't stay in the old apartment- it was simply unthinkable. Even though the tatami had been replaced, and the place thoroughly cleaned, even stepping foot inside there brought back those images of seeing Yuichi's cold stare as the shroud was hurriedly pulled over him. She'd made one trip back, to collect her clothing and a few sentimental things, and had the rest auctioned off. There was also the mess of inheritance. Her family wasn't rich, but her father had been a very intelligent man, when it came to saving. Add that to everything she'd earned from the auction, and Yuiko was actually fairly well-set. She had the money to live quite comfortably, wherever she wanted.
Which came to the problem of where to live. She couldn't go back to Tokyo, that much was certain. As far as she was concerned, she never wanted to set foot inside the city boundaries, again. So when the question of the family shrine came up, she'd made the move as quickly as possible, remaining in Tokyo only as long as it took to complete the police reports and paperwork.
"Damn…" She hissed a curse, stretching off the last remnants of the nightmare. Who knew how long it would take her to forget it completely- if she ever could. Depression seemed to physically weigh on her shoulders. The doctors had tried to make her take anti-depressants, to help her "cope" with the pain. But Yuiko had refused at every turn. If it meant numbing her feelings for her family, she'd rather have the pain, raw and bleeding. At least then, she'd know her feelings were real. At least then, she'd know she was still alive- still human- and not some empty husk…
She must've been asleep for longer than expected, because the sun was already starting to dip towards the horizon, beginning to dress the sky in shades of orange and yellow. Kubo-jii was no doubt readying dinner, and wondering where she was. She needed to get back to her room- and that meant crawling back through the dusty old passage.
"Ugh, I'm so gonna need a bath, after this." She groaned, picking herself up from the zelkova's roots. The tree certainly wasn't as comfortable as she remembered, as a twisting pain in her lower back insisted. Probably because she had gotten so much bigger, where as a child she could easily curl into the awkward spot. Yuiko lifted her right foot cautiously, stepping around the knotted wood with care. She was on the down slope, after all- tripping here would only mean a long tumble into the forest below, and she really didn't much feel like cracking her head on a rock, or something.
Careful, careful…
"You know, you really shouldn't be napping in someone's private garden."
Brown eyes widened, and Yuiko spun in place, questing for the body which owned the voice that had just spoken. The koi pond, the well, even around the zelkova tree- but no one could be seen. The tension in her shoulders relaxed. Other than the passageway, the only way to get to this hidden garden would be to scale the mountain through the dense forest. And only if you knew where to find it, did you have any chance of doing so. It was impossible for someone else to be here.
I must still be half asleep, she muttered in her thoughts, lifting her opposite sneaker in the same way she had the right.
"Better be careful- you don't want to fall."
Okay, I know I just heard that! Mid-step, Yuiko spun again preparing to shout accusingly at whoever was lurking nearby. But her footing wasn't stabilized. Her laces snagged onto some of the undergrowth, jerking out whatever ground she'd had. She felt herself falling backwards- down the slope.
"Nooooo-agh!"
Yuiko rolled down the hill, her back crunching into foliage and branches all the way. Plants snaked at her legs, scratching her skin and tearing at her clothes. She flailed her limbs in an effort to stop herself, only to whack her shin painfully against the trunk of a tree. Eventually, she was able to rotate herself enough that it was her legs going downhill first, rather than her head. Her heels dug into the dirt and mud, staining the back of her white socks miserably. But even though the effort managed to slow her sliding, it couldn't stop it completely. Her backside pushed forward, causing her knees to bend sharply, and roll her into a semi-fetal position. The thick trunk of a tree loomed directly ahead of her- a painful prospect that Yuiko wasn't much looking forward to. In a last ditch effort, she shove her feet forward into the tree, and pushed. Small rocks and stones continued to roll down the leaves beside her, but Yuiko's momentum had finally halted.
Her entire body ached, now. And the shin that had banged into the tree would no doubt develop into a bruise, in no time. Leaves and plants stuck out of her hair at weird angles, and the entire back of her uniform was caked with dirt. It wasn't anything that couldn't be shaken out, but she was starting at her new school in only a few days. With this much of a mess, she'd probably have to take the damn thing to the dry-cleaners!
"Ite-te-te-teeee!" The pained sound escaped her lips, as she curled up even tighter, a hand rubbing the back of her skull, where a dull pain now throbbed.
"I told you to be careful, girl."
Yuiko's eyes shot open, the same voice from before! But all she saw as she looked around was the forest- there was no sign of any other human being. There was a small, fox-sized creature with white fur, staring at her very intently. Most likely, she'd disturbed the poor thing, on her tumble down. It glared at her with eyes so red that they almost glowed, a red flower-shaped mark on its forehead. The fur on its chest was also accented by red streaks that seemed to circle its shoulders, almost like the chains of station once worn by European nobles. The direction of the voice had come from somewhere near the creature, that was certain, and she continued to glance around it. If she didn't know better, the creature almost looked… annoyed.
"So? Are you all right?"
This time, Yuiko's eyes did not leave the creature. If she had not witnessed its mouth moving, she would not have even believed it possible. Back in the garden, the reason she hadn't been able to find the culprit was because she'd been looking for a person. But the voice she was looking for, the one who had spoken to her, both in the garden and now, did not belong to another human being-
It had come from this strange animal.
"Hellooooo? I asked if you were all right?"