Here's the first chapter. I skipped over the stuff with the two brush gods and the frozen villagers, so we're here. In the game, you actually can't change day to night until you learn a technique where you can paint a moon and change day to night. So I just made up the part with the cherry cakes.
I'll be bringing Lavi in soon!
In this chapter, I used a lot of dialogue.
I don't own anything but the plotline.
Osozaki
Summary: The world has been attacked by evil, except for a village a girl lives in. She is the reincarnation of Amaterasu, and her path is laid out- she must save the world. But she has help, and one of her helpers is a lotus reincarnation. Kanda Yuu. AU Yullen!
Chapter 1: Lotus Flower
Aren yawned as she walked around Kamiki Village, restored to its former glory when she had used Power Slash on the peach, learned from the second celestial brush god, Tachigami.
She happened to meet an old lady by an old wooden dock. The old lady was frustrated, and from what Aren heard, it was because her drying pole had disappeared and she couldn't dry her washed clothes.
You heard her, Aren. Paint her a drying pole.
Timcanpy chomped on a lock of her white hair.
She brought out her left arm, watching as it transformed into the Celestial Brush. Freezing time for a moment to bring herself into an inked world, she painted a drying pole for the lady. The lady smiled, but then she muttered something about how the sun wasn't close enough and wouldn't dry her clothes quickly.
She wants the sun closer. Paint her the sun.
And once again, time froze as Aren painted a sun in the sky.
The lady, Mrs. Orange, was elated now, and Aren welcomed the small rush of power from the Praise gained from the task. "Come over later and I'll give you some cherry cakes!"
The white-haired girl accepted the offer graciously, and as Mrs. Orange hurried off, she was left alone at the riverside.
She sighed and sat down on the wood planks, dangling her feet in the water. "Timcanpy, I'm not even sure if I can 'save' the world.. I was so sure when Sakuya told me to, but..I doubt it now." She sighed again, and she glanced over her shoulder at her reflector, the Divine Retribution given to her by Sakuya, the wood sprite.
Timcanpy chewed on her fingers affectionately.
You're supposed to; you're a goddess. No one else can. Sakuya has almost no power left. And since when were you this negative?
"I know..still.."
A splash of water snapped her out of her deep thinking.
"What're you doing, sticking your feet in the water?" someone hissed.
It was a stunning male.
He had long black hair that rippled like a river, and a pair of dark blue eyes that took Aren's breath away. She noticed he was wearing clothes that seemed a little bit similar to Sakuya's- there were large sleeves that made him look oriental. His face was flawless; no blemishes, nothing to ruin its perfection. To complete the look, flying water droplets caught the light, making sparkles. Beautiful.
She gaped like a fish, speechless.
"You're such a dazed idiot," said the person harshly, rising in the water and shaking off a few water droplets. A lily pad grew underneath him, and he sat down on it. A few lotuses grew around the large green lily pad at an unnatural speed.
"I am not!" she snapped back, having woken from her temporary trance. "Who're you anyway?"
"Che, I'm the reincarnation of the lotus, Kanda Yuu," Kanda replied. "Who are you?"
"Aren," she responded. "I'm the reincarnation of the sun goddess Amaterasu." She felt a little satisfaction at the look Kanda had on his face.
He dipped his head, changing his attitude immediately. "I apologize; I did not realize you were..Amaterasu," he murmured.
"It's okay," she said, smiling. "Don't bow to me; it makes me feel kind of embarrassed.." She trailed off, watching Kanda give her a funny look.
"Why are you here, Amaterasu?" he asked.
"Well, since no one recognizes me anymore, I'm getting to know everyone again. And please don't call me Amaterasu; I'd prefer it if you called me Aren," she said. Aren winced in pain as Timcanpy tugged one of her strands of snow-white hair roughly, and the golden ball succeeded in yanking out a strand. Then Timcanpy flew over to one of the blossomed lotuses and chomped on a petal, chewing it experimentally.
"Beansprout..You have five seconds to get that stupid yellow thing away."
"It's Aren! And it's not a thing; it's Timcanpy!" she protested, but she scooped up Timcanpy and dumped him back on her head. Kanda seemed to have lost his respectfulness when Aren said she didn't want him to call her Amaterasu.
"So what were you saying before? Saving the world?"
"Oh, that..Um..Well, Sakuya told me to save the world by dispelling the evil, but..it's sort of hard on my own. Every passing day, the evil gets stronger. I've been trying to find her Guardian Saplings so I can revive them to get rid of the evil and save Sakuya's tree, but I can't make it through. The cursed zone that surrounds the Guardian Sapling is too strong, and it always smothers the Divine Retribution's flames and chokes me," Aren explained.
I don't think he'll understand…
"Then get stronger," he said bluntly.
"It's not that easy, Kanda. I need Praise Orbs."
Kanda folded his arms.
Aren's eye twitched. "Keep your end of the conversation, Kanda."
"Che. So, if the evil gets stronger, it will eventually take over Kamiki Village."
"Yes."
"And I will die."
"Yes. Everyone will."
"Then if I use my power to oppose the evil, then there's a better chance of not dying."
"Obviously. Is your brain too slow, Bakanda?"
"I'll cut off your hair and sell it to old geezers, beansprout. So, if we combine our power, then we can overcome the darkness and return life to the world." Another lotus grew out of the water and bloomed at the same unnatural speed as the others. In the middle, there lay an elegant katana, which Kanda took.
"You wouldn't dare. So you're suggesting we team up?"
"What do you think? No?" Sarcasm dripped from his words like honey.
"Yes. You have a katana?" Aren looked curiously at it.
"It's for fighting, moron," Kanda snapped. He pulled it out of the sheath, letting the blade shine in the sunlight, and he tapped the sharp point against the palm of his hand. "Mugen's probably the best katana that old man's ever made," he remarked to himself, running his fingers down the length of the blade.
"Oh..I thought..well.." She trailed off a little uncomfortably.
"You thought what?"
"That you would use like a flower to fight or something," she admitted.
"Flower? Are you serious? I can't use a flower to kill a monster, beansprout."
"If I can use a brush, you can use a flower," she retorted.
"Yours is a celestial brush, beansprout. The only special flower I have-" He pulled an hourglass with a lotus suspended in it out of nowhere. "-Is this. And it's a stupid curse. I can't use that."
"I didn't know," she defended indignantly, but her eyes softened with pity.
He has a curse.
"Whatever." He rolled his eyes as he said this. Kanda put the hourglass back from wherever it came from, standing up on the lily pad and jumping off of it to the dock. The lily pad and the lotuses retreated silently underneath the surface of the water, as if they had never been there.
He started walking towards the village without another word.
"Hey, wait!" Aren got up from her sitting spot and ran after, Timcanpy following.
"I'm not waiting; if you're not fast, you'll be taken down." He stopped anyway.
"Why are you waiting then?"
"Because." The white-haired girl tried to glare at him, but she succeeded only in a pout that made Kanda avert his eyes awkwardly. "I felt like it."
"That's not a good reason, Kanda."
"Che. I was being soft."
"Right." Aren headed in the direction of Mrs. Orange's house that she recognized from the smell of the cherry cakes wafting out of the window.
She knocked on the door, and it opened to reveal a happy Mrs. Orange. "Ah, it's you, young one! And I see you've brought a friend!"
Aren smiled politely. "Yes, is that okay?"
"Of course! I have plenty of cakes to share! Come on in!" The old lady gestured to the room, and they entered. Kanda looked around warily.
"What a wonderful-looking friend you have!" the lady commented cheerily, talking about Kanda. Said 'wonderful-looking friend' twitched.
Aren cracked another smile, but this time, it was completely forced. "Yes, he's a great friend of mine."
"Would you two like some cherry cakes?"
Aren nodded eagerly, and Kanda just turned his head, muttering a "Che". "Please excuse his rudeness; my friend is very shy, but I'm sure he wants some!"
Mrs. Orange laughed a warm, tinkling laugh. "Don't worry; I've known plenty of shy youngsters in my life!" She gave them each a cherry cake, which Aren ate up immediately, much to Kanda's disgust.
"What a lively girl you are!" Mrs. Orange remarked. She watched Kanda delicately eat the cake. "Do you want some more?"
Kanda shook his head. "Dear, are you mute, perhaps?" the lady inquired.
He replied briskly, "No." Then he shot a dark glare at her before looking out the window.
"I'm sorry; he's very touchy when people say things like that to him," Aren said, forcing another smile.
"That's alright!" The lady laughed again, and she placed a whole bag of cherry cakes in Aren's arms. "Here, take these before you leave. I have a feeling you will be leaving soon, yes?"
"Yes! Thank you, and have a good day!" Aren dragged Kanda out the door with her hurriedly.
When they were outside, the girl frowned at him. "You shouldn't be so rude, Kanda."
He scowled, but he didn't say anything in reply. He looked away, folded his arms, and closed his eyes. And then he said, "I need to talk to Sakuya."
Then there was a breeze and a whirlwind of petals.
Sakuya.
"Oh, it's Kanda! And Aren!" She greeted each of them warmly.
Kanda and Sakuya murmured some things the white-haired girl couldn't hear, and then Sakuya turned to Aren, waving Kanda off. He nodded and stepped away, looking at the sky absentmindedly.
"Aren."
"Huh?" Aren blinked.
Sakuya giggled softly, bringing her embroidered sleeve to her small mouth. "Aren, be careful with Kanda. Take care of him, okay?"
"O-okay."
"I knew you would! Just be..careful," she repeated. "He hasn't bloomed yet." At this, Aren looked confused. "I think you will be able to make him blossom into a wonderful flower."
"Blossom?"
The wood sprite waved tiredly. "I'm sorry; I can't explain it very well…I have to go. I have barely enough strength to keep my form now." And she dissolved away, turning into petals that rode the wind.
Have you noticed that Sakuya doesn't explain things very much?
The girl nodded.
Sakuya likes riddles and prophecies and puzzles; however, she's not very good at them. Instead, she gives someone else a puzzle she has made.
"I see.."
She said that you might be able to make Kanda 'bloom'. Do you have an idea of what that means?
Aren shook her head.
I think it means that he may not have awakened his 'memories' of the 'lotus'. Or he's sealed off his heart so no one can pry it open.
"Now that you mention it, yeah.."
Unfortunately, we will not be able to solve that mystery right now. We need to..as you say it, 'save the world'. Vanquish the evil and find the 13 brush gods to regain your powers, and all that fancy stuff.
"Are you talking to yourself, beansprout?" Kanda raised an eyebrow. "I can't team up with someone who's mental."
"Shut up," Aren replied, trying not to smile, but her lips didn't obey her and stretched out into a wide grin.
I think I've got this all figured out. The problem is how to do it, Timcanpy.
Oh, really.
Yes, really.
Go for it, Aren.
Since Timcanpy can't really speak, I had no idea how he (I think of Timcanpy as a "he") might act, so I just randomly made it all up.
Please review and tell me your opinion on this! :3
