Yawn So, I've been too busy and to sleepy to update, but I recently got some inspiration to write the second part of the story. Starts playing Sift Heads and reccently actually read a fanfic that either got me so riled off(in a bad/good way) and inspired me to continue.Soooo before I start to drone on and on about random things, let me remind you all of the basics.
Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and it's various characters.
Shan Sa,Lisa See and Mineko Iwasaki own their own novels that appear,respectively.
Tang Xianzu of the sixteenth century owns The Peony Pavilion, and thus owns Du Liniang.
I (barely) own the OCs that appear in this novel.
And now,without further adieu, the second chapter to The Magpie's Lullaby.
"Let those who doubt,doubt.Let those who believe,believe."
-Wu Ren, The Three Wives Commentary.
I am having another dream,this time not on the floating pavilion. I am in a garden surrounded by cherry blossoms, and there are dozens of women in seven layered kimono around me. Shadows protect their eyes and they are hiding their soft laughter behind their kimono sleeves. One approaches me and looks me right in the eye. She has wonderful green eyes that take on an intesity in of itself. She mouths something that I can't here, but it causes the other women to laugh hysterically.The green eyed woman slowly and gracefully turns around and is engulfed on a sea of petals. The petals themselves cut my skin like knives, and I awake screaming in pain.
(Normal POV)
Inside Classroom B12, there is something wrong going on. It's not so much a matter of injustice rather than something much more mundane: the classroom bell hasn't rung yet. And it is digging deeply into the mind of one Naruto Uzumaki. He glares at the still bell, trying hard to make it burst into flames and promising to never damage it again,pleading with it all the while cursing it.
(come on you goddamn bell ring come on please o please)
He is ignoring there English teacher,Kurenai Yuhi, who at six months pregnant seemed ready to burst open. In the front seats where her favorite students:Hinata Hyuga, the daughter and heir to a multi-million dollar company owned by her family,who was normally quiet and painfully shy, Sakura Haruno, who was studious and bitchy at the same time, and Haku Shiro, who was poetic and ecentric but still playful and mysterious. Behind those three bookworms were Kiba Inuzuka(who had been punished justly for bringing Akamaru to school by having to clean up every area Akamaru happened to 'mark' as his own),Karin Haruno( Sakura's cousin, who was just as annoying) Neji Hyuga( one of Naruto's friends who practiced the martial arts and managed to be the Hemingway of their group), Shikamaru Nara( the genius behind the infamous Streaking and Eggs Day of Eighth Grade),Tenten Ama( one of Sakura's bestest friends, who was also a Zetian loyalist), some unknown Sasuke groupies( Sakura had established a Sasuke fanclub, and these were some members. Hey, I have that blonde one for gym.),Sayuri Uchiha( the star track fielder and Sasuke's twin sister, who seemed to share some traits with her two brothers), Sai( who happend to be in love with Sayuri) Emo-Lad(whose real identity is Sasuke Uchiha,go figure) Tayuya something-or-other( who once tried to run over Onee-chan and has along with Zetian and a few others bullied her since) a few other people he doesn't remember, blah blah blah, that Sora dude,that Akane, there's Gaara(Emo Lad's secret companion!) and that was it.
(damn it you dumb bell ring ring ring please ring i need to play some sift heads dammit)
He remembered the day his cousin Yumi returned to school, more than a few days after she learned The Horrid Truth. She was more quiet and reserved, and had chosen to sit in the back seat of most of her classes. He saw her only once,in the cafeteria, and that was around the time Zetian had approached her. Zetian's demonically beautiful face was filled with a satisfatory essence when he saw her again during their five minute break, and he had learned from Sakura
(damn bitch that she is she is useful)
Yumi had been reduced to tears and had taken refuge in Shizune's, the head nurse, office. After that, she was excused from classes the whole week. On Monday, she would have to return and face the music once more, and since she had most of her classes with at least one Naruto-or-other-friend confidante, he was sure she would be alright.
"Mr. Uzumaki."
"Huh?" He looks away from the silver bell and into Kurenai-sensei's red eyes. He briefly remembered how she always treated Yumi like a rare fragile crystal that would one day break and how she once failed Zetian for ruining Yumi's beautiful report on her favorite novel, The Peony Pavilion. Naruto himself had taken justice into his own hands and filled Zetian's locker with red paint, urine from a stranger and rotten eggs. He hadn't been there to see her face when she opened her locker, but he had witnesses,a picture, and had heard her shrill screams. To this day, the infamous defacer of public proper-tay has yet to be caught. All that went through his mind in a nanosecond.
" How has Yumi been? I heard she hasn't been here a week, and I am worried for her."
"Onee-chan? She's fine. She's a little sick though,but she'll be back on Monday." With that, Kurenai's face was filled with relief." Thank goodness." She went back to her desk,opened a cabinet and pulled out a red book with a flower on it. She wobbles back to me and thrusts the book to my face." I just found this book on sale at Barnes and Nobles, and I know how fond Yumi is about The Peony Pavilion, so..."
Oh. So that's it? No trouble or nothing? Well, that's a first! However, Naruto smiles back warmly at his pregnant English teacher." Thanks, Kurenai-sensei. She'd appreciate it."
( whoa whoa whoa did i just actually do that did i refer to her as a dead person nah i suck at english just a coincidence nothing more get on with your life)
Kurenai smiles back. "No problem. Hope your cousin feels better."
Later, Naruto reported straight to the cafe and informed Haku, the proposed seer of the school, about the events that had unfolded, and how he had referred to his ailing cousin in the past tense, and how Kurenai-sensei had given him a book called Peony in Love by Lisa See() to give to his cousin. Haku's beautiful brown eyes darted back and briefly filled with various emotions
(melancholy anger danger what the hell whoa why am i noticing this shit now of all times damn you hormones)
before returning to normal. He quickly told Naruto about what not to wear during the Festival of the Weaving Maiden, that him being a Monkey made it inauspicuous(note: I believe I misspelled that) to walk down The Avenue of the Flying Phoenix, and how he should be careful about eating cucumbers near a pond, because they attracted kappa and fountain nymphs. Naruto left the cafe as confused when he came.
The sun had begun to set, yet already a flurry of pink and red and orange filled the skies above the city. Near Ichiriki Street, the Haruno family was busy buying some gifts and placing them in beautiful bags( because paper and a box were so eighteenth century) for the Uchiha wedding. On Nanoha Avenue,were all the expensive stores were at, Zetian herself was dressed up in a fine Versace gown, embedded with tiny diamonds like Marie Antoinette. She spun around in a flurry of sparkles and whiteness, and her friends 'oohed' and 'aahed' despite their temporary blindness. On Hanamikoji Avenue, near the Miyako Odori Theatre,Haku Shiro,along with his boyfriend Suigetsu Houzuki, were rushing down to Mineko Iwasaki Avenue() towards Yumi's house. And at Yumi's house, she was busy reading Peony in Love.
Three furious knocks assaulted the house, and echoed in the darkness and silence. At the back of the house, Nadeshiko Iwasaki( dun dun! Yumi's last name revealed!) was in the shower and deaf to the knocking. Yuri Iwasaki was sleeping upstairs, his earphones carelessly slipping off revealing the sounds of " Nearer My God is Thee"() and Yumi herself was engulfed in darkness in her closet. It had been one of her many childhood refuges, and she now hid in it for fear she should answer the door to open into reality and the painful sorrows sewn within. Pandora herself wouldn't have been as foolish.
" Yumi-chan? Are you there?" It was a soft voice,barely carried up the stairs.It held mystery and kindness, and she knew immediatly it was Haku's voice. Mentally, she smacked herself.
(god how could i have been so dumb so paranoid its haku dammit whats there to be afraid of)
"Yumi! Open this goddam door before I bust it open!"
She sighed. If there was something she should have remembered, it was the fact that wherever Haku went, Suigetsu was sure to follow. It made her giggle to know he had to constantly put up with Haku's random quirkiness. It was literally the epitome of yin and yang; darkness to light,day to night
(here my plea thee to me)()
She opened her closet door and walked out. As she headed down the steps, she replayed the fateful day she had come back to school after her three day absence. There were only four classes before lunch, and she had known Zetian also had lunch with her. She had dreaded the moment until the bell rang and the class emptied itself to go to lunch. She waited at the top of the stairs, watching the crowd of students swell and recede,swell and recede ad nauseam. She watched the pattern until the crowd receded for good and she made her way through the long route to the cafeteria. She hoped the cafeteria was swarmed with students to give her cover, but it seemed to forces of nature were opposed to it; most of the students had finished eating and had gone outside. However, the moment she stepped foot into the cafeteria, a a trickle of students wondered into the cafeteria and up to the rafters,calmly waiting for something to happen. The trickle grew into a small stream, then a river, then a wave. The rafters were crowded, the seats brimming with students, and the walls lined up with students.Their voices grew louder, and Yumi only managed to find a handful of friends; Neji,Sai and Shikamaru up the rafters,Kimimaro and Juugo leaning on the wall, and The Three Muskateer-rettes had even graced the crowd with their presence; throughout the whole time, Sayuri,Raiha and Mameha had viewed Yumi with a sympathetic eye.
Suddenly, silence. Calls to friends on the other side, screams of laughter, and catcalls ended when Zetian and her groupies entered the cafeteria. Zetian's long black hair ended above her waist, and her crystal blue eyes (made up a color,can't remember if I gave her a different one, too lazy to look back.) were pointed at one person alone; Yumi Iwasaki.
Under Zetian's steely glare, Yumi paled and had shrunken back. People had gathered around as Zetian was in hugging distance of Yumi. Briefly, Yumi looked up to see Neji,Sai and Shikamaru silently cheering her on, and her eyes drifted to Sayuri. She looked back...
...and winked. Yumi shakily sighed. She was never one to start conversations, and her notebooks clattered as she trembled." Hello, Zetian-san." Yumi's blue-black eyes glanced down to Zetian's Louis Vuitton shoes. The small toenails,the size of a small seashell, were painted a light pink. Zetian herself wore expensive True Religion jeans, a tight Baby Phat shirt, dozens of braceletes, designer earrings, and a simple diamond choker. Her nails were painted a pale pink. Yumi herself wore an old black peasant skirt that dragged on the floor,with black leggings underneath and a torn pair of black Chuck Taylors,whilst a baggy black sweater completed her vampire-going-to-Woodstock look. She hadn't cared to wear jewlery or comb her hair, and only put on a beret.Yumi noticed a small sapphire and pearl engagement ring. Her eyes quickly filled up
( oh god itachi itachi teaches history with kakashi i'm gonna see him next). Zetian smirked.
"So, I hope you heard my message. You better wear something...good, to say the least. If you wear something gauty or something poor-looking, I'll kick you out of the wedding and Itachi will never see you." Zetian lowered herself( Yumi was 5'2 while Zetian, in her heels, was 6'2) and whispered in her ear," You'll never even see Itachi after the wedding,because I'll have you dead by the time it's over. Or, at least you'll kill yourself by the next day." With that, Zetian turned on her heels and with her posse behind her faithfully, she left. Yumi had digested what she had heard, and made her drop her notebooks and The Peony Pavilion once she managed to understand Zetian's words.
(dead oh god she's gonna kill me she's getting married to make my last day miserable and she'll stab to the last drop is spilled)
Tears spilled from her cheeks and she dropped to the floor on her knees. Then, darkness enveloped and she only remembered a few things: Juugo and Kimimaro taking her to Shizune-san's office, Neji coming in with her books, and Shizune coming in once in a while to check up on her. When she finally came to, Tsunade walked in and told her she could have the rest of the week off.
Fastforward to Friday. She quickly skimmed down the steps and opened the door to find an angry Suigetsu and a stern Haku. As quickly as she had opened the door, Haku walked briskly inside and turned to the left to the dining room. He made a beeline for a reclining chair and sat down. Suigetsu chose one of the dining chairs, while Yumi dove to the sofa.
For a while, things were quiet. Yumi looked from Suigetsu to Haku to back to Suigetsu when Haku finally spoke up." So Yumi, I hear your coming back to school." Yumi nodded." Yep, you heard right."
"Yumi, say, coulda tell us what exactly Zetian did that made you faint during lunch?" Suigetsu looked her with his lavender eyes. She quickly looked away." She kinda...said a death thingy."
"Huh? She threatened you?" Suigetsu straightened up while Haku looked as calmly as ever.Yumi turned three shades of red." W-well, not threatened per se, but she said by the next day I'd kill myself."
"Aaaah." Haku spoke up again. His brown eyes stared a hole into her soul, and she shivered.Haku smiled warmly." She doesn't know that one born during the Months of October are gifted with the power of luck. Zetian herself doesn't know that the month of her birth won't give her an advantage." With that, he stopped himself and smiled warmly. I gape at him, and burst out laughing. Out of the corner of my eyes I see Haku's brown eyes stare at me, perplexed, while Suigetsu tries to hide his own smile.
"Nani? What's wrong?" Haku asks. I double over, grasping my sore side.
"HAHA-Th-that-HAHAH-makes n-no-no-HAHAHAHA-s-sense!!HAHAHAHA!"
I fall off the sofa and start to roll on the floor.Finally, Suigetsu doubles over on the chair and starts laughing himself. Haku then joins in, laughing quietly behind his hand. For a full five minutes, the three of us laugh hysterically, and I think Yuri had walked to the kitchen next to the dining room,looking at us like some random maniacle orphans laughing at our bad fate. My mother calls out from the bathroom, but I can't hear her, so I nonchalantly shout a "YES!" before I gasp for air.
Finally,we stop, but I can't help but fall into another case of giggles as I look at Haku's messy hair and Suigetsu's watery eyes. Finally, after squalling the last of our laughter, Haku,with the occasional hiccup, stated," Don't worry, Yumi-chan. Zetian can't do a thing to you with us around. Besides, Zetian's only jealous of you. Your worth twenty of her, right, Sui-chan?"
"You said it. Yumi, Itachi probably does like you, a LOT. He just didn't have a say in the marriage. Can't blame him for that,now can you?"
" I guess so. But why does she even want me their?" Haku chewed his lip and shrugged." She wants you tressed up, so maybe she just wants to flaunt her power over you. If you ask me, you really shouldn't go."
" But, you know Zetian! She'll find a way to like,hurt me if I don't go." I sigh. I assessed my situation, for lack of a better word; if I go to the wedding, I'll just be witnessing the demise of my dreams. If I don't go, Zetian will make my life a living hell. I fall back onto the sofa." It's hopeless!!" I shout into the pillow. Haku sighs. He gets up and smooths the wrinkles off his shirt and walks to me( as far as I can hear you). He leans down to my ear and whispers two words.
" Tokio.Hotel."
With that, I shoot straight up." Nani? What did you say?"
He waves to pieces of rectangular paper in my face and says," They'll be hear in a few weeks. I know how much you've been DYING to see this band, so I thought..." I reach for the papers but he pulls them away. He waves them far from me. " Nuh-uh. You can go to the concert and I'll give them to you. But there's a catch."
"Whaaat?"
"It's on the same day as the wedding."
My heart sinks, but then leaps up. Itachi knows how much I love Tokio Hotel, so maybe with him, I can have an excuse about missing the wedding! I smile." Haku, you insane genius," Suigetsu says. Haku smiles knowingly." Yeah, I can be like that."
I am wandering the guarden. The kimono-clad ladies are still there, but now they only look at me with distaste coloring their faces. I pull far away from them and stop under a plum tree. The petals float gently down on my face, and I am filled with warmth. I look down and find a gravestone. Only two words are etched into it's white perfection: Du Liniang. I turn away from the grave and am confronted with the image of a beautiful young girl. She is dressed in a red kimono, and she looks at me with caring love in her eyes. She whispers only one thing," Botan."
End
Wowee. I did not think I would finish this chapter. I was too busy watching the VMAs( Tokio Hotel won, WOOHOO!!) and I had to utilize TEH support of "Misery Bussiness'' to finish this chappie. I actually got re-inspired to read this after reading a certain story that got me so frikin' riled up I thought, hey new chappie,comin' my way!
References listed:
() The Peony Pavilion is owned by Lisa See, and the coming character Botan( Japanese for Peony) is based on the novel's heroine. So Idon't own the book,nor Peony, and I somewhat own Botan.
()Mineko Iwasaki is a famous Geisha from the sixties and seventies, so I thought the idea to name a street after her.I also wanted Yumi to have a geisha name, so technically I do not own the name Iwasaki.
() Remember that violin piece they played during the movie Titanic? That was Nearer My God Is Thee.
()That from the Alta Saga, a series of books by Jane Yolen, so unfortunately I do not own that particular sentence.
Oh, yeah, I guess I should talk about Zetian; She is inspired by a certain fanfic writer who happens tohave an account on this cite. Howeverk I have to be respectful, so I won't name the author,nor list one of her works.Zetian,of course, is the name of Wu Xetian, China's first and only sole ruling empress. There is no particular reason I named her that,though.
-And Bids You All Adieu