Churen Poto
Saki opened her eyes. Above her were neither cameras nor spotlights, only the ceiling. Slowly, she stood up. Her head felt dizzy, her view was blurry, her hands shaking. It was cold. She looked around while waiting for her consciousness to gather itself. The floor was littered with glass shards. The television in pieces. Her friends, her teammates, lying on the floor, motionless, unconscious, their skin pierced by the glass. Saki looked at her arm. A shard was sticking out of it. Saki pulled it out. A small trickle of blood came from the wound, dripped on the floor, drip, drip, a lone sound in the silence. Then, everything came back to Saki.
"Yuuki! I need to look for Yuuki!" Saki ran for the door. Her footsteps echoed through the hallway, her heartbeat echoed in her ears. She looked straight ahead, tears welling in her eyes, not thinking, only running, running.
Saki was out of breath when she reached the playing room. She stood there for a moment, leaning on the doors, breathing. Finally, she entered the room.
This is what she saw: The Mahjong table was in pieces. Multiple spotlights had fallen down from the ceiling, some hitting the table. Only half the table was even standing; big chunks of it were lying underneath bent metal, glass shards scattered around them. One spotlight had pierced the table and was now sticking out of it like a survivor on a battlefield. Mahjong tiles were leaking out of the table like the blood leaking out of Yuuki.
"Yuuki!" Saki hurried to her friends side, who was lying beside the table. Yuuki's hands were warm as Saki touched them. Saki shook Yuuki's body softly first, then more violently, but no reply came. She lifted Yuuki's body, called out to her, embraced her. Tears started running down Saki's face. She wept in silence, her friends body in her arms. Yuuki was dead.
A hand on Saki's shoulder. Saki tried to brush it off, but instead the hand took hold of her own and pulled her up.
"I am very sorry. So very sorry." Saki looked up. Behind her stood Pro Fujita. Saki turned, grapped Fujita's shirt, buried her face in it.
"Please... make this go away... I don't want to see this anymore!" Saki cried. Cried for her dead friend, cried for the horror of a match she had played, cried for herself. How could any of this happen? This couldn't be real. Friends can't just die. She wouldn't accept it, couldn't accept it.
Fujita gently turned Saki's face to look at her.
"I know this must be hard for you. And yet, I can't give you any encouragement... just more sorrow." The pro's hands were cold. Saki wanated to say something, wanted to scream, to cry, but the words stuck in her throat. Her tears dried up under Fujita's gaze.
"This might seem very sudden to you, but I will have to explain some things. You might remember... when I was commentating your matches in the preleminaries, I sometimes talked about players who are 'loved by the tiles' or called them 'demons'. I wasn't joking. What you just experienced was undoubtedly the Demon World, or rather, the Shadow Realm. I don't know what happened to you, but it seems you have already encountered a demon yourself."
"So... you're saying... that Yuuki really was a demon?"
"Not quite. Rather, she was possessed by a demon. When she got transported into the Shadow Realm, it must have awakened inside her."
"But... why just then? Yuuki never seemed like she could have a demon inside her... Why did this happen just now?"
"Demons are powerless outside of their own world. I don't know how or why this happens, but some people have demons bound to them... they can access a part of their powers, which will show itself in their Mahjong abilities... Abilities such as your own, actually. Which leads to another interesting question... why didn't your demon awaken, Saki?"
"I – I don't know. Why are you asking me such hard questions?"
"True. There wasn't much point in this. More important is this question: Where is your sister?"
Saki looked over to the table where her sisters seat in the match had been. The chair was there, battered, but no Teru. While the other girls were lying in their blood, there was only an empty spot where Saki's sister should be.
Saki opened her mouth, but she didn't say anything. She closed it again. The reason she went to this tournament, the reason she had fought so hard – gone?
"There is only one explanation for this: Teru must be in the Shadow Realm!" Fujita continued without concern for the girl in her arms. There was strength in her words, but a cold strength, the strength of determination. She knew what needed to be done, and she knew it wasn't pretty.
"Now, Saki, look at me." The pro turned Saki's head when the girl didn't respond. There was no resistance. "Your sister is in the Shadow Realm, and not just her spirit like you experienced it, but her physical body! To return her, you have to do the same! You have to enter the Shadow Realm again!"
"I... I can bring my sister back?" Saki's voice was feeble, quiet, shaky, but in it dwelled a glimmer of hope. "I... can fix this?"
"Yes. And not just your sisters. It looks like everybody in the building has suffered the same fate. You must bring them back if you can!"
Fujita let go of Saki. Carefully, as if she feared the girl would fall if left unsupported, she took a step back.
"The way into the Shadow Realm is not usually accessible, but the barrier between the worlds has been weakened. I don't know what you will experience once you pass through the gate; nor can I accompany you, since I have a natural immunity to demons. You will have to trust in yourself and your abilites." Pro Fujita was collecting Mahjong tiles as she spoke. Once she had fourteen, she arranged thirteen of them in a circle on the ground. The last one she gave to Saki.
"Th-these tiles ... !" Saki's eyes widened as she saw the tiles glow.
"Yes! These are the tiles for a Churen Poto, the Nine Gates of Heaven! The tile in your hand completes it! Now, step forward, and fulfill your destiny!"
Saki stepped through the gate. A great light blinded her, and a great heat burned her. She screamed, but her scream only howled through her own head, never leaving her body. The light changed. Where before it was only white, a mass of colours now exploded before Saki's eyes. They swirled, formed ever new shapes, dancing more and more apart as if trying to escape. Finally, they collapsed into themself and left only darkness behind.
A voice spoke in the darkness.
"Who goes there?" The voice was low. It rumbled over Saki's body, vibrated in her ears.
"W-who are you? Where are we?" Saki reached out, tried to find whoever was speaking, but her hands grapsed only the darkness. It was flowing through her fingers like fine silk, smooth and cold to the touch, a tangible black.
"If you seek entrance to the Shadow Realm, you must answer me, for I am the Gate!" Saki could see the darkness moving now. Some parts became lighter, some darker even. All parts seemed to move away from Saki. She couldn't say how long it took, but when she saw what stood before her, she gulped. It was a giant face, its mouth shaped like a gate that took up most of the space. The rest of it was covered in ornaments. Its eyes were closed. When it spoke again, the mouth didn't move, and the voice didn't come from its direction either. Saki felt as if the voice came from within the darkness around her itself.
"I am the Gate that leads to the Shadow Realm! All who pass by me need answer my questions! Now speak: What is your name?"
"I-it's Saki."
"Saki! You come before me and seek entrance, so I challenge you: Look into yourself, make a choice, and do it wisely, and you shall find what you seek!" With these words the darkness began to shift again. Right before Saki it started to solidify into Mahjong tiles, neatly ordered and laid face down before her.
So... I have to choose a tile? But how is that going to determine whether I pass? Maybe I should just take one...? Saki started to reach for a tile. As she was about to touch it, she pulled back.
This tile... when my hand got near it, I started to feel nauseous all of a sudden... is this the test? To find a tile that won't have any effect on me? Saki moved her hand over the tiles.
I can clearly feel it. These tiles... they are rejecting me! My heart can see that they are not the right one! This is an easy test! I just have to check every tile, and eventually I will find the one! But as Saki's hand hovered over the tiles, sweat drops started falling from it.
No... this can't be... all of these tiles are rejecting me. There is no right choice! Her temples started to hurt. She felt very alone in the darkness.
I can't do it... I can't make a choice... agh, I'm so useless! I will fail at the first obstacle without even the chance to help my friends! I wish Hisa were here... she could always help me out before...
A light in the darkness. Saki's hand moved on it's own.
This one tile... it suddenly seems a lot warmer then before... it feels like it's calling to me! Why did it change? As her hand reached for the tile, images of her friends flashed through Saki's mind. Warm, happy memories accompanied them, and Saki felt a great weight lifted off of her.
That's right ... I am doing this for my friends! They're calling for me! I can't let them down! With confidence, Saki took the tile and slammed it face up. It was a Haku.
Then, nothing happened. Saki looked anxiously around her. The darkness still lingered, the void stayed silent.
The face moved. Its mouth opened with a grotesque shreaking, and Saki was pulled off her feet when the Gate started to suck her in with the rest of her surroundings. Everything went black again.