"Catch me if you can!" The girl teased her beloved. She knew her wife was the fastest person she had ever met, but that didn't stop them from having fun.
"Where could she have gotten to?" The other half, a lean blonde, pretended to be confused and unaware of where the girl was. "Umi, don't leave me now…we've just got married!" Her mock crying was so horrible, that Minahime Umi couldn't stifle the laughter coming from her own mouth.
"Gotcha!" Her wife giggled in her embrace, the captivating pair of azure eyes twinkling with profound joy. Amakuni Kaze thought she was in heaven. Until the next second…when she felt a presence.
Kaze hugged her partner tightly before whispering in her ear, "Umi…when I count to three, run as fast as you can to the village."
"One." The blonde turned around, twirling Umi in her left arm as she unsheathed her sword with her right.
"Two." She effectively blocked the flying daggers in mid-air.
"Three." Anakuni let go of her wife, their eyes speaking silent pleas for the other to be safe.
And the moment that Minahime was out of the field, Kaze immediately launched her attacks. "Spiral slash!"
Three masked assassins dropped from above the trees.
"Well, what can I expect from the great Amakuni, ne?" A mock laughter accompanied loud clapping. From behind the bushes, a man wearing a black ninja uniform appeared. "My sister wants your head, and you know why. I shall punish you for hurting her!" His form suddenly shimmered, then he vanished in thin air.
"Yuiichi, stop!" The blonde closed her eyes as she tried to follow his footsteps. "You know that I did not intend to hurt her!"
"Stop talking and fight me!"
"I will not hurt you!"
Again and again, she parried his attacks.
----
"Otou-san! Otou-san!" Umi rushed back to their home, a small dojo where her wife trained under the tutelage of her father.
"Umi-chan?" Minahime Hoshi came out of the kitchen, his cheery smile falling after seeing the distressed state of his daughter. "What's going on, Umi-chan?"
"Kaze is in trouble!" She cried out in panic. "Someone attacked us in the forest!"
He nodded grimly. "Calm down, my daughter." Then he tapped his wooden staff on the ground three times, seizing all activities on the compound. "One of us needs help, my students. Let us go to the woods and aid her!"
Hoshi then faced his daughter. "Stay here. That is an order."
"Otou-san, let me come." Umi pleaded. "What if something happens to Kaze?"
"But what if something happens to you as well?"
"Anou…"
"I shall see to it that she comes back safe in your arms." The older Minahime left with the rest of the Koryou disciples, not knowing that the younger Minahime was following them from behind.
----
"Be prepared to die, fool!"
"Shield of judgement!" Kaze used her own attack to block Yuiichi's strike. She stepped back again as another horde of daggers rained down to harm her.
"Well, well, well…what do we have here?" Yuiichi abruptly stopped his attacks.
Another masked ninja emerged from a nearby tree, holding a certain green-haired girl in capture.
"Umi!" The blonde's eyes went wide in fear.
"That's right, Amakuni. The girl that you chose instead of my sister." Yuuichi spat on Umi's face, making every part of Kaze's body boil in anger.
"Don't you dare touch my wife." The samurai grunted in between clenched teeth. Her face was now masked in fury, her stance turning from defensive to deadly aggressive.
And Yuiichi was enjoying every part of it. "I came here for revenge. I came here for your head. Fight me, Amakuni!"
"Blink attack!" His figure blurred, and in an instant, he was pointing his sword at Kaze's neck. "Is this how it all ends? I thought you were greater." He smirked in victory.
The blonde didn't even move an inch. She didn't even react when Yuiichi's sword grazed her skin. All she did was say, "Gale…" and a split second later, her enemy was swallowed by a large cyclone, its wind violently lashing out on the brunette man.
"…of death," she finished her attack. The tornado dropped the battered body of Yuiichi on the ground.
The other masked ninja had slumped in pain, after Umi delivered her own assault. She was the daughter of a samurai master, after all.
"Umi…" Amakuni sheathed back her sword and walked towards her wife. She was about to say, "I'm glad you're safe," when out of the blue, another masked assassin appeared and upon seeing his dead comrades, he decided to avenge them on the unsuspecting Minahime. He stretched his arm and let go of a poisoned arrow.
"Umi! Look out!" Kaze dashed forward.
"Kaze!" The green-haired girl also ran towards her love, when she saw the weakened form of Yuiichi stand up and thrust his sword at Kaze's back.
It was the day after the tournament, and Haruka was, again, reminded of her past as she sat alone on a large stone beside the pond of the Kaioh dojo.
----
"Anou…Tenoh-san, can I have a word with you?"
"Of course, Mizuno-san. Can I call you, Ami-san?" was her friendly reply.
"Hai. Te-Ten-Haruka-san…?"
She nodded and smiled at the smaller girl.
"About your injuries…" The blue-haired doctor settled beside the samurai, never taking her eyes off from her. "I was the one who took care of them, while you passed out yesterday…And I-…" Mizuno hesitated a bit.
"What about them, Ami-san?"
"Anou…I-…I saw them." The doctor turned beet red and avoided Haruka's gaze.
"Ah. What did you saw, exactly?"
"The scars, on your back, and on your…"
Tenoh laughed and took Ami's hands in hers. "On my chest, ne?"
"Hai…"
Haruka chuckled, leaning closer to Ami's ears as she revealed her identity. "I guess, there's no use hiding it now. But please, do not tell it to anyone else."
"But why are you hiding it?" The blue-haired locked eyes with her companion.
"I have my reasons."
"Oh. Okay…I just thought that I should let you know that I know that you're…" Ami babbled on, catching herself in the end before spilling out unnecessary details. "Anou! Gomen! Don't worry, Haruka-san. Your secret is safe with me."
"Domo arigato, Ami-san."
The two shared an embrace, unaware that a third pair of eyes were just behind them, throwing invisible daggers at the blonde's back.
----
"Iie!" She screamed in despair and prayed to every God in heaven, that she could run faster.
And she reached her beloved in time. Without a second too late, she turned the two of them around.
"Umi…"
Kaze stood frozen, as she felt the tip of a sword piercing her chest, and an arrow grazing her shoulder. But what surprised her more, was the fact that she saw through her own eyes, how her wife tried to shield her away from Yuiichi's sword.
"Kaze…I'm glad you're safe." Even though blood was trickling down from her mouth, the green-haired girl still smiled.
"Why?" was the simple question.
"You were always the one saving me. I wanted to save you for a change." She coughed harshly, her blood straining the porcelain face. But again, she smiled, upon seeing that the blonde was safe.
"Umi…look at me…" But Minahime's eyes were already dazed.
"Kaze, will you do me one last favour?" Her lips turn up at one side. "Can you kiss me one last time?"
"No…no…you're not going to die, Umi. I'll save you. I can carry you back to the village." Amakuni lifted her wife.
"Kaze…I know that my time is up. Please take care of yourself…and Otou-san too." With her last ounce of strength, Umi reached up to cup Kaze's face to bring it down towards hers. And with her last breath, Minahime tasted her wife's lips.
"Umi…Umi…wake up, Umi." The blonde felt a large part of her heart disappear as her wife's body lied limply in her arms. "Umi!" She screamed, hoping that the heavens would part and bring back her love.
But the sky could only sympathize with her pain. Rain fell down hard as the heart-breaking tragedy ensued.
"Umi…" That was the last word that Kaze said, before her eyes turned white, a fearsome red aura coming out from deep within her. Slowly, she hugged Minahime tight, closing her eyes as she pulled the sword that took the girl's life and throwing it back to Yuiichi in break-neck speed.
The poor being didn't even had the chance to blink, when the blade tore through his neck. As for the last remaining ninja, his death was also gruesome, for Kaze retrieved the arrow stuck on her shoulder, and with one flick of her hand, the tip flew swiftly to drill back on his head.
----
"Kaze!" Master Hoshi's group finally arrived at the clearing, but they were too late. All they found were the dead bodies of ninja assassins, and a sad picture of a blonde samurai, holding her lifeless wife in her arms.
"My daughter…" The old man sank on his knees, tears coming unbidden, his voice breaking as he uttered his daughter's name. "Umi…"
"Gomen, sempai. I failed you…" Amakuni's voice was barely a whisper. "Sempai… I will be back…"
"No! Kaze! My child!" Hoshi tried to stop his apprentice, but she was now floating in mid-air, clutching the body of Umi closely, like she was a broken doll. "Where are you going? Where will you take her?"
"I will…avenge her death…"
And they were gone.
----
Hideous screams filled the chilly night. Blood was sprawled everywhere. Butchered corpses littered every part of the small tribe of Hyugrito. And at the center of them all, stood a berserk Amakuni Kaze, pointing her razor-sharp sword at the chest of a white woman with curly black hair. Her eyes were obsidian and hollow, and she was so thin that people tremble in horror with only one look from her.
"Why are you doing this to me, koibito?" Kaho, the high witch of Hyugrito, had tears on her eyes. She was now standing on her knees, after Kaze had brutally hacked off her legs.
"I am not…your koibito!" The next to go were her arms. "Why did you order your brother to kill me? Why?"
"I did not order him. I told him about us…" More blood oozed out of her body.
"About us? There were no us, Kaho. There was only me…and Umi…" The last word was said with such care.
"But she did not love you! She was only using you, along with her father!" Whack, and her chest suffered a long gash. "Aishiteru, Kaze!"
"But I don't have feelings for you, Kaho! Why did you have to destroy us? Can't you just be happy that I finally found someone I could love?"
"But you're mine! And only mine!"
"I am not yours, witch!" Kaho suffered another deep wound on her stomach. "And never will I be yours!"
Kaze gave her one last hateful glance, before leaving the dying woman, all alone to suffer.
----
"Kaze, welcome back…" Hoshi hugged her daughter's wife. "Where did you go? Where is Umi?"
"I buried her on the place where we first met…on the river Ginshou. Where the blue water would always remind me of her…"
----
"Ha…ha…ha… You think it's already over, Kaze?" The voice struggled to speak its vengeance. "I call upon…the powers of the Witches' Tribe…from the ancients of Hyugrito. I, Kaho, the high priest…shall sell my soul…to curse the soul of Amakuni Kaze…with the curse since the world was made from light and dark…the curse…of the devil…" Kaho died smirking.
The sky became red.
----
"Onee-chan!" was the chorused greet of the children of the Minahime dojo.
One in particular, even approached her. "Onee-chan…can you get me an apple again?"
But Kaze was unresponsive.
"Onee-chan…?"
Her eyes suddenly glowed red, and she screamed in pain. Then, she lost consciousness…
----
"In the name of Yakasha the Goddess, come back, Kaze!"
"Aah!" Her body felt like being burned in hot flames, her eyes, blinded with intense light.
"Master Hoshi!" As soon as the light faded away, the blonde's eyes went wide, her face drained with blood, when a horrible carnage appeared before her eyes. "What…happened…Master!"
The old man was kneeling beside her, heaving hard, trying to catch his breath. He was bleeding from a grave injury to his abdomen. "Kaze…you…did this…"
"I…I…" Amakuni raised her hands, the proof evident from her red-stained hands. "I…"
"It's not your fault," he explained. "You were possessed. Someone marked a curse on you." He rested his back by lying down. "You now have the curse of the devil, Kaze."
"A curse…?"
"Hai…within you, now resides the spirit of Karetoka, an evil god known to have slain everyone on his path. For now, I have made it fall into a deep slumber. But if someone who knows the black magic of Hyugrito-"
"Kaho! But with the torture I gave her, she's dead by now."
"But even if she died, when someone from that black cult learns of this, they could use you to their advantage."
"But, how…can it be cured?"
Hoshi's hand were now shaking. "No one could beat Karetoka, except the God of Swords, Shingaa. I know someone who can heal you…but unfortunately, I am too weak now to accompany you. I feel that my time here on this planet, is now over…"
"Sempai…" The blonde unsheathed her sword and stabbed herself. "I'll die too…so I can be with Umi…"
"Kaze…listen to me. The reason why Karetoka was undefeated…was because…he was…immortal…"
And Kaze couldn't believe it herself, when her own wound suddenly mended, as if it wasn't there to begin with. "Masaka…"
"My child…you must seek the help of the Shingaa clan. You must go to the village of Lapis Mertona. It is your only hope."
"Hai, sempai. I…shall go…but where can I find it?"
"You can find it…" Hoshi said his last words. "…at the end of the world…"
----
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"Huh?" Haruka blinked back to the present, finding a pair of amused blue eyes in front of her.
"Gomen…I didn't mean to disturb you…"
"I was just thinking of someone from my past." She patted the spot next to her, and Michiru obliged.
"Tenoh-san… Hotaru told me the whole story…and I just want to thank you…"
"For what, Kaioh-san?"
"For saving me." Kaioh squeezed the blonde's right hand gently.
"It's nothing. And now you're free…"
"Free from what?"
From the tragedy… "From the deal. You are free to choose who you want to marry."
The bright smile on Michiru's face, broke Haruka's heart.
"Anou…arigatou, Tenoh-san." Without knowing why, Michiru had the sudden urge to hug and kiss him on the cheek. And when she realized what she had done, the green-haired girl sprang to her feet and scrambled away fast, never having the chance to hear out Haruka's reply…
"Anything for you, Umi."
Anything for the one I love…
----
Author's Note:
Sorry if it took so long. Me and Rai had to rewrite the draft of this chapter because it was just darn TOO long. Lol. :)
References:
Hyugrito – is a cult, known for being believers of the evil god, Karetoka. The group being composed of assassins, ninjas, black merchants, witches, and a High Witch. The High Witch is the supposed leader, everyone in the cult should follow her, or else, their bodies would be filled with vile, worms, slowly decomposing their damned souls away.
Mark of the devil – is an ancient ritual, performed by selling one's soul to the devil to curse another one with Karetoka's spirit. Once a being is inhabited by His spirit, any High Witch of the black art of Hyugrito could invoke and make that being a mindless, immortal, killing machine that would only follow the caster's command.
Lapis Mertona – a village that could only be found at the end of the world, where only a few were privileged to know about, a few masters of different arts, like Minahime Hoshi. Here resides members of the Shingaa clan, believed to be descendants of the God of Swords, himself, Shingaa. They are known to be proficient in magic and wizardry of the Light, always helping others to the best of their abilities.
Ginshou – is the river where Minahime Umi and Amakuni Kaze first met when they were still children. At that same place, Kaze vowed to always protect Umi, even if it would cost her own life. Little did Kaze knew, that Umi made the same vow, although it was unspoken.
Karetoka - is the God of Immortality. He used to be kind and caring, but when he fell in love with a blind mortal girl, his fellow Gods scorned him and threw him out of heaven. He accepted the punishment, and he tried to live among humans. But one day, tragedy struck, and his beloved was killed in a silly war amongst two nations. It was then, that he was believed to have sacrificed his soul to revive the girl. But even though she was alive again, Karetoka was never the same. He became cruel and evil, slaughtering men who dare cross his path. This is his act of revenge for hurting the one he loved.
Time passed, and the girl turned into an old lady. And soon, she died again, but it was due to old age. Karetoka became alone, cold and distant. But his drive to eradicate this world with human sins never ended, until the time he met Shingaa, his own brother, the God of Swords.
Shingaa - the God of Swords, and youngest brother of Karetoka. It broke his heart to see his older brother, his idol, to have fallen so low. But he knew that he did the murders because humans have hurt his beloved. And when the girl, Mika, died, he didn't want to see his brother suffer any longer...he went on a journey and came down from Heaven. He faced his brother in a bloody duel. He won through perseverance and determination, but according to legends, he didn't came back to heaven. Instead, he chose to wander around the face of the Earth, protecting innocent humans from any form of evil.
Yakasha - the mother of both Karetoka and Shingaa. Not much is known about this deity, except that she is the Goddess of Light. She is the main Godess of practitioners of the Sacred Arts of Doushinshou. The Minahime clan is rumored to be descendants of Yakasha.
Minahime Hoshi – a master of the Sacred Arts of Doushinshou, an ability to control the wind using one's own spirit. It was the master skill, Koryeha, that made Kaze teleport from one place to another. But one must be wary to use this skill, for it takes its toll on the caster. The skill feeds on the caster's energy, and using this too often, could result in fatigue…or even death.
Minahime Umi – a beautiful green-haired girl with captivating azure eyes, Kaze had fallen in love with her the first time she saw her. She was sweet and caring, but not weak and frail. She knows a few skills of Doushinshou herself. But she was not as athletic as Kaze. She is the more feminine of the two.
Amakuni Kaze – believed to be the greatest student of different masters like Nobunaga Yoshi, Goroshi Juno…and Minahime Hoshi, above all others. She was known to be a bit arrogant, proud and hard-headed. But deep inside, she cares a lot about people, especially children. She was always seen playing with the children of the Minahime dojo. At age seventeen, she got married to Hoshi's daughter, Umi. A perfect couple, everyone agreed. A day after the celebration, the dojo was massacred, leaving no traces of Kaze or Umi's body. No one knew what happened to them. There were rumors that they also died, but their souls were saved by the Gods.
Disclaimer:
Haruka, Michiru, and the rest of the BSSM gang belong to Naoko Takeuchi. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.
