Housekeeping!
Ohisashiburi da ne...
I only just found a new muse, after the ah, unfortunate circumstances surrounding my old one's disappearance.
Anyway...if anyone is still tuning in, much obliged.
Warning: Slight potty mouth
Harbinger
Okay Kiddo I'm just gonna rest my head for a couple hours, kay? Do you need anything?"
Chris shook his head to the negative and Macy shrugged.
"Let me know when Leon comes in."
He watched her shuffle toward the bedroom with a tiny frown of concern. Macy and his Big Brother had taken turns watching him while he was sick with the flu and he remembered her always teasing him about not spreading his yucky germs her way. Leon had to go do something for work and dropped him off with her in the morning and she'd passed off his hug with a 'eww, don't give me your germs' dance. He knew it was all a joke but now, looking at the older woman, he wondered whether she might have caught the bug after all.
It was around lunch time that he noticed her face having the 'sick look,' like his had back then. And now it looked even worse. Chris really hoped she would be okay – being sick with the flu like his was not fun at all. And if she was getting sick, what about big brother, who took care of him the most?
Nah, Leon was fine. No way the flu would take him down.
Still, it meant he had all this unsupervised time on his hands. There was no way he could sneak out to the park, not with Macy being home and she couldn't take him anyway. Besides, his friends wouldn't be there anyway. A small smile played on his lips at that.
They wouldn't be at the park but that didn't mean he wouldn't get to hang out with them.
Chris settled himself comfortably on the sofa and closed his eyes, willing the slow heaviness to settle over his limbs and joints. It was like falling into a pool of jello. Just before he sank to he bottom, a gentle pull tugged at his midsection and he let it reel him back to the surface. His was the relaxed pose of one asleep, except he wasn't really.
He opened his eyes to the warm breeze blowing over his face and smiled, stepping into the grassy garden. He was standing on a small path, surrounded by rows of rose bushes that led to the middle. Golden sunlight danced over the trees just ahead and he could hear laughter from that direction. He hastened toward the sound and activity.
"Hey guys!"
The White Nine-tailed Fox lay just before him, tails swishing lazily close to his feet. A golden eye opened and the majestic creature slowly rose to his feet, towering over the human boy.
"Hope you're keeping track of all your frequent flier points Chris, it could come in handy if you're planning a trip to China."
Chris didn't know what frequent flier points were, and the joke went over his head. "Hi Ten-Chan."
"Chris!"
He turned aside to the golden Raccoon racing his way and caught it just in time to avert what was chasing her.
"Let go of the rodent, kid, and look away. You don't need to be an accessory to this."
Not that the Totetsu would ever harm a hair on her head. She scurried for safety into the branches overhead and he looked up, grinning at the Owl that was sure to be silently observing.
"Hey Ahere."
"Hi Chris."
She fluttered to his shoulder and he gently scratched her crown. A happy smile formed unbidden over his face and he sighed with contentment. Who needs the outdoors when you've got this?
The first time it happened was when he was sick, shivering with fever and unable to stop puking. He was just so miserable and remembered looking to the window and the bright sky outside, thinking about his new friends and wanting, with all his heart, to be away from here. Wishing to be with them. The next thing he knew, he'd blacked out and when he opened his eyes, he was standing in this garden. It seemed like a dream until T-Chan suddenly appeared in front of him, looking very angry.
"Well what do you know, the kid's a true blue, honest to goodness Spirit-walker."
The Totetsu explained it to Chris that he wasn't actually asleep and this wasn't a dream. He was in the 'place in between' and invading his own Spirit Garden, and that was normally very hard to do. Ordinary people couldn't do this, and that made him feel special for a minute, until T-Chan pulled out his scary face and warned him never ever to go 'pissing in someone else's territory without permission' again. But since he'd found his way here all on his own, it was okay to visit whenever he liked.
"I figure, if you're trying to get away that bad, best to have somewhere safe to get into."
T-Chan must have told the others about it because the next time he came, they were all here already. One thing Chris quickly learned was that time passed differently in this place; he could be here for a few minutes and find out that its been ages back at the apartment, or sometimes it went the other way around. You just never knew. T-Chan told him that the 'place in between' was had its own rules about time and space and the laws of reality didn't apply. Pretty much you could whatever you wanted in here...except die. If you get killed in here you die for real. Hence the scary face lecture.
Still it was okay as long as he stuck to this place. It wasn't as if he knew anyone else's Spirit Garden...Chris still had no idea how he got here in the first place. But it made him wonder, could he make a Spirit Garden of his own? Maybe he should ask T-Chan. A sudden commotion to the left made him look up to see the Totetsu nimbly leap into the trees to chase after his usual quarry, far higher than would have been possible in the real world.
And the best thing about it all was that Chris still would be able to visit his friends, even after the vacation and he was back at his aunt's! It was all so incredible, he wished he could somehow show his big brother. But every time that thought came around, he pushed it aside.
Leon would never believe him – it would all look like he was making it up – and his brother couldn't enter the Spirit Garden anyway. Chris didn't know why he knew that for a fact but he just did. But it still didn't help the guilt he felt whenever he hung out with his friends, in the real world or here, because he was hiding it from his big brother.
Why did it have to be so hard? Why couldn't he just come out with it to Leon? And then the dark voice whispered, like it always did.
Why doesn't Leon want me?
He gasped involuntarily at the sharp jab between his ribs and bit his lip. No, not here! One, breathe in, two, breathe out...Chris closed his eyes against the familiar jitters, pushed them back into the cupboard and firmly shut the door.
"Chris! I need my wingman, buddy!"
"Wingman? I knew you'd be a terrible influence on him."
He opened his eyes to T-Chan's beckoning wave and grinned, running up to join in the game of ultimate tag football.
Changing times...
If someone had told the Totetsu last New Year's eve that the majority of his coming days would be spent cavorting with squealing, giggling youngsters – as in not just the Blondie but more – he would have cheerfully bumped them on the head and gone on his merry way. The others had clamored for an auspicious reading from the Fortune Tortoise back then but he'd scoffed at the idea of squinting into tea leaves...
Not that it would have done him much good – he had it on good authority that the old swindler sometimes substituted her loose leaves for low grade Earl Grey.
Still, the ancient creature mused, it was a bit of a turn that here he was, sharing his Spirit Garden with not one but three other High Beings. And one human. The Totetsu hadn't believed his eyes when the child popped out of nowhere; at first he thought it was an illusion likely created by one of his rivals to ensnare him. You never know, just because the Astral planes have been quiet of late didn't mean challengers couldn't rise at any moment. His slice of the realms was anchored on prime focus loci and was highly coveted by one Gyu-maoh, a particularly troublesome Kinnari and at least two of his distant cousins.
But the harried look in the child's eyes could not have been contrived, and it had tugged on his nature like flame to the moth. It also called for a revision of their initial assessment of Chris. He wasn't just a pure soul, he was a particularly strong one as well. Good thing such abilities were very few among his kind...the potential for havoc was frightening.
Totetsu are fierce and terrible, their cloak is the shadow of primordial fear itself. It was all so easy to forget their dual nature – defend the home, protect the home. Actually, he'd never been called upon for that aspect of his Self; way back when, the few times that mortals had been able to successfully summon him, it had always been for similar reasons:
Vanquish my rival, drive fear into the heart of the opposing army, destroy my enemy...
But Chris invoked in him the will to protect. He glanced sideways at the child, safely ensconced between Kyuubi and Tanuki, and the corner of his lips quirked in a smile. And there was no mistaking that the kid needed him in his Karma, why else didn't he go haunting the pretty-boy's Zen garden?
Still, what an odd choice in guardian spirits.
Totetsu knew he was no cuddly teddy-bear. He couldn't help but wonder what sort of baggage the kid carried. It was perhaps because he was watching that he was able to catch the peculiar emotions that flitted across his charge's face. There was shock, pain...loneliness. The kind that strikes swiftly and suddenly, even in the company of friends. The kind that was always wrapped up in bitter memories. He recognized that one instantly.
Later, much later, when the others had left and it was just the two of them, they lay in the soft grass and stared into the sky above. Last time, he'd basked in Chris's awe when he'd performed the feat of making it both day and night at the same time. Today the kid was quiet, drawn into himself...
"What's bugging you?"
Chris sighed and turned slightly aside. "T-chan, have you ever had to do something that seems right, only it feels wrong?"
He bit his lip and shook his head. "I mean...like if you had to hide something from someone, but for the right reasons. Because you had to, be-because, no matter how you tried to explain it, they would never believe you."
He was staring intently to the sky but his voice was thick with emotion. "And it's just easier to let it go..."
Totetsu reached up and as casually as flicking a hand, he cause one of the twinkling lights to descend several feet.
"Kid, there's no such thing as a good fruit from a bad tree. You can't really have right reasons for something that feels wrong. Good is good and bad is bad. When you start mixing them up, well that's where things get complicated."
The star light shrank and continued to lower, until it hung right above their heads, a dazzling glimmer.
"But what if he gets mad, or thinks I'm lying? What if I can't get him to believe me? A-and he makes me take it all back?"
Chris's fear lanced through him hot and sharp, and he actually winced. He, whoever this is, better be worth it.
"A good tree never gives a bad fruit. If this person loves you, then he'll have to believe you. Maybe not at first, not with words, but he will. Besides, you'll have said the truth."
Totetsu sat up suddenly and looked hard at his charge, mellow gold eyes turning amber. "Get this straight Chris, no one can ever make you take that back."
Or me, or us.
Tear's flooded the human's eyes and he nodded, burying his face in the Totetsu's side.
"Okay...thanks T-chan."
Great, the latter groused internally, now I'll have to go practice what I preach.
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The moon is bright, the wind is quiet,
The tree leaves hang over the window,
My little baby, go to sleep quickly,
Sleep, dreaming sweet dreams.
The moon is bright, the wind is quiet,
The cradle moving softly,
My little one, close your ey-
Count D cut short the rest of the lyrics, pausing in his scrubbing motions with an impatient sigh. That was the third time today that he'd found himself unconsciously singing that old tune.
It was technically a lullaby, one of the many that careworn parents whispered to fussy infants. One of the many that his own father had sung to him years and years ago... His earliest memories were of stormy Winter nights and warm fires, gazing up into those swirling purple eyes, and the soft tenor voice that brought so much comfort. For some reason that voice had haunted his dreams last night and he'd woken up to this aching sense of longing...
He blinked and turned back to the ornamental copper kettle he was restoring, resuming scrubbing with vengeance. This was no time to be dallying with nonsense! There was so much to be done in the Shop today – feedstock, bedding and other materials would be delivered in a matter of hours and he needed to coordinate restocking. He couldn't afford to be distracted, what with Grandfather leaving by Midnight. It had come as a surprise when the Elder-D brought it up over breakfast.
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"My Grandson, I must journey soon."
Count-D peered across the small table over the rim of his teacup.
"Grandfather..."
The rest of his words didn't need saying. With the Season change upon them, Sofu would most likely be caught abroad during Winter. He hated to fly in the cold season, and rarely did so. Their eyes met for a moment and the Elder lowered his in an unexpected show of apology.
"I must, Grandson. In light of the events of the past months we cannot afford not to investigate the situation."
The troubling discovery that someone or something was erasing the memories of creatures, and then sending in the direction of the Shop. On one hand it meant that the sender had knowledge of them and what they stood for; at least their guests were being brought to Sanctuary. But then, why tamper with their memories at all? Count D couldn't sanction such an invasive act, regardless of the ends.
Besides, whoever or whatever was doing this must possess a great deal of power. Perhaps it was another Kami? The D's had familiarized themselves with all the Powers, Locus and Entities there was to know when they set root on this world. Was it possible that his Grandfather had overlooked One? That was highly unlikely. A new Kami, then? Gods weren't born by mere snapping of fingers. But then if someone had told him on New Years' Eve that he would come to encounter a brand new one by Summer, he would have prescribed Yarrow root tea and bed rest.
"I understand, Grandfather. When do you intend to depart?"
"Tonight-"
Count D's eyes flew back up with outrage and he set the cup down a tad forcefully. "Tonight!"
The Elder continued serenely, ignoring his outburst. "I shall make visits to our neighbors to the North, and then travel Eastward. Perhaps one of our friends has knowledge of this strange phenomenon, knows how to reverse the effects."
And if not? What if they have to look over the oceans? Count-D found himself thinking that it would be nice to visit an old acquaintance in Japan. He wondered how that witch-woman was doing* –
"I shall once again be leaving the Shop in your able hands, Grandson."
Obvious buttering, still he let himself be taken in by the Elder's playful smile.
"You can count on me, Grandfather."
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He should have mentioned how convenient it was that this trip was scheduled right at the start of one of their busiest periods in the year. Count D patted the little kettle dry and hung it up on the rack. His eyes flitted across to Pon-Chan's favorite perch with a smile but it was empty. She wasn't sitting by his chair either – come to think of it, he saw less and less of the three conspirators these days. The Kami usually spent several minutes of the day mediating one contest or another between the two overgrown babies and their younger sidekick. He supposed that all changed when Ahere entered the picture.
Come now, he chided himself. It would not do to be jealous of one of his charges. The Owlet needed their company and they were working wonders for her spirit. Besides, he was the one who tasked them to it in the first place.
"Hey Count!"
Speak of the Devil... three of the quartet trooped out of the inner rooms and threw themselves on his just rearranged couches.
"I was just thinking about how quiet this afternoon has been," he commented mildly and Pon-chan piped up.
"Oh we were playing with -"
"The Totetsu," Ten-Chan interjected, throwing her a stiff look. They shared a moment and she looked away chagrined. The Kami frowned slightly.
"I see, where is T-Chan by the way?"
"In his room, pooped. The years have not been kind to him, I tell you D. Two youngsters was more than he could handle."
The girls broke into giggles at that, diffusing the situation with practiced ease.
There was something they were not telling him. Count-D sensed that much. Still he let it go with a shrug. There was work to do. He would deal with his secretive bunch later.
It was easy to push this particular issue to the back of his mind, what with the mountain of work before him; between accounting for new stock and cajoling for more storage space, fulfilling the daily rounds with the shop occupants and welcoming two new faces, Count-D didn't even notice that the Totetsu never emerged for lunch or dinner. And then, all too soon, it was the last hour of the day. That time was spent helping Grandfather prepare for his trip. Soon they were standing by the back door to the shop and he was holding on to the lantern while the Elder-D fastened on his cloak.
"Well then, I shall be off."
Their eyes met and held for several long moments. Count D smiled faintly.
"Fair winds go before you, may you journey toward the rising sun."
There were many other words poised to escape his lips but to give them way would be to acknowledge the inexplicable anxiety that had been growing in his heart since Grandfather broke the news. It made no sense, he knew; this was not the first of such trips the Elder had embarked, and it would not be the last either. Yet, he couldn't help the urge to grab on to his Grandfather and stop him from leaving. Because-because he just had to! Count D banished such childish thoughts from his mind with effort and sighed.
"Take care, Grandfather."
Perhaps the Elder sensed some of his misgivings because he suddenly leaned forward and cupped his scion's face between his hands.
"I shall, and I ask you to do the same. Do not get so overwhelmed with your duties in the Shop and forget to rest. The rising sun always brings new promise...remember that." He touched their temples for a long moment before drawing away.
"I shall return as soon as I can."
Count D nodded and took a step back. The Elder gave him one last smile before dissolving into the shadows. All that remained of him were his eyes, glowing in the darkness. An instant later the shadows solidified; great leathery wings unfurled with lazy strength, creating a brief draft as he shot up and became one with the night.
The Count watched his ascent until he was gone, and then blew out the lamp. He lingered for another moment in the quiet, surrounded by the sounds of a slumbering city, and wrapped his arms around himself. He shivered from a blast of cool breeze and shook his head. There was no explaining how or why he knew, but everything was about to change.
This was the beginning of the end.
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Assistant director Paulsen was not having a great week at all. He had not one but three high profile cases open and growing colder by the minute, one involving his own boss, all somehow connected and none of them with any hope of being solved. He had the director's family, which consists of two ex judges, one ex commissioner, a high judge and a council man, breathing down his neck, the ADA nosing around, and the usual slew of inter office squabbling to spice up his morning coffee.
And that was all before the usual afternoon smorgasboard of his divorce attorney and the helpful phone call from his troubled son's private school...
So when the phone started ringing, the Blackberry phone he kept next to the special bottle, the - break out glasses cos everything is royally fucked up - Scotch, his not great week fell down into Satan's favorite shit hole.
Paulsen sighed and reached for the phone. "Paulsen."
"Chris...what the hell is going on in your house?"
He winced and rubbed his neck. "I -"
"No don't even answer, I don't want to know the details. But what I do want you to know is that whatever brand of screw up the SCD is making of itself, it's caught the attention of the wrong kinds of people down here and upstairs. So now I've got all sorts of unwanted attention my way and guess what? Well that just gives me a good excuse to fuck up your day."
He swallowed and reached for the Scotch. "Sir..."
"I'm only gonna say this once: clean up your mess and set your house in order. Someone is coming your way; I expect you to give him every curtsy and make sure no doors remain closed from him. Got that? If he says jump, you don't even get to ask how high. Just keep jumping until he's satisfied. Do I make myself clear?"
Paulsen nodded. "Yes sir."
"And you hope to God that you can clean up your mess before he gets there and he has to...otherwise, there will be consequences."
He sat up straighter in his chair. "Sir."
But the line was already dead. He groaned and put the phone back in place, topping off his glass with the other hand.
Anyone who had ever worked mid level knew there was always two kinds of bosses in the workplace; the rubberstamp retinue of bosses, and the one in the office who was the real power. Forget about the commish. this was the boss who kept him up at night, riddled with ulcers.
Following the wake of the attacks on the East Coast, the Top Brass had brought it into their heads that there were some things the boys in blue were just more effective at doing beyond the roles of the FBI and Homeland.
And so they created these small cadres of police departments which very 'miscelleanous' roles and titles like the SCD. Of course on paper they answered to the regular chain of command like all the other departments but Paulsen knew that scattered around the country were other directors just like him, living in dread of the special phone.
So now he had raining fire from above to deal with on top of his fun times down here...but why would Top Brass be calling just because of his own issues? They were troublesome in the perspective of one lowly AD but to these big wigs, his issues should not even rank as feather weight. But then, mid-level aren't paid to think: their job is to deliver the orders from above and ask no questions.
The thing was, they'd somehow neglected to give the name of this expected visitor. Or maybe that was on purpose?
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"Okay Kiddo, that's enough hanging around here. I'm gonna kick you out now. Time to return to the real world."
Chris nodded with a happy grin as his host rolled to his feet and did the same. Even though it only felt like a few minutes he'd been here, who knew what was going on in Macy's apartment?
"All right, thanks T-chan."
It was kinda funny. For the first time he could remember, he didn't feel scared or sad about saying goodbye to someone else. Maybe because it felt more like a 'see ya later' than 'I'll never see you again' but there was none of the usual pangs that followed parting of ways.
"You do remember how to get back, right?"
He rolled his eyes at the Totetsu's funny face and gestured behind him. "Off the path, off the edge."
T-chan waved him off and he retraced his steps to the edge of the garden. The light around him got dimmer until he could actually see the boundary where it stopped. It kinda didn't make sense but it did: you 'floated' into the place in between and had to 'jump' down to reality. Except it wasn't really a jump, more like a -
Chris opened his eyes with a sigh and sat up on the couch. It was really dark in the apartment. 8:00 pm. Time had gone forward after all. Looked like Macy must still have been sleeping this whole time...normally she would have ordered take out or pizza by now. His stomach grumbled at the thought of food. He did notice that he always came back hungry from T-chan's garden...
Chris got to his feet and made for the lamp switch. He'd wait a few moments and then check on Macy. Hopefully she was feeling better –
PANG!
He gasped and doubled over from the sudden jerk to his midsection. Time, up and down all tumbled together; the light bled from his vision and his knees crashed into the floor.
"L-Leon."
Something was wrong – something was wrong!
Big Brother!
*I'm a diehard XXXHolic fan. My perfect crossover OVA is one that brings the petshop and Yuuko's shop together...
One can dream.