Epoch Augmented
Volume II – AriaChapter Ten: Tough Love
By: Juki
Placid sound of peace, not silence, but peace. No place he would rather be but in this large room, his own man, no others. Favourable luxuries and there without her presence, his world. Manoeuvring the chopsticks in his hand, he learned, he ate quietly while watching the scenery outside the porch, the setting sun that blazing red and the oncoming darkness…that felt too surreal to be familiar. A thought came across his mind, that she had not come and eat…regardless that she had not attempted to hide her dislike and at times, distrust, had not eaten…yet at all. His curiosity, like a cat, got the best of him as he brushed the last bit of rice into his mouth and with the carelessness of his sleeve, wiped his mouth and stood up. Through the weeks, it had been two, he had not done much but hide and try to recover, try. There are some things that even he did not have control over, like the way his body heals in this untainted time.
Sliding the door and with the steadiness of old skills, entered the hall without a sound, empty. The hickory scent of wood burning, the warmth emitting from the large room across, drew his attention. The door slid ajar and with kind eyes, peered into the vastness of the ancient sanctuary and with bewildered interest, watched. Once again, she could not stand, knelt in front of the open flames that clawed mercilessly in anger. She asked not of the future, not of the past, not of the enemy…but of the heart. Her hands pressed closely to her forehead, bowed in pious meditation, whispered her haunting question into the air. "What will the future hold…if he is to be in my life?"
The fire lashed out, too suddenly and caught a small strand of her hair, singing it upon impact and with the mighty roar, revealed the answer. Her mind fell to a blank state, so empty of thoughts only the colour black remained. There the humidity of the tension, the wavering of the hot air, the blistering flames…how thirsty. Quench it. Nothing in her vision but darkness and as she ventured deeper into this answer, the more lost she seemed to feel. Perhaps the fire held no answer? It is not destined? And there it is, the light flicker of an amber, subtle…weak. Upon a wicker and black wax, sat on the floor, she recognized. The sanctuary. The soft light only lit up about three inches in diameter on the ground and from it she spotted the familiar red pleated dress that soon led up to the question, "What holds in the future?" No flames that docked the ample wood that sat damp and unlit. What could it mean? No visions as the silent weeping emitted, "Show me the future!" She cried, this woman that as if she herself is looking in the mirror. Older…wiser…deprived.
The small flame on the candle wick flickered once again, threatening to go out, this small spark until a filmy sphere of light captured this flame in its grasp and with all its might…kept the flame intact and with gentle hands, lifted it from the hold of the wicker and simply held the fire in its palms, this filmy sphere. She stared at wonderment to this twisted sight of comfort that also brought threat, that would she not, with him in his life, see? The fire slowly levitated and with a sway passed her whereas she followed and turned around. There, standing in civilian clothing, a faceless man with extended hands, his hands…as if holding his own heart, lenient to the sphere's landing, held it in his hands. Fastening his fingers snugly around the small flame he whispered, "What is the price for love? Vision. What is vision without heart? Nothing. What is the future without the past? History." With the closing phrase the gentle fingers grew cold, and with the twisted nails of evidently a changed gender of a woman, attempted to crush the small flame. Despite the attempt the white sphere kept it alive, "Damned heartlessness." She hissed, "Those without hearts…could only live with a given love, that even I myself can not deliver and crush. Yet, with this palisade of the past, I am Queen. I am victorious, I am Time." Her nail of the index finger punctured the sphere but is immediately removed as the sphere recovered, the flame growing stronger. "Nourish my child, nourish his pitiful life, though he can not love a woman, he can be a man whom a woman love, and if so be it, he shall give his life to save her heart, this fire of vision, this blockage to my success." She released this tiny sphere where Rei extended her hands to touch it, this warmth that made her smile. Watched as it drifted into the wind, into the darkness, lighting wherever it would go…and then vanished. "What is to be broken, but a heart?"
Her eyes slowly came to an open as the reality is brought back to her, the fading insight. Her head rose up, "I will lose my vision?" She sounded calmer than she would ever let herself be known. For love? For heart? This vision had not settled in and as she stared at the persistent flicker of the flame, grew impatient and diverted her gaze. "With him, I will lose my vision? Those who have no heart can not live without love?" She shook her head, it sounded absurd, and this sentence that just spilled out of her mouth all too suddenly. It made no sense to her, for those who have no hearts cannot love! She sat back, breaking out of the studious pose and with a fading sigh drew into her sleeves and from it pulled out a charm. Tossing it into the fire, the folded triangular paper and upon it the name Tsukino Usagi. She laughed bitterly and laid down onto the hardwood floor, staring at the hardwood ceiling of dark birch. "Without a heart…how could you live?"
His solemn gaze never shattered, the looming question, 'Who is he?' His hand came over his chest, the sudden jolt he froze. The shuffling caught her attention, "Who's there?" She sat up quickly and whipped around. He withdrew from the parted screen and with a soft exhale of his wintry breath, vanished into a filmy whiteness that left no trace but the subtle, very subtle scent of musk. She scanned the hall, "Yuuichirou?" She called across the empty corridor, hearing no footsteps or any of that, she turned back to the fire. There, in her surprise, had wilted. All that is left of the once blazing flame are a few strands of smokes that snaked up awkwardly with the pungent scent. Nothing more. As if breaking out of that trance had brought back human standards she began to feel the tugs of hunger…and exited the sanctuary just across to the door where upon entering, found a man keeled over, gripping his side.
Despite his pain he tried to conceal, the way he sat betrayed him. She touched his shoulder, "What's wrong?" She asked him but found no reply, therefore knelt and tried to peer under his arms. "Nothing." He barked out and waved his arm at her, pushing her back while he turned his back on her. Rei blinked, "Fine!" She said, taking the tray she left the room, leaving him. She did not have to put up with his attitude, even if he had saved her life…once.
Flustered she dropped the tray down onto the tabletop less than gentle, the loud clatter of the china and wood. Sitting down she fumed while eating the cold food, picking up a bit of chicken while she gnawed at the meat and huffed. Her kindness did not seem to effect him the least bit and from the days that she had seen him he just seemed to grow colder and colder. Winter is approaching, without the warmth of a certain someone, it felt all the worse. Nothing tasted good cold, she let down the bowl and chopsticks, pushed the tray away and simply with her hand, picked at the food one by one and ate it. The pained expression, she had gotten a glimpse before he pushed her away, perhaps he wanted to be bold and… "It's not my problem!" She assured herself, shutting out the voice clawing in her mind, beckoning for her to go…go see if he's alright. Threading her fingers gingerly into her hair, brushing it back she sat there with her head perched in her hands…and then with an abrupt jump shot up and ran down the corridor.
He examined the wound, why wasn't it healing? The bandage soaked through with blood, had it opened up while he moved? He hissed and rolled the flimsy shirt over his head and cast it to the side, sitting up he felt around for the bobby pin that held the gauze into place to find it at the back where he could barely touch it with his fingertips. The door slid open, he took no heed but tried to work at the metal pin until she expertly unhooked it. "Unwrap it yourself." She commanded sternly, "I'll go get some water to clean your cut." He started unravelling the dirty gauze while she disappeared into the bathhouse and…after several minutes returned with a wooden basin filled halfway with steaming water. She sat down the basin by his leg, his firm back exposed…with the contracting of his abdominal…from the jolting pain.
She moved his arm out of the way firmly and looked at the wound that spread twelve centimetres horizontally just below his chest, about two inches. Part of it had reopened while the other only a scab. She looked at him, he held that expression again…a heartless one. It seemed to only appear when she is around, did she repulse him that much? Without a single flinch, he sat still as she tended to him. He'll be damned if he lets another woman toy with his heart or get near it. Her hot hands, the hot water, she stopped midway. "I think we should go to the bathhouse…it's been two days…and I don't have enough water here with me."
He grunted and stood up abruptly, regretted it soon enough when more of his wound opened. "You're so careless!" Rei stated in a less than friendly tone. "I care for your wound and you end up making it worse by moving around." He limped, he'd rather limped than let her help him, she didn't want to persist but walked behind him. "Be that way…" She muttered and trailed his tail, "Turn left." She instructed and he stopped and turned left to meet a set of screen doors he had not seen before. "This is my personal bathhouse…" She muttered, "So Yuuichirou won't find you and start assuming…"
He entered without her as she stood ignored outside the door. 'What's with him today?' She pondered and walked in behind, closing the door. He undressed without much thought, Rei covered her eyes and turned away as he chuckled. "Juvenile." He remarked and stepped into the drawn waters that lacked heat…but ignored the coldness that immediately sent him a shiver. She peeked through her hand, found him in the water, walked to the open furnace and threw in a few logs and lit the fire. The water started heating up, only slowly as Rei knelt in front of the sultry furnace and fanned at the fire with a wicker fan and once or twice would poke at the logs around and maybe add a few. Her face soon filled with grey spots of smoke, she wiped her forehead with her sleeve while keeping the fire up. "Hot enough?" She asked him. "No." He would reply.
She added another log and coughed when the acidy smoke rushed out from the small funnel and into her face, burning her eyes. She fanned it away and began to work at the logs again, making sure they get exposed to the fire that had blazed remarkably fast from the moment he had sat in cold water to the steaming water that heated him up now. He studied her from the water, his wound temporarily out of mind…she is an enigma…he yearned to solve the mystery but did not want to get burned…what a task…
