Please review! You guys are awesome :D
Oh, silentxangel, I love you =w= your long reviews are amazing. I'm glad someone else noticed that Chiaki's name sounds like Chucky when repeated over and over again T.T
The time lapse was from early August (we missed Ayame's birthday, but did Kazama?) to sometime in December, when the snow from China and Russia starts to cross the Sea of Japan.
I shouldn't really comment on everything just yet, since a lot of your queries will probably be answered in the next couple chapters :D
I'm glad you don't mind my personal effects :D as for buddy who was being touchy feely, he laid off after a while. I think I embarrassed him when I said "Don't touch me," in the middle of class, while the teacher was talking xD
EverRose808, thanks for reviewing again :D the old Ayame would have thrown multiple snowballs at Kazama and his older brother, however, she's probably terrified of what Ami-san would do if she saw xD also, it seems a few people have mentioned wanting to see Amagiri and Shiranui. I might get a chance but don't count on it D:
XDDD well said, Whimsicott. Yeah, Kazama is being surpassed by Hijikata. My argument for Hijikata is that his life has been cut in half, if not more, by the Ochimizu. Sadly and realistically, he won't have much time left to spend with Chizuru and their kids D':
I don't think you've reviewed in a while, SilverStarlight :D how are you? I just love Hijikata x Chizuru! It's the only Chizuru pairing I love :D
Thanks for your review, desirae668 :D knowing Kazama he'll just carry it around until she asks for it back. If she doesn't, well I guess he's keeping it xD as for Chiaki's name, I'm surprised you got Jackie xD I had to try it again to be sure. I still get Chucky D: that's probably because it was the first conclusion I ended up with xD
KrimsonRayne, I adore your name! Thank you for reviewing. If you're having trouble with POVs, it's even numbers for Kazama and odd numbers for Ayame. I'm glad you like the story! You'd draw Ayame? :D yes please! Just tell me where to find it when you finish it X3 you'll post it on deviant, right? Free advertisement! XD
Woot, record set on reviews per chapter :D
Hanashobu
Chapter 24: Avalanche, crushed wings.
Summer had quickly turned to autumn. Now the leaves had fallen and been buried beneath a blanket of pristine white snow. Ayame had changed as quickly as the seasons, though not as drastically.
She was trying to become more understanding, more tolerant. It showed in her sword style but I couldn't tell if it was a good thing or not.
Emi was spending a lot of time with her too. I had to wonder when she found time to research the Beni-hime, or things that were at least similar to the Hime.
I asked Chiharu what books she had been reading but he hadn't figured out what she was looking for yet. He had already caught onto her condition though. If she had wanted to hide it she shouldn't have been targeting only books about curses and possessions.
Chiharu practically begged me to tell him more so I told him to ask Ayame. He seemed incapable of approaching her.
Not like it was that easy to talk to her anyways. She was always with Oka-san or Emi. I only had a chance to train with her for a bit every afternoon.
From what I could tell, she had developed a habit of wandering off early in the morning. Maybe she was trying to make some time for herself. I wouldn't have even noticed, but thanks to the snow she left tracks. She either didn't notice or just didn't care to explain.
I could see the footprints in the snow from where I sat in front of my room and that bugged me more than anything else.
She must have known she wasn't being discrete. I wondered if she was waiting for me to say something about it.
"Give it back, Chiaki-nii!"
It was times like these that I wished I still smoked. I'd decided to quit though, and I wasn't about to start again. If I did it'd only give that idiot a reason to start as well.
"Prove that you are worthy of it," Chiaki taunted. What was he up to now?
"Fine!"
She stormed off and I rolled my eyes. Emi was just a kid but Chiaki was no better. Sometimes he was worse.
I met Ayame and Oka-san while walking back from the storeroom. Chiharu had requested that I get him a couple books.
They were doing laundry, probably heading to the furnace to heat some water up to make it easier.
"Good afternoon," I greeted.
Oka-san blatantly ignored me. I hadn't done anything recently so she must have been in a bad mood. Then again, Oka-san hated winter. She'd be grouchy until the snow melted away and the sakura replaced it. There wasn't actually a whole lot of sakura around here.
Ayame nodded back. "Good afternoon," she was carrying the brunt of the laundry.
"Oka-san has you running about again?" I commented.
Oka-san glared at me and Ayame tried to smile. "I'm technically freeloading here; I have to do what I can to help,"
Oka-san sniffed delicately, her version of a snort. "You remember it well,"
Whether Ayame intended to make a comment or not, she was cut off by a sudden rumble.
Perplexed, she looked up, squinting at the cloudy sky. An unsettled crease formed between her eyebrows.
"An avalanche?"
Oka-san scoffed. "I am surprised there has not been one sooner. The weather turned rather mild today,"
Indeed, the mountains on the other side of the lake were quite steep and the warmer weather today had made it particularly risky. Anything could have set off a large avalanche.
Chiaki appeared, white and pasty, lips drawn tightly. His unease immediately spread to me.
"Have you seen Emi?" he breathed tightly.
"No,"
Chiaki ran his hand through his messy short hair nervously. "She said she was going to prove me wrong. There are scattered footprints leading to the mountain,"
When he said 'scattered' he was referring to the large space between the steps of someone who was pseudo teleporting. I felt a lump growing in my throat. The rumble could still be heard.
"My little girl went up the mountain?" Oka-san whispered. She turned in the direction of the lake, wanting to bolt but knowing she couldn't possibly make it in time.
Ayame dropped her basket, springing onto the rooftop. I followed, glimpsing the dusty cloud at the peak. It was building, the further it reached the more snow that got caught up in it.
We could only hope that Emi wasn't above the tree line yet. She'd have a chance if she could get away before it hit the trees.
"You trust me, right?"
Startled, I gaped at her. She couldn't possibly mean to try and get there before it covered the whole mountainside.
She stepped out of her geta, cracking her toes against the roof tiles. I grabbed her arm and she shook me off, staring intently towards the mountain, already half engulfed in the sliding snow.
"Fight fire with fire, or pit disaster against disaster," she muttered to herself. "Wake up, you stupid princess!"
Ayame's hair burned red, a wave of green rolling through it before disappearing. Her horns emerged, crimson stained. A ring of shining gold remained in her eyes, otherwise dominated by a savage scarlet.
I reached for her again. You don't have to; the words were even on the tip of my tongue. I was so slow, how had I not realized sooner?
She pushed off the roof with force, the heavy tiles breaking away under her tabi clad feet. In a flash she was gone, my eyes tracing just a faint red blur.
I jumped down, grabbing Chiaki by the shoulder.
"What was that?" he questioned.
"No time to explain, just move,"
Chichiue had appeared and looked towards the path leading to the lake and the mountains just beyond. He had probably caught the gist of what was going on.
Oka-san grabbed his hand. "Take me with you," she pleaded. She seemed years younger, vulnerable even.
I pivoted, Oni blood coursing through my veins as I sprinted towards the lake. The cold wind pinched at my cheeks but I didn't have the time to slow down.
It was easily the fastest I had ever run. I arrived in time to catch a glimpse of Ayame, her red hair just a pinprick across the lake.
The snow was moving fast, broken trees and upturned earth tumbling down with it. It was almost on top of her, yet she moved parallel with it. My chest seized. She must have seen Emi.
Chichiue came to a stop behind me, Oka-san hanging onto his arm to support herself. Chiaki arrived behind them, gazing pale faced at the snow as it finished its decent; smashing onto the icy surface of the lake, the base of the almost vertical mountain.
The ice cracked open in places, piles of snow sinking into the frigid water. Powdered snow swept across and a chilling wind nipped at us.
I stood, numbly assessing the situation. It was the worst avalanche I had seen in my years here. There was no comparing it to any that had come before.
Chiharu had arrived, panting. He drew closer without saying a word. We were all at a loss for words.
I felt his hand on my shoulder and he broke the silence with a shaky breath.
"Chikage, there's nothing we can do. Who knows where they were carried?"
I moved closer to the frozen lakeshore. Ayame had been possessed by the Beni-hime at the time; there was no way she would have let her host die. The Hime had no reason to save my sister, and yet she had clearly been moving towards something.
Ayame had been in control. That was the only explanation. That spoiled princess would never have risked her host just to charge in to protect someone she had no connection to.
"Chikage," Chiharu spoke quietly. "There's no point,"
"There is!" I shouted back. "That idiot wouldn't die so pathetically,"
Chiharu's façade disappeared. "They are just two girls, two weak girls! Even you would have been crushed by the weight and debris," he kicked a rock jutting from the ground, sending it flying through the trees. "There is no hope for them," at that, his voice quivered.
I faced the mountain again and something fluttered past my eyes.
The glittering blue widened my eyes and I watched the small butterfly float to the ground, completely incompatible with the winter scene.
It melted, or broke apart, leaving a red splotch on the snow.
"Was that a shikigami?"
Somewhere in my mind I was surprised Chiaki remembered she had that kind of background. I didn't even know if she was capable of creating shikigami.
A second butterfly appeared, as though from nowhere. I held my hand out, palm to the sky. It landed, clumsily, quivering as its wings disintegrated.
Help . . .
There was only a drop of blood left in my hand now, but it felt as though there was a string tied to my wrist, urging me onwards.
Without another word, I bounded across the lake, avoiding the shattered ice. I prayed that I was being led to them by that strange force.
Chiaki followed me. He better have felt responsible for this.
The string continued to pull me, though I felt panicked. There was nothing but white as far as I could see, except for a few uprooted trees and boulders mixed in.
It became slack and I stopped, spinning in a circle.
"What is it?" Chiaki asked hopefully.
I didn't respond. There was a bloody spatter by a thick trunked tree, blurred as it soaked into the snow.
I placed my hands on the tree, searching for a firm grip. It was heavy and I barely budged it. That was probably a good thing.
"Don't!"
I gently let go. "Emi?"
"Nee-chan . . . Nii-san, Ayame-nee-chan!" her voice was muffled by the snow between us but the terror was unmistakable.
There had to be a pocket of air or something, probably from the tree.
"Nee-chan," Emi sobbed.
I froze, fighting the urge to dig. I was afraid of making it worse.
"She's bleeding!"
A little blood hardly meant anything to an Oni but it worried me that Ayame hadn't spoken up. How bad was it?
"Emi, calm down, we'll get you out!" I called. I felt a shiver taking hold of my body. "What's Ayame's condition?"
Chiaki made to move the tree and I shooed him away, motioning for him to dig instead. There wasn't anything else we could really do.
"There's a— there's a branch stuck in her back!"
My stomach tightened, a revolting feeling overcoming me temporarily. "Where is Chichiue?" I questioned.
Chiaki looked up. "He's coming. Chiharu's helping Oka-san over,"
I set myself to digging and Chiaki pitched in as well, his hands already turning red from the cold.
We dug almost directly under the tree, reaching them in just a couple minutes. Even in the muted light, it was possible to see the blood soaking into the snow.
Emi was lying flat on her back, hands on the tree trunk, helping to brace it as blood dripped on her torso from Ayame who knelt over her.
She held the trunk up with her back, one arm sinking into the snow, keeping the tree from flattening them. The other arm was stuck under a boulder, blood splattered on the wall of stone and snow.
The tree was not without limbs and one had pierced her side, through and through. She was still maintaining her Oni transformation, and therefore her consciousness. The Beni-hime had apparently left, leaving part of her white hair dyed with blood that ran from a wound on the back of her head.
"Kazama?" she choked.
I rolled into the narrow space, taking some of the weight from the tree onto my shoulders. "How are you holding up?"
She half chuckled, half coughed. "Not bad, can you do me a favor?"
I took a deep breath, trying to ward the fear from my voice. "Sure,"
"Get Emi-chan out of here first," Emi protested but Chiaki was already hauling her out. "Break the damned twig off so you can move me,"
I cleared my throat. "What about your arm?"
She must not have noticed it and painfully twisted her neck to check. "Change of plans, break the damned twig and then get the damned tree off my back.
Her hair was in her partly in her face, some propped back by her pointed ears. Through the curtain of white hair I could see blood escaping from her parted lips.
There was just enough room on the 'twig' for me to place my hand and break it off. I tried to be as gentle as I could but she still gasped.
"I'm alright," she reassured.
"Chiaki, pull that tree up, now."
Chichiue must have been up there too, because the tree moved almost effortlessly.
With the weight of the tree gone, Ayame seemed to relax and almost collapsed before I could catch her.
"Get that damned twig out of my side," she cursed.
"You'll bleed out,"
"If it pokes anything else I really will bleed out," she warned.
Chichiue had dropped down, maneuvering the boulder off her arm. She didn't even flinch, only inhaled deeply before clenching her teeth.
It was awkwardly twisted, clearly broken. Her skin was torn up, the deep gashes barely discernable amongst all the red.
"You can't risk moving her like that," Chichiue added. "Just get her back to the house quickly after taking it out. Your mother at least knows how to bandage her up until we can get a proper surgeon."
Ayame feebly held my hand, "Pull it out from the back," she took a deep breath. "The base of the branch will widen the wound otherwise."
I had no experience with this kind of thing, but I supposed she didn't before she met me either. "Whatever you say," I might have been shaking but I grabbed it anyways, pulling it out as carefully as I could.
It came out easier than I would have thought, and I worried that I had done it too quickly. Ayame was limp in my arms for a moment.
"Unsympathetic jerk," she managed weakly.
"Just keep it up," I retorted. I shrugged out of my black haori, wrapping it around her before gingerly picking her up.
I hopped out of the hole, trying not to jostle her. She had a hand clamped to the wound, though blood still seeped through. I could feel it against my own skin already. Her right arm lamely hung down and I quickly rested it on her stomach.
"Ayame-nee-chan!" Emi cried. Everything after that was jumbled together incoherently. Oka-san hugged her tightly, her lips pressed to the top of Emi's head.
"Are you okay?" Ayame inquired distantly. Her skin was almost bleached of color, except for the frightening purple tint.
"I'm so sorry!" she wailed.
Ayame smiled and closed her eyes. After a long moment she opened them.
"Stay awake," I instructed.
"I thought I was already dreaming,"
I shook my head, not daring to laugh. I realized I hadn't changed back throughout the whole time and allowed the transformation to fade away. Ayame was probably getting the last of her strength from hers. A cut on her cheek slowly meshed itself back together.
There was no time to waste anymore; she wouldn't last if I just stood around here.
She was bleeding so much.
"Hurry up," I threw over my shoulder.
I wondered who had the worse wound now, myself or Ayame?
That night, the house was taken by a suffocating silence.
I sat in my room, back stiffly against the wall. I'd seen death many times, been the cause many more times. It wasn't anything new to watch someone I knew or didn't know die.
In my younger years I'd fought side by side with comrades. I hadn't blinked when they died, hadn't cared at all.
It was rightfully different this time and I wished I could somehow rewind today's events. I didn't want to feel this pain in my chest.
I couldn't even sit with her, watch over her as she had for me. I couldn't return the favor.
Chichiue had brought a doctor from Kyoto, a man called Matsumoto. He supposedly had some experience with Oni, as he had been close to Koudou before he died.
I was reluctant to trust a human but there was no one else to ask. Oni didn't often pursue medical sciences. There was no point when we had almost infallible bodies.
Oka-san had come in earlier and updated me on Ayame's condition. She had spoken civilly and considerately.
She wasn't in good shape and she didn't try to mask that. The wound in her side wasn't as bad as it could have been, but still life threatening. Worse still, she had a severe head injury.
I thought this was supposed to be the safest place around? Nothing too dangerous to do, no one too dangerous to break in. Why did she run off on her own like that?
Emi had been standing in front of my door for ten minutes now, working up the nerve to enter or waiting to be invited in.
"Come in," my voice sounded hoarser than I cared to admit.
She slid the shoji screen aside. It was late and she was probably tired. I was; I just couldn't shut my eyes without seeing Ayame's wounds in my head.
"Nii-san," she murmured, wiping her eyes. "It's my fault, isn't it?"
I wanted to say yes, or blame Chiaki . . . blame myself as well. Ayame would have decidedly blamed herself and the avalanche.
I sighed, "It's not your fault."
She fell to her knees, bawling. "But, but! If I hadn't been so stupid, none of this would have happened!"
I stood, making my ways over to her to pat her back.
"You can't change what you did, and you shouldn't regret it either. You could have died but Ayame saved you. She saved your life so you just have to thank her when she's feeling better."
She continued to wail and I picked her up, bringing her back to her room.
Emi must have been so afraid, more than anyone else. She was on that mountain when the avalanche happened, unable to get away in time. She thought for sure she should have been the only one to be caught up in it and then, out of nowhere, Ayame had appeared.
She shouldn't have felt responsible for the decision Ayame had made on her own. Ayame sure as hell didn't regret it.
Please review :D I finished this chapter extra early in the week :D
But gosh, this was a stressful chapter x.x there are only so many times you can use snow, blood, and red x.x
April 4th, 2012
Chapter 25: Yukiona and the gods.
Let the Hime's past be revealed!
Also, I have the schedule for every chapter til the very end now :D if you want it just ask and I'll post it next week.