Hinamizawa Hell
"The Truth of Fate" Arc: 3
Ch. 14: A Past Revealed: Part 2
/
"Phew! Finally made it! Now, where did uncle say those herbs were again? It's been awhile since I came up here, but I'm sure they were somewhere around this cliff side…"
As the peaceful mists of clouds passed on by the cliff side, one could look down on the valley floor below and take in the wonders of the early morning life abounding in the world. Soft, cool breezes would brush one's skin and refresh any ailment they felt, if only to do so by looking on at the world below. Such places akin only to places of meditation, on this mountain this area flourished with life and peace; a place where medicinal plants and folklore was said to have existed. On this day of days, a man dressed in white garments wearing a pointed reed rice hat came bounding over the dirt road with a large, wooden box on his backside. On his side was a leather satchel held on only by a rope over his shoulder, and in both hands were walking sticks for the long trek up the path.
Breathing heavily from his journey, the man sat on a nearby rock and drank from a woolskin filled with water. Wiping the liquid from his mouth with his sleeve, he breathed a sigh of pleasure; enjoying the cool, refreshing taste of the substance. Remaining for a moment longer and looking on at the world below, Riku Furude could not help but enjoy the view from on top of the holy mountain. He often traveled up on such occasions seeking various herbs and medicinal plants for his family's shrine below, but usually in his free time he came up the mountain for pleasure rather than work. Today, however, was not such a day as the duties akin to his family's shrine took precedence over his folly.
Sighing again and grabbing his satchel and collection box, he began trekking up the road again until the upper part of the mountain flattened out to the main grove. This area was filled with various trees, bushes and growth of wild plants which would surely produce a plentiful supply of the much needed herbs for his village below. After reaching this area, Riku instantly went off on a collection spree; grabbing up various plants, leaves and roots from different vegetation around. Though this trip would take two to three days to accomplish, he had figured that camping up atop the mountain that night would not be so bad.
"Heheheh…father constantly chides me for not wanting to do herbal collection amongst my other duties. Ha! The joke is on the old man. I love being up on this mountain, sometimes I wish I could even live up here the rest of my life! But…that's an impossible dream. It would be lonely up here just being by myself. At least I have a few days away from the village and can fortunately go do a little adventurous camping too!"
Riku sat next to his bag full of food and supplies whilst pondering the life of a mountain monk. Riku had gained a dislike of the holy life back in the village, on top on his father's constant strictness. He was only 20 years of age and his father wanted him to marry soon in order to extend the family lines. However, whenever the topic came up and the potential wives were given consideration, Riku found no interest or care for any of it. He just enjoyed being a bachelor and a free man, however restricted the religious life made him.
After some time passed, Riku checked the parchment his father gave him and made sure that the herbs were collected to the brim in his box. Marking off each of the items on his list mentally, Riku realized that he was missing one very important herb before being able to satisfy the requirements of his journey.
"Hmm…it looks like we needed a good quantity of tea leaves again. I swear, father always uses too much back home. And despite that…the only area where the tea leaves flourish in such a quantity is on the farther most part of the nearby forest…"
Looking up from his list to the distance ahead, Riku gulped in fear at the mere thought of traveling into the said forest. The Demon Forest of this mountain, as depicted in Riku's village's history for many years, housed a demoness in the form of a young woman who enticed young men into her home to either seduce or eat as a meal.
"The woman in red...the woman with horns as long as an elk and teeth longer than any ordinary Oni. *Gulp*…but…but…" Riku stuttered, then comically cried out in joy at such an unusual thought "SHE IS SAID TO BE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN ALL THE LAND! Long flowing hair, a seductive gaze, and skin as white as milk! Oh, I wouldn't mind being captured by her and used for whatever purpose she would have of me, o ho ho ho!" Riku spouted a metaphorical nosebleed at such thoughts, imagining the demoness luring him into her dwelling and using him for all eternity. "On the other hand…she could trap me and eat my organs like a dessert…*Gulp*…maybe…going down that forest path would best be kept for another day…"
As Riku nervously packed his belongings and looked on back down the mountain path to the distanced hut he would stay in for the night, the thought of the disappointment in his father's glare once he learned of Riku failing to find all the ingredients. This made him stop and look back on the forest path with a lingering stare. Sighing and knowing what he had to do, Riku turned back towards the Demon Forest with courage and will in each of his steps. Thinking of all those tales his friends told him when he was younger, Riku merely believed that all that nonsense was to prevent young ones from going up here by themselves. Riku was a man fully grown, and he would not let some fantasy get the better of him. Besides, who had even seen a real demon, or demoness for that matter, right?
/
Going down the dark forest path, enshrouded by towering trees above, was easier said than done. The forest path was shadowed and, though not as scary as Riku thought, was treacherous with all the gnarled roots in the dirt below. One wrong step and Riku would easily incur a sprained ankle and a harder time traveling back down the mountain. For that matter, Riku merely took his time traversing through the green forest instead of rushing in and hurting himself.
Though the forest was dark at the time, the atmosphere was full of cicadas singing their songs and various birds chirping from branches around. Riku even found the forest to be hilly; causing him to go up and down winding paths with almost every few hundred yards. He found it after some time to be an easy place to get lost in had not Riku been an experienced mountain climber. With some time and the sun rising to the afternoon sky, Riku came into view of something unusual; something he had never thought to see or even greet his eyes before.
"Hmm? Where is that wonderful voice coming from? It sounds like a angel from the heavens!" Riku stopped in his tracks and quieted any movement around him. After listening intently for a few moments, he noticed a distinct voice coming from a little ways away over another hillside in the forest. In the distance, he could see some steam rising in small clouds near a rock wall; another sight which grasped his curiosity. Deciding to go on and check on the unusual voice from heaven in the distance, Riku slowly and quietly moved forward past the various foliage and bushes until he came to a very humid area.
*A natural hot spring? There aren't any recorded on this mountain. What a find!* Riku thought to himself. Setting his things down near a boulder, he took off his hat and exposed his damp, black hair at last. Whilst moving closer to the hotspring in his white shrine clothing, Riku came up to a small opening in a wall of bushes which enclosed the hot spring area and peered through.
What he saw was, for the first legitimate time in his life, a beautiful young woman naked from head to toe, singing to herself in a steamy hot spring whilst cleaning herself of any minor impurities on her body. She smiled in such a way that Riku's heart fluttered off from such a gorgeous and loving sight. However, that wasn't the only thing which set his desire on fire, but looking on at the naked young woman Riku had found that his manly urges kicked in.
"Oh my! Such a beautiful woman and a feast for the eyes. I could look at this angel all day! Thank you God for such a gift!"
And in this one moment of weakness, Riku had spoken out loud to himself whilst fantasizing about the naked woman before him. At this point, he had caused the woman in the hot spring to become aware of his presence.
"AH! Who's there! WHO?" shrieked Hanyuu, quickly grabbing a nearby robe and casting it onto her wet body. Without care, she went to her nearby things and grabbed a weapon in the form of a small katana; unsheathing the sword and letting its glistening blade shine in the daylight. Waiting for an answer, Hanyuu kept up her defenses before knowing well enough what threat was near her.
Fortunately for the both of them, that threat was a fantasizing Riku who had a small trait of being clumsy from time to time.
"AH! Don't be alarmed miss…I'm sorry for intruding on you! I didn't know you were bathing." Riku nervously hid behind the bushes, making sure that Hanyuu didn't attack him with her bladed weapon on any instant. Merely covering his eyes with his hands, Riku didn't notice the deep red blush on Hanyuu's face and her growing anxiety because of it.
"You…You! You're a human! You shouldn't be here! Go away!" Hanyuu cried in astonishment, though with the words of her mother echoing in a long forgotten past, Hanyuu instinctively used these words as a shield for her and any other's protection.
"Huh? Human…but…you're also…"
Between the fingers of his hand, Riku confusingly looked on at Hanyuu and noticed something odd about using the word "human". Studying her curiously, Riku soon learned what many others in the past had learned about Hanyuu; that she was different from a normal human. Looking on at her dark, shining horns embroidered in her long, elegant hair, Riku nervously looked on with wide eyes and complete fear. The stories of the demoness of these woods came back to memory, and all Riku could do was fret in fear of being eaten by such a beautiful woman.
"Y…Yo…You're the…the…"
Before Riku could get the stinging words out which would send Hanyuu into another one of her encountered depressions, Riku's marked trait of being clumsy came into effect. With a mere slip of his foot on the wet stone surrounding the hot spring, Riku fell forward straight into another large rock, causing his head to connect with the hard stone. In moments, Riku toppled sideways with a large bump on his forehead and a dazed look.
Hanyuu rushed up to Riku with worry and fear alike laden in her mind; worry mostly being that for Riku's health. Clutching her robe to her body and cautiously moving forward, Hanyu inspected how much damage had been caused by the fall.
"Auauaua, are you alright? Hey!" Hanyuu called out to Riku, though his only response would cause her to blush more than she ever had in her entire life.
"Youa…you're….beautiful…" was all Riku could muster to say before letting the darkness cloud his vision and carry him off to dreams of sleep.
At these words, Hanyuu stood over Riku and noticed that he had blacked out from the hit to his head. Lowering her sword and looking around in worry, Hanyuu didn't know what to do. Leaving him there would certainly mean a danger to his bodily health, but otherwise there was no option left to get help. She was an outsider, and he was a human. Forgetting the words of her mother and going against all logic, Hanyuu did what her heart told her to.
"I can't just leave him here. So…I guess I'll take him back home and care for him until he wakes up…"
After such a thought left her mind, Hanyuu blushed even deeper again at remembering his words. Looking on at Riku's appearance, Hanyuu's own heart fluttered for some odd reason that she could not describe or explain.
"He…said I was beautiful. He's also…kind of cute too…"
Remembering Riku's head injury and the seriousness of it, Hanyuu shook her head of any thoughts and quickly gathered her possessions. Once she placed them in her own satchel, Hanyuu picked up Riku's body gently and carried him back to her keep not far off in the distance near the hot spring. Once there, Hanyuu diligently attended to Riku's wound and cared for him until he awoke several hours later. Until that time, Hanyuu remembered what Riku had said of her and could only fathom why he believed her to be cute. She was a demi-demon, and cursed to live on the rest of her life in suffering. Because she had abided by her mother's wishes of not coming into contact with anyone else, Hanyuu had maintained a peaceful life in the mountains with very little human contact whatsoever. Now, though, this man had come into her life and she was all too thrilled to have some form of human contact again. This desire overrode her mother's warnings simply by Hanyuu's curiosity in the man named Riku Furude.
/
When he awoke some time later, Riku's blurry gaze soon became clear again in the form of watching shadows dance on a nearby wall. When he remembered where he was, Riku found himself in a cozy room near a centered fire pit; its hot flames rising up into the air. Centered over the fire was a pot steaming with a delicious smelling stew. Nearby the fire pit next to Ryuu, Hanyuu sat with a bundle of blankets around her body. She was so covered up in the blankets that all Riku could see peeking out was her face; not even Hanyuu's horns could be seen. As Riku slowly rose up and seated himself closer to the fire, he rubbed his head and noticed that a bandage had been wrapped around the area where a now swollen bump had grown. Remembering what happened, Riku turned to Hanyuu and stared at her in astonishment.
"You…you're the "demon" that people in my village have talked about so much. But honestly…you don't look like one at all…" he spoke. Hanyuu seemed unsettled by this; blushing again for the umpteenth time that night while she had stared at him and countlessly replayed the words he had said of her in her mind over and over again.
"I suppose so. I…don't get too many visitors on this mountain…." She meekly replied. Hanyuu looked away for a moment, and then back into the flames of the fire once more.
"Wait, what happened? My head still hurts…" Riku put a hand to his head and felt a dull throbbing; though the pain was not as bad as he thought it would be.
"You fell over yourself and hit your head on a rock. I brought you back here and cared for you in the meantime…" Riku noticed a large blush on Hanyuu's cheeks as he peered at her through the bundles of blankets about her. Noticing this as unusual, Riku pursued this oddity.
"Thanks…but…why are you wrapped up in so many blankets? Are you cold?" he asked with genuine curiosity.
"Ah, no no no, auaua…" Hanyuu suddenly grabbed the blankets and pulled them tighter over her head, afraid that Riku would get scared of her. Riku, on the other hand, saw this immediately and knew exactly why she was acting so.
"Heheheh…are you worried about your horns? I'm not afraid, you know…" he replied in a cool fashion. Hanyuu looked at him again and saw the truth in his caring eyes, and for once, let her guard down. With a sigh, she let the blankets fall from around her shoulders; revealing her horns to him once more.
"You should be…I'm part demon…and cursed you know! That's why you and all the others should stay away from someone like me…I could bring disaster upon those I care for without cause…" Tears welled up in Hanyuu's eyes again, but this time she felt tired to even try and be sympathized for. Hanyuu had cried for many years before she realized the full extent of her fate, and from that somehow grew stronger from it. If anything, Hanyuu became colder on the inside so that she could handle the harsh reality of her life.
"Cursed? I don't believe in curses…psh!" Riku swatted his hand in the air without care, passing off the curse like it was nothing. From this, Hanyuu became offended.
"This isn't some joke! I was…once human like you…until…I failed in a duty and was cursed by God. That's how…I got these horns and was marked…" she said in despair, though solemn in her silence near Riku. He listened on with great intent, and for once was learning something about this strange woman. In the next moment, Riku laughed as if something else had caught his mind.
"Hey…I don't even know who you are or what plight you may be in, but from what I can see you are not cursed or a demon that lures men into her lair to use them and eat them for meals. Everyone in my village says you seduce men for pleasure, and when you are done with them eat them as a meal. From my perspective, you're neither…." Riku laughed at this matter, trying to lighten the mood. For some odd reason, Hanyuu became silent after pondering this notion, and in the next, looked at him with devilish eyes and an evil smile.
"Why…I didn't forget about that. I need to get to know you before taking you to bed, and then the feasting won't be for at least a few days…" she said with a small, toothed grin. Riku looked on at her with wide eyes and gulped in fear, and was only put at ease until Hanyuu snickered at his loss and despair. It seemed this man had a way of opening Hanyuu up to manage small jokes at times even now.
"You're…kidding right?" he asked.
"Of course! Besides…I don't eat humans. If I did, then why would I have stew ready for dinner?" she asked, peering at him with a notion of logic and victory. Riku realized this as well and merely joined in together with her laughing.
"Well…this is confusing to me and all, but where to start?" Riku moved closer to Hanyuu and raised a hand in greeting to her unexpectedly. "I'm Riku Furude of Onigafuchi Village. I'm next in line to head the Furude Shrine and all of its lordships. Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?" he smiled to Hanyuu caringly. She blinked at him for a few moments, and then sighed, returning the handshake.
"My name is too long to pronounce, even for someone like you. For that matter, you may call me Hanyuu. As for my family name, that is seen to remain in my past along with all my deceased relatives…" her smile became a frown and another sigh, as she returned her gaze to the fire before her.
"Hanyuu? That is quite a pretty name I must say."
Again, Hanyuu had been mentioned to be pretty. She blushed a deep red and looked at him with eyes full of confusion. She didn't deserve his kindness or gentle remarks. It was not her fate.
"Why do you keep doing that?" Hanyuu narrowed her eyes at him, trying to restrain the blush from being noticeable.
"Doing what?" he asked with confusion.
"You think I'm cute and have a pretty name? I'm a demon…that's not supposed to be…"
As quickly as she said these words, Hanyuu suddenly found herself at a loss for them when Riku took his hand and patted her on the head. He rubbed her hair somewhat gently, though enough to ruffle it a bit. The overall effect, though, caused Hanyuu to blush the deepest red she ever had done in her life, all the while looking on at him in amazement.
"Hey, stop putting yourself down like that. I don't know who filled your head with such things, but I told you before and I'll tell you again: I think you are beautiful and a caring person, not some demon. Enough of that ok?" he said, grinning at her.
All Hanyuu could do was look on for a few moments longer, and nod her head in defeat. For some reason, his mere touch had put her at ease for the first time in over several hundred years. It became almost euphoric for her; a feeling she wished would never leave. All she could muster to say, though, was in asking why he did such a thing.
"Why did you rub my hair like that?" she looked away back at the fire, though touching her hair meekishly.
"Oh, sorry, it's an old habit of mine. I do that to my younger sister at the shrine when she's down or when she does something worthy of praise. It seems to have some kind of magic about it." Riku sat back down near the fire and remained silent for a few moments longer before asking Hanyuu what was really on his mind. "Hey, why don't you tell me what happened that's getting you so down? I want to know more about you…" Riku continued to stare at Hanyuu for a while, hoping that he could get a sense of what Hanyuu's life story was like.
"If I told you…you wouldn't understand. More so…you wouldn't want to know…" Hanyuu looked deeply into the flames, as if searching for something which belonged to her past. The glow of the firelight reflected into her own dark purple irises, though her gaze became dull somewhat.
"What's the worst that could happen?" he asked.
Turning slowly to look at Riku again, Hanyuu sighed and began what would be a long story of her past; the point of her family and her holy duty with the Orb of Fate, to losing the orb and being exiled from a dying and chaotic village. She even went into graphic detail over how she lost her mother and father, and how she wanted to die on the cliff side that one day. After she had finished and felt drained of her energy, Hanyuu remained silent whilst Riku digested all that was told to him.
"So you see, that's my curse and my punishment. To live out the rest of my life in suffering and pain. With these horns, I am marked as a demon and a being not human. An eternity of hell…" she spoke, remembering her past vividly once more.
"Wait, so you're actually over 300 years old?" Riku asked in astonishment. For him to meet a woman of such youth and beauty, only to find out she was many times over his own age, captivated Riku.
"Weren't you listening to me? I'm cursed…"
Suddenly, Riku took Hanyuu off her guard again and began poking her cheek; trying to figure out if this was a dream or a reality. Hanyuu flustered at this action and swatted Riku's hand away in embarrassment, sending him into a snickering fit.
"Heheh…you are very easy to fluster, you know? And I told you, you're not cursed. You may have made a mistake, but you shouldn't have been cursed for a child's folly. Stop hanging that over your head and let it stay in the past…" Riku smiled at Hanyuu, although she became nervous at such a notion.
"I…agree with you. I strongly oppose God for such a simple mistake, but…I'm a lowly being, so I can't go against such laws of existence. I made an error, and now I have to pay for it…" Hanyuu stated with dismay. Riku nodded, though didn't know what else he could do for her.
"So…if you've been up here all this time…then I'm not the first to know about you, right?"
"The surrounding villages have chiefs, if I remember correctly. At some point or another, some villager like yourself comes around looking for resources or just travels about on a whim. If they come across me without ever hearing of that "Demon Woods" story, then I send them back to their chief and invite them here to hear my story. After that, the village practically wants nothing to do with me. That's the way I want it to be…the way it has to be…" Hanyuu grabbed two bowls for the stew and served up a helpful portion to Riku, who gladly took his share. In a few moments, Riku gobbled up the entire bowl before Hanyuu's amazement and asked for more. She was all too happy to oblige.
"It must get lonely up here all by yourself, but if it were me I'd love to have all the peace and quiet. I can't stand being part of the holy life. It's boring work and all my duties take up precious personal time…" he stated, eating a chunk of meat from the bowl of stew all the while. Hanyuu looked at him with wide eyes, finding some kind of inherent bond through this desire of his.
"You didn't want the holy life as well, right? Neither did I! I found the work too boring too. My parents would scold me time and again for not sweeping the grounds or dusting the furniture in the shrine, heheheh…" Though Hanyuu's story was a tragedy, she still found some fond memories held in the depths of her mind. Riku seemed to be bringing it up to her mind now of all times.
"Nope. If I could be you, I'd live up here on the mountain everyday and enjoy the woods, the fresh air, and even your hot spring too! I'd take a bath all day if I had the choice!" mused Riku with joy. He blushed at the mere thought of paradise on this holy mountain.
"I'm sorry…but you can't. After you feel rested enough to travel, you must leave my keep and never return…"
The air between Riku and Hanyuu suddenly became tense. Hanyuu stared flatly at the floor, whilst Riku looked on in bewilderment. For Hanyuu to out rightly refuse his company in the future, after talking with her for so long, felt like a wound to his heart. He readjusted himself and tried to convince her otherwise when some time had passed.
"What if…I wanted to come back?" he asked genuinely. He looked on with eyes of longing, not for Hanyuu's beauty but in retaining his newfound friendship with her. To her, though, Hanyuu was surprised to even hear this desire.
"You…really want to stay? Even if that was true…you can't…you wouldn't be safe around me…" Hanyuu looked away again, fear rising in her heart that if she were to allow him to stay, that Riku would suffer a fate similar to the one her village's members found. However, in all logic that resided in her mind, Riku did not start acting odd or start trying to create chaos around her. He remained normal, and for that, maybe there was a small chance that her fate was misread, even by her mother.
"Of course I want to stay. I know that is a folly of a chance, but I would love to come visit you whenever I can! I'll make excuses to my father and say that I'm coming up here to find herbs like before. I don't think it would be odd if some of our village's herbs stores suddenly disappeared….heheheh!" Riku laughed mischievously to himself, causing Hanyuu to find a small smile appear on her face. She nodded to his thoughts, and for the first time in many years started finding that maybe life wouldn't be so bad. She would stay on the mountain, and only have Riku to visit her with permission.
"If you come here…you can't tell anyone about me. It wouldn't be safe. More so, if you stay up here with me…then I have a favor to ask of you…"
Riku looked on at Hanyuu with interest in her favor. As she eagerly looked on at him, he sat with full attention.
"Go on…"
"I…I want…more books…more stories…"
"Eh?"
Hanyuu suddenly stood up and beckoned Riku to follow. In her haste, Hanyuu went quickly enough over to a nearby door to make Riku fall behind. When he met back up with her in confusion, Hanyuu pushed open a doorway to reveal a much larger room. Once Riku's eyes adjusted to the light of the new room, he found stacks upon stacks of bound papers and scrolls lined up on many shelves. It was as if Riku had stumbled upon a great library; something large enough to say it belonged to one person. In Riku's lifetime, he had never seen so much scrolls or papers in one person's home before. If anything, Hanyuu's family must have been wealthy or important in some sense to own such a collection.
"My family had many duties, and one duty was to collect and record every detail of our village's history. Not only that, but my mother loved stories. Her family held onto this keep for many years as a home away from home. Her family was said to have given my mother many a book over the course of her life. I'm sure in some sense she has read most of these…unlike myself, where I have read all of them…" Hanyuu walked into the room and brushed her fingertips over dusty scrolls and various papers. To Hanyuu, each story was as if it came to life in her mind; every word and action memorized in her being. She found this unusual ability to recall such information with relative ease astounding and frightful at times.
"So…all of these papers and scrolls…are stories? What kind?"
"They…are stories of worlds and pasts long ago… stories of lands I never even heard of…stories of magic…of light…dark…and…even Evil…." Hanyuu's voice became a whisper at the last part, but the wide space of the room was enough to echo it loud enough for Riku to hear. That part worried him to some degree.
"So…by Evil…you mean…"
"Demons…of a past long ago…" was all Hanyuu would say. In the next moment, she ushered Riku out of the room and back to where the fire sat in the room. She sat down again with him at her side while staring again back at the fire. She seemed eager to hear his response.
"You…read so many stories. Why do you want more?" he asked.
"All these years, I've been looking for something. Some way…to reverse what I did. I know it's foolish of me…that changing the past can never be done, but…I have nothing left to go on. So…in 300 years time…I've kept myself occupied by reading stories and researching my village's history. I've found some things…some ideas to accomplish my goal…but I'll never do it. I can never do such an act to undo my fate…" Hanyuu became so cryptic at this point that Riku could never catch on to this statement. However, he understood her pain to some degree, and from this, was able to come up with his answer without hesitation.
"I'll do it!" he said with confidence. Hanyuu took from her gaze to Riku's caring eyes once more, and this time, found something in them she couldn't quite put her finder on just yet. Whatever it was, Hanyuu never wanted it to leave her thoughts, her mind, or even…her heart.
"You'll…really do it!" Hanyuu smiled with tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
"Of course I will. It will be easy to get you some books. I'll go through my village's scribe house and see what I can find. I'll even…see if I can dig up some information on your village's fate. Maybe…just maybe, something is there that can help you. I'll help you in any way I can Hanyuu-chan!"
*Hanyuu-chan…* Those words played over in her mind for a moment, and at once she turned red as a beet. Hanyuu smiled genuinely and nodded in delight, for once, thankful that on this day she had met someone who would help her in her plight. Maybe, Riku's meeting with her was her fate.
After some more time had passed, and the hour to midnight drew near, Hanyuu and Riku both yawned simultaneously in exhaustion. Turning to go to her room, Hanyuu peered back at Riku and smiled.
"There is a guest room around the corner. Use the blankets here and try to get some rest. Tomorrow, I will help you gather the remaining herbs on your list and see you on your way down the mountain. Good night, Riku-kun…" Hanyuu sheepishly blushed again and smiled, quickly turning around the corner and sliding the door closed to the room. Riku watched on with a slight blush on his own face, smiling at the words she connected to his name likewise. As Riku got up and went to the room like Hanyuu said, he found it to be like any other guest room in one's home. Pulling the blankets over the futon set up in the center of the room, Riku laid down and stared into the darkness for some time. All thoughts he conceived, all ideas and memories that rushed through his tired mind, was of Hanyuu. That much said, he drifted off into peaceful dreams unlike any he had experienced before in his life. Before falling asleep, he whispered her name once more.
"Good night, Hanyuu-chan…."
/
Over the course of the next day, Riku found Hanyuu's company most enjoyable. Throughout the forest on that sunny day, Riku was able to find with Hanyuu's help all of the needed herbs and then some for his home village. Not only that, but with every moment he could spare, Riku found beauty in the way Hanyuu smiled and watched him. It was something he had never had before but couldn't even understand. This something, he thought, was perhaps love at first sight.
Riku would stay for yet another night with Hanyuu; filled with conversation much more friendlier and lighter than before. During his time with her, they discussed each other's feelings on different subjects as well as learned more information about one another. Hanyuu learned such things as Riku's constant love for dozing off under a tree in the woods, whereas Riku learned of Hanyuu's obsession for tasty desserts like dough filled with cream. Such talk lasted well into the early hours of the next morning from which they would eventually go to bed and wake up well into the afternoon the next day.
And at this point, despite Riku's dismay for having to leave her, they both knew well enough that he had to return back to his village. Riku stood with all of his belongings at the gate to her keep, whilst Hanyuu waited by while dressed in her usual kimono. They blushed as they stood near one another, though couldn't meet the others eyes as they found it too hard to do so. Trying to lighten the mood again, Riku patted Hanyuu's hair causing her to blush even more.
"I'll be back as soon as I can. And this time, I won't interrupt your bath while doing so. Ok?" Riku chuckled at this thought, though Hanyuu could only manage a small smile.
"Ok. And don't forget your promise ok?" She slowly etched her eyes to his own, causing Riku to blush again.
"Y…yeah! I will, don't you worry about it...I'll even…get you some books on poems too! You said last night you loved them, so I'll do my best ok?"
"Thank you…Riku-kun!" She smiled, and bowed formally to him. "…Be…be safe on your journey home…and…be back…soon!" she said, looking to the floor of the forest.
With one last smile, Riku bowed likewise and turned to leave, waving goodbye to Hanyuu. She watched as he left off in the distance till he was out of sight, but even despite their separation something was instilled in both of their hearts during this time. That something, though, wouldn't materialize for some time.
/
Weeks later, Hanyuu had been sitting by herself in a garden when the figure of Riku appeared beside a tree, watching her for a few moments before making his presence known. When their eyes locked and smiles formed on one another's faces, Hanyuu rushed up to Riku and embraced him in a hug. Flustered, they separated in that moment and greeted each other like friends would. On that day, Hanyuu would find that Riku had traveled with not only a satchel for collecting herbs, but also a bigger load on his back. Riku would later show Hanyuu that he fulfilled his promise, and with that came as many books and scrolls that he could carry with him. However, the one he carried in his hand was a worn out leather book filled with poems. It was his personal gift to Hanyuu, one that she would read many a time in his absence between visits and cherish for the rest of her life.
After Riku's first return, Hanyuu had learned of her village's fate, but alas there was not much to help with her plight. What she did learn of, however, was that her village had perished in the fires of the night; many elders and her own family members including dead and gone. Those who had survived, mostly the younger generations, ran away into the night only to go on to become an outcast of villagers nearby Riku's own village after many years of exile. As of now, those survivors had resided at the outskirts of Onigafuchi village and maintained their own plots of land. Though it was a small village of about 100 people, the village was still treated as an outcast and said to have been filled with "demons". In the fires of that fateful night, though, Hanyuu's identity died off with her family and her home. Whoever she was, Hanyuu had not been listed in either village's history texts as a person of interest. Though the blame was gone, Hanyuu's curse would remain in her mind for the rest of her life.
Her people had kept to themselves, but many would never dare go out to talk or communicate with them. Hanyuu's people had become darker and, though not as chaotic as the night she left them, had become an angry lot of people. When others had tried to go out to talk to them, many would become incoherent and afraid of the Onigafuchi villagers and even attack them in some sort of thought self defense. Afterwards, the Onigafuchi villagers wanted nothing to do with Hanyuu's people. This thought had remained disheartening for some time to Hanyuu, but at the present she had no idea how to help them or even alleviate their dark pasts. She was to blame, and at the same time possibly their only hope at survival.
As for the other gifts, Hanyuu discovered that Riku had given her plenty of books to help with her research and to pass the time reading with. Many books were novels in great length, however others were detailed accounts from Onigafuchi village about forlorn families and their duties to various gods. Though not much would come from these books, in due time she had hoped that some sort of answer would be found to reverse her fate.
Books and news aside, what Hanyuu found to cherish the most was the simple company of Riku again in her life. This man had some sort of unique aura around him; one that drew Hanyuu to longing for him after each and every visit. They would spend time in the garden listening to the peaceful bliss of nature and enjoying the sights of flowers of various colors and shapes. Many a time, Riku would find himself lying down in a small area of grass with Hanyuu sitting nearby; keeping watch over his sleeping form with caring affection. For the first time in her life, she had found real peace.
Riku himself was always eager to return to Hanyuu's keep to get away from his family and to escape the duties of the holy life set before him. In addition, he always had the thought of Hanyuu in his mind; her smile, her eyes, her horns, and her caring looks. Riku even laughed at the thought of when she scolded him for embarrassing her or when she would smile and think of a distant memory of hers. Though the two hadn't realized it yet, they were falling for one another…
If Hanyuu and Riku had their way, they would never want to leave one another, never leave the mountain, and never return to the evolving world outside. The peace of the mountain was enough to make them content for eternity, as well as with each other. Such a happiness, though, was not possible…not forever…
It wasn't until a fateful day in time that Riku and Hanyuu would realize something beautiful about their relationship, and in it, discover that when it came to a world of wonders that their one true desire was before them all along. In that, they found love, gave life, and attempted to make their own happiness. It was on that fateful day that Riku and Hanyuu would confess something to one another; a confession that would instill in them a bond never to be broken but made stronger; one that would provide a fruit which would save all of existence as they knew it in their dimension.
It was on that day they knew what love really was….
/
You take the path of the unknown,
Fearful of what may lie ahead.
You walk the path in darkness,
Seeking the light at the end.
You tread a broken path,
Wondering when you will see the way.
You take one turn,
Only to find many more before you.
And all in all,
That path you take,
Leads to Twilight in the End.
Mother,
Remember what you were,
Remember what you stood for,
Remember why you did,
What you did.
Mother,
Open your mind once more,
And wake up from the dream,
That you created…
Mother…
Hanyuu…
Next time on Hinamizawa Hell, Arc 3 Ch. 14: A Past Revealed: Part 3.
Why can't you wake up?
