A/N: hey guys
hope you somewhat liked the first chapter...so here you go with the second
ah I had forgotten in the last chapter, and this would be the only chapter i would mention soo
disclaimer :- naruto and its characters and scenes all belong to masashi kishimoto , only the ocs and the new plot is mine
see ya!
6 months
I had been trying to reproduce the effects the mist produced that day. It seemed it was different to magic in the matter of emotions . No matter state i was in, it was slippery like hell and some days i wanted to bang my head against the pen. The moment I even dare to think that ya I have got it, it would just smack me in my face, wiggling out of my control like a rebellious toddler;ignore the not intended pun. i had some ideas how i could further the technique like practicing with different types of materials and also changing the amount of mist each time. But Morgana if only it would listen to me, ugh!. Seeing as it was dense and slippery I had been making it move in opposite directions within my body so that I could have a semblance of flexibility in regards to it. I knew trying to flex a still developing part could have inconveniencing consequences but I figured as long as I kept it to the basics, I should be fine right?. Along with that I had been working with the dexterity of my fingers and muscle flexing.
After that incident, I had progressed to walking which I tried to do along with the other things in every possible time which was not much since I couldn't let my parents know. First words at 3 months was pushing it. If they saw me walk now they might as well faint in shock.
The frequent bouts of tiredness and the increasing number of people coming to pinch my cheeks and coo at me didn't leave me enough time to do what I want and not to mention those were so so annoying. Didn't they have anything else to do except invading my personal space every other second?, though I ignored the niggling doubt in the back of mind as to the reason of so many visitors hitting our house...sometimes it seemed I had met the whole of the village.
Many times I would childishly stick out my tongue at them when all I wanted was to show them the finger.
As I had said before my new parents were a caring couple. Mother read stories to me which I soaked in like a greedy man. She would smile at me fondly and stroke my head when I would urge her for a new one , another one and rapidly I was exhausting all children books at home. Good, I don't want to be stuck in these books for longer anymore.
She once took me outside and after being isolated all these months , the sudden barrage of colors from all sides made me dizzy for a second. My head was twisting and turning in all angles to take in the people bustling around us and mother had a hard time keeping me still in her arms, but I could read the amusement in her eyes at my antics. Men laughing boisterously, children running and screeching their glee, the appetizing aromas floating over to us, the strange things displayed in the shop windows...all in all it was what a normal plain village would look like but to me it was ..beautiful.
My past would always lurk in my mind. I yearned to be back there but I knew, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't, at-least not yet. So I would remember them always but would never loose myself to them. I wont ever forget the hard earned lessons, the shared moments or the bonds. They would always live on in my eyes but no tear would be spilled for them. For the present ,alexis would remain in a slumber until … until I reached the goal. And my new home..it was mine as much as the past one. I would shield its every crevices just like I did for my past.
With that I zoned in on the people stopping by to talk to mother and then them singing praises after peering at me, and as usual I flashed a innocent wide toothless smile which snatched mostly every heart. After those walks, I wondered how high was our family's standing. Sometimes it felt like almost everyone in this place had greeted us.
After reaching 6 months I decided it would be alright to show them that I could walk. Even though my hand foot coordination wasn't anything to be talked about yet , I wasn't getting enough alone time . moreover I need to start learning writing soon too. My runes were my babies and I needed them back damn it.
And the best thing.. my magical core seemed to grow on a faster rate than my past self at this age and I was surprised how fast and easily the wandless spells were coming to me. I was actually relieved because Morgana knows if I would ever be able to procure a wand here. I was already at third year spells and just needed to incorporate them into my own style , and oh yeah runes.. then I would be back to my level. But before that I need to shape this too delicate body to my satisfaction.
I had been able to successfully move the mist through the vessels now . and I had moved on to use it to stick to different weights. One day while trying a flip after pressing my feet on the wall, I discovered I could stick my feet to the walls and checking within myself, I saw mist floating lazily in the thin layer between my skin and the wall. and so took a step. After one step I felt giddy and then promptly fell down , kissing the hardwood earth. Quite painful.
I had been practicing on trying to walk the entire length and would then move to running and jumping then dodging but that day has yet to come. I always got tired almost half way of it but once I got hang of the least amount of mist how and where to use, the time I could keep on walking was getting longer each day.
"little hime these parchments are not to play with" at his soft reprimand I guiltily retracted my wayward hands from the inky sheets. I pouted and peered at him under my lashes "tou san what doing" I asked him lightly thumping the ground near the sheets in emphasis. The intricacies of this new language were still a bit lost on me and these pretty curves of the brush looked so much like my runic charts , just in a different language.
I wanted to know. So I pursued my lips and tried to stare him down which with my baby fat and round big eyes just looked too adorable, but of-course this fact remained unknown to little old me.
Toning down a fond smile at his daughter's antics he reached over to pry her hands away to a safe distance from the test seals and smoothing her soft palms, blue looked into blue "these are seals.. they are something your tou san makes to help keep home safe"
I tilted my head questioningly at him "safe? Home?" was tou san like a guard or something...but what were seals actually then?how were they made? did all of them have this mist inside them? If not how did they make them, activate them then,... and if tou san was helping guard this place then ...was he safe? With all these questions whirring inside my head I interrupted him before he could answer, widened eyes and all, " how make"
He stilled a bit at my eagerness and then he threw his head back letting out a booming laugh. My eyes widened in awe . I didn't think I had ever seen tou san like this... this carefree , this much seemingly unburdened.
Tousled raven curls falling over his shoulder , eyes closed in unbidden glee ...he was quite a sight indeed. He must have been a pretty good prince charming in his prime, not to say that he is not now, I slyly smirked inside.
But what confused me was how these emotions are suddenly playing on his face now. I frowned at the thought of being the butt of jokes again although it was for a good cause this time. Tou san really looks grave too often.
"tou san" I unhappily insisted for his attention.
Controlling his mirth,he smiled fondly at his daughter and with a teasing glint, said " why don't I show you instead ne?". Moving over to the sheets he took up the brush and made a few strokes on the sheets. Then keeping his palm on it he stilled a bit , during which his palm emitted a soft blue glow . Retracting his hand he took a scroll from the ground and placed it on the inky sheet which in a flip-second got seemingly soaked into the sheet.
Job done he looked over at the toddler beside him to gauge her reaction , pleased and yet saddened at what he saw.
The toddler in question had short-circuited her brains. Was that... the mist?. My eyes reflected the awe at what I saw and felt. The effects were like runes and spells combined. And and I saw the way the mist traveled the strokes, its twists and turns were similar to how magic worked through runes!.
My eyes widened further at the epiphany . If and when I somehow found a way to mix the mist and magic then... my mind boggled at the million possibilities. Wait , my mind skidded to a halt at one piece of information, that glow...that's how the mist feels! so does that mean everyone here has it or just tou san?.
I reverently caressed the strokes with my tiny fingers and then breathed in. With an innocent smile, dole like eyes peered at him in a silent plea knowing he would understand me.
His eyes smiled down at me and patted my hair " of-course sora chan" and I let out a giddy squeal inside while a wide smile framed my lips on the outside. " but I think with the chicken scrawl you have now you will have ages to wait till you learn any of these so no need to rush little hime" he teasingly drawled. I blinked stupidly at him for a second. Red dusted my cheeks in embarrassment and I let out a mortifying whine with a pout.
"Tou san"
And the booming laugh again filled the room. I might have been embarrassed but… I hid a content smile at the sight.
14 months
Kaa chan was rushing in a frenzy. Aromas flitted from the kitchen which I was sternly told not to go and investigate. I puffed my cheeks out in righteous offense. There was no need to give that piece of advice , I was a perfectly good girl. Humph! . I conveniently forgot the various mishaps but if you ask me I was certain they were completely accidental and and also anything for scientific experiments, er maybe except a few… still not my fault tou san was so easy to tease!.
My wide eyes took in the state of our home. Countless people were coming and going. Orders to do this and that were being thrown around in the melee. Some working in the kitchen, some moving the huge boxes littered around in the rooms. I could hear the excitement filled noises outside our home. I wanted to go outside too, I thought with a whine, and then looked at the corner I was restricted to , quoting kaa chan "to keep me safe and from bumping into people's legs".
I pouted and crossed my pudgy arms and poked at the pathetic chicken scrawl that I was rewarded with for my attempts at learning this strange language. As much ticked off I was at tou san for teasing me in regards to my handwriting, he might have been a tiny tiny bit right. My eyes narrowed at the strokes passing for letters. That didn't mean I would let you go just like that. 'Wait and watch you you.. necromantic insidious headless chicken incubator '… my mind stilled, what.. did I say now..?. I frowned disapprovingly at the inky culprit, 'you are making me say nasty nasty things'. I pouted again despondently. I wanted tou san.
"hold still for a bit soraa chan" kaa chan was attempting to pull my hand through the pretty blue yukata. And I was being a little difficult. But I didn't want to go there. As much as fun the outside seemed before it would be just too noisy and so not worth it. Instead I could have practiced writing and and I wanted tou san. My lips formed into a pout and I slumped, knowing I wont win against kaa chan when she was being this determined. I despondently laid my head against her shoulder. "no need to be so sad sora chan. There will be lots of fun things to see and you can make friends too. And don't you want to see rieato sama too?" .
In those months I got many chances to be acquainted with the man who first crowned me with the name 'hime'. like tou san he almost always had a grave face but what I loved most was the mean prankster side of him , of-course no one ever finds out that it is him but the point remains.
They didn't tell me, but from their way of talking and conversations I stumbled upon the oh so hidden mystery. It seems the man was the leader of this village. They called him the clan head . But it sparked another question, clans always had something unique to all of the people in it so was the mist their uniqueness or something else?. Yet I couldn't quite wrap my head around the fact that the grave funny man was like a king here. I scrunched up my nose and pouted into kaa chan' s silken clothed shoulder "tou san?".
She huffed out a chuckle while smoothing out the nonexistent wrinkles in my yukata " tou san is helping in setting up the celebration" she pulled back a bit to look into my eyes "so lets hurry ne? You want to see him work don't you?" I pouted and let out a hnn .
" words young lady" she narrowed her eyes and teasingly scolded me.
My lips pulled into a wide smile and my spine straightened, well as much it could in a child's body "hai okaa san" and...I was rewarded with bell like sounds from her at my antics.
Mm life was good indeed…
I wanted to run like crazy and gawk at the activities going on around me. But instead I remained besides kaa chan like a good girl. My posture remained straight and a beguiling innocent smile danced on my lips for anyone who cared to look.
(even though I had learned walking and my coordination was better than before , I still would stumble occasionally so kaa chan was walking slowly to get me to adapt) I hated this mask as alexis and I hate this as sorano. Of-course I would genuinely smile and laugh when the chance was there but the point is I didn't have a choice seeing kaa chan was also wearing one, mm well I think so..anyways I know I would have to spend my lifetime here with the face I would be cultivating here and now soo lets get to work girlie!
We came to a place where I thought the shrine for this village's deity was at. I had asked kaa chan what we were celebrating today for…and she said we worshiped the moon and sea as they will be the closest to each other today. When I asked what would be done today other than praying, she suddenly got a mischievous smile and a glint in her eyes and said "you'll see", and ruffled my short hair. I huffed at that, it honestly freaked me out a bit.
A large crowd was gathered at the entrance. I wondered where will they be praying and so asked kaa chan. She smiled down at me and said "because it is not time yet for them to enter" she sighed and looked at the gathered crowd, then reached out her hand to me "so lets go now shall we?" I gave her a wide goofy smile and clasped my hand in hers and practically skipped to the outer edges of crowd.
It was disconcerting how the people reacted to our arrival. After one noticed us it rippled through every single person, young or old, standing there and suddenly the crowd parted to let us in.I felt dizzy at so many different meaning glances and smiles. Some showed glee and relief while some calculating. Some leery while some indifferent. I clutched kaa chan' s hand a little bit tighter and with my patented smile , trudged on.
Inside I was glaring darkly at my parents. Shouldn't they have the courtesy of telling their child what exactly was they do here.. slaves or royals , hell in those months I had learned nothing about my family. I huffed at that. 'Because of you two I almost had a heart attack back there'.
All thoughts fled my mind at the sight of the shrine.
True it would compare neither to the first view of hogwarts nor to the first ever patronous and never to the view of my home , but… but the sight that greeted my eyes was simply unequivocally beautifully majestic in its own right . huh that rhymed. I blinked my mind to focus and discreetly tried to pick up my jaw from the ground. And saw the thing everyone was so hyped for. The only thing that came in mind was...'it was so worth it'.
In a traditional Japanese setting, the shrine was a two storey sprawling structure. But what made it so distinguished was the literal ornaments dumped on it artistically. Huge towers in the form of mythical creatures…dragons, wyverns, selkie, serpent, mermaids, and that's how far my eyes could go. All wreathed in sparkling crystals . Massive pools full of sea blue water emitting a strange unearthly glow completely dominated the sides and the gate …ooh kami the gate . My eyes widened impossibly further.
The gate was in the shape of a humongous statue of ryujin? Yes yes I was right. The architectural carvings were simply magnificent. And large beaded crystals of ice? hung there also. So much blue everywhere. It would have been an eye sore but everything was arranged so so…I was running out of words to sing its praises.
wait...my mind stilled...why would the gate of the shrine have the form of ryujin?...was't he the guardian of sea? Yes ... but then why? and the pools, the crystals, and the creatures, they were all...water born.
The gears were whirring in my mind. I almost had it but seems need few more hints.
Past things I had never bothered to notice or correlate to begun to dance in-front of my eye like teasing me with their pieces of the long unanswered question.
The children's stories that kaa chan read to me , they were all water kami legends, water dragons, sailors ; all water, sea , storms.
The dominating color here was blue… the preferred dish -seafood…
And the most important…. why did the souls of people here feel like blaise's?…
...like water?
These cant be all coincidence right? ...right?.
I gulped and clutched kaa chan' s hand a bit tighter. We moved to the gate in a sedate pace, the crowd falling in on our steps. The moment we reached the gate , the guards bowed low to us and opened the entrance to the shrine to the thousands of people assembling before it.
If the lands outside the shrine had taken my breath away , then the shrine itself blew my mind to bit. Again the question reverberated in my mind, what and where was this place...?
Every possible hues of blue clothed the shrine walls. Sequined with crystals, silken clothes wrapped around its towering structures, burning embers giving the crystals a completely otherworldly presence, the depictions as if they are stepping out of their bloody past… it was just simply magnificent.
But my appreciation of this beauty receded when a low buzzing slowly started within me. I made my grip on kaa chan' s hand tighter enough that she gave me a concerned look. But I couldn't respond. I couldn't hear the cries of exaltation from the crowd behind us nor could I see the crystals seemingly coming to life with a light from within . I saw nothing. I heard nothing. I felt nothing except the low building pressure behind my eyes, ears and within my very soul. The shrine seemed as if it was filled to the brim with the mist and I was drowning in it. The helplessness brought forth a desperation in me that went unnoticed by every eye.
The mist flowing in my veins rose to greet the call of its brethren and I had no choice but to be swept away along with it. The veins that had long cocooned the mist burst open and every cell every essence within me were flooded with its rich density. My magic crackled with ominous energy gearing up to re stake its claim on me. My mind was on the verge of getting teared apart.
The build up of energy in the air around me, the strong smell of burning embers filled the courtyard of the shrine. Kaa chan gasped from my increasing pressure on her hand. The energy, my labored breathing and the light starting to surround my skin silenced the cries. Undeterred, kaa chan kneeled and tried to bring me back to my senses. But…
But I was lost to the world. Bright white light shone from my eyes. Runes begun to get etched on my skin. I was lost in the war between the mist and my magic. Yet I felt a strange warmth stirring to awareness deep in me. It made me think of yellow, orange, red...blue. It made me crave the odor of embers. It reminded me of me. It filled me, calmed the mist and magic, and made me wish to just lie in its embrace and sleep away my eternity. It made me wish of…home.