Hyouden: Field of Eternal Snow
The Mikagami Tokiya Story
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Chapter One - The Way It Should Have Been
"Tokiya!" Miyuki called, annoyance filling her voice as she stood at the genkan. The six year old boy appeared at the top of the stairs, smiling down at his mother. He was tall and slender, inheriting his build from his mother, his silver-blue hair was leveled at the back and his bangs framed his startlingly blue eyes, he was donned in his favorite pair of home shorts and a singlet. comments
"Halow!" he grinned, waving at her.
"How long have you been home?" she snapped.
"For three hours now," he replied, blinking.
"Three hours? The floor isn't cleaned, this is not the place to put your jacket-" She pointed at the jacket that lay tossed on the shoe cabinet. "And what did I tell you about your shoes?"
"Put the nicely?" he mumbled sheepishly as he approached her, coming down the stairs.
"Good boy," she snarled, her eyes narrowing menacingly. Meekly, he placed his shoes neatly in the cabinet and hung his jacket on the nearby coat stand. His mother watched him ominously as he did so. Then he trotted, hoping to escape the rest of the chores. "Tokiya!" she snapped.
Stopping in his tracks, he turned around warily, as though he were about to face a hungry tiger. "But sweeping the floor's so boring!" he moaned knowingly.
Hands on her hips, his mother bent down to his height and scowled. A nervous bead of sweat formed on his forehead. "GO!" she barked. With a startled yelp, he dashed for the broom, knowing better than to agitate his mother further. "And do a good job of it or else." she added for good measure. Mifuyu was not home most of the time these days, being busy with school. So for Tokiya to do minor chores was only fair. And him being a boy did not excuse him from helping out. Undoing the clip that bound her hair, she started up the stairs for a quick bath. Her hair cascaded down over her shoulders like a brilliant blue waterfall.
Dinner came and went. By the time Mifuyu came home, it was eight in the evening. Happily excusing himself from his homework, Tokiya went to greet her at the genkan. "Halow, ni-chan!" he grinned at her.
"Hey there," she smiled warily and walked past him. Understanding, he returned to his work. Just before ten o'clock, the family gathered in the living room, sharing some quiet time. Mifuyu read to her brother a children's classic as the boy sat contentedly on her lap. Miyuki was also buried in a book, lounging on the sofa. "Such peace," she thought. "This is how it's should have been... when Fuyuma was here..."
Chapter Two - The Scar
"And the prey is sighted," Tokiya grinned menacingly as he watched his sister cooking from the kitchen door. Her back to him, she was humming contentedly. Mischief burning in his eyes, he dashed out suddenly. Racing across the kitchen, his hand flashed through the air.
"GYAAAAAHHH!" Mifuyu screamed, startles and angry as her skirt fluttered up, revealing her white panties. Laughing triumphantly, Tokiya sped out of the kitchen through the back door. "TOKIYAAAAA!!!" Mifuyu cried, her feminine voice quivered with rage. As the kitchen door began to swing shut after the boy, he suddenly fell over with a painful and startled cry.
The slipper bounced on the grass of the backyard as the door creaked shut behind the fallen form. Mifuyu stood facing the door, her hand extended forward from the throw. The door burst open. "Baka! That really hurt!" Tokiya exploded, standing at the doorway. "Who throws a slipper? Honestly!!"
"You're lucky I didn't throw the pan at you, you brat!" Mifuyu screeched back.
"The pan?" he retorted, pointing a defiant finger at her. "You shouldn't even be holding one, you can't cook to save your life!"
Sullenly, Tokiya walked down the sidewalk to school, his cheek still red from where Mifuyu slapped him that morning. Moaning, he rubbed his cheek. "Tokiya-chan!" he heard. Spinning around, he saw his two friends - Juro and Takeshi. Juro, slightly shorter than Tokiya was round and chubby with large innocent eyes and rosy cheeks. Takeshi, though a year older than the two, was the shortest with a stocky build, bushy eyebrows and a wide square jaw. "Tokiya-chan," Juro said, breathing heavily from running to catch up with him. "What happened to your face?"
"Mifuyu slapped him," Takeshi grinned cheekily. "He's so naughty at home."
"Say What?" Tokiya snarled, removing his fist from Takeshi's cheek.
"It's true, though!" Takeshi continued to grin. "Teacher's little angel is a big demon at home!"
"NANI?" Tokiya screeched, his cheeks reddening even more from the insult.
Juro smiled nervously as he held his enraged friend back. "Aye, can't you two get along nicely?" he groaned as Tokiya kicked wildly at the sneering Takeshi.
"There," Tokiya whispered to his friends as they waited to cross the road. Ahead, two office women were waiting for the light to change. They were chatting innocently. "They should do fine."
"Y-you really wanna do it?" Juro stammered as he recalled their 'plan'.
"This is the price of my training," snapped Tokiya as he pointed to his slapped cheek. "I'm not gonna let it go to waste."
"Oh so that's where you got the slap from..." jeered Takeshi. Tokiya stared at him, his cheeks puffed with anger.
"Shaddup, why don'cha." he snarled. Quickly recovering, he continued, "You take the left one and I'll take the right." He gestured to the ladies. "And Juro is back up." The lights turned and the green 'walk' signal flashed. "Go!"
The three surged forward. With a shocked screech, the skirts of the girls fluttered wildly, their panties clearly visible in the sunlight. Tokiya, Takeshi and Juro continued to race down the sidewalk, laughing happily in triumph. "Yeah!" they exclaimed, clapping their hands together in a group high five. They were far away from the intersection and the two harassed women, hiding in the alley between two houses.
"Mikagami Tokiya, class 1-B, registration number 29, Nakogiri Elementary!" they suddenly heard. Spinning around they saw a girl of long dark hair standing with her hands on her hips, scowling at them.
"Junko!" he exclaimed.
"That's your third count of skirt-flipping this week! Kobayakawa Takeshi, class 1-B, registration number 25, Nakogiri Elementary! That was your second count of skirt-flipping! And Genzaemon Juro, class 1-B, registration number 19, Nakogiri Elementary! You are their accomplice!" She pointed at then dramatically. "For your crimes you will be punished!"
"Stupid girl!" they cried. "Break!" Tokiya shouted, the three friends running off down three different alleys.
"Stop right there, you!" Junko shouted, running straight for Tokiya.
"Baka, baka, baka!" he shouted back at her. "Why are you bugging me, you ugly girl?"
"Ugly?! You-!" she choked in outrage.
"Who are you? My mother?" he snapped back, turning down another alley. Clouds of dried mud were thrown into the air as his feet scraped the ground, coming to a dead halt. "Oops." he muttered as he was faced with a wall that, to his diminutive form, towered over him. Spinning around, he came face to face with a very very angry girl. She glared at him as her chest heaved from the running.
"I've got you now!" she cried.
"What you gonna do?" he sneered, his hands on his hips and shoulders back. "Your Judo belt doesn't scare me, you're still just a stupid ugly tomboy who smells like my feet!" With a scream of rage, she punched rapidly at him. Surprisingly, he evaded her fists easily. As she lunged at him with another punch, he let his feet slide from under him and kicked her foot as she fell. Wailing, she fell forward, landing on the ground with a thud. Grabbing his chance, Tokiya hopped onto an empty crate against the wall. He jumped up, catching the edge of the top of the wall. He grunted as he heaved himself up. With a scornful laugh, he sat down on the wall, staring down at the fallen Junko. "Try and get me now, you stupid girl!"
Suddenly grinning vengefully, she sprung up and pulled the crate away. Tokiya cried out in astonishment. "It's my turn to laugh now!" she exclaimed, throwing her head back in demonic laughter. "Bye bye," she waved, grinning. "Tokiya - my little bird on the wall..." With another laugh, she sped out of the alley and out of sight.
Tokiya stared at her back until she vanished. He was totally shocked. Suddenly balling his fists, he growled in frustration. "I can't believe I let that stupid girl do this to me!"
"I'll say." he heard a voice behind him say. Startled, he lost his balance. His arms waving madly in the air, he managed to lie down on the top of the wall, hugging it tightly.
"Don't startle me like that..." he moaned, recovering from the fright. He looked up and saw a man watching him from the second story window of the house behind the wall. He had broad shoulders, muscular arms and white bushy eyebrows that stood out against his tanned skin. His eyes were shut in an amused smile. He was totally bald.
"You got yourself into a spot there, boy," teased the man.
"I... Just help me down!" Tokiya groaned dejectedly. The man disappeared from the window. A moment later, the first story door swung open and the man stepped out. He was donned in a pajama bottom and sandals. His eyes and cheeks were hidden by the shadows of his brow and cheekbones. He was smiling up at the boy as he crossed the small backyard and approached the wall. The morning sun was shining down brightly through the old cryptomeria tree that stood grandly in the backyard, casting scattered shadows over the Tokiya and the man. Reaching the wall, the man stretched up his arms to the boy.
Finally safe back on the ground, Tokiya glanced up at the man. "You're huge!" he gasped. "And what happened to your hair?"
The man laughed, amused by Tokiya's straightforward words. "You're cute, little one." he grinned as he ruffled Tokiya's hair.
"'Cute'? 'Little one'?" Tokiya's eye twitched, the man's words hitting a vulnerable spot. The man took Tokiya's hand and led him towards the house.
"What's your name, boy?" asked the man as he led Tokiya by the hand to the house.
"Mikagami-" The sun flooded the face of the man, revealing a wide scar on his face that startled the boy. In momentary silence, he stared at it, its image burning in his memory. "-ah- Tokiya... Mikagami Tokiya. Wh-"
Before he could inquire of the man's identity, the man spoke, "That girl said you flipped skirts?"
"Girl?" Tokiya snapped, forgetting his question in his reawakened anger. "You mean that Stupid Junko?"
"oh, is that her name?" the man mused absently. "You evaded her punches very well."
"Ah-" Tokiya stammered, not sure what the compliment would lead to. "...Thanks..."
"Do you study martial arts?"
"Martial arts? You mean fighting?" Tokiya blinked. "No, my mother doesn't like that stuff. She hates fighting... she's like that."
"Oh, I see." They reached the door and Tokiya dug his heels in. "What's wrong?"
"Um... well, I don't know you and-"
"You're worried about going into the house of a stranger?" laughed the man. "Well then," Letting go of Tokiya's hand he presented his own hand to the boy. "My name is Meguri Kyoza." Tentatively, Tokiya took the man's hand and, in Kyoza's firm grasp, they shook hands. Tokiya looked up at the man. Once again, the scar caught his attention. It was vivid against his skin, resembling the glint of a blade in the darkness.
To be continued...
Author's Note: Well, there's installment two. Hope you guys enjoyed it.
Comments/whatever please!
P.S Kyoza, Tokiya and Mifuyu copyright to Nobuyuki Anzai. Everyone else is mine ^.^