Author's Notes: See chapter one for disclaimer and explanation.
Love, Life, and Death By Annie-chan Chapter Nineteen: PremonitionHôjun sighed and leaned back. It had been about a year since the war between Kônan-koku and Kutô-koku, and life had gone back to normal. It was still the subject of gossip around town, but that was expected. It was a war that not only claimed the life of the emperor, but three other Seishi as well. Hôjun never participated in the idle chat surrounding that subject; he never did, and never would. It was not something he could talk about lightly.
Right now, he was leaning up against the trunk of the willow tree—which was about the only thing in the valley that survived the flood—by the river, looking out across the rushing water. He had nothing to do at the moment, and he found himself wandering over this way not too long ago. He was able to visit this spot without becoming overwhelmed with emotion now, but it still made him melancholy and subdued. He would never forget what happened on this spot on that rainy day seven years ago.
It was a warm day, and he wanted to just sit there and forget about things. He needed to relax, as the last few days had been rather stressing, what with two children in grouchy phases and a fire across the street that he had to help contain the day before. He and everyone else involved were exceedingly grateful that they had been able to stop the fire before it spread to any other buildings besides the house it started in due to a toppled incense burner falling into a small bowl of lamp oil someone had carelessly left on the shelf below the incense burner. Hôjun sighed again. Small things like that could grow at such alarming rates.
You're right, a voice suddenly said in his head. He startled, reaching out automatically to whoever may be contacting him. Nothing.
Was that myself thinking, no da? Hôjun asked himself. The words had been so faint and fleeting that now he couldn't tell if they were coming from some outside source or from his own head.
Small things can grow at alarming rates, the words continued. Like a simple kiss. That is a small thing, isn't it? Faint as they were, it seemed like the words were being said through smirking lips.
"Dare da, no da?!" Hôjun called out verbally and mentally. Again, all that met his searching mind was empty silence. It was as if nobody had opened their mind to him at all. He looked all around him. He couldn't see anybody, save some farmers in the fields outside of town.
He settled back against the tree, uneasy. There was no obvious target, so he couldn't very well go after it. Again, he wondered if he himself had thought those words, and nobody really had contacted him. Looking back on the words, they didn't really seem like words at all, more like feelings and implications. They were exactly like when he looked back on his own thoughts.
Kuso, no da, he thought. I hope I'm not going crazy, no da. He gave a wry, thin smile. That would certainly be bad luck for the people of Shôryû, no da. He had seen what an insane Seishi could and would do, and Shôryû would definitely not benefit from one. He seriously doubted he was going crazy, though. My imagination's probably just getting away from me, no da.
He was about to get up to go back to the village when movement out of the corner of his eye made him stop and whip his head around. There, by the edge of the forest surrounding the valley, he thought he could see the outline of a human being. Just as he looked right at it, it disappeared into the forest, making him wonder if he had ever seen it at all. After staring at that one spot for several minutes, he got up and hurriedly walked back to the village proper, troubled and apprehensive about his seemingly hallucinating senses.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Four months later…
Hôjun and Kôran were with their children in a clearing in the woods. In fact, it was the same clearing Hôjun and Kôran had shared their first kiss together under the sakura tree in the middle. The two adults were sitting against the trunk, their arms around each other, while the children were on the other side of the tree, Tori picking cherries off the lowest branches, giving some to Seiryoku and some to herself.
It had rained quite a bit the night before, and though the ground and most everything else was dry, there were still a few puddles here and there. Hôjun and Kôran had to keep an eye on their children to make sure they wouldn't decide it was suddenly okay to play in the mud.
News had come from Eiyô not long ago, as it did from time to time. It turned out that Empress Hôki and Prince Bôshin were still not talking. The prince was just at the beginning of the period that babies generally started talking, so there wasn't much surprise there. It was the empress that everyone was worrying about. She had barely said a single complete sentence since her beloved husband had been brutally slain on the battlefield, and there seemed to be no end in sight to her self-imposed silence. If she didn't speak to even her young son, there was worry that it may induce the prince to stay silent as well. He spent almost all his time in his mother's bedchambers with her, and she was the most likely person that he'd model his behavior after. He had already shown himself to be a very shy and reserved boy, especially for a baby. How would his speech be affected?
Hôjun had been deeply saddened by the news. He had known the empress a bit from his stay at the palace before and during the war, but not much, compared to how much he interacted with her husband. Nevertheless, he had known her to be a very kind and good-natured young lady, about seventeen years old when she became Hotohori-sama's wife, and the everlasting silence that had fallen upon her was so much different from the woman she had been before the emperor met his death. She really did love him with all her heart. The bond between her and the emperor was the same as Hôjun had sensed between Tamahome and Miaka, Kôran and himself, and, though he had glimpsed it very briefly, Nakago and Soi.
Thinking about the two Seiryû Seishi brought another cloud over his thoughts. Nakago had nearly brought ruin to two worlds, all because of long-buried hatred and a twisted inner mind, apparently the result of some horrible trauma he had experienced as a child. Soi had loved the blond-haired shôgun very much, enough to give her life to save his, and Hôjun had been able to sense that Nakago had felt the same for Soi. The problem was, that he had been burying his emotions for so long, that even he may not have known his feelings for the longhaired beauty that fought at his side. Hôjun had almost missed the realization, brought about during the brief moment when Nakago's soul had fled from his body as he died, all the emotions unlocked and readable to anyone with the power to sense such things, like Hôjun had.
He looked down at his wife, who lay comfortably against him, her head on her chest. I wonder if she knows how lucky I consider us, no da, he thought. We are very open with our love for each other, unlike Nakago and Soi; we had no predestined roles in the world that seemed hell-bent on keeping us apart, unlike Tamahome-kun and Miaka-chan; and we're both alive and well for each other, unlike Hotohori-sama and Hôki-san, no da. He sighed and gave Kôran a quick squeeze, earning a returning squeeze from her.
"Kôran, no da?" he ventured.
"Hai, Hôjun?"
"Do you consider us lucky, no da?"
Without hesitation, she answered, "Of course, I consider us lucky."
"Naze, no da?"
"Well…we have a good home, two wonderful children, and our love for each other."
He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I feel exactly the same, no da."
A sudden feeling made him miss her affirmative reply as his attention was inexplicably drawn to his right. He looked over, expecting to find some kind of adversary, when all he saw was a large puddle of water from the rain last night. It was a nondescript puddle, large and irregularly shaped, and slightly brownish with the mud it sat upon. The feeling was gone almost as soon as it showed up.
"Hôjun?" he vaguely heard Kôran say. "Dô shita no?"
"I…don't know…no da," was his reply. "It's as if…some magical entity suddenly teleported here…then either teleported immediately away…or somehow hid its presence from me, no da." He looked again, and all he saw was that same puddle. He didn't even know if the feeling was coming from the puddle or just in that direction. He got a distinct sense of déjà vu as he suddenly remembered that day he was sitting by the river and hearing elusive whispers in his head.
Akuma, no da? he thought to himself. Does one know I can sense it, and is playing games with me, no da? Or, is it just passing through, and I'm picking up some kind of activity it's engaging in as it travels, no da? He thought a bit more. I don't even know if this is the same one, no da.
He had barely finished that thought, when a whisper forced its way into his mind. It's been me both times, he heard it say into his mind. Ri Hôjun. He started. It knew his name! It must have been watching him for some time, now.
What do you want with me, no da? he immediately sent back. It was obvious now that the whispers were not part of his imagination. Are you spying on my thoughts, no da?! He felt a bit of anger well up at that thought.
A little, the being returned. Don't worry, I haven't been prying into your most secret thoughts, nor have I looked in on your most private moments, such as what you and your wife do to each other in the heat of the night. I have more honor than that. Otherwise, I have been watching you quite a bit, Hôjun.
Hôjun's hackles rose at the possibility of someone spying on some of the moments he held most dear in his relationship with his wife. How do I know you're not lying, no da?! he quipped heatedly. Demons have no honor, no da!
The voice seemed to be laughing at him. The lower ranks of us don't have any honor, so, yes, you're right in some respects. All you've fought against are the mindless slaves of more powerful demons, anyway, so I'll forgive you that transgression. However, the higher-up demons, like myself, have a sense of honor to equal yours, Hôjun. Don't judge an entire species by the dregs of their society. The voice didn't have any offense or resentment in it, only amusement and snide humor.
Hôjun let that sink in. Yes, it was possible that more intelligent demons would have a sense of honor. They were composed of more than just evil magic and a lust for killing, but an ability to think rationally. He still wasn't settled. More intelligent demons were also more dangerous, for they could think their strategies and attacks out, instead of just rushing blindly forward toward their target. He'd much rather tangle with an honorless, stupid lower demon than an honorable, intelligent higher demon.
You still haven't told me what you want with me, no da, he continued.
Again, that sense of a laugh. Gomen ne, but I can't tell you that right now.
Why not, no da?! Hôjun sent back. If I'm going to have somebody walking around in my head, I want to know why the hell you're doing it, no da!
I'm sorry, Hôjun, the demon sent back without a shred of regret. Just ignore me while I'm here. I have no intention of harming you or anyone else right now, anyway.
Yes, Hôjun replied, but, you intend to harm people later on, don't you, no da?! I have no intention to let you free to set up whatever kind of trap you have planned, no da!
Again, the demon was laughing at him. It seemed to find this situation very amusing. You can't stop me from setting up my "trap," as you call it. And, you can't block me from your mind. I've found a way around your mental barriers.
Hôjun suddenly felt extremely vulnerable.
You might as well just let me alone to do what I please, the demon continued. There's nothing you can do to stop me, so why try to fight it?
You…you…you devil! Hôjun shot back, furious. He never felt so helpless in his life. To have a demon having free run of his inner mind was unthinkable. He felt deeply violated.
The demon laughed at him yet again. Calm yourself, and be patient. You'll meet my master in the near future, I believe, and then me soon after. Everything will come together for you then, I would imagine.
Your master? Hôjun repeated. There was suddenly a void where the faint presence of the demon had been felt. The being was gone. Matte, no da! Come back, no da! Hôjun practically pleaded. Who are you, no da?! At least tell me that, no da! It was no use. He was alone in his mind again.
Kôran had stayed silent the entire time, for she recognized that unfocused look in his eye that indicated telepathic contact with someone. Now, she reached up to her husband as the look faded. "Hôjun? Daijôbu?" Surprisingly, her voice seemed faint and distant. She kept calling out to him even when he was looking right into her wide, curious eyes. "Hôjun? Hôjun?"
"Na?!" Hôjun stuttered, waking up suddenly.
"There you are," Kôran said with a smile. "You had fallen asleep. I was wondering if you would ever wake up. You didn't answer to me as I tried to wake you up at all." She tilted her head at him as he seemed to not be paying attention to her at all. "Hôjun? Are you feeling all right?"
"Hai, no da," he suddenly said, sounding anything but all right. He looked up toward the sun. "We better get back about now, no da." As they stood up to leave, calling to their children across the clearing, Hôjun's mind was anywhere but in the present.
What was that, no da?! he asked himself, greatly troubled. A dream, no da?! Or, did a demon really contact me in my sleep, no da?! He could remember every word that was said, but it all seemed fuzzy and blurred at the same time, like his dreams were after he woke up. He shivered slightly. The thought of one of the loathsome creatures reading his thoughts and emotions like they were written on a scroll was something he never wanted to experience in his life. But, what if it was just a dream, and there was no demon? He just didn't have any evidence one way or another to make any kind of conclusion as to what he had just gone through.
The internal debate stayed with him until late that night, when he was almost afraid to go to sleep, terrified that the dream would come back to haunt his nights.
To be continued…Author's Notes: So, what do you think? Is Hôjun being plagued by a demon, or is his imagination just working on extreme overdrive? Actually, considering the fact of foreshadowing, I hope all of you realize that it's obviously a real demon, not just an overly vivid dream. I hope also that most, if not all, of you can figure out just who Hôjun is talking to. I'd be very surprised if you got this far in this story and still didn't know who would want to tease and torture Hôjun like this. It's one of the main parts of Chichiri's story in the original anime/manga, and stays one of the main parts in this story. Anyway, let me know what you think at mangareader@hotmail.com, onegai shimasu!