Silver Dreams
Chapter 4 :: "The Growth of a Dream"
Author: Chikko-chan
A/N: Hopefully this chapter isn't too jumpy in time. It takes place over the course of several years. Umm no other authors for this chapter. I think that's all. lol. ^.^;
- - - - - -
Days went by so slowly in the beginning, minutes seeming like hours, hours like days and days like weeks. But as the young girl started her training, developing her skills and learning new ones, time started to speed up once again.
"Aislinn-chan. Concentrate" A strong male voice instructed.
A young 9-year-old girl squeezed her eyes tightly shut, thinking it would help her to think and sat quietly in a cross-legged position atop the bamboo mat. Her long dark-violet hair was tied back into a ponytail and wore her calm white and blue temple robes.
Her brows furrowed as she was still having trouble thinking.
"Sensei... I can't concentrate." Aislinn huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and looking up to the glowing figure.
The monk before her sighed, shaking his head. "Alright Aislinn. We can finish with the day's meditation. How would you like to move onto Kendo?" He finished with a question, watching the young girl's features closely for a reaction.
"Oooooo Kendo. Hai, I'd like that." She smiled, pushing herself up off of the floor.
He smiled as he saw Aislinn's reaction and reached down to hold her hand and led her to the other room.
"Good stance. Now step forward with your right leg, and thrust with the sword and then bring it down." Sensei instructed as he performed the actions himself, just to the left of the young girl.
"Hai" Aislinn followed his words, stepping forwards and thrusting the wooden sword in front of her and then swinging downwards. The man continued with instructions and the girl followed along quite easily. She enjoyed kendo more than the meditation and liked to move along using different stances and hits, it was so much more interesting than just sitting and clearing your mind.
"Aislinn-chan..." There was another voice calling her name from the hall. The girl stopped, breaking her stance and looked to the door, it was another figure that looked almost exactly like Sensei's. Another of the monks.
"You've received a letter little one." He continued.
A broad smile stretched across her face as she ran towards the door. "Can you read it to me Hiroshi-san?" She questioned, grey eyes opened wide.
"If Reizo-sensei will allow me..?" Hiroshi looked to Aislinn's teacher.
The other man paused and thought for a moment, holding the wooden sword by his side. "Hai... Just make sure she is back in good time" He answered in that strong, confident voice.
**
The temple grounds were silent and serene as a gentle rain fell over the area. The soft patter of raindrops could be heard from almost any room in the dojo. But all of the residents were awake.
Within one of the larger rooms of the temple gathered a sizeable group. At least five monks, four priests and priestesses and one young 11-year-old girl sitting on the tatami mats that covered the floor.
Aislinn sat on the floor, resting on her knees. She wore a beautifully decorated indigo kimono. Staring straight ahead, her hazed grey eyes looking towards the row of adults ahead of her, taking note of how much brighter their aura's now shone with. Years earlier all she would have seen was an almost dull glow of a figure. The figures were much clearer now after her long training.
"What do you see Aislinn?" Reizo questioned from his place near the left end of the row. None of the others dared utter a word. This was a test.
Aislinn looked ahead turning her head slightly to her right. "There are two men right at the end. The first is Shen-san, the next.. I do not know him. Beside him a woman, Hiroshi-san, Benjiro-san, another of the men, Reizo-sensei, Another woman.. And then Kazuo-san." The girl answered, glancing across the room to an old fashioned screen.
"And Kameko-chan is hiding behind the screen..." She quietly added, seeing Kameko's figure peeking out from behind.
Quiet whispers were heard amongst the line of adults before her.
"Good Job Aislinn..." Reizo smiled then turned towards the screen. "You can come out now Kameko."
Aislinn was then distracted by the priests and priestesses' questions. There were suddenly so many being asked. How did it work? How did she know? Did someone tell her the order earlier? She took a deep breath, raising an eyebrow, shuffling uncomfortably and waiting for a pause where she could answer.
**
Aislinn must have been a sight to see as she practised her gymnastics. The now 13 year old girl, stretched out her legs, slipping down to the floor into a splits position and then leaning forwards, placing her palms on the floor and slowly trying to lift her legs up into the air in a sort of handstand.
The girl hummed as she worked, singing a new song that she had learned. She didn't get to sing all of the words though, having to take deep breaths often as she continued to stretch and test her flexibility.
She started out humming the song, singing the lines in her head and every so often allowed herself to sing them out. "..Like a fairy tale in days gone by.." She hummed a few more lines, taking breaths when needed and then continued, "...Is this the moment I dream of?..." Aislinn stopped singing at this point, finding the humming easier during her exercises.
"You must really like that song Aislinn-chan." Hiroshi commented as he had entered the room unnoticed.
Aislinn looked up to the doorway spotting his light form. She smiled softly. "I do like it. It's nice to hear new music I can sing along to." She replied her cheeks taking on a slight brush of rose.
Hiroshi gave a light laugh. "You're a beautiful singer little one." He complimented. "Maybe you could sing for us all some day" He finished with a chuckle.
The girl giggled quietly, "Maybe someday.."
**
Aislinn let out a deep sigh as she seated herself on a large cushion placed on the floor.
Reizo-sensei had said that there would be yet another monk coming to visit who was bringing along his assistant, just a few years older than her. The girl leaned forward resting her elbow atop a short table and resting her face in her palm. She wasn't very interested in meeting this male. She'd met with a few of those snobbish assistants before, none impressed her, though they seemed to have the opposite view of her.
She couldn't help but think back to those years at Hikawa Jinja. It had been what.. close to 6 years since she had been there. Aislinn leaned further forwards, bringing up her other hand and placing her forehead in her palms, then running her fingers through her long dark violet hair. It had been so much easier dealing with boys back then... at least with that one boy. Crossing her arms on the table she let her head fall and sighed again.
"Aislinn-chan. Kamlyn-kun is here now." It was Benjiro at the door.
The girl let out a quiet groan, not wanting to talk to this guy. "Hai" She breathed, lifting her head and watching Benjiro's figure by the door. Placing her hands on the table she pushed herself up off of the cushion and up to her feet. "You might as well take me to him" She outstretched a hand, giving the dramatic look of a prisoner being led off to her cell.
"Come now I'm sure it won't be that bad" The man said, taking her hand and leading her through the door.
Aislinn tried not to look all too disappointed as she approached the young man over the gravel pathways outside of the dojo.
"Kamlyn-san." She bowed to him and apon straightening up, the other had taken a hold of her hand, bringing it up to his lips and kissing the back of it.
"Aislinn-chan. A pleasure to finally meet you." He replied.
She gave him a small smile in return inspecting his aura for anything amiss. It didn't seem very light in shade.. it was actually more grey. She didn't take this as a good sign.
Benjiro bowed out at this time to go and attend to other matters leaving the two teenagers out in the gardens.
"So.. Aislinn-chan" The boy started, looking the girl up and down and then nodding his head in approval. A smile crossed his face and he firmly took a hold of her arm and pulled her towards the benches nearby.
'What is he doing?! Does he have to pull so hard? Really, he doesn't know how to treat the blind' Aislinn thought to herself as she was roughly pulled towards the bench. Kamlyn mustn't have noticed. He seemed to be happily blabbering on about some subject. Aislinn missed the beginning of this little .. explanation..? and became quite confused as he continued on with the subject.
"... And that was where it was left." He finished with a laugh.
Aislinn's brow furrowed as she tried to think of something to say in reply. "a-ahha" She said quietly in a slightly wavering voice. She put on a fake smile and was relieved when the male had stopped pulling her along. But then he practically pushed her down onto the bench, still thinking she was unable to do any of it on her own.
"Such a beautiful smile Ai-chan.. Is it alright if I call you Ai-chan?" He questioned sitting down on the bench beside her.
Aislinn cringed and rubbed her rear, the shove having a painful affect on her tailbone. She was about to reply to his question when he started up again.
"So Ai-chan.. I hear you are all alone in this place. No man to call your own. Is that true?" He took a pause,""Oh you poor girl. All alone in such a place. Surrounded by men but not having one of your own to go to for comfort and when in need."
Aislinn wrinkled her nose at this guy's words. Narrowing her eyes and practically giving him a death glare, but by the shape of his figure she could see that he wasn't currently looking at her. She was left speechless, amazed by his stupidity.
"You know... You don't need to be alone. What you need is a good strong man to take care of you... You're quite the attractive girl and should have such a man... I can be that man you know..." He stated, turning to look at her. He grasped both of her hands and waited for her to say the obvious answer. Yes.
Aislinn's eyes were wide as she stared ahead of her to male's aura. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I'm sorry.. but I'm not quite looking for a relationship.." The girl answered shuffling a little away from him and lightly attempting to pull her hands away.
"What are you talking about? We're perfect for each other. I can take care of you.. You know this is the right chance" He moved closer, letting go of her hands and placing his to the sides of her face. "It's the perfect match" He uttered leaning in close while at the same time pulling Aislinn's face closer. She was shortly within range and soon his lips pressed firmly against hers.
Aislinn closed her eyes tightly and pushed against Kamlyn's chest trying to get him to stop. He kept kissing her though. Being weaker than him she moved one of her hands down, under the bench trying to find something she could use. Her fingers closed in around the long wooden handle of a broom that had been left out in the gardens. Swiftly she gripped the pole, opening her eyes so she could easily place him. Bringing up the pole of the broom she silently pushed it through the gap between herself and Kamlyn, gripping the other end with her other hand.
Kamlyn was still kissing her. He really hadn't gotten the hint.
With one quick shove, the handle of the broom was pushed towards Kamlyn's chest, hitting his rib cage with just enough force to knock the wind out of him. With the sudden painful feeling in his ribs, Kamlyn fell back and Aislinn was free to go.
Getting up, she ran as fast as she could through the gardens, using her memories of previous visits to navigate back to the dojo. She was surprised when she had suddenly collided with something and started falling backwards to be caught by a pair of strong arms.
"Aislinn-chan... where are you running to in such a hurry?" It was Hiroshi.
"Away from Kamlyn, that's where." She almost growled, using her kimono sleeve to roughly wipe her lips. "Baka.. BAKA I tell you." She continued as Hiroshi had set her upright on her feet once again. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she felt a tear run down her cheek. She was crying?
"Hiroshi-san. Don't make me meet with these guys anymore.. I don't like it" Aislinn crossed her arms over her chest as more tears streamed down her cheeks.
Kazuo and Shen soon arrived on the scene, just passing by on their way to their daily chores. They stopped seeing the distraught girl and looked to Hiroshi for answers.
Hiroshi was confused, he could admit. He did not know what had transpired to cause Aislinn to act like this. Glancing off in the direction that Aislinn had come speeding from, he motioned to the other two to go and see if they could find anything. The two nodded, looking to Aislinn one last time and then hurrying off, back into the garden.
Hiroshi stepped closer putting an arm over the girl's shoulder, "Come little one. Let's go inside"
- - - - - - - - - -
To Be Continued...
Chapter 5 :: "Feelings of Flame"
- - - - - - - - - -
Chapter 4 :: "The Growth of a Dream"
Author: Chikko-chan
A/N: Hopefully this chapter isn't too jumpy in time. It takes place over the course of several years. Umm no other authors for this chapter. I think that's all. lol. ^.^;
- - - - - -
Days went by so slowly in the beginning, minutes seeming like hours, hours like days and days like weeks. But as the young girl started her training, developing her skills and learning new ones, time started to speed up once again.
"Aislinn-chan. Concentrate" A strong male voice instructed.
A young 9-year-old girl squeezed her eyes tightly shut, thinking it would help her to think and sat quietly in a cross-legged position atop the bamboo mat. Her long dark-violet hair was tied back into a ponytail and wore her calm white and blue temple robes.
Her brows furrowed as she was still having trouble thinking.
"Sensei... I can't concentrate." Aislinn huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and looking up to the glowing figure.
The monk before her sighed, shaking his head. "Alright Aislinn. We can finish with the day's meditation. How would you like to move onto Kendo?" He finished with a question, watching the young girl's features closely for a reaction.
"Oooooo Kendo. Hai, I'd like that." She smiled, pushing herself up off of the floor.
He smiled as he saw Aislinn's reaction and reached down to hold her hand and led her to the other room.
"Good stance. Now step forward with your right leg, and thrust with the sword and then bring it down." Sensei instructed as he performed the actions himself, just to the left of the young girl.
"Hai" Aislinn followed his words, stepping forwards and thrusting the wooden sword in front of her and then swinging downwards. The man continued with instructions and the girl followed along quite easily. She enjoyed kendo more than the meditation and liked to move along using different stances and hits, it was so much more interesting than just sitting and clearing your mind.
"Aislinn-chan..." There was another voice calling her name from the hall. The girl stopped, breaking her stance and looked to the door, it was another figure that looked almost exactly like Sensei's. Another of the monks.
"You've received a letter little one." He continued.
A broad smile stretched across her face as she ran towards the door. "Can you read it to me Hiroshi-san?" She questioned, grey eyes opened wide.
"If Reizo-sensei will allow me..?" Hiroshi looked to Aislinn's teacher.
The other man paused and thought for a moment, holding the wooden sword by his side. "Hai... Just make sure she is back in good time" He answered in that strong, confident voice.
**
The temple grounds were silent and serene as a gentle rain fell over the area. The soft patter of raindrops could be heard from almost any room in the dojo. But all of the residents were awake.
Within one of the larger rooms of the temple gathered a sizeable group. At least five monks, four priests and priestesses and one young 11-year-old girl sitting on the tatami mats that covered the floor.
Aislinn sat on the floor, resting on her knees. She wore a beautifully decorated indigo kimono. Staring straight ahead, her hazed grey eyes looking towards the row of adults ahead of her, taking note of how much brighter their aura's now shone with. Years earlier all she would have seen was an almost dull glow of a figure. The figures were much clearer now after her long training.
"What do you see Aislinn?" Reizo questioned from his place near the left end of the row. None of the others dared utter a word. This was a test.
Aislinn looked ahead turning her head slightly to her right. "There are two men right at the end. The first is Shen-san, the next.. I do not know him. Beside him a woman, Hiroshi-san, Benjiro-san, another of the men, Reizo-sensei, Another woman.. And then Kazuo-san." The girl answered, glancing across the room to an old fashioned screen.
"And Kameko-chan is hiding behind the screen..." She quietly added, seeing Kameko's figure peeking out from behind.
Quiet whispers were heard amongst the line of adults before her.
"Good Job Aislinn..." Reizo smiled then turned towards the screen. "You can come out now Kameko."
Aislinn was then distracted by the priests and priestesses' questions. There were suddenly so many being asked. How did it work? How did she know? Did someone tell her the order earlier? She took a deep breath, raising an eyebrow, shuffling uncomfortably and waiting for a pause where she could answer.
**
Aislinn must have been a sight to see as she practised her gymnastics. The now 13 year old girl, stretched out her legs, slipping down to the floor into a splits position and then leaning forwards, placing her palms on the floor and slowly trying to lift her legs up into the air in a sort of handstand.
The girl hummed as she worked, singing a new song that she had learned. She didn't get to sing all of the words though, having to take deep breaths often as she continued to stretch and test her flexibility.
She started out humming the song, singing the lines in her head and every so often allowed herself to sing them out. "..Like a fairy tale in days gone by.." She hummed a few more lines, taking breaths when needed and then continued, "...Is this the moment I dream of?..." Aislinn stopped singing at this point, finding the humming easier during her exercises.
"You must really like that song Aislinn-chan." Hiroshi commented as he had entered the room unnoticed.
Aislinn looked up to the doorway spotting his light form. She smiled softly. "I do like it. It's nice to hear new music I can sing along to." She replied her cheeks taking on a slight brush of rose.
Hiroshi gave a light laugh. "You're a beautiful singer little one." He complimented. "Maybe you could sing for us all some day" He finished with a chuckle.
The girl giggled quietly, "Maybe someday.."
**
Aislinn let out a deep sigh as she seated herself on a large cushion placed on the floor.
Reizo-sensei had said that there would be yet another monk coming to visit who was bringing along his assistant, just a few years older than her. The girl leaned forward resting her elbow atop a short table and resting her face in her palm. She wasn't very interested in meeting this male. She'd met with a few of those snobbish assistants before, none impressed her, though they seemed to have the opposite view of her.
She couldn't help but think back to those years at Hikawa Jinja. It had been what.. close to 6 years since she had been there. Aislinn leaned further forwards, bringing up her other hand and placing her forehead in her palms, then running her fingers through her long dark violet hair. It had been so much easier dealing with boys back then... at least with that one boy. Crossing her arms on the table she let her head fall and sighed again.
"Aislinn-chan. Kamlyn-kun is here now." It was Benjiro at the door.
The girl let out a quiet groan, not wanting to talk to this guy. "Hai" She breathed, lifting her head and watching Benjiro's figure by the door. Placing her hands on the table she pushed herself up off of the cushion and up to her feet. "You might as well take me to him" She outstretched a hand, giving the dramatic look of a prisoner being led off to her cell.
"Come now I'm sure it won't be that bad" The man said, taking her hand and leading her through the door.
Aislinn tried not to look all too disappointed as she approached the young man over the gravel pathways outside of the dojo.
"Kamlyn-san." She bowed to him and apon straightening up, the other had taken a hold of her hand, bringing it up to his lips and kissing the back of it.
"Aislinn-chan. A pleasure to finally meet you." He replied.
She gave him a small smile in return inspecting his aura for anything amiss. It didn't seem very light in shade.. it was actually more grey. She didn't take this as a good sign.
Benjiro bowed out at this time to go and attend to other matters leaving the two teenagers out in the gardens.
"So.. Aislinn-chan" The boy started, looking the girl up and down and then nodding his head in approval. A smile crossed his face and he firmly took a hold of her arm and pulled her towards the benches nearby.
'What is he doing?! Does he have to pull so hard? Really, he doesn't know how to treat the blind' Aislinn thought to herself as she was roughly pulled towards the bench. Kamlyn mustn't have noticed. He seemed to be happily blabbering on about some subject. Aislinn missed the beginning of this little .. explanation..? and became quite confused as he continued on with the subject.
"... And that was where it was left." He finished with a laugh.
Aislinn's brow furrowed as she tried to think of something to say in reply. "a-ahha" She said quietly in a slightly wavering voice. She put on a fake smile and was relieved when the male had stopped pulling her along. But then he practically pushed her down onto the bench, still thinking she was unable to do any of it on her own.
"Such a beautiful smile Ai-chan.. Is it alright if I call you Ai-chan?" He questioned sitting down on the bench beside her.
Aislinn cringed and rubbed her rear, the shove having a painful affect on her tailbone. She was about to reply to his question when he started up again.
"So Ai-chan.. I hear you are all alone in this place. No man to call your own. Is that true?" He took a pause,""Oh you poor girl. All alone in such a place. Surrounded by men but not having one of your own to go to for comfort and when in need."
Aislinn wrinkled her nose at this guy's words. Narrowing her eyes and practically giving him a death glare, but by the shape of his figure she could see that he wasn't currently looking at her. She was left speechless, amazed by his stupidity.
"You know... You don't need to be alone. What you need is a good strong man to take care of you... You're quite the attractive girl and should have such a man... I can be that man you know..." He stated, turning to look at her. He grasped both of her hands and waited for her to say the obvious answer. Yes.
Aislinn's eyes were wide as she stared ahead of her to male's aura. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I'm sorry.. but I'm not quite looking for a relationship.." The girl answered shuffling a little away from him and lightly attempting to pull her hands away.
"What are you talking about? We're perfect for each other. I can take care of you.. You know this is the right chance" He moved closer, letting go of her hands and placing his to the sides of her face. "It's the perfect match" He uttered leaning in close while at the same time pulling Aislinn's face closer. She was shortly within range and soon his lips pressed firmly against hers.
Aislinn closed her eyes tightly and pushed against Kamlyn's chest trying to get him to stop. He kept kissing her though. Being weaker than him she moved one of her hands down, under the bench trying to find something she could use. Her fingers closed in around the long wooden handle of a broom that had been left out in the gardens. Swiftly she gripped the pole, opening her eyes so she could easily place him. Bringing up the pole of the broom she silently pushed it through the gap between herself and Kamlyn, gripping the other end with her other hand.
Kamlyn was still kissing her. He really hadn't gotten the hint.
With one quick shove, the handle of the broom was pushed towards Kamlyn's chest, hitting his rib cage with just enough force to knock the wind out of him. With the sudden painful feeling in his ribs, Kamlyn fell back and Aislinn was free to go.
Getting up, she ran as fast as she could through the gardens, using her memories of previous visits to navigate back to the dojo. She was surprised when she had suddenly collided with something and started falling backwards to be caught by a pair of strong arms.
"Aislinn-chan... where are you running to in such a hurry?" It was Hiroshi.
"Away from Kamlyn, that's where." She almost growled, using her kimono sleeve to roughly wipe her lips. "Baka.. BAKA I tell you." She continued as Hiroshi had set her upright on her feet once again. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she felt a tear run down her cheek. She was crying?
"Hiroshi-san. Don't make me meet with these guys anymore.. I don't like it" Aislinn crossed her arms over her chest as more tears streamed down her cheeks.
Kazuo and Shen soon arrived on the scene, just passing by on their way to their daily chores. They stopped seeing the distraught girl and looked to Hiroshi for answers.
Hiroshi was confused, he could admit. He did not know what had transpired to cause Aislinn to act like this. Glancing off in the direction that Aislinn had come speeding from, he motioned to the other two to go and see if they could find anything. The two nodded, looking to Aislinn one last time and then hurrying off, back into the garden.
Hiroshi stepped closer putting an arm over the girl's shoulder, "Come little one. Let's go inside"
- - - - - - - - - -
To Be Continued...
Chapter 5 :: "Feelings of Flame"
- - - - - - - - - -