"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void,
And darkness was upon the face of the deep;
And the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters."
- Genesis 1:1-2
======
Inori
Interlude - "...Is Now, and Ever Shall Be..."
Written by Kate "SuperKate" Butler
======
"How did you an' Mama make me, Papa?"
She was now almost nine years old, a light in the dark world, a beautiful fourth-grade girl
with a bright smile and a charming way to look at the world. Her teachers from T.A. Girl's Academy
often phoned to tell him how far ahead she was from all her classmates. She was a mature child, never
worrying about the kinds of things other children worried about. One of the sisters had even commented
that the girl had refused to watch a video in class, calling television "loud" and "moronic."
Still, she seemed to have no friends, no other children to play and run with. She spent all her
time at the temple, feeding the crows that her grandfather had tamed and learning the way of Shintoism.
Seated on the park bench beside his daughter, Seiji glanced dubiously at the girl. The afternoon
sun was bright and friendly despite the still-chilly weather of early spring. "I don't understand
the question, Rei-chan," he admitted, ruffling her long, soft hair. "I don't know what you mean by
'made.'"
The girl frowned, wrinkling her nose. "You know, MADE," she stressed, her high voice drawling
out the word rather loudly. "We were learning all about God making everything in school." She paused,
pursing her little lips. "God created Adam to look like him, and then made Adam's rib into Eve, right?
And the Holy Ghost gave the Madonna a very special baby, right?" Her father nodded, smiling slightly
at her recitation of such knowledge. "So, then, was I made out of Mama's rib, maybe? Or did I come
from the Holy Ghost, too?"
The politician laughed, but his smile faded as Rei scowled up at him, looking almost offended
by his amusement. "Gomen, musume," he smiled, sipping his coffee casually. "The truth is, dear,
that you were 'made' out of much love between your mother and I, that's all." He sighed, glancing up
at the blue sky with sad eyes. "Someday, you'll understand that, I promise."
"Like Kami made people out of her love?" she questioned. Dark eyes lowered in her direction,
and she flinched, squirming under the harsh glance. "Gomen, Papa!" she apologized quickly. "I forgot
that I'm not sup'osed to talk about ojii-san and Hikawa with you."
Silence washed over the mismatched father-daughter pair, the well-known man staring at his
cup of fast-food coffee as his child swung her legs idly from the bench, her shoes just barely scuffing
the ground.
"So, Rei-chan, what's your Bible verse this week, dear?" he asked of her with a smile, changing
the subject. "I was told that you're learning the gospels this year in religion class, right?"
Nodding, she raised her chin, looking straight ahead at a small tree that sat across the park
from them. "'For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life,'" she quoted quietly, a slight blush crossing her face.
"There's a little more to it, but I forgot the rest. Something about condemnation, I guess."
"Very good," praised her father, once again musing her long tresses. "You're doing very well
in school, you know. Your teachers praise you for being so smart, and always listening." He paused,
not sure how far to go with the conversation. "But tell me, Rei-chan, do you have any friends?"
She sighed softly and rested her folded hands in her lap, staring down at the shadow that her
feet made on the dirt path through the park. "Phobos and Deimos are my friends," she responded softly,
her voice hardly louder than a whisper. "Ojii-san is my friend, too. And so is Sister Maria, who
teaches us music at school."
Her father eyed her carefully, running a hand through his dark hair. "That's it?" he asked of
her, sounding almost disappointed. "You don't play with the other girls at school?"
"I don't want to," she admitted quietly, leaning back against the cool wood of the park bench.
Purple eyes studied the fluffy, white spring clouds and the bright blue sky above her head. "They're
really goofy and talk about all sorts of silly things I don't care about. I'd rather spend more time
at the shrine and be a good miko. That way - "
"You know that you are not to become a miko, Rei!" snapped Seiji irritably, his eyes snapping
into a glare as he stared down at the girl. She was still staring into the sky, not at all bothered by
his sudden change of tone. "You are to be a proper Catholic girl, and you are to study politics as an
adult! How many times must I repeat myself? You are NOT a Shinto!"
Pink lips pursed as the girl's eyelashes fluttered slowly shut. The sun was so warm on her
face, so peaceful even if her father was yelling... She just wanted to escape the noise and the
commotion and fly free against the sun, like her crows did...
She sighed and brought herself back to reality, her eyes opening as she sat up straight and
tall. "I know that I'm not sup'osed to be a miko, Papa," she told him solemnly, "but I think that God
would understand if I followed that path, you know?" She smiled slightly and looked up at him. "Who
says that there can't be God AND Kami-sama? Maybe they're best friends, like me an' ojii-san."
Seiji blinked dark eyes at his daughter for a moment, impressed by her mature - if slightly
strange - response to his outburst. "I don't think that's really possible," he responded coolly, taking
another sip from his coffee. "I think that there's only one God, and that there's nothing else."
"I bet that you believe in Kami-sama, too," challenged his daughter. "You wouldn't have married
Mama otherwise."
"Rei-chan!" called a familiar, deep voice, and the politician was shocked to see the girl's
face light up like a Christmas tree as she rushed toward her grandfather. "Time to come home."
The dark-haired child squealed as her grandfather picked her up and twirled her above his
head, her long tresses flying behind her like tail feathers. "Now, you say goodbye to your Papa,"
Hito instructed her sternly. "It'd be rude, otherwise."
Rei bowed deeply toward her father. "Sayonara wa, Papa!" she called before taking the older
man's hand and skipping off down the path with him, babbling about everything and anything that came
to mind as she went on her way home.
Nuzono Seiji smiled softly after the girl, a certain sadness to his visage as he watched her
prance toward home.
"If anything," he breathed, voice nearly lost to the whisper of the wind through the trees,
"you were created by God in your mother's image, just as Adam was created in his."
------
End Interlude.
The earth was without form and void,
And darkness was upon the face of the deep;
And the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters."
- Genesis 1:1-2
======
Inori
Interlude - "...Is Now, and Ever Shall Be..."
Written by Kate "SuperKate" Butler
======
"How did you an' Mama make me, Papa?"
She was now almost nine years old, a light in the dark world, a beautiful fourth-grade girl
with a bright smile and a charming way to look at the world. Her teachers from T.A. Girl's Academy
often phoned to tell him how far ahead she was from all her classmates. She was a mature child, never
worrying about the kinds of things other children worried about. One of the sisters had even commented
that the girl had refused to watch a video in class, calling television "loud" and "moronic."
Still, she seemed to have no friends, no other children to play and run with. She spent all her
time at the temple, feeding the crows that her grandfather had tamed and learning the way of Shintoism.
Seated on the park bench beside his daughter, Seiji glanced dubiously at the girl. The afternoon
sun was bright and friendly despite the still-chilly weather of early spring. "I don't understand
the question, Rei-chan," he admitted, ruffling her long, soft hair. "I don't know what you mean by
'made.'"
The girl frowned, wrinkling her nose. "You know, MADE," she stressed, her high voice drawling
out the word rather loudly. "We were learning all about God making everything in school." She paused,
pursing her little lips. "God created Adam to look like him, and then made Adam's rib into Eve, right?
And the Holy Ghost gave the Madonna a very special baby, right?" Her father nodded, smiling slightly
at her recitation of such knowledge. "So, then, was I made out of Mama's rib, maybe? Or did I come
from the Holy Ghost, too?"
The politician laughed, but his smile faded as Rei scowled up at him, looking almost offended
by his amusement. "Gomen, musume," he smiled, sipping his coffee casually. "The truth is, dear,
that you were 'made' out of much love between your mother and I, that's all." He sighed, glancing up
at the blue sky with sad eyes. "Someday, you'll understand that, I promise."
"Like Kami made people out of her love?" she questioned. Dark eyes lowered in her direction,
and she flinched, squirming under the harsh glance. "Gomen, Papa!" she apologized quickly. "I forgot
that I'm not sup'osed to talk about ojii-san and Hikawa with you."
Silence washed over the mismatched father-daughter pair, the well-known man staring at his
cup of fast-food coffee as his child swung her legs idly from the bench, her shoes just barely scuffing
the ground.
"So, Rei-chan, what's your Bible verse this week, dear?" he asked of her with a smile, changing
the subject. "I was told that you're learning the gospels this year in religion class, right?"
Nodding, she raised her chin, looking straight ahead at a small tree that sat across the park
from them. "'For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life,'" she quoted quietly, a slight blush crossing her face.
"There's a little more to it, but I forgot the rest. Something about condemnation, I guess."
"Very good," praised her father, once again musing her long tresses. "You're doing very well
in school, you know. Your teachers praise you for being so smart, and always listening." He paused,
not sure how far to go with the conversation. "But tell me, Rei-chan, do you have any friends?"
She sighed softly and rested her folded hands in her lap, staring down at the shadow that her
feet made on the dirt path through the park. "Phobos and Deimos are my friends," she responded softly,
her voice hardly louder than a whisper. "Ojii-san is my friend, too. And so is Sister Maria, who
teaches us music at school."
Her father eyed her carefully, running a hand through his dark hair. "That's it?" he asked of
her, sounding almost disappointed. "You don't play with the other girls at school?"
"I don't want to," she admitted quietly, leaning back against the cool wood of the park bench.
Purple eyes studied the fluffy, white spring clouds and the bright blue sky above her head. "They're
really goofy and talk about all sorts of silly things I don't care about. I'd rather spend more time
at the shrine and be a good miko. That way - "
"You know that you are not to become a miko, Rei!" snapped Seiji irritably, his eyes snapping
into a glare as he stared down at the girl. She was still staring into the sky, not at all bothered by
his sudden change of tone. "You are to be a proper Catholic girl, and you are to study politics as an
adult! How many times must I repeat myself? You are NOT a Shinto!"
Pink lips pursed as the girl's eyelashes fluttered slowly shut. The sun was so warm on her
face, so peaceful even if her father was yelling... She just wanted to escape the noise and the
commotion and fly free against the sun, like her crows did...
She sighed and brought herself back to reality, her eyes opening as she sat up straight and
tall. "I know that I'm not sup'osed to be a miko, Papa," she told him solemnly, "but I think that God
would understand if I followed that path, you know?" She smiled slightly and looked up at him. "Who
says that there can't be God AND Kami-sama? Maybe they're best friends, like me an' ojii-san."
Seiji blinked dark eyes at his daughter for a moment, impressed by her mature - if slightly
strange - response to his outburst. "I don't think that's really possible," he responded coolly, taking
another sip from his coffee. "I think that there's only one God, and that there's nothing else."
"I bet that you believe in Kami-sama, too," challenged his daughter. "You wouldn't have married
Mama otherwise."
"Rei-chan!" called a familiar, deep voice, and the politician was shocked to see the girl's
face light up like a Christmas tree as she rushed toward her grandfather. "Time to come home."
The dark-haired child squealed as her grandfather picked her up and twirled her above his
head, her long tresses flying behind her like tail feathers. "Now, you say goodbye to your Papa,"
Hito instructed her sternly. "It'd be rude, otherwise."
Rei bowed deeply toward her father. "Sayonara wa, Papa!" she called before taking the older
man's hand and skipping off down the path with him, babbling about everything and anything that came
to mind as she went on her way home.
Nuzono Seiji smiled softly after the girl, a certain sadness to his visage as he watched her
prance toward home.
"If anything," he breathed, voice nearly lost to the whisper of the wind through the trees,
"you were created by God in your mother's image, just as Adam was created in his."
------
End Interlude.