Rain woke with the sound of thunder in her head. Wincing,
she opened her eyes and pushed herself to her feet with effort.
One hand to her head, she glanced around her surroundings groggily,
then shut her eyes. Everything in her body tingled like the circulation
was cut off from anything except her heart.
She leaned her hand against a tree trunk and tried to get her bearings.
Her eyes popped open. "Tree?" she whispered. She lifted her head and
finally focused on what her surroundings were exactly.
She was in a forest, the light was dim, and thunder rumbled ominously in
the east. Taking a few disbelieving steps forward, she pinched her arm to
wake herself up. "Where am I?" she wondered aloud.
"Hey, where'd everyone go?" she heard a young girls voice yell. Suddenly
remembering her dream, Rain broke into a run towards the voice. Could she
be...in her dream? Was that book a magical piece that could bring you into
your dreams?
There, not ten feet in front of her, was the scared little girl. She had stuck
her fingers in her mouth and her eyes were filled with tears as she looked
at all the locked doors. Behind her, Rain could hear the monsters as they
approached with the storm.
Her dream had become real!
The first growl of the monster brought her out of her awed state, and she
turned slightly to catch a glimpse of something bearing huge teeth and sharp
claws. The little girl, who had seen it too, began to cry. Rain ran out to her,
picked her up and began running down the street of the small village, banging
on the doors of the huts, demanding someone, anyone, at least let the little
girl in. All the doors remained locked tight. In on hut, she could hear the
scared whimpering of more children who hid.
"Dammit!" Rain cursed, taking a detour around one of the houses and
pressing her back against the side. The little girl continued to cry. "Shh..
you've got to be quiet!" she whispered harshly to her. "I can make the
monsters go away if you stay really quiet!"
The little girl looked up at her with watery eyes, her fingers still lodged
in her mouth. "Really?" she asked in a whimpering voice. Rain nodded.
The little girl took her fingers out of her mouth and latched onto Rain
tightly, adopting her as her new security blanket for the time being.
Rain shut her eyes and held her breath as she heard a monster shuffling
near, trying to sniff out their scent. She heard a crack, and the screams
of a family as one monster broke into the house.
Oh God...please make them go away....She prayed.
----------------------------
"It looks like rain again, no da." Chichiri stated, glancing up to the sky.
Tasuki rolled his eyes and trudged along the already muddy road.
"Yeah, yeah. What else is new anymore. It's been raining all week ya know!"
he snapped, picking at his muddy pants in distaste. It wasn't the dirt part
that was bothering him, but the fact that his pants stuck to his legs like an
uncomfortable skin.
Tasuki suddenly halted, intently staring to the west of them. Finding Tasuki
not with him still, Chichiri stopped a bit ahead of him and turned, tilting his
head curiously.
"What's wrong no da?" he asked, pushing up his kasa slightly. Tasuki held up
his hand in a silence gesture. Tama-Neko popped up out of Chichiri's kesa
and meowed.
"I heard screams..." he said in a muted voice, his eyes large as he listened. Chichiri
looked in the same direction as Tasuki, straining his ears for any sound other than
the thunder. He hadn't heard anything, but there was definitely some strange ki
from that area. There was another rumble of thunder, when the next set of
screams came. This time, they were persistent, and many.
Tasuki was the first to move, jumping off the road, and running down the hill
that the road ran upon. Chichiri threaded his prayer beads through his thumb
and forefinger and said a quick spell to teleport him to the location of the
strange ki. Tasuki'd be upset at being left behind, but if there were lives in
danger, someone had to get there quickly.
------------------------------
Rain held the little girl to her, forcing her to bury her head on her chest,
to not see all the death around her. Rain herself, was trying to be brave,
despite the tears that were flowing freely down her face. The monsters
had not seen them yet, they appeared to only be attracted to movement and
noise. Rain had managed to escape the town, but only by a few feet. Afraid
to go into the forest, she stayed outside of it, huddled against a tree. The little
girl was shivering, trying her best not to wail.
Rain had never felt so helpless. There had to be something she could do to
save this town! She couldn't just let everyone die! This little girl had family s
omewhere in there! She couldn't let her be left alone.....
Rain's eyes widened as a forgotten memory resurfaced.
She couldn't let her be left alone like how she was....
Rain was brought out of the hold the memory had upon her as the little girl
screamed. A monster had passed behind them, too close for the little girl to
remain brave any longer. The monster, which was spider-like with large teeth,
turned and began charging towards them. Several others, each spider like
with several rows of teeth, followed it, all chittering like rodents from hell.
No...NO! I WON'T LET HER DIE!
A renewed feeling of bravery surfacing, Rain put the wailing little girl on the
ground and stood up boldly.
Even if it means I'm going to die in this strange place, then so be it! Fact or
fiction, I won't let her die!
A breeze picked up from the oncoming storm, and Rain's hair was whipped
around as she clenched her fists. The tingling feeling grew stronger, as if
telling her something.
---------------------------------
"There!" Tasuki shouted as he and Chichiri came upon the village. They both
stopped dead in their tracks. "...the hell are those?!" Several monsters had begun
to converge on an area in back of the village, just out of their sight. Grabbing
Tasuki's arm, Chichiri teleported them both to the location.
They came just outside the circle the monsters were making around Rain and the girl.
Tasuki pulled out his fan.
"She's dressed like Miaka was...." Chichiri suddenly said, pulling off his mask to reveal
a shocked expression on his face. Tasuki, who was just lifting his arm to cast his fire
spell stumbled to stare at Chichiri, then in disbelief at Rain. Shaking himself out of it,
Tasuki lifted his fan again.
"R-"
"REKKA....SHINEN!!!!"
A fan-arc burst of flames suddenly came from within the circle of monsters, fanning
outwards. Baffled, Tasuki could only stare as the fireball came barreling towards him.
Chichiri barely had time to teleport them away before the fireball hit.
The monsters were burned to nothing in a matter of seconds. The huts behind them caught
fire, burning the remainder of the monsters away as well. Rain panted heavily and dropped
to her hands and knees. Two black-booted feet came to stand in front of her, and she tried
her best to keep her eyes focused to see who they belonged to.
Empty gold eyes stared down into hers with an unreadable expression. The owner flipped a
lock of hair blacker than any known black she'd seen before, then kneeled to her eye level.
He smiled slightly, and brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear gently.
"So...you've finally come......" he said in a voice that sounded almost like a teenagers. Rain's
vision blurred, her insides felt like they were burning. She wanted to run away from him.
Stumbling backwards, she fell over the little girl who was still wailing in fright, and covered
her with her own body.
"You're not going to kill her." She said in a weak whisper. The man chuckled darkly.
"Of course I'm not. You've prevented that. But...of course...other deaths have not." He leaned
forward and kissed her forehead. Rain felt as if she'd been kissed by an ice sculpture.
"Welcome to your final home, Child of the Rain." He murmured against her skin. Unable to stay
conscious any longer, Rain went limp over the girl and succumbed to unconsciousness.
-----------------------------
"Miaka....." Taka said in a low voice. Miaka stirred and made a small noise. She slowly
opened her eyes and focused on his face.
"Taka...?" she asked, as if unsure he was there.
"Ugh." Yui groaned as Taka leaned down to kiss Miaka. One of Miaka's eyes popped open
to glare at her. "Come on, I'm going to be sick." She said disgustedly. Taka pulled away and
sat up, propping one elbow on a bent knee. Miaka pushed herself to a sit, and looked around
curiously.
"We're in a cave.." she observed. Yui rolled her eyes.
"Of course we are. It's the only place we could find to get out of the rain." She said, looking
out into the woods they had found themselves in. Miaka stood up and brushed the dirt off of
her skirt, then went to stand by Yui.
"Just where are w-" she stopped in the middle of her sentence as she got an eyeful of the
woods. "Yui....are we....?"
Yui sighed heavily and leaned her head against the rock wall next to her. "Yes...it seems we
are back in that book Miaka." Miaka's mouth dropped open.
"But how, that's what I'd like to know." Taka suddenly spoke up. "I mean, all possible ways of
entering this world were sealed off or destroyed...how is it that Rain got hold of a copy of the
Universe of the Four Gods.?" Miaka turned to look at him.
"But that book was blank before, remember?" she said as she sat down next to him. Taka put his
arm around her. She suddenly jumped as a thought crossed her mind. "D....Do you think that
Ten'kou has returned?!" she asked, alarmed. Yui turned slightly to look at her.
"That's impossible, the four gods sealed him away for good, remember?" Taka said, hugging her
reassuringly. Yui turned back around to stare at the rain. Miaka blinked a few times and looked
around.
"Hey....where's Tetsuya, Keisuke and Hoshi?" she wondered.
she opened her eyes and pushed herself to her feet with effort.
One hand to her head, she glanced around her surroundings groggily,
then shut her eyes. Everything in her body tingled like the circulation
was cut off from anything except her heart.
She leaned her hand against a tree trunk and tried to get her bearings.
Her eyes popped open. "Tree?" she whispered. She lifted her head and
finally focused on what her surroundings were exactly.
She was in a forest, the light was dim, and thunder rumbled ominously in
the east. Taking a few disbelieving steps forward, she pinched her arm to
wake herself up. "Where am I?" she wondered aloud.
"Hey, where'd everyone go?" she heard a young girls voice yell. Suddenly
remembering her dream, Rain broke into a run towards the voice. Could she
be...in her dream? Was that book a magical piece that could bring you into
your dreams?
There, not ten feet in front of her, was the scared little girl. She had stuck
her fingers in her mouth and her eyes were filled with tears as she looked
at all the locked doors. Behind her, Rain could hear the monsters as they
approached with the storm.
Her dream had become real!
The first growl of the monster brought her out of her awed state, and she
turned slightly to catch a glimpse of something bearing huge teeth and sharp
claws. The little girl, who had seen it too, began to cry. Rain ran out to her,
picked her up and began running down the street of the small village, banging
on the doors of the huts, demanding someone, anyone, at least let the little
girl in. All the doors remained locked tight. In on hut, she could hear the
scared whimpering of more children who hid.
"Dammit!" Rain cursed, taking a detour around one of the houses and
pressing her back against the side. The little girl continued to cry. "Shh..
you've got to be quiet!" she whispered harshly to her. "I can make the
monsters go away if you stay really quiet!"
The little girl looked up at her with watery eyes, her fingers still lodged
in her mouth. "Really?" she asked in a whimpering voice. Rain nodded.
The little girl took her fingers out of her mouth and latched onto Rain
tightly, adopting her as her new security blanket for the time being.
Rain shut her eyes and held her breath as she heard a monster shuffling
near, trying to sniff out their scent. She heard a crack, and the screams
of a family as one monster broke into the house.
Oh God...please make them go away....She prayed.
----------------------------
"It looks like rain again, no da." Chichiri stated, glancing up to the sky.
Tasuki rolled his eyes and trudged along the already muddy road.
"Yeah, yeah. What else is new anymore. It's been raining all week ya know!"
he snapped, picking at his muddy pants in distaste. It wasn't the dirt part
that was bothering him, but the fact that his pants stuck to his legs like an
uncomfortable skin.
Tasuki suddenly halted, intently staring to the west of them. Finding Tasuki
not with him still, Chichiri stopped a bit ahead of him and turned, tilting his
head curiously.
"What's wrong no da?" he asked, pushing up his kasa slightly. Tasuki held up
his hand in a silence gesture. Tama-Neko popped up out of Chichiri's kesa
and meowed.
"I heard screams..." he said in a muted voice, his eyes large as he listened. Chichiri
looked in the same direction as Tasuki, straining his ears for any sound other than
the thunder. He hadn't heard anything, but there was definitely some strange ki
from that area. There was another rumble of thunder, when the next set of
screams came. This time, they were persistent, and many.
Tasuki was the first to move, jumping off the road, and running down the hill
that the road ran upon. Chichiri threaded his prayer beads through his thumb
and forefinger and said a quick spell to teleport him to the location of the
strange ki. Tasuki'd be upset at being left behind, but if there were lives in
danger, someone had to get there quickly.
------------------------------
Rain held the little girl to her, forcing her to bury her head on her chest,
to not see all the death around her. Rain herself, was trying to be brave,
despite the tears that were flowing freely down her face. The monsters
had not seen them yet, they appeared to only be attracted to movement and
noise. Rain had managed to escape the town, but only by a few feet. Afraid
to go into the forest, she stayed outside of it, huddled against a tree. The little
girl was shivering, trying her best not to wail.
Rain had never felt so helpless. There had to be something she could do to
save this town! She couldn't just let everyone die! This little girl had family s
omewhere in there! She couldn't let her be left alone.....
Rain's eyes widened as a forgotten memory resurfaced.
She couldn't let her be left alone like how she was....
Rain was brought out of the hold the memory had upon her as the little girl
screamed. A monster had passed behind them, too close for the little girl to
remain brave any longer. The monster, which was spider-like with large teeth,
turned and began charging towards them. Several others, each spider like
with several rows of teeth, followed it, all chittering like rodents from hell.
No...NO! I WON'T LET HER DIE!
A renewed feeling of bravery surfacing, Rain put the wailing little girl on the
ground and stood up boldly.
Even if it means I'm going to die in this strange place, then so be it! Fact or
fiction, I won't let her die!
A breeze picked up from the oncoming storm, and Rain's hair was whipped
around as she clenched her fists. The tingling feeling grew stronger, as if
telling her something.
---------------------------------
"There!" Tasuki shouted as he and Chichiri came upon the village. They both
stopped dead in their tracks. "...the hell are those?!" Several monsters had begun
to converge on an area in back of the village, just out of their sight. Grabbing
Tasuki's arm, Chichiri teleported them both to the location.
They came just outside the circle the monsters were making around Rain and the girl.
Tasuki pulled out his fan.
"She's dressed like Miaka was...." Chichiri suddenly said, pulling off his mask to reveal
a shocked expression on his face. Tasuki, who was just lifting his arm to cast his fire
spell stumbled to stare at Chichiri, then in disbelief at Rain. Shaking himself out of it,
Tasuki lifted his fan again.
"R-"
"REKKA....SHINEN!!!!"
A fan-arc burst of flames suddenly came from within the circle of monsters, fanning
outwards. Baffled, Tasuki could only stare as the fireball came barreling towards him.
Chichiri barely had time to teleport them away before the fireball hit.
The monsters were burned to nothing in a matter of seconds. The huts behind them caught
fire, burning the remainder of the monsters away as well. Rain panted heavily and dropped
to her hands and knees. Two black-booted feet came to stand in front of her, and she tried
her best to keep her eyes focused to see who they belonged to.
Empty gold eyes stared down into hers with an unreadable expression. The owner flipped a
lock of hair blacker than any known black she'd seen before, then kneeled to her eye level.
He smiled slightly, and brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear gently.
"So...you've finally come......" he said in a voice that sounded almost like a teenagers. Rain's
vision blurred, her insides felt like they were burning. She wanted to run away from him.
Stumbling backwards, she fell over the little girl who was still wailing in fright, and covered
her with her own body.
"You're not going to kill her." She said in a weak whisper. The man chuckled darkly.
"Of course I'm not. You've prevented that. But...of course...other deaths have not." He leaned
forward and kissed her forehead. Rain felt as if she'd been kissed by an ice sculpture.
"Welcome to your final home, Child of the Rain." He murmured against her skin. Unable to stay
conscious any longer, Rain went limp over the girl and succumbed to unconsciousness.
-----------------------------
"Miaka....." Taka said in a low voice. Miaka stirred and made a small noise. She slowly
opened her eyes and focused on his face.
"Taka...?" she asked, as if unsure he was there.
"Ugh." Yui groaned as Taka leaned down to kiss Miaka. One of Miaka's eyes popped open
to glare at her. "Come on, I'm going to be sick." She said disgustedly. Taka pulled away and
sat up, propping one elbow on a bent knee. Miaka pushed herself to a sit, and looked around
curiously.
"We're in a cave.." she observed. Yui rolled her eyes.
"Of course we are. It's the only place we could find to get out of the rain." She said, looking
out into the woods they had found themselves in. Miaka stood up and brushed the dirt off of
her skirt, then went to stand by Yui.
"Just where are w-" she stopped in the middle of her sentence as she got an eyeful of the
woods. "Yui....are we....?"
Yui sighed heavily and leaned her head against the rock wall next to her. "Yes...it seems we
are back in that book Miaka." Miaka's mouth dropped open.
"But how, that's what I'd like to know." Taka suddenly spoke up. "I mean, all possible ways of
entering this world were sealed off or destroyed...how is it that Rain got hold of a copy of the
Universe of the Four Gods.?" Miaka turned to look at him.
"But that book was blank before, remember?" she said as she sat down next to him. Taka put his
arm around her. She suddenly jumped as a thought crossed her mind. "D....Do you think that
Ten'kou has returned?!" she asked, alarmed. Yui turned slightly to look at her.
"That's impossible, the four gods sealed him away for good, remember?" Taka said, hugging her
reassuringly. Yui turned back around to stare at the rain. Miaka blinked a few times and looked
around.
"Hey....where's Tetsuya, Keisuke and Hoshi?" she wondered.