Chapter One
; Returning ;
A small bright green leaf, tinged with brown from the onrushing Autumn, fell through the crisp cool air, twirling as it fell earthward, landed lightly on the soft chestnut hair of an eighteen year old girl. Picking it up with delicate, perfectly manicured fingers, the girl examined the leaf without particular interest, feeling its smoothness on her fingertips.
Letting the leaf fall to the ground, the girl turned her head upwards, making her long brown hair fall over her shoulders and fly out behind her in the slight breeze. Her emerald green eyes surveyed the tranquil sunset that streaked the sky with beautiful red gold and pinkish blurry colors, which overlooked the last few, true days of the late summer.
Sighing contentedly, she looked around her at the peaceful woods and the rippling dark turquoise pond over which the quacking of ducks could be heard. Straightening out, the girl suddenly twisted her torso and leaped off the cracked stone bench she had been sitting on for the past hour. Landing on her sneaker-clad feet with a soft thud, Momiji Fujimiya stood tall, pleased to have not fallen on her face as she had done so many times in her past.
Glancing quickly at her Mashi Maro character watch, MomijiÕs glance lingered and became a shocked stare. It was 9 oÕclock. And dinner at the Fujimiya residence had started half an hour ago. Not that she still lived there, of course.
It was her final meal with the family before she moved back to Tokyo, where her adoptive father , Mr. Kunikida, had bought her a beautiful little house, painted a sweet soft blue, a blue like the blurring softness where the sky meets the sea in Tokyo Bay. Her new home in the Tokyo countryside wasnÕt the only thing Momiji was looking forward to. Being in Tokyo, the big and crowded city where she learned what she truly was, reminded Momiji of her past, of her horrible, surprising, unbelievable past.
Momiji grimaced slightly at the memories of many long years ago. Being attacked by creatures that should not have existed in her hometown, being taken away from everything she knew by a government organization, learning her purpose in this twisted world which seemed to be falling apart. For her, back then, it truly was. Momiji had only been fifteen years old, living a calm life with her mother and grandmother in Izumo, and going to school with her best friend, Akiko.
Then one cold winter morning she was late to school.
MomijiÕs vision blurred as every moment of her past became one trembling scene. A girl running down a snow strewn path in a forest, early morning mist surrounding her.
oh no! I'm going to be late!
And then he was there.
MomijiÕs own voice reverberated in her mind, the voice of a girl who had changed in tremulous amounts over the past three years.
And then he had stepped into her life, knocking her down, destroying her world, and setting her senses on fire.
Kusanagi.
MomijiÕs pure green eyes misted over gently as she remembered that day. The day she almost sacrificed her life to save Kusanagi, a man who wanted to kill her to free himself from being a servant of Orochi, the monster who had obliterated her school in a tangled mess of angry vines, cement, and broken glass.
She almost smiled to herself as she thought of how she had felt about him the months that she and Kusanagi had fought against..them.
The Aragami, the ancient monsters who had forever tried to annihilate the human race to turn the earth into the Kingdom of the Roots.
The Aragami, who were marked by the mitamas, the vivid blue seeds which supplied them with their incredible, forceful power. Momiji herself, in protecting Kusanagi from OrochiÕs final dying blow, had been branded with a mitama, and given the power to sense the ever-present danger of the Aragami. And then, more memories rushed at her. Learning that she was the Kushinada. The princess Kushinada, who could save Japan from the Aragami by the selfless act of human sacrifice. And finally, being informed that she had a twin sister, another Kushinada, who had been killed by the Aragami many years ago.
Her name was Kaede.
Kaede, who believed it was her destiny to save Japan by destroying the human race which polluted and ravaged the beauty of the land. Kaede, who wanted to bring back the god Susano-Oh, and using his power to end the world. Only before returning to the afterworld with Susano-Oh after the Rite of Matsuri had been performed, did Kaede show her true, kind, loving nature.
Presently, Momiji sighed sadly.
She missed her sister ferociously. Her heart burned to be with the twin she had never gotten to know. She blinked. The last remnants of the sun were fading from the sky, the dark orange rays bounced off the water of the pond and danced merrily on the sandy banks. Momiji looked at her watch.It was now nine twenty. She realized she had been staring blankly into the depths of the water in retrospection.
Somewhere far off, an angry roll of thunder exploded into existence, its intimidating sound reverberating off the protesting clouds crowding in the sky. Momiji turned her head towards the now much changed sky, the clouds moving as though being herded by an invisible hand, and wondered why the weather changed so rapidly from a perfect sunset to a possibly rainy evening.
Suddenly, Momiji felt her world tilt slightly. Dizzy with overwhelming nausea, she leaned against the rough, scratchy bark of an old oak tree. Then, she felt it. Another presence. She could feel its energy waves floating out through the trees. Just as when she had her mitama, she could still detect the emanation of another existence. She was the Kushinada, and her powers extended to the ability of sensing raw energy.
Pushing away from the oak, Momiji cleared her mind and tried to find the source of whatever was out there among the tall, numerous trees. Then, she knew what was coming straight away. Momiji had felt it before she had heard it.
crunch
Momiji spun around, her straight brown hair flying out behind her like a sail, her pale complexion turning even lighter in sudden fear.
Someone or something was here. She was definitely not alone.
ÒIs someone out there?Ó, she called tentatively, her voice quavering.
Nothing. No answer.
Instinctively, Momiji placed her hand on her heart, where her mitama used to be. She pushed her thoughts outward, trying to locate where the pulsating energy was coming from. She shivered, as she could feel the raw fluctuating potency touch her in waves, like the slight fluttering waves of the jade green pond.
MomijiÕs heart began to pound in her chest. After a minute of silence, she had not heard a sound. Slowly she turned around to the path, and saw the last rays of light die away to the unrelentless night. Looking up compulsively, Momiji saw the bright, full moon glowing among the countless stars.
A tiny cold drop of the presently threatening rain dropped from the sky and landed on MomijiÕs cheek with a barely audible splat. Then down came another, followed by another. Moments later, uncountable numbers of tiny clean drops of water were falling from the sky, not harsh and objecting, but soft and gentle, like a mist of coolness enveloping the sky and stars everything underneath them.
Turning her eyes back to the path, Momiji warily gazed around her, acutely aware of her growing fear, taking form inside her.
Within minutes of walking in the woods, she was drenched in water and very cold. Great, she thought. Here I am, in the middle of the woods, at night, in the rain, soaking wet, and definitely not alone.
Just get home said the calm, rational part of her mind.
A cruel icy breeze lifted up, rushing through the trees, making the entire forest come alive in a frenzy of rustling movement. With numb fingers, Momiji zipped up her red parka all the way up, and turned on her heel in the direction of her house. Walking briskly, MomijiÕs mind was filled with questions, the most important being Who was out there? Was someone even there?
That presence...it felt so familiar, Momiji thought as she walked along the worn dirt path, it almost felt..like it was reaching out to me.....
Like a stinging pain, she felt it there again, almost like her soul was aware of something. Something so intimately familiar.
Momiji gasped. Her green eyes widened, the black voids contracting in fear. Terror overwhelmed her body, and she shook violently.
Crunch
The sound came from right behind her.
Without turning to see what she knew was there, Momiji burst forward in an incredible explosion of speed, fueled by her sheer dread and horror. Stumbling blindly in the dark, the lower branches whipping her face painfully, Momiji ran past the ancient rusty gate, and over the wooden bridge where in daytime you could often see the colorful koi blooping underneath the glassy surface of the water.
Run, she thought. Run.
Trees, trees. More trees. Would she ever get out of here?
Suddenly she tripped over the roots of a gnarled tree and fell flying down in the darkness. Momiji cried out as she hit the ground, littered with old rotting leaves that smelled of death and decay and sent her reeling. For a moment she was paralyzed, not really believing or understanding where she was. Then her sense returned to her and she struggled fiercely to get up, only succeeding in pulling herself down even farther as her jacket caught on the worn roots of the unrelenting old tree. Sheer terror jumped through her body as she realized she was stuck. Pulling crazily wasnÕt going to help, she thought. So gathering up her fear and trying to control it, she fumbled with the jacket and the roots with numb fingers as darkness surrounded her, more menacing then ever.
Her fingers brushed by a protruding limb of the tree, interlacing with the folds of her windbreaker. With a final, pleading pull, she was free from her inanimate captor. Pushing hard against the icy ground that had transformed into mud under the rain falling from the sky, Momiji managed to jump to her feet and leaped back into full gear as she took off again, running at full speed, her shoes thudding hollowly wherever there was dry ground, and mingling with the mud wherever the rain had penetrated the tree canopy.
Finally leaping over a moss-overgrown log, Momiji burst from the darkness of the woods into the street. The bright halogen lights caused her eyes to water, obscuring her vision slightly. Her mind raced. Just two more blocks until she reached her home, and then she would be safe between solid walls of concrete and wood and windows of hard glass.
Crickets chirped into the dark consuming night, their song resonating through the air. Momiji stopped and listened, her ears straining for any sound...perhaps the click of shoes on the smooth pavement, or the swish of a red trench coat. Passing quietly from shadow into light and into shadow again as she moved swiftly past the streetlights. Turning the corner by a large mansion-like house, she entered her street. MomijiÕs mind was hazy, like a fog had obscured her thoughts. Step after step, she was almost home. And then, she was already opening the green crosswire gate of her front yard, and walking up the flagstone walkway to the house.
Breathing shallowly, Momiji picked up her feet wearily up the front steps of the practically polished front porch her mother worked so hard to keep clean. Pulling her house keys out of her pocket, she slipped into the house soundlessly, pulling off her sneakers, which were now caked with dirt and mud from running through the rain-spattered path. Pulling off her windbreaker was not so easy, as the durable material was now soaking wet and clinging to her skin.
Soon she was free from it, and she stepped into the hallway. Looking into the dining room, she saw that the lights had been turned off, and the table had been cleared. Momiji squinted in the dark at the ancient clock on the wall. It was fifteen minutes till ten.
How did it get to be so late? she wondered in surprise.
She padded quietly down the hall, and past her motherÕs room. The door was closed shut. Momiji paused, straining her ears for any strange noises. She relaxed and turned away as soon as she heard the steady sound of her motherÕs breathing, her dreams untroubled and painless.
Moving farther down the hallway, Momiji concentrated her vision on the space before her, trying to make out the vague shape of the kitchen door. Feeling the sudden coldness of the floor as carpet met tile, and she shivered involuntarily, her mind still ablaze with the nightÕs events. What had happened? Momiji thought desperately as she looked around the spotless little kitchen as though expecting to find the answer on the wooden counter top or above the stainless steel refrigerator which stood humming gently in the corner next to the back door.
Momiji leaned tiredly against the little kitchen table which stood beside a gingham curtained window which looked out into their flowering garden. With a little sigh, her legs folded beneath her and she sank into the nearest chair, fully realizing how exhausted she really was.
She buried her head in her arms, and in her mind, she went over everything that had happened.
What had really happened?
I was probably imagining things, she thought as she felt herself drift willingly into sleep.
But...it had felt different this time...,Momiji thought as her last few words blurred into unconsciousness, I felt this before...
Before she could finish her reasoning, she was fast asleep, and silence filled the house once more.
Far, far away, consumed in the darkness of the great forest, the trees trembled. A wind rose from the center of a large clearing, accompanied by a strange hum which filled the forest, blocking out every sound. Abruptly, an unbelievably bright, unnatural beam of light fell earthward, originating from the sky in a straight line. The humming sound grew louder and as the beam of light touched ground, it crashed and expanded outward filling the woods with blinding, heavenly light, a ringing celestial sound mixing with the humming. The beam of light was growing, meeting the ground in a dome of the same incredible illumination.
The beam of light flickered, and died, pulling away with it the ethereal tone. The forest grew silent again, as finally, the dome of light in the center of the clearing faded away. In the deep, fathomless darkness, the outline of a human figure wearing long billowing robes was visible. The trees shivered.