Authors Note- I know this took -AGES- for me to do...I can't help it _ Coursework is just too much for me...and drawing comes first I'm afraid. But anyway, I'm quite proud of this chapter, though I still have no idea how this story will turn out...But please review with any ideas you have and comments of course. ^^ So...yeah. Enjoy ^_~
(Urei is japanese for sorrowful and Yogunsha is Japanese for prophetess.)
btw, Tsu's real name is Mangetsu, they call him Tsu cos they think his full name is really girlish (full moon)
Chapter 6- Like A Mirror
::6 MONTHS LATER::
In a deserted region far east of Astoria, a tall, slender girl was fleeing for her life.
Closer up, the girls appearance was that of a neglected prisoner. She clutched an ancient, rusty knife in one hand, and sliced vainly at the long stalks of bamboo rising just above her head to try to clear a path for herself. Every few seconds she would glance desperately back behind her as the angry shouting of two men got louder. The girl was panting badly. It didn't seem as though she'd had much exercise recently; she was bathed in sweat and the late afternoon sun was cruelly burning her pale, sun-deprived skin. In her mind she wished for darkness to descend and hide her from those evil bastards.
Once more the girl looked back, but this time, as she tripped, a hopeless sob escaped her as she felt a sharp stab of pain in her ankle and she knew she could not escape. She scrambled to her feet and limped on despite the throbbing pain in her foot which had now faded to a dull ache. The shouting grew ever closer.
* * * *
The two men, although dirty with the grime and sweat of a few months, were fit and closing in on their prey. They had done this often before; she would not escape this time, nor any other time.
-She'll be punished for this.- The taller man smirked cruelly at the thought of her anguished screams. -It ain't gonna happen again. Or next time the boss'll punish me aswell...-
But hadn't they all thought that the other times? Three times before, she had managed to escape. And three times before, she had been captured and punished.
-This girl is like an untamed horse. No, not a horse...A panther. Beautiful and wild.- The second man could see her just in front of him now, she had slowed down for some reason. -But like all wild things. She can, and will, be tamed.-
They were right behind her now. She stopped and hung her head, hoping to lessen the punishment she knew would follow after they took her back.
"Its too late Urei." He mocked her in a sarcastic voice, then canted his head to one side and tried to provoke her, "What's wrong Yogunsha? No more visions to save your delicate skin from a good lashing?" He threw back his head and laughed.
The Urei made no response. Months of 'discipline' from those two men and the rest of them back at their 'camp' had taught her to keep silent. Her face stayed blank but her glassy blue eyes betrayed her, they were cold and hateful, showing just what she would do to him had she only one man to fight and a good night's rest and decent meal in her.
The first man noticed the look and rose his clenched fist to knock her to the ground, when the other man held back his arm to stop him. "No." He glanced at the Urei with a look that could almost be described as pity, "Leave that job to the man the boss decides to give to."
"Whatever. But don't touch me again. You got that 'Tsu?" He frowned at Tsu then after a slight nod from him he murmured under his breath, "...Weakling..."
Tsu didn't appear to hear him, and walked towards the Urei and grabbed her arm to push her in front of him. He didn't notice her tuck her dagger discreetly under her ragged shirt and suppress a tiny sigh of relief. She walked silently in front with her head still hanging on her chest.
******
It was dark. The air seemed to grow heavy and press in on you as you walked. But he wasn't walking. High up, he sat waiting, perfectly still. His breathing was muffled, quiet, as though by the humid air itself. All around him, long, dark shadows hung loosely from the ancient gnarled branches of the tree. The twisted branches, made menacing by their distorted shadows in the darkness, reached up and out around him, as though in cold embrace. Like a cage. But he wasn't imprisoned. He was more free than he had ever been in his life, in body and in soul.
Sighing impatiently, he shifted his position and considered what he could kill for his next meal. Then he sighed again as he realised that he couldn't leave this spot until they came, which would probably be a while. By then, there wouldn't be anything to hunt. He sighed again.
-Dammit. Where are they?! I am not going to wait up here for ever...This had better be good.-
As he shifted himself slightly again, he accidentally shook a branch and let a ghostly shaft of moonlight flash upon him for a few seconds. The light illuminated his long hair, looking like some fallen angel with his face in shadow. A thin circlet of gold, worn by the man, also caught the light and glinted brightly. Then the branch moved back into place and the angelic light was gone.
******
Still limping, Urei had been walking for hours and darkness had fallen long ago.
Since she had been caught, she had been taken to their leader by Tsu and the burly man. The leader had ordered for her to be beaten. Her back was now bruised and numb. She couldn't feel anything from it anymore. She was glad for that small comfort.
The 'Boss' had decided that she just wasn't worth it, a drain on resources and a waste of time, having to repeatedly send out men to trail her and bring her back. So he ordered Tsu to sell her...Or even give her away if need be.
Urei's feet were blistered and sore, her hands tightly knotted with a length of rough rope behind her back. Her face was pale and chalk-like, her eyes hollow and feverish, though the bright blue of them still shone hauntingly bright. Urei weakly shook her head to clear an opening through her long, tangled, greasy dark brown hair so as to see where she was walking. She kept her mind blank lest her emotions were unveiled through her traitorous eyes.
She was so tired she had begun to hallucinate... -Step...Breathe...Step...Breathe...-
She murmured quietly under each breath '...Nearly...there now....won't be long now...keep stepping forward...forward...' She plodded sluggishly onwards.
They had entered a humid forest...almost a jungle minus the annoying bugs and killer animals...
-Hmmm....wonder why we've come here..? Remember to breathe...mustn't forget to...breathe... hmmmm....?- Her thoughts were jumbled.
Behind her, Tsu stopped, but she was so fatigued she was no longer aware of her surroundings and
doggedly continued walking. It was so dark Tsu didn't notice; he was busy trying to see where his potential 'buyer' was.
Urei walked slower and slower...she didn't realise until after a while it seemed, that she couldn't lift her legs.
She glared annoyedly at her bony leg, "Come oon...we still gottta..gooo fuurthher..." her words were slurred 'Dammit...come...onn..'
The tortured body of The Urei slowly slid to the floor and lay slumped across a massive tree root partly extended above the ground, its roots stretched and permanently cemented, it appeared, into the coarse undergrowth as though it were a part of the earth itself.
******
Suddenly noticing the absence of the Urei's raspy breathing Tsu swung to face behind him, simultaneously thrusting the dim lantern into the space where she should have been. Nothing stirred.
"Shit.." He hadn't a clue what to do now. Maybe he should just leave..?
A deep, low voice asked quietly from behind,
"Ah, so thats what you brought for me to have a look at...Lost her, I see. Shall I find her? It will lower the price quite a bit though..."
Tsu jumped and spun round to face the stranger, "Shit!! Don't do that!!" He cringed as he belatedly processed the voice's offer, "Uh...yeah, the price is...uh...very flexible...find her." He paused, then quietly added, "If you can...she's not so easy...although she /was/ weakened from the long walk..."
Tsu straightened and gazed carefully at the dark, oppressive air in front of him. He could hardly see anything. He lifted the lantern higher. The vague outline of a man's head appeared in the gloom as the dim glow from the lantern shone closer to his face...his features were barely visible though, the only thing clear enough to distinguish were his eyes, bright blue, shining with an intensity that was no match for Tsu's passive personality. He felt himself shudder under the taller man's gaze and inwardly cursed himself for being so weak-minded.
The stranger smiled. It was a twisted smile in the dim light, the shadows making his face distorted.
"Then we ought to leave now to find her." He spoke not to Tsu, but to himself, as though he had not considered that Tsu was able to help find her.
The stranger leaped with surprising agility for a man of his height, into the leafy boughs of a nearby tree. Then after a brief rustling, there was silence. Tsu hadn't moved. He blinked.
"Eh..?"
******
As he jumped lithely from tree to tree, his hair, dark liquid gold in the muffled light, streamed out behind him. His breath came fast, though he was no-where near tired. Scanning the undergrowth below, he made fast progress, but he still had not found her. He couldn't hear nor smell her anywhere. Pausing, the agile man stopped in the leafy boughs of a tree unusually smaller than the rest. The intense aqua eyes shut lightly and his breathing slowed as he concentrated. Concentrating on any sound that was out of place in the forest. He heard none, then gave it a last try, he shut off his mind from his body, and stayed frozen in position, he listened with his whole being to the forest surrounding him...then...he heard something, and his body twitched slightly; he heard breathing. Faint, weak, and raspy, but breathing nonetheless.
Straightening, he jumped down to the Forest carpet and walked silently towards the foreign noise.
******
Her mind awoke with a start, but there was something wrong...she tried to open her eyes...and managed to open them only as wide as slits. She could see nothing, so she let them slide closed again.
-Something...feels wrong...- Her mind wasn't foggy, she felt refreshed, but then it hit her. It would have been funny if it hadn't been so absurd.
-I can't...feel my body...thats what's wrong...how...stupid.-
Unable to see, Urei listened and could hear nothing. She lay there...beneath the towering tree trying to remember, and could not. She remembered nothing of before her Master, she only had a desire to escape, which dealt her more trouble and pain than anything else. But she could not stop herself...alone in the darkness, a tear squeezed its way out of her limp, closed eyelid...she had not even the strength to lift a weary hand and wipe away the droplet of salty water.
She sighed...and her obsessively obedient body...lying limp and worn upon the gentle tree...almost...let go...then she realised. She was not alone. An...angel..?
The Urei realised she could hear breathing, and instinctively opened her weary blue eyes...to meet the gaze of another pair of almost glowing, intense blue. Almost identical to her own...as their eyes met...the Urei let out a sharp gasp while the stranger flinched simultaneously.
(Urei is japanese for sorrowful and Yogunsha is Japanese for prophetess.)
btw, Tsu's real name is Mangetsu, they call him Tsu cos they think his full name is really girlish (full moon)
Chapter 6- Like A Mirror
::6 MONTHS LATER::
In a deserted region far east of Astoria, a tall, slender girl was fleeing for her life.
Closer up, the girls appearance was that of a neglected prisoner. She clutched an ancient, rusty knife in one hand, and sliced vainly at the long stalks of bamboo rising just above her head to try to clear a path for herself. Every few seconds she would glance desperately back behind her as the angry shouting of two men got louder. The girl was panting badly. It didn't seem as though she'd had much exercise recently; she was bathed in sweat and the late afternoon sun was cruelly burning her pale, sun-deprived skin. In her mind she wished for darkness to descend and hide her from those evil bastards.
Once more the girl looked back, but this time, as she tripped, a hopeless sob escaped her as she felt a sharp stab of pain in her ankle and she knew she could not escape. She scrambled to her feet and limped on despite the throbbing pain in her foot which had now faded to a dull ache. The shouting grew ever closer.
* * * *
The two men, although dirty with the grime and sweat of a few months, were fit and closing in on their prey. They had done this often before; she would not escape this time, nor any other time.
-She'll be punished for this.- The taller man smirked cruelly at the thought of her anguished screams. -It ain't gonna happen again. Or next time the boss'll punish me aswell...-
But hadn't they all thought that the other times? Three times before, she had managed to escape. And three times before, she had been captured and punished.
-This girl is like an untamed horse. No, not a horse...A panther. Beautiful and wild.- The second man could see her just in front of him now, she had slowed down for some reason. -But like all wild things. She can, and will, be tamed.-
They were right behind her now. She stopped and hung her head, hoping to lessen the punishment she knew would follow after they took her back.
"Its too late Urei." He mocked her in a sarcastic voice, then canted his head to one side and tried to provoke her, "What's wrong Yogunsha? No more visions to save your delicate skin from a good lashing?" He threw back his head and laughed.
The Urei made no response. Months of 'discipline' from those two men and the rest of them back at their 'camp' had taught her to keep silent. Her face stayed blank but her glassy blue eyes betrayed her, they were cold and hateful, showing just what she would do to him had she only one man to fight and a good night's rest and decent meal in her.
The first man noticed the look and rose his clenched fist to knock her to the ground, when the other man held back his arm to stop him. "No." He glanced at the Urei with a look that could almost be described as pity, "Leave that job to the man the boss decides to give to."
"Whatever. But don't touch me again. You got that 'Tsu?" He frowned at Tsu then after a slight nod from him he murmured under his breath, "...Weakling..."
Tsu didn't appear to hear him, and walked towards the Urei and grabbed her arm to push her in front of him. He didn't notice her tuck her dagger discreetly under her ragged shirt and suppress a tiny sigh of relief. She walked silently in front with her head still hanging on her chest.
******
It was dark. The air seemed to grow heavy and press in on you as you walked. But he wasn't walking. High up, he sat waiting, perfectly still. His breathing was muffled, quiet, as though by the humid air itself. All around him, long, dark shadows hung loosely from the ancient gnarled branches of the tree. The twisted branches, made menacing by their distorted shadows in the darkness, reached up and out around him, as though in cold embrace. Like a cage. But he wasn't imprisoned. He was more free than he had ever been in his life, in body and in soul.
Sighing impatiently, he shifted his position and considered what he could kill for his next meal. Then he sighed again as he realised that he couldn't leave this spot until they came, which would probably be a while. By then, there wouldn't be anything to hunt. He sighed again.
-Dammit. Where are they?! I am not going to wait up here for ever...This had better be good.-
As he shifted himself slightly again, he accidentally shook a branch and let a ghostly shaft of moonlight flash upon him for a few seconds. The light illuminated his long hair, looking like some fallen angel with his face in shadow. A thin circlet of gold, worn by the man, also caught the light and glinted brightly. Then the branch moved back into place and the angelic light was gone.
******
Still limping, Urei had been walking for hours and darkness had fallen long ago.
Since she had been caught, she had been taken to their leader by Tsu and the burly man. The leader had ordered for her to be beaten. Her back was now bruised and numb. She couldn't feel anything from it anymore. She was glad for that small comfort.
The 'Boss' had decided that she just wasn't worth it, a drain on resources and a waste of time, having to repeatedly send out men to trail her and bring her back. So he ordered Tsu to sell her...Or even give her away if need be.
Urei's feet were blistered and sore, her hands tightly knotted with a length of rough rope behind her back. Her face was pale and chalk-like, her eyes hollow and feverish, though the bright blue of them still shone hauntingly bright. Urei weakly shook her head to clear an opening through her long, tangled, greasy dark brown hair so as to see where she was walking. She kept her mind blank lest her emotions were unveiled through her traitorous eyes.
She was so tired she had begun to hallucinate... -Step...Breathe...Step...Breathe...-
She murmured quietly under each breath '...Nearly...there now....won't be long now...keep stepping forward...forward...' She plodded sluggishly onwards.
They had entered a humid forest...almost a jungle minus the annoying bugs and killer animals...
-Hmmm....wonder why we've come here..? Remember to breathe...mustn't forget to...breathe... hmmmm....?- Her thoughts were jumbled.
Behind her, Tsu stopped, but she was so fatigued she was no longer aware of her surroundings and
doggedly continued walking. It was so dark Tsu didn't notice; he was busy trying to see where his potential 'buyer' was.
Urei walked slower and slower...she didn't realise until after a while it seemed, that she couldn't lift her legs.
She glared annoyedly at her bony leg, "Come oon...we still gottta..gooo fuurthher..." her words were slurred 'Dammit...come...onn..'
The tortured body of The Urei slowly slid to the floor and lay slumped across a massive tree root partly extended above the ground, its roots stretched and permanently cemented, it appeared, into the coarse undergrowth as though it were a part of the earth itself.
******
Suddenly noticing the absence of the Urei's raspy breathing Tsu swung to face behind him, simultaneously thrusting the dim lantern into the space where she should have been. Nothing stirred.
"Shit.." He hadn't a clue what to do now. Maybe he should just leave..?
A deep, low voice asked quietly from behind,
"Ah, so thats what you brought for me to have a look at...Lost her, I see. Shall I find her? It will lower the price quite a bit though..."
Tsu jumped and spun round to face the stranger, "Shit!! Don't do that!!" He cringed as he belatedly processed the voice's offer, "Uh...yeah, the price is...uh...very flexible...find her." He paused, then quietly added, "If you can...she's not so easy...although she /was/ weakened from the long walk..."
Tsu straightened and gazed carefully at the dark, oppressive air in front of him. He could hardly see anything. He lifted the lantern higher. The vague outline of a man's head appeared in the gloom as the dim glow from the lantern shone closer to his face...his features were barely visible though, the only thing clear enough to distinguish were his eyes, bright blue, shining with an intensity that was no match for Tsu's passive personality. He felt himself shudder under the taller man's gaze and inwardly cursed himself for being so weak-minded.
The stranger smiled. It was a twisted smile in the dim light, the shadows making his face distorted.
"Then we ought to leave now to find her." He spoke not to Tsu, but to himself, as though he had not considered that Tsu was able to help find her.
The stranger leaped with surprising agility for a man of his height, into the leafy boughs of a nearby tree. Then after a brief rustling, there was silence. Tsu hadn't moved. He blinked.
"Eh..?"
******
As he jumped lithely from tree to tree, his hair, dark liquid gold in the muffled light, streamed out behind him. His breath came fast, though he was no-where near tired. Scanning the undergrowth below, he made fast progress, but he still had not found her. He couldn't hear nor smell her anywhere. Pausing, the agile man stopped in the leafy boughs of a tree unusually smaller than the rest. The intense aqua eyes shut lightly and his breathing slowed as he concentrated. Concentrating on any sound that was out of place in the forest. He heard none, then gave it a last try, he shut off his mind from his body, and stayed frozen in position, he listened with his whole being to the forest surrounding him...then...he heard something, and his body twitched slightly; he heard breathing. Faint, weak, and raspy, but breathing nonetheless.
Straightening, he jumped down to the Forest carpet and walked silently towards the foreign noise.
******
Her mind awoke with a start, but there was something wrong...she tried to open her eyes...and managed to open them only as wide as slits. She could see nothing, so she let them slide closed again.
-Something...feels wrong...- Her mind wasn't foggy, she felt refreshed, but then it hit her. It would have been funny if it hadn't been so absurd.
-I can't...feel my body...thats what's wrong...how...stupid.-
Unable to see, Urei listened and could hear nothing. She lay there...beneath the towering tree trying to remember, and could not. She remembered nothing of before her Master, she only had a desire to escape, which dealt her more trouble and pain than anything else. But she could not stop herself...alone in the darkness, a tear squeezed its way out of her limp, closed eyelid...she had not even the strength to lift a weary hand and wipe away the droplet of salty water.
She sighed...and her obsessively obedient body...lying limp and worn upon the gentle tree...almost...let go...then she realised. She was not alone. An...angel..?
The Urei realised she could hear breathing, and instinctively opened her weary blue eyes...to meet the gaze of another pair of almost glowing, intense blue. Almost identical to her own...as their eyes met...the Urei let out a sharp gasp while the stranger flinched simultaneously.