A Legend Reborn
Chapter 2
"This is strange..... very strange indeed...."
"What is it, Miss Taiitsukun?"
"The gods are stirring, Nyan-nyan..... I feel a presence... the presence of the Suzaku no Miko....."
"The miko? So Miaka's come back to this world?"
"It's not Miaka......"
***
*Riiiinnnnnggggg*
"Hold on! I'm coming, I'm coming!"
*Riiiinnn-*
"Hello?... Tamahome?! What is it? It's the middle of the ni-... Hey, hey!.... Calm down, man!... Listen... Slow down!... What's wrong?... What?..... Chisa and Misao... NO!... Are you sure?.... But I thought that... Look, man, I'll be right there, okay?.... Just hold on..... We'll get this all straightened out.... Yeah.... I'll see you then... Bye...."
"Keisuke, *yawn* who on earth was that calling at this time of night?"
"That was my brother-in-law.... something about his kid...."
"Where are you going?"
"It's nothing. Just go back to sleep."
"Well, can't you tell me what you're getting out in the middle of the night for?! I mean, it must be pretty important....."
"Just trust me. I've gotta go. I'll be back later."
"Can't you at least give me a time or something?!"
"I'm not sure...."
"That's it. I'm coming with you...."
"But, dear....."
"No! I'll help out any way I can...."
"Let me handle it...."
"I said I'm coming with you!"
".....You certainly are persistent...."
"How do you think I ever got you to propose?"
***
Chisa's eyes blink open groggily.
She feels warm.
As her eyes come into focus, she can make out a hand, surrounded by a green light and something glowing red in the center of the palm.
"Well, good morning, sleepy-head!" The warm light disappears. Chisa sees that the owner of the hand is a young girl, about her age. "Are you feeling better?"
"I... I guess so...," Chisa replies, "Who are you? Where am I?"
"My name's Shyoka and this is my house. I carried you here after I found you last night," she explains, "I'm not sure what happened to you, but I tended to your wounds."
"My wounds...?" Chisa looks over herself, "Thank you. I'm Chisa..."
Chisa becomes aware of her surroundings. Her bed is made of hay, the walls of the tiny room are made of stone cracked from aging, the floor is nothing but dirt.
"You're not from around here, are you?"
"Huh....?"
"Your clothes...," Shyoka says, "I hope I don't sound rude, but.... they're quite.... well... odd....."
Chisa looks down at her clothes.
They look perfectly normal to her.
She then looks over at Shyoka, dressed in a sort of Chinese costume, her long blonde hair resting on her shoulders.
"The light... from that book...I'm...I'm inside...," Chisa gasps, "Misao!"
"What?"
"Uh... Thank you for all the help and everything, but I've really got to go. I need to find my friend...," Chisa suddenly realizes something missing, "...my necklace...."
"Oh, I'm sorry. It had broken. I managed to fix it for you...."
"Thank you, but I need to get on my way...."
"Wait! Please, stay and eat with me," she says, "Afterward I'll help you find your friend."
"Food...?!" Chisa's stomach rumbles, "Well, I guess I am kinda hungry... And besides, it's hard to do anything on an empty stomach!"
"Good! I've prepared a nice breakfast. I thought you'd probably be pretty hungry so I made extra for you. Eat as much as you like!"
Chisa seats herself at the table and digs right in.
"So, do you live here by yourself, Shyoka?"
"Well, actually I live here with my cat."
As though on cue, a cat leaps onto Shyoka's shoulder.
"So you don't have any family or anything?"
"No.... it's just me and my cat...."
"What's your cat's name?"
"Mii-chan," she answers, the cat purrs loudly as it rubs against her cheek, "after an old friend of mine...."
"Isn't it kinda hard living here all by yourself?"
"Well, people come and visit me all the time. I'm sort of the village doctor, you see."
"A doctor? You seem a bit young for a doctor..."
"Yeah, I get that a lot, but I healed you, didn't I?"
"You must be pretty good, then for the village to trust you like that....."
"Well, I've had a sort of gift for taking care of people ever since I was little. The people come to me and I take care of them. Some pay me what they can, but most of them are too poor. I live off what they give me. Most of the time I get paid with food, sometimes animals. In fact, the horses I own were payment from one of my patients."
"Meow!" the cat cries loudly.
"I'm sorry," Shyoka sets a little bowl on the table, "I didn't mean to forget about you!" The cat leaps off her shoulder, onto the table and begins to eat from the bowl.
"Is something the matter?" Shyoka asks noticing Chisa staring at her.
"Oh! No... I'm sorry... It's just that you remind me of my friend. She has long blonde hair just like yours," Chisa lets out a sigh, "One minute we were together at my house... and the next, I'm here and.... she's gone... I just don't want anything to happen to her....."
"You must be really worried about her," Shyoka says, "Well, I'm done. How about you?"
"One second!" Chisa shovels as much food as she can into her mouth, "Okay. Now I'm done!"
"Good. We can take my horses and go look for her."
"Really?"
"Certainly!"
"Thank you so much."
"It's no problem."
"Here," Shyoka hands Chisa some clothes, "Why don't you change into these first so you don't look so suspicious."
"Well, all right."
"I'll go saddle the horses while you change."
***
"Man, I think your antenna's outta whack! How could you possibly sense her ki here?! It doesn't make any sense!"
"Shhhhh, no daa! I need to stay concentrated. I feel like we're very close, no daa."
"I don't get it! We only met the girl once and she was only a baby then...! Besides, I thought you put a seal on that book so Miaka and Tamahome wouldn't have to worry about something like this happening...."
"I did, but sometimes those sorts of things can be broken, no daa."
"You mean you weren't even sure it would work, but you did it anyway......?"
"Tasuki, no daa...."
"Yeah...."
"I would get out of the road if I were you, no daa."
"Don't just disappear on me like that! What the hell are you talking abo-......"
"WATCH OUT!!! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!!"
"Yow!! Hey! Watch where you're going!!! Crazy woman driver....."
"Soooooorrrrryyyyyyyyy!!!!!"
"Excuse me...."
"Yes?"
"Did you just see a girl go by on a runaway horse?"
"She went that-a-way."
"Thank you!"
"Follow that horse, no daa!"
"You mean that was her? The blonde?"
"No! It's the other girl, no daa!"
"That crazy one on the runaway horse? She's Miaka and Tamahome's kid?"
"Yep, no daa."
"Hmmmmm.... Makes sense....."
"Why do you say that, no daa?"
"Never mind... If that's really her then we better go catch her."
"No need, no daa."
"Huh....?"
"She's headed for Konan, no daa. We'll meet her there, no daa."
"You know, Chichiri, I've been traveling with you for all these years, all throughout China and I STILL can't figure you out!! How do you do that?"
"It just comes naturally, no daa."
***
"Here you go, Miaka. It's as good as new," Tamahome connects the clasps of Miaka's newly fixed necklace around her neck.
Miaka stares at the floor.
"Please, Miaka, don't be so upset. Keisuke should be here any minute. It's going to be all right."
"Why did this happen, Tamahome? Why..... how....."
"Calm down...," Tamahome takes his wife in his arms, comforting her, "Don't worry. We'll get them back.... somehow....."
"We've got to....," Yui says, "I don't want Misao to have to go through... the same things I did... in that book....," Yui looks down at the scar on her wrist, a single tear makes its way down her face.
"Don't cry, Yui," Tetsuya says putting his arm around her shoulders, "We will bring them back.... That books not going to take Misao and Chisa away from us... I won't let it....."
"Oh, Tamahome...," Miaka sobs into Tamahome's chest, "We took every precaution we could to try and keep anything like this from happening... Why Chisa...? Why not me instead...."
*Knock knock*
"That must be Keisuke," Tetsuya says, "I'll go get it."
"Hey, how are things holding up?"
"We're all right. Thanks for coming, man," Tetsuya says, "Sorry we had to call you so late at night like this...."
"Don't worry about it...."
"Keisuke! Thank goodness!" Miaka throws her arms around her brother's neck. "Oh, Rei! You came, too?" she says noticing the woman standing behind him.
"It's nice to see you again, Miaka."
"Likewise....."
"So.... you explained all this to her....?"
"Yeah, he did.... on the ride here. I must say, it's more than a little hard to believe....."
"That's understandable."
"Have you been reading so far?" Keisuke asks.
"No.... we wanted to wait till you got here...."
"This is just how we found it, open like this, in that closet."
Keisuke sees the book laying open on the coffee table in the living room.
"So how did this happen?"
"We don't know.... we were out and the girls were here alone."
"We had both the closet and the trunk locked tight."
"Do you think they went snooping and found the key?"
"No, I keep the keys with me, with my car keys."
"Even so, didn't that Chichiri guy put some sort of seal on the book itself so something like this couldn't happen?"
"There are mysterious powers at work here... that's the only explanation......"
"So are we ready to do this.....?"
Everyone nods, their uncertainty and nervousness displayed clearly on their faces.
"First of all, you should take some supplies....," Keisuke advises.
"I've got all the stuff in here, in this backpack," Miaka says lifting the backpack.
"Another thing, you should all find some clothes that would be a little more suiting for ancient China..."
"Tamahome, do you still have those ancient Chinese costumes that you brought back on your business trip to China?"
"I'll go get them."
Keisuke takes hold of the book and reads it silently to himself, "It looks like only a few years have passed since you were there last...."
"But I thought the book time went at a faster rate than the time here.....," Yui says.
"I thought so, too, but... only a little over a decade has passed since your final visit there," Keisuke says slowly and carefully turning pages, "It looks like Chisa has made a new friend... it mentions the name Shyoka in here.... it seems that she tended to Chisa's wounds..."
"Her wounds.....?"
"It seems that she actually fell into the book and when she hit the ground she got kinda roughed up...."
"Does it say anything about Misao?"
"It doesn't look like it....."
"Shyoka....," Miaka wonders out loud, "that name sounds familiar to me......"
"I found them...."
Tamahome, Miaka, and Yui quickly change and return to the living room.
"All right, Yui..... Start reading...."
Yui takes the old Chinese novel into her hands cautiously.
"Wait, Yui...," Tetsuya says, his eyes seem to gleam, tears in the corners of his eyes, "All of you..., be careful...," Tetsuya looks right at Yui, "I love you....."
"I love you, too...."
The two of them share a kiss.
"Bye, Keisuke....," Miaka says grabbing her brother, hugging him tight.
"Tamahome, man,..... take care of them, okay?"
"Of course....."
"Okay... I'm ready...," Yui announces. She begins to read aloud from the Chinese novel.
The words seem to ring in their ears. They are all too familiar to Miaka and Yui. They are words that were the end of their normal lives and the beginning of their destiny.
The red light appears again and the three begin to fade into it, finally disappearing.
All is still.
"I really wish I could've gone with her....."
***
"Why didn't you tell me you didn't know how to ride a horse?"
"Well, I didn't think it would be that difficult to ride a horse.... I'm really sorry about all that...."
"It's all right.... Let's not worry about it."
Shyoka and Chisa ride through the woods, Chisa's horse tied to Shyoka to prevent it from running off.
"So, Chisa.... Where are you from anyway?"
"Well.... you probably won't believe me....."
"What do you mean?"
"You really want to know?"
"Yeah...."
"You're going to think I'm a total lunatic, but... I... well, my friend and I both are from a different world... Twenty-first century Japan...."
"A different world.....?"
"I know it sounds really bizarre, but....."
"I've heard legends of such a girl who appeared from another world and saved an entire empire."
"Really?"
"To tell you the truth, I've always found them a little hard to believe....."
"Me, too... My mom used to tell me legends like that when I was little... I always thought they were just fairy tales, but now..... I'm having serious second thoughts..."
"Well, this is the place. This is where I found you," Shyoka stops her horse at a clearing in the woods, "If there had been anyone else here I would have taken them, too, but you were the only one."
"What could have happened to her.....?"
"Maybe your friend Misao went into the city. Konan isn't very far from here. Why don't we search there?"
"Okay...."
"Misao... Where could you be? I promise I'll find you... wherever you are...," Chisa thinks, "We'll get out of this together... I promise.... We will get home... to our world..."
Chapter 2
"This is strange..... very strange indeed...."
"What is it, Miss Taiitsukun?"
"The gods are stirring, Nyan-nyan..... I feel a presence... the presence of the Suzaku no Miko....."
"The miko? So Miaka's come back to this world?"
"It's not Miaka......"
***
*Riiiinnnnnggggg*
"Hold on! I'm coming, I'm coming!"
*Riiiinnn-*
"Hello?... Tamahome?! What is it? It's the middle of the ni-... Hey, hey!.... Calm down, man!... Listen... Slow down!... What's wrong?... What?..... Chisa and Misao... NO!... Are you sure?.... But I thought that... Look, man, I'll be right there, okay?.... Just hold on..... We'll get this all straightened out.... Yeah.... I'll see you then... Bye...."
"Keisuke, *yawn* who on earth was that calling at this time of night?"
"That was my brother-in-law.... something about his kid...."
"Where are you going?"
"It's nothing. Just go back to sleep."
"Well, can't you tell me what you're getting out in the middle of the night for?! I mean, it must be pretty important....."
"Just trust me. I've gotta go. I'll be back later."
"Can't you at least give me a time or something?!"
"I'm not sure...."
"That's it. I'm coming with you...."
"But, dear....."
"No! I'll help out any way I can...."
"Let me handle it...."
"I said I'm coming with you!"
".....You certainly are persistent...."
"How do you think I ever got you to propose?"
***
Chisa's eyes blink open groggily.
She feels warm.
As her eyes come into focus, she can make out a hand, surrounded by a green light and something glowing red in the center of the palm.
"Well, good morning, sleepy-head!" The warm light disappears. Chisa sees that the owner of the hand is a young girl, about her age. "Are you feeling better?"
"I... I guess so...," Chisa replies, "Who are you? Where am I?"
"My name's Shyoka and this is my house. I carried you here after I found you last night," she explains, "I'm not sure what happened to you, but I tended to your wounds."
"My wounds...?" Chisa looks over herself, "Thank you. I'm Chisa..."
Chisa becomes aware of her surroundings. Her bed is made of hay, the walls of the tiny room are made of stone cracked from aging, the floor is nothing but dirt.
"You're not from around here, are you?"
"Huh....?"
"Your clothes...," Shyoka says, "I hope I don't sound rude, but.... they're quite.... well... odd....."
Chisa looks down at her clothes.
They look perfectly normal to her.
She then looks over at Shyoka, dressed in a sort of Chinese costume, her long blonde hair resting on her shoulders.
"The light... from that book...I'm...I'm inside...," Chisa gasps, "Misao!"
"What?"
"Uh... Thank you for all the help and everything, but I've really got to go. I need to find my friend...," Chisa suddenly realizes something missing, "...my necklace...."
"Oh, I'm sorry. It had broken. I managed to fix it for you...."
"Thank you, but I need to get on my way...."
"Wait! Please, stay and eat with me," she says, "Afterward I'll help you find your friend."
"Food...?!" Chisa's stomach rumbles, "Well, I guess I am kinda hungry... And besides, it's hard to do anything on an empty stomach!"
"Good! I've prepared a nice breakfast. I thought you'd probably be pretty hungry so I made extra for you. Eat as much as you like!"
Chisa seats herself at the table and digs right in.
"So, do you live here by yourself, Shyoka?"
"Well, actually I live here with my cat."
As though on cue, a cat leaps onto Shyoka's shoulder.
"So you don't have any family or anything?"
"No.... it's just me and my cat...."
"What's your cat's name?"
"Mii-chan," she answers, the cat purrs loudly as it rubs against her cheek, "after an old friend of mine...."
"Isn't it kinda hard living here all by yourself?"
"Well, people come and visit me all the time. I'm sort of the village doctor, you see."
"A doctor? You seem a bit young for a doctor..."
"Yeah, I get that a lot, but I healed you, didn't I?"
"You must be pretty good, then for the village to trust you like that....."
"Well, I've had a sort of gift for taking care of people ever since I was little. The people come to me and I take care of them. Some pay me what they can, but most of them are too poor. I live off what they give me. Most of the time I get paid with food, sometimes animals. In fact, the horses I own were payment from one of my patients."
"Meow!" the cat cries loudly.
"I'm sorry," Shyoka sets a little bowl on the table, "I didn't mean to forget about you!" The cat leaps off her shoulder, onto the table and begins to eat from the bowl.
"Is something the matter?" Shyoka asks noticing Chisa staring at her.
"Oh! No... I'm sorry... It's just that you remind me of my friend. She has long blonde hair just like yours," Chisa lets out a sigh, "One minute we were together at my house... and the next, I'm here and.... she's gone... I just don't want anything to happen to her....."
"You must be really worried about her," Shyoka says, "Well, I'm done. How about you?"
"One second!" Chisa shovels as much food as she can into her mouth, "Okay. Now I'm done!"
"Good. We can take my horses and go look for her."
"Really?"
"Certainly!"
"Thank you so much."
"It's no problem."
"Here," Shyoka hands Chisa some clothes, "Why don't you change into these first so you don't look so suspicious."
"Well, all right."
"I'll go saddle the horses while you change."
***
"Man, I think your antenna's outta whack! How could you possibly sense her ki here?! It doesn't make any sense!"
"Shhhhh, no daa! I need to stay concentrated. I feel like we're very close, no daa."
"I don't get it! We only met the girl once and she was only a baby then...! Besides, I thought you put a seal on that book so Miaka and Tamahome wouldn't have to worry about something like this happening...."
"I did, but sometimes those sorts of things can be broken, no daa."
"You mean you weren't even sure it would work, but you did it anyway......?"
"Tasuki, no daa...."
"Yeah...."
"I would get out of the road if I were you, no daa."
"Don't just disappear on me like that! What the hell are you talking abo-......"
"WATCH OUT!!! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!!"
"Yow!! Hey! Watch where you're going!!! Crazy woman driver....."
"Soooooorrrrryyyyyyyyy!!!!!"
"Excuse me...."
"Yes?"
"Did you just see a girl go by on a runaway horse?"
"She went that-a-way."
"Thank you!"
"Follow that horse, no daa!"
"You mean that was her? The blonde?"
"No! It's the other girl, no daa!"
"That crazy one on the runaway horse? She's Miaka and Tamahome's kid?"
"Yep, no daa."
"Hmmmmm.... Makes sense....."
"Why do you say that, no daa?"
"Never mind... If that's really her then we better go catch her."
"No need, no daa."
"Huh....?"
"She's headed for Konan, no daa. We'll meet her there, no daa."
"You know, Chichiri, I've been traveling with you for all these years, all throughout China and I STILL can't figure you out!! How do you do that?"
"It just comes naturally, no daa."
***
"Here you go, Miaka. It's as good as new," Tamahome connects the clasps of Miaka's newly fixed necklace around her neck.
Miaka stares at the floor.
"Please, Miaka, don't be so upset. Keisuke should be here any minute. It's going to be all right."
"Why did this happen, Tamahome? Why..... how....."
"Calm down...," Tamahome takes his wife in his arms, comforting her, "Don't worry. We'll get them back.... somehow....."
"We've got to....," Yui says, "I don't want Misao to have to go through... the same things I did... in that book....," Yui looks down at the scar on her wrist, a single tear makes its way down her face.
"Don't cry, Yui," Tetsuya says putting his arm around her shoulders, "We will bring them back.... That books not going to take Misao and Chisa away from us... I won't let it....."
"Oh, Tamahome...," Miaka sobs into Tamahome's chest, "We took every precaution we could to try and keep anything like this from happening... Why Chisa...? Why not me instead...."
*Knock knock*
"That must be Keisuke," Tetsuya says, "I'll go get it."
"Hey, how are things holding up?"
"We're all right. Thanks for coming, man," Tetsuya says, "Sorry we had to call you so late at night like this...."
"Don't worry about it...."
"Keisuke! Thank goodness!" Miaka throws her arms around her brother's neck. "Oh, Rei! You came, too?" she says noticing the woman standing behind him.
"It's nice to see you again, Miaka."
"Likewise....."
"So.... you explained all this to her....?"
"Yeah, he did.... on the ride here. I must say, it's more than a little hard to believe....."
"That's understandable."
"Have you been reading so far?" Keisuke asks.
"No.... we wanted to wait till you got here...."
"This is just how we found it, open like this, in that closet."
Keisuke sees the book laying open on the coffee table in the living room.
"So how did this happen?"
"We don't know.... we were out and the girls were here alone."
"We had both the closet and the trunk locked tight."
"Do you think they went snooping and found the key?"
"No, I keep the keys with me, with my car keys."
"Even so, didn't that Chichiri guy put some sort of seal on the book itself so something like this couldn't happen?"
"There are mysterious powers at work here... that's the only explanation......"
"So are we ready to do this.....?"
Everyone nods, their uncertainty and nervousness displayed clearly on their faces.
"First of all, you should take some supplies....," Keisuke advises.
"I've got all the stuff in here, in this backpack," Miaka says lifting the backpack.
"Another thing, you should all find some clothes that would be a little more suiting for ancient China..."
"Tamahome, do you still have those ancient Chinese costumes that you brought back on your business trip to China?"
"I'll go get them."
Keisuke takes hold of the book and reads it silently to himself, "It looks like only a few years have passed since you were there last...."
"But I thought the book time went at a faster rate than the time here.....," Yui says.
"I thought so, too, but... only a little over a decade has passed since your final visit there," Keisuke says slowly and carefully turning pages, "It looks like Chisa has made a new friend... it mentions the name Shyoka in here.... it seems that she tended to Chisa's wounds..."
"Her wounds.....?"
"It seems that she actually fell into the book and when she hit the ground she got kinda roughed up...."
"Does it say anything about Misao?"
"It doesn't look like it....."
"Shyoka....," Miaka wonders out loud, "that name sounds familiar to me......"
"I found them...."
Tamahome, Miaka, and Yui quickly change and return to the living room.
"All right, Yui..... Start reading...."
Yui takes the old Chinese novel into her hands cautiously.
"Wait, Yui...," Tetsuya says, his eyes seem to gleam, tears in the corners of his eyes, "All of you..., be careful...," Tetsuya looks right at Yui, "I love you....."
"I love you, too...."
The two of them share a kiss.
"Bye, Keisuke....," Miaka says grabbing her brother, hugging him tight.
"Tamahome, man,..... take care of them, okay?"
"Of course....."
"Okay... I'm ready...," Yui announces. She begins to read aloud from the Chinese novel.
The words seem to ring in their ears. They are all too familiar to Miaka and Yui. They are words that were the end of their normal lives and the beginning of their destiny.
The red light appears again and the three begin to fade into it, finally disappearing.
All is still.
"I really wish I could've gone with her....."
***
"Why didn't you tell me you didn't know how to ride a horse?"
"Well, I didn't think it would be that difficult to ride a horse.... I'm really sorry about all that...."
"It's all right.... Let's not worry about it."
Shyoka and Chisa ride through the woods, Chisa's horse tied to Shyoka to prevent it from running off.
"So, Chisa.... Where are you from anyway?"
"Well.... you probably won't believe me....."
"What do you mean?"
"You really want to know?"
"Yeah...."
"You're going to think I'm a total lunatic, but... I... well, my friend and I both are from a different world... Twenty-first century Japan...."
"A different world.....?"
"I know it sounds really bizarre, but....."
"I've heard legends of such a girl who appeared from another world and saved an entire empire."
"Really?"
"To tell you the truth, I've always found them a little hard to believe....."
"Me, too... My mom used to tell me legends like that when I was little... I always thought they were just fairy tales, but now..... I'm having serious second thoughts..."
"Well, this is the place. This is where I found you," Shyoka stops her horse at a clearing in the woods, "If there had been anyone else here I would have taken them, too, but you were the only one."
"What could have happened to her.....?"
"Maybe your friend Misao went into the city. Konan isn't very far from here. Why don't we search there?"
"Okay...."
"Misao... Where could you be? I promise I'll find you... wherever you are...," Chisa thinks, "We'll get out of this together... I promise.... We will get home... to our world..."