A Legend Reborn
Chapter 9
As they travel to Konan, Miaka and Tamahome come upon a small village.
"This village....," Miaka thinks, "It's his hometown... Now I understand... I'm so sorry, Tamahome... I should have realized this was where you wanted to go..."
Tamahome stops the horse near the clearing where his family lays. He ties the horse to a nearby tree and then lifts Miaka down out of the saddle. He walks silently beside her to the gravesite. The stones markers he placed there so many years ago are still in place along with little Yuiren's ball. Tamahome kneels down in front of the graves and clasps his hands in prayer.
Miaka, however, walks into the surrounding field. "It's been so long...," she thinks as she picks flowers, "The last time we came here was the visit we thought would be our final to this world... I only wish that Chisa had been able to meet her other family on that journey..... instead of seeing their graves... They all would have adored her... and she them....." Miaka joins Tamahome at the grave site. She places the flowers on each the five graves and then joins him in prayer.
***
"Well, this was all I could find," Tetsuya dumps a pile of books on the table in front of them.
"And these were the ones that were at our house," Keisuke and Rei dump their piles with the others.
"Where should we start?"
"Well, first of all, what all do we know about this new creator?" Rei asks.
Everyone pauses in thought.
"Her name is Etsuko..."
"Is that all...?"
"....Pretty much, yeah...."
"I think we better get started then. We've got a lot of work ahead of us," Keisuke says, "Grab a book and start reading..."
"You two go ahead. I'm going to keep reading this," Rei says referring to the Book of the Universe of the Four gods, "I'm way too into this book to just stop reading now...."
"I guess it's just you and me then, Tetsuya....," Keisuke says.
"Wait a minute. Why does she get the fun job?" Tetsuya complains.
"Oh just shut up and read!" Rei says.
***
"That was a good meal, Shyoka!" Keiko says.
"I must agree with young Keiko....," Boushin says.
"Is there any more?" Chisa asks holding her bowl out to Shyoka.
"More....?! Don't you think you've had enough....?" Shyoka asks.
"I've only had...," Chisa counts on her fingers, "....ummmm..... three..... no... four bowls...."
"....that's what I mean....."
"Well, I was especially hungry!" she says, "It was a long time between lunch and dinner...."
"It wouldn't have taken nearly as long to get dinner ready if you and Ryunosuke hadn't taken so long getting the firewood!" Shyoka says, "What were you two doing that took you so long anyway....?"
Chisa avoids eye contact.
"Where is he anyway?" Keiko asks.
"He went to the stream to refill the canteens," Boushin replies.
"I didn't even know he left....," Chisa says.
"Where are you going?" Shyoka asks seeing Chisa stand up suddenly.
"I'm going to go find Ryunosuke," Chisa calls out behind her, "Oh! Thanks for the meal, Shyoka! It was really great!"
"I really do wonder what exactly happened with them...," Shyoka thinks, "Well, at least their getting along again..... that's for sure...."
***
"I wonder why Ryunosuke didn't tell me he was leaving... I would have gladly come and helped him....", Chisa thinks. She walks through the woods toward the small stream.
"Well, there's the stream... so where's Ryunosuke?" she looks up and down the stream, "...there..." she spots him, "...oh my..." His back toward her, he's on the opposite side of the stream, kneeled before three stone markers. "...his family... is...is this where they're buried...?" she thinks, "Ryunosuke... I shouldn't have come... He hasn't seen me... I'll just go back to camp quietly...."
She turns to walk away, but steps into a small patch of mud. Chisa slips, falls backwards, and hits the stream with a splash.
"Ow...!! Real graceful, Chisa...," she thinks, smacking herself on the forehead, "When am I going to learn it hurts when I do that.....?"
"Are you all right?"
Chisa looks up to see Ryunosuke standing above her, his hand outstretched to help her up.
"Yeah... I guess so...," she takes hold of his hand and pulls herself up.
"What are you doing here?"
"Boushin told me you were refilling the canteens...," she says, "I'm really sorry.... I shouldn't have come..... I understand if you're upset... I didn't mean to disturb you... If I had known, I..."
"Don't worry about it....," he says, "I don't think anything you could do would upset me....."
Chisa practically melts at this. Her face once again flushed, she changes the subject, "Is that....."
"Yeah... That's my family....," he replies, "Come on... I'll show you...." Ryunosuke leads her by the hand to the clearing where his family lies.
"My father, Takeshi, my mother, Yuko, and my sister, Mayumi," he points at each marker, "I haven't visited here in a long time... I used the canteens as an excuse to come here..."
"If you don't mind me asking," she says timidly, "how old were you when they died?"
"I was ten....."
"... that young...."
".... yeah...."
"How... how did it happen.....?"
"My father owned some land near here... We had a pretty good life.... We weren't rich or anything, but we made it through..., but then one day..... These men in black cloaks knocked on our door..... They said my father owed them money... My mother managed to get my sister and I out... She told us to save ourselves... Don't look back... just run... I remember my sister and I running... We ran as fast as we could, but I was the only one who made it.... They caught my sister... I hid in a hollow tree till morning.... I went back home..... it was practically demolished.... my mother and father were dead..."
Chisa remains silent, staring at the stone markers before her.
"I brought their bodies here and buried them.... the only thing is... I still haven't found my sister's body...," he says, "I had hope that she was still alive, but it's been so long.... I don't know... It wasn't until about a year ago that I put up a marker for her....
"Since then I've lived on the streets. I hire myself out doing all kinds of odd jobs... stealing if I have to... whatever it takes to get by...." Ryunosuke turns to head the other way. "They're probably wondering about us back at camp. We should....," he stops suddenly.
He turns to see that Chisa has dropped down to her knees. Her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes shut tight, she offers a prayer to Ryunosuke's deceased family.
"Okay...," she says standing back up again, "let's go..."
***
"Are you still crying?!"
"I can't help it! *sniffle* It's the saddest thing I've ever read....," Rei takes a tissue, blowing her nose loudly.
"Why do women get so worked up over things like that? I mean, they're always crying over everything....," Tetsuya says.
"You men just don't understand," Rei says in a matter-of-fact way.
"I guess not...."
"Yeah, it's a 'woman' thing."
"Chisa and Misao are always watching that kind of stuff on TV. I thought it was just teenage girls who like that stuff, but even Yui and Miaka get into it!"
"Oh man, don't even *try* to talk to Rei when her soaps are on!" Keisuke says.
"Like you aren't the exact same way with your sports?!"
"That's different! Sports are interesting!"
Keisuke receives a pillow to the head as a result of this remark.
"Actually, you know something like that might make a good shoujo anime someday," Keisuke says.
"Naaa....," Tetsuya shakes his head, "Who would want to watch a show about a girl heroine surrounded by a bunch of pretty boys who go around saving China?!"
"Yeah, you're right...."
Rei merely rolls her eyes.
"I can't believe I almost threw all this stuff away," Keisuke says rummaging through his stack of notes and books.
"If it had been up to me, I would have tossed it the day we moved into our house," Rei says as she turns a page of the Book of the Universe of the Four gods.
"I actually did get rid of a lot of my stuff," Tetsuya says, "For Yui.... she had a really rough time in that book... I didn't want her to be constantly reminded of it... Even though it might come in handy now, I don't regret doing it..."
"I understand, man," Keisuke says, "It seems like forever ago... I didn't think we'd need this stuff ever again...."
"What does that girl think she's doing?!" Rei exclaims.
"What? What's going on?"
"Read this... right here," she points at a particular part of the book.
"'....That night, being careful not to wake the others, the priestess packs her things and sets out alone for Kutou in search of her friend...,'" Keisuke reads out loud, "What?! By herself?! Doesn't she knows how dangerous that is?!"
"I think she can take care of herself. She was able to get rid of those bandits before. Tamahome has been giving her martial arts lesson since before she could walk," Tetsuya says, "Besides, have you ever tried to take food from that girl?! You're liable to loose a limb! If there is anyone to be worried about it's anyone who might try something on her!"
***
"'...I know this isn't a very logical or rational thing to do, but please understand. I have to find Misao. I can't leave this world without her. If I don't find her, who knows who will. I sincerely apologize for any worries I might cause, but I'll be all right. As soon as I have found my friend, I will return with her to Konan.
Love,
Chisa '"
"I can't believe that she would do something like this!" Keiko says.
"How could she just leave?" Shyoka says, "A young girl like her alone like that..... it's dangerous!"
"Well, I checked the saddlebags....," Ryunosuke reports back.
"And...?"
"She took the map, the scroll, a satchel, and some of the food supplies."
"We should set out and search for her immediately," Boushin says.
"There really is no need for all of us to go, sire," Ryunosuke says, "I'll go after her. She's on foot so she couldn't have gotten too far. You three should continue," he says mounting his horse, "I'll get Chisa and catch up to you."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
"We will seek shelter in that nearby village and wait for you there," Boushin says.
"I understand..."
"Bye, Ryunosuke..."
"Good luck..."
"See ya!" with that, Ryunosuke rides off into the woods.
***
"Let's see.... If I stay on this trail here... I should be in Kutou by tomorrow...," Chisa thinks out loud looking at the map. She rolls it back up and stuffs it in her bag.
"They've probably found the note already...," she thinks, "I really hate to do this, but... I have to! And I have to go alone... It's really safer this way... I don't want to endanger them, too... I've got to find Misao myself... before she becomes the priestess of Seiryuu... like Aunt Yui.... Who knows... she may already have... I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out... It's just so hard to believe that my Aunt Yui could have done all those things... She's always treated me as if I were her kid.... That scar on her wrist... she never did tell me the truth about it.... Aunt Yui.... But even though they went through all that, they're still good friends, right? I mean, they survived... Misao and I could, too... no... I can't take that chance.... I could never be against Misao..... never.... she's my best friend... more than that.... she's my sister...."
Chisa's thoughts are interrupted by a rustling in the trees.
"Huh?" Chisa looks about her, "Must be the wind...."
Chapter 9
As they travel to Konan, Miaka and Tamahome come upon a small village.
"This village....," Miaka thinks, "It's his hometown... Now I understand... I'm so sorry, Tamahome... I should have realized this was where you wanted to go..."
Tamahome stops the horse near the clearing where his family lays. He ties the horse to a nearby tree and then lifts Miaka down out of the saddle. He walks silently beside her to the gravesite. The stones markers he placed there so many years ago are still in place along with little Yuiren's ball. Tamahome kneels down in front of the graves and clasps his hands in prayer.
Miaka, however, walks into the surrounding field. "It's been so long...," she thinks as she picks flowers, "The last time we came here was the visit we thought would be our final to this world... I only wish that Chisa had been able to meet her other family on that journey..... instead of seeing their graves... They all would have adored her... and she them....." Miaka joins Tamahome at the grave site. She places the flowers on each the five graves and then joins him in prayer.
***
"Well, this was all I could find," Tetsuya dumps a pile of books on the table in front of them.
"And these were the ones that were at our house," Keisuke and Rei dump their piles with the others.
"Where should we start?"
"Well, first of all, what all do we know about this new creator?" Rei asks.
Everyone pauses in thought.
"Her name is Etsuko..."
"Is that all...?"
"....Pretty much, yeah...."
"I think we better get started then. We've got a lot of work ahead of us," Keisuke says, "Grab a book and start reading..."
"You two go ahead. I'm going to keep reading this," Rei says referring to the Book of the Universe of the Four gods, "I'm way too into this book to just stop reading now...."
"I guess it's just you and me then, Tetsuya....," Keisuke says.
"Wait a minute. Why does she get the fun job?" Tetsuya complains.
"Oh just shut up and read!" Rei says.
***
"That was a good meal, Shyoka!" Keiko says.
"I must agree with young Keiko....," Boushin says.
"Is there any more?" Chisa asks holding her bowl out to Shyoka.
"More....?! Don't you think you've had enough....?" Shyoka asks.
"I've only had...," Chisa counts on her fingers, "....ummmm..... three..... no... four bowls...."
"....that's what I mean....."
"Well, I was especially hungry!" she says, "It was a long time between lunch and dinner...."
"It wouldn't have taken nearly as long to get dinner ready if you and Ryunosuke hadn't taken so long getting the firewood!" Shyoka says, "What were you two doing that took you so long anyway....?"
Chisa avoids eye contact.
"Where is he anyway?" Keiko asks.
"He went to the stream to refill the canteens," Boushin replies.
"I didn't even know he left....," Chisa says.
"Where are you going?" Shyoka asks seeing Chisa stand up suddenly.
"I'm going to go find Ryunosuke," Chisa calls out behind her, "Oh! Thanks for the meal, Shyoka! It was really great!"
"I really do wonder what exactly happened with them...," Shyoka thinks, "Well, at least their getting along again..... that's for sure...."
***
"I wonder why Ryunosuke didn't tell me he was leaving... I would have gladly come and helped him....", Chisa thinks. She walks through the woods toward the small stream.
"Well, there's the stream... so where's Ryunosuke?" she looks up and down the stream, "...there..." she spots him, "...oh my..." His back toward her, he's on the opposite side of the stream, kneeled before three stone markers. "...his family... is...is this where they're buried...?" she thinks, "Ryunosuke... I shouldn't have come... He hasn't seen me... I'll just go back to camp quietly...."
She turns to walk away, but steps into a small patch of mud. Chisa slips, falls backwards, and hits the stream with a splash.
"Ow...!! Real graceful, Chisa...," she thinks, smacking herself on the forehead, "When am I going to learn it hurts when I do that.....?"
"Are you all right?"
Chisa looks up to see Ryunosuke standing above her, his hand outstretched to help her up.
"Yeah... I guess so...," she takes hold of his hand and pulls herself up.
"What are you doing here?"
"Boushin told me you were refilling the canteens...," she says, "I'm really sorry.... I shouldn't have come..... I understand if you're upset... I didn't mean to disturb you... If I had known, I..."
"Don't worry about it....," he says, "I don't think anything you could do would upset me....."
Chisa practically melts at this. Her face once again flushed, she changes the subject, "Is that....."
"Yeah... That's my family....," he replies, "Come on... I'll show you...." Ryunosuke leads her by the hand to the clearing where his family lies.
"My father, Takeshi, my mother, Yuko, and my sister, Mayumi," he points at each marker, "I haven't visited here in a long time... I used the canteens as an excuse to come here..."
"If you don't mind me asking," she says timidly, "how old were you when they died?"
"I was ten....."
"... that young...."
".... yeah...."
"How... how did it happen.....?"
"My father owned some land near here... We had a pretty good life.... We weren't rich or anything, but we made it through..., but then one day..... These men in black cloaks knocked on our door..... They said my father owed them money... My mother managed to get my sister and I out... She told us to save ourselves... Don't look back... just run... I remember my sister and I running... We ran as fast as we could, but I was the only one who made it.... They caught my sister... I hid in a hollow tree till morning.... I went back home..... it was practically demolished.... my mother and father were dead..."
Chisa remains silent, staring at the stone markers before her.
"I brought their bodies here and buried them.... the only thing is... I still haven't found my sister's body...," he says, "I had hope that she was still alive, but it's been so long.... I don't know... It wasn't until about a year ago that I put up a marker for her....
"Since then I've lived on the streets. I hire myself out doing all kinds of odd jobs... stealing if I have to... whatever it takes to get by...." Ryunosuke turns to head the other way. "They're probably wondering about us back at camp. We should....," he stops suddenly.
He turns to see that Chisa has dropped down to her knees. Her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes shut tight, she offers a prayer to Ryunosuke's deceased family.
"Okay...," she says standing back up again, "let's go..."
***
"Are you still crying?!"
"I can't help it! *sniffle* It's the saddest thing I've ever read....," Rei takes a tissue, blowing her nose loudly.
"Why do women get so worked up over things like that? I mean, they're always crying over everything....," Tetsuya says.
"You men just don't understand," Rei says in a matter-of-fact way.
"I guess not...."
"Yeah, it's a 'woman' thing."
"Chisa and Misao are always watching that kind of stuff on TV. I thought it was just teenage girls who like that stuff, but even Yui and Miaka get into it!"
"Oh man, don't even *try* to talk to Rei when her soaps are on!" Keisuke says.
"Like you aren't the exact same way with your sports?!"
"That's different! Sports are interesting!"
Keisuke receives a pillow to the head as a result of this remark.
"Actually, you know something like that might make a good shoujo anime someday," Keisuke says.
"Naaa....," Tetsuya shakes his head, "Who would want to watch a show about a girl heroine surrounded by a bunch of pretty boys who go around saving China?!"
"Yeah, you're right...."
Rei merely rolls her eyes.
"I can't believe I almost threw all this stuff away," Keisuke says rummaging through his stack of notes and books.
"If it had been up to me, I would have tossed it the day we moved into our house," Rei says as she turns a page of the Book of the Universe of the Four gods.
"I actually did get rid of a lot of my stuff," Tetsuya says, "For Yui.... she had a really rough time in that book... I didn't want her to be constantly reminded of it... Even though it might come in handy now, I don't regret doing it..."
"I understand, man," Keisuke says, "It seems like forever ago... I didn't think we'd need this stuff ever again...."
"What does that girl think she's doing?!" Rei exclaims.
"What? What's going on?"
"Read this... right here," she points at a particular part of the book.
"'....That night, being careful not to wake the others, the priestess packs her things and sets out alone for Kutou in search of her friend...,'" Keisuke reads out loud, "What?! By herself?! Doesn't she knows how dangerous that is?!"
"I think she can take care of herself. She was able to get rid of those bandits before. Tamahome has been giving her martial arts lesson since before she could walk," Tetsuya says, "Besides, have you ever tried to take food from that girl?! You're liable to loose a limb! If there is anyone to be worried about it's anyone who might try something on her!"
***
"'...I know this isn't a very logical or rational thing to do, but please understand. I have to find Misao. I can't leave this world without her. If I don't find her, who knows who will. I sincerely apologize for any worries I might cause, but I'll be all right. As soon as I have found my friend, I will return with her to Konan.
Love,
Chisa '"
"I can't believe that she would do something like this!" Keiko says.
"How could she just leave?" Shyoka says, "A young girl like her alone like that..... it's dangerous!"
"Well, I checked the saddlebags....," Ryunosuke reports back.
"And...?"
"She took the map, the scroll, a satchel, and some of the food supplies."
"We should set out and search for her immediately," Boushin says.
"There really is no need for all of us to go, sire," Ryunosuke says, "I'll go after her. She's on foot so she couldn't have gotten too far. You three should continue," he says mounting his horse, "I'll get Chisa and catch up to you."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
"We will seek shelter in that nearby village and wait for you there," Boushin says.
"I understand..."
"Bye, Ryunosuke..."
"Good luck..."
"See ya!" with that, Ryunosuke rides off into the woods.
***
"Let's see.... If I stay on this trail here... I should be in Kutou by tomorrow...," Chisa thinks out loud looking at the map. She rolls it back up and stuffs it in her bag.
"They've probably found the note already...," she thinks, "I really hate to do this, but... I have to! And I have to go alone... It's really safer this way... I don't want to endanger them, too... I've got to find Misao myself... before she becomes the priestess of Seiryuu... like Aunt Yui.... Who knows... she may already have... I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out... It's just so hard to believe that my Aunt Yui could have done all those things... She's always treated me as if I were her kid.... That scar on her wrist... she never did tell me the truth about it.... Aunt Yui.... But even though they went through all that, they're still good friends, right? I mean, they survived... Misao and I could, too... no... I can't take that chance.... I could never be against Misao..... never.... she's my best friend... more than that.... she's my sister...."
Chisa's thoughts are interrupted by a rustling in the trees.
"Huh?" Chisa looks about her, "Must be the wind...."