YUME-MI
A fanfic by Jashi
Hola. Enjoy!
Chapter Ten….
(Ayako's POV)
Gods…I take a lock of my hair and stare at it for a moment. It's straight and white. Perfectly straight. Pure, snow white. It's odd. And I'm taller. Much taller. I tie some bandages around my hand, and the pain lessens.
"Taiitsukun, where is Naifu no Akuma?" I ask as I sit and wrap my hand.
"I have it. And I need you to stay here, on Mount Taikoku, so I may teach you how to use it.' she says seriously. I nod, wondering about it. Not exactly how I will use it, or what it's powers are, but naively, what it looks like. I quietly push the thoughts from my head, and try to focus on the task at hand. Suddenly, I realized.
"Taiitsukun! What about the cure for the plague?" I say quickly.
She snickers. "There is no plague. Nijiko sent that as a pretest to see how much control you had."
I stand up.
"Of all the idiotic tricks…" I mutter. I turn to leave, to find Mitsukake and tell him it wasn't true. And we spent so much time on the frickin' cure! Gods…this angers me, and I simply stare into the air, my thoughts twisting and burning within my head.
"Do not be so angry, Ayako!" Taiitsukun cries. "It was a test! You must learn to decipher the real and the dreams. You must also learn to control yourself in the dreams." she says with seriousness etching her voice.
I nod.
I turn, and leave Taiitsukun there. I walk the halls, trying to get to the outside. I see Nuriko. He stops dead.
"Who are you?" he asks, cocking his head at me. Suddenly, I am frustrated.
"Gods, why doesn't anyone recognize me!? It's me! Ayako!" I say, and put my hands out in an expressive manner.
Nuriko blinks.
"Suzaku…is that you?! You're hair, it's…"
"White, yeah. I know." I mutter.
"And you're so much taller too! Wow, Ayako. You're eyes didn't change though. They're still bright blue." Nuriko states laughingly.
"Thanks, Nuriko." I chuckle.
"I'm looking for Mitsukake," I say, "do you know where he is?"
"Why?" he asks
"Because. Taiitsukun just told me the plague was a test. A test. So there is no plague, and all of our hard work and worry went to nothing." I say bitterly.
"You're kidding!?" a voice says behind me.
The red haired bandit comes over and shakes his head.
"Jesus, it just sucks to be you, Ayako!" he says, and suddenly my heart freezes. I agree with him. But it's more than that. It's walking around and remembering everything that happened during that test…
The awful, twisted, demented, psychotic things I saw…
The pain, the dismemberment…
And the screams…I remember the screams. Helpless, crying, painful screams. And I could not help those who screamed. I clench my hands in spite of the pain in my right one.
"Konnichiwa, Ayako-san!" a chipper voice I hear. Chiriko. My mind smiles.
"Konnichiwa." I say in response. Something in my mind sparks, a little fire beneath my white hair, and tortured mind.
"Chiriko," I say casually, "how did you know it was me?"
He smiles. "Tasuki-san said your name."
Tasuki and Nuriko face-fault and I glare at them.
"It's not that funny…" I protest.
"Oi, Ayako-san." the innocent Chiriko looks up at me.
"Hai?"
"What was the Test of Prophets like?" he asks, and my world begins to fall apart.
"Yeah, Ayako. What happened?" asked Tasuki.
My mind gently crashes, layer by thin layer. Layers that have been tortured and fought. And I have won those wars in my mind. The memories…they will scar me inside and Nijiko will never let me forget. I shake my head vigorously, and back up until I can feel the support of a wall behind me. I turn and rest my tired head against the wall.
"Please…please don't ask me that…" I whisper.
Nuriko cocks his head. "What?"
"I said PLEASE DON'T ASK ME THAT!" I yell and clench my hands so tightly my right one begins to bleed again. The pain is excruciating. Nuriko and Chiriko step back, as though I am some monster.
Some insane monster…
Taiitsukun appears. Thank you, God.
"The Test is to see if the prophet is mentally strong enough to withstand the horrors of humanity. Ayako saw the most awful, disturbing, terrifying things in this earth. Be glad that you did not have to see them." she says sharply. I open my eyes to see the compassion in Tasuki's eyes. Dammit. I don't want the sympathy. I just want HELP.
HELP.
Can't anyone out there help me? Taiitsukun flicks her hand and suddenly I am lifted and teleported.
When we land a second later, I stammer.
"I-I-I'm sorry…" I stutter ungracefully.
Her hand touches my head.
"Quiet, child. You are not expected to deal with this all on your own. And it is hard. You have strength in your mind, though. Your mental strength overrides your physical endurance. If you want to win, you can, Ayako. And you will. But only if you have enough faith in yourself to try that hard. It will be a very, very hard battle to stay sane. You may lose. You could win. It is your choice." she finishes, and presents me with some bandages.
I begin to wrap my hand, to heal.
And my mind will heal, eventually.
I will win this war.
And I will not break.
^%^%^^%^%^%^%^
Hello….and goodbye…not much to say. Though the next few chapters will be more active where Ayako learns magic and stuff like that…^_^ yay!
~Jashi~