Familiar Faces
A wandering Shinma known as Ran-Li stalked through the park, his black eyes set on one man in a tweed waistcoat. He slunk through the trees with his black skin camouflaging well in the darkness. He had been travelling for weeks and these were the first humans he'd seen for a long time. The city had been conveniently abandoned of Shinma so he could make an easy kill without being interfered. He licked his black lips as the bloodlust took him and his abnormally long fingers crept forwards. There was a hiss from within the trees and a pair of gold eyes appeared.
"This is my territory!" a cold voice snarled and those were the last words Ran-Li heard before a round silver stone flew from the branches, colliding into his skin. The heat wave sent him reeling backwards as he recognised the magic.
"Western Shinma!" he barked angrily but then another stone hit him causing the same painful effect as before. He growled in his throat before loping away at a brisk trot. There was a small growl of laughter from the trees and the Shinma girl dropped from the branches. She was partly cat Shinma with long claws flashing from fingers and toes, a tail of black that swung lazily behind her and her mouth even had a slight muzzled appearance to it.
She held out her palm and a silver stone appeared. She tossed it playfully in one hand and then made it vanish under her grip. The stones she summoned worked well and kept those pesky Shinma at bay. She was referred to as Rikki and she liked her territory clean of intruders. She was, after all, a cat Shinma. She glanced about and then her fingers sought the thin chain round her neck and the pendant, a piece of redwood with carved inscriptions written across the surface.
"Mother," she said sadly pressing the pendant against her cheek. "I promise to avenge you, I promise!"
There was a snap of twigs and Rikki slipped the pendant back under her top. Her eyes flashed in irritation at being disturbed at such a nostalgic moment. She nimbly skipped backwards and sat on a branch in a nearby tree. Reclining lazily against the trunk she stretched as she saw the guardian, Miyu was her name running towards her. Impudent girl, she thought darkly. She just never gives up, the prying brat. She rose and turned dance away when a figure blocked her path. Rikki nearly fell from the branch as she recognised the figure as the man who had been standing behind Miyu, apparently waiting to assist her in the expected fight.
"Leaving so soon?" the black figure asked from under a white mask.
Rikki smiled dangerously and a silver stone materialised in her grasp. She knew how to deal with those who irritated her. Let's see how this Shinma would deal with her Tear Opals. She held her hand before her, the Opal hovering just above her palm.
"I'm not the type that greets uninvited guests," Rikki grinned and the Opal flew towards the Shinma. She waited for him to fly from the branch with a look of horror on his face but that joyful moment never came.
In a blur a pale hand shot from beneath the black robes and caught the Opal and crumbled it to dust with ease.
"What?" Rikki shouted in anger. Her Opals affected all Japanese Shinma, so that would mean. "A Western Shinma?" Her voice had now calmed slightly and she hopped back and hovered in the air. "Then we share the same homeland."
"By that I trust you are also Western Shinma," the dark figure replied. "Why have you come to Japan?"
"I did not come willingly," Rikki replied taking another skip back. "I was forced to come here but I don't intend to leave." Her voice shook slightly from the painful memories but she controlled her voice. "I like it here. Cease to pursue me. Fighting me is futile, as the Western Shinma soon found."
Rikki paused and summoned another Opal, not to fight with but just to hold to her cheek as a comfort. She had taught herself to forget those evil memories but it seemed she had not buried them deep enough within herself. She was comforted by the familiar smoothness of her Opals of Sorrow. She could already feel the nightmare draining away just by the touch. She danced backwards through the air but paused before vanishing.
"What is your name, Western Shinma?" She spun in the air and laughed softly, tossing the Opal from hand to hand in a playful fashion.
The dark figure seemed to pause and then a hand went up to his mask and removed it slowly. Rikki watched wide-eyed as the handsome features and mop of cloudy clue hair was revealed to her. The silver stone slipped from her grasp in shock. It fell and shattered on the pavement below and instantly a sound of sobbing was heard before vanishing. Rikki hovered back in shock.
"Y-you!" she cried faintly.
"My name is Larva," Larva said as the Western Shinma paled.
Rikki placed her hands to her head and moaned. "No, my memories have come back to haunt me. My Opals do not take away the pain." With her tearful words she twisted in the air and then vanished. Larva watched her expressionlessly. His pale fingers touched his own face.
"So she recognised me," he said quietly and then turned as Miyu burst through the trees. "Miyu." He leapt from the tree and joined her. He saw her glance about for the Shinma and then turn curiously to Larva.
"She's gone, isn't she?" Miyu sighed, defeated. "Hey, Larva. You got here before us. Did you see her?" Miyu watched her guardian closely and waited for the truth. It was pointless lying in front of Miyu; they had been in each other's company for too long for a lie between them to go unnoticed.
"Yes," Larva said finally. "I spoke to her. She is a Western Shinma."
"Western Shinma?" Miyu looked puzzled. "What's a Western Shinma doing in Japan? I thought they had lost interest in our country." She paused again to watch Larva closely and even Larva's famous poker face could not conceal the truth. "Western Shinma, right? Larva? You did not perchance know this Shinma?"
"Our paths have crossed," Larva replied. "She was only a curious acquaintance."
"Go on," Shiina said impatiently. "What you tell us can help us round up that stray Shinma."
Larva leapt onto a tree branch and Miyu landed gently in his lap. Shiina rolled his only visible eye and leapt up to join them. We're sitting down, Shiina thought. Oh boy, it's going to be a long story. Larva considered for a moment where to start and settled on the boat.
"I have told you of the time when I was posing as a noble on a ship trying to spread Western Shinma influence and we encountered that African mask?" Miyu nodded as the memory resurfaced from when she had had to fight the same mask again. "It was aboard that ship that I first saw her. She stood out among the nobles and humans but I overlooked her as just another strange girl on a tour. She looked slightly different then, weaker and more subdued than her current form. I noticed she was accompanied by two men who I assume were also Shinma but I did not know it at the time. The men treated her harshly and she was forced to stay away from everyone. However she soon broke their rules.
"Many of the humans suffered seasickness when we crossed the Indian Ocean so very few stood up on deck. This was where I would often stand when I wanted time to myself and peace from the humans' non-stop moans. I was standing alone on deck when I saw her standing a few feet away reading a book. I was curious so I approached her and was surprised to see her reading western literature. I asked her why she was not down below with everyone else and she replied she liked the quiet sea and didn't get seasick. I asked her about the two men and she instantly became sour and said they were escorting her to Japan. We would have spoken more when the mask attacked. As I noticed all the men and nobles glowed purple under the mask's attack, I saw the girl watching and she was completely unaffected like myself.
"As we neared the Japanese shores a struggle broke out between the girl and the two men. She seemed not to wish to remain in their company and though they tried to restrain her, she broke free and leapt from the boat. She had attacked the men with white electricity so I knew then she was a Shinma. I assume seeing as she is here that she made it to Japanese shores and has lived here since." Larva trailed off. Miyu stared at him and held his hand.
"And you just met her again after all these years and you recognised her?" she sounded almost incredulous.
"Yes," Larva nodded solemnly. "Once I removed my mask I think she recognised me as well."
Miyu shook her head, smiling. "This will be an interesting confrontation. Larva, what confuses me is what is she doing? What are these stones?"
"She mentioned Opals," Larva said. He paused for a moment and then offered an idea that had come to mind. "Miyu, you said the Opals repelled you but did not affect the humans? It seemed when the Western Shinma saw me she threw an Opal expecting it to repel me but it has no effect. She seemed surprised then instantly assumed I was a Western Shinma."
"I believe I understand," Miyu said suddenly, sitting up. "These Opals seem only to affect Japanese Shinma. They are a Western Shinma weapon."
"That Shinma is a cat Shinma," Shiina added knowledgably. "Cats are known to be territorial animals. Maybe she is clearing the area by leaving these little Opals all over the place to get rid of the Japanese Shinma. Larva said so himself that the Shinma seem to be keeping low profile, only because they weren't actually in the area at all. They were being repelled by these buggers." Shiina swelled in pride at his own brilliance.
"Occidental Shinma," Miyu murmured quietly. She had dealt with Western Shinma before, and they were not the type to trifle with. She looked up at Larva who had yet again become distant and wrapped in memories. Poor Larva, she thought. He was trapped in painful memories like herself. She leant back against his chest and clutched his hand reassuringly. "I believe this Shinma needs to be taught a lesson."
She then leapt from the branch and crouched where the Occidental Shinma had dropped her Opal. There was now only a puddle of water. Miyu carefully dripped her finger into the liquid and then placed her finger in her mouth. Salty and if there was such a taste, sorrowful. Miyu raised her head to see Shiina and Larva watching her.
"Interesting," she commented. "Tears."
* * *
Rikki was slightly out of breath as she sped away across her territory, the entire city. She knew that there were still Shinma lying low amongst the humans. Those Shinma were weak and she did not care for them. One day she would remove those underlings for Rikki could not bare the weak but the time was not now. She found an old tree and landed in the crown of branches, pressing herself against the bark reassuringly. She held out her hand before her and an Opal bloomed like a silver bud in her palm. She bought the Opal upwards and pressed it to her heart and intense relief washed over her mind. The sorrow slowly leaked away and the Opal grew heavier in her hand. Rikki treasured her Opals; they were her only escape from pain. By pressing one to your heart it drained away your sorrow and became a powerful Japanese Shinma ward.
That had been a lot of sorrow she had just dispelled from her body and she could feel the ward humming with strength. Rikki looked about. She liked this tree and wouldn't want to be disturbed by any nosey Shinma or that persistent, irritating guardian. She dropped the Opal to the ground and it rolled along the ground stopping by the base of the trunk. That would keep her away, Rikki smirked to herself. On the subject of guardians it seemed Miyu had a protector of her own, that Larva. She had seen him on the ship when she had been forced to come to Japan by those two Occidental Shinma, the two whom had murdered her mother. She hadn't suspected Larva of being a Shinma at first, just a noble who had a stronger stomach than the rest of his men. However, she had then spotted him on deck unaffected by that mask and knew she had been in the presence of another Shinma. She had been curious to find out more but then the two men escorting her had decided they would confine her as soon as they got aboard Japanese shores and drastic measures had been called for. She had killed one of the Shinma and dived off the boat and swum to Japan, it was not far so no great feat. She had been curious to know more about the mysterious noble but then he had slipped from her mind, as had so many other memories when she applied the Opals to herself.
Now he was back and fighting alongside the guardian. That would be a story she would want to hear at some point. Now Rikki drifted off into a peaceful slumber as the Shinma ward floated round the tree in a spiral.
As she slept she did not notice a silver form floating towards her and sit by her side. It was a woman, nearly transparent but with a definite silver outline. Her flowing hair drifted round her head like lilies caught in a current and she laughed a musical titter and stroked Rikki's face.
"My Rikki," the woman sighed. "You have seen so much sorrow. So you feed your soul to me through my Opals of Sorrow and in return I give you power. To think, you are a Shinma being manipulated, but I must not let you feel pure happiness." With that the woman stroked Rikki's forehead and the Shinma twitched. "Have bad dreams, my dear." The woman laughed and then vanished.
Rikki was left to her nightmares. As she cried out in her sleep a single word escaped her lips.
"Mother!"
* * *
To be continued . . .
How do you think it is coming? Tell me if it is at all boring and I will try to patch it up in the next chapter. The Final Showdown is coming. Please keep reviewing. ^_^ Thanx!
A wandering Shinma known as Ran-Li stalked through the park, his black eyes set on one man in a tweed waistcoat. He slunk through the trees with his black skin camouflaging well in the darkness. He had been travelling for weeks and these were the first humans he'd seen for a long time. The city had been conveniently abandoned of Shinma so he could make an easy kill without being interfered. He licked his black lips as the bloodlust took him and his abnormally long fingers crept forwards. There was a hiss from within the trees and a pair of gold eyes appeared.
"This is my territory!" a cold voice snarled and those were the last words Ran-Li heard before a round silver stone flew from the branches, colliding into his skin. The heat wave sent him reeling backwards as he recognised the magic.
"Western Shinma!" he barked angrily but then another stone hit him causing the same painful effect as before. He growled in his throat before loping away at a brisk trot. There was a small growl of laughter from the trees and the Shinma girl dropped from the branches. She was partly cat Shinma with long claws flashing from fingers and toes, a tail of black that swung lazily behind her and her mouth even had a slight muzzled appearance to it.
She held out her palm and a silver stone appeared. She tossed it playfully in one hand and then made it vanish under her grip. The stones she summoned worked well and kept those pesky Shinma at bay. She was referred to as Rikki and she liked her territory clean of intruders. She was, after all, a cat Shinma. She glanced about and then her fingers sought the thin chain round her neck and the pendant, a piece of redwood with carved inscriptions written across the surface.
"Mother," she said sadly pressing the pendant against her cheek. "I promise to avenge you, I promise!"
There was a snap of twigs and Rikki slipped the pendant back under her top. Her eyes flashed in irritation at being disturbed at such a nostalgic moment. She nimbly skipped backwards and sat on a branch in a nearby tree. Reclining lazily against the trunk she stretched as she saw the guardian, Miyu was her name running towards her. Impudent girl, she thought darkly. She just never gives up, the prying brat. She rose and turned dance away when a figure blocked her path. Rikki nearly fell from the branch as she recognised the figure as the man who had been standing behind Miyu, apparently waiting to assist her in the expected fight.
"Leaving so soon?" the black figure asked from under a white mask.
Rikki smiled dangerously and a silver stone materialised in her grasp. She knew how to deal with those who irritated her. Let's see how this Shinma would deal with her Tear Opals. She held her hand before her, the Opal hovering just above her palm.
"I'm not the type that greets uninvited guests," Rikki grinned and the Opal flew towards the Shinma. She waited for him to fly from the branch with a look of horror on his face but that joyful moment never came.
In a blur a pale hand shot from beneath the black robes and caught the Opal and crumbled it to dust with ease.
"What?" Rikki shouted in anger. Her Opals affected all Japanese Shinma, so that would mean. "A Western Shinma?" Her voice had now calmed slightly and she hopped back and hovered in the air. "Then we share the same homeland."
"By that I trust you are also Western Shinma," the dark figure replied. "Why have you come to Japan?"
"I did not come willingly," Rikki replied taking another skip back. "I was forced to come here but I don't intend to leave." Her voice shook slightly from the painful memories but she controlled her voice. "I like it here. Cease to pursue me. Fighting me is futile, as the Western Shinma soon found."
Rikki paused and summoned another Opal, not to fight with but just to hold to her cheek as a comfort. She had taught herself to forget those evil memories but it seemed she had not buried them deep enough within herself. She was comforted by the familiar smoothness of her Opals of Sorrow. She could already feel the nightmare draining away just by the touch. She danced backwards through the air but paused before vanishing.
"What is your name, Western Shinma?" She spun in the air and laughed softly, tossing the Opal from hand to hand in a playful fashion.
The dark figure seemed to pause and then a hand went up to his mask and removed it slowly. Rikki watched wide-eyed as the handsome features and mop of cloudy clue hair was revealed to her. The silver stone slipped from her grasp in shock. It fell and shattered on the pavement below and instantly a sound of sobbing was heard before vanishing. Rikki hovered back in shock.
"Y-you!" she cried faintly.
"My name is Larva," Larva said as the Western Shinma paled.
Rikki placed her hands to her head and moaned. "No, my memories have come back to haunt me. My Opals do not take away the pain." With her tearful words she twisted in the air and then vanished. Larva watched her expressionlessly. His pale fingers touched his own face.
"So she recognised me," he said quietly and then turned as Miyu burst through the trees. "Miyu." He leapt from the tree and joined her. He saw her glance about for the Shinma and then turn curiously to Larva.
"She's gone, isn't she?" Miyu sighed, defeated. "Hey, Larva. You got here before us. Did you see her?" Miyu watched her guardian closely and waited for the truth. It was pointless lying in front of Miyu; they had been in each other's company for too long for a lie between them to go unnoticed.
"Yes," Larva said finally. "I spoke to her. She is a Western Shinma."
"Western Shinma?" Miyu looked puzzled. "What's a Western Shinma doing in Japan? I thought they had lost interest in our country." She paused again to watch Larva closely and even Larva's famous poker face could not conceal the truth. "Western Shinma, right? Larva? You did not perchance know this Shinma?"
"Our paths have crossed," Larva replied. "She was only a curious acquaintance."
"Go on," Shiina said impatiently. "What you tell us can help us round up that stray Shinma."
Larva leapt onto a tree branch and Miyu landed gently in his lap. Shiina rolled his only visible eye and leapt up to join them. We're sitting down, Shiina thought. Oh boy, it's going to be a long story. Larva considered for a moment where to start and settled on the boat.
"I have told you of the time when I was posing as a noble on a ship trying to spread Western Shinma influence and we encountered that African mask?" Miyu nodded as the memory resurfaced from when she had had to fight the same mask again. "It was aboard that ship that I first saw her. She stood out among the nobles and humans but I overlooked her as just another strange girl on a tour. She looked slightly different then, weaker and more subdued than her current form. I noticed she was accompanied by two men who I assume were also Shinma but I did not know it at the time. The men treated her harshly and she was forced to stay away from everyone. However she soon broke their rules.
"Many of the humans suffered seasickness when we crossed the Indian Ocean so very few stood up on deck. This was where I would often stand when I wanted time to myself and peace from the humans' non-stop moans. I was standing alone on deck when I saw her standing a few feet away reading a book. I was curious so I approached her and was surprised to see her reading western literature. I asked her why she was not down below with everyone else and she replied she liked the quiet sea and didn't get seasick. I asked her about the two men and she instantly became sour and said they were escorting her to Japan. We would have spoken more when the mask attacked. As I noticed all the men and nobles glowed purple under the mask's attack, I saw the girl watching and she was completely unaffected like myself.
"As we neared the Japanese shores a struggle broke out between the girl and the two men. She seemed not to wish to remain in their company and though they tried to restrain her, she broke free and leapt from the boat. She had attacked the men with white electricity so I knew then she was a Shinma. I assume seeing as she is here that she made it to Japanese shores and has lived here since." Larva trailed off. Miyu stared at him and held his hand.
"And you just met her again after all these years and you recognised her?" she sounded almost incredulous.
"Yes," Larva nodded solemnly. "Once I removed my mask I think she recognised me as well."
Miyu shook her head, smiling. "This will be an interesting confrontation. Larva, what confuses me is what is she doing? What are these stones?"
"She mentioned Opals," Larva said. He paused for a moment and then offered an idea that had come to mind. "Miyu, you said the Opals repelled you but did not affect the humans? It seemed when the Western Shinma saw me she threw an Opal expecting it to repel me but it has no effect. She seemed surprised then instantly assumed I was a Western Shinma."
"I believe I understand," Miyu said suddenly, sitting up. "These Opals seem only to affect Japanese Shinma. They are a Western Shinma weapon."
"That Shinma is a cat Shinma," Shiina added knowledgably. "Cats are known to be territorial animals. Maybe she is clearing the area by leaving these little Opals all over the place to get rid of the Japanese Shinma. Larva said so himself that the Shinma seem to be keeping low profile, only because they weren't actually in the area at all. They were being repelled by these buggers." Shiina swelled in pride at his own brilliance.
"Occidental Shinma," Miyu murmured quietly. She had dealt with Western Shinma before, and they were not the type to trifle with. She looked up at Larva who had yet again become distant and wrapped in memories. Poor Larva, she thought. He was trapped in painful memories like herself. She leant back against his chest and clutched his hand reassuringly. "I believe this Shinma needs to be taught a lesson."
She then leapt from the branch and crouched where the Occidental Shinma had dropped her Opal. There was now only a puddle of water. Miyu carefully dripped her finger into the liquid and then placed her finger in her mouth. Salty and if there was such a taste, sorrowful. Miyu raised her head to see Shiina and Larva watching her.
"Interesting," she commented. "Tears."
* * *
Rikki was slightly out of breath as she sped away across her territory, the entire city. She knew that there were still Shinma lying low amongst the humans. Those Shinma were weak and she did not care for them. One day she would remove those underlings for Rikki could not bare the weak but the time was not now. She found an old tree and landed in the crown of branches, pressing herself against the bark reassuringly. She held out her hand before her and an Opal bloomed like a silver bud in her palm. She bought the Opal upwards and pressed it to her heart and intense relief washed over her mind. The sorrow slowly leaked away and the Opal grew heavier in her hand. Rikki treasured her Opals; they were her only escape from pain. By pressing one to your heart it drained away your sorrow and became a powerful Japanese Shinma ward.
That had been a lot of sorrow she had just dispelled from her body and she could feel the ward humming with strength. Rikki looked about. She liked this tree and wouldn't want to be disturbed by any nosey Shinma or that persistent, irritating guardian. She dropped the Opal to the ground and it rolled along the ground stopping by the base of the trunk. That would keep her away, Rikki smirked to herself. On the subject of guardians it seemed Miyu had a protector of her own, that Larva. She had seen him on the ship when she had been forced to come to Japan by those two Occidental Shinma, the two whom had murdered her mother. She hadn't suspected Larva of being a Shinma at first, just a noble who had a stronger stomach than the rest of his men. However, she had then spotted him on deck unaffected by that mask and knew she had been in the presence of another Shinma. She had been curious to find out more but then the two men escorting her had decided they would confine her as soon as they got aboard Japanese shores and drastic measures had been called for. She had killed one of the Shinma and dived off the boat and swum to Japan, it was not far so no great feat. She had been curious to know more about the mysterious noble but then he had slipped from her mind, as had so many other memories when she applied the Opals to herself.
Now he was back and fighting alongside the guardian. That would be a story she would want to hear at some point. Now Rikki drifted off into a peaceful slumber as the Shinma ward floated round the tree in a spiral.
As she slept she did not notice a silver form floating towards her and sit by her side. It was a woman, nearly transparent but with a definite silver outline. Her flowing hair drifted round her head like lilies caught in a current and she laughed a musical titter and stroked Rikki's face.
"My Rikki," the woman sighed. "You have seen so much sorrow. So you feed your soul to me through my Opals of Sorrow and in return I give you power. To think, you are a Shinma being manipulated, but I must not let you feel pure happiness." With that the woman stroked Rikki's forehead and the Shinma twitched. "Have bad dreams, my dear." The woman laughed and then vanished.
Rikki was left to her nightmares. As she cried out in her sleep a single word escaped her lips.
"Mother!"
* * *
To be continued . . .
How do you think it is coming? Tell me if it is at all boring and I will try to patch it up in the next chapter. The Final Showdown is coming. Please keep reviewing. ^_^ Thanx!