"Hello? Kagome?" A voice called from above as I felt the boy's hands
close over my shoulders. I opened my eyes, ashamed of having shown
weakness, only see him smile kindly. He whispered that it would be all
right, and then we both looked up to see a face peering over the side.
"Oh!" The face belonged to a woman with smooth skin who somehow still gave an impression of age and maturity. Her hair was short and curled around her face, and looked so much like my mother that it would have taken my breath away if I had any. "Hojo-kun, she looks a bit faint, could you please bring her inside the house?"
"Right away, Mrs. Higurashi." Apparently I was not going to be consulted on this, as the boy picked me up and started climbing the ladder awkwardly. I started to move out of his grasp, but he said, with that disgustingly ever present good naturedness, "Miss, it would hurt both of us if we fall. Please, put your arms around my neck and let me carry you."
It was odd. I don't think I had ever been as close to a human being before. I was stiff in his arms, in part because of the limitations of my clay body and in part because I did not know how to act. His hair was light, and curled in towards his face. Since I was so close, I could see a tiny patch of skin near his ear that had been missed when he shaved. It was tiny, the golden hairs barely needing the attention of a razor, but it fascinated me. I wanted to touch it, and the thought made me scold myself fiercely.
The woman seemed somewhat breathless as the boy, Hojo, put me down. "You must be Kikyo, come for a visit."
To say that I was shocked would be an understatement of such proportions to be ludicrous. I stumbled, and both of my companions leapt forward to prevent my fall. Once assured that the woman's hold of me was steady, the boy stepped back respectfully and asked if there was anything further he could do. The woman darted an amiably inscrutable look at my face before turning to the boy and smiling. "Thank you very much, Hojo-kun, but I would like to get our Kikyo settled in, since it seems that her journey was most fatiguing. I'm grateful you were here for her."
He bowed slightly, blood flushing his cheeks as her warm smile engulfed him. "I am very glad I was able to help in some small way, and would not presume to intrude on your family. Please, let me know if there's anything else I can for you or your family, Mrs. Higurashi."
We watched him go, pausing just before he went out of sight to wave back to us. The woman smiled and waved at him before turning to me. "He's such a nice boy." She didn't seem to expect a response, or want one, as she then started chattering while supporting my weight and walking into the house. "It's so exciting to meet you, dear, since I know so much about you. Kagome admires you greatly, of course, despite the, um, romantic issues, but then, I also used to read about you in the shrine history when I was a young girl."
I could feel my body weakening, my joints becoming more and more like baked clay. "I must go back."
She frowned slightly, and the lines of her face indicated that this wasn't a familiar expression for her. "I wish that you could, but I would think that the reason you were at the well was because you couldn't get through, which means you will have to remain until it does."
I didn't say anything. She was right, and I should be grateful for her generosity in opening her home to me. I would thank her, once I could conquer my terror enough to do so gracefully.
Her eyes softened and she reached out to pat my hand. "This must be terribly trying for you. Would you like to rest? I can show you to Kagome's room and you can lie down for a while. Do you eat? I could bring you up some warm milk, or some tea."
I felt my lips curve into a smile I knew to be cruel, even as I couldn't help it. "The sustenance I require is of another sort." I concentrated, calling for soul gatherers to come to me. The sight of my snake-like youkai servants had frightened many humans, and for some reason I wanted to frighten Kagome's mother, instill in her the hatred that my bitter rivalry with her daughter should have ensured. Instead, when a somewhat puny shikigami appeared, the wretchedly cheerful woman just continued to smile. As it twined around my body, I said abruptly, "I must go to where there are young girls dying."
Something flickered in her eyes and was gone before I could identify it. I had met many enigmatic people in my lifetime and deathtime, but I had never met anyone as truly inscrutable as this woman. "Yes, of course. There is something that you can be of help with."
We went back into the din of the outside world, although this time I was better prepared for it. In short order we were inside one of the rushing metal contraptions, inside of which was a man who looked at my attire and my pet curiously, but did not comment. I looked at him and thought that someone with such colorful hair and wearing such shiny cloth had no business gawking. In short order we were in front of the tallest building I had ever seen, which the woman called a "hospital".
It did not take long to determine that this was a place for sick people, although in some cases it seemed what was making them sick was being in this place. Friendly greetings were called out to "Higurashi-san", and she said, "I've been a nurse here for many years. That's how I'm able to bring you where we're going."
We walked through endless hallways, my steps slow as my one pet slithered around me and helped support my awkward movements. Finally we came to a private room, where a pale girl was lying on the bed, her black hair fanned over a pillow. Her form was thin, and there were tubes and wires connected to her and to boxes that hummed and beeped and blinked with colored lights. I couldn't keep from reaching out, the instinct of a healer too strong. "This girl... Her soul is in pain."
The woman nodded as she tenderly brushed the hair away from the girl's face. "She was in an accident six months ago and died on the way to the hospital. She was brought back to life in the emergency room, but she went into a coma and has never come out of it. Her family is wealthy, and so she receives the best of care; but... I've always sensed her unhappiness. I'm not a strong enough miko to do anything that would give her ease, but perhaps you are."
The shikigami floated over the girl and I saw that her soul hovered just above her body, tethered to it but trying to escape. I knew that I could allow my pet to harvest her soul and thus end her suffering, but somehow, despite the bizarre nature of the situation, the thought that I might disappoint my rival's mother bothered me. I stepped closer to the bed and closed my eyes, calling upon my early training to try to find enough peace inside myself to communicate with the girl's trapped soul. I reached for her hand and felt a jolt run through me like lightning as the world faded to a haze that contained nothing but her voice and mine.
\You are Death, which I have been denied!\ /No. I am a miko, and I wish to help restore you to life./ \But I want to die! I should have died, I was dead! I don't belong in the land of the living, and it hurts. My new incarnation is soulless, and it can't live much longer! Time is running out, I need...I need...\
The haze wrapped around me, grasping and clutching in a desperate hold. I gasped and tried to pull away as I felt my soul, my self being drawn into her body. She fought, and it felt like claws were tearing at me, sapping my strength and dragging me down, down, leaden weights poisoning my blood and forcing me to take her place on that bed as alarms shrilled and Higurashi-san held my body up by the shoulders.
------------------
Yep, I finally updated. And yes, I realize I'm evil for ending there. I'm considering having "Sharlene, the Evil" embroidered on my hankies. Wild speculations about what will happen next are highly encouraged, as are general comments - although there is to be absolutely NO thwapping of the author. So, please, let me know that you're out there reading so that I don't feel like I'm writing this just for me and thus shove it on the back burner. Thanks to Sango-sama and Monki-chan for a quick'n'dirty readthrough before I posted this - if I don't have someone to read it in advance, I feel like I'm going to post and have everybody review with "you SUCK!".
"Oh!" The face belonged to a woman with smooth skin who somehow still gave an impression of age and maturity. Her hair was short and curled around her face, and looked so much like my mother that it would have taken my breath away if I had any. "Hojo-kun, she looks a bit faint, could you please bring her inside the house?"
"Right away, Mrs. Higurashi." Apparently I was not going to be consulted on this, as the boy picked me up and started climbing the ladder awkwardly. I started to move out of his grasp, but he said, with that disgustingly ever present good naturedness, "Miss, it would hurt both of us if we fall. Please, put your arms around my neck and let me carry you."
It was odd. I don't think I had ever been as close to a human being before. I was stiff in his arms, in part because of the limitations of my clay body and in part because I did not know how to act. His hair was light, and curled in towards his face. Since I was so close, I could see a tiny patch of skin near his ear that had been missed when he shaved. It was tiny, the golden hairs barely needing the attention of a razor, but it fascinated me. I wanted to touch it, and the thought made me scold myself fiercely.
The woman seemed somewhat breathless as the boy, Hojo, put me down. "You must be Kikyo, come for a visit."
To say that I was shocked would be an understatement of such proportions to be ludicrous. I stumbled, and both of my companions leapt forward to prevent my fall. Once assured that the woman's hold of me was steady, the boy stepped back respectfully and asked if there was anything further he could do. The woman darted an amiably inscrutable look at my face before turning to the boy and smiling. "Thank you very much, Hojo-kun, but I would like to get our Kikyo settled in, since it seems that her journey was most fatiguing. I'm grateful you were here for her."
He bowed slightly, blood flushing his cheeks as her warm smile engulfed him. "I am very glad I was able to help in some small way, and would not presume to intrude on your family. Please, let me know if there's anything else I can for you or your family, Mrs. Higurashi."
We watched him go, pausing just before he went out of sight to wave back to us. The woman smiled and waved at him before turning to me. "He's such a nice boy." She didn't seem to expect a response, or want one, as she then started chattering while supporting my weight and walking into the house. "It's so exciting to meet you, dear, since I know so much about you. Kagome admires you greatly, of course, despite the, um, romantic issues, but then, I also used to read about you in the shrine history when I was a young girl."
I could feel my body weakening, my joints becoming more and more like baked clay. "I must go back."
She frowned slightly, and the lines of her face indicated that this wasn't a familiar expression for her. "I wish that you could, but I would think that the reason you were at the well was because you couldn't get through, which means you will have to remain until it does."
I didn't say anything. She was right, and I should be grateful for her generosity in opening her home to me. I would thank her, once I could conquer my terror enough to do so gracefully.
Her eyes softened and she reached out to pat my hand. "This must be terribly trying for you. Would you like to rest? I can show you to Kagome's room and you can lie down for a while. Do you eat? I could bring you up some warm milk, or some tea."
I felt my lips curve into a smile I knew to be cruel, even as I couldn't help it. "The sustenance I require is of another sort." I concentrated, calling for soul gatherers to come to me. The sight of my snake-like youkai servants had frightened many humans, and for some reason I wanted to frighten Kagome's mother, instill in her the hatred that my bitter rivalry with her daughter should have ensured. Instead, when a somewhat puny shikigami appeared, the wretchedly cheerful woman just continued to smile. As it twined around my body, I said abruptly, "I must go to where there are young girls dying."
Something flickered in her eyes and was gone before I could identify it. I had met many enigmatic people in my lifetime and deathtime, but I had never met anyone as truly inscrutable as this woman. "Yes, of course. There is something that you can be of help with."
We went back into the din of the outside world, although this time I was better prepared for it. In short order we were inside one of the rushing metal contraptions, inside of which was a man who looked at my attire and my pet curiously, but did not comment. I looked at him and thought that someone with such colorful hair and wearing such shiny cloth had no business gawking. In short order we were in front of the tallest building I had ever seen, which the woman called a "hospital".
It did not take long to determine that this was a place for sick people, although in some cases it seemed what was making them sick was being in this place. Friendly greetings were called out to "Higurashi-san", and she said, "I've been a nurse here for many years. That's how I'm able to bring you where we're going."
We walked through endless hallways, my steps slow as my one pet slithered around me and helped support my awkward movements. Finally we came to a private room, where a pale girl was lying on the bed, her black hair fanned over a pillow. Her form was thin, and there were tubes and wires connected to her and to boxes that hummed and beeped and blinked with colored lights. I couldn't keep from reaching out, the instinct of a healer too strong. "This girl... Her soul is in pain."
The woman nodded as she tenderly brushed the hair away from the girl's face. "She was in an accident six months ago and died on the way to the hospital. She was brought back to life in the emergency room, but she went into a coma and has never come out of it. Her family is wealthy, and so she receives the best of care; but... I've always sensed her unhappiness. I'm not a strong enough miko to do anything that would give her ease, but perhaps you are."
The shikigami floated over the girl and I saw that her soul hovered just above her body, tethered to it but trying to escape. I knew that I could allow my pet to harvest her soul and thus end her suffering, but somehow, despite the bizarre nature of the situation, the thought that I might disappoint my rival's mother bothered me. I stepped closer to the bed and closed my eyes, calling upon my early training to try to find enough peace inside myself to communicate with the girl's trapped soul. I reached for her hand and felt a jolt run through me like lightning as the world faded to a haze that contained nothing but her voice and mine.
\You are Death, which I have been denied!\ /No. I am a miko, and I wish to help restore you to life./ \But I want to die! I should have died, I was dead! I don't belong in the land of the living, and it hurts. My new incarnation is soulless, and it can't live much longer! Time is running out, I need...I need...\
The haze wrapped around me, grasping and clutching in a desperate hold. I gasped and tried to pull away as I felt my soul, my self being drawn into her body. She fought, and it felt like claws were tearing at me, sapping my strength and dragging me down, down, leaden weights poisoning my blood and forcing me to take her place on that bed as alarms shrilled and Higurashi-san held my body up by the shoulders.
------------------
Yep, I finally updated. And yes, I realize I'm evil for ending there. I'm considering having "Sharlene, the Evil" embroidered on my hankies. Wild speculations about what will happen next are highly encouraged, as are general comments - although there is to be absolutely NO thwapping of the author. So, please, let me know that you're out there reading so that I don't feel like I'm writing this just for me and thus shove it on the back burner. Thanks to Sango-sama and Monki-chan for a quick'n'dirty readthrough before I posted this - if I don't have someone to read it in advance, I feel like I'm going to post and have everybody review with "you SUCK!".