Chapter 7
Return
Ayame pursed her lips. The hideous outline of Mount Shiba beckoned to her from the distance. Its' entice was almost overwhelming. Summoning her will she waved off its seduction, resting for a moment in the empty and soulless forest that surrounded Shiba's base and middle. Every part of the mountain was chilling...and welcoming. Ayame shuddered. No, she was not enjoying this at all.
But she was.
The mountain was torturous. Horrid energy emitted from its every facet, the ground felt unnatural and even the winds beared foul scent. Everything was simply unbearable. Yet at the very back of Ayame's head dwelled desire. And this desire politely informed her that she was rather thrilled to be returning to these peaks.
"It's not at all surprising though." she mused aloud to herself. "Returning to this mountain is like returning to my better days."
Ayame then smirked. If she had previously known that the days of her never ending battles with Onikage were to later be qualified as her better days, she may have been disheartened. But reminiscing in isolation within the haunting forests of Mount Shiba, she realized that there was no greater freedom than having a known enemy. Those times were so much simpler. Ayame could focus her every being on taking down Onikage. Now her only visible enemy was perhaps this mountain, which she simultaneously hated and loved with all her heart.
"Don't try to fool yourself Ayame. The greatest enemy here is you."
Harsh truth, and nothing but.
She sat up and continued on her way, singing a light song to herself.
"I am the mourner. I am the hunter. I am everything that lies in between. He was the good man. He was the warrior. He was everything that lied in between."
Ayame slowly began her ascent up the mountain, taking a careful route at its' edge so that she may enjoy the full view. She jumped up the rocks as if they were nothing, and clung to the boulders with pained determination. Only ten minuets into her journey she noticed something disturbing.
"A village? Here?" Ayame wondered.
It was perhaps the smallest and most secluded village she had ever seen. Nestled securely within a dip in the mountain's base, ample trees nearly covered all sight of it. Only a keen vision such as her own could have discovered it.
"It is nothing." she muttered to herself. "It would be foolish to let curiosity draw my from my path."
A few minuets later she left the mountain trail and quickly made her way towards the village.
**************************************************************************** **
The dream had been plaguing her for days. The sharp curves of Mt. Shiba following her at every turn. The calling, the demanding, the very essence of the mountain itself was reaching out to her. Every night she head the cry; Return Ayame! Return!
Yet here she was, being sidetracked by nothing more than a surreptitiously placed village. But the call from the village was different. It was not the deadly gentle lulling of the mountain, it was a desperate begging in the darkness.
Ayame ran with ease between the trees, coming to the boundary of the village in a matter of minuets. She stopped for a moment, observing its limit carefully, disturbed by the silence. Not a bird, not a child, not a single voice sounded from within the crumbling village gates.
She entered without any fear of attack. She felt nothing. No ki's, no life. Devoid. Entering the village she immediately became aware of the foul that awaited her. It was ghastly. It was terrifying. It made her wish for the safe-hazardous grip of Mount Shiba.
The streets were nothing more than an endless stretch of white. The white was everywhere, scattered in clumps, stretched out over far distances. Ayame was prevented from stepping any further, prevented from wanting to step any further.
Bones.
"There has been a great massacre here." Ayame muttered to herself. "And many years ago."
But for once her mind was working slowly. It was too much to take in. How? Why? When? There were a thousand and one secrets contained within this village. A thousand and one more in the bones. She simply couldn't piece it together. There was something missing, something that could push her mind over the breaking point and into terrible realization.
"Have you finally discovered a puzzle that your mind has not been able to solve?"
"No. You were a puzzle. I could not grasp you."
"But you did, my Ayame. A boy not a boy, it's as simple as that. We stood as equals that night. You understand me more than you do yourself."
"Yes, but you are...I don't even know how to word it. You are precious. More precious than life."
"Because I take life."
"A paradox."
"Yes. That is why we are bonded."
"You do not know how good it is to hear your voice again."
Ayame turned around and beheld the smiling face of the indigo eyed boy, the one who bestowed gentle cessation.
"Is it my time?" she asked hopefully.
"No. You know it is not. I couldn't help but want to speak with you again. It is so rare that I find a human mind such as yours."
"Enlightenment is difficult. Your mind shines with knowledge illumination yet taunts you with corners of dark ignorance. I still do not know all I wish to know. The secrets of this village, for one."
"But you are piecing it together. Your sub-conscious knows even if your conscious does not. From where do you think your dreams have originated?"
"Well I was hoping for once that it was divine intervention."
"You need no divine intervention. You hold all the answers within yourself."
Ayame sighed. "The world is under the impression that the grip of death is cold. Why are you so warm?"
"The fear of cessation can come in handy. It is a key factor in the balance. If all people experienced the peace you did on that night, many would end their lives for it."
"I enjoyed that night. Being in the stars with you, it was so nice. Please, tell me, is Rikimaru there now?"
"Yes. He waits for you in the stars."
"Does he know then of my treachery? How I doubt my every memory of him?"
"All he knows is his love for you."
Ayame studied the boy carefully. His indigo eyes lit the night as his translucent figure faded in and out with minute detail. One moment she could see the outline of his hands, soft hands with long tapered fingers and wide open palms. The next moment she merely saw a blur where the hands had once been. A boy not a boy. She loved and embraced him all the same.
"Do you feel emotions as humans do? Do you feel sadness when you take lives?"
"I feel sadness when they feel sadness, yet I always know they end up going where they are meant to."
Ayame turned her back to the village and looked up at the distant Mt. Shiba.
"It always comes back to these peaks."
A slow dawning was coming upon her.
"Yes Ayame. Take your thoughts further."
"Mt. Shiba. Everything returns here. A great gathering of power, both evil and pure."
"Yes Ayame. Now what is the connection to the village?" the boy urged.
"The village. A massacre. The base of the mountain. A massacre."
The realization was swift and terrible.
"The ninth unit. Men from my own clan. My own kin. Their blood soaked the earth here. Nothing left but bones."
"Yes Ayame. But why?"
"It is the mountain. It draws power. So those many years ago the great demon lord came to it and created a demon army. But that fell when the Godha clan destroyed him, leaving his minions to haunt the passes, lonely and without purpose. But the demon lord did not truly die, just as I did not die."
She took in a shuddering breath. "No creature of great power can be killed on the passes."
The boy nodded silently.
"It...It would leave the world unbalanced. Just as I was spared he was spared. He resides deep within the mountain, gaining power."
"Ayame, your mind has grown so swift. I am truly in awe of you. But do you see the connection to the village?"
"Only someone of great power or understanding can survive the passes. The villagers saw only good and evil in black and white, they could not fathom the endless paradoxes of the mountain. And so they were not worthy of even its base. That is why the demons killed them. But retribution was therefore needed. The demons were killed by my clan. But then they killed each other. That disturbed the balance!" she cried.
"No, it did not."
"I don't understand."
"You are correct in saying balance was restored with the deaths of the demons. But then there was a decision. After the battle the ninth unit stood among the village grounds and gazed at the bloody and mangled bodies. It lay in front of them. A choice; either become good or evil."
"But things do not simply fall as good or evil!"
"They do not. And they do. Every one of those men were on the brink of enlightenment. But they could not handle it. They made a conscious choice not to handle it. Instead they choose insanity. They choose to kill each other. It was simpler than bearing the understanding."
"I see now. Good and evil, with the mountain being all the lies in between."
"Yes Ayame. There's balance even when it comes down to the mountain's herbs. Kiku was blinded by these herbs. She was then cured by them. You were paralyzed by the herbs. Hinageshi has in turn created dozens of medicines from them. Balance."
"But why have I been called back?"
"You did not feel the ki of the demon lord the last time you walked the peaks because you had not yet reached enlightenment. Now you do. It was the demon lord that controlled the creatures that attacked you that night, used them as nothing more than marionettes to try to bring about your destruction and Rikimaru's."
"Because we were trespassing?"
"Because you were an enemy of Lord Mei-Oh. This demon lord was kindred to him. Because you brought down Mei-Oh it seeks to kill you. It wants retribution."
"I see now. And this demon lord? Does he have a name?"
"No. And you shall see why when you face him."
"A fight with an actual enemy. That is good. But what after? Is Lord Godha worthy of being my master?"
"He shall prove it to you. Wait for it."
Ayame reached up and felt her cheeks. They were covered with liquid.
"I have missed you. I have missed Rikimaru. Even Rei, and Wo Milu Lee. When can I join you all?"
The boy wrapped his arms around her, and though she felt no touch she felt the warmth. Ayame stared blissfully into his eyes until the world, her life, was nothing but that indigo. His voice was like the chiming of a thousand bells.
"Your swords shall swing in perfect harmony. Your spirit shall grow and your senses shall dull. First your hearing shall fade, then your sight. You will not need them. You shall be at the pinnacle. And as you strike down your last enemy you shall fall to the ground. Utter peace shall find you. I shall find you. You will smile at me, I'll smile back, and then you and I shall return to the stars. Rikimaru will be waiting, and together you will inhabit the night sky."
"Will you leave me?"
"No. I'll still be there. And in the night sky you shall have no worries."
"Will the clan survive?"
"Yes, but there will be great turmoil from within the clan. But do not worry. Others shall take your place and shall keep the balance."
"Others?"
"Yes. The balance shall be held, Ayame. Forever."
Author's note:
Yeah. There was a LOT of dialogue in this chapter. Please forgive me! But I truly did feel it necessary.
For those of you who haven't read or simply don't remember Chapter 6 of The White of Snow, the "boy who is not a boy" is actually death. I brought him back into the story for one because Gimpy reminded me of him in her review (and reminded me of the quote "boy not a boy", thanks a lot Gimpy!) and for two because I feel that a ninja would have a close relationship to death, so I just sorta manifested him into a human-like entity so that Ayame can talk with him. Again, my portrayal of death is actually based on Duo Maxwell in Gundam Wing, who refers to himself as Shinigami (god of death) and has pretty purple eyes. I love him so!
To Psy-Girl, I wouldn't worry so much about Ayame being killed as much as I would worry about what she's capable of doing! To Gimpy, thanks again for everything, and for reminding me about my "boy not a boy". Et-Chan, I'm trying my hardest to get these chapters out, but I'm at the point now where I'm getting really really scared whether you guys will like where I'm taking this story! Thanks a bunch Kendra, and to my awesome LordNalcagaiShinoto, thanks for all the info and support you give me. Oh, and today I just spotted the reviews from El-Chan and Kinneas67 on my last story, thanks a lot you guys!Next chapter could take days or years. Hopefully only days.
Ayame pursed her lips. The hideous outline of Mount Shiba beckoned to her from the distance. Its' entice was almost overwhelming. Summoning her will she waved off its seduction, resting for a moment in the empty and soulless forest that surrounded Shiba's base and middle. Every part of the mountain was chilling...and welcoming. Ayame shuddered. No, she was not enjoying this at all.
But she was.
The mountain was torturous. Horrid energy emitted from its every facet, the ground felt unnatural and even the winds beared foul scent. Everything was simply unbearable. Yet at the very back of Ayame's head dwelled desire. And this desire politely informed her that she was rather thrilled to be returning to these peaks.
"It's not at all surprising though." she mused aloud to herself. "Returning to this mountain is like returning to my better days."
Ayame then smirked. If she had previously known that the days of her never ending battles with Onikage were to later be qualified as her better days, she may have been disheartened. But reminiscing in isolation within the haunting forests of Mount Shiba, she realized that there was no greater freedom than having a known enemy. Those times were so much simpler. Ayame could focus her every being on taking down Onikage. Now her only visible enemy was perhaps this mountain, which she simultaneously hated and loved with all her heart.
"Don't try to fool yourself Ayame. The greatest enemy here is you."
Harsh truth, and nothing but.
She sat up and continued on her way, singing a light song to herself.
"I am the mourner. I am the hunter. I am everything that lies in between. He was the good man. He was the warrior. He was everything that lied in between."
Ayame slowly began her ascent up the mountain, taking a careful route at its' edge so that she may enjoy the full view. She jumped up the rocks as if they were nothing, and clung to the boulders with pained determination. Only ten minuets into her journey she noticed something disturbing.
"A village? Here?" Ayame wondered.
It was perhaps the smallest and most secluded village she had ever seen. Nestled securely within a dip in the mountain's base, ample trees nearly covered all sight of it. Only a keen vision such as her own could have discovered it.
"It is nothing." she muttered to herself. "It would be foolish to let curiosity draw my from my path."
A few minuets later she left the mountain trail and quickly made her way towards the village.
**************************************************************************** **
The dream had been plaguing her for days. The sharp curves of Mt. Shiba following her at every turn. The calling, the demanding, the very essence of the mountain itself was reaching out to her. Every night she head the cry; Return Ayame! Return!
Yet here she was, being sidetracked by nothing more than a surreptitiously placed village. But the call from the village was different. It was not the deadly gentle lulling of the mountain, it was a desperate begging in the darkness.
Ayame ran with ease between the trees, coming to the boundary of the village in a matter of minuets. She stopped for a moment, observing its limit carefully, disturbed by the silence. Not a bird, not a child, not a single voice sounded from within the crumbling village gates.
She entered without any fear of attack. She felt nothing. No ki's, no life. Devoid. Entering the village she immediately became aware of the foul that awaited her. It was ghastly. It was terrifying. It made her wish for the safe-hazardous grip of Mount Shiba.
The streets were nothing more than an endless stretch of white. The white was everywhere, scattered in clumps, stretched out over far distances. Ayame was prevented from stepping any further, prevented from wanting to step any further.
Bones.
"There has been a great massacre here." Ayame muttered to herself. "And many years ago."
But for once her mind was working slowly. It was too much to take in. How? Why? When? There were a thousand and one secrets contained within this village. A thousand and one more in the bones. She simply couldn't piece it together. There was something missing, something that could push her mind over the breaking point and into terrible realization.
"Have you finally discovered a puzzle that your mind has not been able to solve?"
"No. You were a puzzle. I could not grasp you."
"But you did, my Ayame. A boy not a boy, it's as simple as that. We stood as equals that night. You understand me more than you do yourself."
"Yes, but you are...I don't even know how to word it. You are precious. More precious than life."
"Because I take life."
"A paradox."
"Yes. That is why we are bonded."
"You do not know how good it is to hear your voice again."
Ayame turned around and beheld the smiling face of the indigo eyed boy, the one who bestowed gentle cessation.
"Is it my time?" she asked hopefully.
"No. You know it is not. I couldn't help but want to speak with you again. It is so rare that I find a human mind such as yours."
"Enlightenment is difficult. Your mind shines with knowledge illumination yet taunts you with corners of dark ignorance. I still do not know all I wish to know. The secrets of this village, for one."
"But you are piecing it together. Your sub-conscious knows even if your conscious does not. From where do you think your dreams have originated?"
"Well I was hoping for once that it was divine intervention."
"You need no divine intervention. You hold all the answers within yourself."
Ayame sighed. "The world is under the impression that the grip of death is cold. Why are you so warm?"
"The fear of cessation can come in handy. It is a key factor in the balance. If all people experienced the peace you did on that night, many would end their lives for it."
"I enjoyed that night. Being in the stars with you, it was so nice. Please, tell me, is Rikimaru there now?"
"Yes. He waits for you in the stars."
"Does he know then of my treachery? How I doubt my every memory of him?"
"All he knows is his love for you."
Ayame studied the boy carefully. His indigo eyes lit the night as his translucent figure faded in and out with minute detail. One moment she could see the outline of his hands, soft hands with long tapered fingers and wide open palms. The next moment she merely saw a blur where the hands had once been. A boy not a boy. She loved and embraced him all the same.
"Do you feel emotions as humans do? Do you feel sadness when you take lives?"
"I feel sadness when they feel sadness, yet I always know they end up going where they are meant to."
Ayame turned her back to the village and looked up at the distant Mt. Shiba.
"It always comes back to these peaks."
A slow dawning was coming upon her.
"Yes Ayame. Take your thoughts further."
"Mt. Shiba. Everything returns here. A great gathering of power, both evil and pure."
"Yes Ayame. Now what is the connection to the village?" the boy urged.
"The village. A massacre. The base of the mountain. A massacre."
The realization was swift and terrible.
"The ninth unit. Men from my own clan. My own kin. Their blood soaked the earth here. Nothing left but bones."
"Yes Ayame. But why?"
"It is the mountain. It draws power. So those many years ago the great demon lord came to it and created a demon army. But that fell when the Godha clan destroyed him, leaving his minions to haunt the passes, lonely and without purpose. But the demon lord did not truly die, just as I did not die."
She took in a shuddering breath. "No creature of great power can be killed on the passes."
The boy nodded silently.
"It...It would leave the world unbalanced. Just as I was spared he was spared. He resides deep within the mountain, gaining power."
"Ayame, your mind has grown so swift. I am truly in awe of you. But do you see the connection to the village?"
"Only someone of great power or understanding can survive the passes. The villagers saw only good and evil in black and white, they could not fathom the endless paradoxes of the mountain. And so they were not worthy of even its base. That is why the demons killed them. But retribution was therefore needed. The demons were killed by my clan. But then they killed each other. That disturbed the balance!" she cried.
"No, it did not."
"I don't understand."
"You are correct in saying balance was restored with the deaths of the demons. But then there was a decision. After the battle the ninth unit stood among the village grounds and gazed at the bloody and mangled bodies. It lay in front of them. A choice; either become good or evil."
"But things do not simply fall as good or evil!"
"They do not. And they do. Every one of those men were on the brink of enlightenment. But they could not handle it. They made a conscious choice not to handle it. Instead they choose insanity. They choose to kill each other. It was simpler than bearing the understanding."
"I see now. Good and evil, with the mountain being all the lies in between."
"Yes Ayame. There's balance even when it comes down to the mountain's herbs. Kiku was blinded by these herbs. She was then cured by them. You were paralyzed by the herbs. Hinageshi has in turn created dozens of medicines from them. Balance."
"But why have I been called back?"
"You did not feel the ki of the demon lord the last time you walked the peaks because you had not yet reached enlightenment. Now you do. It was the demon lord that controlled the creatures that attacked you that night, used them as nothing more than marionettes to try to bring about your destruction and Rikimaru's."
"Because we were trespassing?"
"Because you were an enemy of Lord Mei-Oh. This demon lord was kindred to him. Because you brought down Mei-Oh it seeks to kill you. It wants retribution."
"I see now. And this demon lord? Does he have a name?"
"No. And you shall see why when you face him."
"A fight with an actual enemy. That is good. But what after? Is Lord Godha worthy of being my master?"
"He shall prove it to you. Wait for it."
Ayame reached up and felt her cheeks. They were covered with liquid.
"I have missed you. I have missed Rikimaru. Even Rei, and Wo Milu Lee. When can I join you all?"
The boy wrapped his arms around her, and though she felt no touch she felt the warmth. Ayame stared blissfully into his eyes until the world, her life, was nothing but that indigo. His voice was like the chiming of a thousand bells.
"Your swords shall swing in perfect harmony. Your spirit shall grow and your senses shall dull. First your hearing shall fade, then your sight. You will not need them. You shall be at the pinnacle. And as you strike down your last enemy you shall fall to the ground. Utter peace shall find you. I shall find you. You will smile at me, I'll smile back, and then you and I shall return to the stars. Rikimaru will be waiting, and together you will inhabit the night sky."
"Will you leave me?"
"No. I'll still be there. And in the night sky you shall have no worries."
"Will the clan survive?"
"Yes, but there will be great turmoil from within the clan. But do not worry. Others shall take your place and shall keep the balance."
"Others?"
"Yes. The balance shall be held, Ayame. Forever."
Author's note:
Yeah. There was a LOT of dialogue in this chapter. Please forgive me! But I truly did feel it necessary.
For those of you who haven't read or simply don't remember Chapter 6 of The White of Snow, the "boy who is not a boy" is actually death. I brought him back into the story for one because Gimpy reminded me of him in her review (and reminded me of the quote "boy not a boy", thanks a lot Gimpy!) and for two because I feel that a ninja would have a close relationship to death, so I just sorta manifested him into a human-like entity so that Ayame can talk with him. Again, my portrayal of death is actually based on Duo Maxwell in Gundam Wing, who refers to himself as Shinigami (god of death) and has pretty purple eyes. I love him so!
To Psy-Girl, I wouldn't worry so much about Ayame being killed as much as I would worry about what she's capable of doing! To Gimpy, thanks again for everything, and for reminding me about my "boy not a boy". Et-Chan, I'm trying my hardest to get these chapters out, but I'm at the point now where I'm getting really really scared whether you guys will like where I'm taking this story! Thanks a bunch Kendra, and to my awesome LordNalcagaiShinoto, thanks for all the info and support you give me. Oh, and today I just spotted the reviews from El-Chan and Kinneas67 on my last story, thanks a lot you guys!Next chapter could take days or years. Hopefully only days.