Yasha was dead.
The wound that replaced his eye had become infected, and in his vain attempt to protect the frozen Ashura, the infection had spread. Despite Kujaku's pleads for him to allow in a medic, no other but the black-winged guardian entered the Kekkai. After months of quiet suffering, he died.
Kujaku removed his body, giving it to a traveling priest tribe who cared not for the nature of the body's death. They cremated him, and his ashes were spread at the remains of the Yasha village, and in the Maya forest. For a time, it seemed like there was no more suffering.
Taishakuten had died as well, injuries from the battle taking his life. Prince Tenoh, parentless and in mourning over his only sibling, took the throne of Tenkai. He was a fair ruler, as was predicted. The people worshipped him and finally began to forget.
But one did not.
One, buried in a dreamless sleep suspended by the Kekkai remembered everything from the battle. Sashi, torn and lifeless among her screaming maidens. Ryuu-oh, reaching out with compassion in his last breath. Karura's fall, a flight of graceful white feathers. Sohma and Kendappa, forever in the other's arms.
And though there was no vision, the empty feeling within that symbolized Yasha's death.
"Was he happy in the end?"
Her question remained unanswered, floating around freely in the white that her world had become. A dream world. Dreams were meant to be filled with flashing colors, with either horrors or desires. But it was blank here. It was so white, so indifferent..
"He was happy."
An answer? Impossible. Was she finally loosing her mind? Most likely. How long had she been in the Kekkai? A long time. Would she ever be free? Probably not. Would she ever see Yasha again?
Each answer spurred more questions, each question another undesirable answer. She wandered here, forever trapped within the blankness of her dream world. But she still remembered.
Are they all together now? Has Karura-ou found her sister? Are Sohma and Kendappa happy together? Are father and Taishakuten together? What of Sara, and Sashi, and Kuyo? What of the warriors of the Yasha clan?
What about Yasha? And Kujaku.
"Kujaku, where is Kujaku?" She wondered.
"I am here, little puppy."
"Kujaku!" She spun, but the white was unbroken. No sign of the navy hair, the dark robes or the purple eyes. No sign of black wings. "Kujaku, where are you?"
"Here, little Ashura. Here."
She still saw nothing, but there was a comfort in hearing another voice. Someone besides the memories was here! Oh how many questions she had for him, how many things she wished to know. Where was everyone? What had happened?
"Where is Yasha?"
There was silence, and fear filled her. Had he left? Please no, not after so long!
"He is dead, little Ashura."
She knew. Of course she knew. There was no other explanation for the emptiness within her, the icy which slowly worked itself into her heart and chilled her from head to toe. But hearing it spoken, even by an invisible friend, seemed to finalize it. There was no hope. Yasha was dead. He was not coming back to her.
She was alone.
"No, you are not alone, little puppy. There is still Tenoh. He loves you, though he does not understand."
"But what of you. You're here Kujaku!"
"Yes, but I will not be here for long."
She stopped, golden eyes growing wide. "You're leaving me? Please Kujaku, don't leave me here! Please. Please don't go!"
"I'm sorry, but I must. It is the only way."
"Then kill me! Don't leave me here Kujaku. I beg you; please don't leave me here with my memories."
"If you die now Ashura, you will never see Yasha again."
Never see Yasha? She knew he was dead, but in death couldn't she see him?...But, not being able to see him again.then again, what was life without Yasha? She did not know how to live without him. She could not live without him.
"You will have to learn, Ashura. You must go out into the world and right your wrongs. It is the only way you will see Yasha again."
"And when I die, there will be no more Ashuras?"
"No, there will be more. There will always be Ashuras."
How? She knew she lacked a gender. Though everyone considered her female, she did not share the same graceful body she had seen Karura wear to the bath.
Kujaku's voice rang with laughter. "You peeped on Karura-ou! But no Ashura, you do not have a gender now. But when you awaken."
"I will be female?"
"Yes. Along your way, you must give birth."
"But I want to have Yasha's children. There will be no more Yashas."
"No, there will not be anymore Yashas. Or Sohmas."
"Then there shall be no more Ashuras."
Another chuckle rang through the whiteness. Her golden eyes blinked, wondering how Kujaku could know all this though. She knew he had abilities beyond hers, but even still.
"The time will come Ashura. You must be ready to face the world as it is now."
And then he was gone, and she was left with her blank white dream world.
~*~
Ashura continued to wander her dream world. There was nothing here, just whiteness. Within weeks - or was it months? - she grew bored with her prison cell. And then she saw it.
The wall of the dream world opened. Just opened with a swirl of tentacles from the Kekkai. And beyond it, the world.
She moved towards it, into the opening. She found herself on her knees, surrounded by red. Red, red everywhere. Like a decorative room, accepts far too dark.
Like blood.
And then she saw Kujaku, doubled over in pain with a bloody seer wand beside him. And she understood. Golden eyes widen, and she made her way towards him. No, Kujaku was just playing a joke. Hahaha, funny Kujaku. Ryuu-oh used to joke like that too. You can stop playing now.
But Kujaku did not stop his acted.
"Ku-kujaku?"
His head moved, and he looked up at her, navy eyes glassed over with pain. There was blood everywhere, so much of it, curling around the white of the Kekkai and the gray of the stone beneath. His wings fluttered weakly, and she knew.
He was going to leave her.
He was going to die.
"Ash-shura.you know what you must do."
"Kujaku!"
She watched him fall. Tears crowded her eyes, dripping down her chin onto the floor below her. Almost all evidence of the Kekkai was gone now, a distant dream of her white prison. But if she had known.known the price of freeing her.
Her arms hit the stone hard, and her tears came more frequently. The rough floor cut into her bare knees and arms, but she felt nothing. Felt nothing but Kujaku's blood when it reached her, smothering her in a rapidly cooling embrace.
She choked out one last sob, and fell to darkness.
~*~
A/N- Since it's a popular thing in the Harry Potter section of ff.net, I'm going to let you choose what happens next! All you have to do is review (laughs evilly).
Ashura wakes up alone, and must continue on.
Ashura is found by the group of wandering priests who take her in.
Ashura is found by someone, who recognizes her and brings her to Tenoh.
Or, anything else you'd like to see happen!
The wound that replaced his eye had become infected, and in his vain attempt to protect the frozen Ashura, the infection had spread. Despite Kujaku's pleads for him to allow in a medic, no other but the black-winged guardian entered the Kekkai. After months of quiet suffering, he died.
Kujaku removed his body, giving it to a traveling priest tribe who cared not for the nature of the body's death. They cremated him, and his ashes were spread at the remains of the Yasha village, and in the Maya forest. For a time, it seemed like there was no more suffering.
Taishakuten had died as well, injuries from the battle taking his life. Prince Tenoh, parentless and in mourning over his only sibling, took the throne of Tenkai. He was a fair ruler, as was predicted. The people worshipped him and finally began to forget.
But one did not.
One, buried in a dreamless sleep suspended by the Kekkai remembered everything from the battle. Sashi, torn and lifeless among her screaming maidens. Ryuu-oh, reaching out with compassion in his last breath. Karura's fall, a flight of graceful white feathers. Sohma and Kendappa, forever in the other's arms.
And though there was no vision, the empty feeling within that symbolized Yasha's death.
"Was he happy in the end?"
Her question remained unanswered, floating around freely in the white that her world had become. A dream world. Dreams were meant to be filled with flashing colors, with either horrors or desires. But it was blank here. It was so white, so indifferent..
"He was happy."
An answer? Impossible. Was she finally loosing her mind? Most likely. How long had she been in the Kekkai? A long time. Would she ever be free? Probably not. Would she ever see Yasha again?
Each answer spurred more questions, each question another undesirable answer. She wandered here, forever trapped within the blankness of her dream world. But she still remembered.
Are they all together now? Has Karura-ou found her sister? Are Sohma and Kendappa happy together? Are father and Taishakuten together? What of Sara, and Sashi, and Kuyo? What of the warriors of the Yasha clan?
What about Yasha? And Kujaku.
"Kujaku, where is Kujaku?" She wondered.
"I am here, little puppy."
"Kujaku!" She spun, but the white was unbroken. No sign of the navy hair, the dark robes or the purple eyes. No sign of black wings. "Kujaku, where are you?"
"Here, little Ashura. Here."
She still saw nothing, but there was a comfort in hearing another voice. Someone besides the memories was here! Oh how many questions she had for him, how many things she wished to know. Where was everyone? What had happened?
"Where is Yasha?"
There was silence, and fear filled her. Had he left? Please no, not after so long!
"He is dead, little Ashura."
She knew. Of course she knew. There was no other explanation for the emptiness within her, the icy which slowly worked itself into her heart and chilled her from head to toe. But hearing it spoken, even by an invisible friend, seemed to finalize it. There was no hope. Yasha was dead. He was not coming back to her.
She was alone.
"No, you are not alone, little puppy. There is still Tenoh. He loves you, though he does not understand."
"But what of you. You're here Kujaku!"
"Yes, but I will not be here for long."
She stopped, golden eyes growing wide. "You're leaving me? Please Kujaku, don't leave me here! Please. Please don't go!"
"I'm sorry, but I must. It is the only way."
"Then kill me! Don't leave me here Kujaku. I beg you; please don't leave me here with my memories."
"If you die now Ashura, you will never see Yasha again."
Never see Yasha? She knew he was dead, but in death couldn't she see him?...But, not being able to see him again.then again, what was life without Yasha? She did not know how to live without him. She could not live without him.
"You will have to learn, Ashura. You must go out into the world and right your wrongs. It is the only way you will see Yasha again."
"And when I die, there will be no more Ashuras?"
"No, there will be more. There will always be Ashuras."
How? She knew she lacked a gender. Though everyone considered her female, she did not share the same graceful body she had seen Karura wear to the bath.
Kujaku's voice rang with laughter. "You peeped on Karura-ou! But no Ashura, you do not have a gender now. But when you awaken."
"I will be female?"
"Yes. Along your way, you must give birth."
"But I want to have Yasha's children. There will be no more Yashas."
"No, there will not be anymore Yashas. Or Sohmas."
"Then there shall be no more Ashuras."
Another chuckle rang through the whiteness. Her golden eyes blinked, wondering how Kujaku could know all this though. She knew he had abilities beyond hers, but even still.
"The time will come Ashura. You must be ready to face the world as it is now."
And then he was gone, and she was left with her blank white dream world.
~*~
Ashura continued to wander her dream world. There was nothing here, just whiteness. Within weeks - or was it months? - she grew bored with her prison cell. And then she saw it.
The wall of the dream world opened. Just opened with a swirl of tentacles from the Kekkai. And beyond it, the world.
She moved towards it, into the opening. She found herself on her knees, surrounded by red. Red, red everywhere. Like a decorative room, accepts far too dark.
Like blood.
And then she saw Kujaku, doubled over in pain with a bloody seer wand beside him. And she understood. Golden eyes widen, and she made her way towards him. No, Kujaku was just playing a joke. Hahaha, funny Kujaku. Ryuu-oh used to joke like that too. You can stop playing now.
But Kujaku did not stop his acted.
"Ku-kujaku?"
His head moved, and he looked up at her, navy eyes glassed over with pain. There was blood everywhere, so much of it, curling around the white of the Kekkai and the gray of the stone beneath. His wings fluttered weakly, and she knew.
He was going to leave her.
He was going to die.
"Ash-shura.you know what you must do."
"Kujaku!"
She watched him fall. Tears crowded her eyes, dripping down her chin onto the floor below her. Almost all evidence of the Kekkai was gone now, a distant dream of her white prison. But if she had known.known the price of freeing her.
Her arms hit the stone hard, and her tears came more frequently. The rough floor cut into her bare knees and arms, but she felt nothing. Felt nothing but Kujaku's blood when it reached her, smothering her in a rapidly cooling embrace.
She choked out one last sob, and fell to darkness.
~*~
A/N- Since it's a popular thing in the Harry Potter section of ff.net, I'm going to let you choose what happens next! All you have to do is review (laughs evilly).
Ashura wakes up alone, and must continue on.
Ashura is found by the group of wandering priests who take her in.
Ashura is found by someone, who recognizes her and brings her to Tenoh.
Or, anything else you'd like to see happen!
