Ah, it's been to long. Too long since I had a chance to sit down and write. Boy, does this feel good. Salutations to you all, I hope you didn't miss me too much! I don't have too much to say, other than to tell everyone that my uncle is getting worse and we don't know how everything will turn out, but the doctor said that at this moment, only time will tell.
Anyways on to the story!!!!
Just to let you guys know, I don't own anything of the FY Universe. I also don't own Kyra, April or Amy (Gembu Shichiseishi Urumiya). If I did, they would be cleaning up my constantly messy apartment. I'm a pack rat, I can't help it… So, anyway…Thank You!
The Crystal Snowflake
As we entered the passageway, I yet again feel the presence behind me. It stops before coming into the direct sight of the door. Thanks to the wind, my sensitive nose is greeted with the smell of the wolf. I find the fact that he is following us like this to be very odd. Wolves are generally shy and gentle creatures who tend to stay away from humans unless they are hungry and desperate. May the Gods protect you if they are your prey.
As we begin to walk further inside, I notice that the wolf has yet to move any further. I decided to leave the mystery of the wolf alone until it is time to leave. Right now, our tasks are more important.
We had not walked into the temple for more than a minute, when the entryway closes. Tasuki-san brings out his tensen to act as a torch for the front of the group, while I light up yet another one of my feathers with my ki. Stretching my ki out farther, every feather that I gave to the other seishi light up as well. This also helps to keep everyone warm. Fortunately, our ragtag group doesn't have long to wait, before an obstacle comes into our path. Feeling a wave of vertigo, I'm struck by nauseating fear. Panicking, I begin to irrationally question my abilities, the love from my parents, and the abilities I posses in order to protect my Miko. Why am I even bothering to care? I'll never be as good of a fighter as Tamahome-san, Tasuki-san or any of the others. How disappointed will my parents be to know that I couldn't even protect one person? And Gyokuran? She will be so ashamed of me, that she will never talk to me again! I…I…I need to concentrate! One of the first lessons my Otou gave to me, was that rigid and irrational fear never helped anyone in this world. I have to push past my fears. I must concentrate on what I can do and not on what I cannot do. It takes me several moments to calm down. When I do, I look up to find that at one point I had dropped to my knees. Chichiri-san is also starting to break out of the spell. He murmurs, "Forgive me, Hikou" before standing up and walking over to me.
"Are you alright, no da?"
"Hai, Chichiri-san. And you?"
"I've been better, na no da. Should we helps the others no da?"
"No, you should not, human. This is a test that they must beat on their own."
Thus, the test, defeating their most troublesome fears, takes up about an hour. Surprisingly, the next one to break the spell was Miaka-san. She 'wakes up' while muttering, "I'm sorry Okaa-san." Next, comes April-san. Hard-willed, her fear of not living up to her family's expectations was drowned out by her belief in all the good she has done for others. Soi-san doesn't say a word, but I sense that she has come up with more of an understanding about her life than that of a acceptance. Mitsukake-san lifts up his head, with tears in his eyes and then, looks towards Miaka-san. I noticed the small movement he made towards her; making sure that she would never suffer the same fate of not having him there to heal her, as did Shouka-san. Nuriko-san is the one who surprises us the most.
"I…I understand, that I'm not my sister. I know now, that by wanting to keep her near me, I…I've kept her from heaven."
Nuriko-san then takes out a small knife, and before our very eyes, cuts the ever long braid from is head. Running a hand through his now short hair, I watch as his eyes grow hard while saying good-bye to the lie he has lived for the past nine years. An epiphany shines upon me, as I realize that my Grandmother was correct. He truly is the Prince of Warriors.
"Pleasant travels, Kourin. Till we meet again."
There is silence up to when Tasuki-san breaks from the spell, swearing to spend time with his father before he dies. His fear of never really knowing the silent man more powerful than that of the deepest sea. Kyra-san breaks her spell with a frustrated growl about cliff hangers and how someone named Tsukiyo always scares/annoys her to death by leaving said cliff hangers up in the air for two months. Second to last is Suboshi, crying for forgiveness to his aniki's memory for his behavior after his 'death.' I almost reach out to tell Suboshi-san the truth, however Gembusei-kun advises me against the action, stating that it will only hurt him more, in his current state, than help him. Finally, Tamahome-san wakes up, with a firm resolve to protect Miaka-san and the people of Kounan-koku come what may.
Through out all of this, Urumiya-san watches us impassively.
"You have passed the third trial, the trial of your heart. The boulder was the trial of your strength, the second was the trial of your mind. This last trial is that of the soul. Be warned, only the Miko may participate in this trial. In order to receive the Shinzahou, the rest is up to her."
We walk a little farther, when we suddenly come to a block in the road. Literally. The block of lice that filled the passage was impossible to climb. Every time that I tried to fly to the top, an unknown wind would push me down. Urumiya chose this time to inform us that Miaka-san's trial had now begun.
"You must now get past the barrier with Suzakusei-kun's power in order to face the two ghosts of the Gembu Shichiseishis: Hikitsu and Tomite."
Do you know how frustrating it is, when you suddenly realize that you know the answer, but if you tell, you lose the game? That's exactly what happened to me at this moment. The answer to the use of my Otou's power lies directly over Miaka-san's heart. Miaka-san then begins to concentrate hard, trying to tap any hidden Ki that lies dormant inside her, hoping that the sprinkled ashes of the Shi Jin Tenchi no Shou will help her solve this new riddle.
I am proud to say that without my help, my Otou's Miko figures it out. Since she is the Miko of Suzakusi-kun, it is only natural that her Ki is connected to that of my Otou's and so, she is connected to my own Ki as well. Drawing some of my Ki from my body, Miaka-san activates the true power of my feathers. Fiery rebirth, love compassion and above all, an overwhelming warmth. Taking the necklace that was given to her by Sou Yuiren off of her body, she presses the now Super Ki charged feather to the block of ice. Miraculously, the ice melts, leaving an intricate melted doorway that reminds me of the garden terraces from the foreign books that my Otou gave me on the barbarian countries on the continent of Yoropu ( Europe, and now, trust me, I do not believe that the European countries are barbaric, but keep in mind, that the Chinese found anyone that was not from the country {-ies} to be barbaric.) As we walk through the icy passage, the trap was set and closed, as a sudden blast of icy wind blasts all but Miaka-san and Urumiya-san to the now closed off beginning of the ice block. By the time either I nor Tamahome-san arrived to the passages beginning, the exit is closed off as well. Still, clearly through the ice, I can make out the figures of the two ghosts: Hikitsu-san and Tomite-san. I then access the situation. Miaka-san has to solve this trial on her own. No problem. I have faith in her and I believe that put to the test, she can and will find an answer to any dilemma. The rest of us, however, have the worse fate in store. With both openings now sealed, there is now a limited amount of time before we die of suffocation. I decided that I rather try to fight for air than sit and wait for a possible death. I place my hand against the ice and raise my body temperature. Needless to say, I must have scared everyone to death when my body went through a transformation. First, I raise my Ki up to that of a roaring fire, my body literally becoming an inferno. Seeing that this does not melt the ice, I concentrate more upon my Godly powers, to where the new clothing I was wearing disappeared. There, sanding before the shocked Seishis and Amazons, stood a true Demi-God clothed in nothing but a long green sash made from the silk of a Nyan-Nyan's hair, tied around and hanging down from my waist (Thank you, Amy. Everyone, please refer to the pic on my website that Amy has drawn.) My family name, Ou, alight on my forehead, while my seishi symbol, Chou, remains dormant. Yet still, no luck. Becoming more angered than I have since my terrible twos, I focus all my power into a true transformation, and become that of a fledging peacock, a beast God of fire and feather, intent on keeping His friends safe. With My red, brown and maroon tail plumage floating behind Me, I blast through the ice barrier just as Miaka-san tests her will against a frozen death. Tamahome and Mitsukake, there remembrance of the trial of heart still fresh in their minds, try to race forward in order to assist Miaka. Only to be shocked as one of My Ki blasts knocks them into one of the side walls. Into all heads, I spoke:
I did not just save your lives, Tamahome and Mitsukake, in order to watch the two of you throw both yours and Miaka's lives away.
"Demo…
"I was only…"
Silence. Let Miaka finish her task with out anymore distraction.
More surprised by this change in My behavior, Soi creeps up to Chichiri and asks him why I have suddenly changed. Gliding over to her, I land on her shoulder and answer:
This is a form I rarely use, due to My own belief that not being a full God, I do not deserve a God's body. However, when in this form, I am essentially all powerful. No matter how I try, I cannot talk with the level of politeness that I favor, due to the enormous amount of responsibility and position that I was truly born to. Do not be concerned; once the trial is over and I feel no more overwhelming threat to My Chichiue's (High and polite form of saying father) Miko, I shall revert back into the form that you are most accustom to.
As I finish my words, a blinding flash of light accompanied by a enormous blast of sound announce that Miaka has completed her trial and that the Shinzahou belongs in the hand of Chichiue's Miko.
Victorious, and with life and death threat gone, I revert back to the form that my friends are most accustomed to viewing, along with being fully clothed. As we travel into the chamber of the Shinzahou, I apologize to Tamahome-san and Mitsukake-san for my behavior towards them. The seem to understand and told me not to worry about it, but yet, they did not out right forgive me. It will be a while before I earn back there trust.
I watch, as with great care and awe, Miaka-san pick up the necklace that had once belong to the Gembu no Miko.
"With this, we can finally summon Suzaku!"
Oh…crap. They don't know…
"Um, excuse me, but just that alone will not be enough to summon Suzaku…"
I wince due to the echo of everyone yelling "What!" at the top of their lungs. I decided to break the news.
"Ano~Minna-san…We…we still need to retrieve the Shinzahou from the Byakko Shichiseishi, so…"
It takes them awhile to fully process the information and accept the fact that we must still travel on. We thank the two ghost and head for the exit. All the while, discussing travel plans I sigh in relief as I fail to pick up the Ki pattern of the strange wolf. Now that the wolf problem is temporarily out of the way, I decided to listen closer to our new friends.
"Well, you can count Soi and I in. Knowing Nakago, we can't let him have his way."
"Where…where Suboshi goes, I go too."
"Great t'have ya aboard, Amy! Man, I wish Kouji coulda seen ya kid! He woulda s**t his pants! Too bad he had to stay back home."
Back…home… oh no! The gift for Gyokuran! There's no time for me to go shopping! All the way back to the Humphries' home, I appear in a noticeably depressed mood. Thus, it comes to no one's surprise when I state that I wish to retire early, feigning that I had used a lot of power today and that I needed to be in tip top shape for the trip over the burning sands.
Yet again, I enter the white space, but instead of Seiryuusei-kun, my parents or my Grandmother, I find Gembusei-kun.
"You did a good job today. Your father and your Grandmother are very proud of you."
"I know."
"So, why are you so down, little one? You should be happy!"
"I…well that is…um…I…"
"You did not have a chance to go shopping for your girlfriend?"
I blush as red as my feathers' tips.
"She's…she's not my girlfriend, yet…"
Gembusei-kun gives me a know-it-all smirk.
"I see. Then, I guess you do not need that which I have just placed in your physical hand. Oh well, maybe your Miko will like it."
With a start I wake up. With my back turned away from them, I don't let my roommates know that they have waken me up. I wait until I hear the breaths become even and that there heart beats slow down, before I dare open my eyes. Opening my hand, I nearly gasp at the exquisite crystal prism, the kind meant to reflect light into a rainbow, cut into the shape of a snowflake in my hand. Meant to be a necklace, the green velvet cord feels as soft as a baby mouse's fur when brought rub against the skin of my check. Smiling, I fall back asleep, intending to thank my uncle.
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Well, there you guys go! I'm sorry that it took me so long, things have been kinda hectic this summer. I promise to have the next chapter up before labor day! Toodles!
P.S. Otaku Pitcher, you're going to be coming up soon!