Shirin No Kami
Chapter 3: Haven for the Spirits
A serene forest, undisturbed and glittering with the bright daylight of the sunshine. The trees all stand tall with growing moss on the trunks. This serene forest is surrounded by the beautiful pristine waters which make this forest healthy and undisturbed. It seems that nobody lives in this harmonic forest. This forest, when viewed from above, is protected by mountains, forests, and lakes. The animals within this forest live in peace without the fear of humans coming to take their home away from them.
Suddenly, a light humming noise is heard throughout the quiet chirping of the birds, and footsteps crushing the soft grass below echoed. A young woman, auburn hair streaks and a big smile on her face interrupted the harmony of the forest creatures singing. She was wearing a long brown skirt, slit on the side, with a sleeveless white shirt that showed a bit of her belly. She wore a brown vest around her sleeveless shirt and her hair donned flowers holding her hair in different places.
She hummed a tune of bliss, a rhapsody that made the forest soothed and sustained. As she walked by the many creatures which inhabited the forest, they all seemed to feel her kindness and tenderness and didn't attack her. Even the most ferocious of beasts such as the foxes and wolves hid inside their caves and continued to sleep despite smelling her warm flowery scent. Beside the young woman was a transparent body, emitting a pink tint around her body. She looked like a little girl with curls and frills in her hair, and wearing a dress which resembled flower petals.
She seemed to be following the young woman because she was carrying a basket full of flowers which gave light glitter as she walked past the forest. "Today is very calm," the girl said, "What do you think Hua?" The pink girl beside her nodded her head. "It's a perfect day for collecting flowers," said the girl, "Nothing seems to be wrong today…" Suddenly, the girl heard a loud splash and thump.
"What was that?" asked the girl, putting down her basket of flowers and running away. The pink aura girl who followed the auburn haired girl disappeared into the air. The girl ran, trying to follow the sound of the large splash and thump. As she passed by the trees, she greeted imaginary transparent bodies who faded in when she ran past their site. Running past the trees, she saw many transparent green bodied girls appearing and greeting her and pointing the way where the sound was.
The birds chirped in the trees, accompanied by white little bodies emitted the sound of chirping. The girl finally saw something in view, she ran faster, stopping when she was close to the man's head. She knelt down, seeing his chestnut brown hair and tattered peasant clothes, she turned him around so she could see his face. "A human coming from the river?" she asked. His eyes were closed, but in his hands he had two different objects that he kept his grip on.
On his left hand, there was a change of green clothes. On his right hand, there was a shell tied to a string, emitting a white glow. The girl looked at the shell and strangely stared at it. "This human came from the river, he landed here, but how?" She felt his forehead to see if he was sick. She closed her eyes and put both her hands on his cheeks, feeling for something. "He's good," she said to herself, "He will be alright." The girl took his clothes and the shell out of his hands. She put the shell over her neck like a necklace to hold it there, and she took his clothes and set them aside in the grass.
Taking his arm, she tried to lift him up and help him on his feet. "Boy, you're heavy!" she grunted trying to pick him up. Suddenly, out of the ground, popped out a little girl with long pigtails who emitted a pink aura; smiling, she ran into the auburn haired girl's body, emitting her with a light pink glow. "Thank you Chikara," she stated, "Now the only thing left is to explain this to Kero-chan and Yue-san."
Darkness grabbed Syaoran by the hand, tugging him deeper into the dark waters. "I must survive," thought Syaoran, "I can't die, not like this." Syaoran was pulled in deeper into the dark murky waters. Suddenly, his hand started to glow with a white light. His eyes were closed and couldn't see what he was doing. But somehow, his body began to feel lighter than air and floated up into the sky.
Syaoran gasped for air as he reached the surface, the current continued to pull him closer into a dark abyss. "I cannot die," he said, "I need to swim back to shore!" Syaoran stroked with what he felt was the right way to go, but suddenly, the wind blew him off course. "No!" Syaoran shouted, "I must…swim…back…" Syaoran fell asleep as he passed out floating on the water.
"Am I dead?" Syaoran asked himself as he envisioned his body shrouded in darkness, "Did the torrential waters take my life?" Syaoran with his eyes still closed imagined himself getting up out of the darkness. "Only one way to find out…" Syaoran opened his eyes and was met by a blinding light which woke him up.
Syaoran bolted out of his deep slumber, reaching for the roof of the log cabin he was in. Syaoran looked around, sweating from the near death experience he had just witnessed. Syaoran put his head over his palm, trying to think deeply about the event that occurred until now. "Where am I?" he thought as he looked around the log cabin he was in.
Syaoran was in a bed, covered by a thick animal skin blanket that kept him warm. He had been stripped out of all his old peasant clothes, and his body was white from soaking all the salt water in the ocean. "How did I swim back to shore?" he asked himself, "I could have sworn that I would have drowned out there. How did I get back to shore, much more how did I end up back here?" Syaoran got out of bed, covering his lower part with the blanket and walking to a table where flowers were in a vase. "Was I dreaming this? Did Granny and Amano die? Is the village burned?"
Syaoran looked out the window of the log cabin; the glass was clean and provided an excellent view to the outside. He looked out the window and saw trees and beautiful grass everywhere. He looked above the trees, but sunlight was blocked out by the canopy. Ahead of the view was a big pristine pool, shining like crystals had been thrown into it.
"You're awake?" a voice said behind Syaoran. Syaoran quickly turned around and looked at the person who had just entered the door. Immediately, Syaoran's eyes were stolen from her beauty. Her auburn hair, her emerald eyes, her pouty cheeks, and her small mouth. Syaoran turned around fully, holding up the blanket covering his bottom and was trapped in total awe by her beauty. The girl in response blushed as he continued to stare. The girl not only blushed because he was blushing, but because she also thought that the boy who was standing right in front of her was incredibly handsome.
"Ummmm…" she said trying to remain calm, "I…errr…." The girl's heart was pumping so fast, faster than anything she's ever felt before. Syaoran's heart was pumping fast as well, but at least he managed to respond to her. "My name is Syaoran!" he said as quickly and harmlessly as possible. The girl began to get woozy from continuing to stare at him and she silently turned around and tried to reply back. "I'm Sakura," she said stuttering, "May you please wear some clothes, your stick is showing!" Syaoran looked at the back of her head, wondering what she meant by, "your stick is showing"?
Syaoran looked down and panicked, "S-s-s-sorry!" he said embarrassed. Sakura kept cool and tried not to stare anymore, "That's ok!" She said as she waited for Syaoran to get dressed. Syaoran paced back and forth while holding the towel in its place and looking for his clothes. "They are on the chair," Sakura responded as she sensed he could not find them. "Yes thank you!" Syaoran replied. As Syaoran searched around frantically for his clothes, Sakura gave a light smile.
Syaoran and Sakura sat across from each other on the rug which lay on the floor. Syaoran, wearing a new set of clothes, similar to a robe, crossed his legs, looking down into his lap. Sakura worriedly examined his sad face, seeing him in despair. "You are not from around here, I presume," Sakura turned around and slid a dish with a root on it, "You must be hungry, this is tarot root, it's the only thing we have that might be edible for you." Syaoran shot his head up at Sakura and fixated his gaze after snapping out of his trance. "Oh thank you," he replied, "Thank you so much."
Sakura's appearance and etiquette contrasted Syaoran's. Syaoran wearing a nice looking blue with white trim robe and sitting in a steady cross legged Indian stance was very different from Sakura's wild nature girl image and her hugging her knees close to her chest. "Where are you from?" she asked worriedly, "Are you alone? Do you have people to care for you?" Syaoran began to lightly chew on the tarot root, feeling the bitter saliva in his mouth collecting to neutralizing the sour taste. Syaoran however, was used to eating even more bitter foods, so this was actually good to his taste buds. "No!" he replied, "I don't know who my family is, much less, where I am from."
Sakura felt sympathy for Syaoran and got up from the ground. She approached Syaoran who was looking up and seeing her approach him with a hand held out. "Do you wish to follow me?" Syaoran looked up seeing her welcoming pretty face, "I am going to inspect the forest before night falls. Do you wish to accompany me and we'll talk more about home?" Syaoran finished the rest of his root and took her hand, "Sure." The warm feeling of her hand gave Syaoran the bit of comfort that everything would be alright. Sakura snugly put her hand and wrapped it around her doorknob. But coincidentally, another hand from the other side turned it one second sooner and slowly opened the door. Sakura frantically looked around the room for something. "Quick hide!" as she threw Syaoran aside and picked up a blanket and threw it over him. The door opened all the way as Sakura was fixing the blanket over Syaoran, making probably the most obvious attempt to hide a human shaped object.
Slowly, the person (or thing) opening the door got on all fours after stumbling to push the door open. "Sakura!" a yellow-colored lion with wings appeared at the door, "I'm back and...what are you doing?" Sakura put her hands behind her back and nervously giggled. "Oh Kero-chan, your back," she replied, "Did it really take you that fast to monitor things before sunset?" Kero, the lion-like creature, stood on his two hind legs and began to brag. "Well Sakura, you know I am the spirit of the sun. Without me, there could be no sunset or sunrise. And even though I spent all my life with Yue raising you as one of my own, don't you think that I have gotten any slower." Kero bragged on and on with his eyes closed, "Am I not the coolest spirit of the sun there is?" Sakura whispered something in thin air and allowed Kero's keen sense of hearing to pick it up. "Sakura, who are you talking to?" Sakura nervously turned her face to face him again, "Heh heh it's nothing!" she replied.
"You're hiding something," Kero said suspiciously, "And I bet I know what it is." Sakura began to sweat profusely in the forehead, "Please don't find out, please don't find out!" "You're hiding that special tea aren't you? I can smell the flowers from here." Kero picked his head up and started to sniff the air, "Ahhhh, those special flowers you picked with the flower spirit, and that faint scent of human aroma." Kero suddenly realized it, "Human aroma!? Sakura, WHAT ARE YOU HIDING!?" Sakura frantically tried to fumble for an answer, "You see, the human aroma comes from me, and I'm not hiding anything!" Kero gave a perplexed look at Sakura, "First of all you don't smell like a human, that's why you wear the flower to cover your scent. Second of all, even so if you smelled like a human, you wouldn't eat tarot root because you know that gives you gas problems." Syaoran immediately turned red under the blanket. "Last of all, I see that obvious attempt to hide something behind you, NOW STEP ASIDE!" Kero ran towards her in full speed. Sakura automatically dodged him to avoid the full brunt of the attack. Kero got his teeth to grab the sheets and uncovered Syaoran turning red from the tarot root. "Aha! I was right, a human!"
Kero angrily gave a vicious roar and clenched his teeth to show Syaoran his pearly whites. Syaoran quickly ducked for cover before he could get mauled by a ferocious lion. In a sense, he was protecting his young which was Sakura. "Stop it now Kero-chan!" Sakura grabbed Kero by the tail before he could bite off a chunk of Syaoran's hair, "Stop it now Kero-chan, he's ok!" Kero turned around showing his teeth to Sakura, "How could you Sakura!" Kero yelled, "You know humans are forbidden in 'Spirit Forest'." Sakura twiddled her thumbs a bit before answering Kero, "I know but…" Sakura began to kick her feet lightly on the ground before she started to slowly tear up, "…but he landed on the stream right next to the bank. And….and…" Sakura wailed as two fake streams of water ran along her cheeks. Kero gave a sigh of embarrassment and put his paw over his eyes. "Aw geez…" Kero said, "…you know I can't stand you and your puppy dog attempts." Sakura slowly sniffed her sadness away, "So you won't kill him?" Sakura asked. Kero gave another sigh, "No…" Kero replied, and almost instantaneously, Sakura cheered for joy, "BUT! If you harm 'Spirit Forest' or tell anyone of this place, I will kill you!" Syaoran nodded, "Understood!"
Suddenly, another illuminating figure appeared at the doorway with a peeved look on his face. His silver shining hair and white clothes reflected off the moon and into the room. "A HUMAN!? HERE!?" The man magically produced a bow and with the single motion of his arm pulling back, he created an arrow, poised and ready to strike at its target. "No don't!" Kero jumped at his arm and knocked the man down. The arrow shot out of his bow and bounced off the walls of the cabin before stopping centimeters before Syaoran's face. Sakura held down the illuminating man. "Yue-san!" Sakura begged, "Please this man is not our enemy, let him stay for a while." Yue tried to break out of the pin put by both Kero and Sakura. "Lemme go guys!" he struggled, "No man is allowed into 'Spirit Forest' territory, NO MAN!" Kero roared while on top of Yue, "Listen, I don't like it as much as you but he hasn't provoked the forest or Sakura, our laws forbid us to kill him." Yue struggled some more, this time lifting Sakura and Kero a little bit off of him, "I don't care, his people, they killed my brethren they all deserve to die!" "But does that mean you have to stoop to that level?" Sakura reasoned and Yue stopped struggling. "Ok," he accepted, "but first I need to ask him a few questions, so please get off of me."
Sakura and Kero slowly got off of Yue. "You human don't deserve to be passed judgment by me, so you will speak to my lesser known half." Yue's wings wrapped around his body, Syaoran marveled at how the room immediately turned into daylight as soon as the wings began to glow a bright white light. Slowly, Yue unwrapped himself of his wings and his form changed from a long haired stern looking man, to a short-haired spectacle-wearing man. "I am Yukito!" he gave a smile, "I know you aren't going to mean us any harm, but my other half Yue is very worried about your intentions. So please tell me, what are your motives for entering 'Spirit Forest'?" Syaoran tried to deeply think about his answer to the question, but had none to give him. Yukito patiently asked again, "Please I want to know why you so eagerly searched for this land." "I have no reason," he replied as he looked to his side, "I didn't want to come here at all. I somehow cheated death and landed on your banks, I had no intention of arriving here in the first place." Sakura worriedly gave him a stare and asked out of curiosity, "Then why Syaoran-kun? Why go without a destination in mind?" Syaoran sat down on the bed and began to explain his story to all the people in the cabin.
"One year ago, I was rescued by people who lived on an island not to far from here called Daito Island. It was here that I befriended the villagers; they took me in as one of their own. For one year, I lived among them, only to find out that the village chief soon gave me a clue to where I originate from, but it would require me to leave them forever." Syaoran took a break as his eyes began to swell with tears, "But as I was leaving, greedy landlords wished to take the island, they imprisoned some villagers and killed my two trusted friends among the village. I managed to leave just barely, but I assume that they shot my boat and I almost drowned until I landed upon your banks. That is my story." Sakura sadly hung her head low, Kero looked away wincing at the images of his experiences, and Yukito gave a sad face. "That's terrible!" Yukito said, "But coming to 'Spirit Forest' is not an easy task, the only way you could have entered the forest is either if you were a wayward spirit or received a pendant from the--" "Is this what you are referring to?" Syaoran stuck his hand out and showed him the shell necklace in his hands, "Granny, the village chief gave this to me before my departure, she stated that it would save me, and I assume that's what it did."
Yukito magically gained his wings again and wrapped them around himself. The room once again gave a luminous glow as he transformed into Yue. "Your story is well told stranger," Yue replied, "But even so, how can I truly believe your tale?" Sakura put her hand on Yue's shoulder and defended Syaoran. "I know," Sakura replied, "Before I brought Syaoran-kun in, I made she his mind was good, but…" "But what!?" Yue frantically asked. "But…his mind was filled with confusion and disarray, even if we don't know if his intentions are good, we already know they aren't bad." "Hmmm…" Yue replied as he gave Syaoran a merciless look, "The only thing you are wrong about Daito Island is that it has been completely taken over." Syaoran shot his head up, "What!?" "Daito Island, none of the native survivors are there any longer, they have made friends with the earth." "How do you know that?" Syaoran bolted up as he clenched his fist, "It can't be. Daito Island is…" "That's right!" Kero replied, "It's not Daito Island anymore." Syaoran solemnly walked to the window looking out. "How do you know this?" "The 'Spirit Tree' told them!" "Sakura!!!" Yue yelled at her to shut her up, "Never tell any strangers of the 'Spirit Tree'."
"What is this 'Spirit Tree'?" Syaoran asked. Yue turned around not intending to answer the question. Instead, Kero blurted his mouth, "The 'Spirit Tree' is the mother of all trees, she connects through the other forests and her roots spread out to hear of news from spirits and nature from all around the world. The 'Spirit Tree' is said to be the protector of the spirits in this world, no tree, no spirits, no life!" Syaoran's fist was shaking, impatient to make a request that would not be accepted, "Then, if this 'Spirit Tree' knows so much, then take me to see her, if I speak with her, maybe she can tell me where I originate from. Only knowing the truth about me will put the spirits of my dead friends at ease." For a moment, there was utter silence, "Well!" Syaoran yelled, "Take me to the 'Spirit Tree' please. I need to know…" Syaoran hung his head down expecting someone to give a damn. But Yue coldly gave his authoritive answer, "Sakura," he commanded as she stepped up to listen to what he had to say, "Take the stranger away to the town over the mountains." "Is that where the 'Spirit Tree' is?" he asked. "NO!" Yue quickly responded, "You have no right to see the 'Spirit Tree' with your petty problems. If you wish to seek out who you are, find out in the next town and never return here again."
"Why Yue-san?" Sakura snapped, "Why can't Syaoran-kun see mother?" Syaoran turned his head almost instantly, "Mother?" Yue began to walk out of the door with Kero, ignoring Sakura's request. "I want the human out of 'Spirit Forest' by tomorrow, that is an order," Yue turned around to give his last parting words to Syaoran, "Well stranger, welcome to the forests of spirits. Welcome to 'Shirin no Kami,' and good-bye."
