Chapter 9
Hito was running through a grass field. The long yellow strands reached up high and brushed against his gi, slowing his run. There was a tree at the horizon. It was glowing...calling to him. The sky was yellow, as if the whole sun blanketed the earth.
"Hito-chan!" A young Shia held out her arms to Hito. How? This wasn't a memory. Was it a dream? He stopped and knelt down so he could be more level with her. "Come on!" Shia smiled brightly and grabbed Hito's hand. She pulled him along, forcing Hito to drastically bend as he ran behind her. The meadow disappeared, but the tree remained. Suddenly he was surrounded by houses. It was his old village.
"Hito!" His mother ran out to greet him. "You've returned! You're finally back!"
"...M-mother?" Hito's eyes widened. She was standing there before him.
"Hito, my boy!" Kenji walked up behind him and placed an arm on his shoulder. "We were waiting for you to come back to us."
"But...you're both dead." Hito couldn't believe what he was seeing. It had to be a dream. It had to be! Shia was little, around five. But she was only a year younger than him! He turned to look at the young Shia, but she was no longer little. She was the grown Shia now.
"Hito, we're back!" She latched onto his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. Hito looked back to his mother. She was smiling back at him, tears of joy running down her cheek. The tree! He had forgotten about it! Hito turned to see the glowing tree in the distance. Reclaiming his arm and shoulder, he darted off down the path.
"Hito! Where are you going?" They all shouted after him. They saw the tree and started running after him. "No! Don't go to the tree!"
"I have to..." Hito puffed, running as fast as he could. "I have to go there...I have to see it!" Feet carrying him faster than he had ever gone before, he was gaining on the tree quickly. "Almost there!"
"No!" Shia tackled him from behind, forcing him to the ground. "Please, Hito! You mustn't go to the tree!" She got off of him and reached her sleeve to her eyes. "Don't leave me again..."
"Leave you?" Sympathy grew inside Hito as he reached out to her.
"Just like you did last time! He'll take you away!" Shia sobbed.
"He? Who?" Hito asked, turning to look again at the tree. It called to him. He had to go there. Shia didn't answer him. She just stared at the ground, trying to wipe away her tears.
"Please don't leave me..." She repeated over and over. Not wanting to put up with it anymore, he turned to run to the tree. Before his second step landed, Shia grabbed his arm and pulled him back, throwing herself at his chest this time. She gripped his gi tightly and sobbed into it. "No..." She pleaded. He tried to get away, but she wouldn't let him move.
"...I'll be back." He reassured her. "I promise." Shia backed out of her grip and looked into his eyes. He looked back. Her wet eyes reflected the light as tears continued to stream down her face.
"Please...I'll be waiting for you." She turned her head away, not wanting to watch him go. Taking the chance, he ran faster and faster to the tree. Foot after foot, each house flew by until he reached a large gate. It was metal and rusted. Rain was falling hard on him and the sky was now a deep blue, almost black. Creaking was heard as one of the gates swung slowly out, then back in. Hito reached out for the gate and looked through the bars. The tree he was trying to reach was in the middle of the dirt yard behind the gate. There was a small hut-like house off to the side. Pulling on the gate, it opened noisily. The creak of it made an eerie sound, sending chills up Hito's spine. He blinked and when he eyes reopened, he was standing in front of the tree.
"Good. Now do it again." A dark voice commanded. Hito was now little. Roughly seven years old. He held a bokken in his hands and his knuckles were bleeding. Shihan appeared out of the shadows, a wicked look in his eyes. He held out his full length Japanese sword. "Did you hear me?! Come at me!" Hito ran at Shihan, throwing his arms up above and behind his head. He jumped up and swung down at Shihan. Shihan thrust his sword upward and cut Hito's bokken in half. He then turned the sword around to the dull side and slammed it into Hito's side. Hito wavered off, then staggered back to balance. He panted and winced, putting his hand on his side. He looked over at the tree. There were deep cuts in it. "Pay attention, boy!" Hito looked back at Shihan in time to catch the sword flying at his face. Grabbing it, his arms dropped as the blade slammed to the ground. "I told you, you aren't strong enough to hold it up." Confusion encircled Hito.
"What's with the tree? Why was it important?" He looked again at the tree, then to Shihan. "Shia!" He shouted, dropping his sword and turning to the gate. But the gate wasn't there. A large hill had taken his place. "But I promised..." He looked back at Shihan. "Where'd the gate go?"
"You're mind must be playing tricks on you. There was never a gate here." Shihan walked over to him and picked up the sword. "You must take care of this, Hito."
"I don't care about the damn sword!" Hito shouted, suddenly infuriated. "I have to get back to Shia! She's waiting for me! They're all waiting for me..."
"They? Who are you talking about?"
"My parents. My parents and Shia are waiting for me to come back!"
"Come back to what? Hito, your parents are dead! Shia is missing. Your village was destroyed! What is there to return to? Have you already forgotten?"
"I...No, sir..." Hito shook his head. This is what she meant...she lost him. Hito closed his eyes and slammed his fist into the ground. Cold grew around it and he opened his eyes. He was kneeling in snow. Houses surrounded him again. But it wasn't his village. Now he remembered. He had done this before. The snow around him made him shake violently as falling snow covered his head and shoulders. "Shia!" He shouted. "Shia, where are you?!" His voice echoed through the empty town. Swaying back and forth, he tried to keep consciousness. Failing, his body fell to the ground, thumping onto the snow. The white sky threw down its cold balls harder at him. He couldn't stop shivering. "I failed...I can't find you...I broke my promise..." He kept mumbling to himself. "I should've listened...why was I so stubborn? Why couldn't I have just stayed...?" Tears began to trickle down the young boys face as images of both the young and older Shia flashed in his head. "I..." He bit his lip. "I...miss you..." The boy threw his head up and called with the loudest voice he could project. "SHIA!"
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvv
"Shia!" Hito sat up straight and panted. Shia sat in front of him, worried.
"Oh, Hito, you wouldn't wake up so I had to dump water on you. I'm so sorry!" She bowed her head down. So that's why the snow in his dream actually made him cold...
"Shia..." He looked at her, then threw his arms around her, embracing her tightly. "I kept my promise, see?"
"Promise? What promise?" Shia blurted, her voice shaking. Her face reddened as she pushed Hito away. "What are you doing?!"
"What? Oh, I'm sorry." He stood up and looked around. It was morning. "...It was just a dream..." The sky was painted a light blue, holding clouds up high in the sky. "Sorry if I surprised you." His voice dropped as he slipped his leg over the roof's edge, then slid off. Shia sat stiff, biting her lip and blushing.
"Nope. Didn't surprise me at all!" She lied. "Hahaha, don't you worry about it, I'm fine!" She hadn't even realized that he was gone. "Yup...perfectly fine here!" She kept on babbling on until she saw that no one was on the other end of the conversation. "...Hito? Hey!" Trying not to rip her dress, she slowly and cautiously climbed off of the roof. "Wait for me!"
"Wait for you? Where am I going?" He asked her, stopping and turning around.
"You don't know?"
"I never know. Not when I don't have a boss."
"Oh..." She said, promising an awkward silence. It came. "So...what was that hug about?"
"Don't worry about it."
"But...come on! Why'd you hug me?" She started getting excited. Hito sighed and tried to ignore her. "Don't ignore me!"
"If you come along with me, you have to learn how to shut up, got it?" Hito spat. Shia pouted, then smiled again.
"You mean I can come along?"
"Yeah, I guess..." What was he getting himself into?
"Yay! Arigato, Hito-san! You won't regret it!" She shouted, latching onto his arm.
"Sure I won't...and there'll be none of that! Got it?" He said, pulling his arm away from her.
"Oh, sorry." She couldn't stop smiling and looking around at everything. "You're the best, Hito-san."
"No I'm not."
"Sure you are."
"Don't say that...please." He groaned.
"Fine, sheesh. It's just an expression."
"I don't care."
"Geez, someone's grumpy today."
"Shut up."
"You shut up!" Shia countered, angrily. "What's with you?"
"Nothing."
"And what's with the curt answers?"
"What with you trying to pry into my life? Leave me alone, will ya?!"
"Well you didn't seem so bad earlier. You were actually hugging me." Shia stated. He knew she'd use that against him.
"That doesn't mean anything." Hito groaned.
"Since when?"
"Since...gah, just shut up."
"You started it!"
"How did I start it?!"
"You hugged me!" Shia shouted. Hito put his hands over his face and sighed. Why had he been stupid enough to hug her?
"Look, just forget about it, okay?" He was starting to get really agitated. Seeing his parents again in the dream...that brought back so much.
"What if I don't want to forget about it?"
"Well that's not my problem."
"It sure did sound like it was your problem earlier."
"Don't talk to me."
"Why am I going with you? You're so mean!"
"It was your choice. Leave if you don't want to come."
"I should leave!"
"Who's stopping you?" Hito asked. He really did want her to just go away. Shia looked at him and pouted angrily.
"I don't know! Maybe I should just go!"
"Fine."
"Fine!" She turned and scurried off in the opposite direction. Hito blinked a long blink and continued forward. Shia sure was a lot different. She was prideful and ignorant now. Definitely not the Shia he used to know. If she didn't knew about their past, he wouldn't thought that she wasn't the same person. Well she was gone now. He had gotten rid of her.
"I really do drive everyone away..." Hito said, depressed. He then scowled, partially at himself, partially at everything else. "So what? I don't need them. The only thing I need is my sword." He continued off down the road to search for a new boss.
Hito was running through a grass field. The long yellow strands reached up high and brushed against his gi, slowing his run. There was a tree at the horizon. It was glowing...calling to him. The sky was yellow, as if the whole sun blanketed the earth.
"Hito-chan!" A young Shia held out her arms to Hito. How? This wasn't a memory. Was it a dream? He stopped and knelt down so he could be more level with her. "Come on!" Shia smiled brightly and grabbed Hito's hand. She pulled him along, forcing Hito to drastically bend as he ran behind her. The meadow disappeared, but the tree remained. Suddenly he was surrounded by houses. It was his old village.
"Hito!" His mother ran out to greet him. "You've returned! You're finally back!"
"...M-mother?" Hito's eyes widened. She was standing there before him.
"Hito, my boy!" Kenji walked up behind him and placed an arm on his shoulder. "We were waiting for you to come back to us."
"But...you're both dead." Hito couldn't believe what he was seeing. It had to be a dream. It had to be! Shia was little, around five. But she was only a year younger than him! He turned to look at the young Shia, but she was no longer little. She was the grown Shia now.
"Hito, we're back!" She latched onto his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. Hito looked back to his mother. She was smiling back at him, tears of joy running down her cheek. The tree! He had forgotten about it! Hito turned to see the glowing tree in the distance. Reclaiming his arm and shoulder, he darted off down the path.
"Hito! Where are you going?" They all shouted after him. They saw the tree and started running after him. "No! Don't go to the tree!"
"I have to..." Hito puffed, running as fast as he could. "I have to go there...I have to see it!" Feet carrying him faster than he had ever gone before, he was gaining on the tree quickly. "Almost there!"
"No!" Shia tackled him from behind, forcing him to the ground. "Please, Hito! You mustn't go to the tree!" She got off of him and reached her sleeve to her eyes. "Don't leave me again..."
"Leave you?" Sympathy grew inside Hito as he reached out to her.
"Just like you did last time! He'll take you away!" Shia sobbed.
"He? Who?" Hito asked, turning to look again at the tree. It called to him. He had to go there. Shia didn't answer him. She just stared at the ground, trying to wipe away her tears.
"Please don't leave me..." She repeated over and over. Not wanting to put up with it anymore, he turned to run to the tree. Before his second step landed, Shia grabbed his arm and pulled him back, throwing herself at his chest this time. She gripped his gi tightly and sobbed into it. "No..." She pleaded. He tried to get away, but she wouldn't let him move.
"...I'll be back." He reassured her. "I promise." Shia backed out of her grip and looked into his eyes. He looked back. Her wet eyes reflected the light as tears continued to stream down her face.
"Please...I'll be waiting for you." She turned her head away, not wanting to watch him go. Taking the chance, he ran faster and faster to the tree. Foot after foot, each house flew by until he reached a large gate. It was metal and rusted. Rain was falling hard on him and the sky was now a deep blue, almost black. Creaking was heard as one of the gates swung slowly out, then back in. Hito reached out for the gate and looked through the bars. The tree he was trying to reach was in the middle of the dirt yard behind the gate. There was a small hut-like house off to the side. Pulling on the gate, it opened noisily. The creak of it made an eerie sound, sending chills up Hito's spine. He blinked and when he eyes reopened, he was standing in front of the tree.
"Good. Now do it again." A dark voice commanded. Hito was now little. Roughly seven years old. He held a bokken in his hands and his knuckles were bleeding. Shihan appeared out of the shadows, a wicked look in his eyes. He held out his full length Japanese sword. "Did you hear me?! Come at me!" Hito ran at Shihan, throwing his arms up above and behind his head. He jumped up and swung down at Shihan. Shihan thrust his sword upward and cut Hito's bokken in half. He then turned the sword around to the dull side and slammed it into Hito's side. Hito wavered off, then staggered back to balance. He panted and winced, putting his hand on his side. He looked over at the tree. There were deep cuts in it. "Pay attention, boy!" Hito looked back at Shihan in time to catch the sword flying at his face. Grabbing it, his arms dropped as the blade slammed to the ground. "I told you, you aren't strong enough to hold it up." Confusion encircled Hito.
"What's with the tree? Why was it important?" He looked again at the tree, then to Shihan. "Shia!" He shouted, dropping his sword and turning to the gate. But the gate wasn't there. A large hill had taken his place. "But I promised..." He looked back at Shihan. "Where'd the gate go?"
"You're mind must be playing tricks on you. There was never a gate here." Shihan walked over to him and picked up the sword. "You must take care of this, Hito."
"I don't care about the damn sword!" Hito shouted, suddenly infuriated. "I have to get back to Shia! She's waiting for me! They're all waiting for me..."
"They? Who are you talking about?"
"My parents. My parents and Shia are waiting for me to come back!"
"Come back to what? Hito, your parents are dead! Shia is missing. Your village was destroyed! What is there to return to? Have you already forgotten?"
"I...No, sir..." Hito shook his head. This is what she meant...she lost him. Hito closed his eyes and slammed his fist into the ground. Cold grew around it and he opened his eyes. He was kneeling in snow. Houses surrounded him again. But it wasn't his village. Now he remembered. He had done this before. The snow around him made him shake violently as falling snow covered his head and shoulders. "Shia!" He shouted. "Shia, where are you?!" His voice echoed through the empty town. Swaying back and forth, he tried to keep consciousness. Failing, his body fell to the ground, thumping onto the snow. The white sky threw down its cold balls harder at him. He couldn't stop shivering. "I failed...I can't find you...I broke my promise..." He kept mumbling to himself. "I should've listened...why was I so stubborn? Why couldn't I have just stayed...?" Tears began to trickle down the young boys face as images of both the young and older Shia flashed in his head. "I..." He bit his lip. "I...miss you..." The boy threw his head up and called with the loudest voice he could project. "SHIA!"
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvv
"Shia!" Hito sat up straight and panted. Shia sat in front of him, worried.
"Oh, Hito, you wouldn't wake up so I had to dump water on you. I'm so sorry!" She bowed her head down. So that's why the snow in his dream actually made him cold...
"Shia..." He looked at her, then threw his arms around her, embracing her tightly. "I kept my promise, see?"
"Promise? What promise?" Shia blurted, her voice shaking. Her face reddened as she pushed Hito away. "What are you doing?!"
"What? Oh, I'm sorry." He stood up and looked around. It was morning. "...It was just a dream..." The sky was painted a light blue, holding clouds up high in the sky. "Sorry if I surprised you." His voice dropped as he slipped his leg over the roof's edge, then slid off. Shia sat stiff, biting her lip and blushing.
"Nope. Didn't surprise me at all!" She lied. "Hahaha, don't you worry about it, I'm fine!" She hadn't even realized that he was gone. "Yup...perfectly fine here!" She kept on babbling on until she saw that no one was on the other end of the conversation. "...Hito? Hey!" Trying not to rip her dress, she slowly and cautiously climbed off of the roof. "Wait for me!"
"Wait for you? Where am I going?" He asked her, stopping and turning around.
"You don't know?"
"I never know. Not when I don't have a boss."
"Oh..." She said, promising an awkward silence. It came. "So...what was that hug about?"
"Don't worry about it."
"But...come on! Why'd you hug me?" She started getting excited. Hito sighed and tried to ignore her. "Don't ignore me!"
"If you come along with me, you have to learn how to shut up, got it?" Hito spat. Shia pouted, then smiled again.
"You mean I can come along?"
"Yeah, I guess..." What was he getting himself into?
"Yay! Arigato, Hito-san! You won't regret it!" She shouted, latching onto his arm.
"Sure I won't...and there'll be none of that! Got it?" He said, pulling his arm away from her.
"Oh, sorry." She couldn't stop smiling and looking around at everything. "You're the best, Hito-san."
"No I'm not."
"Sure you are."
"Don't say that...please." He groaned.
"Fine, sheesh. It's just an expression."
"I don't care."
"Geez, someone's grumpy today."
"Shut up."
"You shut up!" Shia countered, angrily. "What's with you?"
"Nothing."
"And what's with the curt answers?"
"What with you trying to pry into my life? Leave me alone, will ya?!"
"Well you didn't seem so bad earlier. You were actually hugging me." Shia stated. He knew she'd use that against him.
"That doesn't mean anything." Hito groaned.
"Since when?"
"Since...gah, just shut up."
"You started it!"
"How did I start it?!"
"You hugged me!" Shia shouted. Hito put his hands over his face and sighed. Why had he been stupid enough to hug her?
"Look, just forget about it, okay?" He was starting to get really agitated. Seeing his parents again in the dream...that brought back so much.
"What if I don't want to forget about it?"
"Well that's not my problem."
"It sure did sound like it was your problem earlier."
"Don't talk to me."
"Why am I going with you? You're so mean!"
"It was your choice. Leave if you don't want to come."
"I should leave!"
"Who's stopping you?" Hito asked. He really did want her to just go away. Shia looked at him and pouted angrily.
"I don't know! Maybe I should just go!"
"Fine."
"Fine!" She turned and scurried off in the opposite direction. Hito blinked a long blink and continued forward. Shia sure was a lot different. She was prideful and ignorant now. Definitely not the Shia he used to know. If she didn't knew about their past, he wouldn't thought that she wasn't the same person. Well she was gone now. He had gotten rid of her.
"I really do drive everyone away..." Hito said, depressed. He then scowled, partially at himself, partially at everything else. "So what? I don't need them. The only thing I need is my sword." He continued off down the road to search for a new boss.