-CherryBlackthourne- Hi again, all! Anyways, as you can see, I've changed my pen name. The reason? So that it doesn't look so terribly obvious… And I don't really want to be accused of writing a Mary Sue fic. -nervous laugh- Moving right along… To be honest, I haven't been working on my other fic, but that's either because I'm lazy (Yes, I'll admit it), or because life just gets in the way… or maybe a mixture of the two, ne? -giggles- On with the show!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha or any of its characters. Only Rumiko Takahashi-sama has that privilege.
Aiko and Ami looked up at their distraught mother in disbelief. Could it feasible, or even probable that their father could be dead? The sisters glanced at each other worriedly, their kendo practices forgotten.
"Mother…?" started Aiko in a shaky voice, "Is this… is this true? Is Father really…?" She trailed off, not daring to complete the question, lest it be true. To her horror, the woman slowly nodded, a faint, heartbreaking smile showing through her tears.
Ami finally couldn't take it anymore. She dashed from the scene, choking back a sob, and ran headfirst into the wooden Japanese-styled palace, blinded by the tears flooding her eyesight. A loud clattering sounded, notifying that she had slammed the sliding paper-paneled door shut behind her in her despair.
"Ami, stop! Come back!" Aiko started to run after her younger sister when she felt herself held back by her mother's soft but stern grip. Aiko turned and looked up at the stately noblewoman.
"But, mother…!" Aiko stopped as her mother shook her head. The woman knelt back down to face her eldest child.
"You must let her grieve, my dearest Ai-chan. Keep in mind how extremely close she was to him. Remember, they were nearly inseparable." The widowed noblewoman put a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder and smiled assuringly. Aiko nodded and cast her eyes downwards, unable to look her mother in the eye.
"I understand, Mother."
Inside her simplistic room, Ami climbed onto her futon, tears spilling down her face and onto the rumpled sheets. She lay herself down onto her stomach and clutched onto her pillow, burying her face into its softness. Sobs shuddered through her small body. Surely it couldn't be true. It just couldn't be! How in the seven worlds could her father, the great Lord Akitsu, the fierce tiger youkai who lead his army in battle and emerged victorious countless times… how could he be gone? How could it be?
Ami screwed her eyes shut to lessen the tears' flow, and yet the hot drops managed to leak through. In her mind, Ami flashed through her memories of her father. She replayed images of him instructing her how to properly hold a kendo stick, of him lifting her up onto his shoulders and spinning her about in the air, of him smiling down at her with his lopsided grin and ruffling her hair with one hand. Ami smiled weakly at the thought of her special nickname from him, "Ears-chan," brought about from when she was younger and always aware of her whereabouts, her small tiger ears twitching madly.
Never again… The thought suddenly ran through her young mind. I'll never see him again. He'll never smile like that at me again. He'll never call me Ears-chan again. We'll never spar again. No more midnight feasts when the cook isn't looking. No more exploring in the forests nearby… Never again… Never again…
"Stop it!" She cried out, her voice agonized. She clutched tighter to her pillow, her breathing turning ragged through clenched teeth. The thought heedlessly echoed and repeatedin her mind in a seemingly never-ending cycle.
Never again… Never again… Never again…
"No… No! Stop it…" came her whisper. "Daddy, how can you be gone…?" She slowly curled into a fetal position, still clinging tightly to her pillow, and closed her eyes, settling into an uneasy slumber, exhausted from her grief.
Aiko sat dejectedly on her futon, her knees drawn up to her chest and her hands clasped around them. Since her room was situated directly next to her younger sister's, she could hear everything that went on in there. Aiko winced, hearing her sister's sobs. She wished that she could help, but she knew that it was best to let her be. Not only was that because of her mother's warning earlier, but Aiko knew that Ami would only push her away. Ami had a way of wanting to deal with all her problems on her own. Aiko sighed and shook her head.
Now that Mother has told us that Father is dead… Gods, this just changed everything. Nothing will ever be the same. And I know that Ami… Oh, poor sister of mine. I bet a part of her died when she heard that.
Aiko scooted off the mattress and walked over to her wood-grated window. With a sigh, she sat down cross-legged onto the cushion positioned in front of the window and rested her arms onto the thin inside sill, her chin cupped in her small hand.
My Father was surely a good man, right? I mean, at least he died honorably. Ami, of all people, should be proud of him for that fact.
Aiko stared aimlessly at the setting sun through the branches of the Japanese maple planted outside. Suddenly, a cry came from the direction of Ami's room.
"Stop it!"
Aiko jumped. She quickly climbed to her feet and rushed clumsily to her door, slapping the already ajar wooden panel open. She ran over to Ami's door and slid open the door, her face riddled with worry and concern.
"Ami-chan... ?"
Aiko sighed in relief when she saw her younger sister curled up and asleep. She smiled and gently slid the door closed again, emitting a soft click. Aiko padded back to her room, carefully sliding the panel shut behind her.