Chapter 5: Kioku no ano Konomae no

(Memories of the Past)

Meanwhile back in Okinawa, Akina had done her best to repress her daughter's rapidly occurring dreams. Which had worked for a while, but it had been over a month since she had contacted the monk who lived at the temple in Sendai and still had yet to hear from them. And when night inevitably came, there was only so much that she could do...

"This madness must be stopped!!" the young woman cried as a kanji lit up on her forehead. Slowly she lifted her arms into the air above her head and a brilliant sphere of silver colored energy appeared in between her hands. "In the name of the Sacred Guardians who came before me, I banish you to the pit you came from. Be gone evil spirit, and torment this land no more!!" she cried as she fired the ball of energy at the tornado.

There was a huge explosion as the tornado disappeared into the sky and an enormous black dragon appeared. The dragon roared and hissed as it reared its head back and threw an incredibly large ball of fire at the young woman, who could only scream as she threw her arms up in front of her face and waited for the flames to engulf her.

There was a knock at the door, as Akina sat in the kitchen drinking herbal tea. Puzzled she got up out of her chair and slowly went to the front door. She hesitated for a moment before opening the door.

"My name is Anubis," the stranger said as he took his hood off and extended his hand toward Akina. "Is this the home of Chiclaria Yuchinuba?"

"Yes it is, but I'm afraid she's asleep right now." Akina said as she stepped back and let him enter her home.

"Actually, I was hoping to observe her during her sleep." Anubis said as he glanced towards her room. "That is if it's alright with you."

"If it will help you out in any way, please go ahead." Akina said as she gestured towards Chiclaria's door.

As Anubis entered the room, he saw a girl lying on a bed across the room with her back turned towards him. Slowly he made his way across the room, being very careful not to disturb the sleeping girl. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached her bedside. As he stood there, he heard whimpers and small moans coming from the girl. Gently he put his hand on her forehead and began to concentrate.

As she stood there waiting for the attack, everything suddenly stopped as wisps of black slowly seeped in until she was surrounded by it. Then a hooded figure surrounded by light appeared and slowly began walking toward her.

"Chiclaria Yuchinuba, it is an honor to finally meet you in person."

"I don't understand. What happened? Why am I still here?"

"Allow me to explain," the figure said calmly as he reached up and slowly pulled his hood off. "My name is Anubis and I am the high priest of the 'Rising Phoenix' temple. I am the one who stopped your dream and with proper training, I can help you harness your powers."

"Powers? What do you mean?" Chiclaria asked in confusion.

"Surely by now you must realize that you are not like other people. These dreams you're witnessing are visions of the future, visions of things yet to come, and unless I'm wrong new powers will soon emerge...powers that will surely be beyond your control. But I can help you control them and I can help you solve the mystery of your past...I can help you find out who really are."