DARK DAY FOR ANIME - THE RIGHT DISHONOURABLE MARK A PAGE
Disclaimer: Haibane Renmei is, irrefutably, the product of Yoshitoshi ABe as well as Aureole Secret Factory and Fuji Television. It was produced and aired in 2002. Which makes it an awfully long time since there has been an anime worth watching.
----o
Silently, he climbed the rise in the middle of the field of wind vanes and looked up at the closest. Its rusting form continued to grind away, completely oblivious to his presence. For as long as he knew, this is how the world worked, and for as long as he cared, this is how it would always work. There was no escape for him. Not anymore.
He pulled out the rolled parchment from his cloak, tempted to open it up and read it. So tempting... The pleasures of being part of others opened up a gaping hole within, and the parchment shook within his hands. Just roll it open and see... what the summons beckoned...
He put the parchment back within his cloak and placed a hand against the metal of the nearest wind vane. The vibrations of the blades' movement, regular and slow within the gentle breeze of the summer day, calmed him. There was no rush, no need to feel pain, no need to be a part of others. Just deliver the parchment and be done with it. Nobody would think about him at all. He would be nothing.
It was, after all, the choice he had made for himself.
----o
An Haibane Renmei Fanfiction
Red Feathers in Old Home
(A Girl With Red Wings)
by Dark Day For Anime
Part 2
Awakening - Painting - Ketsueki
----o
Hikari had always felt uncomfortable with the early morning sunlight. She didn't really know why, but it always made her feel sad. And sad was how she felt that morning, both after waking up and seeing that morning light.
Standing in front of the mirror, she pressed the bridge of her glasses up against her face and mumbled. "You would have to be the ugliest, most stupid, most unlikeable Haibane in existence, you know that? Well, what are you going to do about it? Here's another day to change things, so use it!" And she slapped both sides of her face with her hands, as much psychologically preparing herself for the day as physically.
And so she put on her mask of happiness, brushed down the creases in the front of her blouse and stepped out of her room into the hallway. And heard the commotion. "What on earth..." She frowned, and briskly followed the noise down to the courtyard.
It was full of people, mostly ordinary townsfolk, carting crates out of Old Home. Fairly old, dusty-looking crates, as well. She recognised most of them as being employees of Fujita, the elderly carpenter and renovator. Fujita, a thin, grizzled looking man with his grey hair rapidly receding from his scalp, stood back from his more burly workers and assessed each crate as they went by, directing said worker to different stacks at the far end of the courtyard, depending on how likely it looked like the crate was about to collapse underneath its own weight.
Hikari watched this going on for a full minute before turning to see Rakka, with Kumiko from the Festivals Committee, the House Mother and several other womenfolk placing a wooden barrier around the workmens' activities. Or, more correctly, trying to place a wooden barrier as they herded several of the young feathers out of harm's way. The Twins were standing behind the small crowd of young feathers, looking rather pleased with having alerted their younger companions to current events.
"What's going on?" A soft voice whispered behind Hikari. She turned to Hana as the younger Haibane stepped alongside her. "What are all those people doing?"
"I don't know. I just got here, myself." Hikari smiled at her, shrugging. Despite the fact that Hana had grown to become one of the older feathers of Old Home, close to the same age as Kuu when she had arrived, Hana was anything but a confident and open girl. At least, as she'd grown older, she seemed to have lost a lot of her natural childhood curiosity and had become shy and solemn. Hana took hold of Hikari's sleeve, looking slightly peturbed. "Well..." Hikari took a breath. "...Should we stand around here all day, or find out what is going on?"
Hikari made her way over to where Rakka and Kumiko were now standing, looking on bemusedly as the House Mother rounded up the young feathers for class, whilst the twins did their best to help some of them escape. Hana had remained latched to Hikari's sleeve all the way, flinching at one point, when one of the workers almost dropped one of the crates nearby.
"Honestly." Kumiko, a woman in her early twenties, with shoulder-length auburn hair, thin face and figure, and a rather businesslike demeanour in her suit and dress, crossed her arms and shook her head at Rakka. "I had a feeling you were going to find some excuse to get out of helping with my work, but I didn't think it would be anything like this."
"It's not my fault. Honest." Rakka looked hurt by the comment. "I wanted to help you, really." Kumiko shook her head again and smiled, placing a hand on Rakka's head.
"You take me too seriously, you know that. I like that naivete." She chuckled, eliciting an embarassed smile from the Haibane. Rakka then noticed Hikari and waved at her.
"Ah, there you are. I was wondering what happened to you."
"I overslept." Hikari shrugged, then gestured to the workmen. "What's going on here?"
"The twins found a new cocoon."
"Eh?" Hikari's jaw almost hit the ground. Almost.
----o
She opened her eyes and stared at a floor, descending into a horrible, ruddy distance. She wanted to move, but found that she couldn't. All she could do was stare through eyes smeared with red, as the redness extended towards the solitary light, rectangular in shape. She thought she could see someone there, and tried to call out to them, but her voice would not work, her mouth would not move. She was paralysed, she realised, and what little sensation she could feel was retreating from her extremities.
She tried to call out again, and this time she heard her voice. A thin, pathetic croak, barely audible. The light grew dimmer, and she panicked.
The world changed focus. The redness was gone from her eyes, and she could feel once more. And she was running through a dark place. Running from what, she didn't know, but she wanted to escape whatever it was. Whatever the figure had been in the doorway. The figure wanted to hurt her, she knew this to be true. And so she kept running, unable to see even the slightest detail in what she was running through.
She turned and felt her feet slamming down stairs, and then light as she flew into an open space. There was green to one side, white to the other, and someone stood some distance away from her. Her feet kept moving, towards the figure, and she knew that she must reach them, or it was all going to stop. All time would stop for her, and she would be no more.
She reached out to the figure, whose hands were outstretched. The person wanted her, wanted to hold her in their warm embrace. And she wanted to be there, more than anything she could conceive, she wanted to be there. But those arms seemed so far away, and whatever it was that had been chasing her seemed to be getting ever closer.
She glanced over her shoulder, to see nothing but darkness. Darkness with flying claws of shining metal. "Don't look." A soft voice echoed through her mind. "Keep running. The darkness will never engulf you if you run." And so she did.
And within moments, she felt herself reach the figure, throwing her arms around them, almost tackling them as they flew backwards and off the ground. And she looked up into the face of the figure, its quiet, gentle smile, and watched as they floated away from danger on wings of the deepest red. And she turned to watch the darkness on the ground, writhing in pain as with each beat of those red wings, light spewed forth and killed it. Slowly, surely, the beast was destroyed. It was never, ever, going to hurt her again.
And then she opened her eyes, and found that she was alone once more.
----o
"You know, I don't know whether I should be surprised about this." Hikari put her hands on her hips as they watched the last of the crates being stacked. Kumiko turned to her.
"Really?" She shrugged. "Nothing surprises me when it comes to Haibane any more." She chuckled. "You know, when I was a little girl, one of these cocoons appeared in my bedroom closet."
Hikari opened her eyes widely. "You're kidding?"
"No." Kumiko smiled. "It was a small cocoon, nowhere near as big as the one that is in there. Grew right out of the floor. Mama and Papa weren't happy about it at all, but what can you do?" She looked around as Rakka and several of the womenfolk layed out tables covered in sandwiches and cups of tea, which the workmen, now having finished, eagerly descended upon. Hikari allowed these few moments of silence before tapping Kumiko on the shoulder. "Hmm?" The woman looked at her, questioningly.
"So what happened? With the cocoon, I mean?"
"Oh, it hatched, eventually. A young Haibane girl about my age. My family adopted her for a while. Nobody really knew what to do with her, otherwise. We even asked the Washi whether we should have given her to the other Haibane, but all he said was that she was born in our home, and it would be her choice when to leave."
"That sounds like him." Hikari shrugged. "So what happened to her, in the end?"
"We grew up together, like sisters, in a way. Its why I know so much about Haibane and what happens after they hatch... The sprouting of the wings, the halo, everything... I nursed her all by myself after her wings came out. It taught me a lot." Kumiko's eyes became distant. "She named herself Chigusa. I'm not sure why, but she said that there was a reason. She would never tell us. And we went to school together, which was a riot." She chuckled. "All the other kids were so jealous because I had a Haibane for a sister." Then her expression changed, becoming solemn. "She left us when I was fifteen. I suppose you could say she was about the same age. She became very evasive, and then, one day she was gone. We didn't know what happened, but the Washi told us that she wouldn't be coming back."
"I'm sorry..." Hikari looked at her with concern. "I didn't want you to bring up unpleasant memories."
Kumiko shrugged and wagged a finger. "Ah, you Haibane always bring out the worst in me, honestly. It doesn't matter. I knew she was sad to leave us, and probably wouldn't have if she really had a choice." She reached into the collar of her blouse and pulled out a simple green-turquoise pendant, hanging around her neck on a gold chain. "She gave this to me when I turned thirteen. It's the one memento I have of her time with us. I've always worn it whenever there is something important that I have to do. For some reason, whenever I'm wearing it, I feel more confident."
"Ah, well, that's that done." They turned as Fujita approached them, jotting down notes into a small booklet as he did so. "Yes, the room certainly needs a lot of work done to it. I also took the liberty of checking out some of the other rooms next door, and it appears as if their structural integrity is quite sound. But I wouldn't want to leave this place like this for much longer." He smiled as he pocketed his pen and notebook. "Although I'm yet to check the North Wing. I'm lead to believe that that is in a right state. We might have to seal it off permanently, or even knock most of it down. Would be a shame." He looked around at the Old Home. "Whoever designed and built this place were masters. Even with most of the cement work crumbling and rising salt damp, its still holding itself together pretty well. Almost like the place has a life and soul of its own."
"Maybe it does." Hikari smiled. "I mean, after all, even I didn't know about that storeroom until today. There are parts of the Old Home I haven't checked out in all my time here." She looked around, then frowned. "By the way, have you seen Hana. She was here only a few moments ago."
"I think all the workmen might have scared her off." Kumiko patted Hikari on the shoulder. "Don't worry, she's probably gone back to her room."
----o
Hana peered through the doorway into the storeroom. Now that it had been emptied, of both crates and people, and with the windows cleared of their boardings, the room was nowhere near as gloomy as it had been. Hana gripped the doorframe and stared at the cocoon, nervously. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she crept into the room, avoiding the pitfalls along the way.
She'd never seen a cocoon up close, before. She'd seen them, but she'd never actually been allowed near them. Even if the other Haibane now regarded her as one of the older group, she was quite sure they wouldn't let her come close enough to touch it. At least, not when they were around. And she really wanted to feel the outside of one, just once, just to see what it was like.
She approached to within arm's reach, her right hand out to touch the rough, grey-white surface, when a crashing sound behind her made her jump, pressing herself against the side of the cocoon, looking back. The wooden planks of the window boarding had been rested up against the wall, beside the doorway, and one of the planks had slipped, bringing it and two others alongside it, crashing to the floor. Hana watched as a small cloud of dust filled the air around them, and she put a hand to her chest, trying to calm her heartbeat. She laughed to herself, feeling silly to have been so nervous, when she heard a sound from the cocoon, and felt movement through its hide.
She turned to the cocoon, standing back and placing her hands against it, trying to feel for any more signs of life. There was another noise, and, more intently, she placed her ear up against it, listening.
----o
She wanted to close her eyes, again, but there was now light filtering through to the inside of her sanctuary. And she was sure, so sure, that there was someone outside, now, listening to her. She didn't know how, but she knew they were there. A small, unobtrusive presence... As nervous of her as she was of it.
"Why don't you find out?" The calm voice said to her. The voice of the figure with the red wings. "Find out who they are, Ketsueki. Find out everything about them. You want to know."
"I'm frightened." She could hear her mind's voice say, a vocalisation of her thoughts. "What if they want to hurt me?"
"And what if they don't?" The question hung in her mind for several moments. She didn't know what to do, and recoiled away from where she felt the presence was. "Are you such a coward that you would be frightened by shadows, Ketsueki?" The voice chided, but gently so.
"Ketsueki?" She placed her hands against her ears. "I... I..."
"Hello?" The voice was soft and small. Different from the voice of the figure. More unsure of itself. "Hello, can you hear me?" She turned to where the presence was and stared. The outside of her sanctuary had become translucent, as if losing its integrity, and she could see the shadow of a figure, cast across the side. Controlling her fear, she floated towards the figure, reaching out to touch the shell...
----o
Old Home stood before him, now. He'd been here before, of course. He'd seen its dilapidated, yet somehow welcoming, appearance. He'd seen many of the Haibane who had lived there, though rarely those whom resided today.
There seemed to be a lot of activity going on within, and he wondered if he should investigate. He shook the notion from his mind and entered the archway that lead to the courtyard. As quickly and as quietly as possible, he stopped by the notice board and unravelled the parchment. And he paused.
The words on the parchment seemed to swim before his eyes. Words not meant for him to read, almost encoded in a strange red ink. For a second he harboured delusions that the ink was blood, still fresh enough to smell. His stomach turned and he placed a hand against the mask that covered his face. The stench of blood always made him feel ill... But it couldn't be blood... Why would they write a summons to the Haibane in blood? It had to be ink of some sort, mixed in with some concoction that had power...
The smell was gone in a moment, almost as if it had never been there. Quickly, he pulled a pin from the notice board and placed the summons on a portion of the board that was as prominent as possible. He stood for a few moments, watching the bottom edge of the summons flutter gently in the wind, then turned and walked away.
And then he paused, turned and looked back at the notice board. A memory, clouded and indistinct, came to him. He placed a hand on his forehead and tried to recall the fragment that had passed along the edges of his mind's eye. A feather? A red feather? He seemed to remember something happening in the past, something to do with red feathers... But the memory was gone, suppressed in a blinding headache that left him dazed. He staggered away from the Old Home, gradually regaining his composure as he did so. Better not to think, or to involve yourself, in the affairs of the Haibane.
So why had the Washi sent him? He, in particular?
----o
"Hello? Can you hear me?" Said the voice from outside her sanctuary. "Are you okay in there?"
She recoiled. The shadow of the figure seemed to mirror the shadow of her dreams. She pushed herself back against the far wall of the sanctuary and held herself.
She had to run.
Had to get away.
It was going to hurt her again.
A great onrush of darkness filled her.
She opened her mouth to speak. To shout. To scream.
A swirl of fluid was all that emerged. She was trapped. This wasn't a sanctuary... This was a pit where she was trapped and would be killed. She didn't want to be here didn't want to be here didn't want to be here...
She gripped the sides of her head as her world started to tumble. The pain was returning. Agonising pain, searing through her skull until she was no longer thinking, just feeling the torture and the torment.
This place was surely hell.
Her fingers pressed deep into her flesh. Any harder and she would have started to self-mutilate. She almost wanted to do that, now. And then, within the fluid that was sustaining her, she saw smears of red. Blood, leaking from the wound. The wound that the darkness had given her. And the red was blurring her vision. She was trapped, and there was no escape. Not from the darkness... Because the darkness was going to follow her, wherever she went, and the darkness could not be sated by herself, alone...
----o
"So, are we having fun, yet?" Rakka smiled as she stepped up beside Kumiko. "Would you like to be the first one to see what is inside those crates. Might be something worth selling at the Markets Festival." She chuckled and held up the painting, which she had covered in a cloth. "Although I probably beat you to it, by accident."
"Really... You don't have to give away everything that belongs to you." Kumiko crossed her arms, turning from Rakka to Hikari and back. "You Haibane... Honestly. You're always like this."
"Just say it's our way of thanking you for all the work you've put in for us." Rakka looked down at the painting. "Though I'm sure there aren't many people who would shell out something for this."
"What is it?" Hikari stepped up alongside Rakka as the other Haibane started to unfold the cloth.
"It's a painting. Too weird and spooky to sell. I'll probably put it amongst Reki's collection when we're done here." She showed the painting to Hikari, and then to Kumiko, who raised an eyebrow.
"Red wings, eh? I seem to remember a story about that. An old wives tale, so to speak." She placed a finger on the painting, running it down lengthwise to feel the grain of the strokes. "Weird." She looked up at both Rakka and Hikari. "It's almost smooth, like there is no paint there at all. And its kind of warm."
"Well, I have been holding it under my arm for the last few minutes." Rakka chuckled.
"No, not that. When I touched it, I could feel something warm running up my finger and into my arm." She looked at the hand. "It felt kind of nice, really." She pointed at the figure in the picture. "That is what one would call an Akabane. They usually look alike. Blond hair, red eyes, red wings and..." She pointed to the halo above the head, which seemed white from some angles, and red from others. "...And a halo that shimmers white and red. Was this painting in the storeroom you just emptied?"
"Umm..." Rakka nodded. Kumiko turned back to the wing of Old Home where the cocoon was located.
"I guess it means nothing. It might just be a coicidence."
There was a crashing sound nearby, and all three turned. Fujita had returned from an inspection of the food and drink tables, with cups of tea in slightly battered metal mugs for all of them, when he had seen the picture. The tea had splashed all over his shoes and trouser cuffs, but he seemed not to notice. "That... Where did you get..." He suddenly turned and looked around at the crates. "That room. You found it in that room, didn't you?"
"Umm, yeah..." Rakka had shrunk, nervously. Hikari placed a hand on her shoulder as Kumiko remonstrated with Fujita. His performance had created a small audience from the workmen and womenfolk.
"Fujita, what is wrong with you? You're scaring Rakka." She put her hands on her hips as Fujita's nerve seemed to return.
"I'm... I'm sorry... It's just that..." He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you." He looked down at his feet. "Oh, look at what I've done. I'll have to clean this all up and..."
Now there was a huge crashing sound from within Old Home, and a cry of surprise and fear. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at each other.
"Hana..." Hikari, the first to react, brushed past Kumiko, running across the courtyard to the entrance of the wing where the cocoon was located. "That was Hana!" She shouted back to them, before they followed...
----o
There was fluid running freely across the floor, from the doorway to the storeroom. Hikari felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her belly as Rakka ran into the back of her, still clutching the painting.
"This is bad. This is really bad." Rakka said, breathlessly. "It's too soon. The cocoon hadn't hardened properly, yet. It's far too soon."
Hikari carefully splashed across to the doorway... the fluid had a soapy texture, which lead to Rakka, Kumiko, Fujita, the Twins and a few others slipping and sliding as they tried to follow her.
Within the room, the cocoon had broken wide open, almost as if it had exploded, rather than cracked open by its inhabitant. On her knees, near the broken exit of the cocoon, soaked in the fluid, was Hana, holding an older girl in her arms. The girl had long black hair, and was exceedingly thin, as if she hadn't been eating properly. She was covered in the simple white smock that all Haibane wore in the cocoon.
Hana looked up, guiltily, clutching the girl tightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it. Really..." She looked as if she were about to cry. Hikari and Kumiko ran over to her and helped her to her feet as Rakka took the cloth that had covered the painting and placed it behind the newborn's head.
"What happened?" Hikari asked Hana, gently, as curious onlookers watched the Twins clamber into the remains of the cocoon, slipping and sliding along its curved-bowl base.
"It sounded like she was in pain. I could hear it." Hana's eyes filled with tears. "I could hear her... She wanted to escape from there, so I pressed against the side of the cocoon. It was soft, but it wouldn't break. And then... And then..." She shivered and pressed herself against Hikari. "It exploded. It scared me. The next thing I knew, I was holding her. I don't know why. I don't know anything."
Hikari swallowed as Hana started to go limp, then, with all her effort, turned and lifted the girl onto her back, feeling uncomfortable as the girl pressed against her wings. She then stood and started to carry her from the storeroom, helped along by Fujita and another workman. Kumiko knelt beside Rakka, who was brushing the long black hair away from the face of the newborn.
"How is she?"
"I'm not sure. I think she's awake, but..." Rakka held up her hand. There were smears of blood on it. "I don't know. I think she's been hurt, somehow, but I can't find a wound or a scratch."
Kumiko leaned forward and carefully worked through the hairline of the newborn. "It doesn't look like she's been scratched, or anything. It might be because of her hatching early." She looked up at the shell, where the Twins were playing. Until Sa put her foot through the base, showing just how fragile the shell still was. Kumiko snapped at them, telling them to get out before they received the whipping of their lives. Unsurprisingly, both vacated the storeroom fairly quickly.
----o
The darkness was receding once more. But it was there, lingering at the back of her mind, waiting for its chance to be set free. And now there was light. True light. She could feel warmth spreading through her. She was safe. Perhaps. At least for the time being.
"Does it not feel better to be free of the fear?" The soft voice of the red-winged figure cooed in her mind. "I am always here to protect you. Nothing shall happen as long as you call for me. As long as you allow me into your life. The darkness shall never harm you."
She opened her eyes and looked up into the face of the figure. Her golden hair cascading around a face, marked with two shining rubies for eyes. Those eyes radiated a warmth that she found irresistable. She reached up to touch the face. "Do you promise? Do you promise to always protect me?" She whispered, gently, her voice still thin and reedy.
"Do you doubt me?" The figure sounded somewhat disappointed.
"No... No, that's not what I mean. I... Please don't go away. Please stay with me..." She brushed the figure's cheek. "The darkness is still out there, and it will never go away."
"The darkness fears me, more than anything. If it were to chase you here, I will destroy it, with my own hands. Wait, and you shall see..."
And the figure's face shifted and changed, her features becoming clearer. And, eventually, before her was the face of a girl some four years her senior, with light brown/auburn hair, hanging messily and wavily underneath a glowing blue-white halo. A gentle face. Kind. She continued to brush the cheek of the person, lovingly. "Please don't ever go away." She whispered, and realised she could feel the coolness of air passing down her windpipe.
"I... I'll try..." The girl said, then looked over at another figure, that of an older woman, dressed in rather severe clothes (although somewhat messed up at the moment). She felt damp and looked down at the floor, seeing a fine film of the liquid that she had been floating in not so long ago. She then looked up at the cocoon, now broken and forlorn.
"I escaped. I broke out of there. I'm not trapped in the shell anymore." She closed her eyes as her hand dropped from the girl's face. "Not trapped anymore..."
"We should take her to the guestroom." The girl said to the woman. We need to get her a change of clothes... and wash her down. Now that she is out, things are going to happen pretty quickly."
"Right." The woman said, and she stood clapping her hands together. "Everyone, out of the way. We're going to need a couple of burly men to carry this girl. Get something that could be used as a stretcher."
She opened her eyes again and looked over her protector's shoulder. She wanted to reach up and touch the wings there. Only the wings weren't red, as she had been expecting. A clean, charcoal grey, like the wings of a wild pigeon. For a moment she was confused, and frowned. "You... Your wings..."
The girl looked back at her wings, then smiled at her. "Nice, aren't they? You'll have some of your own, soon." The girl gently brushed her face. "Don't talk or move so much. Right now, what you need is rest. Sleep. For the time being, I'll take care of you."
The girl's soothing voice chased away the last vestiges of the darkness that hung around the edges of her consciousness. She smiled and nodded. "Can I ask you one thing?"
"Anything."
"What is your name? I must know. After everything, I must know..."
"My name is Rakka."
"Rak...ka." She allowed the word to roll off her tongue and into her memory. "It is nice to meet you, Rakka. I am... I am..."
"Shhhh..." Rakka hushed her. "Not now. There is much we need to talk about. But not now."
"Much we need to talk about... Yes. Much I need to talk with you about, Rakka. I am... I am... Ketsueki."
"Eh?" Rakka stared at her, but she had fallen asleep. "Ketsueki? Ketsueki, as in...?" She frowned, then looked at the bloodstain on her fingers. "Ketsueki..." She whispered. "The blooded one..."
"The blooded one is falling into your arms, only to be let go." Reki's voice echoed through her mind. The blooded one was now in her arms. Why should she let her go?
Why should she?
----o
He looked back at the Old Home, having placed some distance between himself and it. He could feel the tear in the fabric of Glie that occurred with the arrival of every new feather. This one was a strong, almost irrepairable tear... And so he turned to the Western Woods, and watched, and waited.
In summer, the wall that surrounded Glie was strong. But even the most determined evil was capable of breaching its defences. It was only a matter of time, especially for an evil a patient as this...
END OF PART 2
----o
DARK DAY FOR ANIME - THE RIGHT DISHONOURABLE MARK A PAGE
FEATHER 2.0: 24 November 2005