The celestial prophecy states the half-blooded boy will save the time maiden from the human world - but can Kirai wait for her hero or must she escape her dreaded life on her own?
Tears swept her away and memories possessed her. Blood. Loss. Sorrow. Nothing but the death and hatred that constantly consumed her. How she was part celestial maiden, she did not know. Only that her mother was a heavenly being and her father was a greedy human pig who stole her mother's celestial robes and hid them, chaining her to the confining boundaries of Earth. She woke up. Kirai. Hate. Her name was Hate. Kirai glowered at the wall, willing its ugly wooden colors to disappear and for her entire world to be consumed in black. To just disappear and be gone into the night, nothingness. Infinity.
The rooster of the village crowed, a pealing noise that permeated Kirai's sensitive ears. She lifted a hand to her slightly pointed ears, stretching in her small bed. The chains on her leg crackled and clanked as she moved.
"Maiden, Maiden? Have ye awakened yet?" a tender voice came through the house, bouncing against the walls and waking Kirai even more.
"Hn," was Kirai's only response, pushing her reddish-brown hair behind her small ears, its length only just below her ears and sticking out in all sorts of directions.
"Maiden, I am here to do as always, don't make it harder than it truly has to be." the girl said as she slid into the room with a tray of fresh food.
Kirai did not reply, only intensified her glare, penetrating the younger girls flesh and burning deep through her core. The girl shivered, and Kirai warily glanced at the exit, but knew her bonds were not long enough and she had not the time enough to break the spell that contained her. The other girl dropped off the tray dramatically and Kirai growled.
"Hmph, we have visitors here for the night so you had better be better behaved when they come to visit you." the girl pouted and stomped off.
"You know I ALWAYS am," Kirai replied smugly, glaring at the girls back.
Kirai sat there, looking around her. She searched for a new kimono to change into hoping that there would indeed be one. She found one, black with a red dragon twirling around the fringes and the obi was the same. She quickly changed into it, dragging her fingers through her short hair and then searching for her 'family heirloom', a hair pin belonging to her mother. She stuck it in her hair and sat prim and fancy on her bed for a few moments.
Kirai huffed and stretched out her legs in front of her. She yawned and grabbed a random book to re-read, considering that she had read every book about four thousand times already, and lay back.
"Upon a lunar night, the celestial maidens will dance their greetings to the time maiden upon the highest mountain in these lands." Kirai murmured to herself, deep blood red orbs scorching the edge of the page she read. The celestial prophecy unearthed much anger and hatred within her soul. The bringing of the prophecy to her mind caused her to fling the book against the wall in pure fury. thump
"And the half-blood boy will rescue the time maiden from her unseemly bonds in the human world." Kirai chanted mockingly to herself, finishing the prophecy. "Cha, riiiight."
A knocking came upon the door, causing Kirai to jump from her bed and to her feet. Quickly smoothing down her kimono, she asked in a sickeningly sweet tone, "Who is it?"
A middle-aged man entered the room, deep red robes majestically caressing the floor around his feet. "Daughter." the man snarls, blue eyes in a rage. "What have I told you about making noise when I have guests?"
Kirai's eyes wearily traveled to the book she had thrown at the wall. A hand clasped itself around her chin, yanking her head upwards.
"Kirai, you look at me when I address you. Now answer!" the man snarled, digging his fingernails into her skin. She winced, but continued to look at him.
"You told me not to do it father." Kirai answered loudly enough for him to be satisfied, and sweetly enough so that he wouldn't snap. The man's hand dropped from her face, only to come quickly back up and slap her across the face. She yelped in shock, falling sideways and onto her knees, supporting her crouched body with one hand while the other shot up to her face.
"Don't you try to buy me off with your sweet tones." the man hissed through his teeth. "Now heal yourself while I bring the guests to gaze upon you. As always, pretend you are not my daughter. You are a full blood celestial being I have captured here. That I may have anytime I wish. And who I may give to anyone I wish."
Kirai winced at the last two statements, nodding slowly as tears came to her eyes. Her father was a PIG, who sold her powers off to his male guests. Why did mother have to die? Why didn't she protect her from this monster?
But Kirai remembered why she died. That spawn of man was what killed her. Being on Earth drove her to the brink of insanity, until the thought of death seemed so appealing she cared not of what she left behind.
Kirai sighed and waited for her father to bring in the visitor that she was supposed to bless. A smirk crossed her face, because for most of her fathers' friends she created a curse- and since her father knew naught of what she said, he believed it to be a charm of luck. Kirai secretly cursed him every night before she went to sleep in the frayed covers of her bed.
Kirai put her petal soft hand on her cheek, closing her eyes and concentrating her energy into her fingertips. The gleaming red reminder of what she was and her attachment to Earth faded away and her pale face became perfect once more.
She listened to what was going on in the other room and discovered that the talk was rally quite unusual. A gruff male voice being hushed by a soft but firm female one. Then an awkward series of yelling, and then the clapping of Kirai's father's hand, trying to gather everyone's attention. Kirai used her powers to heighten the sense of her hearing, curious of why such a scene was partaking outside her room.
"...and we'll pay as much as you want for her." The unknown male finished, while the soft stroking of a female's hands against the man's shoulders could be heard in the background, among many other things. Kirai focused on the important people in the other room alone, trying to block out the busy sounds of maids tending to their every whim.
"As much as I want, you say?" Kirai's father murmured. "The girl is quite a valuable and rare being...I will set a hefty price for her." Kirai gasped and pulled herself back down to the normal range of her senses. Rare being? Valuable? Price? It couldn't be that her father was going to sell her off...Was it? Even he couldn't stoop as low as to sell his own daughter.
Kirai bit her lower lip, uncertain. The chains that heaved her arms and legs downward clinked as she paced around the room. What should she do? Should she try to break the bonds again? Should she plead the man who was going to buy her to set her free? She felt she needed more time to discover what this was all about, so she carefully removed her mother's hairpin and cupped it between her hands.
"Please, mother. I wish to stop these times." She pleaded to the pin, causing it to glow a dark red. The light spilled from her hands and surrounded her, bursting into an array of colors. Kirai fell backwards and dropped the pin, bracing herself for explosion.
When nothing happened, Kirai opened her eyes. The pin was inches from the ground, in a standstill. Time had stopped, allowing Kirai time to think. "The powers of a time maiden are quite useful at times..." she murmured, picking at the lock on her bonds. I'd like some time to get these off, and then I would like to see who my father has over. I'll have to act quickly; I have no idea how long this standstill will last. Hopefully an hour or two..."
Bright, neon lemon lines appeared through the floor of Kirai's room and if you looked at her home from a bird's eyes view you would see a large pentagon surrounding it. Kirai kicked aside her shackles, spitting on them before kicking a creaky board in the wall through and bursting into the humid summer air.
She covered her eyes and gasped as she saw sunlight for the first time since her mother died. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes and she wished she had some sort of deflector for her poor, burning eyes. Her soft feet were scorched by the hot dirt, warmed by the suns presence and her hair and head began to warm as never before.
She smiled, showing crystal white teeth and her pale face was exposed to the harsh bearings of sunlight. She felt the heat caress her, and the warmth permeate her cold endearing flesh. The flesh of a Halfling, like the one the legend said would save her. Except, Kirai had saved herself. She didn't need anyone. She quickly scampered away from the pentagon surrounded home.
Kirai ran, her thick hair flinging out behind her, and her deep and vast eyes searching for the path destiny laid out for her. She stopped. A fork in the straight path. It symbolized her life. She had always had one straight path, to sit in that forsaken room and let people gaze upon her virgin flesh. But now that she had escaped and gone farther than ever before, she was stuck. Each path representing a new life. She could take the left or the right, each mysterious and new.
Someone to her left screamed, a blood curdling life or death scream, and behind Kirai an angry growl and the yell of the villagers ready to take back their missing maiden echoed. Kirai mushroom sighed and ran off to the left; maybe she could do something. She felt her hold on the time barrier slip and let go as she ran off.
That person screamed again and Kirai hiked up her black kimono and ran onwards, faster and faster. Rocks dug into her feet but her sense was blurred, and she paid no attention to the pain shooting up her legs. The scream sounded again, closer and closer with each pounding footstep she took. Kirai ran into a clearing and looked around at the scene before her. Bandits were ganging up on a girl with herbs in her hands. As the large men grabbed her arms, the herbs fell to the ground in a colorful array. She screamed, her black hair being desecrated with the men's touch.
Kirai was scared, and didn't know what to do. She thought of all the books by her bedside, all the heroes and heroines. What would they do? She couldn't move her feet except to step farther into the clearing, closer to the bandits and the oddly dressed human girl. Kirai growled slightly and glared at the bandits and she walked further forward.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" Kirai shouted, not knowing what she was saying or doing - it was like a totally new person had inhabited her during the past few seconds and totally taken over. Or perhaps they had thrown away common sense for guts and insanity. Maybe it was who she truly was- and maybe it was just another fancy facade that came from the influence of being forced into something she wasn't for so many years.
"Another girly, pretty lass ain't she boys?" came forth the apparent leader, cupping the other girls chin with his dirty, vile hands. "Get your hands off me you creep!" The girl exclaimed, and Kirai's glare harshened.
"Leave her alone, I said!" Kirai snarled with a voice low with hatred, and the other maidens chocolate brown eyes looked pleadingly at her. Then, triumphantly, she stomped down on one bandit's sandaled toe.
The bandit let out a yelp and let go of the girl's bare arm to nurse his toe. The girl stepped on the next man's toe, but he was stronger than the other stick figure bandit, and only grunted and twisted her arm within his hands. She cried out once more, scratching at his grasp with her free hand. All the while the leader was stalking towards Kirai.
Kirai didn't know what to do - what did you expect? She had had never left the damned hut she was brought up in. Only seeing the sun in paintings and books, and dreaming of the outside world.
Kirai lowered herself into what she thought was a fighting stance, causing the men to laugh. Tears formed once again in her eyes as the sun changed position and landed directly into her face. She moved her hands to cover her eyes and the leader took that as his chance to grab her wrist.
Kirai glowered and slapped the man with her other hand. "Do not touch me." She emphasized, smoke protruding from where her hand still rested on his face. The man was being scorched.
"A demon she must be!" he shouted and leapt back, away from Kirai.
She glared and wiped at her teary eyes, watching as the man continued to back away until he was sliced down by a magnificent sword. Kirai stumbled back, startled as the sword was in turn pointed at her.
"You fool! I'm not the bad guy here!" Kirai felt the after-wind of the sword being swung at her. She pointed at the men who were running away, chased off by what appeared to be a monk and a demon exterminator.
"Like hell you aren't!" commented the man with the sword standing in front of her. His silvery hair was flying through an unfelt wind and yet two strands hung down over his shoulders. Kirai glared as she fell over backwards; it was either that or be poked with a giant sword.
"Hey, wait a minute!" came the shout of the girl Kirai had been trying to help. The boy didn't lower his arms and so the girl cried out, "Sit!" With that a high pitched squeaking sound pierced the air and the boy fell face flat into the ground with a disgruntled "AUGH!"
All madness followed in suit.