Stairway To Heaven

Chap.1

She stared at it for a full five minutes, and poked it with her foot. There was a light tapping sound. Sure enough, those marble stairs in front of Kanan were real.

"Are you gonna walk up these things or not?" the voice drew Kanan's attention up the stairs to see a young man clad all in black. It seemed like some sort of uniform.

"Huh?" Kanan's face held true confusion. "What's going on?"

"….Let me try to explain it in a way you'll understand." The man began, not even attempting to straighten his sprawled form on the stairs, so that he could talk to her.

"You're dead. I'm a god in the Western Amy. These are the stairs to heaven. You're supposed to walk up them."

"…But…I killed myself. I thought I'd be in hell…or limbo."

"…If you wanna go to hell, just tell me now, cause I'm inclined to close this thing now. My legs are falling asleep."

"But….what's up there?"

"Heaven, duh."

"…..I guess that would be most obvious, hm?" Kanan smiled. Her smile wasn't reciprocated. The man still frowned.

"Walk up or stay put, lady. Just tell me your choice, so I can wake my legs up sometime soon."

Kanan didn't say a word, simply walked up, and past the god. The man turned around, and looked at her.

"Finally you've chosen! Sheesh, I would have wasted away to bones here waiting for you, cause I wasn't allowed to leave until you made your choice." He grumbled.

"Anyways, when you get up, try to find Kanzeon Bosatsu; she'll help you find your place up there." He glanced over Kanan. "And also help you remove that knife. It looks nasty." With those words in mind, he disappeared. Kanan glanced at her stomach; the knife still protruded from it, and indeed it looked nasty. Blood dripped down her white dress and stained it, and the knife was stained red as well.

"Better get walking I suppose." Kanan decided, and began to walk up the stairs.

They seemed to go on forever, and no matter how much you walked, they still continued on. After god knows how long, Kanan paused, panting, and muttered,

"Now I know why angels have wings."

The silence that Kanan had grown used to was suddenly broken by the sound of more footsteps, though they weren't hers. A white haired man was making his way don the stairs. One glance at him told Kanan plenty.

His clothes were refined silk, which told her that he was a noble. His ears were pointed, and in his white hair were horns, which told her he was a dragon. And in the center of his beautiful white silk clothes, was a horrible red stain, which told her he had been impaled. He was making his way down the stairs, and Kanan frowned.

'He must be heading off to mortal reincarnation. There's no other reason why someone from heaven would be heading down these stairs.' She mused, and continued up the stairs, fortunately seeing the golden gates momentarily.

An old man in a grey robe stood next to the gate that was obviously firmly shut. When she reached the gate, Kanan turned to the man.

"Excuse me, elder, but I wish to enter."

"Who are you?" The elder man's feeble voice asked her.

"I'm Kanan, and I believe I've just recently died. A young man at the bottom of these stairs told me that I was to come here and see Kanzeon Bosatsu."

"Kanan, hm? Let's see here." The elder man's hands flipped through the air, as if he was turning pages of some large book. "Oh, yes. Here you are. Kanan, age nineteen, suicide victim. Come right in, my dear." He waved a hand, and the gates swung open.

It took Kanan a moment to take everything in. She'd never seen such a beautiful place before. The ground was marble of the purest white, and the buildings seemed to have nary a stone in them. The grass was of the healthiest green, and the sakura blossoms of the brightest pink. Slowly, Kanan entered, the gates closing behind her.

"Oh…my." Kanan seemed to float around, before finally entering the building before her. The insides were just a wondrous as the outside. The walls were clean and smooth, and beautiful paintings were hung in the halls. Vases of flowers upon small glass tables ornamented the corners. She gazed at the beauty while walking, until she found the place she was looking for. Kanzeon Bosatsu's place. She knocked on the door, nervous.

"Come in, my dear, come in." Kanzeon's voice called. Kanan opened the door, and stepped forward, but lingered in the doorway. She saw the graceful goddess lounging in her throne next to the pond, lotus blossoms in her hair. "It's rude to lurk in doorways, dear. Please…come in."

Nervous still, Kanan entered the room, and stated clearly,

"I was told by a young man to come see you. I've just recently died and.."

"…You're Kanan, correct? I was wondering how long it'd take you to get here." Kanzeon smiled. Kanan recoiled.

"How do you know?"

"There's plenty I know that you don't. I'm sorry it took you so long. I've been telling those old coots that we need to take out those stairs, but they never listen. Come, dear. I know the perfect place for you."

Kanzeon had led Kanan to a large library, where Tenpou stood talking to Kenren.

"Marshal, General." Kanzeon cooed. Both men whirled around, surprised. "This is Kanan. She's just died, so I want you to treat her nicely. And.." Kanzeon stared down at the knife in Kanan's stomach. "Hon, you can live without this." She jerked the knife out and Kanan doubled over in pain.

"Miss?" Tenpou rushed over to Kanan.

"I'm…okay." Kanan stood up on wobbly legs, and nearly fell. Nearly because Tenpou caught her.

"Kanan, dear, this is your new home. I hope you'll be content here." Kanzeon gave the girl a reassuring smile. Kanan nodded, smiling, but on the inside, she was worrying her head off. For some reason, she had a horrible feeling about this.