New chappie, having fun writing this late at night. Yep, life's good.
I SAW THE HIT COUNTER AND AM VERY SAD THAT ALMOST NO ONE SAID A THING, NOT EVEN A 'YOU SUCK'! REVIEW EVEN IF YOU HATE IT, THAT WAY I CAN BE BETTER! 73 hits and only 3 reviews . . . Wahhhhhhhhh!
We Did It Wrong
Chapter 4
Dances
Aoshi walked into the temple to find Hikaru bowing in front of a fire. She was actually on one knee with her hand right hand over her heart, eyes closed.
"She'll be like that for the rest of the day and through most of the night." Naheka was leaning against a wall, eyes closed. One foot was on the floor, the other against the wall. Her arms were crossed. She opened her eyes slightly. "And when she's done praying, she'll begin practicing again."
"Practicing what?" Aoshi asked, eyes on Hikaru.
"A skill that she believes is necessary for her last fight. She won't say anything more about it, though." Naheka wondered through the temple. Aoshi decided to sit down by the wall and wait.
Many people came and went from the temple. Aoshi discovered that the fire that Hikaru was in front of was bowed to before anyone went anywhere else. Also, if anyone passed it, they would also bow low. He was beginning to feel guilty about not bowing, but didn't move.
"Look! The girl, over at the lake!"
"What is she doing?"
"She must be a goddess!"
"She's walking on the water!" This perked Aoshi's interest, but Hikaru seemed unmoved. He decided to check it out. Everyone from the village was gathering around the lake. Naheka was in the middle, dancing!
"That must be the Dance of Life." Kenshin had found Aoshi. "Water and Fire. That means Kazeka of Wind and Rin of Earth are the resting ones. That reminds me, where did they put the Eye of the Elements?"
some time later
"The sun's setting. We should get back to the hotel." Kenshin had stayed with Aoshi the rest of the day.
"I'm staying."
"No, you're not." Naheka had come in. "Before she practices, she performs the Dance of Death. Out, before I kick you out. I'm going to ward the room so no one can come in and accidently kill themselves by watching." Kenshin left, but Aoshi was being stubborn. Naheka sighed. Walking over, she easily picked him up with one hand and threw him out of the temple. All entrances to the room were sealed. Naheka stayed inside.
"Why does she get to stay inside?" Aoshi was acting out of character, and he knew it.
"I only stay long enough to make sure every crack is sealed." Naheka's body reformed from a pool of water seeping out of the room. When she was completely reformed, she shook herself. "I did you a favor, making you leave. She is the only one immune to the Dance. Go back to the hotel. Hikaru won't be back until morning." She walked solemnly back herself. After darkness enveloped even the temple, Aoshi walked back.
Naheka
"She was right. Everything is wrong now." Naheka felt a growing anger rise to the surface. "It's all her fault! She's the one with the visions, she could have prevented this!" She shook herself. 'What's wrong with me? Hikaru told me herself as soon as she was back to normal that we screwed up. She didn't wait. And she said she wasn't sure how we were supposed to save him, she just knew that we had to distract her father. If she knew everything, I know she would kill herself to protect everyone. I shouldn't be angry with her; I shouldn't be angry at all.'
Aoshi walked in, glanced at Naheka, then walked into his room. "I'll have to ask her how we're supposed to fix this." 'I don't know how long I can last. He's too handsome to be rejected by, and I know . . .' She let her thoughts trail off. (Can you tell Nehaka likes him?)
Morning
Naheka woke to a sudden silence. It felt wrong. She saw Hikaru come in. She looked exhausted. Naheka got up to walk over to her, and then she started to fall. Naheka melted and solidified in time to catch her. "Hikaru! What's wrong?" No sound. She turned Hikaru onto her back to get a better look. Her eyes were half closed, but empty of life. "Hikaru! What happened!" She tried shaking her, but to no avail. Naheka was vaguely aware of people around her, but there was still no sound. Everything felt so wrong. Then, in her mind, Naheka saw Hikaru in the distance, dancing, between two realms of existance. As the vision faded, the body burst into flame and disappeared. Sound returned.
"What happened!" Aoshi demanded, but Naheka wasn't paying attention.
"How in God's name did she get stuck between the realms!" She ran to the temple and broke down the door. Hikaru's body was on the floor, still. "How the Hell did your souls get caught between here and Temple!" She laid a hand on Hikaru's body and focused. Her spirit started to dance the path of Fire to find Hikaru. She was exactly halfway between the Human realm and the Temple. They started to dance together, Naheka slowly leading Hikaru back to the Human realm. Finally, they returned to their bodies, and they were thrown away from each other; Naheka into the crowd that had formed outside the temple, Hikaru into the fire. Some people tried to get to Hikaru, but an invisible wall threw them back.
"I'm . . .fine." Hikaru slowly got up to demonstrate. The fire danced around her harmlessly.
"You'd better be." Naheka replied once she caught her breath. "What were you thinking, traveling the spirit path while still dancing! You almost destroyed your body! Then who would have avenged Rin and Kazeka! You know we have to work together because of the power he's gathered! And our plan to stop the endless cycle of Dances would have been ruined because . . ."
"I know! My attention was drawn away! I didn't do it on purpose, Odei lured me to the path. That's why I stayed halfway! To trick him into thinking that it was only a spirit path and that it was never-ending! Not to mention the fact that the visions started spinning out of control!" Hikaru drew in a breath, and let it out slowly. Naheka did the same. "We only have a little less than a year until we have to face my father and get rid of him for good, then seal ourselves into the Eye of Elements. One year, and we don't have enough time to bicker anymore. And we can't return to Temple anymore, so we can't ask Kazeka or Rin for advice. We need to go to Tokyo."
"Tokyo? Oh, for the Dojo. We leave after you get some sleep. And don't you dare pull another stunt like that again, because there's no telling if I can pull you back before your body dies!"
YAY! Another chappie done! And so quickly, too! Of course, I don't mind advice, flames, or any other thing that requires a review! Feel free to push the blue button and leave a message, even something as simple as 'I don't like this.' My reply would be ok, you're fault for missing out. AND I KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE READ A CHAPTER AND DON'T LEAVE A REVIEW! IT'S CALLED A HIT COUNTER, AND I AM VERY SAD WHEN SOMEONE READS SOMETHING AND DOESN'T LEAVE A REVIEW! So leave a review, pretty please!