This be the epilogue. Don't kill me/Ducks away from sure to be angry readers/
With the Sunset Goes My Love: Chapter 10
Too Little, Too Late Comes Too Soon
Youko Kurama
It'd been twenty years; that is, twenty human years. It's only been abouttwo years in demon terms. I had come a long way from being a lone thief leading a large group of loyal bandits. We stole from all corners of the Makai. Our dream was to be demon lords. And to do that, we needed money. So we stole. I was close, it wouldn't be much longer until my dream would come true. And after all this time, I finally felt secure enough to return to this little town; confident that I could safely supply for Tsuchi's happiness in the near future.
Actually, truth be told, I was having too much fun stealing to think much about Tsuchi that much. Sure, she crossed my mind sometimes, but I just put off visiting her until then, when I felt compelled to come. Like I really needed to be here.
I found the door to Tsuchi's apartment ajar. This struck me as unusual because she was a careful woman. Never once had she left herself open to attack without some kind of defense in place.
I carefully pushed the door open and warily stepped inside. The sight that met me made me stop in my tracks.
Emptiness. Complete and utter emptiness. The counter built into the wallparallelthe door was barren of all its decorations and coated with a thick layer of dust. The walls were missing their picture frames. The cupboards were bare of all utensils and the doors hung open on their hinges; some by only one. There was no furniture whatsoever and the white carpet had been torn out. Nothing was left.
I walked into Tsuchi's room and found it empty as well. I sighed and leaned my head back, only to find that the stars on the ceiling read Too little, too late.
Frustrated, I exited into the hallway and gave the place one last look. There had to be some clue as to where she had gone.
I had left the door open and a shadow fell over mine. It was not Tsuchi's.
"If you think you're going to steal anything here, you're too late." The voice was serious and calm, but I sensed an undercurrent of hostility.
I turned to find an illusion demon standing in the doorway, the light of the sun behind him, making his features indiscernible.
"And who are you?" I asked challengingly without showing my surprise.
As if recognizing me, his body relaxed. The figure shook his head sadly. "Kirai Koigokoro, Tsuchi's singing partner," he said, stepping out of the light so that I could see him better. Indeed, I recognized him as the one who sang with Tsuchi that night I went to see her sing.
He would know where to find her; I was sure. "Where is Tsuchi?"
Kira KoigokoroI admit, I was upset to find Youko had the gall to come back after twenty years. He didn't deserve Tsuchi in the least. But no, he didn't know the consequences of his actions. I refrained from allowing hate to taint my voice.
"Tsuchi doesn't live here anymore," I informed the fox. "You'll find her under the willow tree in the Tsi forest."
And with that I left him to discover the truth for himself.
NormalA gentle wind brushed by the leaves of trees, making soft music of their rustling. Under the willow tree, amongst great amounts of healthy green grass, a tomb stone reads: Here lies the Songtress and Florist- Tsuchi Kusabana. May her spirit find sanctuary.
A shadow fell over said tombstone and white fox ears sagged. It's really unusual to find a tomb stone in the Makai, not many demons had so much respect for the deceased to go through all the trouble of even burring them. So to find this particular grave under the willow tree that he and Tsuchi had spent so many days under, was all the more strange to him. His eyes scanned over the chiseled words several times, absorbing their meaning. Carefully, he ran a trembling claw over the letters one by one, feeling their texture and confirming their truth.
Twenty years isn't long, at least, not for a demon. He never thought, it had never crossed his mind that Tsuchi would not be waiting for him when he returned. It was a shock at first, his mind wanting to deny the proof that stood before him. But he knew, somewhere in the back of his cold and calculating mind, he knew that only Tsuchi's death would explain why her apartment was barren of all her possessions. Why she wasn't here waiting there for him as she said she would.
The fox bowed his head and clenched his fists. A droplet of water splattered onto a blade of grass and slid down to the earth where it was absorbed. Without a backwards glance, theKing of Thievesdashed off into the forest.
Time Lapse"She died of old age." Youko's head snapped up at the words of the Guardian Priestess of the Tsuriai Bonsatsu.
He had remembered that Tsuchi had once mentioned that Kasumi Kouken was her friend. The kitsune hadalso remembered that he still hadn't returned the Priestess' bracelet he had stolen from her with the late Kuronue.
Of course, the bracelet was only an excuse to visit Kasumi. He was really here because of Tsuchi. He hadn't admitted that to her of course.
"How is that possible? She was hardly fifty when I left her, she would only be seventy-three now. That's too young to die of old age!" Youko reasoned.
"Seventy-three years may be considered young for a demon, but it's ancient for a human." Kasumi told him grimly.
"But what does that matter? She was demon! A Songstress!" Youko objected. But his memory dredged up a vision of Tsuchi fixing his shirt and informing him that she would only wait as long as a human could live.
Tsuchi agreed, straightening his tunic. "You know I'll wait for you. But I can't promise that I can wait longer than a human can live." Her voice trembled, but her words were reasonable.
Kasumi shook her head. "There's not much you know about her is there?" Youko was silent with regret. "She told you she was younger than you, and yet older than you'd ever be. And it was true."
Youko blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Her soul is ancient, almost as old as time itself. She bears the memories of many a life time and will forever more. Tsuchi was cursed. In her first life, she was cursed to be reborn, live, and die only to be reborn again. And now she can only live as long as the average human at the exact moment she is born." Kasumi rose from the coffee table at which they had been kneeling. "Don't expect her to come back for you."
The cold tone of her voice and the news it carried left Youko in shock, staring at the wall.
Ano…and that's the end of this installment of A Conspiracy of Great Proportions. Yes, I killed Tsuchi. Believe it, I killed Tsuchi. I've had it all planned out for ages. I even wrote this chapter after I finished chapter 7. The foreshadowing spots were
1) "I am what you will never be, I have seen what you will never see." Chapter 2
2) Lack of emotional responses
3) Recognizing Youko as the King of Thieves (Come on, did you really expect a girl who appeared sixteen, lived in such a small village, and who wasn't likely to have been many places to know what the King of Theives looked like?) Chapter 2
4) Knowledge of the Kopaku art pieces Chapter 2
5)Foresight to poison Youko's food Chapter 3
6) Expierence in thieving arts and how to recognize even the slightest or fastest movement Chapter 5
7) Experience in how to handle death Chapter 6
8) The Kanata poison taking longer to stop than it should have for Tsuchi's age Chapter 8
9) "But I can't promise that I can wait longer than a human can live."Chapter 9
10) My constant warnings of evilness and people dieing. Most chapters
See? I had it all planned out from the beginning. Woot! Sucess! I actually completeled a story! Of course you can infer that there will be a sequel. That is, if I get enough reviews to make me want to write the sequel. I could just let this wonderful idea live in my head for the rest of my life. I mean, it's more enjoyable that way. 'Cause when I write the ideas out, I forget them and I can't relive them over and over again anymore. At least, not the way they were. They are forever changed. Just like Tsuchi was. She started out as a cold, calculating…not telling you the rest, and then she became quiet and gentle. Meh, put it off too much, I changed her appearance too much. It's too late.
I just might do a credit chapter. So don't be surprised if this thing says its been updated one more time. Besides, I might be retrofitting the entire story. I don't know. But the next story won't be out any time soon. Seeing as I haven't written it yet.
Responses-
Princess Kandra- Aaah/Runs away screaming with arms thrown up in the air/ Um, just to say, I read some of your story. /shifty eyes/ Get a dictionary, use to check your spelling. And…could you watch the OOCing? Kandra doesn't seem to have a mold. You need a basic character outline for her personality, otherwise it all just seems like randomness. In fact, I almost forgot what your story was about a second ago cause Kandra doesn't have a definite personality. Sorry, I know it sounds like critism but I want to help. I'm an editor first and foremost, so there was my advice to you.
Spitfire-Hanyou14- It was awesome/Raises eyebrows/ Looking back on it, it wasn't that good. I added a few things though, so I'm satisfied for now. As for the new title, I have a new title, but about posting it under a different story, that would make it a very short story and I personally don't like to click on stories that have few chapters. So I might write on the chapters a different title and keep it in this story. The curse only works if you use it exactly how it's written. It's meant as a backfire attack. So to send a fireball back at the enemy. The sequel will come out slowly, I tend to change things a lot when I first start a story.
Hieiloving101- /Reads review/ Dang, you basically got my plot down pat. Of course, Tsuchi couldn't really help dieing… Heh heh. Sorry for killing her off. But I had to. /shifty eyes/ okay, maybe I didn't but still, I felt like it and I wrote this story so I can do as I want. I'm so evil that I pity Kurama. Oh well, repenting for all the crimes he's committed.
Kitsune Kit- /Blink/ Fantasy? Well, I suppose. But this fantasy has a very complex plot going on. I'm not done yet. Tsuchi may be dead, but that means nothing. /Evil laugh/ Yes, I am insane, and PROUD OF IT/sweat drop/ Shouldn't have had that coke.
darknesspirals- Ah! Pokers! HELP/clears throat/ yes, I suppose that would be baffling. Why don't I poke you instead. /poke/ I /poke/ want /poke/ chapter/poke/
So you decide for me. Should I share my wonderful ideas or do I just keep them to myself? Review.