A Father's Embrace
Chapter Four
The Well
Morning came with the chirping of birds and the chatter of squirrels. The sun shone brightly and warmly upon the lands below, drying the world from the previous day's rain. The pleasantness of the impending day was so tangible, that it even managed to drag Maiki out of the house to enjoy the outdoors. With Kunkun in his red harness attached to the matching red leash, the teenage girl ventured out into the shrine that she hadn't seen more than a couple of times since her very early childhood.
In all the years, the shrine really hadn't changed at all. The little charm shops that her Gramps used to run were closed up, but only because there hadn't been anyone to run them for several years. That didn't deter any visitors, however. With the everyday bustle of the busy city, people enjoyed the opportunity to have a break from the crowded streets and frantic deadlines. And the old legends of the shrine allowed for visitors to forget about the stresses of their lives, if even for a few hours.
Maiki made her way across the shrine with Kunkun in tow. Taking in the sight of the ancient Goshinboku, she scoffed at the thought of the legends her mother had occasionally told her as a child. 'Mikos and yokai… Heh! Nothing but childish fairytales!' Despite her refusal to believe, even just a fraction, in the old stories that had been passed down through the generations of her family, Maiki had to admit that there was something mystical about the Goshinboku. Such an old, majestic tree that seemed to watch over her family and the shrine over the centuries. Standing in the shadow of the magnificent tree, she felt… protected.
Lost in the feeling of awe that surrounded her in the Goshinboku's presence, she didn't realize that she had allowed Kunkun's leash to fall from her hands. It wasn't until she heard the skittering of claws across the stone floor that she realized Kunkun had gotten away. The sound instantly snapped from her daze, and she turned around to see the ferret make his escape. She bolted after the animal.
"Kunkun! Get back here! What's gotten into you? You don't normally run off from me like this!"
The weasel-like pet was much too fast for the teenager. He darted across the temple, entering a small shrine-house via a narrow hole in the wall. Maiki had almost caught him before his wiry body disappeared into the dark enclosure. Now slightly panicked, the girl headed towards the twin doors of the shrine-house. Her right hand rested on one of the doors. She hesitated. Her mother's vague voice echoed in her head, issuing her a warning.
"It's very dangerous in that shrine, Maiki." Kagome informed the toddler. "I don't want you to get hurt, so don't let me catch you playing in there. Understand?"
Maiki shook her head, dispelling her mother's warning voice. "Heh! That was twelve years ago. Mama had her reasons back then… But I'm practically an adult now. I can handle myself."
With renewed determination, the teenager swiftly opened the right door. Because of the warning her mother had given her so many years ago, Maiki expected to see an old storage shed filled with many ancient and antique weapons. What she saw instead shocked her. A wooden stairway led down to an old well. Aside from that, there was nothing else in the shrine.
Maiki quirked an eyebrow. "Dangerous, huh?" she remarked skeptically as she slowly made her way down the stairs into the poorly lit structure. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she turned away from the well to look in the space beneath the platform she had just descended from. "Kunkun? Where are you?" she asked aloud as if the ferret could answer her. It was difficult to see under the dark platform, especially since her eyes had yet to adjust in the dim lighting.
Satisfied that it was vacant under the platform, she turned back towards the well. Circling it, she still could not find her lost pet. 'If he went back out through that hole while I'm in here searching for him, I'll…' The half-formed threat was cut off in her mind as she saw the top of a rope ladder hanging on the inside of the well. 'Now what would that be there for?' She peered over the ledge of the well, following the rope ladder down to the bottom with her eyes. What she saw down there made her gasp.
"Kunkun!" she scolded in a tone of relief. "How did you get down there?" Ten feet below her, in the center of the well was the delinquent animal. He peered up at her with large, round eyes. She could see his head bob slightly from side to side as he snuffed air through his little nose. He seemed a bit confused, but unharmed otherwise.
"You just stay right there, Mister," Maiki ordered as she made her way over to the rope ladder. "When I get you out of there, you're in big trouble!"
Carefully, she hefted herself over the edge of the well, grabbing the rope ladder. The rope was old, but it was still sturdy enough to hold her weight. She made her way down. As her feet touched the dirt covered bottom of the well, she relinquished her hold on the ladder. Turning and pinning Kunkun with a light-hearted glare, she crossed the bottom of the well. She reunited herself with the escape-artist, scooping him up into her arms.
"You're very lucky your leash didn't get caught on anything," she continued to scold Kunkun in a soft voice. "What would we have done if this got caught on that ladder while you fell down here, huh?"
As she spoke, she held the ferret up to her face so that she could look at him eye-to-eye. She crossed back over to the ladder. With her free hand, she reached out for the ropes, but for some reason, felt nothing in her hand. Her focus left the animal in her hands and fell onto the ladder right in front of her. She grabbed for it again, dismissing her earlier failure as simply not having been paying attention. To her shock, her hand went clean through the rope, feeling nothing as her hand passed through it. Then, to her amazement, the ladder seemed to fade until it completely disappeared.
Stepping back, she blinked in surprise. Before she could make anything of the situation, a strange sensation overcame her. The dirt beneath her feet seemed to give way. Looking down, she noted that the ground, too, had disappeared. The walls of the well also faded from view. An odd, purplish light suddenly engulfed her. Weightlessness consumed her. Was she floating, or falling? She really couldn't tell. Her stomach flopped. Her body felt numb. She was most likely going into shock, the result of experiencing the unexplainable.
As quickly as the violet aura surrounded her, it faded back into darkness. The weightless feeling ebbed away. Before she realized it, she could feel a solid surface below her feet once again. The laws of gravity taking effect over her once again caused her to momentarily stumble. She caught herself on the reformed wall of the well before she fell over. She remained frozen in place, blinking in open confusion. 'What was that all about?' she wondered. A sudden squirming in her hands brought her back to reality. She looked down to see Kunkun worming around in her arms.
"The musty air down here must've just made me dizzy for a moment there," Maiki voiced her assumption shakily. She turned around in the well to climb up the ladder. But coming round full circle, she found that it was missing. 'What the-- Why would the ladder be gone? No one could've taken it. Mama and Nana went shopping for the day.' she reasoned as she looked up to the opening above her. She found it strange, that she suddenly had to shield her eyes from the strong light that poured down from overhead.
Shrugging it off, she grabbed hold of some of the vines growing along the inside of the well. Her mind not wanting to deal with the unexplainable, she shrugged off the fact that the vines hadn't been there before. Maiki found it to be a bit tricky to climb with Kunkun. Luckily, when she had placed him on her shoulder, he had stayed put. Even still, her ascension had been slow. 'I should've stuck with the rock-climbing lessons for more than two sessions, I suppose,' she mentally berated herself, momentarily thinking back to one of her many short-lived interests.
Finally, Maiki's arms reached the lip of the well, and with a final hoist, she pulled her head over the edge. With her shoulder level with the wooden ledge, Kunkun thought it okay to try to scramble off her shoulder. She allowed it, but kept her left hand clenched on the end of the leash.
"Not again, you don't," she stated to her pet as he hopped down from the edge of the well, seemingly to run off again. The leash was about six feet long, plenty enough slack for him to move around a bit.
Maiki hefted her right leg over the well, followed by her left. Settling on the edge of the well, she finally allowed her eyes to observe her surroundings. Plush, green grass surrounded her. Tall trees and thick brush surrounded the small clearing in all directions. In the distance, she could hear an occasional bird call out. A look of total disbelief fell on her face. The girl planted her feet on the ground, stepping away from the well.
"Where in the hells am I?" she mumbled. A persistent tug on the leash brought her attention back to her pet. "What is it now, Kunkun?" She leaned over to pick up the antsy ferret. As soon as she did so, she felt the rush of a sudden current of air and heard a whooshing noise as something very large buzzed directly over her, right where her head had been less than a second ago. Shocked, she dared not stand back up. Instead, she lifted her hazel eyes, searching for the creature or object that had swooped over her.
Maiki immediately saw the tan blur as it whirled through the air away from her. It seemed graceful as it glided upwards over the canopy of the forest before making a wide arch and doubling back. To Maiki's relief, it didn't come near her on its way back. She followed it with her eyes until it left her field of vision to her far left. She crouched onto her haunches, and dared to turn to look behind her.
Blinking in surprise, she saw two figures standing at the edge of the forest behind her. Both were dressed from head to toe in form-fitting black clothing. Over the black body-suits, plates of armor were fastened in place. The taller individual had dark blue armor. The other had pale yellow armor. Over their faces, they wore masks. She could tell by their hair styles that the taller one was male, probably around her age. The other one was female, preadolescent.
In the male's right hand, he held the object that nearly struck Maiki moments ago. A giant boomerang. He held it near one of its ends, high over his head, poised to strike again if need be. The girl on his left wielded a very sharp-looking sword. Maiki stared at them, unmoving, with Kunkun held securely to her chest. The silent stand-off lasted for several long minutes. When the hostile persons across the field made no effort to move or speak, the teenage girl opted to take the initiative.
Maiki slowly rose to her feet. "Um, hello?"
"Don't move yokai!" yelled a masculine voice. The male widened his stance, preparing to throw his weapon again.
"Yokai?" Maiki muttered to herself curiously. Then she realized that her appearance must be quite unusual to the people before her. Indeed, their manner of dress looked bizarre to her. It was only then that Maiki realized that when she had woke up that morning, that the first articles of clothing she came across were her school clothes from the day before and she had thrown them on with less than a second's thought.
"Um, I believe you have me confused for someone else," Maiki called out to them. "I'm unarmed and I mean you no harm."
The boy hesitated, but Maiki noticed that it almost seemed like he had said something to his companion. Being too far away, the teenage girl couldn't confirm her suspicion.
"I swear," Maiki tried again. "I'm not going to hurt you. Though I may look strange to you, I insist that I'm not yokai."
"Lies!" This time it was the girl who shouted. "We saw how you easily dodged my brother's weapon! No human could do that!" Maiki's eyebrow rose in skepticism at the remark. 'Heh. Apparently, they've never heard of plain, old-fashioned, dumb luck.'
The sound of jingling metal sounded through the air, seeming to originate from the thick brush of the forest behind the armed children. However, they seemed to be unfazed by this, since neither one turned their attention away from Maiki. The ringing grew louder, and soon, Maiki could see the outline of a figure as it pushed its way through the thickets. A tall, slender, middle-aged man dressed in purple robes and wielding a long staff donned with gold rings emerged from the tree-line.
"Kazuki! Sachiko!" the newcomer called to the children. "Here you are! I've been looking all over for you! Don't you know not to wander far from the village? Your mother and I have been wo--" The man's softly scolding words were cut off mid-sentence when his eyes finally fell upon the girl beside the well. His face visibly paled, as if he had seen a ghost. His children misinterpreted his sudden trepidation.
"Do not worry, father," the male child replied. "Sachiko and I were about to slay this yokai." Before the elder man could do or say anything to dissuade his son's actions, the boy released the giant boomerang.
"Akkiwareru!"
Frozen in fear, Maiki's eyes widened as the giant weapon came sailing towards her.
Kazuki - first of a new generation
Sachiko - child of bliss
Akkiwareru - demon-cleaver - "akki" demon or evil spirit, "wareru" to cleave