An Old Tale
By: Esuna
The things I see…
are like shimmers in a pond.
Some are certain, and some remain shadows.
- Cassandra, The Scorpion King
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Chapter Eight: An Old Tale Continues
She opened her crimson eyes just as she realized she was floating in a dark endless void. She was having another one of those out-of-body experiences again. It was a very unusual feeling, to say the least. One could say her whole existence belonged in neither the land of the living nor the land of the dead. It was as if she was there in a place where time had stopped ticking altogether but not exactly. In short, it was as if her soul was just floating there in that dark timeless space. Watching. Observing.
A lonely young samurai appeared at a distance before her. It was much too dark for her to see his face clearly. He was obscured well from this gloomy space. However, she could still distinguish that figure from a mile away. He resembled her husband in every possible way. She knew it had to be him. It had to be her beloved son.
Suddenly, a quick flicker of light like a lightning flash revealed a gruesome vision to the middle-aged but beautiful woman. She gasped at the gory sight, feeling her stomach lurch from the core. Just a mere second left her shivering deep inside. Her son had vanished from that one spot and instead, she could clearly see the vision of a silver-haired demon hovering maniacally over the body of a bloody girl slumped to her side. A huge, bloody sword was planted deeply into the ground, just next to the dead girl. The demon had one hand on the hilt of that sword as he glared down at the blood-filled corpse with a slight smile on his twisted lips.
The vision had vanished just as quickly as it began, leaving a dark empty space upon that spot where she had been studying all this time. What she had just seen…it couldn't be true! For only a mere second, she thought she had seen the most gruesome sight ever. But such a vision did not necessarily mean it would come true. Or…could it? Then…what was the meaning of the other vision she had seen prior to this dreadful one? Or the vision prior to that one as well?
Just a while ago, she had seen the vision of a blissful young couple sitting by a grassy hill together gazing down at the beautiful landscape below them. Because of that vision, she had decided to hand the autumn kimono down to the green-eyed beauty. Then the following vision revealed this green-eyed beauty in a foreign bed, coughing up so much blood that she wondered how much longer she would live to see another day. It was because of that vision that she had decided to analyze her son's reaction in seeing the girl again - the girl who had ran from him back in the village fields. She guided her son to the waterfall cavern, revealing to him an image of the girl, which showed him what she was doing during that time of the day. Although by chance, it was not the most pleasant thing to see but it was indeed an image that sent the young man flying after the girl immediately. Perhaps he could divert this terrible fate after all…
On that day, she knew her son was seeking her for some answers. However, she believed it was best not to give him the answers just like that. Answers were discovered only from the self. He had to discover what he wanted and what he wanted to do in life. Independence only led to inner strength. She wanted her son to grow as strong as her husband was. And thus, she could only provide her son some guidance, not answers. He had to discover those answers from deep down in his heart…
But all that had been shattered when tonight; she had seen another vision – a frightening, gruesome vision of an all-so-familiar demon with a decapitated body by his bare, tanned feet. There was blood everywhere. In fact, there was so much blood on the body that she could not even tell where the demon had attacked her exactly. She could not even see the girl's face with all that blood over it. All she could see were the thick masses of disheveled light-brown hair that fell in heavy waves over her blood-stained face. Somehow, she already knew who that girl could be…
Night had already conquered the sky when Saki felt herself return to the present again. All of her senses were flowing back to her body. She opened her crimson eyes for a second to realize she was still standing before the waterfall of the cavern at the peaceful Inugami Village. She closed her tired eyes again for only a short moment just as the cool night breeze brushed against her beautiful face. However, even that wasn't helping her soothe the anxiety.
Three visions. But which one was certain?
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Naniwa Kawashima and a middle-aged medical healer named Tuta stood by the corner of an unconscious Anastasia's bedroom. By the poor girl's bedside stood a dark, melancholy samurai, his head bowed so low that his disheveled dark brown hair had tumbled all over his perturbed eyes. A worried-looking Yoshiko and a deeply troubled Blanca were standing behind the silent young man. Kurando was gazing intently at the girl's sickly but beautiful face while at the same time, trying as hard as he could to decipher what Kawashima and the medical healer were murmuring about. Most probably, it involved the girl's fate now…
Kurando clenched his hands into tight fists, feeling frustrated with the predicament he had created for everyone tonight. Anastasia would never have ended up like this if only he had not confronted her so directly like that. The outcome of that confrontation had in fact, turned deadly. He knit his brows tightly just as he silently berated himself again and again for his recklessness.
Blanca had trudged a few steps towards him before sitting down by his side to give his fist some good licks of condolence, if only to soothe his great agitation. In turn, Yoshiko decided to follow her pet wolf's idea of comfort by slipping her tiny hand over his other fist and then squeezing it tenderly with a gentle touch of affection. However, the young man did not even flinch.
"…she has…a lot of…from the…," Kurando could somehow manage to hear Tuta murmur in a soft undertone to Naniwa Kawashima. "…if…anymore…of this…the body…will die…"
Kurando was startled by that one dreadful word: 'die'. He could hardly conceal the alarm in his face as he tilted his head up in order to glare at this medical healer with a burning intensity in those wild eyes.
Tuta cleared his throat uncomfortably on noticing the young man glare so fixedly at him. He found those crimson eyes to be so disturbing. "What this girl need now are some blood tonics. It will regulate the flow of blood, strengthen it, and thus, correct all deficiencies," he finally declared out loud for all to hear, most notably to the young swordsman.
"I see," said Kawashima, giving Kurando a concerned glance before he returned his gaze back on the medical healer. "Then I shall accompany you to obtain the prescription for this tonic," the old man stated thereafter. Without another word, Naniwa Kawashima and Tuta stepped out of Anastasia's bedroom, leaving Kurando, Yoshiko, and Blanca behind.
Yoshiko focused her gaze on her father and the medical healer as they left the room. Her soft brown eyes had been rooted there for a short while. Finally, she returned her gaze back on the young samurai. A long, disturbing silence stretched afterwards. No one had spoken a word since Kawashima and Tuta left the room. The silence stretched on for a very, very long time. The girl leaned slightly back in order to peer uncomfortably at Blanca who also swung his white furry head to the side to return an equal gaze as well. At last, Yoshiko released the young man and leaned forward so as she could get a better look at the sleeping Anastasia.
"Last night," she began out loud, unsure why she even decided to break the truth to him, "I thought I heard something from Lady Anastasia's bedroom. I was not certain though. However, it sounded as if she was struggling against something. At first, I thought she was in a great deal of pain."
The word 'pain' had caught Kurando's attention most specifically. When the girl could feel him looking down at her, she turned her face slightly away as all the guilt piled on top of her. She blamed herself for her inability to do anything for the beautiful Russian princess.
"Somehow, I was too afraid to go near her bedroom," Yoshiko continued. "I thought she was having some nightmare or else, she would have cried out to us if she was actually in pain. Then this morning, I was seriously beginning to doubt that assumption. I was so certain that Lady Anastasia was getting sick because she looked very, very pale at the breakfast table."
Kurando riveted his gaze back on Anastasia's face again. He stooped closer to the bed in order to run his hand down the thick mass of reddish-brown hair that had spread overwhelmingly around the pillow. Another long stretch of silence followed thereafter.
Fearing that she had probably angered the young man, Yoshiko bowed her head down and remarked, "I am sorry, Kurando. Please forgive me."
"You are not to blame for any of this," he said softly. "Please do not put this at heart."
'Yes, the one truly to blame for this is no one other than yourself,' he thought as his fiery red eyes narrowed intensely in deep contemplation. If only he had been honest with himself in the beginning, knowing fully well who mattered to him most. Sayori? Or Anastasia? Damn it. Why couldn't he decide during that time? If only he had sorted out his emotions first! Then perhaps, none of this would have happened at all. How he sure complicated matters now!
Strange how his mother's meaningful words suddenly flashed across his mind again. "You must determine what you want and what you want to do in life. What your future holds depend on the decisions you make now."
'Just what do I want? Just what do I want to do?' Kurando repeated the questions self-consciously. 'I…'
A sharp knocking could be heard from a distance and immediately, Kurando snapped back to reality, away from his deep troubling thoughts. Blanca scuttled out of the room immediately in order to see who this visitor could be. Eventually, Yoshiko followed behind the big white wolf.
A moment later, the Chinese sorcerer, Master Zhuzhen had entered the bedroom with his hands clasped behind his arching back. Neither Blanca nor Yoshiko had returned to the room again. Apparently, they were going to leave Kurando to this old man so they could speak about the dilemma regarding Anastasia's absence from work. However, the first thing Zhuzhen had said to Kurando was a surprised "Yuri!" when the young man had turned to glare at him.
Kurando blinked twice. "Er…no…I believe you have mistaken. I am Kurando, Yuri's cousin."
Zhuzhen narrowed his slitty eyes upon closer inspection. "Ah, my bad," he corrected himself slowly as he finally stood rooted to his spot. "It was your face and especially your eyes that reminded me of Yuri."
"…You knew him?"
He nodded his head once. "Yes, I did."
Kurando eyed him curiously before looking away again. "…You are…Master Zhuzhen, I presume?"
Zhuzhen nodded again, unsurprised. "Indeed, I am."
"I have heard of your adventures with Yuri," the young man commented. "Especially with a woman…"
"…Alice," the old man finished softly. "Yuri and that young lady…they grew very close during those adventures. But in the end…," he trailed off sadly, not wanting to be reminded again about their sad departure.
Kurando did not press Zhuzhen any further about his cousin's past, for he already knew the story behind it. Yuri had indeed become very close to that woman, Alice much the same way as he did with the young Russian princess, Anastasia. Yet, Yuri had grown to love Alice very much during their adventures together and even after she had parted from him; his heart remained true to her alone. And for Kurando? Did he grow to love Anastasia the same way as Yuri did with Alice? Again, he just didn't know. He felt so confused. His heart was plagued with uncertainty. Kurando wavered between those emotions.
"I see you are very close to this young lady?" Zhuzhen asked curiously, changing the subject and thus, breaking through his bubble of thoughts.
Kurando fixed his crimson eyes on Anastasia's face again. All this time, she had not even flinched once. Her eyes were partially closed, making her appear more dead than alive. He studied the girl's body under the blanket for movements; fearing that she had stopped breathing altogether. For a long while, he just stood there gazing down at the sick girl with fists balled at his side. He didn't know how to answer Zhuzhen's question at all…
"She did not look too well after our idle little chat," the old sorcerer explained when Kurando remained silent. "I sensed it after I told her this old tale that was related to the spirit I relieved last evening."
Kurando rolled his eyes over to him at this comment. "Will you share it to me?" he asked gently.
Somehow, Zhuzhen had already expected this to come and so, he drew in a deep breath and began the long story of how the boy and the girl met, why they eloped together, how the war began between the two Asian countries, Japan and China, and why the boy and the girl were separated for over ten long years because of that meaningless war. Then the sorcerer explained how this old tale was rumored to be related to that house he exorcised late last evening.
"To tell you the truth," Zhuzhen went on afterwards, "I actually have not told the rest of the tale to Mayu."
Kurando turned fully towards the old Chinese sorcerer now, obviously anxious to hear the rest of the story.
"That man could do nothing but stand there in silence, unsure what to do. He watched that woman leave through the crowded street. She was just about to disappear from his sight when he suddenly darted after her, hollering her name out loud. However, the woman probably couldn't hear him as she vanished from behind the crowds for good. His wife, realizing her husband had a lover prior to her, took their child and left him.
The young man, on the other hand, continued his search for that woman for a very long time. His efforts were all in vain as one day; word had it that a woman was found dead in a run-down house. Alarmed, he sprinted to the scene only to discover it was indeed the body of that woman, pale-faced, but still beautiful. He stumbled beside the woman's dead body and just held her there in his arms with tears flowing down his cheeks. The last thing he told her was, 'I never stopped loving you.'"
Kurando hesitated before asking, "So what happened to that man afterwards?"
"Who knows?" Zhuzhen replied with a quick shrug of the shoulders. "Some said he committed suicide while others said he disappeared."
What a tragic conclusion. However, that man had never stopped thinking about that woman after all those years. He still loved her, still wanted her, even though they were apart for over ten long years. Unfortunately, he was too late for that as the woman realized on that day on the street that he had already started a family and a new life. Sadly, she mustered all the courage she had in order to walk away from him. Eventually, this led the young woman to her untimely death. Perhaps, the fault was placed mostly on that man, for he made assumptions and assured himself that the woman was dead when in fact, she was actually alive after the war ended. It was a miserable tale, alright.
What about their own tale? His and Anastasia's?
For once, Kurando did not believe he would actually fear anything other than that one question.
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Notes: Well, that's it for now! Things should start picking up in the next chapter. Sadly, I'm killing lots of brain cells just to brainstorm how I'll reach the conclusion of this mini-fic. Gah. This is horrible!