Rook: Of course there's another plot. you think I'll let them off so
easily? *evil grin* There's still some more to come. And thanks for the
good luck wishes..
Ruby: =( It was rather rushed. haihs.. I wanted to get one chapter up before my trials. ^_^ I'll try really hard on this chapter and I'll work on the length as well.
Ceres17: There's something missing? =( Aiks. maybe I just wasn't concentrating properly or something.
wolfos : Nah. everything came out of my own head. =) I'm glad you liked it..
Kurtain: She was just trying to clear her own mind and all that. you see, Yaone does not know whether any of the two guys like her. she's just trying to make up her mind so that she won't be all confused and messed up. ^_^
Ruby25: Hmm.good point. We shall see. ^_~
Swtrkgalditress: Sorry about lack of sweetness.. The author was depressed. now the author will attempt to write a nice, long chapter. sweetness however might not be guaranteed. Sarah: Yeah, I know that both Hakkai and Yaone are youkai.. Hmm..it might not necessarily be Yaone/Kougaji, but I'm not saying it is Hakkai/Yaone either. =)
Triple X: ^_^ Hakkai is such a wonderful guy isn't he?
Cloud : ^_____^ I lovies Hakkai too..
On average, people seemed pretty discontented with my previous chapter. I had my reasons for writing it. maybe I wasn't too happy when I wrote it the last time.* sighs * I will try harder.and thank you to all of you for commenting and giving me ideas on how to improve. =)
Lots of things have been going on in my life of late. I'm sorry I took so long to update. I'm ashamed of myself.*blushes* I'm sorry for the long, long wait.
Chapter 8 - The Journey Back Home
Dreams, the mysterious things produce mostly by our subconscious minds, fulfilling our wildest fantasies but also bringing us straight into our darkest nightmares. Very few people can truly tell what our dreams signify. Some say they mean nothing, some say that dreams are our views into different times and dimensions. Others theorize that dreams are messages that the brain is trying to send us.
Whatever you think they are, you have to admit that dreams have power. We have totally no control over them, no way to bend them to our will. Most of the time, when we are in a dream, we have totally no choice in what we do and what happens.
Think about it. Dreams are just like an exaggerated version of real life. In real life, circumstances, twists of fate, chance. all this is beyond our control. Swept along by an inexorable tide of events, happenings, changes. Remember dreams where you are unable to control what's happening, and all you can do is go along helplessly? Well, isn't life like that too?
Life, to Yaone, was a lot like that. Events, things. they came along, and she was swept along by a wave of circumstances, coincidences, and things beyond her control. All her life she had felt that way.
But here, out in the woods with Hakkai, there was peace. She didn't feel the drive, the pull that she felt in the outside world.
She sighed, and told herself that this was just her way of escaping, of avoiding her problems, and that would not do. So, she finally made up her mind.
When she told him about her decision, Hakkai just smiled his customary smile, though inside, his emotions were turbulent and in a frenzy. What she had told him was not a surprise to him. He had already anticipated it.
The day dawned cloudy, with a slight hint of fog. Hakkai stood outside the cave, waiting for her.
She walked out to him, and nodded. "Well, I guess this is good-"
"Yaone-san," he interrupted, smiling gently. "Why not we travel out of this forest together? We can make our farewells when we have reached the outside."
She was about to protest, but then he said, "I am heading towards Xuexiao to meet my friends, but I can accompany you home first if you wish."
She stopped, thinking. To get home to the castle, she would have to pass through the town of Xuexiao anyway. She nodded, thinking wistfully, "Well, it's just a little more time with him.."
They set out, walking side by side. Both were deep in thought, and they were not in the mood for conversation.
The forest floor was damp and slippery from the rain. She was so engrossed in her contemplations; she did not watch her footing. Her left foot slipped on a pile of wet leaves, and she would have fallen on her back, had she not grabbed wildly at Hakkai. She caught his arm, and almost pulled him down too, but they managed to steady themselves, ending up face to face, very close to each other. Yaone gazed at him, feeling a hot blush rise to her face, and she saw that he was blushing slightly too. She laughed nervously and extricated herself from his embrace.
"Gomen ne, Hakkai-san," she said, brushing back a lock of violet hair that had fallen onto her downcast eyes. She did not dare to meet his gaze.
"It's all right," he said genially.
As Hakkai walked, he found, as usual, his thoughts were straying to the beautiful girl walking by his side. He thought of the impending separation, and he felt his heart ache within him. He knew this feeling, the horrible feeling of loss. He had felt this for a long time, ever since Kanan died, but his pain was now intensified, more concentrated. He could hardly bare to part with her. He had lost the love of his life once already, and now, now that the newly awakened feelings within him were stirring him up, he might lose this one too. Was he fated to be alone for the rest of his life? Pining and longing for the one woman he was not supposed to love. The pain was almost overwhelming him. Her presence by his side was not helping. All he wanted was to take her in his arms and never ever let her go. Just now, when they had touched, when her face was so close to his.. Hakkai shook his head. He should not dwell on this.
The day continued to be gloomy and overcast, and the sky threatened rain. Dark clouds covered the sky overhead, and there was not a patch of blue to be seen.
Yaone could smell it in the air, warmish and somewhat earthy in nature. It was going to rain soon. She considered asking Hakkai to stop and let them find shelter, but decided against it. The sooner they got out of this forest, the better, in case she weakened and changed her mind.
Hakkai frowned when they came to a large gorge. It was huge, and very deep. "We might have a problem," he said, indicating to the ravine with his head. Yaone nodded mutely.
The silence hung uncomfortable and heavy between them.
"What should we do?" asked Yaone, finally unable to stand it any longer.
"What else can we do?" he replied. "We'll have to find some other way through or we could try cross this thing."
Yaone looked down at the forbidding gorge, and towards the man. "I say.. we should try going down and climbing back up that thing."
"Why not?" he said, shrugging. "We'll give it a go."
***
An hour later.
Yaone was tired. They had gone a long way down, and the bottom seemed just as far away as when they first started off. Rain was spattering on her face, her clothes, everything. A wind was blowing against her sharply, seeming to pierce through her entire body. She turned her head to Hakkai beside her, who was frowning slightly. Once in a while, he would raise his head and glare around sharply as if looking for something. After watching him do this for some time, Yaone at last asked, "What's the matter?"
His frown deepened, and he replied, "There's something wrong."
She looked at him, and started thinking. Now that he had mentioned it, she did notice something amiss. It was only a feeling, but she was beginning to get uneasy.
"Hatred. Anger." Hakkai's words startled her.
"What?" she said, confused.
"I sense it. There is much hatred and anger. And a craving for vengeance. Things are not as they seem."
"Why do you say that?"
"Watch this." He picked up a rock, and threw over the edge. They watched as it fell. She gasped when she saw it fall. What she thought was the bottom had shimmered momentarily as the rock passed through it.
"An illusion," she murmured. "I didn't even notice." She had been too caught up in her own thoughts and her own misery to notice things around her properly.
"We should get out of here," he said.
She nodded, and they attempted to go back the way they came. However, something invisible but tangible was standing in their path whenever they tried to retrace their steps.
She turned to him and said, "Someone wants us to keep on moving ahead."
"Someone put in a lot of effort to create this illusion and that someone doesn't want us to leave." He looked worried.
She shrugged. "So, what are we to do now?"
"Since we can't go back, and I think it not advisable for us to push on, I think we should stop right here." He noticed her shivering as a gust of wind danced around her, making her even colder than before. "Are you cold?" There was a note of concern in his voice that she could hardly stand to hear.
She did not answer, but her chattering teeth and shuddering body said it all. He looked around, seeking shelter. All he could see was a small hollowed out part in the rock of the wall of the cliff beside them. It was nothing much, but it would offer scant comfort from the pouring rain.
Without saying anything, he took her hand gently and led her to the depression. He released it slowly as she sat down. There was not much space, so he sat in the rain, emerald green eyes watching her as she tried to get herself warm.
Feeling guilty, Yaone said, her voice barely above a whisper, "Come on in. There's space for two if we squeeze a little. Get out of the rain for a while."
He nodded, and they sat side by side, squashed up against each other. Yaone was still cold, and he could feel her repeated tremors. Finally gathering up the courage to speak, he asked, "Would you mind if I held you for a while? You seem so cold, at least that'll help you warm up a little faster.
She closed her eyes, not knowing how to answer. Then, she nodded.
Tenderly, she felt herself being gathered up in his arms and she leant back against him, feeling the warmth her body so craved. Her shivering stopped, and after a while, Yaone slept.
***
Reviews and comments, as always, are much wanted and appreciated.
Ruby: =( It was rather rushed. haihs.. I wanted to get one chapter up before my trials. ^_^ I'll try really hard on this chapter and I'll work on the length as well.
Ceres17: There's something missing? =( Aiks. maybe I just wasn't concentrating properly or something.
wolfos : Nah. everything came out of my own head. =) I'm glad you liked it..
Kurtain: She was just trying to clear her own mind and all that. you see, Yaone does not know whether any of the two guys like her. she's just trying to make up her mind so that she won't be all confused and messed up. ^_^
Ruby25: Hmm.good point. We shall see. ^_~
Swtrkgalditress: Sorry about lack of sweetness.. The author was depressed. now the author will attempt to write a nice, long chapter. sweetness however might not be guaranteed. Sarah: Yeah, I know that both Hakkai and Yaone are youkai.. Hmm..it might not necessarily be Yaone/Kougaji, but I'm not saying it is Hakkai/Yaone either. =)
Triple X: ^_^ Hakkai is such a wonderful guy isn't he?
Cloud : ^_____^ I lovies Hakkai too..
On average, people seemed pretty discontented with my previous chapter. I had my reasons for writing it. maybe I wasn't too happy when I wrote it the last time.* sighs * I will try harder.and thank you to all of you for commenting and giving me ideas on how to improve. =)
Lots of things have been going on in my life of late. I'm sorry I took so long to update. I'm ashamed of myself.*blushes* I'm sorry for the long, long wait.
Chapter 8 - The Journey Back Home
Dreams, the mysterious things produce mostly by our subconscious minds, fulfilling our wildest fantasies but also bringing us straight into our darkest nightmares. Very few people can truly tell what our dreams signify. Some say they mean nothing, some say that dreams are our views into different times and dimensions. Others theorize that dreams are messages that the brain is trying to send us.
Whatever you think they are, you have to admit that dreams have power. We have totally no control over them, no way to bend them to our will. Most of the time, when we are in a dream, we have totally no choice in what we do and what happens.
Think about it. Dreams are just like an exaggerated version of real life. In real life, circumstances, twists of fate, chance. all this is beyond our control. Swept along by an inexorable tide of events, happenings, changes. Remember dreams where you are unable to control what's happening, and all you can do is go along helplessly? Well, isn't life like that too?
Life, to Yaone, was a lot like that. Events, things. they came along, and she was swept along by a wave of circumstances, coincidences, and things beyond her control. All her life she had felt that way.
But here, out in the woods with Hakkai, there was peace. She didn't feel the drive, the pull that she felt in the outside world.
She sighed, and told herself that this was just her way of escaping, of avoiding her problems, and that would not do. So, she finally made up her mind.
When she told him about her decision, Hakkai just smiled his customary smile, though inside, his emotions were turbulent and in a frenzy. What she had told him was not a surprise to him. He had already anticipated it.
The day dawned cloudy, with a slight hint of fog. Hakkai stood outside the cave, waiting for her.
She walked out to him, and nodded. "Well, I guess this is good-"
"Yaone-san," he interrupted, smiling gently. "Why not we travel out of this forest together? We can make our farewells when we have reached the outside."
She was about to protest, but then he said, "I am heading towards Xuexiao to meet my friends, but I can accompany you home first if you wish."
She stopped, thinking. To get home to the castle, she would have to pass through the town of Xuexiao anyway. She nodded, thinking wistfully, "Well, it's just a little more time with him.."
They set out, walking side by side. Both were deep in thought, and they were not in the mood for conversation.
The forest floor was damp and slippery from the rain. She was so engrossed in her contemplations; she did not watch her footing. Her left foot slipped on a pile of wet leaves, and she would have fallen on her back, had she not grabbed wildly at Hakkai. She caught his arm, and almost pulled him down too, but they managed to steady themselves, ending up face to face, very close to each other. Yaone gazed at him, feeling a hot blush rise to her face, and she saw that he was blushing slightly too. She laughed nervously and extricated herself from his embrace.
"Gomen ne, Hakkai-san," she said, brushing back a lock of violet hair that had fallen onto her downcast eyes. She did not dare to meet his gaze.
"It's all right," he said genially.
As Hakkai walked, he found, as usual, his thoughts were straying to the beautiful girl walking by his side. He thought of the impending separation, and he felt his heart ache within him. He knew this feeling, the horrible feeling of loss. He had felt this for a long time, ever since Kanan died, but his pain was now intensified, more concentrated. He could hardly bare to part with her. He had lost the love of his life once already, and now, now that the newly awakened feelings within him were stirring him up, he might lose this one too. Was he fated to be alone for the rest of his life? Pining and longing for the one woman he was not supposed to love. The pain was almost overwhelming him. Her presence by his side was not helping. All he wanted was to take her in his arms and never ever let her go. Just now, when they had touched, when her face was so close to his.. Hakkai shook his head. He should not dwell on this.
The day continued to be gloomy and overcast, and the sky threatened rain. Dark clouds covered the sky overhead, and there was not a patch of blue to be seen.
Yaone could smell it in the air, warmish and somewhat earthy in nature. It was going to rain soon. She considered asking Hakkai to stop and let them find shelter, but decided against it. The sooner they got out of this forest, the better, in case she weakened and changed her mind.
Hakkai frowned when they came to a large gorge. It was huge, and very deep. "We might have a problem," he said, indicating to the ravine with his head. Yaone nodded mutely.
The silence hung uncomfortable and heavy between them.
"What should we do?" asked Yaone, finally unable to stand it any longer.
"What else can we do?" he replied. "We'll have to find some other way through or we could try cross this thing."
Yaone looked down at the forbidding gorge, and towards the man. "I say.. we should try going down and climbing back up that thing."
"Why not?" he said, shrugging. "We'll give it a go."
***
An hour later.
Yaone was tired. They had gone a long way down, and the bottom seemed just as far away as when they first started off. Rain was spattering on her face, her clothes, everything. A wind was blowing against her sharply, seeming to pierce through her entire body. She turned her head to Hakkai beside her, who was frowning slightly. Once in a while, he would raise his head and glare around sharply as if looking for something. After watching him do this for some time, Yaone at last asked, "What's the matter?"
His frown deepened, and he replied, "There's something wrong."
She looked at him, and started thinking. Now that he had mentioned it, she did notice something amiss. It was only a feeling, but she was beginning to get uneasy.
"Hatred. Anger." Hakkai's words startled her.
"What?" she said, confused.
"I sense it. There is much hatred and anger. And a craving for vengeance. Things are not as they seem."
"Why do you say that?"
"Watch this." He picked up a rock, and threw over the edge. They watched as it fell. She gasped when she saw it fall. What she thought was the bottom had shimmered momentarily as the rock passed through it.
"An illusion," she murmured. "I didn't even notice." She had been too caught up in her own thoughts and her own misery to notice things around her properly.
"We should get out of here," he said.
She nodded, and they attempted to go back the way they came. However, something invisible but tangible was standing in their path whenever they tried to retrace their steps.
She turned to him and said, "Someone wants us to keep on moving ahead."
"Someone put in a lot of effort to create this illusion and that someone doesn't want us to leave." He looked worried.
She shrugged. "So, what are we to do now?"
"Since we can't go back, and I think it not advisable for us to push on, I think we should stop right here." He noticed her shivering as a gust of wind danced around her, making her even colder than before. "Are you cold?" There was a note of concern in his voice that she could hardly stand to hear.
She did not answer, but her chattering teeth and shuddering body said it all. He looked around, seeking shelter. All he could see was a small hollowed out part in the rock of the wall of the cliff beside them. It was nothing much, but it would offer scant comfort from the pouring rain.
Without saying anything, he took her hand gently and led her to the depression. He released it slowly as she sat down. There was not much space, so he sat in the rain, emerald green eyes watching her as she tried to get herself warm.
Feeling guilty, Yaone said, her voice barely above a whisper, "Come on in. There's space for two if we squeeze a little. Get out of the rain for a while."
He nodded, and they sat side by side, squashed up against each other. Yaone was still cold, and he could feel her repeated tremors. Finally gathering up the courage to speak, he asked, "Would you mind if I held you for a while? You seem so cold, at least that'll help you warm up a little faster.
She closed her eyes, not knowing how to answer. Then, she nodded.
Tenderly, she felt herself being gathered up in his arms and she leant back against him, feeling the warmth her body so craved. Her shivering stopped, and after a while, Yaone slept.
***
Reviews and comments, as always, are much wanted and appreciated.