Genbu no Miko: The Winter's Tale
Chapter 2 – The Universe of the Four Gods
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me.
A dazzling green brilliance that emanated from the book swept across the room in a quick flash. Unprepared for this, Takiko raised a hand up against the stabbing glare of the luminous green, to protect her eyes as she felt the ground beneath her feet give way.
A sudden cloak of cold air came rushing up hastily as if in a hurried attempt to welcome her to whatever that she was about to face. With a soft thud, she finally found herself on solid ground after a seemingly endless fall. Opening her eyes, Takiko found herself struck dumb as she gazed at an entirely foreign landscape that greeted her sight.
A great expanse of white that was occasionally dotted with a scant array of scrawny trees was completely different from that of the warm summer of Morioka just a moment ago. The wind picked up, as it became a cruel whip that lashed the unprotected bare skin of her face and hands harshly. Perhaps the only similarity shared between the two places was the thick silence that hung in the air.
But even that was soon to change as screams and shouts erupted from behind her, followed by frantic yelling of people to escape.
Bewildered, Takiko turned around.
Einosuke Okuda found himself abruptly pulled back to reality as his eyelids slowly fluttered open and his vision adjusted to the dim light of the room. A cold chill had picked up despite the windows were closed. For some odd reason, he felt a strange emptiness within him that he couldn't explain and his attention immediately turned to the book that lay half opened on the floor.
Perhaps it was instinct; perhaps it was something else… No matter what it was, Einosuke was unable to explain the reason for his instant calling of his daughter's name.
"Takiko! Takiko where are you?" Getting up from his seat in a sudden movement, the anxious father stalked through the house frantically, leaving the coat, which his daughter had so carefully placed over him, in an untidy heap upon the floor.
A group of people headed off in the direction away from her frenetically as they yelled and screamed at the top of their voices. Looking around to see the land empty with no other person except for her, Takiko couldn't help but to suspect that they were running from her.
"I… Hey!" Takiko called out helplessly to the group of people who were almost fading out of sight.
Her breath came out as a misty cloud that diffused shortly into the air as her voice sounded thin in the thick impenetrable silence. Helplessly she gazed around the barren landscape as cold numbing sensation began to creep up her limbs.
A ball of powdery snow fell in front of her, startling her as she turned to face the person who had throw the snowball. He was a young teen possibly only a year older than her. Rather tanned he was, which was something odd, considering the wintry conditions that enveloped the land. What was captivating about him was his eyes, which were of a deep blue that resembled the shade the sky wore in the mysterious depths of the night. In the receding lights of dusk, they glinted coldly as polished sapphires.
Down he leapt from the tree nimbly, landing softly in front of her. There he stood, barely a few meters before her, regarding her silently with a steady unwavering gaze.
She on the other hand, found herself unable to blink away, as if fixated in place by his firm stare.
Breaking the silence first in a steely tone, he asked brusquely, "Who are you?"
Slightly intimidated by him, Takiko retorted, throwing his question back at him, "Who are you?" Placing much emphasis on the last word, she stood up as best as she could, ignoring the biting cold that fed on her sore limbs.
Much to her surprise however, the boy replied. "Tomite."
It sure took her long enough, but it was only then that after a few minutes since her abrupt entry into this unexpected place, wherever it was, that Takiko noticed his odd dressing. His robes were of a navy blue rimmed with a thin border of light yellow with another layer of clothes beneath which were of a paler blue. Clothes of this style, she had definitely never seen before in Japan… And who in the right mind in Morioka would sling a quiver of arrows across his back and stroll around with a bow in hand!
It was at this very instant, when the sudden impact of the entire situation hit Takiko right in the face. Staggering back slightly from the thought of it all, her voice came out as a hesitant whisper. "This… isn't Morioka?"
Arching a brow at her, he regarded her sharply with questioning eyes. "Morioka? Where's that? This is Hokkan."
"Hokkan?" the bewildered girl found herself unable to say much more.
"You aren't from this place are you?"
Takiko shook her head mutedly.
"I guessed as much. Come with me." With that, the strange youth who called himself Tomite turned and left, heading in the direction the group of people had fled off to earlier. Shaking her head vehemently as she managed her best to suppress her jumbled nerves that very much reflected her state of thoughts, Takiko inhaled deeply, before turning to catch up with him. What had just happened, she did not know. But no matter what it was, she would just have to take things along as they came. Such is life… isn't that so?
He had searched the compounds of the house thrice, his attempts futile. His mind whirled from the nagging thought that his daughter was in danger. The voice of his instinct, which had spoken to him before, telling him to wake up with great urgency, sounded again. Driven by it, Einosuke took cautious steps back to his room. On the floor, lay the book, which he had written for his wife. Half opened, the book remained and a cold wind blew the moment the author picked up his book. And as his eyes scanned the words across the pages, his frown deepened, as his brows grew knitted.
The words that were neatly printed across drove hard into his skull with great impact. Every word within, he had no recollection of, despite him being the author. Not only that… the description of the protagonist… why did she sound so much like his daughter?
Unable to stop himself, Einosuke called out his only daughter's name, "Takiko!"
The seemingly impenetrable silence was once again broken. But this time, it was sliced by a voice that was all too familiar. Turning around, Takiko saw nothing but the boundless stretch of snow. No one else was within sight except for the youth who barely spoke. But she was certain… she had heard her father's voice. He had called her!
The voice… had it come from the sky? Uncertainly, the young girl called back in reply, her voice wavering in the frosty air, "Dad?"
Instinct spoke again, this time round instructing him to turn the page. And so he did, only to find his suspicions confirmed as his eyes ran past the words that were rapidly appearing across the blank pages.
The girl turned around uncertainly and called out, "Dad?"
A dull thud sounded across the emptiness of the room as the book slipped from the man's quivering fingers. Shaking his head in disbelief, Einosuke Okuda picked up the heap of cloth that was his coat, and pulled it close to his chest, burying his face in it.
He didn't question the presence of his coat in the room despite he had hung it earlier in the hall. He knew well enough how it had come to be in his room. The only question left unanswered in his mind was how Takiko had disappeared into the book.
What in the world had he gotten her into?
It was another world Einosuke had gotten Takiko into, as she was soon to find out. Warily, she sat in a small wooden hut as an old lady eyed her guardedly. The old woman had been doing so since ten minutes ago when Tomite had brought her inside, leaving her there with his only words, "You'll be safe here. I'll be back soon."
Then, as if having finally decided that Takiko meant her no harm, the old lady broke into a smile.
"What is your name?" she spoke in a raspy voice that was oddly soothing.
"Takiko Okuda."
"I see… Where are you from?"
"Morioka… It's a town in Japan… Where is this place? Will you please tell me where I am?" she could contain her silence no more, as question after question was popped all of a sudden in an unbroken string.
With a slight smile, the old lady interrupted Takiko's rapid fire of questions as she said, "It's no surprise that you should have so many questions… Have some warm tea to drink Takiko… I will tell you of this place, this country, and the legends that surround it…"
Pausing briefly, just to pour the young girl and herself some tea, the old lady took a small sip as she exhaled slowly, her eyes looking into Takiko's eyes, yet seemingly not truly seeing her at all.
"You are now with the Ha tribe, a group of people who close to the border that separated Hokkan from Kutou…"
Placing four pebbles on the table, the old lady indicated as she spoke, "There are four major empires in this world. Hokkan of the North, Southern Konan, Kutou of the East, and Sairou of the West… Each empire has a patron god of its own who guards over the country. Genbu the Brown Tortoise guards over Hokkan. The other countries have their guardian gods too… but all that is another story…"
Sighing, the old woman continued, "There is a legend in this world… Even among the four different empires, we all share a common legend… This myth tells us that when the country falls into dark times, a girl from another world will enter… She will be the legendary priestess who can save the country from its fallen state, for she will have three wishes granted by the patron god whom she will summon, through the gathering of the seven seishi…"
Feeling as if she was overweighed with a truckload of information, Takiko shook her head and said, "I don't understand… Why are you telling me all this?"
With a sad smile, the expression in the old lady' s eyes changed as she seemingly truly looked into Takiko's confused hazel eyes. Softly, she answered, "Because… you, my child, you are the priestess of Genbu…"
A/N: Yay! This chapter is completed… Please review!
To karayuquex: Hello! Thanks for the review! Yea… I also found chapter one slightly similar to that of the beginning of the manga, like how Takiko's life is introduced, from the school aspect and that moving onto her home… . But anyway, hope it gives a better introduction to Takiko's character because when I looked back, I barely introduced the characters at all. Thank you for the review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too…