Recalling The Spirit
By Jo-chan-ANIME
Disclaimer: Look, I've written twenty previous chapters, and I am getting pretty tired of this, but...I DO NOT OWN ANY HAYAO MIYAZAKI CREATIONS (or part of a song from Escaflowne the movie that I thought would fit so a character is going to sing it.)
You might notice that I am not a fan of peroxide.
I'm also going to start dedicating each chapter to a certain person or reader.
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to a friend of mine who will ask me to tell them about the next chapter, and has all my chapters in hard copy. (I get the chapters for them.)
Chapter #6
~Jeez! Stupid Akira, stupid smart comments, stupid need his help, stupid refuses to say my name, stupid show-off, stupid I-can-swim, stupid 'I suggest we go towards the bathhouse'...~
Tamiko walked fast-paced, forcing Akira to keep up. She was grumbling mentally, and was scowling.
~...stupid thinks he's so much better then me, stupid hate him, stupid world, stupid story, stupid mystery, stupid adventure, stupid spirits, stupid wolf...~
She looked over her shoulder, and saw Akira behind her.
~STUPID IDIOT!~
"Well come ON then! We don't have all night!"
Akira growled. All he wanted was to just get out of this place. On top of that, that PERSON was bossing him around. He sped up his pace to draw even with her. "Look, if you don't want me to come...?" Tamiko scowled, and continued walking in silence. Akira smirked. "Got you."
Tamiko froze in her tracks, closed her eyes, and began to walk again. She was feeling as though...her mind was slipping away from her. That it was...like...it was vanishing...
"Hello, earth to stubborn girl!"
That brought Tamiko out of her daze. Angry. "You don't think that you've fooled me, do you? You're not coming along for the fun of it. What do you want?!?"
"To find my mother."
Tamiko could hear the sadness in his voice, but there was something about the story she found confusing, and began paying more attention to the conversation then where she was walking. "But, your mother couldn't be HERE! You said that she was Irish..."
"She's not. My father is."
"But you told me..."
Akira closed his eyes, suffering. "I...it's hard for me to talk about her, alright?"
Tamiko nodded. "Oh." She murmured, and turned forward, looking at the ground. Suddenly, Akira grasped her (good) arm, pulling Tamiko back.
Tamiko's eyes widened. "What are you..."
Akira grinned. "I thought walking into one tree per day would be enough."
Tamiko looked over her shoulder, to see giant camphor tree in front of her.
"Oh."
Akira laughed quietly. "It's not FUNNY!" Tamiko hissed.
The darkness was silent and complete, the new moon shedding no comforting light. Tamiko felt even more the feeling of...disappearing. It felt as though her senses were...stronger almost. She shivered. "Something's coming."
Akira turned to her, puzzled, when something struck out from around a corner of the bathhouse. "No-face." Akira muttered. Tamiko took a step back, fighting herself to keep focused.
Akira, on the other hand, stepped forward. ~What's gotten into him? Last time we saw this THING he was completely freaked out.~ The thought came through as Tamiko struggled silently, closing her eyes to keep herself together.
"What do you want from us?" he said, loudly and deliberately, as though speaking to a child.
"Sen." The thing whispered. "I want SEN!!!!!!"
Tamiko's eyes shot wide open. They were burning with flame. No, not burning. Her eyes WERE the flame, the normal warm, nut-brown hue gone. A breeze came from nowhere, blowing the ribbon off her hair, setting it free. Coupled with the bare feet, she looked wild and dangerous.
"Mortal! I WANT SEN!"
"I am no mortal." A small remnant of her voice was all that remained of Tamiko. Behind her voice, no WITH her voice, the snarling and growling of a dragon could be heard. She took a step forward, to face her opponent.
Akira was horribly confused, but he tried to act. "Idiot, DON'T..." he lunged forward, grabbing Tamiko's arm. Her head turned a fraction, looking at him calmly and coolly, with no sense of recognition. She pushed him to the side lightly, burning his hand with fire to make him let go. "Do not touch me."
She continued walking towards the No-Face, picking a couple of blackberries off a bush as she went, and eating them, as if the No-face was no threat to her, merely an obstacle in her way. She arrived about five paces from the beast, looking at it as if to say 'you are unimportant. Move.'
Akira shivered. No-face was at LEAST twelve feet taller then Tamiko, and she was just STANDING there. The two were in a frozen tableau, a standoff. One was waiting for the other to give them a chance to act.
A piercing scream echoed through the forest, as Tamiko winced in pain. "The...the fruit..."
Her eyes faded to their original colour, her hair slowly settled on her back, and her aura of power was gone. She was shaking. "What...?"
No-face struck, mouth open.
"Tamiko, move!"
Akira stepped forward, pushing Tamiko back. No-face missed, teeth gashing Akira's leg, leaving it a mess of blood. No-face stared at him. (Well, he always stares, but this time he was staring for a reason.)
"You. You aren't..." IT was an inhuman voice.
Akira tried to focus, and said one word, that echoed with power throughout the distant trees. "Leave." He winced in pain.
As Tamiko stared on, No-face just walked (slithered? slimed?) away.
She bit her lip, and out of bewilderment and fear, she began to cry, softly.
"I am sorry, I arrived here too late."
Both Akira and Tamiko turned their heads, trying to judge the newcomer. Akira shrugged. "Bring on the spirits." He muttered.
A green-scaled spirit sat on the fence. She was wearing a black kimono with an olive green sash. She was a human shape, and her face was pretty much human, save for the scales and the fangs. Her claws on her hands were sharp, as were the ones on her toes. Her short, jet-black hair was chin length and straight, and her eyes were almond shaped.
"Hello."
Tamiko moved, slowly, raising her fists, and sliding her foot back, for a sturdy karate stance.
"Who...what are you?" Tamiko demanded.
The spirit looked confused, but then she looked herself over. "Oh, sorry! I haven't been around much where I can't be in my spirit form. Nowadays, you want any protection you can get." She closed her reptilian eyes. Scales were replaced with tanned skin, claws receded into her hands and feet to form nails, and her fangs shrunk to normal size.
She hopped off the fence. "I'm Nile. I work here. Who're you?"
Tamiko sneered. "I make it a point not to trust someone right away."
"Why?"
"You never know."
Nile smiled. "Look, can you at least tell me why you're here?"
"No. I don't trust you."
"You are so STUBBURN! You remind me of a friend I know. We haven't spoken in fifteen years..."
"A...a friend of my best friends' mother, Satsuki, is in trouble."
Nile's yellowish eyes widened. "Satsuki? As in Satsuki, sister to Mei?"
"Mei?"
"You might not know her. She's disappeared. Mei, I mean. I'm really worried about her. Do you know Chihiro? She'd be married to a man by the name of Haku, and they'd have a little daughter, about five, and her name would be Tami...your friend's hurt."
Waves of pain shot up through Akira's leg, making him feel light-headed, and, though he hated to admit it, weak.
He saw Tamiko tense up at Nile's last sentence. Could THEY, that couple, be...
"Yes, I know them." Tamiko's voice was flat.
A loud noise arouse from the bathhouse, along with shouts.
"Oh drat it. I've got to go. Here, take this..." Nile passed Tamiko two vials, one filled with a bluish liquid, another with clear, wrapped in a large piece of white linen.
"...and meet me here later, tomorrow night. Get some sleep during the day. We have to talk. Use those," she indicated the bottles, "to help your friend. Trust me. Bye!" Nile tore of her sandals, and dashed in a very unladylike manner towards the bathhouse.
Dizziness swept over Akira, and he collapsed, falling unconscious. Tamiko noticed, looking over her shoulder. "Akira!"
She ran over, and inspected his leg. "You idiot." She said softly. "Why did you..."
She knelt down, and her eye was caught by redness on his palm. She picked his hand up gently turned it over, to see horrible burns covering it. She closed her eyes painfully as she realized what she had done. "I'm sorry." She bent her head. She had completely lost control, and had...changed. In doing so, she had hurt someone.
A small scab was all that remained of Tamiko's wound. Unable to identify the blue liquid, she tipped the vial to allow a droplet of liquid to hit her arm. Her eyes widened as it, slowly, healed her wound. Not trusting that scaly creature, she sniffed gingerly at the clear liquid. Once she recognized it, she winced. ~Well, I guess you can't seal an infected wound.~
She tipped the clear liquid over Akira's injury, grimacing as she heard the fizzling and popping. ~Peroxide. Thank goodness he's out cold. I wouldn't want to be awake when peroxide was poured on a wound of mine that horrible.~
She quickly uncorked the vial that held the blue liquid and poured that onto the leg, trying to cool the pain of the peroxide. ~The wound's deep. It'll take all night to heal. AND that's without moving it.~ She wrapped the mangled leg in the white linen, and covered Akira with his coat.
She sat up and gathered wood to make a fire. Lighting it took next to no effort. For about five minutes she tried rubbing to sticks together. When that didn't work, she threw them into the fire angrily and glared. To her shock, horror and surprise, they burst into flame.
Akira woke up to the sound of someone singing, soft, low and entrancing. It was a beautiful pitch, a beautiful voice, and the words were calm and comforting.
"The dragon, awakens, in the darkness, with a frozen heart, he roars. If you are close The dragon sleeps."
Akira sat up, biting back a yelp of pain, and looked over the fire. Tamiko sat there, looking into the depths of the fire. The light made her look...older. Not as in white hair old, but...wise. Her black hair was down to the small of her back, and her eyes glimmered in the firelight.
"Did you here that...beautiful...singing?" he questioned, unable to find a proper word to call it.
Tamiko was startled out of her reverie. "Oh! You're awake! Thank goodness."
Akira repeated the question.
A light flush covered Tamiko's cheeks. "You heard me singing?"
Akira's jaw dropped. "You?!?" he said, astounded.
Tamiko nodded, biting her lip. "My pitch isn't very high: high notes are to high for me. NORMAL notes are almost beyond my reach. I never really sing much."
"You should!" Akira groaned mentally. ~Whoops.~
"Really?" Tamiko looked surprised and grateful.
"Where'd you learn that song?" he questioned, changing the subject.
Tamiko smiled faintly at the memory. "My mother used to sing it to me when I was little. She said it was MY song. The first time she ever sang it to me, she got this sort of dazed look. I remember being really little, sitting on the bed, and staring at her."
"She sang it to you?" Akira said, putting down his hands to stand up. "OW!" he winced, as his burnt hand hit the packed earth.
A flicker of...emotional pain?...crossed Tamiko's features. She hung her head. "Akira, I'm sorry. It's my fault you were hurt, you did it because of me, and I burnt your hand myself..."
~Whoa, is she apologizing...?~ Akira thought amazed. ~She's capable of APOLOGIZING!?!~
Akira looked at her, even more amazed, as the firelight glimmered on the tears that were streaming down the girl's face. ~Tamiko...~
"If you want to leave, I understand. I...it's just...I don't know who or what I am anymore! I hurt somebody, I faced down a No-face (figuratively, not literally, since No-face has...no...face) and I...the worst thing is I couldn't control it! It's like there's this dragon I'm riding, and I'm trying to tame it and... I can't..." she sobbed quietly, trying to hide her tears. "Look. You can leave. I might hurt you again. I might kill you, for all I know!" her voice echoed hopelessness.
Her nails dug into her palm, leaving bleeding crescents there.
"Tamiko..."
~Since when did he start calling be by my name?~
"I didn't know you had it in you! Apologizing! You're really starting to scare me! You actually DO feel emotions! Aside from the anger I mean."
Tamiko's jaw dropped, angrily. "EXCUSE me?"
"You're just full of surprises."
"WHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAT!!!!!!!!!!"
Akira grinned. "Temperamental, aren't we!"
"If you weren't injured, I would..."
"Oh, but I am injured, so you can't!" Akira smirked triumphantly, trying desperately not to laugh.
Tamiko growled, trying to think of a retort.
"So, what do you think about that Nile character?" Akira questioned, changing the subject.
Tamiko frowned faintly. "It's...almost like I know her...from somewhere." She said, digging through her memory.
+++
(Ten years before, in Tamiko's home)
"Nile!!!!"
A young girl came rushing to the door, and to the character standing in front of it.
"Tami! Look, I brought you a present!"
The slightly built black haired woman bent down, producing a necklace. The pendant was a black opal, glittering in the summer sun, strung onto a pure white piece of yarn, which shone with a mysterious light.
'Tami' gasped. "It's beautiful! It's like the scale that Sen got from Kohaku in that story Mommy wrote!" The young girl slipped it over her head. "Look, I'm Sen! I'm going to go rescue Mei!"
Tamiko ran off, deep in her little daydream.
Chihiro, Haku and Nile sat down on the large couch.
Chihiro looked around, bit her lip, and said: "Nile, we're worried about Tamiko. She...a couple weeks ago...but that's not the point. Nile, she's being brought up completely human. That means," She let out a little sob. "That she can't see you anymore. Nor can we. I'm sorry." Tears began running down her face.
Tamiko, who had been around the corner, and had only heard the last three lines, gasped. ~Nile's leaving!~
+++
"I...can't remember."
Akira sighed, and rolled his eyes. "Don't go and overheat your brain..."
"Hey!"
"...looks like we'll have to trust her, for now, anyway."
The sun, finally sure it was safe to come out, peeked over the horizon.
Tamiko blinked, her eyelids heavy. "Spirit hours." She groaned, and then promptly fell asleep.
Akira, who had rested a third of the night, looked over at her, and smiled, for once, not triumphantly, or sarcastically. ~She worries to much...~ He frowned, confused and shook his head to clear it.
~Hmm. How should I wake her up? Got to think of a way to scare her half to death...~
+++++
Chihiro struggled, trying to fight her way through to death, to Haku. Her mind was throbbing, and she began to feel sick and faint.
~Almost...there...~
+++++
(9 hours later)
Tamiko was tossing in her sleep, and Akira was awake, trying to think up a revengeful plan, when Nile approached. She knelt down, and shook Tamiko lightly. "Excuse me. I need your help. Please."
Tamiko stirred, groggily. "Wha...?"
"Your friend," she nodded at Akira, who looked curious, "and I will be at the boiler room. Meet us there in seven minutes." Nile grabbed a stick, and sketched a brief map on the packed earth.
She stood, pulled Akira up by his arm, and began walking. "But he's injured!" exclaimed Tamiko. "You put the stuff I gave you on his leg, right? Then he's fine. OH! And I brought both of you a change of clothes, so you'd fit in. Akira, you can change later."
And with that, Nile ran off, pulling a bewildered Akira behind her.
Tamiko groaned, and began finger-combing her hair, looking at the clothes that Nile left her.
+++
"Who's he?" looking down at the unconscious man. "He's barely breathing!"
Tamiko spoke in a choked voice. "He's my cousin. Haku. I haven't seen him for years. He's aged. He used to be a spirit, but he gave it up, and turned mortal. I used to visit their daughter, but she accidently summoned dragons, and they decided to raise her completely mortal, which is sad. The dragons loved her, and she fit so PERFECTLY into her powers. Now Haku and Chihiro are trapped here, for some reason, Mei's disappeared, and Haku's dying, and I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"
Akira looked down at the man. His eyes and features reminded him a bit of someone he knew. He frowned, but couldn't quite place it.
"What was the girl's name?"
A step at the door made them both turn their heads. A young woman stood there, wearing a navy blue kimono with patterns of silver cherry blossoms, along with a silver obi (belt). Her jet black hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, with the ribbon tied farther down (like the bathhouse woman wear). But on top of this, her feet were still bare.
Akira's eyes widened. "Whoa, what happened to the tough tomboy?"
"Nile didn't give me jeans." Tamiko replied.
Then her eyes fell on the man lying on the ground.
Her mouth dropped open, and she looked panicked. She ran over, falling to her knees beside him, and shaking his one arm.
"Dad? Dad, are you okay? Where's Mom? DAD?"
She turned to Nile. "What's happened to him? Is he going to be okay?"
Akira stared on in shock. "You're..."
Nile blinked, looking at the girl. "Tami? Tamiko?"
+++
I debated ending this chapter after the bit with Chihiro, but I changed my mind. What does everyone think? My chapters are getting a bit longer now, which is good. This chapter had about 3000 words! YAY!
I'd like to thank everyone SO MUCH for reading this, and for your comments on it! If you have constructive criticism (things I can improve on) please tell me (politely, if you don't mind).
Look how much my writing's improved! Look at the first chapter of Spirited Again and then this. YAY!
Thanks
Jo-chan
By Jo-chan-ANIME
Disclaimer: Look, I've written twenty previous chapters, and I am getting pretty tired of this, but...I DO NOT OWN ANY HAYAO MIYAZAKI CREATIONS (or part of a song from Escaflowne the movie that I thought would fit so a character is going to sing it.)
You might notice that I am not a fan of peroxide.
I'm also going to start dedicating each chapter to a certain person or reader.
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to a friend of mine who will ask me to tell them about the next chapter, and has all my chapters in hard copy. (I get the chapters for them.)
Chapter #6
~Jeez! Stupid Akira, stupid smart comments, stupid need his help, stupid refuses to say my name, stupid show-off, stupid I-can-swim, stupid 'I suggest we go towards the bathhouse'...~
Tamiko walked fast-paced, forcing Akira to keep up. She was grumbling mentally, and was scowling.
~...stupid thinks he's so much better then me, stupid hate him, stupid world, stupid story, stupid mystery, stupid adventure, stupid spirits, stupid wolf...~
She looked over her shoulder, and saw Akira behind her.
~STUPID IDIOT!~
"Well come ON then! We don't have all night!"
Akira growled. All he wanted was to just get out of this place. On top of that, that PERSON was bossing him around. He sped up his pace to draw even with her. "Look, if you don't want me to come...?" Tamiko scowled, and continued walking in silence. Akira smirked. "Got you."
Tamiko froze in her tracks, closed her eyes, and began to walk again. She was feeling as though...her mind was slipping away from her. That it was...like...it was vanishing...
"Hello, earth to stubborn girl!"
That brought Tamiko out of her daze. Angry. "You don't think that you've fooled me, do you? You're not coming along for the fun of it. What do you want?!?"
"To find my mother."
Tamiko could hear the sadness in his voice, but there was something about the story she found confusing, and began paying more attention to the conversation then where she was walking. "But, your mother couldn't be HERE! You said that she was Irish..."
"She's not. My father is."
"But you told me..."
Akira closed his eyes, suffering. "I...it's hard for me to talk about her, alright?"
Tamiko nodded. "Oh." She murmured, and turned forward, looking at the ground. Suddenly, Akira grasped her (good) arm, pulling Tamiko back.
Tamiko's eyes widened. "What are you..."
Akira grinned. "I thought walking into one tree per day would be enough."
Tamiko looked over her shoulder, to see giant camphor tree in front of her.
"Oh."
Akira laughed quietly. "It's not FUNNY!" Tamiko hissed.
The darkness was silent and complete, the new moon shedding no comforting light. Tamiko felt even more the feeling of...disappearing. It felt as though her senses were...stronger almost. She shivered. "Something's coming."
Akira turned to her, puzzled, when something struck out from around a corner of the bathhouse. "No-face." Akira muttered. Tamiko took a step back, fighting herself to keep focused.
Akira, on the other hand, stepped forward. ~What's gotten into him? Last time we saw this THING he was completely freaked out.~ The thought came through as Tamiko struggled silently, closing her eyes to keep herself together.
"What do you want from us?" he said, loudly and deliberately, as though speaking to a child.
"Sen." The thing whispered. "I want SEN!!!!!!"
Tamiko's eyes shot wide open. They were burning with flame. No, not burning. Her eyes WERE the flame, the normal warm, nut-brown hue gone. A breeze came from nowhere, blowing the ribbon off her hair, setting it free. Coupled with the bare feet, she looked wild and dangerous.
"Mortal! I WANT SEN!"
"I am no mortal." A small remnant of her voice was all that remained of Tamiko. Behind her voice, no WITH her voice, the snarling and growling of a dragon could be heard. She took a step forward, to face her opponent.
Akira was horribly confused, but he tried to act. "Idiot, DON'T..." he lunged forward, grabbing Tamiko's arm. Her head turned a fraction, looking at him calmly and coolly, with no sense of recognition. She pushed him to the side lightly, burning his hand with fire to make him let go. "Do not touch me."
She continued walking towards the No-Face, picking a couple of blackberries off a bush as she went, and eating them, as if the No-face was no threat to her, merely an obstacle in her way. She arrived about five paces from the beast, looking at it as if to say 'you are unimportant. Move.'
Akira shivered. No-face was at LEAST twelve feet taller then Tamiko, and she was just STANDING there. The two were in a frozen tableau, a standoff. One was waiting for the other to give them a chance to act.
A piercing scream echoed through the forest, as Tamiko winced in pain. "The...the fruit..."
Her eyes faded to their original colour, her hair slowly settled on her back, and her aura of power was gone. She was shaking. "What...?"
No-face struck, mouth open.
"Tamiko, move!"
Akira stepped forward, pushing Tamiko back. No-face missed, teeth gashing Akira's leg, leaving it a mess of blood. No-face stared at him. (Well, he always stares, but this time he was staring for a reason.)
"You. You aren't..." IT was an inhuman voice.
Akira tried to focus, and said one word, that echoed with power throughout the distant trees. "Leave." He winced in pain.
As Tamiko stared on, No-face just walked (slithered? slimed?) away.
She bit her lip, and out of bewilderment and fear, she began to cry, softly.
"I am sorry, I arrived here too late."
Both Akira and Tamiko turned their heads, trying to judge the newcomer. Akira shrugged. "Bring on the spirits." He muttered.
A green-scaled spirit sat on the fence. She was wearing a black kimono with an olive green sash. She was a human shape, and her face was pretty much human, save for the scales and the fangs. Her claws on her hands were sharp, as were the ones on her toes. Her short, jet-black hair was chin length and straight, and her eyes were almond shaped.
"Hello."
Tamiko moved, slowly, raising her fists, and sliding her foot back, for a sturdy karate stance.
"Who...what are you?" Tamiko demanded.
The spirit looked confused, but then she looked herself over. "Oh, sorry! I haven't been around much where I can't be in my spirit form. Nowadays, you want any protection you can get." She closed her reptilian eyes. Scales were replaced with tanned skin, claws receded into her hands and feet to form nails, and her fangs shrunk to normal size.
She hopped off the fence. "I'm Nile. I work here. Who're you?"
Tamiko sneered. "I make it a point not to trust someone right away."
"Why?"
"You never know."
Nile smiled. "Look, can you at least tell me why you're here?"
"No. I don't trust you."
"You are so STUBBURN! You remind me of a friend I know. We haven't spoken in fifteen years..."
"A...a friend of my best friends' mother, Satsuki, is in trouble."
Nile's yellowish eyes widened. "Satsuki? As in Satsuki, sister to Mei?"
"Mei?"
"You might not know her. She's disappeared. Mei, I mean. I'm really worried about her. Do you know Chihiro? She'd be married to a man by the name of Haku, and they'd have a little daughter, about five, and her name would be Tami...your friend's hurt."
Waves of pain shot up through Akira's leg, making him feel light-headed, and, though he hated to admit it, weak.
He saw Tamiko tense up at Nile's last sentence. Could THEY, that couple, be...
"Yes, I know them." Tamiko's voice was flat.
A loud noise arouse from the bathhouse, along with shouts.
"Oh drat it. I've got to go. Here, take this..." Nile passed Tamiko two vials, one filled with a bluish liquid, another with clear, wrapped in a large piece of white linen.
"...and meet me here later, tomorrow night. Get some sleep during the day. We have to talk. Use those," she indicated the bottles, "to help your friend. Trust me. Bye!" Nile tore of her sandals, and dashed in a very unladylike manner towards the bathhouse.
Dizziness swept over Akira, and he collapsed, falling unconscious. Tamiko noticed, looking over her shoulder. "Akira!"
She ran over, and inspected his leg. "You idiot." She said softly. "Why did you..."
She knelt down, and her eye was caught by redness on his palm. She picked his hand up gently turned it over, to see horrible burns covering it. She closed her eyes painfully as she realized what she had done. "I'm sorry." She bent her head. She had completely lost control, and had...changed. In doing so, she had hurt someone.
A small scab was all that remained of Tamiko's wound. Unable to identify the blue liquid, she tipped the vial to allow a droplet of liquid to hit her arm. Her eyes widened as it, slowly, healed her wound. Not trusting that scaly creature, she sniffed gingerly at the clear liquid. Once she recognized it, she winced. ~Well, I guess you can't seal an infected wound.~
She tipped the clear liquid over Akira's injury, grimacing as she heard the fizzling and popping. ~Peroxide. Thank goodness he's out cold. I wouldn't want to be awake when peroxide was poured on a wound of mine that horrible.~
She quickly uncorked the vial that held the blue liquid and poured that onto the leg, trying to cool the pain of the peroxide. ~The wound's deep. It'll take all night to heal. AND that's without moving it.~ She wrapped the mangled leg in the white linen, and covered Akira with his coat.
She sat up and gathered wood to make a fire. Lighting it took next to no effort. For about five minutes she tried rubbing to sticks together. When that didn't work, she threw them into the fire angrily and glared. To her shock, horror and surprise, they burst into flame.
Akira woke up to the sound of someone singing, soft, low and entrancing. It was a beautiful pitch, a beautiful voice, and the words were calm and comforting.
"The dragon, awakens, in the darkness, with a frozen heart, he roars. If you are close The dragon sleeps."
Akira sat up, biting back a yelp of pain, and looked over the fire. Tamiko sat there, looking into the depths of the fire. The light made her look...older. Not as in white hair old, but...wise. Her black hair was down to the small of her back, and her eyes glimmered in the firelight.
"Did you here that...beautiful...singing?" he questioned, unable to find a proper word to call it.
Tamiko was startled out of her reverie. "Oh! You're awake! Thank goodness."
Akira repeated the question.
A light flush covered Tamiko's cheeks. "You heard me singing?"
Akira's jaw dropped. "You?!?" he said, astounded.
Tamiko nodded, biting her lip. "My pitch isn't very high: high notes are to high for me. NORMAL notes are almost beyond my reach. I never really sing much."
"You should!" Akira groaned mentally. ~Whoops.~
"Really?" Tamiko looked surprised and grateful.
"Where'd you learn that song?" he questioned, changing the subject.
Tamiko smiled faintly at the memory. "My mother used to sing it to me when I was little. She said it was MY song. The first time she ever sang it to me, she got this sort of dazed look. I remember being really little, sitting on the bed, and staring at her."
"She sang it to you?" Akira said, putting down his hands to stand up. "OW!" he winced, as his burnt hand hit the packed earth.
A flicker of...emotional pain?...crossed Tamiko's features. She hung her head. "Akira, I'm sorry. It's my fault you were hurt, you did it because of me, and I burnt your hand myself..."
~Whoa, is she apologizing...?~ Akira thought amazed. ~She's capable of APOLOGIZING!?!~
Akira looked at her, even more amazed, as the firelight glimmered on the tears that were streaming down the girl's face. ~Tamiko...~
"If you want to leave, I understand. I...it's just...I don't know who or what I am anymore! I hurt somebody, I faced down a No-face (figuratively, not literally, since No-face has...no...face) and I...the worst thing is I couldn't control it! It's like there's this dragon I'm riding, and I'm trying to tame it and... I can't..." she sobbed quietly, trying to hide her tears. "Look. You can leave. I might hurt you again. I might kill you, for all I know!" her voice echoed hopelessness.
Her nails dug into her palm, leaving bleeding crescents there.
"Tamiko..."
~Since when did he start calling be by my name?~
"I didn't know you had it in you! Apologizing! You're really starting to scare me! You actually DO feel emotions! Aside from the anger I mean."
Tamiko's jaw dropped, angrily. "EXCUSE me?"
"You're just full of surprises."
"WHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAT!!!!!!!!!!"
Akira grinned. "Temperamental, aren't we!"
"If you weren't injured, I would..."
"Oh, but I am injured, so you can't!" Akira smirked triumphantly, trying desperately not to laugh.
Tamiko growled, trying to think of a retort.
"So, what do you think about that Nile character?" Akira questioned, changing the subject.
Tamiko frowned faintly. "It's...almost like I know her...from somewhere." She said, digging through her memory.
+++
(Ten years before, in Tamiko's home)
"Nile!!!!"
A young girl came rushing to the door, and to the character standing in front of it.
"Tami! Look, I brought you a present!"
The slightly built black haired woman bent down, producing a necklace. The pendant was a black opal, glittering in the summer sun, strung onto a pure white piece of yarn, which shone with a mysterious light.
'Tami' gasped. "It's beautiful! It's like the scale that Sen got from Kohaku in that story Mommy wrote!" The young girl slipped it over her head. "Look, I'm Sen! I'm going to go rescue Mei!"
Tamiko ran off, deep in her little daydream.
Chihiro, Haku and Nile sat down on the large couch.
Chihiro looked around, bit her lip, and said: "Nile, we're worried about Tamiko. She...a couple weeks ago...but that's not the point. Nile, she's being brought up completely human. That means," She let out a little sob. "That she can't see you anymore. Nor can we. I'm sorry." Tears began running down her face.
Tamiko, who had been around the corner, and had only heard the last three lines, gasped. ~Nile's leaving!~
+++
"I...can't remember."
Akira sighed, and rolled his eyes. "Don't go and overheat your brain..."
"Hey!"
"...looks like we'll have to trust her, for now, anyway."
The sun, finally sure it was safe to come out, peeked over the horizon.
Tamiko blinked, her eyelids heavy. "Spirit hours." She groaned, and then promptly fell asleep.
Akira, who had rested a third of the night, looked over at her, and smiled, for once, not triumphantly, or sarcastically. ~She worries to much...~ He frowned, confused and shook his head to clear it.
~Hmm. How should I wake her up? Got to think of a way to scare her half to death...~
+++++
Chihiro struggled, trying to fight her way through to death, to Haku. Her mind was throbbing, and she began to feel sick and faint.
~Almost...there...~
+++++
(9 hours later)
Tamiko was tossing in her sleep, and Akira was awake, trying to think up a revengeful plan, when Nile approached. She knelt down, and shook Tamiko lightly. "Excuse me. I need your help. Please."
Tamiko stirred, groggily. "Wha...?"
"Your friend," she nodded at Akira, who looked curious, "and I will be at the boiler room. Meet us there in seven minutes." Nile grabbed a stick, and sketched a brief map on the packed earth.
She stood, pulled Akira up by his arm, and began walking. "But he's injured!" exclaimed Tamiko. "You put the stuff I gave you on his leg, right? Then he's fine. OH! And I brought both of you a change of clothes, so you'd fit in. Akira, you can change later."
And with that, Nile ran off, pulling a bewildered Akira behind her.
Tamiko groaned, and began finger-combing her hair, looking at the clothes that Nile left her.
+++
"Who's he?" looking down at the unconscious man. "He's barely breathing!"
Tamiko spoke in a choked voice. "He's my cousin. Haku. I haven't seen him for years. He's aged. He used to be a spirit, but he gave it up, and turned mortal. I used to visit their daughter, but she accidently summoned dragons, and they decided to raise her completely mortal, which is sad. The dragons loved her, and she fit so PERFECTLY into her powers. Now Haku and Chihiro are trapped here, for some reason, Mei's disappeared, and Haku's dying, and I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"
Akira looked down at the man. His eyes and features reminded him a bit of someone he knew. He frowned, but couldn't quite place it.
"What was the girl's name?"
A step at the door made them both turn their heads. A young woman stood there, wearing a navy blue kimono with patterns of silver cherry blossoms, along with a silver obi (belt). Her jet black hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, with the ribbon tied farther down (like the bathhouse woman wear). But on top of this, her feet were still bare.
Akira's eyes widened. "Whoa, what happened to the tough tomboy?"
"Nile didn't give me jeans." Tamiko replied.
Then her eyes fell on the man lying on the ground.
Her mouth dropped open, and she looked panicked. She ran over, falling to her knees beside him, and shaking his one arm.
"Dad? Dad, are you okay? Where's Mom? DAD?"
She turned to Nile. "What's happened to him? Is he going to be okay?"
Akira stared on in shock. "You're..."
Nile blinked, looking at the girl. "Tami? Tamiko?"
+++
I debated ending this chapter after the bit with Chihiro, but I changed my mind. What does everyone think? My chapters are getting a bit longer now, which is good. This chapter had about 3000 words! YAY!
I'd like to thank everyone SO MUCH for reading this, and for your comments on it! If you have constructive criticism (things I can improve on) please tell me (politely, if you don't mind).
Look how much my writing's improved! Look at the first chapter of Spirited Again and then this. YAY!
Thanks
Jo-chan
