"Chie-chan, I feel a little strange," Riku said as the girls entered Akrasia Temple.
"Me, too," Chie said.
Riku had only been to Akrasia Temple once, but she knew that she didn't like it. It was too large, too lonesome. And, for some reason, the temple itself was always cold and damp. And everything was dead. Chie didn't like it either because of the lack of light and life.
Chie's eyes darted from one corner of the large structure to the other. "Um, Kira-san, do we really need to be here?" she asked.
Kira turned around and smiled at them. "Yes, we do. Why do you ask?"
Chie twirled a lock of her hair. "It's just . . . well . . ."
"I understand if this place scares you, but this is something that must be dealt with immediately," Kira said in a hard voice.
Suddenly, the wind picked up. There was a loud booming sound and a crash. Chie and Riku grabbed each other and shrieked. Kira looked up at the sky and frowned. It was a strange, purplish color. The little sunlight that remained was disappearing.
"It couldn't be," she said. "Iru-kun couldn't have been right. Iru-kun couldn't possibly know---"
"Kira-san, what are you talking about?" Riku asked.
Kira turned to the girls. Both looked scared, but Chie was visibly trembling. Her lower lip was quivering and tears were filling her eyes. She was squeezing Riku's hands so hard that her knuckles were white.
Kira sighed. She didn't want to scare the girl anymore by telling her what she was thinking. Besides, it had just been a silly hunch told by a fevered teenaged boy. She wasn't supposed to take those things seriously.
"It's nothing," she said and plastered on another smile. "Chie-chan, are you scared?"
"No," Chie replied in a shaky voice. A tear rolled down her face and plopped onto the floor.
"It's all right," Kira said. "Come on, let's go."
Kira started walking inside the temple. Riku and Chie followed her. Chie wouldn't let go of Riku's hand. With her other hand, she brushed away the other tears that fell down her face.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Riku asked.
Chie nodded and smiled a wobbly smile. "I'm all right, Giku-chan. Thanks for asking."
Riku wanted to ask more, but Chie had turned to stare at something in the opposite direction. Chie was still trembling and she kept sniffling. Riku could tell that her friend was crying.
She must really miss her sister, Riku thought sadly.
Riku knew what it was like to have a sister. After all, Risa was her twin and, even though she bugged her sometimes, they were still very close. Riku couldn't stand the thought of losing Risa. To give her some strength, Riku squeezed Chie's hand.
Their footsteps echoed in the temple. It seemed darker for some reason and the air had suddenly gotten colder. Kira turned to a passageway to the right and started walking towards a door. She pushed it open and in they went.
The room was shaped like a square and was completely dark. There were four candles in each of the four corners. The flames flickered a little, making their shadows dance. There were many streaks of red on the black walls. Here and there were a few letters, but, other than that, they were all jumbled up.
"Kira-san, what is this place?" Chie asked.
Kira turned to Chie. "The place where we must perform the ceremony."
"What ceremony?" Riku asked. She had an extremely bad feeling about this.
"It'll open the Portal and you'll see Anas and everyone else. Of course, you don't have too---"
"I'll do it!" Chie exclaimed and finally let go of Riku's hand.
"Are you sure?" Riku asked.
With fierce determination, Chie nodded. I can't start being a baby again. I have to do this!
A smile slowly crept up Kira's lips. "Are you sure, Chie-chan?"
"Yes. Now, what do I have to do?"
"Go to the center."
Cautiously, Chie walked towards the center of the room. She'd be lying if she said the room didn't scare her, but, at the same time, she didn't want to back out.
"Sing."
Chie stared at Kira with confusion. "I have to sing? What song?"
"It doesn't matter. Just do it."
Chie twirled a lock of her hair and stared at the ground. "But I don't think I---"
Kira sighed with mild exasperation. "Riku-chan, would you say Chie-chan's a good singer?"
Riku nodded. "Yeah, she's really good."
"Well, you heard her, Chie-chan. You are the only possible candidate for this ceremony. Start singing. Pour your feelings into the song."
"My feelings?"
"Everything you've been feeling since this whole incident started. Use those emotions to open the Portal."
Emotions . . .
Everything had started around the beginning of spring, Chie's favorite season. There had been her fainting spell, her talk with Daisuke, her meeting with Anas . . . so many things had happened through the course of what, a week? Two weeks?
Feelings of sadness, loneliness, and fear welled up in Chie's heart. She closed her eyes, lifted her arms to chest-level, clasped her hands, and rested her chin on them. Slowly, her lips parted and the sweet sound of her voice filled the room.
"On the day you left I just waved goodbye as usual, as if we were to meet again in this city
To believe in love is not to lose to myself
Until my wish comes true, I'll remain with a smile and look at the stars, praying for your return
I want to be the sky for you
So I can take away your sorrows, too
Whenever I look up, I want to fell as if I'm not alone
Let there be a place I can return to . . ."
Riku gasped. The letters on the walls started glowing, casting an eerie crimson light on Chie. At Chie's feet, a large circle suddenly materialized.
"What is---?" Riku started.
Kira held up a finger to silence her. "Hush. The ceremony has started."
Chie was oblivious to their words, the glowing, and the shapes that materialized at her feet as she continued to sing. Everything seemed hazy. The only thing that existed was the sound of her voice in that red-dyed room in the lonesome temple.
"I'm still living happily in this city without you because I feel that that's the one thing I can do now
There's a hidden meaning to all things that happen
I hope you'll remain yourself even if your dream begins to vanish because I'll always be here . . ."
As she sang, another circle formed within the circle that had first appeared. Then a triangle and a hexagon.
"It's okay even if you're not strong enough to erase all tears
After you rest your tired heart wish for a better tomorrow and fall asleep like the young children . . ."
Riku watched as more shapes formed. She didn't know what to make of all this. However, she understood why Chie had picked that song. The song sounded so much like something she would say to someone. Riku couldn't help but think that Chie, with her hands clasped as if she were praying, was begging someone to help her. To help everyone, in fact.
"This vast world is connected
The white clouds will flow and turn into wind to reach you
Will my voice reach you?
I couldn't say those overflowing feelings for you
I want to be the sky for you
So I can take away your sorrows, too
Whenever I look up, I want to fell as if I'm not alone
Let there be a place I can return to . . ."
Suddenly, there was a loud, rumbling noise. Riku gasped and noticed the red letters moving. They quickly moved from their spots and joined together up in the ceiling.
The strange jumble of circles, triangles, hexagons, rectangles, and swirls at Chie's feet also started to glow just as she sang the final words of the song in a sad, whispery, hopeful voice:
"Let there be a place I can return to . . ."
The letter glowed and spelled out one word in huge, red capitol letters:
PORTAL
Didn't this turn out weird? I didn't even plan for all this to happen! When I chose "Motherland", I never thought the song would somehow come to represent Chie's true feelings. I didn't even think Chie would be willing to go along with all this. She really changed from my initial character sketch. She's still kinda dumb and naïve, but she's become a little wiser. Maybe it has to do with her name meaning wisdom. By the way, my middle sister's name also means wisdom (although her name's Greek and not Japanese), but she definitely isn't wise. She stole my cookies and you never steal sweet stuff from me because then I get mad! Fear me, cookie-stealers, fear me!
