A/N: This chapter (and possibly the next) will be in third person. I'm trying something out to see what flows better, sorry for any inconvenience. I also changed some things in the last chapters to fix any discrepancies. Some things were removed, some things were added, some stayed the same. I apologize for any mistakes, I went through the chapter multiple times to catch any misspellings.
Thank you to my first reviewer, GirlFish! It honestly made me happy when I received it. Thank you for the follows and favorites too!
Without further ado, enjoy.
III. THE SACRED POND
WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A WEEK, ENDED UP BEING A MONTH. The days flew by in a haze as all she did during that time was train, train and more training. She didn't have any time to herself to socialize and mingle with the outside world to get reacquainted with Japan. It sucked, but she knew what she signed up for and knew she wouldn't have time trying to make friends anyway.
In a few days, she would finally be heading to the past. Her grandmother visited a few times throughout the month, wondering what the hold up was; so she told Himari that she was doing a little basics and physical training of her own and spending time with her family before she ended up getting herself killed in an unknown time she wasn't accustomed to.
Himari, understanding her decision, told her she would teach her the customs of her time period and how to interact with the people who lived there, along with training her spiritually since she wasn't much of a fighter in combat. Anima didn't know how well that would go since her mannerisms haven't always been the best but she relented, understanding that learning how to properly greet someone who wasn't use to bold people (and a bold female no less, she didn't want them thinking she was a whore or anything) without coming off as rude would be useful - especially since she didn't want to go and piss off the wrong people.
Knowing her, she'd managed how to do that somehow.
Anima could admit, she wasn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the box - she wasn't ashamed to say it. At times, she could be quite slow to understand things no matter how simple they may be. It frustrated a few people who didn't have the patience for her slow mentality and playful, easy-going, laid back personality.
It also irked a lot of people of how cheerful she could be though she toned it down a bit after she failed to save the life of a little boy three years ago. Naroji Matsuoi was his name. The weight of his death had sat on her shoulders like an anvil, dragging them down with each day that went by. His death was the reason she became a recluse and stopped her social butterfly tendencies. If only she hadn't listened to those she thought were her friends and taken that unknown pill to impress them, Naroji would still be alive smiling happily with his parents.
She robbed them of that and she regretted it everyday.
She was old enough to know at that time too that what she was doing was wrong but she was so happy to call a group of friends her own who didn't care about her skin color and that she would randomly trail off in the middle of a sentence to stare into space or talk to herself abruptly that she ignored the fact they were actually a bad influence on her. Too bad it took the death of a young boy to make her realize that.
After that incident, she cut them all off and prayed fervently for forgiveness for her misguided ways. She gave up being a Shaman after a two month period of wallowing in her own misery and self-pity, the heartbroken facial expressions on the young couple's face haunted her dreams for weeks. By the third month, she convinced her older sister to move to America with her, their parents weren't happy about that (especially since she didn't tell them the reason for the abrupt decision of wanting to move) but they gave in and allowed them to leave. Two months later they were living in New York.
She only recently got better with being more interactive with people and participating in conversations and enjoying going out to have fun and not to just buy clothes or go food shopping.
Her sister, always swamped with work, managed to find time to just lay or sit with her in silence, giving her comfort without any words; just resting her head on Anima's shoulder or stomach. She appreciated those moments and cherished them greatly.
When Anima cured her mother and told her family the real reason why she stopped being a Shaman a few days into her training, her father and mother fiercely hugged her, consoling her and telling her it wasn't her fault and that she should talk to the spirit of the young boy instead of ignoring him. Knowing they were right and remembering she could see the souls of the dead once again, she called Naroji's presence to her - smiling sadly at him when he materialized in front of her.
He had shook his head at her, dismissing her pleas for forgiveness and saying he didn't blame her for his death at all. Apparently, he had been keeping up with his family and was happy to announce his mother's pregnancy. He told her he was content to watch over them until the birth of his sibling. Understanding his wishes, Anima let him go back to his family until he was officially ready to pass on.
At Naroji's forgiveness, Anima finally began to heal from the shackles of that trauma and slowly became much more confident in her abilities and choices; everyday she grew more as a person with the help of her family. She became what she once was before she got mixed up with the wrong crowd. Confident, loud, happy, and unfortunately, still clueless and a bit immature. Although, to her credit, she did know when it was time to be serious so she wasn't a complete lost case.
Her sister still hadn't come to visit, saying her boss was being a hard case and they had to wait until next week - the week Anima was leaving. Saddened to hear the news, Anima was upset for most of the day. Her lack of enthusiasm and focus in her training forced her grandparents to stop what they were doing to take a break, which leads to where Anima was now.
Sitting under the shade of a tree hiding away from the glaring rays of the too bright sun sat Anima, chin on her knees and arms wrapped around her legs as she stared sullenly at the front yard of the Reiki Shrine. Her family was inside, cooling off from the heat and enjoying afternoon tea which she didn't feel up to being apart of. Sighing and drawing absentminded circles on her mocha skin for a few seconds, Anima got up and made her way to the back of the Shrine, behind her house to see the Sacred Pond.
She still hadn't figured out how to undo the seals yet but she had a very distinct feeling that the answer to her problem had to do with her missing dream from weeks ago. Staring at the rippling surface, Anima placed her hand on one of the talismans again but this time she felt an immediate shock go up her arm. Gasping in surprise, Anima yanked her arm back and shook away the tingles.
Okay, that's never happened before.
Raising her arm again after a moment of hesitation, Anima placed her hand on the talisman and concentrated on the feeling it radiated off, ignoring the continuous shocks going up her arm. When it finally became too much, she took her hand off the paper and opened her eyes, not realizing she closed them.
The world around her bled away until everything was dark and the ground beneath her feet turned to clear, illuminating reflective water. "Woah!" She shouted, gazing around in amazement. "This is so cool!"
Disrupting the water with her movements as she walked, Anima felt an odd sense of déjà vu overcome her. Wondering where this feeling came from as she was sure she's never been here before except maybe in a- wait.
This was her dream.
The dream that she couldn't remember a month ago. The vague sense of familiarity hit her as she spun in a circle to drink in every detail although there wasn't much to see. Literally.
It was just darkness as far as she could see with the water underneath her, distorting her features from the ripples in the surface. Where the heck was she?
"It has been awhile since I have had a guest."
Screaming at the male voice behind her, Anima quickly turned to see a man of old age standing regal and tall, his white hair in a topknot with two locks framing his sharp and angular face resting to a stop at his bearded chin. He was wearing a white, plain robe with his hands tucked in the sleeves, his face had a few moles here and there. He was circling her barefoot as she kept an eye on him.
"Why does everyone love sneaking up behind me? Are you trying to give me an early grave?" Anima asked, eye twitching.
The man didn't say anything - just continued to look her up and down, assessing her.
"Hello? You gonna say anything?" At his silence, Anima started getting annoyed and went to walk away from him to ponder his random appearance somewhere else when he appeared in front of her. Letting out a scream again, Anima glared at the man. "What's your problem, dude?"
"Hm. You are not ready yet. Sit." He commanded.
"Yeah, like I'm gonna listen to you when I don't even know who you are."
He merely raised an eyebrow. "Sit."
Automatically she sat cross-legged, her body not listening to her as she struggled to move. "H-how?" She stammered.
A disgusted look overcame his face. "Your posture is atrocious." Suddenly, an ornate staff popped into his hand. "I expect nothing less considering your people."
Anima paused in her struggle, the man's words registering in her head. "Excuse me?!"
"Sit properly with your back straight."
Her body moved against her wishes and she sat with her legs folded underneath her, her feet digging into her butt and back ramrod straight with her hands placed on her thighs. "Stop controlling me!"
"What are you going to do about it, Abomination?"
Staring in displeasure at his racist insults, Anima tried and failed to move of her own free will again. "Why are you doing this?" She asked after a few moments, sweat forming on her brow at the strain of her muscles. "Who even are you?!"
"You do not even know that? Does your family teach you nothing? I suppose not since they have allowed a gorilla to breed into the family."
Heat began to rise within Anima, her brow furrowing down in anger at the blatant racism. "Don't speak about my father like that! You don't even know him, yet you judge him based solely on the color of his skin!"
The man gave her an appraising look, his pale lavender, no iris eyes narrowing a bit in barely concealed amusement. "There is hope for you after all, Young Anima."
Confused at the one-eighty turn, Anima's face scrunched up at the thinly veiled compliment. "What? I-I don't understand?"
"Look down."
Looking down, she realized she was standing on her own two feet - of her own free will. "When did I...?" Trailing off, she looked back at the man who was staring at his nails in an unconcerned manner.
"When I made the comment about your father, you were able to break my command and set yourself free."
Understanding dawned on her and she sent the man a deadpanned look. "You were purposely being racist to teach me some kind of a lesson?"
"You catch on quick. Good. I have no need for slow students." He sat down and gestured she do the same. After Anima sat in the same position she was in earlier, the inside of a living room took shape around them and a coffee table became visible between the two with cups of steaming tea and a still hot kettle.
"How many teachers am I gonna have?" She muttered to herself after taking notice of the new room they were in. "You gonna tell me who you are now, Old Man? Where are we?"
Before answering, the man took his time with pouring them tea. The calm aroma managed to relax her tense shoulders and she took her cup from him, saying a quiet thank you and inhaled the scent of sencha tea. Taking a sip, Anima let out a sigh at the delicate, sweet flavor.
"We are in my house. I am the Gatekeeper of the Sacred Pond and I am here to judge you and see if you are worthy enough to travel between the times of Past and Future." The man poured himself another cup of tea and looked at her from over the brim of his cup. "My name is Satoshi Reiki."
Anima's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak but Satoshi cut her off.
"Yes, I am your grandfather. We have much to discuss, Young Anima."
Did anyone catch that Thanos reference I slipped in?
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