Title: Miko
Author: Ree
Theme: Preseries - Image "To Grasp is Hard by ~DreamingPhotographer"
Genre: general
Version: Anime/Manga
Rating: G

I asked for their stories and this is what they told me. I can't guarantee they're the truth, you will have to ask Takeuchi Naoko, to whom they belong to.

Miko

The swishing of a broom over stone was a sound Rei wasn't used to hearing. The gentle patter of stockinged feet on wood floors was one she wasn't used to being able to hear. But they were an everyday occurrence since her father had sent her away, ever since she had moved into her Grandfather's shrine. Privacy was another new thing.

Her black dress swished against her calves as she wandered the small garden. 'Black... I'm sick of it. Dad insists on it though. We must always look right for the media. And since he is in the national spotlight so often...' Someone had told him of the custom of wearing black for a while after a loved one died, so now she was stuck in a black dress two weeks after the funeral.

Her black scarf fluttered in the breeze that caused the leaves to swirl across her path. 'Grandpa needs help, but he won't accept mine. Not unless I become a miko. I know that I could do it without joining, I've been to other shrines that let others help them out.' She glared at the temple where she knew her grandfather was meditating. 'He is manipulating me. He wants me to be join. But why?'

Her wandering feet brought her to a section of the building she had never seen. The boards were dusty and an air of disuse hung all about. Looking about she noticed it "L"ed off from the main body of the house, so it was neatly tucked behind the bulk of the building. Curiosity and the desire for something to change the direction of her thoughts pulled her to the dusty walk and an unopened door. Gently pulling the door open, she peered into the dusty room. Hanging on one wall was a hakama and white kimono shirt. Against the wall near the miko's outfit was a small dresser. It was the pictures on the dresser that caught her attention. 'I wonder who they are pictures of. Maybe Grandpa when he was younger, someone that the former miko liked, just landscapes.' Stepping into the room, leaving dusty footprints in her wake, she let her curiosity pull her across the room.

When she reached them she brushed the dust off the first in the collection. Smiling back at her was a younger version of her Grandpa and an unknown woman. Behind them was the temple. It was from a while ago because the cherry tree was smaller. 'I wonder if that is my Grandmother?' She stared at the picture a few moments more, noticing that both of them looked happy. It was rare when her parents had ever looked that happy, even in the media pictures. 'Grandpa still has the smile lines around his eyes.' Setting it down, she reached for another one. When the dust coat was removed, she was sure she was looking at a picture of herself. The only thing that convinced her differently was that she had never worn a hakama and Grandpa and the other lady were in the picture. Rei's hand trembled slightly as her fought back the tears that were threatening. 'Mama... that is Mama.' Her finger brushed over the picture, trying to caress face staring back at her. She looked at her grandfather and the lady. 'That must be my Grandmother.' The rich eyes that peered back at her had hints of purple in them, just like hers did. 'Dad always wondered where I got my eye color from. He must have never known her.' Setting the picture of a happy family down, she dusted off the next. She jerked her hand back as if a snake tried to bite her. 'What is a picture of Dad doing here?' The depression, the darkness that now followed her when she was around her dad, tried to fall on to her shoulders.

Shaking it off the best she could, she turned away from the pictures. Taking in the small table, the neatly folded futon, and other small items about the room, Rei realized where she was. 'This was Mama's room.' Sinking to the floor, she let her elbows rest on the dusty table. 'Mama was a miko. That makes sense, she was his daughter. Why does he want me to be one? What about me makes him think I can be one?' She gazed inwardly, the room fading from sight. 'I look like Mama and now I know I have Grandmother's eyes... If I dress as a miko, surely that would make him think of her... them. Does he think I can actually do it?' Lowering her head to her arms, she tried not to breath in the dust as she tried to think. The quiet settled around her and she drifted off to sleep.

The sunbeams that slanted across the floor when she woke up told her how much time had passed. Somehow, while she slept, the peace in the room had settled deep into her soul. She knew it would be short lived, she had always been hot tempered, but for a moment she savored a clear head, free from grief and anger. Opening the door to the room, she felt the wind blow about her, stirring the dust. 'Mama, what should I do? Should I be the person Dad wants me to be, or the one Grandpa wants me to become?'

The breeze plucked at her scarf, tugging it from around her shoulders and sending it flying. Reflexively she tried to catch it. The wind carried it away from her and she chased it across the grounds. The scarf sailed over the building before it finally came to rest on steps of the temple. Stooping to pick it up, she heard the temple door open. As her grandfather walked out, the fire inside caught her eye and pulled at her soul. 'So, this is my sign... my answer. Thanks, Mama.' Holding the scarf, she approached the person she had hardly seen while she was growing up, one that she hardly knew. "Hi Grandpa."

Renji looked up it to the eyes that took him so far back into time. "Good evening, Rei."

Rei cast her eyes to the ground briefly before looking back at him. Resolve and pride shown in her eyes. "I...I will be a miko."

Renji's eyes felt his heart swell with pride and hope. 'Maybe she can find some peace, just a little bit.'

When he smiled at her, Rei noticed that it reached his eyes.