The seat, which had been rocking back and forth as the tires rumbled through potholes, reached a level medium.
The ride had approached Toukyou, the city of the smoothest pavement in the world.
What a nice, easy trip it had become! But Hana had been sleeping all the rickety way—even through the uneven countryside.
It was when the truck stopped coasting along that Hana's eyelids shot up. The hum of the truck, the approaching twilight, and his spirit and uncle Ryu to protect him...
It had almost felt as comfortable as his bed at home.
Ryu unbuckled, simultaneously pulling the keys from the ignition. "Bocchan?"
"Yeah, Ryu," Hana replied through a small yawn. He smiled. "I'm awake."
Matamune bookmarked his current page, and lowered himself with tiny cat paws to the sidewalk nearby. What friction he lacked between his claws and the shiny surface of the vehicle shell, he made up in the spiritual ability to practically float.
Ah, to be a ghost is rewarding! I am even spared from falling.
He looked up at Hana, who had just hopped out of the truck.
But rather than just being any ghost,
I am the mochirei of this gifted young boy.
Thank you, Anna-san.
Ryu circled around the front of the truck to where Hana and Matamune awaited him on the walk. He donned his sunglasses, doing his best to look down from the intensely setting sun. Both of his companions, short in height, looked up at his confident smirk and smiled back.
"Well, here we are. Let's go."
His right foot clacked forward in a sharp white shoe, making the first move toward the door of an apartment building.
The structure was a solid dark grey color, facing out perpendicular to the parked truck. To the left and to the right, Hana looked open-mouthed down the urbanized block. Millions of buildings look too much like this one, he thought. Bustling people made their way across the sidewalk bordering the apartment's front, most dressed nicely, few colorful, and a very small amount not checking their watches constantly.
It was dusk; just about time for the hard-working Toukyouites to return home.
"Hana-san," Matamune hinted, tapping his master's shoulder with his long pipe. Hana looked up to Ryu, at the top of the wide steps to the door of the apartment complex.
Ryu looked to the buzzers at the right of the door frame, and pressed one that was for a room on the second level.
As Hana and Matamune climbed the stairs, Hana recognized the name by the button that Ryu had just pushed: "P. Usui."
P. Usui...? Hana's hands reached up and scratched his head through messy blond hair. That sounds familiar to me...though I've only been to this part of downtown Toukyou a couple times.
"Little Master?" Ryu turned around and asked. He had already opened the door and stepped inside, and was now half-turned toward the Asakura boy.
Hana was just standing there, and then looked up. "Huh?"
"Come on in; we can't take up all this nice lady's time."
"Hai, Ossan."
Matamune shifted his gaze toward Hana, and he smiled pleasantly with the air of a sage. "You should go on forth; don't think too much in this situation. You have us to guide you, so there is no reason to feel intimidated."
"Matamune?" Hana began to ask him, now walking forward. "Maybe if I hadn't fallen asleep, it would be fresh in my mind...but I totally remember hearing 'P. Usui' before—"
"Usui is Horohoro's last name," Matamune reminded him.
"Ah!" The boy blinked. It was true. "Sou da ne." That's right.
"We're not going to keep it from you," Matamune told him with a click of his tongue. "The person you're going to meet is Horohoro's younger sister, Pirika Usui."
Hana nodded; then a moment later, he growled. "But you won't tell me what's so important about her? What's she going to tell us that you can't?"
Matamune knew that this was uniquely Hana; he had an oddly analytical nature. He was always subconsciously interrogating everything around him, and that brought wonder to him as well as frustration.
It was because he felt that he was always being kept in the dark, and for the most part...it was true.
With that in mind, the wise cat calmly stated, "She'll tell us exactly that. What we can't, what no one else could, about Horohoro."
Hana looked Matamune as skeptically as if he were a three-dollar bill. The threesome stepped into an elevator. "You always think that you're so philosophical."
With a chuckle, the spirit shrugged. "I just keep things simple, Hana-san. Perhaps you should try that sometime."
The boy rolled his big, brown irises up towards the ceiling. When the elevator door's bell brought him back to his surroundings, his eyes focused on the narrow door before them. It had to be Pirika's.
On the floor in front of the entryway was a beautiful rug. It was roughly woven in sky blue, with a curious white symbol on it—it looked very much like an elaborate horseshoe, pointed where it should be round. The pointiest part of the strange white image was pierced with the picture of a red arrow.
This rug reminded him of Horohoro's angularly-patterned black cloak instantly. But what brought his mind back even more strongly to Horohoro was the wooden piece hanging from the back of the door.
This decoration was white, pear-shaped and long. It had a pattern carved into it with images of clovers, grass, sunlight, and swirling winds. Everything that the design portrayed seemed to speak of the spirits that filled everything in nature with wonder.
Ooh.
Hana couldn't help but gulp, even though the piece was uplifting. It was reminiscent of the stick that had set Horohoro off so much when it broke.
Ryu knocked crisply on the sturdy door, and waited anxiously for it to be opened up.
A few seconds later, the knob clicked to the left, and an attractive lady stood in their presence.
She was of medium height, pretty skinny, and had feet of long, icy blue hair pulled back from her face in a headband. She wore a many-layered beaded necklace, and also had many earrings on each ear. Astute black eyeglasses sat on pale cheeks and a long nose, windowing huge, aquamarine eyes placed perfectly on her peach-shaped face.
Her dress was long and eccentric; it flowed with blue, green and purple designs that coolly spiraled around the skirt. Though it was not in any way revealing, of note were the royal blue tattoos that it failed to cover up. The spare, flowery designs dazzled along her arms and came together at the palms and backs of her hands. Hana stuck his tongue out unwittingly at the inked skin of such a nice-looking, fair-skinned lady.
Half-smiling, she asked them with a tilt of the head, "Won't you come in?"
Upon closer observation from Hana's keen eyes, her lips were tattooed as well.
Eew, gross...he thought.
Despite what Hana's first impressions were, he stepped in with a bow at the invitation. Pirika giggled at the cuteness of his respect, and smiled at Ryu. "It's been a really long time."
"Ah yes, too long!" Ryu grinned in a cheesy manner. He thrust out his arms, expecting an embrace.
Matamune shook his head and took a deep puff from his pipe.
Pirika's eyes expressively loured, and she trailed off in straw sandals after Hana.
Ryu, somewhat heartbroken at the lackluster reunion, gloomily walked through the doorway and into the apartment. Matamune followed, thinking about peeling his book open but ultimately deciding he'd better listen.
When Hana walked into the parlor, he spun slowly to take in the room. It was free of too much décor, but numerous paintings dressed the walls with peaceful nature scenes. There was such a breezy, light atmosphere in the apartment compared to the flurry and business of the Toukyou streets outside.
"You can sit down here, you know," Pirika suggested to Hana. He broke his wandering mind away from the walls and looked to sit on a double-layered mat on the floor—there was no furniture that rose above-ground, except for a clean kitchen countertop.
"Thank you," Hana offered at her hospitality.
"Aww, he really is so cute!" Pirika cooed as though Hana wasn't there. "Just like when I first saw him as a widdle baby..."
Ryu scratched behind his head and laughed as Hana puffed his cheeks out. After Pirika turned and grinned at the pompadoured man, she looked down to the spirit beside him. She wore a musing look. Hana's pouting mouth fell open at her apparent acknowledgment of a ghost, but then his fist came down in the other hand. Her brother was indeed a shaman; it was no wonder she had the ability to see apparitions, too.
Matamune smiled up at Pirika and bowed low.
"Forgive me for lack of introduction. I am not used to such matters as a humble cat that is only visible to a select few."
Pirika tapped her index finger to her lips and listened on.
"I am Matamune of the Cats. I am the mochirei of Hana, and have served the Asakura to the best of my ability for a thousand years.
My favorite thing is...Matatabi."
At this, Pirika held her stomach, leaned over, and burst into ebullient laughter.
The guests looked on tight-lipped, and Matamune's eyes grew wide and looked at his open paws. Had he said something...wrong?
Pirika, who had the appearance of an unconventional young woman, wiped the tears from her eyes and choked a little on a laugh before regaining her composure.
"Eheh...hahaha..." she gasped, looking around at the peculiar faces. "Um, Sorry. No, seriously, I just...I didn't expect a cat to give the same kind of cut-and-dry introduction that my brother might have given. I mean, he even said that his favorite thing...was mountain grass!" With a final pfft, she pushed her glasses up. "Ah...I'm sorry..."
"No, you shouldn't be," Ryu comforted her. "But you know as well as I that Horohoro is struggling right now. He's not his old self."
Pirika's mouth drooped slightly. Her gaze grew serious. "He definitely isn't the same. He probably...wouldn't even be the least bit hospitable to guests, much less introduce himself to them."
Ryu gulped. "We just came from a visit with him."
"What?"
Hana played with a corner of his mat, waiting for Ryu to turn Pirika into the train of conversation that would lead to Horohoro's past in Hokkaido. Matamune nodded to Pirika with his eyes closed, confirming what Ryu said.
"D-Do you know how much I've wanted to see him?! He's...he's been secluding himself for almost four years now!! Who knows how he would react to anyone near him?!!" Pirika flailed her arms about, her once pale cheeks now turning pink and bothered. "You know what?! I bet he hasn't even been training himself!! He's a lazy woodland hermit by now!! That's it!!! That's..." She slumped down to her knees, the flowing skirt poofing out as it touched the ground.
Ryu reached out to comfort her, but Matamune snapped his fingers and shook his head. To save her from Ryu's over-eagerness, he rubbed against her leg and purred as if to say, "It's okay; talk it out. I'm here."
Pirika, clenching her teeth together to gain control, pat Matamune on the head softly. "I...really appreciate you guys coming by. I just don't have the courage anymore...I can't even think about trying to go, and visit—"
"I understand," Ryu said timidly.
"..." Pirika's eyes narrowed. "Wait, how did he act when you went there?"
Hana hung his head and dared to keep his eyes fixed on her. He had planned to spill the beans, but was not so much willing to now.
"He became," Matamune licked his paw and began, "quite troubled toward the end of our short stay. And it was very evident that something had shocked him tremendously."
Hana was feeling lower and lower with every second. Matamune then asked articulately,
"Hana-san, explain for us?"
Pirika looked over at him. He swallowed and sighed. He really didn't want to hurt her anymore by telling her how he upset her brother.
Boldly, Hana took the plunge. "Usui-san, I...think I did something really bad. I broke something."
"'Broke something'?"
"...Yeah. It was Horohoro's."
Pirika's eyes did not widen, but stayed steady on the boy. Hana wasn't sure if he should have felt tenser or more relaxed. He just decided to continue.
"I...I broke a white stick."
Matamune, who had given into reading, dropped his book and coughed over a smoke of his pipe. He did not expect to hear Hana confess to breaking "a white stick."
Ryu, likewise, scratched his head in confusion. What...the hell...
Pirika's expression transformed...in the most unexpected way. Her lips perked her cheeks up, and fully exposed her ornate tattoo. She smiled brightly, and begged, "Go on."
"Hey! It's true!" Hana declared, eyebrows meeting together. He hoped that what he imparted was connecting with her. "I mean, it was pretty and all...but I didn't think it was such a big deal! I should have been more sorry, I guess, but...he didn't even give me a chance..."
"No, no, I understand what you're saying! Really!" The woman waved her hand. "Keep going! It was like, yay long, right?" She positioned her palms in the air about ten centimeters away from each other. "Leaves and such carved into it?"
Hana began to smile, and expressed himself more loudly when he spoke. "Yeah!! Oh, wow, you know just what I'm talking about!" He stood up. "It was in his fancy kimono!"
Pirika maintained a pleasant air, looking at Hana with understanding. "...I see." She fingered her tamasay necklace, in thought. "To think of what it still means to him...After all these years have passed..."
Hana's spirits were just pulled further down. He tried to pour out his feelings, explaining timidly, "I...really had no idea how important it was to him, and I broke it." Feeling on the spot, feeling like he could cry, he apologized.
"Gomen nasai."
"'Gomen nasai'?" She blinked bemusedly. Even giggled a little. "'Gomen'...'nasai'...?? Oh, Hana!"
She flew across the room and hugged him, all while on her knees. "Hana-kuuuuun—that's just so cute! Aww, don't apologize!!"
Hana blinked repeatedly with surprise. More at ease, he then hugged back, teeth showing through a grin.
"You know what?" Pirika exclaimed. Everyone in the apartment was staring blankly at her now, wondering what she'd say next. "This is great news! Oh, I need to tell you all about it! I can see you're all a little...in the dark, haha."
Noooo, really?
At least Ryu didn't even have to bring about the subject of Horohoro, Hana thought. She's the type of woman who'll control a conversation all by herself if she wants.
Kinda like Kaachan.
"You other two; sit! I'll explain everything."
After Ryu and Matamune settled on the carpet by Pirika and Hana, Pirika cleared her throat. She began to tell them about what changed Horohoro's entire lifestyle...
"Pirika! Can you believe it?"
"Believe what, Oniichan?"
The young warrior's nostrils flared as he breathed in the rich air of Hokkaido's countryside. "It's home here. No matter how much jeopardy our lifestyle and culture and all of that is in, you know what? We are most comfortable when we are with our Utari." Our comrades.
"W-we..." Pirika stammered. "We aren't...really home yet, Brother."
"Ah, well...maybe, sorta." Horohoro widened his eyes with each repetitive blink. They were beginning to get dried out from staring out the window of the car, wind blasting in through his unclosed eyelids. Pulling his head back to the interior of the automobile, he beckoned Kororo in as well. Rubbing his face in his hands, he sighed. "But just the anticipation! How long has it been since we traveled back into Eastern Hokkaido together, ne?"
Pirika mildly grinned. "A real long time."
They sat in silence, awaiting their generous "chauffeur" to drop them off when they gave the word. Hitch-hiking had become the most understandable method of travel for Horohoro—ever since he came back to Japan from America.
"You know, Brother, it's really beautiful outside."
"Mm...I know, I've realized that."
"But isn't it weird?"
"Nani o?" He wondered what as he turned to face her.
"The trees..."
"What trees?"
"Exactly!!" Her eyes grew intense, deep. "There is so much forest that is missing!"
"Demo, oi!" Pirika's older brother looked at her more aggressively, getting closer to her face. "Are you sure that you're telling this guy to go the right way?"
Her mouth fell open, and then closed tightly so that she could puff her cheeks out like half-inflated balloons. "Excuse me???" she asked, her speech muffled with anger.
"Ah, but you should remember better than me! You came back here for much of the time I was in the Shaman Fight, right?" Horohoro bit his lip. "Girls. They can't remember for crap."
-ZUPPAN!!!-
Horohoro's right cheek was slap-red. He touched it gently and looked once more at his sister, flabbergasted.
"Horohoro!" she cried, using his nickname. "You...I can't believe that you would just talk about me like that! I mean, I Love You, Horo!"
Horohoro uttered a small sound, hesitant of what to say for a moment. He then smiled, his mouth cocked to one side, and reassured her. "Pirika, I Love You, too. You're my little sister. Don't cry." He lifted his hand to softly to her cheek, wiping away the few salty tears.
His poor sister. She was sweet, albeit a little scary sometimes, but he really wasn't mad at her at all. They had had a long, beautiful trip home together, first traveling by plane to the northernmost main island of Japan, then hiking it most of the way in from the plane's touchdown. This was actually the most relaxed he had been in a long time with her...resting on her shoulder when he got tired in the car, her resting on his...It was all very peaceful, and he appreciated Pirika more and more with each second.
He was mad because for his first time coming back home after almost two years,
He was greeted with barren fields of stumps and abandoned, orange equipment.
And he would rather it not be brought to his attention.
"We are on the right path, you know," Pirika asserted.
"I...know that," Horo nodded. "Let's just wait quietly for now. I think we are almost there."
"We ARE almost there," Pirika harrumphed. "And you were the one making all the fuss, Brother of mine."
Horohoro winced. His sister had a hold on him that was never loose.
His stare returned out the window, his tiny spirit looking out at the plains and snuggling against her master's cheek.
"Oh! Mister!" Pirika shouted more loudly than necessary to the companions' tight-lipped driver. "This is it! We'll walk from here."
"What are you talking about?!" Horohoro sputtered. He whipped his head around once more at their surroundings. It was not as thickly vegetated as he remembered it, and the grass was unhealthy and patched up in certain spots. "This isn't where our village is! Sorry, but we have to drive a little further—"
"I didn't SAY that this was where we live, you psycho!" Pirika snapped. "We're walking from here! Please let us off."
The man solemnly nodded, and then clicked all of the car doors unlocked. Horohoro immediately jumped out, and slammed his door in Kororo's face.
"K-kurukurrr..." the tiny Koropokkur cried. She was intuitive, and couldn't stand to feel so much anger from her own shaman.
Pirika sighed and gazed at Kororo sadly. "Come on, Koro." She held her hands open. Burdock leaf trailing behind, Kororo floated over and nestled herself in Pirika's warm palms. The girl bid the driver farewell, and then ran off after her brother. He had retrieved his snowboard from the trunk in a hurry, and was already a ways down the dusty road.
"Brother," she called to him, a foot behind. "You shouldn't take this all so hard. I know you're mad that things have changed, but don't let anything like that get to you."
"Pirika," he responded. "You don't know what I'm feeling right now."
"I know I don't, but at least I'm not pretending to. You seem to think that I can't talk to you because all I'm trying to do is bring you down with what I have to say. And it's just not true!"
"Kuruu!"
"Why is Kororo with you?"
"Because! She was scared of you, and sad that you would forget about her on a whim. Your feelings are not the most important ones all the time, you know."
"How dare you say that I forgot about her?!" He halted and turned around, snowboard jolting against his back at the sudden movement. "Kororo, come on. Come here."
She stayed silent, and flew to the top of Pirika's head. Perching herself there, she moved not and gazed at Horohoro with uncertainty. It was clear that she knew that being around him was not the best thing right now.
"You know, Pirika," Horohoro sighed. There was a bit of sadness in his voice. "Maybe it's not as big a shock for you to come back here and see that our Kamuy have been forsaken. But for me, it's something that nothing could have prepared me for. You...you're just too young to understand."
Pirika's lips remained shut. Blood boiling in the silence, she spoke up a minute later: "You don't have to feel like you're facing this alone, Brother. We are all facing the reality of our environment...The Ainu are dying. And not only that, but all around the world, Kamuy are being cast aside. We just have to do the best we can."
Horohoro was facing ahead, ignoring her. After wiping his eyes, a look of shock and revelation crossed his face. He asked slowly and pronouncedly, "What about the burdock fields?"
Pirika's eyes grew wide with worry. She had a bad feeling.
Kororo looked down in curiosity as Pirika asked, "What burdock fields?"
"Pirika, just tell me..." Horohoro started. "...Please. The one burdock field that we started when we were just little. That one, it's the only one for miles that's spread into multiple acres. The fields we planted for the ghosts of the Koropok Guru."
"Horohoro, don't ask that...Come on—"
The young Utari dashed ahead, his muscular legs unable to be breached by his little sister's. He heard a faint "Horohoro—!!!" from behind, but he needed to see for himself. He knew that the burdock fields weren't all right.
But that didn't prepare him for the shallow coldness of the once fertile, green fields.
A/N's
Hello! Been a while, I guess.
I just wanted to point out some, I dunno, "Ainu notes" from this chapter. I've written enough to make a mini-textbook, so if you're curious, here you go!:
"Utari" is Ainu language for "comrades," and many of the Ainu prefer to be called "Utari" as opposed to "Ainu" (which in itself, means 'humans.' But if you read Shaman King, you should know that!).
"Kamuy" means "Gods" in Ainu.
The welcome mat in front of Pirika's apartment door is actually the Ainu flag, designed around 1970 (as the Ainu had apparently not felt the need to create their own flag. Which I actually kind of admire). As a matter of fact, Ainu homes do usually have a mat that is woven to look like their flag (I...forget where in the home it is supposed to be located, though. Gomen nasai, minna!! -peko-)
I have gotten a few reactions to Pirika's tattoos. Don't spite her for it! They're traditional, and if you've ever seen pictures, they are very beautiful. Also, the tattoo practice is pretty much dead in Ainu culture, so those of you who think it's utterly disgusting to ink your lips can rest a little. But we will mention more about Pirika's life in the next chapter that takes place in her house, where she will go into her relationship with her ethnicity.
Also, I know, I KNOW already, that in the English language manga, they refer to the wide, beauteous leaves as "Butterbur" or something. Also, if VIZ's is the version you normally read, you're probably also wondering, "What the heck's a Koropok Guru?" I will explain these questions:
Okay, I really don't have that much against VIZ's "Butterbur" and "Koropokkur." As a matter of fact, they sound quite ethnic and cool that way (smile). However, I went to my Japanese teacher a while ago to ask him what he could teach me about the Ainu, and since then I've looked into a lot of their early legends and language. In a certain book, they do mention the legend of the Koropok Guru. This means, "persons who dwell below," and to spell it this way is closer to the Ainu pronunciation of these legendary people's title as opposed to the Japanese's "Koropokkur" pronunciation. I will use both when I refer to them, so as to keep all of my readers happy.
Speaking of Koropokkur, burdock leaves are the ones that they hide underneath and build their shelters below. For those of your who don't know what burdock is, it is a bristly leaf plant (also known as a thistle...yes, like Eeyore eats in Winnie-the-Pooh) that comes in many varieties. The type that Kororo is fond of is called "Greater burdock," or "Gobou" in Japanese. The Japanese use the taproot of immature burdock as a common ingredient in cooking.
On a non-Ainu note, I spelled Tokyo, "Toukyou," because of a few complaints I've gotten on OTHER stories for not spelling certain names with long vowels where they are needed. I tend to try and write names and such so that people are familiar with the terms or can easily pronounce it by sight, especially if they know limited Japanese. But I also totally understand the other end of it—spelling something so that it isn't correct as a romanized term. Either way, I hope you aren't pulling your hair out over it. It's really not worth it.
(A great, cheap, rather painful way to get yourself bald, though.)
Is there anything I forgot to clarify? O.O;; I hope not! I mean, I don't want to bore you forever (if I am, you should have stopped reading already like I would have). But if you do have any questions, feel free to Private Message me or ask while you review.
A big 'ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU' to all of my readers and, especially, my reviewers. This is my most successful story so far, and I've grown attached to it, so thanks for the support!
Posting again soon,
SS