Don't Look Back – Chapter 22
Rain
((Kentoku's POV))
Since I had been out for two days, Perun came in and explained everything that's been happening to me. The reports say that Kallisto has vanished like a shadow. Perun says that he's even explored the ruined village himself and hasn't found a trace of her forces there. He finds it odd for her to just vanish like this, but I know that's just what she does. I told him not to worry about it. When there's a break, you take it.
Rin's been a great help to keeping my sanity. I may be a relaxed person, but I hate staying in bed. I'm not one that likes to start a conversation, so I don't. But the silence of my room always became uncomfortable once she came in. The one thing that made it leave…
Conversation. My weak point.
Fantastic.
I really felt bad, truly. I didn't say anything to her since I first woke up, and that was yesterday. She looked at me, hoping that I would start a conversation. But I never did. Now she just doesn't even bother anymore. I hate that. So… I tried it.
Yes. I, Kentoku, man of silence, actually started a conversation.
"So… how long have you been working at the bathhouse?" I asked. I knew it was a personal question and I expected her to not say anything.
I think that she was so relieved that I actually talked that she didn't mind the question. "I came to work at the bathhouse fifteen years ago."
"So you're younger than Haku?"
She laughed. "Oh gods no! I'm much older than him, but I don't think that he knows that." She paused what she was doing and looked up at the ceiling. "I had a family once. Hard to believe I'm sure. But… it was taken away from me before I had the chance to really appreciate it.
"I married fifteen years ago. It was arranged since I was older, about eight hundred. The two of us were learning how to not kill each other… and I have to admit we had a pretty good system going down. After a few years, the system fell apart. We didn't need it anymore. We could stand each other.
"After a while, we fell in love, just like everyone hoped. It only took us a year, so it wasn't that bad. The next five years were great… the last two were amazing. I had a daughter. Then… a fire came through. Unexpected, no one knew what was going on. To this day, I've never learned who or what caused it. All I knew was that my life would never be the same. My husband died fighting the fire, and I never found my daughter.
"So, I came to the bathhouse. It seemed like the best decision at the time, but now I know better. It was the worst possible thing that I could have done. I worked here for a year and hated everyday. I managed to get by, and the year Chihiro showed up at the bathhouse, I was one of the best workers."
"So you've only worked here for five years, correct?" I asked, doing some mental math.
Rin nodded. "Exactly."
Another silence fell before I dared venture another question. "What was her name?"
"My daughter's?"
"Yes."
She took a deep breath and smiled faintly. "Mitsuko."
"Child of light... is that what it means?"
"Yes." Rin replied, and then laughed quietly. "She really was. She used to make me laugh no matter what… I miss her."
I leaned forward with some difficulty, but I didn't let that stop me. "Rin, look at me." When she did, I looked into her gray eyes. "You may miss her, but you shouldn't. She wouldn't want you to be sad that you never found her."
"You speak like she's dead."
"How old was she?"
Rin paused. "Five." She whispered.
My eyes softened. "Did you ever hear anything about her?"
"No." she said before meeting my gaze. "I know that she's dead… but I don't really want to accept it…"
"Here, follow me." I said, trying to get up. I closed my eyes with a sigh. "On second thought… can you help me up first?"
((Rin's POV))
I had no idea what he was doing, or where he was taking me, but I went along with it. He led me outside to the cliff, a place I haven't been in five years.
I smiled sadly, looking up at the still gray sky. "I've never been out here…"
"It's beautiful." He said, watching me.
I stopped my study of the sky and turned my attention to him. "Why did you bring me here?"
"Think about her. Think about Mitsuko."
I wondered what in the world he was talking about, but I did so anyway.
"Mama?" a high-pitched voice asked.
I stiffened and slowly turned around. A familiar sight greeted me. A young girl, no older than seven starred back at me. With long black hair in a braid, and the palest blue eyes…
"Mitsuko." I said quietly.
"Mama!" she called again, this time with a big grin. She ran to me and hugged my legs, just like she used to.
"Sweetie… what happened to you?" I asked softly, untangling her from my legs and squatting down to her level.
She looked at me sadly. "I stayed in the house, just like you told me to."
I knew Kentoku was watching, and I frankly didn't care at this point. He knew half of the story, so he might as well know the rest. My hands flew to my mouth and I starred at her in horror.
"Baby… no you didn't."
"I listened Mama, I really did."
My eyes began to water, and I knew a few tears leaked out but I didn't care. "Suko… why didn't you run?"
"I was scared. I didn't know where you were." She said, and I was crying freely now. She wrapped her small arms around my neck and whispered in my ear. "It's okay Mama. I don't blame you. You did what you thought was best."
I stopped crying instantly. She didn't sound like the little five-year-old girl that I knew…
She let go and stepped back. Watching with fascination, she became a young woman. With a sob, I realized that she must be twenty. How old she would be right now… if she had never died. I stood up as she spoke.
"I'm fine Mama, I really am. I'm not mad at you; I never could be for long. I just don't to see you hurting yourself if I never told you what happened."
I smiled sadly, "Mitsuko… I don't-"
"You deserve to be happy Mama. Please, don't be like this for the rest of your life. What happened to the vibrant woman that was my mother?"
I laughed, "Honey… she left the day you did."
"I'm not gone though. I'm still here with you. I always will be." Mitsuko said with her bright smile. "So, you have no excuse to be sad and weepy, okay? Be happy, just like you used to. Find another little girl."
I shook my head, "I can't just find another little girl."
"Then don't find one. Have one."
I sputtered. "Wha- what?"
"You heard me. I'm sure Daddy wouldn't want you to be sad either. I'm actually dead sure he would want you to be happy too. Can you do that for both of us… for me?"
"I'll try."
"Try? Mama, you can do better than try."
I smiled. "I love you Mitsuko."
The young woman slowly melded away and became the girl that I remembered. I squatted back down and hugged the girl tightly.
"I love you too Mama."
((End POV))
Kentoku watched Rin stare at the place where her daughter, or rather the image of her daughter, stood. She had long since been gone from that spot, but Rin seemed content to just stand there.
"I told her to stay in the house…" she whispered after a while, giving Kentoku a slight scare.
"What's so wrong about that?" he asked, taking a small step closer to her.
She spun around to face him, her eyes bright with tears. "It was a fire Kentoku. A huge fire. I went outside to see what was going on. The crowd forced my away from my house. I never had a chance to go back. I knew Mitsuko was smart and that she would take care of herself."
"Rin… you did what you thought was best." He said, not really understanding why she was so upset about the whole thing.
"It wasn't what was best!" she cried, tears falling freely from her eyes. "She stayed in the house! When I had the chance to come back, my house wasn't there! It was burned to the ground! She never left!" Rin wailed, sinking to her knees, sobbing.
Kentoku's heart froze. From there on in, he seemed to move on autopilot. He sat down next to the crying woman, and gathered her in his arms. She clung to him and cried, shoulders shaking. One hand rubbed her back with the other hand was on her head.
"Rin…" he whispered.
"I'm… s-s-s-so… s-s-sorry…" she said in between sobs.
"Sshh… don't be." He told her, rocking back and forth. "It's all right, just let it out Rin. Just let it out."
They sat there for a few minutes before it began to rain. But, the two seemed oblivious to the frigid drops of water that were pelting down upon them. Kentoku hugged Rin tighter, and her sobs died down. But when she was done crying, he didn't let her go. He didn't feel that he could. Rin certainly wasn't complaining; he was a good shelter from the cold air and rain.
He marveled at how well she fit into his arms. He thought that Lavanya was a perfect fit, but this was nothing like when he held his wife. Holding Rin was like a long lost puzzle piece finally joining the rest of the puzzle to create something beautiful. She fit so well… holding her seemed so comfortable. A few days ago it would have bothered him greatly. It still did, but it wasn't exactly something to be afraid of. After all, he did promise Lavanya he would try and move on. No, he promised he would. And he was going to keep it.
He looked up at the rain and smiled. 'This is an encouragement, isn't it?' he silently asked the sky.
"Help her. She'll help you." The wind seemed to whisper. Kentoku smiled and leaned his head back down.
He and Rin sat like that for a while, neither of them moving, letting the rain soak into their clothes and wash away the sad and horrible memories… allowing them to live on.
((Haku's POV))
It was raining hard… really hard. So, there's nothing better than spending time together with family while it's raining. Chihiro and I set up a dinner in one of the dinning rooms of the bathhouse for Perun, Amaya, and us to enjoy some quality time together. I don't think we've ever actually sat down and had dinner together once. It was certainly a nice change. We were talking and laughing all through out dinner and forgetting about our troubles, just like it should be.
"So… where's Rin?" Amaya asked.
Chihiro smiled. "Yubaba charged her to keep track of Kentoku."
"Personally, I think that she was wise in doing so." I added. "They're a good match, but he's going to have a wonderful time trying not to get killed."
"Whoa, wait a minute." Perun said, holding up a hand. "Are you saying that he's moving on?"
"I'm not saying that he is. But, if he chooses to do so with Rin's help, he's in for a big surprise. She might or might not do it, but that's going to be half the fun. Just sitting down and watching things play out."
Perun looked at me, completely speechless. "Shut up." He said simply.
Chihiro laughed, "No, I think he's got a point. Rin could crack him."
"But she's going to have a hard time cracking my father!" Perun cried, looking at the both of us.
I laughed, "Oh no, she's pretty good. He might have a hard time cracking her though…"
"You've got to be kidding me!" Perun grinned, "Are you hooking our father up?"
I frowned, "No, I'm not. I'm just stating facts."
"Facts. Since when were these facts?" My brother asked. "You know, I should punish you for saying things that aren't true!" He said in a teasing voice.
"And how are you going to do that?" I asked, looking at him curiously.
Perun looked around the table, and picked up a roll. "I'll throw this at you."
I just starred at him like he was crazy. "You really think that's going to make me shut up?"
"No." he said simply. "But it's just an excuse to throw it at you."
I sighed, "Well if that's going to help-"
SMACK.
Something hit my face… only it wasn't a roll. I slowly raised my hand and wiped whipped cream off of my eyes. I glared at Perun, who was still holding his roll. He was starring at me, wide eyed and trying not to laugh. Amaya was covering her mouth with both hands attempting, but failing, to stifle her giggles.
I slowly turned my head to look at Chihiro who was grinning from ear to ear. I saw a ruined pie next to her. After starring at it for a few seconds, I looked up into her laughing brown eyes.
"You did not just do that." I deadpanned.
She grinned. "No, I didn't just do it. I did it a few seconds ago."
I starred at her coolly, and reached over to get what remained of the pie. "Well," I began, still looking into her eyes. "I'll show you what I'm about to do."
SMACK.
She squealed in surprise and I busted out laughing. She wiped her face free of cream and glared at me for a few seconds, before she joined in my mirth. She got most of the remaining cream in her hands and jumped up from the table. I turned my head and dodged her incoming cream ball.
I shouldn't have done that.
SMACK.
I turned around to see whom she had hit, and tried not to laugh so hard. Perun glared at the both of us, cream dripping off the right side of his face. "That was so not cool." He said. All of us laughed.
That's when he decided to finally attack me with his roll. He chucked it at my head, and I touched the spot where it hit. "Ouch." I whispered before picking up the roll and throwing it back at him.
Only I missed.
SMACK.
Perun busted out laughing when it hit Amaya.
"Oh, you think this is funny?" she asked, smiling sweetly at my twin.
He grinned at her, "Hilarious."
She smiled even bigger, and picked up what remained of her soup.
SLOOSH.
All over Perun's head.
The war was waged for a few more minutes, Chihiro and I joining in the spirit of the food fight.
"What in the world is going on here?" a low voice asked, and we all turned to look at the door.
To our surprise, and my and Perun's embarrassment, stood Kentoku and Rin.
Perun acted like what we were doing was nothing out of the ordinary. "Why good evening father. May I inquire as to why you are wet?"
"May I inquire as to why you are covered in soup?" he countered, glaring at us with his arms crossed.
"Ah…" I began, looking at my younger brother nervously. Looking back to my slightly amused father I tried a tactic that I hoped would work. "Can we apply the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy for this one?"
For the first time in a while, I saw my father give a genuine smile. "Fine by me."
A/N: I really liked this chapter, I really did. I noticed some people thought that Rin was extrememly younger than Kentoku. Well...
We actually don't know how old Rin really is, so we're free to guess. I'm saying that she's about 815... 820ish... Kentoku himself is about 1000.I know, that's like a 200 year difference, but they're spirits. We think that's a big age gap, but spirits live a VERY VERY VERY long time. So, 200 years is nothing to them really. If it still grosses you out... oh well. That's just you. Deal with it, there's going to be fluff... I think.
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Thank you so much for reviewing everyone!
-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-