AUTHOR'S NOTE: (July 7, 2010) Hi! Long time no update! I'm back, after 5 years, to try and complete some of my furuba fics (mainly this one and "With Arms Wide Open"). I won't blabber too much here so you can get started on the fic and read more of my author's notes at the bottom. Enjoy and sorry for not updating in 5 years!

Oh, and how about that chapter 131 from the manga? The one about the Juunishi banquet? EXCELLENT, ne? (you'll see why I mentioned this later...)

Chapter 4

Seihin
(Guest of Honour)

Ayame stayed until lunchtime. He would have stayed all day, but the idea crossed his mind that Akiten will need some new clothes, so he decided that he, the Magnificent Ayame, would make Akiten clothes worthy of the Princess that she is. Akiten, however, felt like crawling into a hole. She was now terrified of the white haired man and what he might do to her.

"Furthermore, Gure-ni," Ayame declared loudly, "Aki-chuu will need something decent to wear at the funeral tomorrow! I will not just stand by and see Akito-san's only daughter wearing those tattered rags! How could I possibly be in the presence of Yuki-kun, knowing that I could have done something more for the child! Yuki-kun would be so disappointed in me!"

"Aaya, don't worry so much," Shigure said, although he was mildly amused, "or you'll give yourself grey hairs."

"Gure-ni!" Ayame gasped. "Don't say such terrible things or they might come true!"

Akiten sat quietly at the table, poking her chopsticks into the now cold take-out rice they had ordered for lunch. She had wrapped the black scarf Hatori gave her around her head again, but quickly grew tired of Ayame's speeches, and his very presence exhausted her. He had taken her measurements as soon as she finished her bath (with her entire head wrapped up in the towel, much to Ayame's displeasure because he wanted to see her face now that her hair was no longer a tattered mess or a grease-ball). He had wanted to give her bangs too, but Akiten ran and hid in the closet until Ayame promised he would not cut them. Shigure managed to convince him that he could give her bangs another time. "Give her eyes a chance to adjust to light first, Aaya," he said. Only then, did Akiten emerge from the closet.

"Gochisou-sama deshita. Shitsureishimasu," she said quietly, thanking Shigure for the meal and excusing herself from the table. She stood up and retreated to her bedroom to rest from all the commotion that took place within the past few hours.

With Akiten absent, Ayame's energy fell and he became more thoughtful and serious. Shigure fell silent too, reflecting on everything that had happened.

"Gure-ni," Ayame began after a few moments of silence, "how much do you think she knows? About us, I mean?"

"Maa ne," Shigure said, still watching the doorway in which Akiten had left. "I don't know. She seems to know who we are on first contact, but to what extent, I have no idea."

Ayame watched Shigure more closely for a minute while he was in deep thought. "What about you, Gure-ni?" he asked. "How are you dealing with all... this?"

Shigure scratched his head, thinking for a moment. "It's hard to say," he replied. "I guess I'm still not quite over the shock. I mean, just a couple of days ago, I didn't know Akiten existed. I didn't know I was a father. Akito died and... despite all the things that happened between her and I... I still..."

Ayame nodded, not needing Shigure to finish his sentence. "We all carried a deep connection to Akito, but your feelings for her were always much greater than the rest of us," he said. "Just try your best. I get the feeling that she is a clever girl, no doubt with many secrets hidden away in her heart. I am sure she will understand. Give her time, ne?"

Shigure agreed silently. He knew Akiten would need time to get used to her new life with him. Even he needed some time to get used to all the new changes taking place. He felt a deep urge to make up for lost time with Akiten, and guilty for what he had done to Akito, guilty for not being there in Akiten's life as she grew up, and guilty for not knowing that she even existed until the previous day. He had never felt so guilty before as he did now. He wasn't entirely sure how to manage these feelings.

"Gure-ni," Ayame's voice broke into Shigures thoughts. "You can't change what has happened in the past, but you can change what happens in the present." Shigure watched his friend as he spoke, flicking back a wisp of white hair. "Akiten is blossoming into a young woman now, and needs guidance now more than ever on her path." He smiled with a twinkle in his eyes. "Welcome to fatherhood, Gure-san."

X

Akiten woke with a start, breathing hard. She had fallen asleep, hidden deep within the shadows under her bed. She could hear the creaking of the floorboards just beyond the bed-skirt. She could sense it was Shigure there, probably looking for her. She just wanted to be left alone.

"Aki-chan? Are you in here?"

Thank god he didn't call me by the other nickname, she thought with a sigh.

Shigure lifted the bed-skirt and peered in. "Won't you spend some time with your old man?"

She shifted uneasily. "Is Hebi-san gone?" she asked. She thought he had left, but she wanted to make sure first.

"Aaya? Yes, he left," Shigure replied with a slightly amused smile.

She crawled out from under the bed (putting on the sleeping eye mask that was resting on top of her bed) and sat down on the bed's edge.

Shigure noticed that she was sitting on her hands, but decided not to draw attention to it. She seemed to curl up, and it made her appear even more fragile. So much like her mother...

Shigure swallowed and pushed the thought of Akito from his mind as he sat down beside her on the bed. But before he could speak, Akiten asked, "Did you love her? My mother, I mean."

Taken aback, he blinked forcefully and composed himself. "Yes," he said. "I... I may have said things and done things to have hurt her... to... to distance myself from her..."

"Why?"

He pursed his lips, looking forward rather than at Akiten.

"Because you're weak?"

He turned and stared at her now. He could feel her eyes on him, even though she wore the sleeping eye mask. "Because I didn't want to get hurt," he answered.

"From what?"

He shook his head. He had said too much and didn't want to talk anymore about it. "You're too young. You wouldn't understand."

She knew that was just an excuse to get out of admitting his feelings to her. She reached her hand out, and found his knee. She rested her hand on his knee and found her answer. In her mind, she saw images of a man, who looked similar to Shigure, but younger, and the bird of the Juunishi. Her eyes widened when she recognized him. There was jealousy, anger and hurt feelings surrounding this man. She felt a weakness, much like a child's, present, in his heart, a hindrance to trust others completely...

While she used her gift since birth to find her answers through touch, Shigure mistook this gesture as a sign of sympathy and comfort. He didn't know what to do when he found her hand on his knee. He swallowed and placed his hand on top of hers, giving it a very gentle squeeze for reassurance.

A sudden image of Akito flashed into Akiten's mind, and she quickly withdrew her hand and the image disappeared. She wasn't sure if it was her mind playing tricks on her, but more likely than not, Shigure was now thinking about Akito.

Akiten had never been close to her mother. On the contrary, she hardly knew her, having had very little exposure to her mother. She had spent some time in Akito's presence, but the two of them hardly spoke to each other. Akito was usually resting. It made no difference to Akiten whether Shigure still had feelings for her or not... but it made her feel better to know that she came into this world as a result of love between two people... whether they loved each other forever or not. Akiten felt some relief knowing that her father really did love her mother at the time she was conceived. Maybe Shigure won't be such a bad person to live with? Maybe he might even love her?

Shigure frowned when she quickly withdrew her hand. Had he startled her? Or was there more about this child that he didn't know? More mental or emotional scars somewhere that made her flinch from his touch? He suddenly had the urge to know more about her. What did she like to eat? What did she like to do in her free time? Did she like to read?

One step at a time, he reminded himself, taking a deep breath to clear his mind. "What would you like to do now?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "Rest. I'm very tired."

Shigure nodded understandingly. All of these changes must be over-whelming and exhausting for her. She was, after all, still a child. Her mother just died. She just moved in with her estranged father, who didn't even know she existed. She met Ayame, who can be exhausting for anyone who didn't know him. The prospect of starting a new life can be daunting for anyone. He still didn't know much about her past, what sort of life she had lived up until that point, but he knew he had all the time in the world now to find out. So there was no point in pressing the matter before she was ready to share it.

"Do you want me to get you when it's time to eat dinner?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I'll come down if I want to," she told him.

Shigure tried not to let this rejection get to him, so he said "Okay" and left her alone.

Besides, there were still funeral preparations to make after all.

He sighed, allowing his thoughts to linger on Akito once more before he called Hatori to see if there was anything he could do to help.

X

Akiten was lying at the base of a mountain with the valley sprawled out before her. She knew she was dreaming because the sun was shining on her pale white skin and her eyes were unaffected by its blindingly bright rays.

So this is what it must feel like to be normal, she thought, relaxing contentedly as a gentle breeze blew the grass around her.

She noticed an orange cat approaching her, shyly. She sat up suddenly, startling the cat and causing him to flinch.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She slowly extended her white hand for the cat to smell. He sniffed it and started rubbing up against it, purring loudly. She watched him with her head tilted to one side. His looked at her and their eyes held for a moment.

"Wait... aren't you the cat I saw outside my bedroom window this morning?" she asked, talking out-loud more to herself than anything.

She rested her hand on top of his head, trying to search him, but her gift held no powers in her dream-world. But she didn't need her gift here anyway.

"Yes," he replied. "That was me in your world. In this world, we can all come together and attend the banquet everyday."

She was puzzled. What did he mean?

"Come," the cat said. "You are invited to come too. Everyone will be arriving shortly."

He started off up the mountain, where, if she shielded her eyes from the sunlight, she could see a small house at the top. "There?" she asked him.

"Yes," he replied. "Come."

So she followed after him up the mountain. As they climbed the mountain together, she could see other animals climbing the mountain behind them: a rat, an ox, a tiger, a rabbit, and more followed. There were a dozen of them.

"The Juunishi?" she wondered out-loud.

The cat kept climbing and Akiten followed. Seeing as this was a dream, she didn't tire like she would have in real life. They climbed higher and higher. Akiten stopped periodically to look behind her. A dragon, a snake, a horse, a ram. Every time she looked back, she saw the rest of the Juunishi following. A monkey, a bird, a dog, a pig. All twelve of them behind her and the cat.

When she reached the top of the mountain, the cat waited for her at the door of the little house. Akiten peered inside, but couldn't see anything in the darkness within.

"Come in," a voice from inside said.

Akiten couldn't tell if it was the voice of a man or a woman, but she entered and the cat followed behind her. Soon the other animals arrived and they all entered after each other and sat around the room in a big circle.

"What is this?" Akiten asked.

"Why, my little Tenshi, this is the banquet," the voice from within answered. "And you," God appeared from behind a screen separator, "are our honoured guest."

Akiten gasped as the room suddenly filled with the heavenly glow of hundreds of candles burning around the room. It was intimidating as well as inviting. Plates of food and cups of sake appeared before every animal that sat around the room. Greetings were exchanged and God went around to each of the animals, petted their heads and kissed them before God reached Akiten. God had long flowing white hair and wore a heavy white kimono with silver threads throughout that made it almost shimmer in the glow of the candles. Moreover, there was a white glow that surrounded God, and this glow made it impossible to get a clear view of God's face. Akiten could not be certain if God was smiling or not, but the vibes she felt were pleasant ones, so she felt there was nothing to be afraid of.

"My little Angel, I am so glad you have come to join us," God said, extending a hand. Akiten took it and as soon as she did, she transformed, dressed in a kimono identical to the one God wore, minus the silver threading that made God glisten. God led Akiten to the head of the banquet circle and motioned for her to have a seat on God's right hand side.

Akiten didn't know what to say or do. While the animals all ate and chatted with God, Akiten sat silently and watched. This was one of the strangest dreams she had ever had and the banquet lasted for hours. All of the animals and God were having a grand time and Akiten was beginning to wonder when she would wake up, or what the purpose of this dream even was.

The cat sat on God's left-hand side, beside the rat, and noticed that Akiten hadn't said a word, hadn't moved and hadn't touched her food at all. "What's wrong, Tenshi-san?" he asked.

"I don't understand..." Akiten answered hesitantly.

The cat turned to God and said, "My Lord God, our honoured guest does not understand."

God turned to Akiten, and she felt reassurance radiate from God's look. "My dear little Angel, you will come to know your place among us in time, as we all do. For now, enjoy yourself at my banquet."

"My place?" Akiten puzzled. "But what is my place? What is so special about me?"

"When you leave the banquet and return to the Mortal World, you will take the place of your mother," God answered.

"You were chosen to be the new God figure there," the cat explained. "You will reign over the humans who carry our spirits from one mortal life to the next. You will over-see their lives, make all of their major life choices, and see to it that our promise with God carries onto the next generation of Juunishi."

God held out a small bowl of sake to Akiten. "Take a drink from this and you will return to the Mortal World," God told her.

Akiten accepted the small bowl, feeling she had no other choice. If this would wake her up, then fine.

As she began to drink, God announced to her and all of the Juunishi present, "By accepting this drink, Akiten will inherit my role in the Mortal World and you will all obey her and love her as you do me. She will inherit everything I know and keep our promise alive forever."

"Yes our Lord God," the animals all said at once.

Akiten's eyes began to blur and droop, as though she were falling asleep. God helped to lay her gently down on her side. When she closed her eyes, she saw Akito's face and heard God say, "It is done."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, yeah. I'm back, and I'm going to try and complete some of my furuba fics (mainly this one and "With Arms Wide Open") and start another one soon afterwards at some point (probably after I finish "With Arms Wide Open"-WAWO).

I own ALL of the manga now (all 23 volumes of it) LOVE IT! XD So I will probably make a few references to some of the chapters/events that took place in the manga in this story.