Yay! Drama! Drama! DRAMA! I'm SO not sorry about making y'all wait on this! I am an evil drama queen, out to take over the world with my evil cliff-hangers, and deep plots!... lol... Enjoy!
Blue mist was floating all around me. I was soaking wet. My hair fluttered around like there was wind. There was a similar force around me, but, it couldn't be wind. My chest was tight, and my breath would not come to me, try as I might to catch it.
This... was a memory... a very fuzzy memory, but... it was recent enough. I could probably...
I blinked, and things came a little clearer. I saw a figure in front of me.
My mouth began to water, for some reason.
My chest got tighter. A slight panic began to set in.
The figure began moving toward me.
I blinked again. This time, I could tell the figure was a woman.
Her clothes and hair were fluttering all around her.
Her hand came clear as she reached out to me, and gently placed her hand on my face.
I blinked again as her thumb touched a spot near my eye, and slowly stroked down my cheek.
I lost my breath completely. I was now sucking water into my lungs, gagging, and coughing, trying to breathe.
My eyes closed tightly, and my hands came up to clutch at my throat, as though that would help me breathe.
I felt lips press to my forehead, and opened my eyes.
That pendant... it was only a rock in the shape of a heart, on a string of stallion hair.
But she treasured it so... My mother's pendant.
The woman gently peeled my hands away from my throat, as she pulled back to look at me.
It was so dark. I couldn't really see her.
We were rushing through a water current, with nothing to see, nothing to grab onto.
So, it surprised me when she held up a glowing pink object.
Her face was lit by the glow, revealing a sad smile.
This woman leaned in toward me once more, putting one hand on my shoulder, and bringing the pink object up to my throat.
I felt a brief, sharp pain, which was quickly dulled by the cold, swirling water.
The woman leaned over by my ear, and spoke into the water, attempting to tell me something.
My heart ached in that moment. I couldn't quite tell what she said, but... it meant something to me.
Why was she putting this thing in my neck, though? What... No...
My eyes went wide, as I remembered this entire thing.
My mother followed me to the river, to make sure I didn't fall in while we looked for my comb.
The current was so strong from recent rains; I slipped on the river bed, and grabbed her hand as I fell in.
I pulled her in with me.
Neither of us could swim, and both of us were drowning.
My mother pulled out that shard... At the time, I had no idea how important it really was... she looked at it like it was a way out, though... She looked back and forth between me and the shard for a moment or two.
In the end, she decided to give it to me, and both of us drowned in that river.
Eventually, I washed up on a distant bank, and was resurrected by the shard in my throat.
The reason I blocked this out before... I saw my mother right beside me, lying still, and smiling slightly... try as I might, I couldn't wake her... I cried that day... and they were the most painful tears I'd ever shed... I didn't want to remember the pain of that day...
My mother... she saved my life when she could've saved her own... why?
Why would she let me live after all I'd done to her? And how could she die with a smile, knowing the person she'd saved was me?
Tears poured from my eyes.
But, then... if she'd lived with it... the Shichinintai would've...
Realization dawned upon me. If I kept this shard... Bankotsu was going to take it away... and I would die.
I shook my head, trying to speak into the water. But, what was I to say? I couldn't tell her to keep it, or they would kill her. I couldn't keep it, either. They would kill me in an instant.
Tears tried to form in my eyes. All I could tell my mother was that Bankotsu would kill me.
She was un-phased by my words, and smiled as the water pulled us apart...
My eyes shot open.
"HE'LL KILL ME!" I screamed.
The first thing I saw was Bankotsu, looking down at me.
I shrieked in terror, and quickly dragged myself away from him.
I backed myself into a corner, staring at him. Looking for some way of escape.
He stared at me, looking annoyed.
"If it's any consolation, I don't feel like killing anybody right now." He said.
I didn't believe him. He was trying to distract me. I was sure.
I looked all around.
Nothing. I was stuck between a wall and a fancy pedestal.
I wouldn't be escaping this time.
"So, you finished the dream this time, right?" Bankotsu asked.
I stared at him, terrified.
Why was he taunting me so?
"Is it going to stop now? Or, is there something I have to do to keep it away?" Bankotsu asked.
He's making a joke about this! He's going to kill me, and call it 'keeping the dream away'!
I closed my eyes, and leaned my face down into my knees.
"Don't taunt me... If you're going to do it, make it quick!" I sobbed. "Surely you're capable. I've seen all the things you can do... surely you can make this painless..."
I began sobbing against my knees, scared of death, but, ready to welcome it.
I had been such a despicable person... I didn't deserve to live...
"I'm so sorry... for all I've done..." I said. "You've tried to teach me better... just as she did... and I spat in your face... I should've died a long time ago..."
Admitting all this... I never would've done this before... and I probably wouldn't have done it in front of anyone else, either...
After a moment, I noticed how quiet it was, and opened my eyes, expecting to see some form of after-life.
But, I was still in the same shrine building, in the same spot.
The only difference was that Bankotsu was now seating himself beside the door, and looking out.
I looked around for my own bloody body, wondering if I'd been killed, and not crossed over yet.
Nothing. I was alive. I was not in any noticeable danger. Bankotsu wasn't paying me any noticeable attention.
"I'll let all that slide for now." He said, folding his arms across his chest. "I have more important things to think about, right now. Unless that dream you had was about the jewel shard."
He cast me a glance.
Right... he doesn't know where the shard is yet... I only just found out myself.
"You did say someone was gonna kill ya." Bankotsu went on. "Who is it? And why?"
"You." I blurted out before I could think.
He brought his full attention to me.
Oh, no, he wants to know why I think he's going to kill me!
Please, find something! What did we fight about today? Ummm... better yet... what didn't we fight about today?
"I was dreaming... about earlier today... by the lake shore..." I said. "I'm not entirely sure how important that was... but, I haven't found it in me to look at you, let alone speak... we were so quiet today... I was wondering... what happened out there? When I turned away... I immediately felt like I'd done something wrong... our silence only feeds that feeling... are you going to kill me for that?"
His head seemed to sink back down onto his shoulders as I told him this, like he had lost interest. I could see him thinking, though.
So, there was something important going on then... I felt it, yes. It was so strong, it scared me then. I wasn't sure if that was going to become good or bad. I felt embarrassed afterwards... and that soon developed into curiosity... by the end of the day I was sulking. I didn't know what would've happened... that may have been the scary part before... but, now, it was the part that hurt most.
"Nah." Bankotsu said. "I don't kill people over stuff like that."
He cast his eyes outside once more.
"Besides... it wasn't important... right?" Bankotsu asked.
My breath was caught. I wanted to press... find out what that was... but... considering my current situation... any form of annoyance... and he would kill me.
I nodded, and sat back.
I was scared to death of him, now.
If he found out I had the Shikon no Tama kakera, he was sure to kill me. I didn't have the skill required to fight him off.
I would have to run at the nearest opportunity. I wasn't entirely sure when that would be. But, he was waiting here for somebody to show up... an opponent... their arrival would mark my departure... hopefully...
Wow... no phrases... oh, well. There's always next chapter! Please, review!