Ch 28 Questions and Answers.
He blinked his eyes opened and stared up at the blue sky above. The sun warmed his skin and the sound of a babbling brook gave him a peaceful feeling. He stretched and yawned realizing he was laying in a field of green grass. He sat up and looked around in bewilderment. In the distance to his left on the other side of the stream was a field of tall golden weeds and to his right was a lush green forest.
He stood up and looked around, trying to remember what had happened and how he had gotten here. He looked down at the stream and felt his mouth turn dry. 'A small drink would be nice,' he thought to himself. He bent back down and brought his face close; as he did, his eyes opened in shock. Staring back up at him was a young boy with dark hair and tanned skin. His eyes were the bright blue that he knew but everything else about him was different. The face staring back at him was him! But now he was tall and thin and his hands were human hands with five long thin fingers and his feet had five toes. He sat back on the grass and tried to think. The face in the water, his face, was familiar but he didn't know why it looked familiar, and he couldn't understand why he now looked human!
No longer interested in a drink, he stood back up and continued to look around. At first he had thought he was back at the O'Neil farm house, but the more he checked out his surroundings, the more he realized he was no where near it. In fact, nothing he saw looked familiar, and, where was his family? Hadn't they been with him when...he still couldn't remember what had happened.
He started walking and suddenly he began to realize something else. He stopped and looked down at his body. His eyes once again opened in surprise. He had no clothes! He was a human and a completely naked one! He moaned and shook his head. "Why do these things always happen to me?!" He said looking up at the sky. He huffed and put his arms around himself and shivered. It was warm but not remembering how he got here and why he was now a human, a naked one at that, made a wave of fear run up and down his spine.
He had to remember what happened. He had to know where he was. He started walking, trying to force the memories to come forth. What was the last thing he remembered? He knew he was suppose to be a turtle, he had three brothers and a father who was a brown rat who taught him ninjutsu. What happened just before he woke up here.
He had been fighting. Who was he fighting? He had to remember. He stopped walking and looked around again, panic raising within him. Where was he walking to? Everywhere he looked, there was nothing to show him which way to go. No sign of civilization, the farmhouse or anything to give him a clue as to where his family or anyone for that matter may be.
He took a deep calming breath, he had to get it together. He had to stop and think and remember. As he tried to gather his thoughts, he looked around again and stared at the forest. He thought he saw something moving in the trees. He peered harder and saw it again. He felt a surge of energy within him and he began to run to the spot where he saw the movement.
He got to the edge of the forest and came face to face with a deer. A tall regal brown deer with long tall antlers and a gleam in it's eyes. The deer stared at him as if he was expecting something of the youth. They stared at each other for a long moment when the large beautiful creature snorted and nodded it's head to the side.
He looked to where the deer pointed and saw a white garment on a branch of a nearby tree. It was a Japanese kimono which he gratefully took and placed it over his now human body. He turned back toward the deer and his eyes widen in thought.
"I know you." He said to the large creature. "I saw you that time I was at the farmhouse and I took my brothers and I on our ninja retreat."
The deer bobbed it's head up and down as if to tell him yes. "Am I close to the farmhouse?" He asked the deer. "Will you take me there?" He suddenly stopped and looked down at himself. He looked back up at the deer who continued to stare with a look that resembled curiosity. "Better yet," He mused. "Can you just tell me what's going on and why I'm naked and more importantly, a human when I'm suppose to be a turtle?"
The deer snorted, turned and began to run through the forest. "Wait!" He began to run after the deer. "Please, can't you help me?! "
He continued to run after the deer, looking down every now and then to make sure of his footing. At one point, looking back up he realized the deer was no longer in sight. He stopped and looked around once again. Not even realizing he was not breathing hard or out of breath. A noise to his left brought him into a run again. He ran over to where he thought he heard the noise and eventually came to a clearing. A large clearing that seemed to be in the middle of the forest. He walked over toward it, a strange feeling of uncertainty mixed with feelings of peace and safety came over him. As he walked further into the clearing his eyes widen at the sight that laid before him.
There at the far side of the clearing were five large thrones that seemed to stretch up to the sky. And on each of them, was a dragon. Each dragon was a different color. They sat tall and had an air of regalness about them. He gaped wide eyed and began to approach. They stared down at him and smiled. Suddenly, he found himself on his knees, his head bowed low.
"My lords." He said, his voice wavering with fear. He knew them. How and why, he did not know, but he knew they were some sort of guardians and ones to be revered.
"Arise young Hamato." The first dragon, whose voice was very deep and sounded almost grandfatherly, was a deep red hue with wings that seemed to light up like fire.
He did as told and stood up and faced the five dragons. "You have questions." The second dragon, sounded like a young female with a motherly voice, soft and caring. She was a blue dragon with shimmering wings.
Leo bowed his head. "Yes my lords." He responded.
"You may ask them." The third dragon, an orange hue like the sunset with wings that were as bright as the sun itself had a voice like that of a young man.
"Am I dead?"
"No young one." Said the fourth. She was a dark purple hue with wings of black and purple woven throughout. She had a high pitch voice like that of a young girl.
"You are between life and death." Said the fifth and final one. He was an emerald green with bright green shimmering wings. His voice sounded young and scratchy.
"We have decided to give you a great gift." The first one now.
"You may cross over to the land of the dead." Said the second.
"Or you may stay with us and take your rightful place as a guardian." Said the third.
The young boy opened his eyes wide and stared up at them. "I...I am to be a...a guardian." He looked down in disbelief.
"Yes, you have sacrificed youself many times before to save your loved ones, and that has earned you a place amoung us." Said the fourth
"My family." He suddenly remembered his father and brothers. What about them. Would they be okay? Who would take care of them? He lowered his head to speak again. "My lords?"
"You wish to know of your family young one." Said the fifth one.
"Yes, will they be okay?"
Now the first one spoke again. "They are fine and you will see them again."
"Your whole family has earned a place here." The second one told him and nodded over to the side of him.
He turned and looked to see the deer he had followed, but as he stared at the deer, it began to morph into a the deer spirit he and his brothers had encountered in the woods while on their vision quest. He walked over to the deer and stared into it's big black eyes for a long moment.
"I know you." He said in a whisper. He placed a hand on the spirit's arm and felt a familiar feeling begin to come over him. "It was you I kept feeling all that time." He thought back to the feelings he felt whenever the darkness of the Tengu demon threatened to overcome him. "You were the light in my soul I felt whenever I wanted to give in." Tears began to fall from his eyes as the warm feeling deep within began to spread throughout his body.
The deer smiled down at him and once again morphed into a young beautiful women with milky white skin and long dark hair. Her eyes were soft and black and her smile was warm and inviting. She also wore a white long kimono that shimmered in the bright sunshine. She placed a tender hand on his cheek as a tear rolled down her face.
"Taro." She whispered. She wrapped her arms around him and brought him into a fierce hug.
"Mother." He whispered back. "I have missed you."
"And I have missed you." She gently pushed him back and smoothed a hand over his face. "You look so grown up." She told him with a teary smile.
"You were my guardian all this time and I have forgotten you." He hung his head in shame. "I am sorry."
"No my son." She told him. "Do not apologize." She lifted his head. "We have been together throughout our lives and we will continue to always be together." She looked up at the guardians. "I have always been there to protect you, as I have protected your father, brothers and your sister."
"I don't know what to do." He told her. "I can't leave them behind."
She looked up the dragons questioningly and after a nod from the first one, she looked back at her son. "Like you and I, they all will one day join us here. But now is not their time, now it is yours to decide what you want."
"But how can I be a guardian?" His look was full of shame. "I've done such horrible things. I've killed people, innocent people."
She shook her head. "Oh my dear child, you have carried such a burden within your soul. It was never you who did those things, it was the demon using you. He took you away from me when you were just a child and gave false promises in order to keep you from us." she brought him into a hug again. "I should have protected you better but I was too afraid. It was I who failed you."
Their tears mixed together as they held each other in a tight hug. "I remember now." He told her as they pulled away from each other. "All those years ago, I accepted the demon and hoped to forge a sword to defeat it but instead I gave into the darkness and he used me to kill so many people in our village." He looked away as memories flooded his mind on his past life. "And I took my own life so that he wouldn't kill father and the others." He looked up at her. "He killed you! And it was all my fault!."
"And I protected your siblings from the evil until your father could take them and get away. But my death was never your fault, Taro. You must understand that. In each of our lives, I have protected the ones I love and if my life ended because of it, it was a sacrifice I was proud to make."
"That last time, you died at the hands of Oruku Saki by protecting father." He had a far away look in his eyes as the memory came back to him.
"Yes, and you sacrificed yourself this last time to protect him, and your brothers, just like before." She looked back at the dragons who were waiting patiently. "And it is with this sacrifice that you are here with me. They will be here too, one day, but not now, not yet. It is your turn to make this choice."
Taro turned back to the dragons and walked over to them. "My lords." He bowed respectfully to them.
"You have another question young Hamato." Said the third dragon.
"I wish to know." There was something about his death that gnawed at him. "Was I suppose to die this time?"
The dragons each looked at each other before turning back to him. "Young Hamato" The fourth dragon began. "The turtle you have become in this life could have survived the wound, but...because of the sacrifice you were willing to make, we chose to bring you here so you may now have the peace all mortals seek."
"If I refuse to stay, will I continue to the other side or...would I be allowed to return home?"
"Is home where you wish to go back to, a place filled with hate, anger and death?" Said the fifth.
"My lords, I fear for my family's safety. There is still so much they need to fight and I feel I must continue to fight alongside them."
"Very well." Said the first. "If you prefer a life filled with kaos instead of accepting the offer to be a guardian, then you may return to them and to your home."
"But know this." Said the second. "The next time you die, you may not be able to come back here before your expected time."
He looked at them quizzically.
"We only take souls who have died and passed onto the other side." The third explained.
"This was a gift given because you are an honorable soul with great strength and much love." Said the fourth
He bowed his head. "I understand." He looked back up at them. "And I thank you."
The five dragons nodded. "You may return to the living world when you are ready." The fifth said.
The boy hung his head before looking back at this mother. He walked over to her and gave her a hug. "I cannot stay, there is still so much I...We need to do." He pulled away from her. "Please understand."
She gave him a sad smile and rubbed his cheek. "I am proud of you." She told him. "And I do understand. Remember, no matter what, I am always with you and all our family." She pulled him into another hug. "And we will all be together again."
"I'll never forget you."
She looked at him and placed a gentle hand over his heart. "You will not remember this, but you will remember my love."
With a deep breath he turned and began to walk back into the woods, back the way he came, stopping only once to look back at the clearing. No longer did he see his mother behind him, now it was the deer spirit smiling at him, encouraging him to continue. He smiled back and broke into a run. His feet felt as though they had wings and finally, he found himself back in the field and running toward the babbling brook. He stopped before it and turned around one last time. There by the edge of the forest, the deer was now watching him. It stood for a moment, nodded, and slowly began to fade among the trees.
He turned back toward the brook and took a step in, as he did, his skin began to turn green and his fingers and toes became three instead of five. The smooth human skin turned hard and scaly and the dark hair fell away from him. He crossed the stream and found himself in a bright light that warmed him throughout.
He continued to walk forward, not looking back, only straight ahead and toward home.
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A few more chapters then this will finally be done. Hope everyone is enjoying the story. Please keep the reviews coming and thank you to those who did.