Fall from grace
By hye-kyo
Disclaimer: Nope, RK and all its characters are not mine.
Author's Notes: So this was based on the same idea as my one-shot Kaidan, why have Kaidan as a different story? Probably because it has more developed plot (or should I say more potential for development?). This has been sitting in my HD for some time now, it's one of those experiments with folkloric ideas (remember the fics Darkness and The courtship, Dragon dance, The tradition and Kaidan). There would be more of that stuff soon.
Title: Last candle
Rating: T
It was the last candle. It was the hundredth story and as she said, in a low voice, the very last words she felt a chill. A sudden chill and she quickly shook her head and dismissed herself as being silly. It was just a retelling, a retelling of some old tales she heard when she was younger, when she would listen to her older cousins murmur ghost stories at night, frightening themselves, huddling closer together as if they were cold whereas it was summer and those summer nights were humid, unbearably hot.
She blew the last flame and as the last flicker disappeared she swallowed hard, heard Megumi and Misao shudder and she nervously laughed.
"It's a silly game," she said as she flicked open the lights.
"No it's not."
"If it isn't, where is the ghost you're supposed to see after the hundredth story?" she bent her neck, felt a stiff muscle grow pliant.
"Well…" Misao's voice trailed off.
"I'm going to bed now. Kaoru's right. That was a silly game," Megumi stood up, gathered the candles and decided against not asking Misao to accompany her to the kitchen to return the candles.
Misao frowned at her, "And you tell me it's a silly game." She stood up, gathered the remaining candles and went with Megumi.
Kaoru opened the windows to air the room. The room smelled wildly of lavender and she felt a bit suffocated. Misao really had to use scented ones. It was Misao's idea to play hyakumonogatari. She refused, she never really did like it. She used to play it with her cousins when she was much younger and each night she would dream. She knew it was the same dream everytime. She just couldn't seem to remember the exact dream everytime she wakes up.
Once, when she turned fifteen, her eldest cousin initiated the game. That night she dreamt of golden eyes. She woke up, not really terrified, anxious rather, and had the feeling that the dream she had was the same dream she had been having before.
When she turned eighteen, just to test her theory, she played it again with her college friends. Surprisingly there were no golden eyes, only sensations. And she could feel her whole body tingling when she woke up the following morning.
The following nights she dreamt of red, too much red and calloused hands. And then the sensations increased, the touches were more daring, more explorative and she could not control it as she felt it moving along her breasts and down between her legs. And every morning her knees would buckle and threaten to give out. She cursed herself many times for those kinds of dreams, blaming Megumi inwardly for bringing her along to some porn movie festival for her birthday.
And tonight. She took in a deep breath, shook her head, and scolded herself. She doesn't want to dream tonight. She doesn't need the sensations. Right?
She closed the windows, the air much cleaner, lighter, less sweet, less aromatic. She locked the doors and yawned. It was almost midnight. The storytelling had taken her entire night.
She heard Misao and Megumi talking softly and she mischievously thought to scare them. But suddenly feeling overly sleepy she decided against it and went to her room.
A/n: So? You know the drill guys...