Chapter Nine — Used, Abused
Satoshi walked back down the beach, Riku at his side and Risa in his arms. The older Harada sister was shivering in her wet state and the younger Harada sister had fainted in Satoshi's arms. The sun still shown brightly above, but it had passed its noonday peak and did not dry their soaking clothes.
"Do you have a way to get home?" Satoshi asked. Riku shook her head.
"Not now, anyway; we were going to be picked up late in the afternoon. I had my phone in my pocket, but it got lost in the water." Riku gathered her hair in her hands and tried to squeeze the saltwater out of it. "How about you?"
He shook his head. "It's not working." He looked down at Risa in his arms. "She needs to rest somewhere, and you need some dry clothes before you get sick." He looked up the cliff face where the street was. "Does anyone you know live around here?" Riku glanced up.
"Niwa."
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"Dai!"
Daisuke sat up abruptly in his bed, panning around. He had been on the verge of falling into a good sleep, but had been rudely awakened by the piercing cry of Towa.
"What? What is it, Towa?" he called back. There were a few seconds before she replied.
"Dai, you have some friends here who could use your help!"
"Daisuke, you have friends?" Dark teased. Daisuke rolled his eyes.
"Very funny, Dark," he said, hopping down from his bunk. "But I wonder who it could be." He grabbed his sweater where he'd thrown it on the floor and pulled it over his thin shirt as he raced out of his loft. "Hey, Towa…who is it--?" He stopped running down the stairs when he caught sight of the three new additions to the household. His dad and grandpa were by the window with Satoshi Hiwatari, offering him a towel, his dad smiling good-naturedly. On the sofa was Risa Harada, lying on her back and apparently asleep. And near the foot of the stairs, with Towa beaming as she dried her hair, was Riku.
"Hiwatari, Riku-san!"
Riku and Satoshi looked up at Daisuke as he slowly came down the stairs.
"Niwa!" Riku peeked out of the towel Towa had thrown over her head and smiled up at him. Daisuke smiled back, his heart pounding.
"Niwa." He looked up and saw Satoshi watching him. "I'm sorry to intrude, but we needed a place for them to dry off." His tone indicated the Harada twins only, but Daisuke could see a puddle forming at Satoshi's feet.
"No, no it's fine with me." Daisuke looked at his father and grandfather. "Dad? Grandpa?"
Kosuke grinned. "Of course it's fine. Dai's friends are always welcome in our house." He turned back to Satoshi. "Please, take this." He held up the towel. Satoshi stared at it for a few minutes before meeting Mr. Niwa's beaming face.
"Thank you," he said, and finally took it out of his hands.
"Hey Dad, where did Mom go?"
"Oh! Well, since your friends were here, your mother was horrified that she didn't have enough to make dinner for all of us, so she went out to the market." Towa pulled the towel off of Riku's head. "Come on! Emiko-san said you were more than welcome to borrow some of her clothes."
Riku started to protest, shaking her head and speaking sweetly. "No, really, I'm fine. We just wanted to dry off--,"
"Absolutely not," Towa commanded. "You'll get a cold staying in those wet things, and Emiko-san would never forgive me if Dai's girl got sick."
"Towa!"
She giggled madly as Daisuke's face reddened. Riku had to bow her head to hide a smile.
"And I don't think Dai would forgive me either." She grabbed her hand. "Come, it's this way." And before Riku could protest any more she was pulled into the hallway.
"Daisuke, why don't you take Hiwatari-kun upstairs and give him something to change into as well," Kosuke offered. Satoshi pulled the towel away from his face and looked up.
"No, I'm fine, really."
"It's okay, Hiwatari. I don't mind. Come on up." Daisuke started to retreat back up the stairs and then stopped. He looked over his shoulder. "Really, I don't mind. You can come up." He hurried up the stairs and listened carefully. Soon, the measured steps of Satoshi began to follow him.
"You take the saying 'Keep your friends close but your enemies closer' very literally, Daisuke," Dark said as Dai threw open his closet. "If you've forgotten, then let me remind you: He's Krad."
"He's not Krad," Daisuke defended. He ciphered through his clothes, trying to find something that would fit Satoshi. "He's just Hiwatari and still my friend. Don't worry so much."
"I never worry. I just…think ahead."
Dai laughed. "Sure." He found a green shirt that was a little too big for him, but he was still half a head shorter than Satoshi, so none of his trousers would do. "I'll have to give him some of your clothes, Dark. You're a lot taller than I am."
"What! No way!"
"Niwa?" Daisuke whirled around to Satoshi waiting in his doorway, the towel slung over his shoulder. "I need to talk to you."
"Here, I found some clothes that might fit you." He held out the shirt and pants. Satoshi took them from him.
"Thanks." But he didn't move. "Niwa, I need to ask you about last night…when we were at the vault."
Daisuke's smile dropped, but he didn't frown. He looked completely somber. "What is it?"
"When I left, did you see anything unusual come out of the vault?"
"No, you sealed it."
Satoshi nodded and stared down at the clothes in his hands. "I know, but I got a call from Detective Saehara. He said that there was a hole up there and when he went down to investigate there was nothing." He looked up. "Did Dark--,"
"Dark didn't take it."
Hiwatari let out a long breath. "That means The Mystic's Dream got away."
"Got away? What do you mean, got away? Did someone else take it?"
He shook his head. "No one took it." Satoshi pulled away from the door and sat down on the sofa under the window. "The Mystic's Dream is a living art, Niwa."
"What?"
"What?" Daisuke echoed. Satoshi just looked at him with all sincerity reflected in his eyes.
"Niwa, this time I'm dealing with something I can't stop on my own, and I don't want to risk it. The Mystic's Dream isn't just an artwork. It's…more than that. And more than I can handle."
Daisuke took a moment to absorb this. "Hiwatari--,"
"I'm asking for your help, Niwa."
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Risa could feel herself regain consciousness but her eyes weren't opening. Sounds started to become audible but still undistinguishable. There were voices, but they were distant. And there were footsteps, but they were muffled. Risa wanted to wake up, but she seemed to have forgotten how.
She couldn't even remember how she had ended up asleep.
There, finally. Her eyes were opening, even if only the slightest bit. There was an afternoon sun shining across her face and the soft down of a sofa under her weight. She was on her back, her head supported by a feather pillow. Her damp clothes clung to her like skin.
She opened her eyes a little wider and moved her head. It only swiveled a bit. Somewhere by the window were two men talking in even tones. She thought she heard her sister's voice, but it was coming from somewhere she couldn't see, and the footsteps were still muffled, but they were getting louder.
Was that Daisuke coming down the stairs? It had to be him; no one else could have that red blaze of hair. He was talking to someone and looking up over his shoulder. Who was it?
She saw feet appear first, then legs and hips. Black trousers. They looked like Dark's.
Dark's!
A waist and a torso. A naked waist and torso. Then shoulders and arms pulling a green shirt over a crown of blue hair, glasses, and a pair of azure eyes that looked over at Risa.
She remembered those same eyes staring her in the face, blanketed in water, looking at her and only her. They were accompanied by hands that grasped her face; hands made sweeter by the ocean. Then there had been a kiss…
"Harada-san? Harada-san?" It was Daisuke's voice. Risa was about to answer him, but sleep beckoned to her, and she found it much easier to obey.
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"Oh. I guess she's still out of it," Dai observed. He turned back to Satoshi who was looking over his shoulder at the sleeping Risa. "How do those clothes fit?"
"Uh, they're fine." He took off his glasses and cleaned them on the front of his shirt before gingerly replacing them. "Thank you."
Daisuke smiled and glanced out the window. Based on the position of the sun he guessed that it was sometime around three or four in the afternoon. "Hiwatari, you are going to stay for dinner, aren't you?"
Satoshi froze and let his eyes rest on Daisuke. "No—I better get home. But I'm sure the Haradas would like to stay--,"
"Hiwatari, I'm asking you as a friend. It's okay."
The two held one another's gaze for a moment, both trying to decipher the other's thoughts. Daisuke knew that he genuinely wanted Hiwatari for a friend, but that the ultimate choice lay with Hiwatari. As for Satoshi, he still needed to speak about the matters of The Mystic's Dream with Daisuke, and he knew that he needed his help…and, though he didn't want to admit it, he needed his friendship as well.
Satoshi nodded and Daisuke accepted it.
"Dai!" Towa's trademark cry echoed through the household. Daisuke winced.
"Yes, Towa?"
The feisty Guide poked her head out of the hallway. "Is your mother home yet? I'd like to get dinner started."
"No, not yet."
She frowned. "Emiko-san is taking awfully long." She looked over her shoulder and smiled at someone in the hallway. "Well, I don't think Emiko-san will mind. Besides, it looks cute on you!" She reached behind her and dragged Riku out into the living room. "Here, you can stay with Dai and Hiwatari-dono until I can get some food on the table." And she pushed Riku towards Daisuke and Satoshi before retreating back into the hallway.
Satoshi nodded politely to Riku and received a polite smile in return. When he neither heard nor felt anything from Daisuke next to him he stole a glance. Daisuke was just staring. He looked back at Harada. She was blushing. He rolled his eyes and tried not to smile.
Riku Harada did look very pretty in her blue skirt and sweater, but to be honest it wasn't that amazing of an ensemble. But knowing Daisuke and Riku's tentative relationship, the outfit was enough.
Satoshi suddenly felt as if he were intruding on the two, so he quickly backed away and sauntered over to stand near the window, pretending to be interested in the traveling sun. He was suddenly struck by the thought that whatever Niwa was feeling at the moment would be an emotion Satoshi wasn't sure he'd ever get the chance to experience.
And although the thought had seemed a jaded wondering in previous days, Satoshi found that now the concept made him incredibly sad.
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It was close to evening now. The sun was starting to slowly set, but only just, so that everything was bathed in a glowing golden and red light. Dinner had come and gone with everyone filling themselves with Emiko's culinary delights save for Risa, who had slept through the afternoon.
Now Kosuke and Daiki were sitting in the backyard, drinking the lemonade Emiko had brought out for them and relaxing to the growing sounds of the coming nightlife. Towa was upstairs, cleaning Daisuke's room and Emiko herself had slipped into the hidden room that held all of the family's stolen art, which left Daisuke, Satoshi, Riku, and a sleeping Risa together in the living. Riku had left the room momentarily to call home for a ride, but her sister seemed oblivious to the world, dozing so soundly that Emiko had thought it extremely rude if anyone were to wake her.
"I'll have something warm for her when she wakes up," Daisuke's mother had promised.
But waking up seemed to be something of a myth, for Risa's eyes had remained closed all the afternoon. Satoshi stared at her from the other side of the room. She had been through a lot that day, so it was natural that she'd be physically drained. He just wished that she were abed somewhere else. She looked far too peaceful for his liking.
"Hiwatari."
Satoshi looked up as Daisuke came around his chair, taking a seat on the sofa across from him.
"Yes?"
He was rubbing his neck, nervously. He lowered his voice. "I — uh — do you remember when you asked Dark how he knew about The Mystic's Dream? How any of us had known?"
Satoshi's eyes narrowed. "Yes, I remember. The Hikari's had never mentioned it in any of their recorded histories. Alluded to it: maybe. But only someone who'd known about the Mystic would have known it was spoken of in their documents." He looked at Daisuke over his glasses.
"Yeah…well…our family found out about the Mystic through — well, through a storybook."
"A storybook?" Daisuke was staring down at his hands and not at Satoshi. "Are you sure?"
He shrugged. "Well, my mother and grandfather…they were the ones who told me about the Mystic, and when I asked about it the most they had ever said was that it was in a fairy tale; and that was just this morning." He looked up and smiled meagerly. "That's what they told me, at least."
"May I see this storybook?"
"Er…yeah. Let me go find my mom. She should have it." He started to leave but halted. "Will you be okay here by yourself? I feel bad just leaving you and Harada-san alone."
Satoshi raised one hand in a sort of peaceful surrender. "It's okay, Niwa."
Daisuke shrugged sheepishly and, with a quick glance towards the hallway where Riku was, left the room via the door his mother had disappeared behind. Satoshi took his exit with great relief. He sighed and let his head fall back against his chair.
Tired…tired…he was always tired. He made a mental note to rest better that night. Sleep longer and without dreams. Or nightmares. But how was someone supposed to escape a nightmare?
Satoshi felt his body instantly slacken, his heartbeat slow down, and his breathing deepen. Tired…always tired…
Someone was groaning and moving. It sounded like a girl newly waking up from across the room, but he didn't care anymore.
It felt so good to fall asleep.
Besides, he was so tired…
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He saw Krad and The Mystic.
They were together, standing face to face, staring at each other. Krad was looking down with fiery eyes of amber, and the Mystic looked up with prismatic eyes of every hue of blue. His clothes were white and hers were a silvery gray, and behind towered his wings while her fanning garments billowed with the essence of water.
They stood alone on separate ways
Two pillars made of ice and snow
"You are the creation of My Hikaris. You are their greatest masterpiece." The Mystic spoke with a voice of music, so when Krad answered it rumbled in Satoshi's gut and pounded his head with its baritone.
"I do not belong to them. I have become more than their work; I have become my own masterpiece."
The Mystic took a step forward. "You say that now, but it is not true. If you are not their artwork then why do you cleave to them so? Why must you dog their shadow, generation after generation? Because you cannot leave them, no matter your desire."
Krad scowled at her. "Neither can you. You can't even come to life without your precious moonlight, and you were locked away by our creators. How can you say you belong to them when they have forgotten all about you?
And on into the passing days
They hadn't the heart to stay or go
The Mystic took another step towards Krad and, in doing so, suddenly began to step into her previous form. Her feet instantly solidified into their glass state; her legs had frozen in their releve upwards. She reached for Krad, touched his cheek, and he recoiled with such loathing and fear.
"They have not forgotten me. They can never forget me. I have their wondrous curse upon me and I will carry it until the end. They belong to me just as much as I belong to them. They cannot escape me." She was frozen to the waist now. With a stretch of her arm she was able to brush her fingers across Krad's face once more, her touch barely caressing his cheek. And there was a look there that had never been there before.
Sadness?
"We are lost…unknown…confused…" she whispered, and then titled her head towards the sky and assumed the prison she was destined to always return to…
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Risa sat up slowly and looked around herself. Everything was golden in the Niwa living room and she could just make out Satoshi Hiwatari quietly slumbering through her sleep sodden eyes. She rubbed them and pushed her hair away from her face, yawning. An itchiness spread through her body and she realized that the clothes she was wearing had gone damp and uncomfortable during her sleep. She tugged at her neck collar. She wanted to change.
A deep sigh caught her attention from across the room. Satoshi had let out a breath and sunk deeper into his seat. She tilted her head and studied him. He looked so relaxed; more so than she had ever seen him to be. Even when he was asleep during the field trip way back when…he hadn't looked completely at peace. But it had never occurred to her, or to anyone really, that Satoshi Hiwatari was a tense person. Maybe it was the way he approached things: always calm and in control. Though, seeing him in this state made him look very, very tired.
At the back of her mind she found it to be endearing.
She quietly got up from her seat and moved closer to him. She didn't know why, but it seemed the proper thing to do to remove his glasses while he was sleeping. She gently reached forward, slipped them off his face and carefully folded them and placed them on the coffee table. Her eyes lingered on them for a moment as she thought back to the incident in the water. How strange, that even with all those waves and the current his glasses still stayed on.
She rubbed her hands together nervously and glanced around. Somehow, through her unconsciousness, she had heard fragments of what was going on in the Niwa household. There had been dinner and conversation and some laughter mixed with nervous kindness. Words had blurred in their transfer from the air to her sleeping brain, but she was certain she had heard something about dry clothes for her sister and herself.
Risa suddenly straightened up and looked around. Where was Riku anyway?
She scanned the perimeter of the room when she spotted a folded pile of clothes resting on the backrest of the sofa. So she hadn't dreamt about the dry clothes.
Tentatively, but with much relief, Risa picked up the downy pile and guessed on which door led to the bathroom. Luckily, on the first try, she was right. She quickly slipped in, stripped down to her undergarments and snatched a towel from the rack to dry off. She hated the feel of the salt residue that clung to her skin. She scrubbed herself until she was satisfied and dressed in the alien clothing. They were surprisingly the right size: and only slightly loose, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts. She donned them and snatched a band lying on the sink, (an accessory Niwa's mother surely wouldn't miss), and threw her hair up, wrapping it around just enough so that it stayed off her neck.
Clean and refreshed Risa sat down on the floor and let out a long sigh. For some reason she had felt rushed. Why? She wasn't sure. Was she afraid someone would walk in on her? But not in the Niwa house; the family was too sweet. Then what was it? Why had she felt inclined to finish her tasks so immediately and quickly?
Nerves. She looked down at her hand and could see it shaking.
"Risa?"
The muffled sound of her name snapped Risa out of her momentary stupor. Crawling on her hands and knees, she reached up for the doorknob and creaked it open, peering back into the living room. There was her sister, standing in the middle of the room and half whispering half calling her name so as not to wake the sleeping Hiwatari.
"Right here," she said, and she pulled the door open all the way and stood up. Her sister smiled lazily at her.
"Our ride will come in a little bit. I just called." Risa nodded but she didn't say much. She just stared at her sister, her eyes slowly brimming with tears. Riku saw them and immediately knew the remedy. "Shut up and come here."
As it was always the duty of the younger sister towards the older, Risa hurried forward and wrapped her arms around her sister's middle, squeezing her tight and taking solace in her arms.
"I was so scared," Risa sobbed, although her voice was barely above a whisper. "I could see you swimming away and I knew I couldn't call you back. I thought I was going to die."
"I know," Riku replied. "I know. All afternoon I kept thinking of what would have happened if Hiwatari-san hadn't turned around…hadn't seen you or saved you. We owe him a lot, after today."
"Yes," Risa answered. "We do."
Riku held her sister at arms length. Her face was grim. "You know," she said, "you could have just let go of the crescent. It was the only thing weighing you down. You should have just dropped it."
"But I couldn't, Riku." Risa glanced at the sleeping boy and then back at her sister. "Did you see his face when he saw it? It meant so much to him. I couldn't just let it disappear."
Riku pursed her lips. "I thought you were mad at him."
A pause. "I—I know. But still, if something means that much to a person it wouldn't matter if I didn't like them. It would just seem cruel to lose it like that."
"So you would rather gamble your own life?"
Risa started to open her mouth and then closed it right away.
Why had she had the sudden urge to say yes?
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When Daisuke finally returned, tome cradled in his arms, he entered upon a scene of tranquility. Riku and Risa had made themselves comfortable on the couch, speaking in quiet whispers so as not to wake the dozing Satoshi in the armchair. Daisuke smiled to himself. He'd never had all his friends over before.
"Niwa." Riku smiled up at him as he approached and Risa quickly rose to her feet to bow graciously.
"Thank you, to you and your mother, for letting me borrow dry clothes."
Dai only smiled at her and shrugged. "It's only the least we can do. Do they fit?"
"Yes. Perfectly."
"I'm glad." He glanced over his shoulder at the kitchen. "You must be hungry; you did sleep through dinner. My mom and Towa left you some food, for when you woke up."
Risa returned the smile. "Thank you, so much."
He shook his head. "Not at all. Please, help yourself. All of it's there on the table. They said have as much as you like."
Apprehensively, if not determinedly, Risa brushed past Daisuke and into the kitchen.
"Hey, Niwa, what is that your holding?"
"Oh. Uh…well, I was actually bringing it for Hiwatari, but I guess he was a lot more tired than I thought. It was a book that I wanted him to read."
"It's awfully old," Riku observed, tilting her head and inspecting the leather cover. "Gold inscribing and cotton pages. What's it about?"
"I think," Daisuke started, flipping back the cover, "it's a book of fairy tales."
Riku raised her eyebrows, but it was Risa who voiced her thought from the kitchen. "Fairy tales? Like 'once upon a time' and 'happily ever after'?"
"Not really. These fairy tales are dated to be much older; the original versions. Which probably means that they're darker and have a lot less 'happily ever after' than the ones we're used to. Death mixed with beauty mixed with tragedy." He leafed through the pages, scanning over ink-written words and sketches.
"That doesn't seem like the kind of novel Hiwatari-san is keen on," Riku noted. "I never thought him to be a 'fairy tale' type. What was it that you wanted to show him?"
Daisuke wasn't sure how much he could say to the Harada twins. The truth of Satoshi's identity was still an intense secret, and if he were to reveal something better left unsaid then questions would arise and Hiwatari would find himself in a very awkward position.
"I'm not really sure," he answered, and it was partially true. "I just thought he'd like to see it."
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She was crying. Crying tears of white fire that dripped from her eyes, thick as mercury; dropping to the ground in searing masses. The soft gasps that escaped her, the intakes of breath, were beautiful notes. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to lock in her emotions, but it was to no avail.
She was kneeling down, naked, her vast sheet of hair pooling about her; cloaking her. She hid beneath it as she wept. She was looking down at something. Something with his head laid across her lap, his eyes closed and his body limp.
Beneath his back a pair of pearl, white wings were crushed under his weight.
She stroked his hair, weeping all the time. Her crying was like a ballad. Like a sad song. She looked up, her eyes brimming with silver.
"I loved a man of stone,
But he left me all alone
In the shadows of my sorrow and all of my pain
And the curse that stole my heart
Is the curse that will break me apart
And the love that I love,
Will I love in vain…"
She bent down and kissed his lips, light and airy and filled with regret, before she straightened up, one hand cupping his sleeping face. She was dressed now, donned in black smoke, and from the folds of her new garments she extracted a dagger red as blood.
"I kill the man I love upon this day.
But please,
Don't look at me that way…"
She placed the tip of the dagger upon his chest and, with both hands, placed her palm flat against the base of the hilt and pushed, sending the sharpened point deep, deep, six inches deep into the chest of Krad as his eyes snapped open in pain and he cried out in horror…
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"NO!"
"Towa!"
Daisuke almost fell over in surprise. Next to him Riku jumped to her feet and Risa nearly dropped everything she was holding in the kitchen. Towa had suddenly come charging down the stairs, screaming at the top of her lungs. Her raucous called even Kosuke and Daiki from outside; called Emiko from the basement, but it didn't call Satoshi from his sleep. Towa had fallen to her hands and knees, her eyes blanked out into a solid, midnight blue, staring off into an unseen distance.
"NO! Leave him alone! You cannot take it! You are not allowed a life!" She was screaming, crying, reaching for something no one could see.
"Towa, what is it? What's the matter?" Emiko had dropped down next to the Eternal Guide, grabbing her shoulders and trying to calm her down. The others just watched on in stunned silence, too afraid to try and understand what was happening.
"She is taking too much! She is singing too long! Somewhere in the silence she is waiting and nothing will stop her for the beauty she holds is magic and all over her voice is sounding and we cannot deny the seduction of her song. She dances on air, touches our dreams, feeds our desires and makes everything dim in her glowing light. She seeks something, longs for something, obsesses to possess and will never give while she falls to pieces, one by one, and her glass will be scattered with the shine of false beauty and no one can feed it but the one she seeks…and the one she seeks is the one we are not allowed to touch…NO! THE MOONLIGHT IS COMING!" She scrambled to her feet in a frenzy and started running, heading for the hallway, darting towards the front door. "I must find it!"
"Towa!" Daisuke jetted after her first, worried for her safety and where she might go. Kosuke and Risa helped Emiko to her feet.
"Niwa, wait!" Without hesitation Riku ran after him, her nimble frame matching his speed easily. She was gone within seconds. Emiko frowned, her hands clenched together in worry.
"Where is she going?" she asked, her voice laden with concern. Kosuke shook his head.
"I don't know, but something is terribly wrong."
"Go then. Take care of Dai." He nodded briefly before he too was gone. Only Emiko, Daiki and Risa were left behind, the open door still swinging on its hinge. Emiko sighed.
"Something is horribly wrong. Towa's found something and it's not pleasant." She gently removed Risa's hands from her arms. "Excuse me, my dear, but I need to…. I'll be right back. Please, wait here for the others."
Risa nodded. "Of course."
"Thank you. Come on, Dad." And she once again retreated to the doorway leading to the basement, Daiki bowing to Risa and then following after his daughter. Risa watched them disappear, leaving her alone in the living room by herself. Everyone had left so suddenly; things had switched in moods in a matter of seconds. Why had Towa suddenly screamed like that? And what had she been talking about?
Something about moonlight…
Risa glanced toward the window. True, twilight was coming to a close; the golden light was fading slowly into deep blue, but it would be at least a couple of hours before any form of moonlight appeared. But she had been spouting out words in succession, speaking without breath and with so much urgency. And who was it that she was talking about?
"Dreams of the wistful, lone young eyes
Clouds of mysteries' lustful lies,
I seek a spirit, a soul and a heart
And Mystic appearing tear our dreams apart…"
Risa whirled around, the tingling sensation of watching eyes boring onto her unprotected back. She had heard a voice just now; something deep and melodious, singing a song with such exquisite beauty and grace. Who could sing like that, with an ethereal smoothness and such wonder? Was she imagining it? No, she couldn't. She had definitely heard a song, a voice. Something was happening all around; outside the world was getting rapidly darker, the room they were in was getting colder, and, unbeknownst to her, the glass crescent piece sitting on the coffee table was coming to life with a soft glow pulsating at its center.
"Come to me darkness, servants of light
Cloak and hide their sins from sight
Find me my spirit, my soul and my heart
Give me the man who has torn my dreams apart…"
She spun around, the song was so close she could feel it's lyrics in her ear. But no one was there. The room was empty. Fear began to mount heavily in her chest and Risa backed away, casting a wary eye on everything around her. She moved closer to Satoshi, seeking solace from the only other person in the room.
"Hiwatari," she whispered, afraid to speak too loudly, afraid that she might provoke the phantom voice to sing again. "Hiwatari, wake up."
"Dreams of the wistful, lone young eyes
Clouds of mysteries' lustful lies…"
"Wake up, wake up." She shook him, her adrenaline mounting. The song was so beautiful and peaceful to listen to, but hidden in its underbelly was a great and terrible echo that cast darkness over the words. It came at her from all sides, from the floorboards and the roof tiles, from the cracks and the seams. She knelt down next to the sleeping Satoshi and shook him, her face close to his, almost on the verge of screaming into his ear. "Please, please wake up!"
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She was dancing.
Beautiful, graceful. When she turned, her dress twirled after her. She reached her hand upward, asking, wanting. Her shapely leg lifted and extended towards the sky, elegant feet pointed, the line seamless. Her head turned and swiveled and her arms opened, closed, called in the night air and embraced it to her breast. Her feet never even seemed to touch the floor. And they didn't. She danced upon a layer of mist suspended a foot above the ground.
He watched with interest, curiosity and intrigue. Yet he was not completely entranced nor was he absolutely obsessed. She was enchanting, yes. She was magical, yes. Every word and every description to portray majesty could be applied to her.
She just wasn't real enough.
"Who are you?" he asked. "Why are you here?"
"I am looking for something. Something to save my life."
"But you don't have life."
She went on, dancing and dancing.
"I'm coming apart. I'm falling to pieces. I have been scattered across the town."
"Why?"
"I'm running out of time." She swung her leg, rond de jambe, arabesque, it pointed to the sky. "Can you see the moon? My hourglass is running out and the sands are falling too fast. I must find…" But she didn't finish.
"Where are you now?"
She turned, leapt into the air and flew to him. She landed catlike and silent at his feet before straightening up onto releve till they were eye to eye. Her eyes blazed with mercury blue.
"I'm here."
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Satoshi's eyes snapped open, he yelled, grabbed the Mystic by the shoulders and leapt to his feet, keeping her locked in his grip. She cried out, her body seizing up in surprise. He blinked rapidly for a moment, trying to regain his vision, but it remained blurry and unfocused. Still, even without them, there was no mistaking the dark hair and wide eyes of Risa Harada as she looked up at him in stunned silence, her hands on his chest in a feeble attempt to push him away.
"Harada-san?" he asked, staring down at her in confusion. How had the Mystic suddenly transformed itself into Risa Harada?
"Hiwatari…? Um…your glasses are on the table." He blinked and looked down.
"Oh." He set her free from his grasp and retrieved his glasses, placing them securely over his eyes once more. The blurred edges of the room came into a new sharpness and he looked down at Risa with a calmer demeanor. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"People aren't usually so alert when they just wake up," she commented, rubbing her shoulders. Satoshi shrugged, not wanting to explain that he had been trained in such a way.
"Bad dream," was his only response. He stepped back from her, their closeness unnerving. "You're finally awake."
"So are you. Hiwatari, Niwa-kun is gone."
Satoshi's breathing almost stopped. "What?"
"He's gone. Just a moment ago Towa-chan came running down the stairs babbling about someone taking what they shouldn't and then she yelled that the moonlight was coming and ran out of the house. Niwa-kun went after her and Riku and his father followed. Emiko-san and her dad went into their basement, but she told me to wait here." She rubbed her arm nervously. "I don't know what's going on, but the minute everyone left there was this strange feeling and then I heard—I heard singing."
"Moonlight…" He habitually looked down at his watch. "What time is it--?" His watch was dead; a newly acquired function, compliments of too much seawater. "Damn." He looked out the window, where the distant skyline had suddenly transformed into an inky night, the glow of the sun only lingering now behind the oncoming shadows. If one looked up they'd be able to see the stars already.
"Wow, it got dark fast," Risa commented. "It was still sunset a few minutes ago."
"Night--," The way Satoshi said the word made Risa look up at him in confusion, wondering why he seemed so suddenly attentive.
"What's wro--,"
He held up his hand to silence her but there was no need. There it was again, the same voice, singing. No words, just her voice, surrounding everything; so faint and yet completely audible.
"What is that?" she whispered. Satoshi glared above, as if he could see the voice and its owner hovering over their heads. "Where is the singing coming from?"
"From moonlight."
Risa looked at Satoshi. "What's going on?"
"I seek a spirit, a soul and a heart,
This Mystic shall rise and tear your dreams apart…"
"It's coming here," he said, stepping away. "It knows to come here. How does it know?"
"What are you talking about? You're starting to scare me, Hiwatari. What's coming here?"
But Satoshi ignored her. He ran to the glass door leading to the backyard and, after quickly scanning the perimeter, yanked the curtains shut. "Harada-san, turn off the lights."
"What?"
"Turn off the lights."
"Why?"
"Hurry!"
She immediately jumped into action, hurrying over to the light switch and flicking off the light. The room was suddenly doused in darkness; only a sliver of silver moonlight could be seen through the part in the curtain, slicing the room in two.
Moonlight…
"It's already night," Risa said. "But, that can't be possible. Wasn't it just twilight?"
"It's calling for the darkness. It thrives in its precious moonlight." He sidled over to the table and snatched up the crescent moon. Its pulsating was getting stronger. "We need to go," he said, walking over to Risa. "We need to go now."
"Go? Go where? After Daisuke?"
"It doesn't matter, just as long as we can get away from here."
"But why? We don't even know where Towa-chan and the others went--,"
Satoshi cut her off and grabbed her arm. "We're not trying to find them." He tugged her forcibly, albeit gently, and led her out into the hall and towards the front door.
"Hiwatari, wait. Emiko-san told me to wait for them here."
"It's too dangerous here. Its going to find us…"
They both stopped. The song…
…getting louder…
…surrounding them…
…cloak and hide their sins from sight…
The blood drained from his face.
"No," he whispered.
In his palm the crescent suddenly blazed with life.
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"Towa! Towa, where are you going!" Daisuke ran after her, pushing himself to the limit, but even his thief training couldn't seem to be enough. Towa wasn't just Towa but the Eternal Guide now, racing across the asphalt as if carried by wings. But she remained in human form, her eyes blank and staring off into a distance no one could see. "Stop!"
"Niwa!" Riku was close behind him, her feet pushing off the sidewalk in her attempts to keep up with Daisuke. She had never known he was so fast before…
"Towa," Daisuke called again. "What are you looking for?"
"Not her…" the Eternal Guide whispered to herself. "Not her…too powerful…. I must find the other…"
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"What is that!" Risa cried, staring at the blazing cerulean light emanating from the moon piece. Satoshi didn't answer.
"Come on." He took her by the hand and set off at a run, darting back into the living room, Risa in tow.
"We're going back now? I thought we were supposed to be leaving?"
He shook his head. "There's no more time for that. She's knows were here." He held up the piece tightly in his hand. Such a stupid move; he knew she would be looking for it, trying to put herself back together again. And, even though he knew this, he still kept it, bringing it directly to Niwa's house. A lapse in his judgment. A ridiculous mistake.
He clung tightly to it and bounded upward, taking the stairs two at a time. Risa struggled behind him, trying to match his long stride with her own. "Hiwatari, wait! I can't keep up…!"
….I seek a spirit, a soul and a heart…
"Harada-san, hurry!" There was only a couple more steps before the top landing, but she lost her footing and tripped. By instinct Satoshi turned around and threw out his arms, catching her before she fell all the way back down. In doing so he dropped the moon on the carpet of Daisuke's room, where it hit the floor with a resounding ring that filled the air around them and burrowed deep into their heads.
"Hiwatari! Wh—what is that?" Risa cried, clinging onto him for dear life and smothering her face into his chest, trying to muffle the sound. "What is it doing?" Satoshi clenched his eyes shut and hoisted her up to the landing, trying in vain to block out the high pitched cry of the glass moon.
"The Mystic," he said. "She's here."
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A/N: 'The Mystic's Dream' is actually a song sung by Celtic singer Loreena McKinnett. The song was made for the TV miniseries 'The Mists of Avalon' by Marion Zimmer Bradley, one of my favorite books. Anyway, if you can find the song I suggest you listen to it. I didn't create 'The Mystic' based on the lyrics so much as I based her on the feel and essence of the song. I, myself, am a professionally trained dancer, so when I hear a piece of music I automatically set a dance to it. And when I heard this piece the fluid, ethereal, water-like movement of The Mystic popped into my head.
Anyway, that was a little history on 'The Mystic's Dream' and, for the future I hope to have the next chapter uploaded much sooner and with much more happening than in this one. Thanks for reading!
