Chapter two
"Now, I got you a job at the Fish market."
"Good-bye, everyone!"
"You walk straight down the road, and take a left at the fork…"
"I'll miss you too!"
"Are you even listening to me, girl?!"
The young woman straightened her back towards her guardian for the past fourteen years. "Of course, Miss." She agreed, keeping her violet eyes as innocent as possible.
"Listen, girl," she tugged the orphan down to her level with the scarf that was around her neck, "You have been a thorn in my side for over a decade! I have cleaned you, fed you, clothed you," she continued to ramble on while walking towards the gate, unknowing that the girl behind her was mimicking her words mockingly.
"Yes, Miss; I will never forget all the wonderful things you've done for me." The orphan stated bitterly.
"Don't try to butter me up now; it won't work."
"Of course, Miss."
"Now, walk straight down this road 'til you get to the fork –and then, take a –"
"Take a left, I know how to get there." The younger woman interrupted.
"How is it you remember that, but don't even remember where you came from?!" the older woman shouted pushing open the gate.
"Good-bye!" she shouted again, waving to the other orphans that were still inside the house she was leaving. The violet-eyed girl ran out the gate, leaving it behind. Her coat that was two sizes too big fluttered around her, and she had to hold her hat on in the harsh wind that blew.
Soon enough, the wind stopped and the sky cleared. Such weather was common in Makai. It was always fluctuating madly, and rarely ever remained the same for more than an hour or two.
The girl fiddled with her necklace. It was a locket, and she had it in her possession before she even went to the orphanage. It was the only thing that was actually hers. She didn't even have a past to call her own; it was only the necklace.
She arrived at the fork in the road and stopped. She looked left and then right. She knew she couldn't dawdle too long –a demon might find her here, helpless; and then she'd be in big trouble.
Before she could make her decision, she fell forward, and just barely caught herself before she hit the ground. Something had hit her in the back of the head. Something hard had hit her…
She raised her head and looked around for the thing that had knocked her over. She blinked once, as her eyes landed on something.
It was blue, and egg-shaped. It had a mass of black hair on its head, and its flapping ears were keeping it hovering above the ground. It had very short, stubby arms, and large feet, and a beak as well.
"Puu?" it cooed softly. She blinked again. It was…
"You're so cute!" the orphan squealed, taking the blue… thing… in her arms. It 'puu'ed again happily as she continued to hold it.
"Where should we go, Puu?" she asked, her violet eyes shining as she smiled. Puu flew around the girl once, and then headed off to the right. "Okay, then, that's where we're going!"
And she marched down that path, just as the weather began to cloud over again.
"One ticket to Reikai, please."
"Reikai?! REIKAI?!"
"Yes, Reikai."
"NO REIKAI!!" and the window was shut with a force. The orphan blinked, surprised at the ticket-demon's attitude. She only wanted one ticket…
"You need to get to Reikai?"
She turned to see a woman behind her, older, and smoking a cigarette. The orphan couldn't tell if she was a demon or not. Either way, she nodded in response to the question.
"Go see Yusuke, he can help you. He's at the old palace just downtown." She coughed, then; probably because of the cigarette. "But, you didn't hear it from me."
"Oh, okay…" the orphan nodded, "Thank you!" and she turned with Puu in her arms, and ran towards 'downtown'.
The palace was huge, but deserted. The windows and doors were boarded up, but she wandered around, trying to find an entrance. Finally, Puu squeezed in through a small opening in the wood.
"Puu!" she called, reaching in through the hole. Before she knew it, the wood cracked, and she fell forward, inside the building.
"Well, that works…" she muttered, breathing in deeply as she stood from the broken wood pieces.
They entered into a huge ballroom, but it was dark and dusty. As she looked around, a soft melody entered her mind, and she remembered the words to a song. Slowly, she began to sing.
"Dancing bears,
Painted wings,
Things I almost remember,
And a song someone sings,
Once upon a December
"Someone holds me,
Safe and warm,
Horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing gracefully,
Across my memory..."
People –there were hundreds of people, all dressed beautifully. They danced with each other, circling around and around. They were so gorgeous.
"Far away, long ago,
Glowing dim as an ember
Things my heart used to know
Once Upon A December…"
She joined them, running through the crowd and spinning around. Her clothes changed to a beautiful gown that fell to her ankles. Three other girls met her and touched her right hand to theirs one at a time. She knew them –her sisters; Keiko, Shizuka, and Genkai…
"Someone holds me
Safe and warm,
Horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory.
And then the crowd parted. She turned to see who was coming, and was greeted by the sight of her father. King Koenma. He smiled at her, and they danced as father and child.
Finally, she bowed to her father as the song ended; her dress flared out around her. Her father was smiling at her proudly.
"Hey you!"
The people around her disappeared, her father vanished, and she was clothed again in her ratty robes from the orphanage.
"How did you get in here!?" the voice cried angrily.
She ran away from the voice, and gathered Puu up in her left arm. Briefly, she heard a strangled "wait!" but didn't bother to hear if she was right. She had been beaten before for being in places that she wasn't supposed to be in –she wasn't taking any chances.
"Damn it, just wait!" and a hand caught her wrist. She couldn't keep running, so she whipped around to face the person who was holding her in place.
Her eyes met with a boy about her age, or a little older, with fierce brown eyes and slick black hair. He held her wrist with one hand, and she could feel the power coming from him.
"How did you even get in here?!" he exclaimed, and then looked past her. His gaze flickered from behind her, and then back to her many times; and he looked shocked.
"I'm sorry, if you just let me go…"
"Whoa; Urameshi, who's that?" another man joined them. He had a long face, with orange hair. His voice was scratchy, and he came up beside her captor.
He released her wrist, "Kuwabara, look…" he said, "Do you see it?!" and the orange haired man's eyes widened and he gasped.
"She looks just like…"
"Excuse me; but, do either of you know of a person named Yusuke?" There was silence after her question, but then the black-haired man shook his head to clear his mind.
"My name is Yusuke; how can I help you?"
"Well… I'm trying to get to Reikai; and I heard that you could help me get there…" she told them, still holding Puu in her arms.
"It is correct that we can help you get to Reikai, but only if you are the missing Princess Botan." He gestured with his hand behind her, and she turned. There, on the wall, was a large portrait of a family. It seemed almost familiar…
There was a man with brown hair and brown eyes, he looked young, but she knew he wasn't. Around him were four girls –one had blue hair and violet eyes, just like she did. It wasn't uncommon, though, to have odd color combinations in Makai. Beside the man was an older woman, with a crown on her head.
It was the royal family.
"If you are the missing princess, we can get you to Reikai." Yusuke's voice sounded again, echoing behind her. "But, if you're not, we can't help you…"
"But… I need to get there!" she exclaimed, turning around again. "I know that I need to get there –that's the only thing I know!"
"The only thing? What does that mean?" the man beside Yusuke asked.
"I can't remember anything else from my past –just that I need to get to Reikai."
"Oh; Kuwabara, she can't remember her past…"
"I heard her, Yusuke."
"Well, maybe she is the princess!"
"What?!" the orphan exclaimed, clearly thinking him crazy.
"Think about it," Yusuke said, running up to where she was and turning her around to face the picture, "No one knows where she is –you don't know where you were. All we know is that she escaped somehow, because of her grandmother. The similarities between you two are endless, and I'm sure that if we just went to the Queen and talked to her, she would be able to tell you if you were or weren't her granddaughter."
"But, isn't it a bit absurd? Me, going to this lady, and asking if I was the princess just because I can't remember by past?"
"No; you see, Kuwabara and I can teach you all about the princess and the royal family. Then, you can go meet the lady, and she'll know if you are or aren't her relative. I mean… just look at the resemblance…" he gestured again to the picture, and this time, the orphan turned and looked closely at the young girl who resembled her.
The truth was, that's how she would've pictured herself had she ever needed to imagine herself as a small child. Blue hair was tied back at the nape of her neck, and short bangs covered her forehead. Big, violet eyes stared back at similar eyes; and the orphan looked back to Yusuke.
"Well… it wouldn't hurt, really… I suppose it makes sense… I mean; she'll be able to tell me if I am the princess –and even if I'm not, I'll still be in Reikai anyway, right?"
"Right!" Yusuke supplied, grinning that he had gotten his way.
"Right; so… I guess that I could go along with you as the Princess Botan."
"Wonderful!" Yusuke cried, walking to her. He placed his hand against the small of her back and led her back to his comrade, Kuwabara. "And, what shall we call you?"
"Hanaka; written in kanji as 'peony flower'."
And, voila; the next chapter of Princess of the Spirit World... (I keep wondering if I should come up with a new title...) The next chapter will contain their journey to Reikai; and hopefully a bit of Yusuke and Botan fluff (if I can bring myself to do it...)
Oh, and, as to the name I gave Botan... literally, it means 'Child/daughter of flowers',(I think) but I changed it slightly. 'Hana' means flowers; and the word for 'peony' is 'kaou' -I shortened that to 'ka' and added it on to 'hana' and there you have 'Hanaka'! And, I named her that, because we all know that 'Botan' means peony... so, duh!
I hope you enjoyed it!! Oh; and, not to gossip; but did you hear about this really cool thing called reviewing?? Apparently, it's all the rage! All you need to do is press the little button in the bottom left hand corner of your screen, and it almost does everything for you!! Why don't you try it out??...
