A candidate to Goddess:
Chapter 5: Psyche
Note: Hello all and welcome the fifth chapter of CtG! As usual a quick thanks to all my supporters and reviewers, you have been really kind.
Any questions/comments feel free to ask on my formspring displayed on my profile!
Glossary/Notes:
Psyche: Ancient Greek word for "soul"
Shiori: in Japanese it means "poem"
Zeus: Is the father of all gods, ruler of the Olympus and men alike.
Hermes: Is the Greek messenger of the gods, well known for his slyness, he is also the god of merchants.
Natsuki stepped back a little further, her eyes still darting from the beast before her and the goddess.
"What are you …?" she asked scared taking a few steps backwards
The wolf looked at her dangerously "I told you who I am" he answered his eyes narrowing as he took a couple steps forward.
"W-wait…" Natsuki said trying to stall the beast from whatever intention it had "What you told me before made no-" she was interrupted when the giant wolf lunged at her.
Taken by surprise the huntress hardly had time to avoid the attack but had managed to roll to the side.
"I warned you… I'm not going to hold back"
The beast prepared itself once more flexing his hind legs to jump at her.
Only one thought flashed in the blunette's mind.
To run
To run as fast as her legs could take her.
Getting up, she started running for her life, her hair and robes fluttering like a flag behind her as she focused on putting as much distance as she could between her and the beast.
She ran into the forest hoping to lose the monster in the wilderness somehow, even though she knew deep down that it would probably not work, because this was no ordinary beast.
This was nothing like the wolves she had faced in the forest or any other kind of predator.
This was her former mentor, her guardian, someone who had always watched over her and protected her—till now.
How was she supposed to deal with this?
A Seven and a half year old Natsuki stirred in her bed. Nightmares plagued her meant to be pleasant rest.
Each time night fell, she would dream of her sister.
Her sister… a proud, beautiful woman, with silky black hair those blue eyes that shined like water when hit by the low rays of the setting sun.
Her sister… Who she could picture almost vividly every night walking with her, hand in hand, side by side through a beautiful meadow.
At one point of the dream, her sister would always let go of her hand.
And no matter what Natsuki did to try to prevent her letting go of her, an invisible force made her open her hand, and let Simetra's hand slide between her fingers.
As soon as her sister's hand abandoned hers, she would get pushed back by a strong gust of wind, and the little blunette could only watch in horror how her sister continued walking, - unaware that Natsuki was no longer with her- into an ominous cloud of darkness up ahead, reaching out for her like tendrils, that successfully captured the older woman and dragged her inside.
The blunette would yell her sister's name, hoping that she would be heard by her.
At times like this Miroku would wake up to the whimpering and crying coming from the little blunette's bedroom.
He sighed and sat up straight in his bed, knowing what would happen next.
And as he knew it would happen Natsuki opened his bedroom door and peaked in, eyes watery and red from her crying.
Miroku stared at her "It's been almost three years since your sister left. You should be old enough to not to cry about it."
Natsuki lowered her head in shame and cowered behind the door.
Her mentor continued to stare at her coldly and then gave out another sigh and got up from his bed. "Come Natsuki, how about I warm up a cup of milk for you?"
The little blunette seemed puzzled at first by the sudden act of kindness and then would nod, moving aside so Miroku could head to the kitchen.
Natsuki had ran deep into the wilderness and made sure she had grazed and touched every tree she had passed while running in an in-orderly manner, leaving her scent all over the place in order to confuse Miroku in the hopes of buying some time.
After a while, Natsuki came to a full stop and looked around and saw no signs of Miroku. Coming to hide behind the trunk of a large tree, she tried to catch her breath.
How much time did her trick buy her?
But her question was answered for her almost immediately when a growl revealed Miroku's presence behind the tree.
"Foolish girl… That trick was something I taught you. You really thought that would stop me from finding you?"
It took a couple seconds for the blunette to understand what he meant.
It had been him who had taught her little tricks to escape from predators in the forest. And making fake trails were unfortunately one of them.
Cursing to the gods, she moved aside in order to avoid another attack from the beast and started to run once more.
As she ran, her ears picked up the faint sound of water.
And as she kept moving on, the sound of rushing water filled the air and soon the Alpheus River was in her sight.
Seeing this, she stopped in her tracks almost immediately realizing where her former mentor had lured her.
Miroku had trapped her between him and the river.
Before the huntress could start scolding herself for falling for such a simple trick, Miroku lunged at her, surprising the blunette who was unable to react fast enough to dodge his attack.
Miroku howled –probably in victory- as one of his claws successfully had teared into her shoulder's flesh making her flinch in pain.
Natsuki looked for a second behind her towards the river.
Unlike the other day in which she deliberately went into the river, Miroku had trapped her where the river had its most violent and strongest currents, which meant that no matter how strong or how good of a swimmer she was, the river would force her to go wherever it pleased.
She would have no control of where she could end up, if she dared to go in. It would just take some bad luck, to lead the huntress to crash against one of the rocks that could be found along its course.
Natsuki unconsciously clenched her hand and could feel them itching to have a bow between its fingers.
Eyes narrowing, the beast lunged again, but this time the huntress was ready, and she managed to dodge him by jumping backwards. However a miscalculation led her to place her right foot the wrong way causing her to trip and fall backwards into the river.
"Clumsy girl…" Kiyohime said as she flew over the scene, her eyes upon a figure that was being dragged by the river's currents.
Shizuru's muscles tensed.
She had ordered Kiyohime to follow Miroku and Natsuki, to keep an eye of the progress of the trial. The goddess had synchronized her senses with the owl in order to see everything Kiyohime did.
"She's going to drown." The owl said while lazily gliding through the skies eyes fixed on her quarry.
"Please be quiet Kiyohime." Shizuru said roughly not realizing how anxious she sounded.
Kiyohime sensing her master's tone did not make another comment.
Natsuki was doing her best to keep her head above the water while being taken by the the violent currents. Knowing it was nearly impossible to fight against them, she let herself to be led by the rivers current while doing what she could to avoid hitting any obstacles.
The huntress kept fighting to keep her head above the water looking for anything to help her out of her situation.
Soon her emerald eyes caught a glimpse of a small ledge sticking out up ahead.
Not taking her eyes off her only hope, she tried to use the current to get closer to it, but to her horror, the current pushed her away from the ledge instead.
Determined to reach it regardless, she gathered all the strength she could muster to move her legs and arms, pushing the water, in the hopes to move to closer to reach out for it before it was too late.
As the ledge drew even closer, she threw her arms towards it and successfully managed to hold onto it and wasted no time to hoist herself up and out of the river.
She dragged herself on the floor, and then lay there, before passing out of exhaustion.
Shizuru felt a wave of relief when she saw the huntress getting out of the river.
Wait… Why was she relieved?
The goddess stopped her ponderings when she saw the blunette lose consciousness shortly after.
"Kiyohime" she called out knowing that the owl could hear her "Go keep an eye on Miroku"
The bird was confused for a second not understanding her master's intentions but she did what she was told without questioning. And with a powerful flap of her wings she changed her direction, scouting the forest from the skies, looking for Natsuki's mentor.
Slowly opening her emerald eyes the huntress was gaining consciousness, when she saw the setting sun in the horizon she realized that a long time must have passed and took no time to try to incorporate herself while her body complained of the effort, aching in places she didn't know it could.
Her clothes were slightly damp and felt uncomfortable as it stuck on her skin. She looked at her shoulder remembering that Miroku had injured it before and was surprised to see that her wound was covered with some of the fabric from her own robes.
She didn't remember bandaging her wound.
But then again she didn't recall much of what happened when she came out of the river, so she ended up assuming that she had taken care of it before passing out.
She was really tired and confused.
What was the point of this wild chase?
Natsuki blinked in realization. She had forgotten… she was so busy running away from Miroku that the knowledge of this chase being a trial had completely slipped her mind.
But what did this trial consist of?
Avoid getting killed by the person she had been raise by the past years? The woman rolled her eyes. Of course not.
Kill Miroku…?
The blunette refused the idea and thought hard, trying to remember any detail, as insignificant it could be, that was said before this mad chase.
What had Miroku said when he transformed?
I am the impersonation of your souls, the guardian of your person…. To tame me, is to tame yourself
Natsuki knew she was now closer to the answer.
The Impersonation of your souls…
Maybe Miroku was a type of nymph or spiritual being?
The guardian of your person…
Well he was Natsuki's mentor; he had protected her all this time…
To tame me, is to tame yourself
Wait… What did that mean?
Natsuki repeated that last sentence in her mind a couple of times trying to find the sense in it.
How could she tame the beast just by taming herself? That seemed to make no sense.
The huntress stopped her thoughts when saw a pair of gleaming eyes emerging from the darkness of the forest.
"Miroku…" she called out softly realizing who it was.
She watched him approach her slowly.
Her emeralds poured into its eyes as if it had the answers to her questions incased in them.
To tame me is to tame yourself
Once again those words resounded in her mind.
Natsuki blinked as she remembered something.
Simetra and a small Natsuki were running through the forest, till her sister spotted a small boar behind some bushes.
She halted and Natsuki proceeded to do the same, gasping for air.
"Do you see it?" her sister asked in a whisper
Natsuki's emerald eyes darted around till they spotted the boar.
"Yes, I see the boar" Natsuki replied in the same low voice.
Simetra pulled out her bow, and aimed it at the boar. But before she could shoot, the boar squealed and ran away.
The reason why the animal had run became apparent when a small pack of wolves began circling them.
Natsuki at that moment sucked in the breath not daring even to breathe, and she looked in fear at her sister. But Simetra did not seem as scared as her, instead she was looking at the wolves calmly.
For a couple of seconds her sister and the wolves stared at each other, like in some kind of staring contest.
In the end, the wolves let out a small grunt and turned around, suddenly uninterested in them.
Natsuki let out her breath out, tried to stop her trembling.
Her sister saw this and hugged her tightly.
"I'm sorry were you scared?"
Natsuki nodded while nuzzling into her neck.
"You shouldn't fear them" she said while caressing her back "Fear is contagious and animals can sense it... You have to first tame yourself… if you want to tame them."
Natsuki stared at Miroku, who was growling, baring his sharp fangs at her.
I see what you mean…
Miroku pounded the growl with his large paws, claws scratching the ground.
But the blunette did not budge.
She just stood there and stared at the beast.
I'm not afraid of you.
The wolf lunged at her once again. But the huntress stood her ground, heart pounding in her chest. The beast landed just an inch away from the blunette spilling his hot breathe upon her.
The woman could feel her legs tremble a little but she ignored it as she kept staring into Miroku's eyes.
Seconds passed by till someone finally moved. The wolf suddenly lower its head, lie on the floor upon his own belly, into a position of submission, while Natsuki watched taken aback by Miroku's actions.
"You've passed the first trail"
Natsuki turned around to see Shizuru walking calmly towards her; Kiyohime perched on her shoulder who looked grouchy if not a little displeased.
"That was it?"
"What do you mean 'that was it'?" Kiyohime annoyed "You almost died! Anyways I guess you didn't realize that trials aren't just about brute strength, since you're so thickheaded."
The huntress was about to say something when suddenly, before her very own eyes, Miroku was set aflame.
The young woman shrieked as his body slowly lost its shape and somehow merged with the flames that turned into an emerald color.
Natsuki quickly looked at Shizuru and Kiyohime who seemed unmoved by this sudden unnatural event.
"What happening?" she asked them panic evident in her tone.
The question died after she had uttered it when her eyes were drawn back to the activity before her and she gasped.
The fire had started to shift and loose its brightness, till eventually the fire died out to reveal a small white wolf, curled up in the ashes left behind by the flames.
The wolf, moved slowly as if waking from a long slumber, opening a pair of radiant green eyes that were much similar to Natsuki's.
It stood up and walked toward the huntress who was staring at the wolf, mesmerized.
The wolf shyly sniffed her and then with a small yelp of joy, it nuzzled into her hand.
Natsuki eyes moved towards the goddess as if seeking an explanation of what had just happened.
Shizuru smiled at her "Miroku was a spirit guardian under service of Artemis." She explained reading Natsuki's confused expression "Spirit guardians have no form when off duty, and they obtain one when serving under a master according to the nature of their souls. But, in order to keep their physical shape, they need feed on the spiritual energy of their masters. Since, Artemis's disappearance, Miroku's spiritual energy was slowly being depleted."
"You mean… he was dying?" Natsuki asked in a worried tone.
The goddess of wisdom tilted her head slightly making some strands of her hair slip slowly off her shoulder.
"Not dying, disappearing would be a more appropriate word. Without Artemis, Miroku couldn't sustain his physical form for long, and that is why he tried to contact me."
"So… what just happened?" the younger woman asked while surveying the wolf who was now playfully nudging her.
"Just a mere transfer of ownership, the entity you knew as 'Miroku' no longer exists, as he has been reborn under a new form. If you are to become the new goddess of hunt it is necessary for you to have a spirit guardian. All the gods have one" at these words Shizuru gently scratched Kiyohime on the neck making the owl hoot in pleasure.
"Then…"
"Yes" Shizuru answered before Natsuki could ask her question "That is your spirit guardian. Although it has been protecting you all these years, it was only doing so under the orders of its former master. But unlike Artemis, you don't have the spiritual capacity of maintaining fully a guardian spirit. Meaning that the spirit will not disappear like it was fated to when it lost its link to Artemis, but it will lack certain abilities of a guardian till you become a full-fledged goddess of hunt."
"I see…" Natsuki replied a hint of disappointment in her voice
"However, it's impressive that you even have some spiritual energy, despite being a mortal" said Kiyohime sarcastically. "Just seal the deal already so we can carry on."
"Deal?" Natsuki asked confused
"The master and the spirit seal their contract when the master gives them their new name."
The huntress pushed back some strands of hair behind her ear as she crouched down to look at the wolf closely.
A pair of Emerald eyes, serene, like a forest dipped in morning dew
Shiny white fur, the color of innocence, untainted and pure
Your features could be turned into a Poem
"I shall call you Shiori."
A shining symbol appeared below their feet, signaling the completion of the contract between the spirit and the new master.
"This daughter of mine…" A man sighed in resignation while he sat on his golden throne, one of his hands running through his white hair.
"It seems that the human has passed the first trial, Lord Zeus" Informed another man who was standing before him.
"Really?" Zeus asked suddenly interested
"Also, I have some other news"
"Tell me Hermes, what is it?"
"Apparently the human that your daughter has selected, was a girl that your other daughter had taken care of for a couple of years during one of her escapades to the mortal world."
"Like a mother to a daughter?" Zeus asked feeling a surge of rage coming in from the thought of her daughter mating with a human.
"Like a sister." Hermes replied carefully as he feared enraging the Lord of all gods.
"Is that so…" Zeus said now deep in thought "Show me an image of her"
Hermes bowed slightly and ordered some servants to bring something.
The servants shuffled about and carried a big mirror and placed it before Zeus's throne and quickly retreated as the mighty god stood up to look into it.
The mirror's surface swirled as if made of mist, and slowly the mist gained color and became more consistent and solid till it revealed a young athletic looking woman, with beautiful dark blue hair and dazzling green eyes.
The woman was crouched down petting a small white wolf in the middle of the forest.
"Does this woman have a name?" Zeus asked his eyes still upon the image
"I believe her name is Natsuki, Lord Zeus" replied Hermes.
"I see…" he paused for a few seconds and then looked at the messenger of the gods "Send a notification to my dear daughter. I want to meet this 'Natsuki'"
Shizuru suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if they were being watched. She looked around but did not see or sense anyone.
None of the gods knew about Shizuru's intentions of restoring the goddess of hunt. As she knew what the consequences of doing so without the approval of the other gods could be.
Unless they suspect me, they shouldn't be surveying me.
She looked at Natsuki who seemed oblivious of the goddess's worried thoughts.
The goddess of wisdom could only hope that the gods were as oblivious as the blunette was right now.
OMAKE:
Miroku: I am the impersonation of your soul
-Transforms into a giant hippopotamus and growls-
Natsuki: MY SOUL ISN'T A HIPPO! STOP IT WITH THE HIPPO JOKES!
Asuka: NEVERRRR!