Note:
Flashbacks and thoughts in italics
I do not condone or encourage any behaviors in this story. It is simply a fictional story.
"The Art Of Water"
CHAPTER 3
Mount Kurama
.
Smoke wafted beyond the swathe of power lines, the airstream had a miasma of hot bourbon, and she thought it rendered a crony to her mind where memories felt like the wail of a distant mizzle. Memories she yearned to forget and forbid herself from remembering.
"Momo-san, why does it have to be so unfair? I mean life.."
Momo chuckled, half-lidded eyes leaving the steaming plate of omelets to her. Kyoto's street food was the best. "Is this what you were thinking so hard?"
Out of the blue, Miwa droned and shook her head, supporting it on a palm. "You're a big fat potty mouth." The spicy aroma of grilled chicken wafted across the moonlit streets. All the while, her hair fell over her shoulders, and she hiccuped.
Nishimiya rolled her eyes. "Say that to a mirror. Cuz, unlike you, I'm level-headed." Kasumi thought she was too cocky for her good, especially when she lifted her chin, and nose in the air to accentuate the fact.
With glimpses of time they spent together, they were growing to like each other's company. The bluenette was a person who had started to grow on her, little by little, ever so slowly. Miwa was her close friend, but who knew? Maybe, their camaraderie will also flourish like spring blossoms. At last, even snails leave stardust trails.
"But I only had two glasses of soju while you had six! Life is so unfair..." Glimmering blue eyes closed, dark eyelashes fluttering like a peacock's in the rain. She whimpered, shaking her head and groaning after hitting herself on the table. "Sooooo unfair!"
"Baka. Your tolerance level just went downhill." It was Kasumi's 18th birthday, but that was not the reason why they were now beside the food truck. Little did Momo know of the day's connection to her. How will she, when Miwa had not disclosed the secret to anyone at all?
"By the way, what about the mission you have tomorrow? You're going to wake up with a bloody hangover." Momo stated, as a matter of fact, her eyes narrowing into thin skeptical slits. "What's with you? You didn't have to get drunk today."
.
As she sat atop a rock under the bridge, her phone clutched tight, Miwa listened for any forewarnings, any untimely screeches or shadows that would give away the curse. Or rather the demon that could be hiding. Today she was not assigned to slay a curse, but she felt responsible as a sorcerer to stay aware of her surroundings at all times. Forgetting her suit at the motel had made her day worse. Unlike herself, the Sun had no qualms, already sinking to the zenith, self-assured of the next day. The uniform, nevertheless, had given her a sense of security, a sense of responsibility and duty. Without it, right now, staring into the dark waters of the river, she felt normal in this abnormal scenario, simple, plain like herself. Exposed to the bite of cold air, she felt naked.
But she smiled, inconsiderately, unfairly. A visage of anxiety and fear costs more than she can afford. No priest or god would stop by to spare her a pitiful glance. In this battle, she was all by herself.
Am I a bit too late? I could've been more punctual if it wasn't for my fucking hangover. Duh. Momo told me this would happen. That's what's making me feel worse.
From the valley, paddling on the water, as she was told, she made her way to the foothills in no time. A black car afforded by the institution came into her field of vision, the closer she got to the base of the mountain. The man in a sharp suit said they had been awaiting her for the past twenty minutes. She didn't understand why they were using a private car instead of the railways. But it was beyond her power to question the authority that sheltered her.
Every so often, twigs would brush against the glass windows of the car. The travel up the mountain was peaceful for Miwa except for the occasional headaches caused by the twists and turns of the Kurama mountain pass.
Why the hell did they build a cemetery high up on Mount Kurama? She would think, rubbing the back of her arm over her temple.
Thunderclaps lashed down the thirsty turfs, leaving the empyreans to shatter asunder in cloudbursts. The distant vroom of a heavy truck steering down the winding, slippery roads thinned out amid the fog. Past the gales of late June, deciduous leaves fell upon the headstone, limp. Wet etches, engraved on its surface, in dark, bold letters were "The Spirit of Ashiyas" Buried behind a looming cedar tree, her soul rested beyond an eternal serenity. Kasumi had asked Utahime why she brought blue. He didn't tell her why for once she heard "It's confidential," she had known the answer.
Across a nature trail lined with wooden palings, Miwa sauntered as she took in the ambiance. Blue is mystery and intrigue; an unattainable love. So many questions Miwa is yet to ask. So many Utahime had no words to answer. Evergreens lurched along the billowing currents. Soaring, veering about their drifting course, now, there goes her umbrella too. Utahime's talks with her had been laconic. But it's not like she could help the curiosity. Her mind had a mind of its own.
All she knew, all Utahime let her know was that she is now standing before the grave of a "woman."
How many hours had she drained way out in the wilderness? Two? Three..? No longer was she bothered. The leather of her boots brushed against the wildflowers enriching the woman's pacific, gilded slumber. Never once had she inhaled an incense so intoxicating.
Kicking a stone atop a moss-stained chunk of stone brick, Miwa sighed, breathing in what he thought was disturbingly fresh. She utterly failed to muse of another set of words to describe the waft of rain that tickled her senses. Kasumi flicked a leaf that brushed an itchy scratch on the scruff of her neck. She had her hands behind her head, leaning on the bark.
Kasumi must've been in a haze because, out of the blue, the swirling murk cast aside an opalescence. She recalled Utahime's conversation over the phone. "Discovered? Hadn't it been missing for years, so why?"
"Discovered what?" She mumbled to no one in particular. Miwa's straight unkempt hair clung onto her forehead from the rain, bucketing down her cloak coat. On the side of the dampened stone, glistering an aureate tinge revealed the emblem of a clan. "The Ashiya clan."
In the next flash of blinding light, pairs of tiny legs and hands materialized out of thin air, then an oversized gown, and at last, long turquoise curls levitating like that of Rapunzel's. Stunned to move a toe, Miwa could only gape and gape and gape muted.
"Finally, it seems like I found the Meraki that'll bear Akira." The fairy-like figure expelled her breath in a whose, then gasped. "You know, I had been waiting for you, for a terribly long time, protecting the spirit of our clan."
"Who are you?" At such a question, innocently or not, that petite, tiny woman tittered.
"Akira. It's sad you don't know me. I won't bite." Something was calming about her aura, an unknown feeling. She glowed like the moon, like fireflies dancing over a meadow. "Why should I be angry, moreover, at you? This is a time of merry. I can be home again."
"Is this a g—ghost? Or a curse?" Kasumi gulped and blinked when the woman cut her off, holding her arms or rather something inside her arms up in the air.
"You shouldn't be afraid. But listen close." The woman who called herself Akira flew around and hushed close to Kasumi's ears. "I belong with you. You and I are one. Accept it or not, you don't have a choice."
To place a bouquet of blue roses on the grave on behalf of the Kyoto Metropolitan College had been the purpose of Miwa's job, her visit. All she had to do was get her job done, and leave. But instead, she—who'd never expected the unexpected—will leave with something that will turn her life upside down, the missing part of her that nobody has ever got to explore...
"By the way, do you know swimming?"
"No." Miwa yelped when Akira jabbed her sharp nail in the hollow of her neck before her body dispersed into the air like a mist of glitter. And in the next ticking second, Kasumi was choking, sinking into an abyss of chaos, into a watery grave. "I'm drowning." Her lips moved, although there wasn't a single sound.
"Alright. No worries. You'll survive. You'll learn swimming before you even know it." Those were Akira's last words to her.
Her body bent at all angles, black spots crowding her vision. If not for the lack of a gap, she would've emptied the contents of her lunch then and there. By some kind of twisted coincidence, the thought of cosplaying as Alice falling down the rabbit hole, flashed across her mind. What was with her? She was so flabbergasted to even react, almost like she was paralyzed. On the face of it, was this woman planning to enroll her in Tokyo Gymnastics School?! Was she flying or floating, Miwa couldn't help but question reality.
Is this what you feel when your soul glides past the sublime gates of paradise?
In an instant, there was a source of cyan luminescence. That's when something dawned on Kasumi. The blinding beams emerged from herself. It was her hair that was illuminating.
That's it. Miwa had enough for the day. Least said, soonest mended. Kasumi was out like a light.
Author's Note:
To my dear readers:
Satoru Ackerman: I'll heartily take that love. :)
TheOtherDestiny: I'm fascinated by your name. I've read some of your stories. They were all gorgeous. Coming back to the topic of discussion. It seems like I could've described the facts more elaborately. Next time, I'll try... Miwa didn't accept the suggestion since there's a big probability for Gojo to be simply joking about it. And note that he only used the word "movie;" remember when he gave Yuji some movies to watch. Miwa might've liked to put it like a "date" on her mind, because she likes the idea of it, not necessarily because she misinterpreted it. Now, this question arises. What more could be there between an average student and the strongest sorcerer?
I'm elated by your observations. Thank you for the love and appreciation, and for taking you time to leave a review.
I guess you now understood why Gojo appeared out of blue in Kyoto. But Miwa might not have had the courage to inquire him of his presence because what if it's something confidential? She might've been insecure or considered that her question could sound stupid. She doesn't wish to irritate Gojo.