Author Topic: And the Cherry Tree Bloomed  (Read 4557 times)

Sriggle

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And the Cherry Tree Bloomed
« on: July 02, 2010, 01:41:14 PM »
Feedback and critique highly encouraged!
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Funerals were never festive occasions.
The whole village was gathered in morning, though only Yuuko was crying. Yuuko normally never cried, she'd ?almost forgotten how?, because of the many funerals she'd attended. Her friend stood beside her, silently holding her hand. Actually, her friend nearly attracted more attention than her mother's death, seeing as long locks of blonde hair stuck out from under a foreign-style nightcap. Most people had one look and then did their best to direct their attention towards the funeral. After all, youkai weren't that uncommon to see in these parts, and this one was often seen hanging around the village- One of Yuuko's few friends, it seemed.

Yuuko's eyes were cast downwards, as if she were ashamed. All her friend could do was hold her, uncertain over how to deal with a human's feeling of loss. After all, Yuuko's the first human she'd ever deemed interesting enough to actually get to know-And with her, lots of human traditions and emotions Youkai usually never went through.

The funeral service ended a while later. Yuuko was still crying, and her friend had turned her face towards the heavens. Normally, she'd say something along the lines of ?I'm sure your mother became a beautiful star?, but that didn't really seem appropriate at this time. At last, Yuuko let go, face still wet with tears.

?Yukari, I'm sorry.. I apologize for troubling you like this.?

?It's OK.? The other girl nodded and put her hand on Yuuko's shoulder. ?You can trouble me whenever, OK?? She smiled reassuringly, making the brunette blush for some profound reason.
?We're friends, aren't we??
Yuuko's face felt like it might tear up one more time, just because Yukari is so kind.
?...........

It was a clear spring evening. The cherry trees were in full bloom, and beneath the trees a young girl was walking uneasily.

Normally, she'd have a picnic with her mother at this time of the year. Normally, she'd have a picnic with her mother at this time of the year. Normally- See, there must be something wrong with the cherry trees, because it couldn't possibly be cherry season.

But it wouldn't do her well to think that way, because she was a grownup now, after all. Yes, a grownup..

It wasn't fair, was it? But she was an angel of death, so it couldn't be helped. She put on a new smile and continued walking. After all, this shouldn't faze her. She'd just smile and it would all be alright, wouldn't it?

She'd be happy. She had Yukari and Meiko, so she was happy. After all, she had two friends in the world, even though she'd fallen in love with one of them and just had a dreadfull quarrel with one of the other, though she was starting to forgive her now- After all, it wasn't like she'd die just like-

And then she saw the body floating in the river

?M-Meiko??

?Meiko, wake up..?

?Meiko, this isn't funny, please wake up...?
?.

She attended another funeral that same year.

She didn't cry one bit. It was like she truly had forgetten how. Yukari stood by her all the time, dear Yukari, precious Yukari, lovely Yukari who made the world glow whenever they were together. It wasn't until afterwards that she swallowed and decided to pull one final gamble, just to see if the world truly did hate her, or if she might have one small chance in the world after all.

She distanced herself from the youkai girl, mustered up what little courage she had, and explained it.
?Yukari, I love you.?
Uh-oh.
Yukari's face tensed up with  suprise for a moment, before smiling her trade-mark ?Yukari-smile?.

?I love you too, you know, you're the best friend I-?

Yuuko smiled the smile of a person who'd clearly given it all up, at the last stop before insanity hit.
?I mean, I love you. Like a wife loves her husband.?

They both stood awkwardly and uncomfortably for at least ten minutes before Yuuko left, and Yukari gapped herself away.
?

Yukari'd been walking back and forth and back and forth for the last three hours.
She liked Yuuko, sure- She wouldn't mind coming home to see Yuuko prepare a meal for her, or take a bath with her- But, really. Would she take Yuuko as a wife? She' wasn't sure. Yuuko was a friend, a friend who listened to her troubles, a friend who never smiled properly, a-

A friend who'd lost just about everything and looked to Yukari for support.

She grabbed a blanket and decided to try and find her. Better late than never, at least.
?...
Everything is so warm.
Her blood is warm, her kimono is warm, and the ground seems a little warm, too. She can see the clouds through the cherry tree branches, the evening sky has so many pretty colours.

Is this what her family went through? She hopes she'll meet them again, in the next life, maybe. She can faintly hear a familiar voice calling to her, but she can't listen. It's like she's watching everything from space, like the world is floating farther and farther away from her.

She smiles softly to herself.
Nobody has to die because of her anymore. This way, Yukari will be completely safe, and she won't have to worry about her any longer. If she did live, she might come to hate Yukari, and then- Ah, look, there's the finish line, there, in the distance...
?.

This isn't happening.

This isn't happening.

This wasn't meant to be happening.

Yukari had seen many many funerals, but she didn't think she'd attend Yuuko's so soon. She knew she eventually would, but she still couldn't fully comprehend the fact that Yuuko was gone. Yuuko was gone. Yuuko was gone and wouldn't be coming back.

Why? Why hadn't she embraced her that time, when she'd confessed her feelings under the cherry trees? It was just as Kanako-sama had said, she still was an immature youkai, wasn't she..
That girl had the power to make people die, why didn't Yukari understand? Why couldn't she just have invited the girl to live as a youkaii-

Still, berating herself over it wouldn't bring Yuuko back. And it most certainly wouldn't make her feel better again.

She hoped Yuuko would be reincarnated to a better place, before realizing that reincarnation was useless. It was the kind of power that tended to stay with a person no matter what, so she'd suffer no matter what.
Yukari made a silent decision, remembering something she'd read in a book a long time ago.
It was a difficult ritual. It would take a long time to get right, and she risked summoning a demon from hell instead of Yuuko's soul. She wasn't even sure she remembered the words correctly.

But somehow, she knew it would be worth it.
After all, they were friends, weren't they?
?.

That year, Yukari had a picnic under the cherry trees for the first time in many years.
A slender figure clad in a misty robe joined her, happily consuming the many snacks she'd gapped over from all over the world. It had been hard to find her, yes, and Yukari would rather be at home, sleeping-But she had to finish this, and after all, her friend was still her friend. She was just much happier this time around.

?Excuse, me, ms. Youkai..? The ghost looks up at her with a half-eaten canap? in her hand. ?Do you know my name??

?You don't remember??
Yukari looks at her in astonishment. Of course, she had put a block on Yuuko's memories to prevent them from resurafacing, since she didn't feel it was right to let her remember her old life. She'd be happier this way, but Yukari had at least expected her to remember her own name.

?Yu..? She stops herself before realizing that the village people still talked about ?Yuuko? and her suicide. Yes, maybe it was better for her not to remember.

?Yuyuko.? The youkai smiles and puts her hands on Yuyuko's shoulders. ?It's Yuyuko. That's your name from now on, OK??

The newborn ghost smiles at her, and for once she's actually smiling sincirely, like she's actually living her life instead of smiling out of pity or using a facade.
?Thank you, Ms. Yukari. You're really kind, you know that?? She tilts her head and puts another sweet in her mouth ?I mean, we barely know each other, and-? It's too much for Yukari to bear. Yuuko's happy. For once, Yuuko is truly happy with nothing terrible on her mind, it's like they've really started over- And she can't take it anymore, and hugs Yuyuko out of nowhere.
?Ms Yukari? Please don't cry..?
Japanese progress: To the point where I can read a manga with the help of an electronic dictionary.

MysTeariousYukari

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Re: And the Cherry Tree Bloomed
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2010, 08:32:26 PM »
Awwwww, that's sweet :* That was awesome! I giggled a bit when I saw that you brought Yukari in, then my jaw dropped with that last bit, Yuuko into Yuyuko.