A New World (book 2) Complete

~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore

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Iced Fairy:
?Parting is all we know of heaven, and all we need of hell.?
Komachi stared at the mess below. She'd been really bummed being dragged out for late night work, but now she was wishing she was elsewhere for other reasons. ?Um, Shikieiki-sama, do we really want to be around here? That guy just killed a god. Well not fully killed but....?

?'If god stands in your way cut him down,'? muttered the Yamaxandu. Then she shrugged. ?We aren't here to judge him today. We're here for other reasons. She looked slightly to the south. ?Besides he'll be leaving soon.?

?Huh?? Komachi blinked, then turned to look at where her boss was looking.

Just in time to hear a voice yell ?Kagazuchi!? and have the forest explode into flames.

In the light of the fire god Komachi could see Hitomi, the current Hakurei maiden, looking around the battlefield. She wisely didn't get close, which saved her from getting skewered by those strange arrows the man was tossing about. And the god she'd summoned didn't care nearly as much about the attacks.

The man stumbled back, and tried some sort of wind pressure technique. Something that Komachi hadn't run across since Youmu'd been around. However with only one good arm it just didn't work.

The fire god gave a few blasts in return, forcing the swordsman to try to dodge. It was hard to Komachi to see, but she thought one of the fire blasts might have winged the man. Between the loss of surprise and his wounds he was at a serious disadvantage.

Just as Komachi thought that the man threw a few more arrows as a screen, then ran further into the forest before taking flight on the strange item that brought him here.

Shikieiki nodded beside her. ?Well that's done. Now to do your job Komachi.?

?Eh?? Komachi looked down. ?But there are still people there. And the souls won't have left the bodies yet.?

The yama looked like she was going to go into one of her lectures, then stopped. ?Ah, that's right, you haven't ferried a Lunarian before Komachi. Well don't worry about it, I'll go handle the living.?

With that her boss flew down towards the ground. Komachi obediently followed. After all it was a bad idea to question the boss while she was still there.

Komachi dropped by the woman who had died first. She was caught by surprise, so she'd be less likely to cling to life. She gave the body a tap with her scythe, but there was no sign. So Komachi sat down. She wasn't the type to drag ghosts anywhere.

Looking up she saw Shikieiki stop in front of the shrine maiden. The woman was hovering over the wounded rabbit youkai in a guard position. Shikieiki nodded to the woman. ?You have nothing to fear from us Hitomi Hakurei. In fact I'm currently pleased you've overcome your personal feelings to show compassion to a youkai. However, if you want to save her you'll need to take her to Eientei quickly.? The yama pointed towards the mansion. ?Go that way, and hurry. Moving her is somewhat dangerous, but leaving her here is worse. The other two are beyond your aid.?

Hitomi paused for a moment then simply nodded and picked up the moon rabbit. She quickly disappeared, using both her boundary powers and flight to move as fast as possible.

Komachi sighed and turned back to the corpse. Then her eyes widened.

?Well it seems like you Lunarians leave your bodies quickly,? she said to herself as she saw the small spirit bobbing there.

Strangely the ghost didn't project any feelings back at her. It seemed to just be mildly confused and curious.

Komachi stared at the whisp for a bit before turning to her boss. ?Um, Shikieiki, something seems wrong with this ghost.?

The Emma shook her head. ?No. This is what happens when a pure being dies.? She nodded towards the ghost then waved the other spirit over. ?You've never collected a celestial, so you wouldn't know, but they do this too. A pure being can extend their lifespan without limit, but when they die they can't hold on to their memories.? The yamaxandu shook her head. ?The path of rulership is not the path of enlightenment. Such is the price of the power we all share. I imagine these two ghosts retain only their names and some slivers of personality.?

Komachi looked at the bobbing souls and felt some pity. ?Well I guess they won't have to worry about the judging then. Can't we just reincarnate them now??

She flinched back from Shikieiki's glare. ?Stop trying to get out of work. I'm going to use a loophole to let you ferry them both to me in the same trip, so be grateful. Now get on it. I want them in my office by morning.?

Komachi sighed and looked straight at the ghosts. ?Alright, well you heard the boss. Let's get cracking. I'm Komachi and I'll be your guide across the Sanzu river.?

Komachi continued her small talk as she flew to the rivers shore then began ferrying the two ghosts across. She still didn't know why she had to do this personally though.

The only reason she could think of for grabbing two powerful pure souls would be to make more Shinigami, and even with the 60 year cycle coming up next year there shouldn't be a need for two more Shinigami.

Right?

----

As the rabbits moved to put away the dining sets and rearrange the room Eirin moved to look out the window. The moon sat silently in the sky, as it always had.

Despite knowing the day was inevitable, she was still a little surprised that the day had already come. Perhaps it was because she hadn't been paying attention.

Still it was good to see her former students still trusted her enough to ask for help. Even if she would never be able to return to Lunarian society, it was nice to still have some old friends.

Eirin's ruminations were cut short by the door slamming open. ?Master there's a...!?

Then a fireball erupted in the forest.

Eirin turned to the rabbit servant that had entered. ?What happened??

?We heard sounds of battle from where the emissaries went!?

Eirin swore and grabbed her bow. She was halfway to the door when the another alarm rose up. ?Intruder!?

Eirin drew her weapon as someone rushed in, but quickly dropped it when she recognized the Hakurei Shrine Maiden's unique outfit. The fact that she was carrying the younger Reisen confirmed she wasn't there to fight. ?Here! This room!? Eirin stepped hurriedly into one of the storage rooms and quickly swept a table clean.

As Hitomi laid the moon rabbit down Eirin took rapid stock of the injuries. Two throwing arrow wounds. One leg, one arm. Heavy blood loss. Simple to treat, but she'd need to hurry before shock killed the girl.

She yelled into the hallway ?Tell Udongein to bring blood forming drugs and bandages!? Then she summoned a syringe and quickly injected its contents into a vein. ?That should keep her from bleeding out.? Eirin pulled out a knife to cut the arrowheads off. ?What about her companions??

Hitomi closed her eyes. ?I'm sorry. They were dead when I got there according to the woman with the death god.?

Eirin's stomach fell out, but she continued working. Millennia of practice kept her moving. She sawed off the arrowhead, then pulled the leg arrow out. Udongein was there to bandage it immediately, so she started on the next arrow. It was out quickly as well.

She then pulled out another syringe with antibiotics to hopefully deal with the fact that this place was far from sterile. Fortunately her medicines were almost certain to work.

She sighed and stepped back. ?Someone clean the table, and get a stretcher to carry the patient to a real medical room.? She then looked up and saw princess Kaguya looking in with tears in her eyes. The princess shook her head.

?We smothered the fires... but it was too late. I'm sorry Eirin.?

Eirin nodded, cutting off her tears. She was head of the household. She couldn't let herself cry. She turned to the shrine maiden. ?I'm Eirin Yagokoro. I've heard of you Hakurei Hitomi.?

?I've heard of you too.? The miko shifted about. ?I suppose you want to know about the assailant??

Eirin looked down at the trowing arrows she'd removed. ?Just a confirmation. A single man, armed with a sword? Of above average build with long hair in a topknot??

Hitomi nodded. ?Exactly. He was cut up pretty badly, but he took a passable attempt at killing the god I summoned before running.?

There was a snap, and Eirin realized she'd clenched her fists hard enough to break the arrow. Fortunately Kaguya stepped in.

?So it's Jiyuwon. Then Lord Tenshou is responsible.?

Hitomi's eye's narrowed. ?Will we be seeing him again??

Kaguya looked at Eirin, who could only shrug. ?I don't know. I can tell you not to fight him without help from Ran and at least one other powerful youkai. And even then expect one of you to die.?

Hitomi stared at her. ?He's that dangerous? He retreated quickly when I faced him, though I suppose he was wounded...?

?Yes.? Eirin discarded the arrow fragments. ?Fortunately he's a one of a kind warrior. And any wound that would cause him to actually retreat will take at least two days to heal right..?

Hitomi swore. ?I guess I'll need to talk to Ran before I go home. I'll be back tomorrow. Give me the full explanation then.?

Eirin simply nodded.

?If you want we can send Tewi to talk to Ran. That way you can get home faster.? Kaguya bowed her head. ?We owe you, for saving one of our friends.?

Hitomi shook her head. ?I'm the Hakurei maiden. This is my job. Though I will tell her to ask you for the details.? She turned to leave, then paused. ?I'm... sorry for your loss. If that youkai returns, he will be punished.?

Then she was gone.

Eirin considered explaining how Lunarians weren't youkai when the shrine maiden returned, but she decided against it. There was no reason to shatter the miko's delusions.

Someone with her job didn't need to know how humans could become greater evils then any youkai they constructed.

She realized she'd zoned out again when Kaguya put a hand on her shoulder. ?I should arrange for the funeral.?

Eirin nodded. ?And I'll find a way to get those truly responsible for this punished.?

Iced Fairy:
Sareseno was getting concerned.

To tell the truth he was past concerned and into gut churning fear. It was something he was very unused to, and he was finding it to be a terrible experience.

Lord Tsukiyomi hadn't just summoned court, he'd called all the moon to bear witness. A big event like that was to be expected, but there was no word from his wife. Even if Toyohime had run off to speak with their lord immediately she should have sent word via Reisen. Normally they didn't keep track of each other's comings and goings, but this was different.

?Brother!?

Sareseno turned to see Miyari pushing through the crowd towards him. Sareseno looked at the expression on his brother's face.

And his heart broke.

He wasn't sure exactly what his brother said to him, but he knew he was to follow, so he followed.

Some time later, maybe not all that long, he found himself standing before Lord Tsukiyomi. He managed to bow.

Lord Tsukiyomi bowed low in return. Too low. ?I... I have failed you. I have failed my generals, and to my eternal shame they have paid the price.?

Then he said the words Saresano had known were coming. ?An assassin slew both of them on earth.? The Lord who had taken his people to the moon, who had escaped the earth's corruption and the death it brought, clenched his hands in fury at his impotence. ?I can't even say who did it. They wanted me to suspect Eirin of course. But I can't contact her or any of my own personal spies on earth, despite the two still being connected. The traitor has to be on the moon.?

He bowed low again. ?This was all due to my failures. I am sorry.?

Miyari seemed to have shut of his emotions at the revelation. The iron embrace of logic was what he turned to in times of trial.

Sareseno just felt lost.

His mind was well enough to remember the formalities at least. He bowed. ?It was not your fault there are traitors. Yorihime accepted your service knowing the risks, and I'm sure Toyohime did as well.?

He wished he could say more. About their deaths not being in vain, or how they would be remembered. But for the first time he could not summon the words. It was too big a lie.

Lord Tsukiyomi shook his head again. ?I wish I could offer you some repayment, or justice, but I have nothing. I must see to my people first. And to save them we must flee without battle.?

Miyari replied, ?I understand my Lord. Do what must be done.?

Sareseno simply nodded silently.

---

The two brothers watched from the wings as Lord Tsukiyomi ascended to the dais. For the first time Sareseno noticed the man looked old.

The Moon's ruler raised his hands for silence. After a few minutes he began. ?People of the Lunar Metropolis. Listen to my words.?

?In the early days of the history, when the second living thing crawled up out of the sea to eat the first the Earth has been tainted with blood. That impurity brought death to all things in time. The impurity of conflict and desire corrupted the once pure Earth, and all living things bore its taint.?

?We Lunarians realized the corruption, and fled the earth. Leaving behind our nations and worldly power to obtain a pure land. The moon. A land untouched by the need of living things to kill. Here we abandoned our humanity, becoming the equal of the gods.?

?For centuries we lived in peace. The taint of blood came only 4 times to the capitol, and each time it was quickly removed.?

?Now however that has changed. The humans have come to our moon, and instead of leaving as we had hoped they have set up a base here. Bringing their desires, their needs, their tainted blood to our moon. So we asked ourselves what we should do.?

Lord Tsukiyomi's face fell. A ripple of whispers spread throughout the crowd.

?We failed... I failed to see the true threat. I sent my best generals to earth to ask what to do with the human menace. And on earth they were slain.?

Tears welled up in Sareseno's eyes. And it was now shock and horror circulating the crowd.

?I wish I could tell you of their deaths. But I cannot. My attempts to learn of the dead magically were blocked, and my contact with our informants on the planet were interrupted as well. The only reason I know of their deaths was because the assassins were prevented from covering up the location magically somehow.?

Lord Tsukiyomi drooped. ?But given how exact the blackout is it could only have occurred at the hands of a traitor on the moon itself.?

Lord Tsukiyomi had to pause as the outbursts became louder. Sareseno noted most of the anger and grief seemed genuine. It was small comfort.

After a few moments their lord continued. ?I know many of your hearts cry for justice, to find this criminal and execute them. And I understand this drive, because your hearts are pure. But I fear that will only give the assassins victory.?

?For there must be multiple conspirators to accomplish so vast a plan. Which means to find and punish them would require a civil war.? Sareseno noticed how Lord Tsukiyomi emphasized the words, silencing the crowd before they even started.

?A civil war can only bring the taint and corruption of the Earth to the moon, no matter who was victorious. Perhaps it might be possible to clean that impurity away, like we did after the youkai war.?

Once again the mighty lord's voice fell and he slumped. ?But I find I cannot believe that.?

There was a long silence.

Lord Tsukiyomi drew himself up to his full height. ?It is because of my failures that such treachery was not stamped out long ago. That is why I hereby abdicate my position, on the execution of one final order. Any who wish to follow me into the alternate dimension retreat are to be allowed to leave with their full possessions and their servants.?

He looked down to the ground. ?I love the moon. But I love my people and my ideals more. I can not demand you abandon this place, or not seek revenge. But that is not my path.?

Sareseno watched in awe as Lord - no Tsukiyomi - placed the regalia of rulership on the dais then walked away.

The court erupted in chaos. Accusations flew from some. Questions from others. A good number simply walked away, probably to get their households in order for the move. If Tsukiyomi felt the moon could not be saved, it could not in their minds.

?My fellow nobles! If I may speak!??

Sareseno felt a stab of emotion pierce his heart. It wasn't much, but he felt hate as he looked down on where Lord Tenshou stood.

There was no sign of panic on the man's face. In fact the noble radiated purpose. It was obvious to those who had been faltering.

?I understand Lord, that is, the former Lord Tsukiyomi's worries. But can we really just abandon our land like that?? He waved his hand at the city, and the orchards. ?While I admit I came into conflict with the noble Watatsuki sisters in the past, can we really let their murderers just go free!? Especially if their goal was to force us to flee our home? Is it not a just and righteous thing to defend your land against impurity while you still have the chance of victory, instead of running in defeat??

?But Lord Tenshou,? a lesser noble asked, ?If we taint the moon we'll have lost all of that for nothing, at the cost of millions of lives.?

?The lives of earth creatures are meaningless. And we've cleansed our city once before, when the youkai brought death to our halls.? Lord Tenshou stood up straight. ?Did we flee then? No, we just repaired and rebuilt!?

?And foolishly let the culprits escape unpunished,? said a woman with hate in her eyes. Sareseno noted that it seemed to be directed equally at the people she was speaking about and Lord Tenshou himself.

?Indeed. This time we will not make that mistake!? Lord Tenshou nodded. ?This time we shall make sure the earth will not bring taint to our land once again.?

Sareseno felt a tug on his arm. Miyari stood there, still expressionless. ?Come brother. It's time for us to leave.?

Sareseno shook his head. ?I must see this. Perhaps then I will understand.?

Miyari shrugged and walked away.

The debate took three hours. Some left when it became clear they were not going to rule in the new order. Others left when Lord Tenshou insisted Eirin had to be among the conspirators, as she would have stopped any ambush she opposed. Still more left for reasons Sareseno could not see. In the end less then half the moon's Lunarians stood in the room. Yet they all cheered as Lord Tenshou picked up the regalia Tsukiyomi had left behind, and swore they would avenge themselves on the ?guilty.?

And Sareseno was no closer to understanding then he was at the start.

Sect:
Ah, so that's what's going on. This won't end well at all.

Kasu:

--- Quote from: Sect on December 29, 2010, 08:29:27 AM ---Ah, so that's what's going on. This won't end well at all.

--- End quote ---
Agreed.

Sect:

--- Quote from: Kasunagi-no-Tsurugi on December 31, 2010, 12:07:36 AM ---Agreed.

--- End quote ---
Though, if this is a prequel to "Three Days Bright" like I've been suspecting, it'll explain a lot about that story.

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