Kyoto Song

[Elwen]

Kyoto Song

 

 

 

*This is Hisoka and Shizuka’s backstory from “The Land of the Rising Moon” Werewolf game, and as such, goes along with the Chronicles from that game. There are spoilers in this…so watch out. The format’s kinda weird…after the first part, it’s a flashback, until everything is concluded in the last part. This part is meant to tie up some loose ends concerning Shizuka…*

 

The tiny, slender girl pushed away the guards’ helping hands, her brief moment of weakness pushed away. At last, everything has become clear to her…but as is her way, she remains silent. Her rash words would send her to her death, and indirectly-or directly-doom the others to their grisly fate. That is why she remained silent so long…Hisoka had never been good with words, and every time she spoke, it was a disaster.

 

//I always wanted to die in the spring…// Hisoka thinks, and wants to smile, even a little, for her wish has come true.

 

Her long, black hair falling loose about her shoulders and sakura petals drifting to cling to her white kimono-white, the color of mourning, chosen deliberately-Hisoka does not look back as she steps out into space, no trace of fear on her lovely face.

 

“I’m sorry…” her words are dashed away by the wind, as her fragile body strikes the rocks below.

 

Yumeni are rare, their talent precious beyond measure. For every Dreamgazer, every Seer, with an Awakened talent, there are two more whose talents will never awaken past brief premonitions and simple prescience.

 

And there are a few…a few upon the edge of awakening, but who die before their gifts can bloom. But upon their death, they have one final vision, their first and their last: their death-dream. A vision only another Dreamgazer can share…

 

~Shizuka-chan…I wish I could have seen you…one last time…~

 

Green eyes open, as Shizuka sits up. A fit of coughing wracks his delicate frame, as the young seer struggles for breath. Visions have always taken so much out of him: now that he has stopped caring for himself, the drain is even worse. He is always sick, now, and he knows that he is going to die, a slow death by consumption and by his power burning him up from within. It has been a year and a half since he gave up the other occupation he was involved in, as an assassin in the service of the Emperor, much too ill to continue in that service. Now all he did was use his visions to help guide the Emperor-and even now, he is too weak to stay by his sovereign’s side, whispering of the Future that he has seen. It will not be so long, now.

 

Death would be welcome. It had been three years now, three years since half his soul was ripped away. Three years to the day: he was nineteen, today, his day of birth. The third without her, without his oneesan. Their day of birth was also the day she died. He had Seen it…had Seen that Hisoka would die, and had known he could do nothing to save her, or any of the others.

 

But it had been the hardest decision of his life, to take the other road, and warn the Son of Heaven. Shizuka had wanted to go to Hisoka, even if it meant that he would have been killed as well: at least they would have been together at the end. She wouldn’t have had to die alone, though she hadn’t been afraid. But ‘Soka-chan would have wanted it that way, for him to do what was right.

 

Shizuka could still feel her with him, though their soul-link had broken at the moment she had died. The young head of the Sumeragi onmyouji clan, which was becoming the most prominent clan of the various groups of yin-yang magicians, had taken one look at him and said that his sister had been unable to rest. Hisoka was trapped in a spiral-of-life-that-was-not-life, having died but being unable to move on. Sumeragi Saya, who had been a close friend of his sister’s and was the only person Shizuka could really talk to now, had offered to send Hisoka’s spirit on: Shizuka had refused, knowing why she had stayed on this side. The twins had, upon learning of the prophecy of the end of their family, had made a promise to one another: if one of them died, whoever it was would wait for the other to follow.

 

In a time of darkness and doubt, the last of the Kyodai will die by his or her own hand…

After his sister’s death, Shizuka had begun trying to tap into an unused portion of his gift-the capacity to See into the Past as well as the Future. The vision shown most frequently when one from the Past came, was the image of Hisoka, at the moment of her death. And the strain of looking both backwards and forwards in time had accelerated the failure of his body. He had always been the more fragile of the twins, though Hisoka herself hadn’t been sturdy.

 

Even now, though “The Tale of the Hygenkyoi” was well-known, especially as a cautionary warning, people still mistook Shizuka for his sister. Both twins had looked alike-except for the fact that Shizuka’s hair had been just below his shoulders, while Hisoka’s had been waist-length-down to their small size, unusual green eyes, very pretty faces-not good for him- and frail builds. Now that three years had passed, his hair had grown to as long as his sister’s had been, and suffering had brought an ethereal, dreamy cast to his features, as his sister had looked at the end.

 

A small bottle stood, unopened, on the table, next to an inkstick, calligraphy brush, and inkstone, as well as a journal open to a blank page. Hisoka’s journal-once it was deemed safe, troops were sent in to inspect Lord Mizuhara’s castle. Her book was found in a secret hiding place, and given to Shizuka, along with a lock of his sister’s hair. In the intervening years, he had written the ending of the tale, for while Hisoka had been meticulous about documenting everything, both about the shapeshifters and what had happened as well as her life after the twins had parted five years ago, she had died before witnessing the end of the tragedy.

 

The rest of the pages are for you, otouto-chan.

 

The last thing she had ever written, in her graceful calligraphy.

 

Shizuka sat down, and after preparing the ink, began to write.

***

The sun was setting by the time Shizuka put his brush down, the last page no longer blank.

 

//I didn’t know that it was so late.// Shizuka thought, surprised, and then doubled over as another fit of coughing wracked his body. With sudden clarity that only a Dreamgazer can have, he knew that before too long, he’d be too weak to move around, especially with the rate he’d been having visions. In less than a year, before the sakura bloomed again in their proper season, he’d be in his grave, reunited with his parents and sister in the shadowy realms of the dead.

 

But when the time came for him to die, he didn’t want to be too weak to do what he had to do. What prophecy had dictated must be.

 

In a time of darkness and doubt, the last of the Kyodai will die by his or her own hand…

Shizuka weighed the small bottle in his hand. //A year is too long to wait.// he thought. Slowly dying, becoming a burden…versus a gentle, peaceful death, simply passing into twilight and shadow.

 

There was nothing left for him to do. He had already written his last visions and prophecies of the Future for the Emperor: the sheets lay near Hisoka’s journal. Shizuka wanted to join his sister…he was too tired. Too badly hurt inside to ever feel again, besides the shades of sorrow and grief.

 

//Wait for me, sister…// Shizuka thought, and opening the vial, drank down the contents.

 

The seer’s eyes closed, as his head came to rest on the journal, drifting into sleep and into dreams of the past, before Hisoka had died, before they had been parted. No one missed him for several hours, until a servant was sent to check on him. Shizuka looked like he was merely sleeping, fallen asleep while writing.

 

It was when no one could wake him that it was realized the gentle seer was dead, the same expression of peace on his face that had been on his sister’s…as if he had been glad to die.

 

It’s alright now…I’ve lived long enough…

 

~End Part 1~

 

Author’s Notes: Yes, there’s more. The ‘flashbacks’ chronologically occur while Shizuka’s sleeping/dying at the end, though the events take place way before this. I had to end with Shizuka’s death in this part because I really wanted to wrap up what happened to him before flashing back. I decided to have Hisoka actually turn out to be a latent Seer because the wolves suspected her of being a potential Seer-and guess what? They were right! Kind of. And yes, the bit with the Sumeragi clan leader was a nod to “Tokyo Babylon” and “X”, two very good anime/manga series by CLAMP, though Saya is my own creation. All I’m going to say is that as a childhood friend of the twins’, she’ll actually appear in the story.

 

Glossary:

Yumeni-“Dreamgazer”, or Seer.

Onmyouji-yin-yang magician.

Shizuka-“silence”

Hisoka-“secret”

Kyodai-“Reality” (Translations of names- Kyodai Shizuka is the “Silence of Reality” and Kyodai Hisoka “the Secret of Reality”)

-chan-diminutive suffix.

Otouto-younger brother

Edited March 5, 2004 by Elwen

[Tanuchan]

Wow, Elwen! This is really catching! I'm looking forward to more of the twins' story, I'm sooo curious... can't wait to know what happened to part Hisoka and Shizuka... Please, please... don't take too long...

 

 

On another note, to those who eventually wonder about the "Land of Rising Moon" story, it was the setting of the 2nd Werewolf game and Elwen played her character Hisoka. You can find it at the Conservatory. The Chronicles will be a story telling of the events RPed in the game, and I'll be writing them up soon.

 

~Tanny

 

 

 

Edit: You can find the First Chronicles here

Edited April 6, 2004 by Tanuchan

[Katzaniel]

Wow, that's awesome Elwen. Incredibly engrossing.

 

(One another note, instead of angle brackets, you need to use square brackets to get your bold and italics to work.)

 

Keep it up!

[DeanTheAdequate]

*Applause*

 

Nicely played! I am so glad my use of you brother in the thread didn't throw you off.

 

I just needed a way to keep the Emperor safe, and you gave me the perfect out.

 

Thanks for the great read!

 

Dean :wizzie:

[Lady Celes Crusader]

That is a great reading. It's catching it feels all the despairs Hisoka showed in the RP. I definatly want to read the following episodes.

[Elwen]

Part Two: Darkening Shadows

 

Two girls had their heads bent together over the scroll on the table, too absorbed in the poetry to notice the disagreement outside the room. Or, at least, one of them was too absorbed in the poetry to notice the argument just outside.

 

“’Soka-chan…” the taller of the two finally asked, raising her head and noticing the raised voices, one female, one male. Actually, the man was shouting and the woman had kept her temper in check, though her voice was as icy as the heart of winter. “What’s going on?”

 

Slender shoulders shrugged in apparent apathy, as the other girl continued reading over the poem again again, obviously trying to find some flaw, some dissonance in the melody of the words or an imprecise brushstroke, in her work.

 

“I mean it, Hisoka. What’s going on?” the first girl asked, hoping to at least get her best friend’s attention. It was a vain hope, she knew, for once Hisoka got a scroll in her hands-especially one of her own-, she would be occupied for hours-while the actual *reading* didn’t take her long, she spent *hours* on different interpretations of the poet’s words, or in searching for flaws in the work.

 

Now was one of those times.

 

There came no response from the other girl. Exasperated, the first girl snatched the scroll from her friend’s surprisingly lax grip.

 

“Would you just answer the question?” she asked, sapphire eyes flashing with a hint of annoyance.

 

“I did.” Kyodai Hisoka replied in her typical dry manner. “I do not know.”

 

Obviously, her shrug had been both ‘I don’t care’ and ‘I don’t know’: but how was she supposed to tell the difference, best friend or no? The only one who could read Hisoka like a book was her twin, Shizuka: but then, twins /were/ two halves of a soul, as she herself knew only too well.

 

With a sigh, Hisoka’s best friend handed back the poetry scroll. “It sounds bad, whatever is going on out there. I don’t like the sound of it…”

 

“Nothing will happen.” Hisoka predicted, rolling up the scroll, obviously finished at last. Either that, or she had gotten the message concerning her friend’s attention span. “At least not while you are here.”

 

Sumeragi Saya raised an eyebrow at the smaller girl. “You sound sure of yourself, my friend.” The onmyouji replied, suddenly very serious. “Are you sure that you do not have the Gift your family is famed for?”

 

Irritably, Hisoka flung the poem on the table, and while her voice was calm, her annoyance was obvious in her gesture. “I am sure, Saya. It does not take the Sight to know that even Lord Toriyama, as much as an arrogant, overconfident fool as he is, would not dare try anything while the heiress to the Sumeragi stays under this roof. He may not fear two of the most powerful Dreamgazers to live in these times, he may not fear even the Oracle of the Void, but even /he/ fears the Sumeragi clan.”

 

Saya’s lips twitched incredously with sudden, inappropriate, but entirely too funny amusement. “He fears a curse being placed upon him? Or some ghosts being set to haunt him, the fury of the unquiet dead?”

 

“Precisely.” Hisoka said crisply. Saya burst out into giggles at the thought of setting vengeful ghosts upon Lord Nekura Toriyama, pleasing as it would be to do so. Green eyes fixed coldly on her, and Saya immediately settled down, knowing that it was Hisoka’s subtle reminder that she was being too undignified. After all, she *did* have her station as heiress to a clan that was rapidly rising in importance to consider.

 

“Gomen nasai, ‘Soka-chan, but that was too funny.” Saya finally managed to calm down. Hisoka, of course, had never dropped her mask of complete calm and serenity, and Saya greatly envied her for that. The Kyodai girl also had her own station to consider, as eldest daughter of the Oracle of the Void, and she always acted in the manner befitting a clan heiress. Silent and serene, with not an emotion leaking out. “But what is Lord Toriyama here for /now/? Did Akari-basan not do a good job of chasing him away last time?”

 

“’Kaasan did the best she could…the wrath of the Oracle of the Void, or that of any of the five Oracles, is not one to be risked, but he risks it. All I know is that he is interested in Shizuka-chan.” Hisoka said, folding her legs neatly beneath her.

 

“But *why*?” Saya realized why as soon as she spoke. Kyodai Akari, the Oracle of the Void, had always refused to share the contents of her visions with Lord Toriyama or any lord she felt was not to be trusted with the knowledge of the future: her husband, Kyodai Akira, who was also a Dreamgazer, used his knowledge of the Past-for he was a Dreamer who saw mostly the Past, not the Future- to help her enforce the prohibitions she had laid on those lords. His visions of the past had the potential to show him every dark secret and every corruption that those lords had to hide, and the kami have mercy on their souls if word ever got back to the Emperor. The very *threat* of such a damning vision kept most corrupt lords from seeking aid from the Oracle of the Void, for fear of her wrath and the Sight of her husband/adviser. Nekura Toriyama, on the other hand…Akira hadn’t yet had a vision concerning him, and without certain proof-or a vision-Akari could not move against him.

 

//Lord Toriyama must believe that Shizuka, as the apparent next Oracle of the Void, would be more pliable to his will-especially if he was away from his parents.// Saya thought. “Because he is more…pliable then your mother?”

 

“*Lord* Toriyama mistakes frailness of body for weakness of spirit and will.” Hisoka stated gravely, and while her voice was properly serene, she still managed to make a mockery of that lord’s title.

 

Saya almost snickered. Obviously, the lord had encountered Hisoka upon one occasion, and mistaken her for some fragile butterfly with no will because of her apparent delicacy. Delicate or not, the elder of the Kyodai twins was strong of spirit, and her brother was much the same.

 

“Hisoka…you should be careful. Twins often share the same Gifts, though they may be late to awaken, and you may be a target.” Saya found herself saying.

 

“I have not the Gift of Sight.” Hisoka repeated dully.

 

“Hisoka, you have been right on so many occasions about so many unpredictable things-you even knew exactly how I would show up and how I would be dressed and how I would behave the very first time I came with my father to visit you and your parents, and-“

 

A small, black-haired girl, dressed in formal kimono-deep green silk, embroidered with golden butterflies- stepped shyly up and bowed.

 

“Ohayo gozaimasu.” She said quietly, and formally. “My name is Sumeragi Saya.”

 

The girl’s bright eyes were the color of the sky, flecked with small motes of gold, and she had a smile bright as the sun Herself. As she smiled, the entire room seemed to light up.

 

Hisoka was already shaking her head. “Echoes from one of Shizuka’s visions, not more. You came to visit when we were eight, and he had first started Seeing when he was six.”

 

Saya blinked. Hisoka and Shizuka were so closely linked that she should see echoes, bits and pieces, from one of his visions? That was…rare. To say the least.

 

“Echoes in themselves are-“ Saya began, and abruptly cut herself off as Hisoka gestured for silence.

 

“You will not see my son now, Lord Toriyama. He is ill, and your presence will only make his illness worse.” Kyodai Akari hissed, her soft voice growing louder. “Furthermore, you will *never* see him. Ever. Get out. Now.”

 

Lord Toriyama suddenly stormed into the room, and glared at Hisoka. “Sick? The boy looks perfectly healthy, if you could call wide-eyed paleness healthy, to me!”

 

Saya would have burst out laughing, if the situation had not been so serious. Hisoka stubbornly refused to listen to the fact that she and Shizuka looked as alike as two peas in a pod, and now she would have to admit it. However, the Sumeragi clan heir’s amusement quickly heated into outrage as she saw Lord Toriyama grab Hisoka by one slender wrist and roughly pull her to her feet.

 

“Get your hands *off*-“ Saya growled, losing her temper and reaching for an ofuda. How dare that bastard manhandle her best friend! How /dare/ he come in here at all! “Or I *will* do something /very/ painful to you!”

 

“Threatened by the likes of you? Do you think I am scared?” Nekura Toriyama obviously had no idea who she was, otherwise he would have been considerably less arrogant. Hisoka simply stood still, her wrist still painfully caught in his grip, not twisting or struggling-overtly-as Saya herself would have done in that situation. Her face was frozen in a mask of ice, even as Toriyama twisted even more painfully, obviously trying to haul “Shizuka” off with him. //Where’s Aunt Akari?!!// Saya’s eyes flickered back and forth, as she began chanting a spell-

 

The onmyouji might actually have done something very foolish, had not the timely arrival of her adoptive aunt prevented her.

 

“That is my *daughter*, not my *son.*” Akari made her stately, yet angry, way into the room, green eyes snapping sparks. “And you *will* release her this instant and leave this place at once, or else.”

 

Toriyama released Hisoka-obviously having no interest in the Sight-blind twin-and turned to face Lady Akari.

 

“And why should I do that?” he said, straightening to his full height-he was much taller than the Oracle-and placing one hand on his katana hilt. “Not until I get what I came here for.”

 

“For two reasons. The first is that you will /never/ use my son as a captive songbird, singing songs of the Future to benefit you and your ceaseless ambition! In fact, you will *never* use either of my children to further your ambitions!” Akari’s voice snapped like a whip in the sudden silence. “Second, the Lady Sumeragi is standing right behind you. And you have made her angry.”

 

The lord backed away slowly, keeping a wary eye on all three women.

 

//At least he’s leaving.// Saya thought with a trace of satisfaction, though she was annoyed that she didn’t get a chance to hurt him. Then something hit her. Something Akari had said. //*Lady* Sumeragi?//

 

Nekura smirked, and made a mocking bow towards Saya. “Your father finally got just what he deserved, *Lady* Sumeragi.”

 

Blue eyes went wide, and Saya couldn’t move. She was…frozen. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be…could it? No. She wouldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe it.

 

Akari turned, green eyes flaring silver in her beautiful face. The power of the Void made manifest, in her-and about ready to strike against the Toriyama lord.

 

And the sound of a hand hitting flesh echoed in the room. Saya looked up through tear-drenched eyes, to see Hisoka, hand upraised as to deliver another blow. The girl lacked the magical Gifts of her mother and best friend…so she was forced to resort to physical tactics, against a man both much taller and heavier than her.

 

“Mitani-jisan was an honorable, kind…much *better* man than you’ll ever be!” Hisoka said, her voice dangerously cold. “And may the ancestors have mercy upon your soul if you insult his memory any longer. I know that Lord Sumeragi rests with his ancestors, for he was a good and true man…and when you die, may Enma-sama grant you eternal torment!”

 

Toriyama looked down at her. “I will remember those words, Kyodai Hisoka.” He said menacingly. “And I will make you regret saying them.”

 

He looked straight at Akari. “This does not end here, Oracle. We will finish this…one way or another.”

 

The man exited the room, before Akari could either turn the power of the Void itself against him, or before her daughter could hit him again.

 

Hisoka quickly crossed the room and helped Saya sit down before she collapsed.

 

“My-my father?” Saya asked dazedly. “Is-is what he said…true?”

 

“Gomen nasai, Saya-chan.” Akari said sadly, crossing over to her adoptive niece. “Your father is…your father is dead. You are the Lady of the Sumeragi, now.”

 

In that moment, Saya felt her whole world fall apart. The onmyouji did not hold back, but let the tears fall, racking her slender body in harsh, tearing sobs, until it felt like she would break in half, and she still had tears left to weep, both for her mother and for her father. Tears that she had saved inside for what felt like an eternity, and now could be denied no longer.

 

“’Tousan…” Saya wept, sobbing brokenly.

 

Hisoka knelt with her, holding her gently, as Shizuka entered the room, fragile body wrapped in a blanket, eyes bright with fever. Completely ignoring the fact that he was sick, again-and should be in bed-the Dreamgazer knelt with his twin and her best friend, refusing to let Saya be alone in her soul-deep grief.

 

“Did you…did you See his death?” Saya finally managed to get out between the sobs. It was a question directed to both Akari and Shizuka. It would be a difficult question for them to answer, and she already knew the answer, deep inside her heart, though she wanted to hear it from their own lips.

 

“Hai.” Akari finally said, sadly. Shizuka nodded as well.

 

“Then why didn’t you do anything to prevent it?!” Saya flared up in anger, though she knew that it was too much to ask, that not even a Dreamgazer could prevent everything.

 

”Some things cannot be changed.” Akari finally said.

 

And in that moment, Saya at last understood the burden of a Dreamgazer. To know the future, and to know that while some futures may be changed, others cannot be.

 

Some things could not be changed, no matter how hard one wished it to be.

 

~End Part Two~

 

Elwen’s Notes: Sorry for the long delay! I couldn’t decide what event to put in this chapter, I had so many ideas, so I finally jumped ahead to the last days of the Kyodai as a clan. (After all, *something* must have happened. They *were* a well-established and highly important, if very small, family, and their head, Lady Akari, was the highest-ranking of the Dreamgazers, as the Oracle of the Void. However, by Werewolf (Hisoka/Shizuka are sixteen: it’s only three years after this part), the Kyodai as a family no longer exist, all five elemental Oracles-Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Void-are gone, not just Akari, Hisoka is a geisha, and Shizuka is a Dreamgazer assassin in the service of the Emperor, NOT Oracle of the Void, and neither of them have a last name. So, what do *you* think happened? Comments welcome!)

 

Glossary:

 

Gomen nasai-I’m sorry. More formal than “gomen”.

-basan-“Aunt.” While Saya is not-by blood-Akari’s niece, she has been raised to regard her an aunt.

Kami-god/gods

Ohayo gozaimasu-Good morning. More formal than “ohayo”.

Ofuda-paper talisman used in onmyoujitsu (yin-yang magic) for many things: often used as a spell focus

Jisan-“Uncle”. While Mitani Sumeragi was not Hisoka’s uncle by blood, she and her brother were raised to think of him an uncle.

Enma-Japanese god of the underworld: responsible for judgment of souls.

-sama: suffix used to refer to deities, rulers, or someone held in the highest of respect.

‘Tousan-father

‘Kaasan-mother

Akari-light (Name translation: Kyodai Akari=Light of Reality)

Akira-brightness (Name translation: Kyodai Akira=Brightness of Reality

[Tanuchan]

I'm getting more and more curious, Elwen! What happened to the Kyoday? Did Lord Toriyama get his revenge by someway making Hisoka into a geisha? Is he responsible for the end of the Oracles?

 

Aww, I want more!!!

 

 

*hugs*

 

Keep writing, please The story is great, I do enjoy it a lot, and I'm sure more people feel the same!

 

~Tanny

[Lady Celes Crusader]

Indeed, I want more! I mean this is captivating. I wanna know more about it.