http://clampfix.fanworks.net/tb-fix/itamashii02.txt </head><body><pre>Hoooooeeeee! ^__^ Look! I've actually written it! ^_^ Thanks everyone for kicking at me until I got this done... Itamashii: Chapter 2 by Miriya Valentine dragon_nataku@yahoo.com Tomyou Sakurazuka. The very name inspired fear in those who knew of it, even in the hearts of the bravest men. It was not that he was a large man, for his slight, willowy frame held none of the qualities that would be considered 'strong' or 'tough'. It wasn't even the fact that the man hadn't aged visibly in over forty years, unlike his wife Hikari, an aging, kind-looking woman. No, people looked into the eyes of the eldest Sakurazuka and felt terror. The man had only to look in one's direction, and freeze the heart itself. There was no comparison to what was seen in those terrible china-blue orbs...there was nothing at all. Emptiness beyond oblivion--it was as if he was death itself. The eldest Sakurazuka's nature was quite different, however, from his appearance. Those who dared stay near the ice-cold man could speak little but kind, respectful words about him. No one had ever been able to find a single thing wrong with the way he acted or carried himself...it was just a feeling, something bright and altogether terrifying was within him... Hikari smiled, looking at her husband with a content expression on her face. She brushed a strand of silver-flecked hair back from her face, handing him a steaming cup of tea. "Good morning, itoshii," she murmured quietly, kneeling across from him at the low table, "should we wake him?" Tomyou took a slow sip of the liquid, closing his eyes. Today was the first day Seishirou would be away from their home as long as he'd lived with them, and he wasn't quite sure he wanted that. The young Sakurazuka needed an education, though, and he wasn't able to provide that--what he would teach the young boy would be much different. To harness the intense power within him, and turn it into energy to perform his /true/ occupation... Young Seishirou would grow up, and become the Sakurazukamori. And, the old master knew, so much more... He looked outside the window, at the horizon. The sun was rising, sending flares of pink, crimson, and orange across the morning sky. //Another has come, another dawn...// How true. "I'll go wake him," Hikari nodded, noticing her husband's pensive look. She wondered why, sometimes, he always seemed to become so pensive and withdrawn when they spoke of the young child. At barely five years, he'd been quite sheltered from the outer world. Many things had happened during that time, things the younger boy was not aware of--things Hikari realized she didn't want him to know. If she could have her way, Seishirou would remain an innocent, sheltered child for the rest of his life, away from the horrible things that plagued the world they lived in. She wanted happiness for a Sakurazuka heir, that was all... she'd mothered many generations of the clan, and it broke her heart each time one fell. She tried so hard to give them the happiness they deserved, but it all fell away in vain as one by one they became /Sakurazukamori/, destined to kill for the sake of the damned tree, and Japan itself... She opened the door quietly, entering young Seishirou's room, smiling at the sight of the younger boy before her. One thin arm was wrapped around an aged and worn stuffed tiger-- Tipu, his mother's 'friend' while she'd lived here. His other hand was curled tightly into a fist, one knuckle wedged between his teeth. Hikari sat on the edge of the boy's bed, gently running a hand through his wild mane of dark hair. The tips of his bangs fell past his long eyelashes, and she decided a haircut was in order, something she would have to do before he went to school. "Little one, time to rise..." She whispered him awake, gently pressing a kiss to his cheek, 'today you have to go to school." Seishirou moaned softly, trying to turn away from the intruder, his arm clasping around the tiger more firmly as he fought to remain deep within the quiet solitude of sleep. It was warm there, and so comfortable… The elder woman shook him awake. "Seishirou-chan, get up, little one…" With a few mumbled words, Seishirou blinked luminous yellow eyes up at his obaasan, smiling faintly with a narrowed gaze still hazy with sleep. "Ohayou-gozaimasu, obaasan…" With that, he tried to roll over and curl back up in the warm blankets. "Ohayou, akachan." She murmured. "Get up, get up!" Laughing, she tickled the little boy awake, and a few minutes later Tomyou turned to see his wife emerging from behind the door with the little one in tow, watching as she set him on a stool. In one hand she held a pair of sharp scissors, and sang him a morning song as she began to trim his hair. Poor Seishirou had trouble staying awake. He'd had dreams, the kind that made him sad, the ones that woke him up in the middle of the night. And today…he'd never left his obaasan since he'd come to Kanazawa. Truthfully, the idea of being around so many strangers frightened the young boy, though he'd never admit it. Frowning, he tried to brush away some of the clipped hair that had made its way down his collar, yawning yet again. He wanted to go back to sleep...but he was excited, too. The butterflies in his stomach only intensified over breakfast, and the entire way to school. He was sure they'd burst out and fly away before class started. There were so many children there, young ones just like himself, running and laughing and all so very happy... Seishirou shyly took a seat on the school's front steps, and watched them play. Over in one corner, a group of girls were skipping rope, clumsy with inexperience. He cringed in sympathy as one girl's foot caught in the rope, sending her tumbling to the dew-dampened concrete, watching as the others giggled and pointed. //It's not very funny,// he thought, and stood up. She looked up at him as he approached her, blinking tear-filled eyes as she struggled slightly to stand. "Hey, you okay?" Seishirou's voice was very soft, and he crouched down beside her. "That looked like a bad fall." She sniffled once, wiping at her eyes with a hand, and little Seishirou couldn't help but notice how pretty the color of her eyes were. Just like the birds he'd seen fluttering about the cherry trees, back at home. And for the moment, he forgot his shyness, reaching out to help her up. Gratefully, she accepted, and he helped her back to where he'd previously been observing the rest of the group. "I'm okay," she murmured quietly, granting him a small, timid smile. "Thanks..." He shrugged, sitting back down beside her. For a moment, both of them were silent, watching the group who'd seemingly forgotten their fallen playmate, returning to their game with the same youthful exuberance as before. "Um..." She started, and he realized she was probably just as shy as he was, "what's your name?" Seishirou smiled, clutching his backpack tightly to his knees. "I'm Seishirou Sakurazuka..." "Hi, Seishirou! I'm Mari Akino...is this your first day here?" She didn't seem near so sad, anymore, and the smile she gave him was genuinely happy. He nodded at her question, taking a deep breath. "Hai...it's kinda scary, I think. I've never been around this many people before...I wish obaasan would come back..." "I think it'll get better," Mari said confidently, "my neechan says it's really fun. I was so excited to come today...but it's not even class time yet, and I already look like a baka." "I don't think you're a baka," Seishirou frowned, "it wasn't that big a deal. I bet they'll forget it soon enough." She giggled. "You're nice! Thanks...I hope you're right." Suddenly, the bell rang. "Which class are you in?" Mari asked quickly, already standing up to go. "Miss Miyazaki...?" The name sounded right to him. "Yatta! That's my teacher, too! Let's go get lined up!" This time, she reached out to him, and he accepted, running with her towards their class. <~~~~~> Miss Miyazaki didn't look very old to Seishirou. In fact, she didn't look much older than some of the people he'd seen going to the higher schools...she was very nice, though, smiling and happy, greeting each child with a small bow and rice candy. "Ohayo, minna!" Quickly, each student found their place in line, watching the young woman for their next assignment. The room was so full of energy; Seishirou was in almost a dream, studying the different auras quietly, his gaze contemplative as he reached out, testing the very edges of the spells his other /sensai/ had taught him. Mari was green, emerald. Beautiful, he thought. In a moment of quiet thought, he reached out, as if to touch it. "Seishirou...?" He blinked, snapping out of the spell, dissolving it with a small shake of his head. "N-nani?" He could feel his cheeks coloring. "What are you doing? Do I have something in my hair?" "Iie!" he laughed, ringing little boy laughter, full of joy, and a little nervousness. He'd have to remember not to do that ever again, at least not at school. "I was just looking. It's pretty..." He gestured to the space around her, again, and her little eyebrows knit together in consternation. However, before she could ask what he was talking about, they were interrupted. "Seishirou-chan! Mari-chan! Are you done?" Miss Miyazaki was smiling warmly, her eyes full of laughter. The rest of the class was seated already, and the two children in the corner were the only ones left standing. "Or would you prefer not to have a desk?" Mari bowed fervently, apologies spilling from her tiny lips as she quite nearly ran to a seat. Seishirou just blushed, frightened stiff for a moment as he watched his school sensai. "You may take a seat, Seishirou-chan," she smiled, non-threateningly. "It's alright. Go on..." He thanked the gods there was an empty desk behind Mari. "Now, let's get started." Miss Miyazaki said, standing up and walking to the center of the room. "I want everyone to say their full names, so we can all get to know each other better. I'm Miss Miyazaki, and I'm looking forward to a wonderful year with every one of you. We have so much to learn!" Then, she pointed to a student in the front desk, a small girl with pigtails and large, expressive eyes. "Would you like to tell us what your name is?" "Jun Nakawa." "Akira Uematsu." "Mihoshi Kudashirou" The list went on and on, and Seishirou filed each name away into his mind, freezing it with a mental picture of its owner. He rarely forgot anything, which made Tomyou-sensai very happy. The list went on and on, up and down the rows until it came to Mari, and then it was his turn. Clearing his throat, he bowed his head slightly, taking a deep breath. "Seishirou Sakurazuka." From the other side of the classroom, someone gasped, and if it wasn't for his extraordinary sense of hearing, he probably would have missed what was said. "My grandpa told me that the Sakurazukas are bad people..." Seishirou instantly thought of obaasan and Tomyou-sensai. Were they bad people? Was he? What was...bad? He thought about that for the rest of class. <~~~~~~> "That was fun!" Mari was quite nearly dancing around Seishirou as they walked out of the school. "I love Miss Miyazaki! I think I'm gonna bring her some rice cakes tomorrow!" Seishirou smiled at the young girl, his mind still occupied with what had been said earlier. He'd have to ask obaasan later. "That's nice, Mari-chan...I think she'll like that." Suddenly, the girl hugged Seishirou, grinning up at him. "I'll bring you some, too, okay? I gotta go--here's my kaasan!" "Konnichi-wa, Mari-chan!" The girl's mother was friendly-looking, Seishirou thought, bowing in greeting to her. "Who's your friend?" "This is Seishirou-chan--he helped me out today. He's my friend!" "Konnichiwa," Seishirou murmured politely. "Hello, Seishirou-chan...I'm going to steal Mari-chan away today, but I promise I'll bring her back tomorrow! Sayonara for now!" Seishirou waved to the two as they walked away, then waited patiently for obaasan to come for him. <~~~~~~> "So, how was your first day of school?" Hikari pulled out of the school's parking lot, looking briefly to the young boy before returning her attention to the busy road ahead of her. "Was it fun?" "Hai," Seishirou nodded, wrapping his small arms around his backpack. "Miss Miyazaki was nice...so was Mari." "And who's that?" The elder Sakurazuka asked, rolling down her window. It was nice out, sunny and warm, and just seeing it made her want to be out in it. Even the streets and highways that spanned the area couldn't take away from the beauty of Kanazawa. And with Sei-chan so happy...it made her happy to be alive. //So much like his mother used to be...// "Mari is my friend," he said proudly, a brief smile flickering across his unusually stern features. When he was at home, he seldom truly /smiled/, but neither Tomyou or Hikari chose to say anything about it. "She's got a pretty aura...it's green...like the water." He lifted a small finger, pointing out across the coastline to the ocean. Then, almost shyly, he added, "I like it." "Sei-chan," she smiled, a small note of authority creeping into her voice, "you shouldn't use your onmyoujitsu at school. The other children don't understand." That brought him back to the thing he'd been thinking of all day long. "Obaasan...?" She noted the slight waver in his voice, and looked at him concernedly. "What is it, Sei-chan, mm?" For a moment he didn't speak. Then, he took a deep breath, letting all the tension and apprehension he'd been feeling sink into his posture until he was hunched up against the car door. "Today...I heard someone say 'Sakurazukas are 'bad' people.'" She was silent, though her eyes closed briefly. He wondered why she looked so sad. //Are we?// "Sei-chan...we're not 'bad'. Some people say that we are, because they don't understand why we do things the way we do. Like your power...very few people are as strong as you, Sei-chan...and that makes people afraid. Those things...they call them 'bad'...but they're just 'different'." She looked to him, her face stern. "Don't ever think you're a 'bad' person for the things you have." They were both silent the rest of the way home, and that night, young Seishrou dreamed again. <~~~~~~~> Looky there.... Mari Akino, items to you! ^___^ Yeah, it IS a tribute to one of my favorite manga creators, deity-who-created-Petshop-of-Horrors. ^___^ I bow in humble reverence. (mmm...fine androgynous bishonen in kimonos... *purr*) Sorry it took so long, I've been SOOO busy in RL it's not even funny. *glares at the rest of the class* They're ditching me to go to Edmonton! *sniffles* Evil senior trip just HAD to be during neechan's visit... *siigh* oh, well. ^_^ Matt will bring me back something cool. *giggles* Isn't Sei-chan just KAWAII here? *shojo sparkles fly around* I mean, OI! I just wanna glomp him! He's already a chibi! ^_____^ So, do you realize that he's human yet? I have to say, it's gonna get WAY darker from here, and....I'm not really looking forward to the shit I'm gonna do to him. *sniffles and hugs him* He's one F***ed up little cookie in the end, that's for sure... I'll try to get more parts out, soon, but this'll prolly be my last for at least a week or so. ^_^ Unless the parental units decide that 'yeah, 'net is good, let's give it back, eh?' Pray with me...but don't hold your breath. ~_~;; Sei: Woo! blue auras! So, there ya have it. ^_^ I hope you liked! *crosses fingers* I've gotten a lot of positive responses about this particular storyline, and I hope to keep you as happy as I possibly can. ^_^ It's a lot of "I'm really not good enough to write Sei-chan's history, I mean, looky! He's a main character! And a GOD!" kind of thing. ^_^;; So please...tell me I'm doing at least an ACCEPTABLE job. *siiigh* Luv ya! C and C cherished! ^_~ ~miriya, Sei-chan and the lonely musies~ ===== list mistress *X Fandom* http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/Xfandom The Dragon's Lair: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/valgarv AIM: DoE Nataku or miriya valentine ~*~Luna Riviera~*~ http://destined.to/lunariviera "The cow really isn't there. He's in my head." ~Dudbear #3, Legend of Mana "La vache qui rit est jolie" (laughing cows are pretty) ~anonymous "You're deprived." "Of what?" "Name something." ~a random conversation between toasted norgies and buddha's root~</pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>