Chapter Four: Hazy Shade Of Winter
Kakeru was surprised that Hikaru had gotten home so early. At least
he thought it was Hikaru. The unexpected arrival was a welcome surprise for
him.
"Otousama?! Welcome home!" He lunged forward gripping his father
in a vise-like hug.
"Kakeru?" he asked, not sure if this was indeed his youngest son.
Such was the passage of time that separated him from his family.
"Yes, it's me. There've been a lot of changes since you left..."
He then proceeded to tell his sire about Masaru's studies in Italy,
Satoru's move to Osaka along with his family.
"So, I'm a grandfather. Now I _really_ feel old," he laughed, and
then scanned the living room.
"It's just the way I left it, yet everything's changed, hasn't it.
I doubt that I could even spar for one round with Hikaru or yourself now.
Speaking of which, where is your sister?"
"She should be coming home anytime now. She's studying to be a
veterinarian, like Dr. Sakurazuka."
"Doctor who?"
"Oh yeah, he came to town a few years after you--"
"After I left. I realize that you may have some questions about
that. I can assure you that I'll answer everything you need to know, when
the time comes."
Across town, Fuu Hououji sat in her room, admiring her new prized
possession. It was somehow more satisfying than the various archery
trophies she had accumulated over the years. It was not something that
_she_ felt that she had earned, but rather her father. It seemed strange
that a gift could instead give pause every time you saw it. The bejeweled
blade almost seemed...alive.
Without warning, she stood up and took it off the wall. Her fingers
ran over the smooth finish of the ebony scabbard. The green eye in the hilt
felt warm to the touch, not like any other gem she had handled.
Suddenly, her Heart flashed hotter than she had ever known it to be.
The sword's eye reciprocated, pulsating light in sync with her own inner
sensations.
"I thirst."
She knew not where the voice came from. The only thing that
mattered was that it must be answered.
"What do wish to drink?"
"I desire the blood of a maiden pure, untouched by man. A mere drop
shall suffice."
Fuu calmly reached into her dresser, sword in hand with its gold
leaf now noticeably resembling some form of ancient script. Taking out a
medium-sized needle, she proceeded to sterilize it in alcohol. She then
pricked her right middle finger with it, letting the drop fall onto the
jade eye of her sword.
If the sword until now had only _seemed_ to be alive, it was now
ummistakably so. As eldritch energies flowed from the verdant jewel and
Fuu's Heart, a sudden gust filled the room, yet not a single snowflake made
its way in.
"As you can see, I've spent the past few years as a monk. It was
for a very important reason that I am now able to tell you all..."
"Tadaima," Hikaru announced as she came through the door. As she
slipped off her boots for her household slippers, she noticed the middle-
aged man Kakeru was speaking with. He seemed so familiar, yet she didn't
recall ever having met him.
"Ah, Hikaru-chan. Welcome home. I suppose you're curious about our
guest?"
She nodded in response, all the while racking her brains for the
identity of the stranger.
"I suppose it's only natural that you wouldn't remember, considering
how I left, 14 years ago."
At that her eyes lit up. It had been a long time since she last saw
him, and much had changed. His hair was now graying and his broad shoulders
now sagged, as if tired from years of struggle with God knows what.
"Is it...really you, Father?"
"Yes, kitten, I've come home."
Kitten. No one except her father ever called her that. Yet she
didn't like it, not one bit. But she put her apprehensions aside, to relish
the moment of her wandering father's return.
As her glasses slipped off, Fuu felt herself raised off the ground.
The feeling in her Heart was stronger than it had ever been, even back on
Cephiro. She felt the finely crafted ebony crack and finally splinter in
her grasp, revealing a finely honed blade of unearthly origin. She ran her
left forefinger along the edge, recalling all those who had met their end at
the hands of this sword's masters. She smiled, glad to have been found
worthy of carrying this badge of honor, a mark of the divine executioner.
"Are you satisfied?"
"Yes."
"You are no longer Fuu Hououji. Does that displease you?"
Strangely enough, this did not disturb her in the least.
"You must sever all your earthly bonds. Neither friend nor foe,
lover nor family must encumber you. Do you accept?"
Fuu glanced at her reflection in the pure, heavenly blade. Her hair
lacked some refinement for a warrior on a mission from on high as she was
now. She gathered her hair into a ponytail, as samurai might've sported
centuries ago.
"I accept all this and more, for I am the Fuuma."
Johann Chua -- HP: http://www.geocities.com/fuuma_1999/
CLAMP Fan Fiction: http://members.xoom.com/fuuma_monou/clampfix5.0/
"Many strange things are done in the name of love. People drink poison,
hurl themselves off tall buildings, get expensive implants and commit
murder, among other acts. These may strike the casual observer as insane,
but to the person in love, they make perfect sense." --Jessica Zafra