DARK DAY FOR ANIME - THE RIGHT DISHONORABLE MARK A PAGE
<darkdayforanime@hotmail.com>

Disclaimer: Blah and blah don't belong to me etc...


----o


Silently, he climbed the rise in the middle of the field of wind vanes and 
looked up at the closest.  Its rusting form continued to grind away, 
completely oblivious to his presence.  For as long as he knew, this is how 
the world worked, and for as long as he cared, this is how it would always 
work.  There was no escape for him.  Not anymore.

He pulled out the rolled parchment from his cloak, tempted to open it up 
and read it.  So tempting....  The pleasures of being part of others opened 
up a gaping hole within, and the parchment shook within his hands.  Just 
roll it open and see.... what the summons beckoned....

He put the parchment back within his cloak and placed a hand against the 
metal of the nearest wind vane.  The vibrations of the blades' movement, 
regular and slow within the gentle breeze of the summer day, calmed 
him.  There was no rush, no need to feel pain, no need to be a part of 
others.  Just deliver the parchment and be done with it.  Nobody would 
think about him at all.  He would be nothing.

It was, after all, the choice he had made for himself.


----o


An Haibane Renmei Fanfiction

Red Feathers in Old Home

by Dark Day For Anime


Part 2

Awakening - Painting - Ketsu


----o


Hikari has always felt uncomfortable with the early morning sunlight.  She 
didn't really know why, but it always made her feel sad.  And sad was how 
she felt that morning, both after waking up and seeing that morning light.

Standing in front of the mirror, she pressed the bridge of her glasses up 
against her face and mumbled.  "You would have to be the ugliest, most 
stupid, most unlikable Haibane in existence, you know that?  Well, what are 
you going to do about it?  Here's another day to change things, so use 
it!"  And she slapped both sides of her face with her hands, as much 
psychologically preparing herself for the day as physically.

And so she put on her mask of happiness, brushed down the creases in the 
front of her blouse and stepped out of her room into the hallway.  And 
heard the commotion.  "What on earth...."  She frowned, and briskly 
followed the noise down to the courtyard.

It was full of people, mostly ordinary townsfolk, carting crates out of Old 
Home.  Fairly old, dusty-looking crates, as well.  She recognised most of 
them as being employees of Fujita, the elderly carpenter and 
renovator,  Fujita, a thin, grizzled looking man with his grey hair rapidly 
receding from his scalp, stood back from his more burly workers and 
assessed each crate as they went by, directing said worker to different 
stacks at the far end of the courtyard, depending on how likely it looked 
like the crate was about to collapse underneath its own weight.

Hikari watched this going on for a full minute before turning to see Rakka, 
with Kumiko from the Festivals Committee, the House Mother and several 
other womenfolk placing a wooden barrier around the workmens' 
activities.  Or, more correctly, trying to place a wooden barrier as they 
herded several of the young feathers out of harm's way.  The Twins were 
standing behind the small crowd of young feathers, looking rather pleased 
with having alerted their younger companions to current events.

"What's going on?"  A soft voice whispered behind Hikari.  She turned to 
Hana as the younger Haibane stepped alongside her.  "What are all those 
people doing?"

"I don't know.  I just got here, myself."  Hikari smiled at her, 
shrugging.  Despite the fact that Hana had grown to become one of the older 
feathers of Old Home, close to the same age as Kuu when she had arrived, 
Hana was anything but a confident and open girl.  At least, as she'd grown 
older, she seemed to have lost a lot of her natural childhood curiosity and 
become shy and solemn.  Hana took hold of Hikari's sleeve, looking slightly 
perturbed.  "Well...."  Hikari took a breath.  "....Should we stand around 
here all day, or find out what is going on?"

Hikari made her way over to where Rakka and Kumiko were now standing, 
looking on bemusedly as the House Mother rounded up the young feathers for 
class, whilst the twins did their best to help some of them escape.  Hana 
had remained latched to Hikari's sleeve all the way, flinching at one 
point, when one of the workers almost dropped one of the crates nearby.

"Honestly."  Kumiko, a woman in her early twenties, with shoulder-length 
auburn hair, thin face and figure, and a rather businesslike demeanor in 
her suit and dress, crossed her arms and shook her head at Rakka.  "I had a 
feeling you were going to find some excuse to get out of helping with my 
work, but I didn't think it would be anything like this."

"It's not my fault.  Honest."  Rakka looked hurt by the comment.  "I wanted 
to help you, really."  Kumiko shook her head again and smiled, placing a 
hand on Rakka's head.

"You take me too seriously, you know that.  I like that naivete."  She 
chuckled, eliciting an embarrassed smile from the Haibane.  Rakka then 
noticed Hikari and waved at her.

"Ah, there you are.  I was wondering what happened to you."

"I overslept."  Hikari shrugged, then gestured to the workmen.  "What's 
going on here?"

"The twins found a new cocoon."

"Eh?"  Hikari's jaw almost hit the ground.


----o


She opened her eyes and stared at a floor, descending into a horrible, 
ruddy distance.  She wanted to move, but found that she couldn't.  All she 
could do was stare through eyes smeared with red, as the redness extended 
towards the solitary light, rectangular in shape.  She thought she could 
see someone there, and tried to call out to them, but her voice would not 
work, her mouth would not move.  She was paralysed, she realised, and what 
little sensation she could feel was retreating from her extremities.

She tried to call out again, and this time she heard her voice.  A thin, 
pathetic croak, barely audible.  The light grew dimmer, and she panicked.

The world changed focus.  The redness was gone from her eyes, and she could 
feel once more.  And she was running through a dark place.  Running from 
what, she didn't know, but she wanted to escape whatever it was.  Whatever 
the figure had been in the doorway.  The figure wanted to hurt her, she 
knew this to be true.  And so she kept running, unable to see even the 
slightest detail in what she was running through.

She turned and felt her felt slamming down stairs, and then light as she 
flew into an open space.  There was green to one side, white to the other, 
and someone stood some distance away from her.  Her feet kept moving, 
towards the figure, and she knew that she must reach them, or it was all 
going to stop.  All time would stop for her, and she would be no more.

She reached out to the figure, whose hands were outstretched.  The person 
wanted her, wanted to hold her in their warm embrace.  And she wanted to be 
there, more than anything she could conceive, she wanted to be there.  But 
those arms seemed so far away, and whatever it was that had been chasing 
her seemed to be getting ever closer.

She glanced over her shoulder, to see nothing but darkness.  Darkness with 
flying claws of shining metal.  "Don't look."  A soft voice echoed through 
her mind.  "Keep running.  The darkness will never engulf you if you 
run."  And so she did.

And within moments, she felt herself reach the figure, throwing her arms 
around them, almost tackling them as they flew backwards and off the 
ground.  And she looked up into the face of the figure, its quiet, gentle 
smile, and watched as they floated away from danger on wings of the deepest 
red.  And she turned to watch the darkness on the ground, writhing in pain 
as with each beat of those red wings, light spewed forth and killed 
it.  Slowly, surely, the beast was destroyed.  It was never, ever, going to 
hurt her again.


And then she opened her eyes, and found that she was alone once more.


----o


"You know, I don't know whether I should be surprised about this."  Hikari 
put her hands on her hips as they watched the last of the crates being 
stacked.  Kumiko turned to her.

"Really?"  She shrugged.  "Nothing surprises me when it comes to Haibane 
any more."  She chuckled.  "You know, when I was a little girl, one of 
these cocoons appeared in my bedroom closet."

Hikari opened her eyes widely.  "You're kidding?"

"No."  Kumiko smiled.  "It was a small cocoon, nowhere near as big as the 
one that is in there.  Grew right out of the floor.  Mama and Papa weren't 
happy about it at all, but what can you do?"  She looked around as Rakka 
and several of the womenfolk laid out tables covered in sandwiches and cups 
of tea, which the workmen, now having finished, eagerly descended 
up.  Hikari allowed these few moments of silence before tapping Kumiko on 
the shoulder.  "Hmm?"  The woman looked at her, questioningly.

"So what happened?  With the cocoon, I mean?"

"Oh, it hatched, eventually.  A young Haibane girl about my age.  My family 
adopted her for a while.  Nobody really knew what to do with her, 
otherwise.  We even asked the Washi whether we should have given her to the 
other Haibane, but all he said was that she was born in our home, and it 
would be her choice when to leave."

"That sounds like him."  Hikari shrugged.  "So what happened to her, in the 
end?"

"We grew up together, like sisters, in a way.  Its why I know so much about 
Haibane and what happens after they hatch....  The sprouting of the wings, 
the halo, everything....  I nursed her all by myself after her wings came 
out.  It taught me a lot."  Kumiko's eyes became distant.  "She named 
herself Chigusa.  I'm not sure why, but she said that there was a 
reason.  She would never tell us.  And we went to school together, which 
was a riot."  She chuckled.  "All the other kids were so jealous because I 
had a Haibane for a sister."  Then her expression changed, becoming 
solemn.  "She left us when I was fifteen.  I suppose you could say she was 
about the same age.  She became very evasive, and then, one day she was 
gone.  We didn't know what happened, but the Washi told us that she 
wouldn't be coming back."

"I'm sorry...."  Hikari looked at her with concern.  "I didn't want you to 
bring up unpleasant memories."

Kumiko shrugged and wagged a finger.  "Ah, you Haibane always bring out the 
worst in me, honestly.  It doesn't matter.  I knew she was sad to leave us, 
and probably wouldn't have if she really had a choice."  She reached into 
the collar of her blouse and pulled out a simple green-turquoise pendant, 
hanging around her neck on a gold chain.  "She gave this to me when I 
turned thirteen.  It's the one memento I have of her time with us.  I've 
always worn it whenever there is something important that I have to 
do.  For some reason, whenever I'm wearing it, I feel more confident."

"Ah, well, that's that done."  They turned as Fujita approached them, 
jotting down notes into a small booklet as he did so.  "Yes, the room 
certainly needs a lot of work done to it.  I also took the liberty of 
checking out some of the other rooms next door, and it appears as if their 
structural integrity is quite sound.  But I wouldn't want to leave this 
place like this for much longer."  He smiled as he pocketed his pen and 
notebook.  "Although I'm yet to check the North Wing.  I'm lead to believe 
that that is in a right state.  We might have to seal it off permanently, 
or even knock most of it down.  Would be a shame."  He looked around at the 
Old Home.  "Whoever designed and built this place were masters.  Even with 
most of the cement work crumbling and rising salt damp, its still holding 
itself together pretty well.  Almost like the place has a life and soul of 
its own."

"Maybe it does."  Hikari smiled.  "I mean, after all, even I didn't know 
about that storeroom until today.  There are parts of the Old Home even I 
haven't checked out in all my time here."  She looked around, then 
frowned.  "By the way, have you seen Hana.  She was here only a few moments 
ago."

"I think all the workmen might have scared her off."  Kumiko patted Hikari 
on the shoulder.  "Don't worry, she's probably gone back to her room."


----o


Hana peered through the doorway into the storeroom.  Now that it had been 
cleared, and with the windows cleared of their boardings, the room was 
nowhere near as gloomy as it had been.  Hana gripped the doorframe and 
stared at the cocoon, nervously.  Her curiosity getting the better of her, 
she crept into the room, avoiding the pitfalls along the way.

She'd never seen a cocoon up close, before.  She'd seen them, but she'd 
never actually been allowed near them.  Even if the other Haibane now 
regarded her as one of the older group, she was quite sure they wouldn't 
let her come close enough to touch it.  At least, not when they were 
around.  And she really wanted to feel the outside of one, just once, just 
to see what it was like.

She approached to within arm's reach, her right hand out to touch the 
rough, grey-white surface, when a crashing sound behind her made her jump, 
pressing against the side of the cocoon, looking back.  The wooden planks 
of the window boarding had been rested up against the wall, beside the 
doorway, and one of the planks had slipped, bringing it and two others 
alongside it, crashing to the floor.  Hana watched as a small cloud of dust 
filled the air around, and she put a hand to her chest, trying to calm her 
heartbeat.  She laughed to herself, feeling silly to have been so nervous, 
when she heard a sound from the cocoon, and felt movement through its hide.

She turned to the cocoon, standing back and placing her hands against it, 
trying to feel for any more signs of life.  There was another noise, and, 
more intently, she placed her ear up against it, listening.


----o


She wanted to close her eyes, again, but there was now light filtering 
through to the inside of her sanctuary.  And she was sure, so sure, that 
there was someone outside, now, listening to her.  She didn't know how, but 
she knew they were there.  A small, unobtrusive presence....  As nervous of 
her as she was of it.

"Why don't you find out?"  The calm voice said to her.  The voice of the 
figure with the red wings.  "Find out who they are, Ketsu.  Find out 
everything about them.  You want to know."

"I'm frightened."  She could hear her mind's voice say, a vocalisation of 
her thoughts.  "What if they want to hurt me?"

"And what if they don't?"  The question hung in her mind for several 
moments.  She didn't know what to do, and recoiled away from where she felt 
the presence was.  "Are you such a coward that you would be frightened by 
shadows, Ketsu?"  The voice chided, but gently so.

"Ketsu?"  She placed her hands against her ears.  "I....  I...."

"Hello?"  The voice was soft and small.  Different from the voice of the 
figure.  More unsure of itself.  "Hello, can you hear me?"  She turned to 
where the presence was and stared.  The outside of her sanctuary had become 
translucent, as if losing its integrity, and she could see the shadow of a 
figure, cast across the side.  Controlling her fear, she floated towards 
the figure, reaching out to touch the shell....


----o


Old Home stood before him, now.  He'd been here before, of course.  He'd 
seen its dilapidated, yet somehow welcoming appearance.  He'd seen many of 
the Haibane who had lived there, though rarely those who resided today.

There seemed to be a lot of activity going on within, and he wondered if he 
should investigate.  He shook the notion from his mind and entered the 
archway that lead to the courtyard.  As quickly and as quietly as possible, 
he stopped by the notice board and unravelled the parchment.  And he paused.

The words on the parchment seemed to swim before his eyes.  Words not meant 
for him to read, almost encoded in a strange red ink.  For a second he 
harboured delusions that the ink was blood, still fresh enough to 
smell.  His stomach turned and he placed a hand against the rags that 
covered the lower part of his face.  The stench of blood always made him 
feel ill....  But it couldn't be blood....  Why would they write a summons 
to the Haibane in blood?  It had to be ink of some sort, mixed in with some 
concoction that had power....

The smell was gone in a moment, almost as if it had never been 
there.  Quickly, he pulled a pin from the notice board and placed the 
summons on a portion of the board that was as prominent as possible.  He 
stood for a few moments, watching the bottom edge of the summons flutter 
gently in the wind, then turned and walked away.

And then he paused, turned and looked back at the notice board.  A memory, 
clouded and indistinct, came to him.  He placed a hand on his forehead and 
tried to recall the fragment that had passed along the edges of his mind's 
eye.  A feather?  A red feather?  He seemed to remember something happening 
in the past, something to do with red feathers....  But the memory was 
gone, suppressed in a blinding headache that left him dazed.  He staggered 
away from the Old Home, gradually regaining his composure as he did 
so.  Better not to think, or to involve yourself, in the affairs of the 
Haibane.

So why had the Washi sent him?  He, in particular?


----o


"Hello?  Can you hear me?"  Said the voice from outside her 
sanctuary.  "Are you okay in there?"

She recoiled.  The shadow of the figure seemed to mirror the shadow of her 
dreams.  She pushed herself back against the far wall of the sanctuary and 
held herself.

She had to run.

Had to get away.

It was going to hurt her again.

A great onrush of darkness filled her.

She opened her mouth to speak.  To shout.  To scream.

A swirl of fluid was all that emerged.  She was trapped.  This wasn't a 
sanctuary....  This was a pit where she was trapped and would be 
killed.  She didn't want to be here didn't want to be here didn't want to 
be here....

She gripped the sides of her head as her world started to tumble.  The pain 
was returning.  Agonising pain, searing through her skull until she was no 
longer thinking, just feeling the torture and the torment.

This place was surely hell.

Her fingers pressed deep into her flesh.  Any harder and she would have 
started to self-mutilate.  She almost wanted to do that, now.  And then, 
within the fluid that was sustaining her, she saw smears of red.  Blood, 
leaking from the wound.  The wound that the darkness had given her.  And 
the red was blurring her vision.  She was trapped, and there was no 
escape.  Not from the darkness....  Because the darkness was going to 
follow her, wherever she went, and the darkness could not be sated by 
herself, alone....


----o


"So, are we having fun, yet?"  Rakka smiled as she stepped up beside 
Kumiko.  "Would you like to be the first one to see what is inside those 
crates.  Might be something worth selling at the Markets Festival."  She 
chuckled and held up the painting, which she had covered in a 
cloth.  "Although I probably beat you to it, by accident."

"Really....  You don't have to give away everything that belongs to 
you."  Kumiko crossed her arms, turning from Rakka to Hikari and 
back.  "You Haibane....  Honestly.  You're always like this."

"Just say it's our way of thanking you for all the work you've put in for 
us."  Rakka looked down at the painting.  "Though I'm sure there aren't 
many people who would shell out something for this."

"What is it?"  Hikari stepped up alongside Rakka as the other Haibane 
started to unfold the cloth.

"It's a painting.  Too weird and spooky to sell.  I'll probably put it 
amongst Reki's collection when we're done here."  She showed the painting 
to Hikari, and then to Kumiko, who raised an eyebrow.

"Red wings, eh?  I seem to remember a story about that.  An old wives tale, 
so to speak."  She placed a finger on the painting, running it down to feel 
the grain of the strokes.  "Weird."  She looked up at both Rakka and 
Hikari.  "It's almost smooth, like there is no paint there at all.  And its 
kind of warm."

"Well, I have been holding it under my arm for the last few 
minutes."  Rakka chuckled.

"No, not that.  When I touched it, I could feel something warm running up 
my finger and into my arm."  She looked at the hand.  "It felt kind of 
nice, really."  She pointed at the figure in the picture.  "That is what 
one would call an Akabane.  They usually look alike.  Blond hair, red eyes, 
red wings and...."  She pointed to the halo above the head, which seemed 
white from some angles, and red from others.  "....And a halo that shimmers 
white and red.  Was this painting in the storeroom you just emptied?"

"Umm...."  Rakka nodded.  Kumiko turned back to the wing of Old Home where 
the cocoon was located.

"I guess it means nothing.  It might just be a coincidence."

There was a crashing sound nearby, and all three turned.  Fujita had 
returned from an inspection of the food and drink tables, with cups of tea 
in slightly battered metal mugs for all of them, when he had seen the 
picture.  The tea had splashed all over his shoes and trouser cuffs, but he 
seemed not to notice.  "That....  Where did you get...."  He suddenly 
turned and looked around at the crates.  "That room.  You found it in that 
room, didn't you?"

"Umm, yeah...."  Rakka had shrunk, nervously.  Hikari placed a hand on her 
shoulder as Kumiko remonstrated with Fujita.  His performance had created a 
small audience from the workmen and womenfolk.

"Fujita, what is wrong with you?  You're scaring Rakka."  She put her hands 
on her hips as Fujita's nerve seemed to return.

"I'm.... I'm sorry....  It's just that...."  He shook his head.  "No, I'm 
sorry.  I didn't mean to frighten you."  He looked down at his feet.  "Oh, 
look at what I've done.  I'll have to clean this all up and...."


There was a huge crashing sound from within Old Home, and a cry of surprise 
and fear.  Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at each other.

"Hana...."  Hikari, the first to react, brushed past Kumiko, running across 
the courtyard to the entrance to the wing where the cocoon was 
located.  "That was Hana!"  She shouted back to them, before they followed....


----o


There was fluid running freely across the floor, from the doorway to the 
storeroom.  Hikari felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her belly as Rakka 
ran into the back of her, still clutching the painting.

"This is bad.  This is really bad."  Rakka said, breathlessly.  "It's too 
soon.  The cocoon hadn't hardened properly, yet.  It's far too soon."

Hikari carefully splashed across to the doorway.... the fluid had a soapy 
texture, which lead to Rakka, Kumiko, Fujita, the Twins and a few others 
slipping and sliding as they tried to follow her.

Within the room, the cocoon had broken wide open, almost as if it had 
exploded, rather than cracked open by its inhabitant.  On her knees, near 
the broken exit of the cocoon, soaked in the fluid, was Hana, holding an 
older girl in her arms.  The girl had long black hair, and was exceedingly 
thin, as if she hadn't been eating properly.  She was covered in the simple 
white smock that all Haibane wear in the cocoon.

Hana looked up, guiltily, clutching the girl tightly.  "I'm sorry.  I 
didn't mean to do it.  Really...."  She looked as if she were about to 
cry.  Hikari and Kumiko ran over to her and helped her to her feet as Rakka 
took the cloth that had covered the painting and placed it behind the 
newborn's head.

"What happened?"  Hikari asked Hana, gently, as curious onlookers watched 
the Twins clamber into the remains of the cocoon, slipping and sliding 
along its curved-bowl base.

"It sounded like she was in pain.  I could hear it."  Hana's eyes filled 
with tears.  "I could hear her....  She wanted to escape from there, so I 
pressed against the side of the cocoon.  It was soft, but it wouldn't 
break.  And then....  And then...."  She shivered and pressed herself 
against Hikari.  "It exploded.  It scared me.  The next thing I knew, I was 
holding her.  I don't know why.  I don't know anything."

Hikari swallowed as Hana started to go limp, then, with all her effort, 
turned and lifted the girl onto her back, feeling uncomfortable as the girl 
pressed against her wings.  She then stood and started to carry her from 
the storeroom, helped along by Fujita and another workman.  Kumiko knelt 
beside Rakka, who was brushing the long black hair away from the face of 
the newborn.

"How is she?"

"I'm not sure.  I think she's awake, but...."  Rakka held up her 
hand.  There were smears of blood on it.  "I don't know.  I think she's 
been hurt, somehow, but I can't find a would or a scratch."

Kumiko leaned forward and carefully worked through the hairline of the 
newborn.  "It doesn't look like she's been scratched, or anything.  It 
might be because of her hatching early."  She looked up at the shell, where 
the Twins were playing.  Until Sa put her foot through the base, showing 
just how fragile the shell still was.  Kumiko snapped at them, telling them 
to get out before they received the whipping of their 
lives.  Unsurprisingly, both vacated the storeroom fairly quickly.


----o


The darkness was receding once more.  But it was there, lingering at the 
back of her mind, waiting for its chance to be set free.  And now there was 
light.  True light.  She could feel warmth spreading through her.  She was 
safe.  Perhaps.  At least for the time being.

"Does it not feel better to be free of the fear?"  The soft voice of the 
red-winged figure cooed in her mind.  "I am always here to protect 
you.  Nothing shall happen as long as you call for me.  As long as you 
allow me into your life.  The darkness shall never harm you."

She opened her eyes and looked up into the face of the figure.  Her golden 
hair cascading around a face, marked with two shining rubies for 
eyes.  Those eyes radiated a warmth that she found irresistible.  She 
reached up to touch the face.  "Do you promise?  Do you promise to always 
protect me?"  She whispered, gently, her voice still thin and reedy.

"Do you doubt me?"  The figure sounded somewhat disappointed.

"No....  No, that's not what I mean.  I....  Please don't go away.  Please 
stay with me...."  She brushed the figure's cheek.  "The darkness is still 
out there, and it will never go away."

"The darkness fears me, more than anything.  If it were to chase you here, 
I will destroy it, with my own hands.  Wait, and you shall see...."


And the figure's face shifted and changed, her features becoming 
clearer.  And, eventually, before her was the face of a girl some four 
years her senior, with light brown/auburn hair, hanging messily and wavily 
underneath a glowing blue-white halo.  A gentle face.  Kind.  She continued 
to brush the cheek of the person, lovingly.  "Please don't ever go 
away."  She whispered, and realised she could feel the coolness of air 
passing down her windpipe.

"I....  I'll try...."  The girl said, then looked over at another figure, 
that of an older woman, dressed in rather severe clothes (although somewhat 
messed up at the moment).  She felt damp and looked down at the floor, 
seeing a fine film of the liquid that she had been floating in not so long 
ago.  She then looked up at the cocoon, now broken and forlorn.

"I escaped.  I broke out of there.  I'm not trapped in the shell 
anymore."  She closed her eyes as her hand dropped from the girl's 
face.  "Not trapped anymore...."

"We should take her to the guestroom."  The girl said to the woman.  We 
need to get her a change of clothes.... and wash her down.  Now that she is 
out, things are going to happen pretty quickly."

"Right."  The woman said, and she stood clapping her hands 
together.  "Everyone, out of the way.  We're going to need a couple of 
burly men to carry this girl.  Get something that could be used as a 
stretcher."

She opened her eyes again and looked over her protector's shoulder.  She 
wanted to reach up and touch the wings there.  Only the wings weren't red, 
as she had been expecting.  A clean, charcoal grey, like the wings of a 
wild pigeon.  For a moment she was confused, and frowned.  "You....  Your 
wings...."

The girl looked back at her wings, then smiled at her.  "Nice, aren't 
they?  You'll have some of your own, soon."  The girl gently brushed her 
face.  "Don't talk or move so much.  Right now, what you need is 
rest.  Sleep.  For the time being, I'll take care of you."

The girl's soothing voice chased away the last vestiges of the darkness 
that hung around the edges of her consciousness.  She smiled and 
nodded.  "Can I ask you one thing?"

"Anything."

"What is your name?  I must know.  After everything, I must know...."

"My name is Rakka."

"Rak....ka."  She allowed the word to roll off her tongue and into her 
memory.  "It is nice to meet you, Rakka.  I am....  I am...."

"Shhhh...."  Rakka hushed her.  "Not now.  There is much we need to talk 
about.  But not now."

"Much we need to talk about....  Yes.  Much I need to talk with you about, 
Rakka.  I am....  I am.... Ketsu."

"Eh?"  Rakka stared at her, but she had fallen asleep.  "Ketsu?  Ketsu, as 
in....?"  She frowned, then looked at the bloodstain on her 
fingers.  "Ketsu...."  She whispered.  "The blooded one...."

"The blooded one is falling into your arms, only to be let go."  Reki's 
voice echoed through her mind.  The blooded one was now in her arms.  Why 
should she let her go?

Why should she?


----o


He looked back at the Old Home, having placed some distance between himself 
and it.  He could feel the tear in the fabric of Glie that occurred with 
the arrival of every new feather.  This one was a strong, almost 
irreparable tear....  And so he turned to the Western Woods, and watched, 
and waited.

In summer, the wall that surrounded Glie was strong.  But even the most 
determined evil was capable of breaching its defences.  It was only a 
matter of time, especially for an evil a patient as this....


END OF PART 2


----o


DARK DAY FOR ANIME - THE RIGHT DISHONORABLE MARK A PAGE
<darkdayforanime@hotmail.com>
http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=212110
FEATHER 1.0: 1st September 2004


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