dark water: prologue
ice blue
"Nii-chan... I'm so scared, so cold..."
"It's okay Kage... it's okay. Soon, we will prove our worth." His strong arms enfolded his younger sister within his embrace.
About them, a cold wind blew as the darkness fell.
"Mikagami-sempai, are you coming to the ice-cream shop with us?" Yanagi smiled winningly up at him as the bell rang for the end of break. Mikagami shrugged. "Why not?" he murmured at the younger girl. It was hard to say 'no' to her, as much as he would have liked to go home early that day. It didn't help that she looked like his beloved sister. His beloved deceased sister.
They sat in the ice-cream shop; Recca, Domon, Fuuko et al. Mikagami stirred his soda listlessly. So many other things he could be doing now, rather than sitting here and listening to the brainless talk that his companions were capable of.
His thoughts were interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. "Would you like to have your fortune told?" The table fell silent (a miracle, thought Mikagami) as they turned to look at the speaker.
He, she or it, was dressed in a long dark cloak, with a cowl shadowing the person's face. The voice was androgynous, but warm. It held within it, the possiblities of mystery. Fuuko cocked her head at the newcomer. "Whatever for?" She asked, a trace of irony in her brash voice. "We make our own future." She turned to give the others a wry smile.
Mikagami could relate. It had only been 3 months after the Urabatou Satsujin, anyway. He gave a short laugh. "I never believed in this sort of rubbish."
Immediately, the hood turned sharply to face him. Mikagami could feel the person's eyes running over him, giving him a proper look over, even though the cowl stayed put. "But yet it is you who needs a reading most." The voice came again, soft and slow.
Mikagami narrowed his eyes at the fortune teller. "Excuse me?" Mikagami said smoothly, his voice in a dangerous tone. Seeing the situation called for some drastic measures, Yanagi leapt into the conversation, trying for a truce.
"It wouldn't hurt for Mikagami-sempai to have a reading, would it? Then Fortune-Teller-san would have given his reading, and Mikagami-sempai can simply not believe in it."
"But, no, Yanagi..."
"Ah yes, ah yes... why not?"
The rest of Hokage chipped in as well, more curious than anything to hear what the fortune teller had to say about Mikagami's future. They turned expectantly to the fortune teller and Koganei cleared a space on the table. Mikagami rolled his eyes. Ah well, what harm could it do?
The cowled person rummaged around in his sleeve before drawing out a oval-shaped object and a small basket filled with lots. The basket was placed on the table and the stranger raised the object over it. He began to shake the object. Hard.
"Oh shucks." The object was shaken harder, but the person didn't seem to be satisfied. He visibly sagged.
"Would somebody fix my rattlesnake please? It doesn't work anymore."
A pendulous sweatdrop formed over everybody. Mikagami snorted. "Go away, please."
"It's okay. Fine, we won't use my rattle. Just take a lot out of the basket."
Mikagami reached out towards the lid, but as he touched it, a rattan piece popped out and the entire basket fell apart. Mikagami raised a brow. The fortune teller sagged even more. "Don't look at me, I didn't make it."
Mikagami picked up a piece of paper from the table and handed it to the stranger. He opened it, slowly reading and re-reading the written fortune. He intoned, "There is a future in which I can see only mist and a single shadow." The hood tilted up. "This shadow is you."
The group had the manners to stay silent for 3 more seconds before cracking up. "HA." Mikagami said. "You just broke your rattle, unraveled your basket and you still have the temerity to tell me that your fortunes are accurate?"
Visibly flustered, the stranger straightened. As he did so, the hood of his cloak slipped back, and Mikagami caught sight of brilliant golden-yellow eyes before he yanked the hood back down again. "You have your warning, Mikagami Tokiya. Heed it." The group fell about laughing, wiping tears from their eyes.
"Wait. How did he know my name?" Mikagami snapped to attention, but the person was gone. "Manager, did you see the cloaked figure who was here just now?"
The manager shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't see anybody leave or enter the shop. And I would have noticed." Does that mean he just disappeared into thin air? Mikagami looked around the shop. There was nowhere he could have hidden. Perhaps he did.
He shook his head. I need some rest. He bade farewell to his companions before heading to the forest for some relaxation.
"Nii-chan... one comes. And his mind, so gloriously rich for the taking. His body, so full of energy... Shall we take this one?"
"They say that energy is the capacity to do work, Kage. Let's see how much work he can do for us." With that, Kurai swooped down from the trees.
Author's note:
Let's see how good this fic can become. To be continued. Incidentally, Kurai means "dark" and Kage means "shadow". Who are these two? You'll find out.