Chapter 5: New Comrades
A/N: A LOT of Japanese words and names pop up in each chapter, so please go to the very end of each chapter for a translation. I must also say that I misspelled Mei's last name: instead of "Kinjin", it's supposed to be "Kijin". SORRY!
*****
You know...you shouldn't be sleeping on the job.
Ugh...what do you want, stupid voice?
Oh, how rude. Guardians these days. Wake up already! He's close...
"Ohhh..." Atarashii woke to find herself lying on a straw mat with a wet cloth on her head. She put a hand to her head and could feel a monstrous-sized goose egg. "What happened...?"
"Kaede clobbered you with our good broom, and your thick skull broke its fall," a voice answered cheerfully. "Welcome to the Rising Hopes Inn, by the way."
"What?" Atarashii asked. She sat up but could find no one there. Her only companion was a small shrine for family ancestors to her right. "Who's there? Come out!"
"Behind you."
She turned and found herself face to face with a teenage Kaio of around 18 or 19. Her skin was as pale as hers was but the hair was more of a tan color than blond, long and unbound save for two ponytails in the front. Her eyes were a beautiful sky blue. The pants and shirt she wore were yellow and covered by a blue coat with white trimming. Her boots were the same color as her coat. "And you are?"
"Oh! I'm so rude, not to introduce myself." She gave a polite bow. "Chiko Maiya, at your service, Lady."
"Lady?" Atarashii scoffed. "I'm not royalty, just a wanderer."
"Really?" Chiko reached forward and held a piece of Atarashii's hair in hand. The dye hadn't lasted, and her hair was now back to its corn-yellow color. "Then it must be pure coincidence you share the exact same looks as the Lady Minami."
The gig was up, Atarashii realized. She'd been caught off guard by one of Mei's spies and she had failed at her mission. All was lost.
"Hey, what's with the grim look on your face?" Chiko asked brightly. "Well, I guess you're in pain (it was a thick broom, after all), but that's what you get from following my brother!"
Atarashii gaped in horror. "Mei Kijin is your brother!?"
"Mei Kijin?" Chiko looked confused. "Don't know anyone by Mei; my brother's name is Ken."
"Someone call me?" The young man Atarashii had been following slid open. Atarashii now saw how mistaken she had been; his skin wasn't blue at all but pale like hers. His hair was short, but now she could see that it was cropped around his head and what was left was pulled back into a ponytail. It must have been hidden in his shirt collar, Atarashii realized. That, and his eyes weren't violet but green. A bokuto hung from his white sash. "Oh, Lady, you woke up!" He turned and called into the hotel, "MOTHER! The Guardian is awake!"
The little old woman seemed to appear out of nowhere. Atarashii instantly saw the family resemblance, as the woman had both Ken's blue hair and green eyes, but her skin was pink. She gave Ken a firm whack on the knees with what looked like the broken remnant of her broom. "Shh!! The planet must be in peril for one of the gods to be down here, and you're hollering the fact she's here to the entire galaxy!!"
"Sorry, Mother."
"CHIKO! Get the Lady some fresh tea! And you, Ken, the dishes! NOW!!"
"Yes, Mother!" The two raced out of the room and through the door. When Atarashii craned her neck over their mother, she could see them both catering to a great deal of customers. It was quite amazing that the Rising Hopes Inn could be in the middle of nowhere and yet attract so many customers.
"Actually, it is our unique location that appeals to our clients," said the old woman, reading Atarashii's thoughts easily.
"What do you mean? And just who are you anyway?"
"Who, little ol’ me? I am Kaede Maiya; cook, manager, and owner of the Rising Hopes Inn. People come here because there is a rather large hot springs underneath this very building. The city grew around us, for it would be dishonorable to leave the business handed down for generations among the Maiya family. No need to ask who you are, Lady Minami, but can I ask why you were following my son?"
"Oh!" Atarashii gasped. "I-I thought he was a man who..." She didn't finish and hung her head in embarrassment.
"The man who stole your son?"
Atarashii jerked her head up to face Kaede. "How do you know that?"
Kaede didn't reply. She stood up and wandered over to the small shrine. "I am an onmyôji, a seer. Along with the hot springs, the rich and powerful pay me to tell their fortunes. My son could be just as well as a onmyôji, but he is far too lazy..."
"What about your daughter, Chiko?"
"Chiko? Chiko isn't of my blood! I found her and her dying father on my doorstep one night. He begged me to take her with his last breath, and so I honored his wish."
"What about her mother?" Atarashii asked. She knew all too well what it was like to have no parents. Sure she'd had some, but they hadn't given a rat's ass about her, caring more about raising money for a drug fix instead of their own child.
"She never came for her. I have raised Chiko since that time. She was only two or three years old, so she barely remembers her father and has no memory of her mother." Kaede sighed sadly and looked out to the lobby. When Atarashii looked with her, she could see how happy Chiko seemed to be. "She is so determined to help you on your mission to defeat Mei before he fulfills the ancient prophecy..."
"What?" Atarashii leapt from the bed and over to Kaede's side. "Wait one damned minute; what's this about a prophecy?"
Kaede gave her a "no-nonsense" look, but when she saw that Atarashii had no idea what she spoke of, she said patiently. "There is a prophecy that after the demon Majin Buu was killed, The Seven would be resurrected one by one, and that the mightiest among them would someday rule Kaioshin-Kai and the entire universe. First, of course, there was the three most powerful: Ichi, Ni, and San. You defeated Oki and her spirit was reborn in a girl dying with sickness and 'mysteriously' brought back to life."
"Shinobi?"
"Yes."
"So...does that mean that Akiko and Chiko, the Guardians of Wind and Light, have also been reborn?"
"Not that I know of. I would have felt it instantly if they had." When Kaede saw Atarashii cast a suspicious glance to the girl inside, she laughed. "Are you joking!? Chiko may share the name of the Guardian of Light, but that means nothing. Chiko is a unisexual name, and it is the name that her dying father said it was."
"Oh." Atarashii felt the blood rush to her cheeks.
"It's alright; sometimes even I have wondered that myself! But she is only a Kaio and will only be as such."
"What about Mei?"
"That's just the problem; Mei still lives. Without his death, the prophecy will not be fulfilled. That is why I believe he kidnapped your son." She leaned in close, so close that Atarashii could smell what she had for breakfast (green tea and bacon). "You know as well as anyone that your son will have amazing abilities, even more so than yourself and his sire."
"...Yes," Atarashii mumbled. It was true, she had felt the tiny but growing powers sprouting within her child. Rou had also told her of this, but they had decided not to tell the public until Yohotoko was old enough to understand and control these new abilities. "You think him to be an reincarnate of one of the two last Guardians?"
"Undoubtedly. But Mei wants to rule over the universe himself, so he has started to kidnap those he believes or knows to be Guardian incarnates."
Atarashii gasped as this hit her full on. "The girls, back at home! He wouldn't—"
"He would," Kaede said simply. "His powers, even though he is only half Guardian, are vastly superior to yours and those of your fellow Guardians because three of you are only humans with the powers and souls of Guardians. The other is a full Kai, but is still a child and also not of complete Guardian blood. He could defeat them rather easily."
Atarashii didn’t know what to say. Kaede was saying it straight and simple: they couldn't win. Not without the other two reincarnations. Yohotoko was most definitely a reincarnate, but he was a defenseless baby! And, according to the onmyôji in front of her, the other had yet to be born. "So...there is no hope."
She wasn't prepared for the slap that burned across her face like a wildfire. When she turned her face back to Kaede, she saw fury there that matched her own. Behind Kaede, Atarashii could see Chiko and Ken staring at their mother in unbelieving horror. "What the hell was that for!?"
"For acting like the child you left behind when you took your staff in hand!" retorted the old seer angrily. "You promised to not only protect the Kaioshins, but anyone whosoever needs your aid for the sake of their lives and loved ones! You are not in the position to give up. One who calls something impossible just because she doesn't see an easy way to figure it out will never get anything done!"
"But...but I can't—"
"'Can't' means you won't," Kaede said sternly. "Fall down seven times, get up eight! Do you know what that means?!"
Atarashii suddenly felt like she was reliving all those shouting matches with her mother and teachers. "It means...that no matter how many times I fail, I need to get back up and try again."
"You got that right. So what are you going to do now? Stand by and watch as Mei uses and abuses your loved ones so that he may rule over Heaven, Hell, and the worlds in between?" She pointed to the open door. "Or are you going to go out there and take back what is rightfully yours: your son?"
Atarashii paused and thought harder than she ever had. The task that lay before her was the biggest challenge of her entire life; it made the fight with Oki look like a walk in the park. And if Kaede was right, then her friends and family wouldn't be able to help her.
She had to do this all alone.
"Well?" Kaede demanded. Chiko and Ken had walked in and they looked down at the young Guardian with keen interest to see what her answer would be.
"...I'll do it."
Kaede smiled. "I knew you would. CHIKO! KEN!"
"YES, MOTHER!!"
"Go get your bags packed; you are going with Lady Minami."
"But...but what help could we be?" Ken asked worriedly.
BANG! Atarashii winced as she saw the broken broom smash over Ken's head. "Don't give me that bullshit, boy!" Kaede roared. "You come from a long line of shamans, and you doubt both your powers and your own mother!!"
"So sorry, Mother," mumbled Ken, nursing the bump on his cranium.
"Come now, children. Let the Lady rest." Kaede shooed the teens from the room and turned to bow respectfully. "You may prepare and rest whilst I prepare the children for their journey with you."
"But I—"
"—do not want to put them in harm's way, yes, I know! But I have known for years that it is time for them to leave; your coming here was no mere coincidence. Some higher powers than even the Kaioshins made sure you happened upon Rising Hopes so that we could help you. Please, if you are hungry or thirsty, please wear a cloak so as not to startle the other customers. Good night, my Lady."
"Please...call me Atarashii, ma'am."
"...Good night, Atarashii."
*****
"Have you picked up on Atarashii's ki yet, Taihen?"
The last three Guardians were also on the Kaio planet in search of their comrade. Like Atarashii, they had cleverly disguised themselves as wandering traders while giving off the air that this trio should not be harassed.
"No, Shinobi, not yet. You know how good she is at disguising it, even from us."
The young girl sighed and soothed her fears by stroking her Sea pendant. "Oh, I hope she's alright."
Judaiko put a comforting hand on Shinobi's shoulder. "Don't worry. Atarashii really knows how to take care of herself."
"You sure?"
"Heck, yeah!" Taihen said loudly. "Back in the day, she could even keep up with me and Judaiko. In fact, I'd rather worry about us instead of her..."
They walked on down the street, totally unaware that their shadows and other shadows seemed to be collecting in the darkness of the alleys nearby. Nor did they see the eyes glowing a faint blue from the shadows.
It was waiting...waiting...
*****
(All the current untranslated Japanese so far in this series)
Onmyôji = seer, soothsayer
Bokuto = wooden sword
Kaede = female name meaning "maple leaf" (some of you might recognize this from the anime InuYasha)
Chiko = unisexual name meaning "arrow" or "pledge". (it being unisexual explains why both the girl Chiko and the Guardian Chiko can have the same name)
Ken = (???)
Maiya = surname meaning "rice valley"
Mei = dark
Leiko = female name meaning "arrogant"
Kijin = evil person, fiend
Akiko = female name meaning "iris" or "autumn child"
Youkaii = demon
Oh boy, it looks like someone’s after the Guardians again! Shall we see how this turns out?
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