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 Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 1:08 pm
Before she knew it, it was all over, in a flash of blinding light. The light was warm, and somehow...familiar. Lumine felt as though she had seen it once before at a much darker time, and in much warmer company.
As the light dimmed, Lumine noticed there was no longer any weight on the sword, nor was there anyone standing before her. In the distance, the other demon came to the Temptress's aid, collecting the unconscious figure and making their escape. She cursed the idea that the demons had gotten away scott free, but was also happy that the ordeal was over.
Her spell card spent its last few seconds; the wings flapped once more, though produced no wind, and blew away into the air as if made of stardust. Lumine stabbed Maemi's Nodachi into the ground and used it like a crutch, holding herself up with it. The pain from her shoulder wound was still excruciating, but she ignored it upon hearing of Michiko's condition.
"Forget me, what about Michiko?! A-And Ochiba!" Leaving the sword behind, Lumine ran to join the rabbit's side, kneeling beside her. "Hey! Bunny-Sensei! Are you okay?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 1:34 pm
The shepard watch Lumine run to the side of a figure she had previously ignored. She moved a few steps after Lumine before looking to Hanari and nodding. The shinigami stood, and seemed to speak to Michiko to perhaps relax the tengu enough to allow her to help.
Tebiki moved after the celestial, who now with closer inspection was next to a small rabbit youkai. The little figure seemed to be non-respondant, making the herder think it was perhaps her end. She held her staff over Ochiba passing the hanging lantern over her entire frame. Nothing.
The herder moved her staff back ,"She seemed to cling to life... But she is weak and tired." Tebiki knelt down and moved Ochiba to straighten her out fully. The rabbit seemed unconscious but as if suffering from a nightmare. The herder once more held the lantern over Ochiba's heart, clearing the poison Fuzen had punched into her.
Immidiately Ochiba seemed to relax into much more peaceful sleep. "She needs some medical attention... The burns are severe along with these bigger bruises. I rid her of the poison that coursed her body, and that is all I can do for her."
Michiko moved to Lumine and the Rabbit,"Is she okay?" The tengu her side still, some blood having stained her clean clothes; even with how cold she was, she could not keep her voice free of her concern. Hanari followed,"Noroshi-sama..."
"Don't worry, Hanari, we are here to fend of the demon; we have succeeded, today, we take no souls to Higan." Using her staff she stood, and begun to walk away,"Thank you for calling me when you spotted the demons; the rest I leave in the mortals' hands." With that she walked away towards what seemed to be the road to Youkai Mountain.
The shinigami stood staring after the soul surrounded spirit, dumbfounded. Michiko grumbled a few things before speaking up, "We need to get the rabbit's wounds dressed. Do you have bandages in your home Lumine?.. If you don't i have some at my home... But it's a bit of a trip." Michiko seemed tired, but she was obviously fighting to seem composed, strong and cold as always.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 10:29 am
Lumine watched nervously as the strange girl performs some sort of magic on Ochiba's body. Whatever she did, it seemed to have worked, as Ochiba's writing soon ceased, and she gave a more peaceful look on her face. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lumine slid her hand under Ochiba's back and legs, picking the small-bodied youkai up.
"I don't know what your name is, Miss, but tha--..." Lumine turned her head to see the strange girl already departing, soon disappearing up a path that headed north. "...Thank you, Miss."
Lumine stood with Ochiba still cradled in her arms, holding her as steady as possible. She turned to Michiko, staring into her eyes evenly. "I don't think there's anything in my home, unless you wanna tear up an old cloak to make makeshift bandages... otherwise, we'll have to make our way for your home. It's up to you, but we'll need to act soon! Hanari, do you have anything?" Lumine asked, turning her attention onto the dumbfounded Shinigami. All emotional pretense had left the Celestial; her most important task right now was to ensure the Rabbit's survival.
She readjusted Ochiba into one arm, and brushed some stray hair from her face, whispering, "It's okay, Bunny-Sensei, we'll get you patched up, no worries..."
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 11:10 am
Michiko nodded,"Then we better start to head that way--"
"I can take you there," The shinigami said snapping out of her thoughts,"I may be no good with my scythe, but I am far more efficient with my ability with distance."
"Well stop talking and do it, Boat-girl."
Hanari planted the scythe onto the grass, and with minor distortions around them they were soon in the midst of the forest of magic. "Uuuh... Did I end up a bit short?"
"Close enough, I can see my home from here, this way." The wolf tengu quickly lead them to her small home.
Soon enough the running water was audible, and the home was in perfect view. Michiko hurried ahead, shouldering the door open, not releasing her side. By the time Hanari and Lumine could make it inside, the wolf had the house lit with the oil lamps and candles, and she had brought a small box that when opened had the medical aid.
Michiko seemed to run out of breath though, and she collapsed heavily on one of the chairs of her home, breathing a bit heavily. "I... Have to take.... A small respite..." She leaned her head back, clutching her side, "There is bandages and everything in there..... Just a matter... O-of Using them."
"How do we even do this... ?" Hanari looked over Lumine's shoulder at Ochiba," Should we set her down somewhere?
"If you need... My bedroom.... Is free..." Michiko offered, now lowering her head, apparently close to falling unconscious.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 1:31 pm
Before she knew what was going on, Lumine felt a strange pulling sensation. In an instant, she felt as though she had traveled miles, yet without moving from her spot. Once they had been transported, Lumine quickly hurried along with Michiko and Hanari, with Ochiba still in her arms. The wolf was faster, so by the time they caught up, all the lights in the house were lit, and a tired wolf now sat in a chair to the side of the room, cradling her own wound. Lumine began to panic now. She had two friends wounded, both of their conditions unknown to the inexperienced Celestial. The strange girl from before said, "we take no souls to Higan"... was that some way of saying they would be okay? She looked around, from the box of medical supplies, to the door to Michiko's room, then to Michiko herself. There were too many things that had to be done. Lumine needed help. "H-Hanari, I need you to listen to me!" She said, stifling her own fears and turning to the Shinigami behind her. "Take the medical box and tend to the Wolf's wounds! I'll get Ochiba set up in the bedroom. Once you're done, bring the medical box to me, okay? Quickly, there's no time to waste!" Without another word, Lumine took the wounded Rabbit into Michiko's room. Gently, she laid the sleeping figure across the bed, taking great caution not to worsen any of her wounds. ~ ~ ~ So many things happened in the few days that followed Master Kazuko's passing. I met an old friend of mine, someone I met not long before I met you. She taught me a lot of important things, like how to find food, shelter, and survive on one's own. I know these are things that you and Master Kazuko tried to teach me... I wish I had listened more often. I miss your voice, even if it still echoes in my ear.
Someone disgraced you. She tricked me. I'm sorry, Maemi. Through a demon's deceit, I let my friends get hurt. But I had help from a kind woman who bears your image. Sometimes, when she's near me, I feel as though it's you who's by my side again... Sometimes I think I'm going crazy. But I did know one thing that day: I wasn't going to let anyone else close to me die.~ ~ ~
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 10:19 pm
Hanari nodded, sweeping around to take the box and head to Michiko, who was so close to being unconscious she did not even struggle to let the Shinigami lay a hand on her.
Inspecting a bit closer, the wound was long, deep and, om the surface, but a thin gash that framed Michiko's ribs. At her stomach though, where the wound started there was a deeper puncture. Ditching her scythe opting by simply throwing it to the side as she immediately begun to soak up the blood onto some gauze, and dumping a good amount of alcohol, earning a howl of pain from Michiko. The wolf relaxed soon enough, though it put the shinigami's nerves on end. She quickly begun to wrap the bandages around Michiko's abdomen, nervously looking as the tengu broke onto cold sweat. Hanari kept muttering,"I am almost done, just hang on. You'll be fine."
When she finished, Michiko fell asleep, the stress enough to defeat the wolf. Hanari collected the items and hurried into the room after Lumine. "I got the tengu's wounds dressed.She passed out I think... So the rabbit?" Hanari set the box by Lumine.
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 1:10 pm
While the Shinigami worked and the other two slept, Lumine had knelt down and rested her head against the side of Michiko's bed, clutching her shoulder. The pain had backed off from the adrenaline rush, but was now returning to spite her. Only by the sound of Hanari's approaching footsteps and voice did Lumine pull her head up again, removing all signs of anguish from her face. "Yeah... yeah, I'll dress Ochiba next. Thanks, Hanari."
She opened the box of medical supplies and removed the bandages contained within, as well as a salve for Ochiba's burns. Dousing the bandages with the medicine, Lumine quickly moved to wrap them around the burned portions of Ochiba's body, and wrapped a second, dry set around her bruises. By the time the inexperienced Celestial was done, the poor rabbit's limbs almost looked mummified!
"There, all done! ...I guess..." Once finished, Lumine moved to sit down at the foot of Michiko's bed, allowing plenty of room for Ochiba at the head. She stared at the floor for a moment, before asking, "Hey...Hanari? Can you... do me, next? I can't really reach it myself, and you're the only one awake right now... Th-the bandages, I mean!" Lumine mentally facepalmed; what a stupid thing to say! "You're the only one left, o-otherwise I wouldn't ask! Especially from a.... n..never mind..."
Despite possessing a mouth that didn't know when to stop, Lumine couldn't hide the fact that she was in need of medical attention as well. She slowly pulled at the collar of Seijin's tunic, stretching the fabric and bearing her bare, wounded shoulder and collar bone region, though she was careful not to let the fabric fall too far.
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 1:49 pm
The shinigami frowned a bit; though she wasn't sure, she realized The celestial must be in some pain. Hanari watched as Lumine took care of Ochiba's wound, and when she sat down at the foot of the bed, the taller woman remained standing.
"Of course, I don't mind it." Hanari ignored the double sensed comment, knowing Lumine hadn't meant it. The shinigami took the bandages, and knelt infront of Lumine on one knee, carefully cleaning the blood off her shoulder. She also rubbed some alcohol on it to make sure it was disinfected, before wrapping some gauze over the wound. Now that there wasn't so much pressure, the dark haired woman worked slowly and carefully.
"Uhm..." the shinigami replaced the shirt onto the celestial fully, and taking some of the needle and thread (apparently meant to sew any major wound close), she begun to sew close the tunic where the pitchfork had pierced through. "Don't move; I'll poke you with the needle if you do."
A few minutes later, the tunic was fixed and Hanari stood, packing the medical kit again. "There. Don't strain your shoulder too much, or the wound will get worse otherwise, okay?" She put the box on Michiko's desk, for the wolf to later tuck away wherever the box belonged.
With her back to Lumine she hesitantly said,"Sorry, I was too slow to react and get Noroshi-sama. If I had been a bit faster, then maybe none of you would be hurt."
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 3:46 pm
Lumine let Hanari tend to her wounds soundlessly, save for a wince and small whimper when the alcohol was applied. Once the operation on both her shoulder and shirt was done, Lumine flexed her arm slowly and in all directions, testing the wrappings and her own strength. "Hehe, looks good...y'know, for someone who usually deals with dead people all the time, you're pretty good at taking care of live ones as well!" She sighed however, letting her arm fall back down to her side. "Don't worry, though... I've had enough excitement to last me for a while... And, that's a lot, comin' from me."
While Hanari turned with the box of medical supplies, Lumine tugged and readjusted her shirt, sneaking a peak at the opposite shoulder of the one wounded today; even now, a scar ran from the top of her shoulder further down into her collar bone. It was a reminder of the strong maverick Youkai that both cleaved into her, and took Maemi's life that fateful day so long ago. Lumine couldn't help but wonder if both sides would bear scars now.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Hanari's apology. Quickly replacing the fabric, Lumine stood up. "Hey, don't worry about it! If it hadn't been for you and that girl, we might have... Well, our meeting might have been on much different terms, anyway." She patted the wound, smiling a bit as she did. "I'm glad for the action you took, rather than the one you didn't. We're all still alive, and no worse for wear!"
Lumine thought for a moment, her expression changing into a more serious one. "By the way...the woman who attacked me. She seemed to know the girl with the staff. Who are they both?" She reached up and rubbed her arm, feeling a cold chill all of the sudden. "That woman...that demon, she did something unforgivable... It sucks that she just got away like that."
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 4:09 pm
Hanari shrugged," I guess so, I don't know how I can take care of anything. Guess it's a natural talent?" The shinigami turned around, with a small grin ,"Maybe now you won't get into so much trouble."
She sighed a bit relief," Thank you I suppose. I am happy there wasn't more to be lost."
"Noroshi-sama?... Yes the know each other," Hanari sat at the chair infront of the desk,"Noroshi-sama is the herder of souls. The way she puts it, she is the light people see when they die, and she keeps lost souls gathered for Shinigami. She is one of the oldest in court; older than Akira-sama. The demon is Fuzen-mara, a demon of temptation that has been sealed many times. Noroshi-sama has followed her since Fuzen-mara became a powerful demon; I think there is some guilt, since Noroshi-sama let Fuzen stay in her village even when she had died... She became a lost soul, then a poltergeist and finally a demon." The shinigami fixed her bangs,"I don't know why Noroshi-sama is so bent on permanetly locking Fuzen, but both are powerful enough to whack each other back every time. They crash again and again, but there is no winner."
"That is what I know of them... Noroshi-sama has taken me in to training I suppose,"Hanari smiled a bit.
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:43 pm
"Trouble always seems to kinda follow me around..." Lumine replied with a cheeky grin.
She sat back down at the foot of the bed as Hanari told her story, or rather, the story of the strange girl with the staff and the demon. "She's a... demon of temptation, huh? That would explain a lot..." Lumine looked to the side, blushing a bit. Every part of her wished the illusion had been true, even as foolishly convenient as it would have been. She had been caught off guard; if she hadn't been asleep prior to the assault, maybe she would have seen through the facade. But... it doesn't matter how much she defends herself. Nothing has changed at all.
"I can see why the staff-girl wants the demon gone...she's dangerous, and can trick people...she would have tricked me, if Bunny-Sensei hadn't come to my rescue." Lumine rubbed her shoulder without thinking, replaying the morning's events over in her head.
"W-Wait! You said that the staff-girl keeps track of souls until you Shinigami come to take them, right?" Lumine said suddenly, nearly jumping off the bed. "And she's been around for a long, long time? D...Do you think she remembers individual souls? Like, who they were and stuff?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:51 pm
"I know that much." She scoffs at Lumine though she is smiling a bit as she leans back on her chair. "well I mean there seems to be more to their hate than simple right or wrong with Noroshi-sama and Fuzen-mara. But, yes, part of it is because noroshi-sama knows how strong Fuzen-mara is."
She stopped momentarily looking at Ochiba sleeping much more peacefully. "Eh... Well, be glad the rabbit came to your rescue then , it could have been worse."
"What?" Hanari looked at Lumine's sudden energy,"I don't know. She mostly finds the stray ghosts and bring them to the sanzu... I don't know how far her memory stretches to remember all the souls and where they come from. But, Noroshi-sama is very smart, so maybe she can?"
"... What's with the sudden excitement over that? You seem to have some obsession with souls,"Hanari commented.
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:35 pm
"Eh? W...Well...I--..." How could she explain this? Lumine averted her eyes, looking a bit confused and flustered.
"I... I want to see someone dear to me again..." She absently moved her hands to the bottom of Seijin's tunic, wringing its cloth nervously. "I don't expect you to understand, Shinigami, you who witnesses death on a daily basis. But..." Catching her fidgeting, she forced her arms to relax, bringing them to her sides instead. "I-I know....that I might never see her again, but if the staff-lady remembers her, maybe she could tell me where her soul went? If...If I knew that, maybe I could....I..could..."
What? What would she do then? She made a vow to seek out Maemi's soul no matter the cost, but could she really make good on that promise? Or... was this simply a fool's dream?
"...Hanari? Have you ever had someone...dear to you? Someone you loved more than anything else in the world?" Lumine's face was sad, and...hurt, but she had no tears left to cry today. "I have a chance...that few other people will ever have... I'll do anything to see my beloved again, even if it takes until the end of time!"
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:12 pm
Hanari sighed,"I am too new to even comprehend death, you are right, I am only doing what I was born to to... But I think I can understand when you love someone, You'll do anything to find them..."
The shinigami stood,"I will tell Noroshi-sama... I'll bring her to you, sounds good?" She begun to move out the door, looking over her shoulder,"I cannot understand the world when I am so new to it, but I know you, and I know you won't stop until you do everything in your hands to find this soul you want."
"Rest well, Celestial. I will take your soul soon!" Hanari moved out, and picked up her scythe before moving to the front door,"If you need help call out for me, I'll come as soon as I can." With that she left the celestial to her thoughts, with Michiko stirring and tiredly looking after the dark haired woman.
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Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 9:37 am
Lumine nodded to Hanari, agreeing with her proposition for a meeting with the staff-girl. "That'd be great! Even if it's only a few minutes, I only have one thing to ask her." She blushed a bit at Hanari's next words. "Y-Yeah, well... I guess I can be stubborn sometimes! So that's right; I won't let even death stop me in my quest to find her!" Lumine said, placing her hands on her hips and striking a triumphant pose.
"Rest well, Celestial. I will take your soul soon!" ... "If you need help call out for me, I'll come as soon as I can."
What a strange, confusing woman. But even then, Lumine couldn't help but feel warmed by Hanari's kind and caring words, hidden in the guise of their mutual feud. She smiled after the Shinigami as she left; somehow, the weight on her heart had eased considerably. "Thank you, Hanari."
As Hanari took her leave, Lumine's mind wandered to her destined meeting with the spirit-herder. She had no idea how to prepare for such a meeting - hell, she hadn't even known a being like her existed until a few moments ago. Hanari described her as "the light people see when they die", so she must see people in their most vulnerable moments... With that in mind, Lumine decided she didn't need to prepare at all, and would simply show herself as she was.
She turned briefly to look at Ochiba. The rabbit still appeared to be fast asleep. Lumine wondered if Ochiba would get mad at her for the poorly-wrapped bandages on her arms... oh well, at least she tried. She left the bedroom to check on Michiko now, whom began to stir from her exhausted sleep.
"Hey! Michiko!" Lumine went to her side, kneeling down beside the chair and looking up to the wolf's face. "How do you feel? Can I get you anything?"
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