The Dragon Queen // (Under Revision)

Strangers

Tsuyoi had wandered back to her room. By the time she got back, she couldn't quite remember what Tomoe had said to her, or why her eyes were wet with tears. She laid on her back on the bed, eyes fixated on the ceiling. Absentmindedly, she rubbed her cheek, fascinated with the starchy rivers that crying had left behind.

Forget away, Tomoe's voice whispered in her ears. Tsuyoi tried to focus. What had her patron said before that? Forget away, my dear. Tsuyoi could remember walking into the dining hall after training, and yelling at Tomoe about something she had said, but the specifics were foggy, the kite strings kissing her fingertips as she tried to catch hold of them. With a groan, Tsuyoi lifted her arm over her face and covered her eyes, growing frustrated. Why would she tell me to forget? Forget what? I forget everything! She tried to dig deeper, tried to connect the dots in her head, but to no avail.

Her selective amnesia was very perplexing and presented itself shortly after her arrival to the monastery, but it was one of the few things that Chizu had never tried to remedy when it came to Tsuyoi. Her fighting, her Dragon Art and reiki training, her studies, all of those things that made Tsuyoi more useful to the Earth Dragon King was what Chizu had expanded upon. If anything, Tsuyoi's fleeting memory was all the more useful to manipulate. I can only recall facts. I know my parents are dead, I know I had friends before I was Chosen, I know that I am destined for death—but the emotional details are always filtered out and washed away. How, Tsuyoi felt her lip begin to tremble, do I fix it? Who will help me?

Something is happening here, Tomoe's voice leapt to her mind. Tsuyoi strained to hear. Something is changing, something important.

Go. The yellow-haired boy's face formed in Tsuyoi's mind. Talk to them.

Tsuyoi shot up, sitting upright.

-

Now what did I come here for? Tsuyoi shook her head, struggling to focus. Then it came to her. The outsiders...I wanted to apologize to Naruto...She turned the last corner into the west wing hallway. The first door to the left had a golden line of light tracing its bottom.

Tsuyoi stood in front of it.

"This is it," she whispered to herself, standing in front of the door. Voices were talking quietly, urgently inside, and Tsuyoi envied them. Talking must be easy. At least for them. I, on the other hand, haven't spoken to anyone, really, really talked to anyone, in almost ten years. I still don't understand why it's against the stupid rules to speak to anyone besides the patrons once you're Chosen. Some bull about being pure or something like that.

But there were people here. Outsiders, from a different country, here in the monastery. She'd read every Account by all the previous Queens, and this had never happened before. That were the first outsiders—

Tsuyoi stopped short. No. Not the first. That man...my sword...the rain...everything gray...

Focus! She tore the memory away and threw it to the back of her mind. Focus...she exhaled, centering herself. "Here I go," she softly said aloud, reaching up with a hand to knock on the door frame. The hollow sound echoed loudly, making her jump.

The talking ceased inside. There was the creaking of a bed and then footsteps. Tsuyoi, out of nervousness, retreated to habit and concentrated on the sound. The steps came steadily and belonged to someone lean and tall. It wasn't the girl—they were too heavy—and it couldn't be Sai. He was too short. And it's not Naruto either, he's a bit leaner, and shorter. It must be Kakashi, the leader.