Stunned silence filled the glade as everyone stared transfixed at the approaching mortal, its full head of sunny hair shining like burnished gold in the morning sun. Even from a distance, they could see the eyes, a brilliant crystalline blue, sparkling with warmth, excitement, and trepidation.
Eyes, Sagiri knew, that would darken in annoyed defiance when its owner was reprimanded for his unruliness and stubborn refusal to conform to the Clan's strict etiquettes of proper conduct. Or narrow in dudgeon on behalf of his beloved Sensei should any of the younger unranked members question the latter's capabilities out of earshot.
Eyes that none of the Asaemons present dreamt of seeing again.
Yet, at this very moment, those eyes—and their owner—were well and alive before them.
"Tenza!"
Nurugai's tremulous voice rang through the air and shattered the heavy stillness. The Sanka girl's long legs, watery with incredulity and electrified by joy, carried her across the distance in ground-devouring strides toward her destination.
Towards the first person who had shown her such genuine magnanimity since the destruction of her tribe.
Towards the young man who had stolen her innocent, girlish heart with his chivalry and protectiveness. And later shattered it into millions of tiny shards with his untimely demise.
Towards Yamada Asaemon Tenza.
"Tenza!"
---
"Ehm....so-so...what's going on here?"
"Sir Tenza, is this really you?"
"How—were you revived by Seimei?"
"How did Seimei do that?"
Non-stop questions—all revolving around Tenza's apparent resurrection-- swirled around the sunny-haired youth, like billowing waves crashing relentlessly over a tiny, lone boat adrift in the vast ocean. Tenza was at a total loss; he could barely draw a breath and open his mouth to address the first question before another was thrown at him. Then another. Yet another. Ultimately, he was so overwhelmed that he gave up and maintained his silence.
"I believe Tenza would greatly appreciate it if everyone could give him a break."
Seimei's remark, though causally spoken, carried a hint of authoritativeness and sliced through the buzzing commotion. The swell of questions died down, and Tenza turned to the Fox with a smile of profound relief.
"Perhaps I could elaborate on how I had chanced upon Tenza after his—and Shion's and Nurugai's—encounter with Zhu Jin...."
Seimei looked around the forests cautiously, his keen senses on high alert. A few moments earlier, inquietude had pricked at the base of his spine while he was resting, prompting him to leave the Valley to investigate. Asahi had reported that a new group of mortals had landed on the island a couple of days earlier, and the Chief wondered if his uneasiness stemmed from them.
As Seimei sniffed the air, redolent with indescribable odors that spoke of the aberrant natures of their sources, he detected an underlying metallic scent.
Blood.
The Fox frowned and traced the scent to its source. As the smell intensified to a nauseating level, so did the anxiety in his system. The scene that greeted him as he stepped through a thick patch of undergrowth had the usually unflappable Seimei reeling in shocked déjà vu and triggered an unwelcome flashback in his mind.
The copious amount of crimson liquid glistening dully on nearly every surface. The disarray that evidenced a fierce fight earlier.
Most of all, the sight of a young man lying face down in an ever-widening pool of blood. His broken, lifeless body resembling a badly mutilated doll.
YOU ARE READING
A Love Beyond Time
Fanfiction"Sagiri." Shion turned to the young lady beside him, a soft smile of quiet bliss and wonderment adorning his handsome face. "Have you ever, ever imagined that things would turn out this way when we embarked on that assignment to Shinsekyo those year...
