Branches - Two Fates. One Tale

Game of Fate and Rules of Luck

The stink of fear drifted into his nose. He watched them, the villagers that weren't the same he had grown to know, but yet were similar.

Recalling typical face lines, the curve of an eyebrow and the particular length of a nose, he recognized features of their ancestors within the faces that were shaded with light and shadows cast by the lantern nearby. And yet, in the obscurity of his millionth night, he did not recognize anyone. Was the butcher's family still the best fed? Did the current sewer sell his flimsy and thin clothes for horrendous prizes, too?

With eyes of the past he let his gaze run over the fire-lit, narrow streets. His hands were buried in the pockets of his long black coat, even though they never ran cold. It was a habit from when he was alive, just like the scarf and the high collar protecting his neck.

The village had changed since the times he had grown up. A lot of the wooden houses had been replaced with stone, but he could see himself as a small boy stumbling down the main street, hunger claiming his consciousness. He could see himself eagerly picking up an apple that had dropped of a cart.

Centuries ago he had been nothing but an orphan trying to survive. Now he had returned to Narukami to fulfill the promise that was made. Yet, the shadow of the young boy had followed him through time and space.

"Shimon," the voice of his brother startled him. The scene of the past dissolved in front of his eyes, leaving only the present behind. The hungry boy was no more.

Turning around, he took in the irritated look of Keiji. His brother stood in front of their brethren, all of whom had chosen to follow them, when they had faced the choice between a lost life or an infinite death.

"Is it one of them?" Keiji asked, nodding his head towards the villagers.

Once more Shimon skipped his eyes to the wooden cage in the village center, not far from the fountain. While ignoring the nasty smell of fear, which burned his nostrils, he mustered the fear-ridden faces. He doubted that the last of the Amawaka lineage was hidden within a bunch of sobbing mortals trying to hide in the shadows of the lantern's fire. None of them seemed courageous enough to be the one who was fated to stop him. Nobody dared to counter his gaze; nobody – except one.

Blinking, Shimon walked towards the cage, holding the eye contact. It was a boy, a young man with strands of unruly brown hair falling in his face, similar in age to the one Shimon died at. He didn't seem special. His clothes looked cheap, brittle suspenders holding dirty trousers above a yellowed shirt. His eyes though, his hazelnut colored eyes were almost red, as if they were filled with blood and flickering fire.

Interesting.

Shimon tilted his head to the side and approached the boy. Going to his knees to see eye to eye with him in the low cage, Shimon asked, "What is your name, boy?"

"Why would I tell you?" the boy barked back, making some of his comrades gasp and shriek. Either he was overly courageous or outright stupid to respond like this in his situation. That did not smolder Shimon's interest though. He could be the one, the other one, his counterpart of the legend.

All of a sudden a loud, childish giggle pierced through the arisen commotion, silencing the prisoners altogether. It would have made his blood turn cold, too, if it hadn't stopped flooding so long ago. Many things had changed since back then. Her giggle now was a sharp contrast to the kind laughter and sweet smile she had given him, when they both had been breathing.

Throwing a glance over his shoulder, he looked at his little sister and straightened his legs. "I thought the mayor's mansion was already prepared for you."

Grinning at him, Sayo set her pointed teeth on full display. Like the child she was, she replied, "Yup, but I got bored."

As it was his fate, she was frozen in time. Only, she was trapped in the small body of a twelve year old, which merely reached up to his chest. Forever caught in the transition of a child to a lady.