Mai-HiME Fan Fiction ❯ An Affair to Remember ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

A/N: Thanks to everyone for following this story. So this is chapter five and two more chapters and this story is done! Thanks weaver-san for editing my works.

I saw a picture of Kiyohime (a drawing) and she was wearing a black printed yukata. I was actually imagining Kiyohime's appearance (last chapter) as the child in the anime Hell-girl (the one where the child plays as hell's messenger for those who wanted revenge), and yet when I saw this art drawn from 1897 (today for this chapter), she looked like that…almost (minus the eyes, she has her eyes closed at the picture)…hehehe

I've researched on Miroku as well and the one from Naruto is just a bit like it but Miroku was not something bad. Hehehe

Excerpts from The legend of Kiyohime and Anchin used without permission (please refer to this link /e2node/Legend20of20Anchin20and20Kiyohime)

Chapter 5: Kiyohime

Have you ever been alone for a very long time? Have you ever felt like you wanted to stop and yet you can't because you are forced to go on and on, and you have no idea how long you have been walking? Have you ever felt so disliked and unloved that you are willing to sell your soul to the darkest creature you come across with?

Onee-sama…

Save me Onee-sama…

XXX

The unexpected turn of event that morning had taken so much energy from our participants that they are now resting inside their elegant and huge suite hotel room. Well everyone except for Miyu who was currently nursing an injured Nao.

“I saw that girl, the one who hurt Nao-san…” Alyssa said breaking the silence, “I know I can feel a HiME power, but that girl has more to it than meets the eye.” She added.

“I did sense a black aura surrounding the HiME power Alyssa ojou-sama.” Miyu supplied and the blond girl nodded her head.

Natsuki was quietly resting her back on the massaging chair inside their room, “I almost got through Shizuru…” she absent mindedly said.

Nao frowned, “We almost got through that barrier…whatever it is!” Nao said angrily, “How I wish I could materialize Julia and beat the hell out of that girl…what's her name?” Nao asked Miyu.

“I believe the girl and Kiyohime is one and the same.” Miyu replied. Nao had her head resting on Miyu's lap while the humanoid female was working on Nao's congested neck.

Silence.

“I'm so tired I don't even want to look at the manga I bought last Saturday!” Mikoto whined, she was laying on one of the king size bed in the room.

“Oh, and I haven't looked at the book I bought last Saturday too!” Mai said before she bolted out of the large couch where she was lazing out and went to the closet to get the plastic bag that kept their newly bought books. Mai was working a bit fast causing the plastic bag to rip open and the books to fall on the floor.

Natsuki, Nao and Miyu's attention was diverted to the sound made by Mai, “Did we buy that much books?” Natsuki asked frowning.

Mai smiled, “I did buy three, Mikoto bought four old mangas and you got one…” Mai inspected the magazine Natsuki bought, “I didn't know that you're a Vogue Magazine fanatic Natsuki!” Mai teased.

Natsuki took a deep breath, “Whatever!” Silence “We need to find something we can use to locate Shizuru's location. I've got a feeling she's just near us!” Natsuki exclaimed a bit angrily

“Oi! Don't you dare vent you're frustration to us Kuga!” Nao hollered.

Mai wasn't listening to what Natsuki was saying because she had her focus on the extra book on the floor. The book given to Natsuki by the old man at the bookstore for free, “Ne Natsuki, do you remember that old man at the bookstore gave you a book?”

Natsuki's attention was caught by this information, “Oh yeah…I almost forgot about that.”

Nao seated herself and turned her body to face Mai, “What book?” she asked.

Mai raised the old book up for Nao to see, “We got this from the mysterious bookstore downtown.” She said.

“That bookstore that was a diner inside?” Nao asked again where she received a nod from Mikoto, Natsuki and Mai, “That was really creepy.” She said and then she shivered.

Silence.

“What's the book about?” Mikoto asked sounding bored.

“Wait…” Mai said before opening the book.

The first five pages of the book was blank, followed by a simple introduction

“Kiyohime was not a villainess, even in folklore. The concluding words of Koi no tenarai, "The Learning of Love", from the Nagauta cycle "Kyo Kanoko Musume Dojoji" paint a sensitive picture of a woman tormented by her love, and an unfeeling rejection from one to whom she considered herself bound.” Mai read.

“I think it was Kiyohime's story!” Mikoto exclaimed as she got up and hopped off the bed and came closer to Mai.

Mikoto was followed by Miyu, Nao, Alyssa and Natsuki

“Read it Mai!” Mikoto said smiling.

Nao glared at Mikoto, “Haven't you heard enough of that folklore?!” Nao said frowning.

Alyssa looked at Miyu who was looking at the book intently, “Miyu?”

Miyu reached out her hand to Mai, “Can I see that book?” she asked.

Mai nodded and then reached out to hand the book to Miyu, but everyone gasped when before even Miyu could touch the book, it flew out of Mai's hand.

Natsuki's eye widened, “What the…”

Everyone looked at each other.

“If we wanted answers…perhaps that book has it.” Alyssa calmly said.

Everyone stood up and walked over the place where the book was now lying, “Don't touch it Mai, let's see if it will react the same way as it reacted to Miyu when touched by another aside from you.” Alyssa said, she didn't touch the book as she has an idea that since she is Miyu's ward, the book will automatically react the same.

Mikoto went first, bending down and reaching out for the book, she hadn't even got close and the book slid away from her, “Wow…that was cool…”

Mai's face scrunched, “Natsuki, your next.” Natsuki leaned down and to everyone's surprise, she was able to hold it, “I forgot, this book was given to you first!” Mai exclaimed and then sighed deeply, “Nao…”

Nao bent and reached out and she too was able to hold the book.

“Alright aside from Me, Mai and Nao, you three cannot hold the book…the question is why?”

There was silence as everyone tried to think of a reason.

“I got a hunch…” Nao said which earned the other's attention, “Remember, it was Miyu and Alyssa who broke the barrier, perhaps if this book is related to that girl we saw, then it could sense their power and will protect itself from it.” The explanation gained nods from the others, “As to why Mikoto can't hold it is the mystery!” she said.

Silence.

“Why don't you read it Mai-san, we might find a clue with that.” Miyu suggested which the fiery haired girl agreed.

Mai took the book and sat at the floor followed by the others; she opened the book and started reading clearly, as if she was a fairytale story teller…

Amongst the many temples of Wakayama prefecture one is known as Kishu Dojoji. Many hundreds of years ago, it housed a monk by the name of Anchin, a brother of the Emperor Suzyaku.

One day, as he returned to Dojoji after a long journey, he happened to stop at the house of the landlord Kiyotsugu. He had a warm welcome there, and was bidden to spend the night. Anchin's heart yearned for the quiet of the temple and the sound of the evening bells and the soft chanting of the sutras. But dusk was falling fast and he was tired. So Anchin let himself be persuaded by the landlord's words, and retired to his room.

And it was as he sat in meditation in that room that Kiyohime, the landlord's daughter, first saw him. She gazed at him for a long time, and then went to her father and asked him who this stranger was. Her father was in a merry mood and jokingly, he told her, "That is Anchin, the monk of Kishu Dojoji, who will one day be your husband."

XXX

My heart was broken into pieces. He took my heart with him and he made me who I am right now…

How could something beautiful like love make one person as dark as me? How could such a strong and pure feeling create a heart of stone?

Will I live in this world in constant misery…constantly alone and lonely?

Will I never see the sun again?

Nor see another human life…

XXX

“In her father's house, Kiyohime waited patiently for the return of her love. Time passed. The seasons changed, and the chrysanthemums in the garden bloomed and faded again, but Anchin did not return. Joy faded to expectation, and expectation to longing, and longing to despair, but Anchin still did not return. Then Kiyohime knew he had forgotten her, and despair gave way to a cold, burning hate, which burned within her till it consumed her body. Still it burned, until it had turned her spirit into a snake. As a snake, her spirit traveled across land and water till it reached Dojoji.”

“Okay…we all know what happened after that, can you fast forward Mai?” Natsuki said irritated

“Okay-Okay…” Mai said and then she scanned the book to look, “Okay so after Anchin's death…here…

The spirit still did not rest. For four hundred years, Kishu Dojoji remained without a bell. Then a new bell was made for it, and it brought to the temple to be installed. But as it was being brought into the temple, a dancing girl appeared, finely decked. She threw herself at the bell and, to the amazement of all gathered, vanished without a trace, as if swallowed up by the bell. From that moment, the bell did not ring as the bells of temples did, but wailed and howled in a terrible voice. And each time it rung, disaster hit Wakayama. Finally, it could be borne no longer. The bell was taken down, and buried.

It remained buried for two hundred years, until Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered it to be dug out and taken to the shrine Myomanji, where the ashes of Sakyamuni Buddha were enshrined by the Emperor Asoka of India. And there, the sound of the Lotus sutra ceaselessly chanted by the monks of the shrine finally brought rest to the troubled souls of Kiyohime and Anchin. In time, the bell's sounds acquired a compelling beauty, tinged with wisdom and the awareness of dukkha.

And the bell remains in Myomanji, to this day, as a treasure of the temple, along with the ashes of Sakyamuni

“We know that already, so what happened?” Nao exclaimed

“There's nothing here, but after this the pages were left blank…” Mai said frowning as she kept on turning the books page after page.

XXX

And that was my story…that was my end.

No one even knew what happened to my dying soul, what became of that unfortunate woman who lost her mind and spirit because of love.

Love hurts the most, more than death itself…

I was trapped in this world, my spirit cannot move on, carrying this entire burden on my shoulders…alone.

And he who was the source of all deception and pain just knows how to make the most of it…making a contract…to not be alone…to lend my dark power to the one who accepts me

Onee-sama…

Of all the protected, you are the only one who felt what I have felt, you lose your heart…your soul because of love

We are one Onee-sama, we don't have to be alone anymore

We will always have each other

Onee-sama…

XXX

Mikoto frowned as Mai kept on inspecting the book, “Did you feel it?”

Mai, Natsuki and Nao looked at the serious face of Mikoto, “What should we feel?” Nao asked.

“Then you haven't felt it… I can feel Miroku acting up inside me, just like when Miroku was acting up when we were at the bookstore and at the art museum.” Mikoto said.

“The same days we saw Shizuru with that Kiyo girl!” Natsuki exclaimed.

Mai frowned, “We all felt our HiME powers acting up that day, so how come it was only Mikoto who could feel it and not us?” Mai asked Natsuki with a bewildered look in her face.

Silence.

“Perhaps it's because of Miroku.”

“What?” Mai, Natsuki and Nao simultaneously asked.

“In the early 7th century, it was believed that Miroku, the Buddha of the future will appear on earth to save those unable to achieve enlightenment, thus bringing universal salvation to all sentient beings, if we take this into consideration, then that could be the reason why Mikoto's HiME power is acting up. If Kiyohime's action was for her own salvation then Miroku's power should be the one to give it.” Alyssa said.

Nao and Natsuki looked at Alyssa, “And when did you become the expert on this?” Nao asked. There was no reply; Nao turned her attention at Mai who was still inspecting the book, “Give me that!”

Nao took the book and opened it fast and even shook the book to try to see if there is something inside it. No one noticed a single page fell from the book. Nao already handed the book back to Mai when the fiery haired girl noticed a page with a picture.

“Oh, there are illustrations on the book!” Mai exclaimed. The others hurriedly approached Mai and looked at the book as Mai turned its pages.

The illustrations was that of Kiyohime.

One Illustration was Kiyohime doing household chores.

Then it was followed by Kiyohime getting inside their house and found a sleeping man, she was facing the man's back.

And then it was followed by Kiyohime talking to her father.

In all of that illustration, Kiyohime's appearance and the little girl they've met looked the same, their yukata, their eyes, hair, except Kiyohime was a beautiful young woman in this book and the Kiyohime they saw was just a little girl.

“They are one and the same.” Miyu exclaimed.

Mikoto nodded her head and that's when she saw the lone page on the floor, “Ma…i!” she called out causing the others to look her way before Mai turned the book to its last page, “Look!” Mikoto said and then she bent down and picked the picture and held it up for the others to see.

“Kami-sama!” Mai exclaimed.

Natsuki and Nao's eyes widened with disbelief. Miyu was just looking at the picture and Alyssa paled.

The picture was that of Shizuru wearing Kiyohime's Yukata, she was looking at the vast expanse of the Hidaka River where a boat was floating away from her.

“That isn't Kiyohime!” Nao exclaimed

“Shizuru…” Natsuki whispered and tears fell from her eyes.

Everyone returned their gazes at the book that was now on its last page.

“Anchin…” Mai's eyes widened, “That…that was the old man at the bookstore!” she cried out.

-end-

A/N: This is short but this chapter should just explain Kiyohime. Well this part of this story and the next chapter was a bit inspired by the story by Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Miroku's information was taken here /html/miroku.shtml

Next chapter will be the main action. How they found Shizuru, their preparation and the long awaited Kiyohime and Natsuki duel!