Dreamer Awakened

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"M-momiji," she heard Kaede call to her, her sister’s voice breathless sounding and weak.

Trying to pull herself together, Momiji clenched her eyes shut tight and then reopened them, intent on keeping her misery from showing in her expression. Taking a deep breath, she turned and approached her sister, pushing aside her own heartache as she looked with concern at her sister’s pale countenance. She was losing too much blood, Momiji realized worriedly.

"Kaede, you’re losing too much blood. We’ve got to try and stop the bleeding," Momiji said, her words an echo of her thoughts as she unwound the scarf from her coat collar, thinking to use it as a tourniquet of sorts.

"No," Kaede said gently, pushing Momiji’s hand away.

"But, Kaede, if we don’t stop the bleeding –"

"It’s okay, Momiji. It doesn’t matter now."

Momiji’s white face tensed and she just stared down into Kaede’s eyes, her body trembling as her fingers clutched tightly against the softness of her scarf. This was her fault, she thought in anguish. If she had done as Kaede had asked and stayed with Noa, then Kaede wouldn’t have been forced to throw herself in front of Tamanasu to keep him from coming after the baby. She wouldn’t be lying here, bleeding to death.

"Oh, Kaede, " Momiji murmured remorsefully, "I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t –"

"No - M-momiji," Kaede cut across her words, "it’s all right, but you must protect –" she stopped, gripped by another spasm of pain, and Kusanagi murmured her name, "- protect Noa, Momiji." Kaede’s eyes flickered to the still form of Hikaru and the bundle of blankets next to her where Momiji had laid the newborn so that she might help her sister. "It is all I can do for her now - to ask you to protect him." Her eyes slid back to Momiji. "Go to him now, Momiji."

"But -" Momiji began, not wishing to leave her sister.

"No," Kaede shook her head, knowing what Momiji was thinking, "there is nothing you can do to help me, but you can help him, Momiji," her green eyes entreated, and when Momiji still hesitated, "Please, Momiji."

Momiji nodded dully, her eyes flickering to Kusanagi, whose attention was still absorbed by Kaede, before she slowly stood and numbly walked away.

Kaede watched her go, and then she turned back to Kusanagi and seeing the anguish still clearly reflected in his eyes, she put her hand to his cheek, her green eyes soft with affection.

"We’ve known each other for so very long, and yet, we’ve never really had the chance to talk, have we?" she said, a ghost of a smile on her lips, "not even now." She stopped again, her body stiffening, and she waited for a minute before she continued, "sometimes, I wish things had been different, that perhaps you and I – " and she stopped, her green eyes darkening when she saw the look of rejection in Kusanagi’s eyes in opposition to her words, and she smiled indulgently at him.

She had known what his reaction would be, but she had hoped that if she prodded him, she might be able to get him to see that his feelings for Momiji had merit. "But, I think that that’s impossible. Even if I had remained, it wouldn’t have mattered, isn’t that so, Kusanagi? For you are in love with someone else. You would have given your heart to her, even had I remained. Isn’t that right?"

For the first time, Kusanagi allowed his eyes to drift to where Momiji crouched. She had her back to him, her head bent down so that her long hair cascaded softly down her back, coming loose from the ribbon she used at the bottom to keep it tidy. Kusanagi `quickly looked away from her, but Kaede saw the look of longing on his face before he could erase it.

"There was a time," he replied hollowly, his eyes swinging back to Kaede, "that you were all that I wanted, Kaede."

His eyes flitted across her features as he spoke, and he saw the kindness and gentleness that he had thought had forever disappeared written in her eyes and in her smile. She was once again the Kaede of his dreams, the girl of shining hopes and laughter. She had returned to the way she was, before the Aragami had taken her away, and he was thankful for that

"You were everything to me, and yet," he paused and couldn’t keep his eyes from straying back to Momiji’s bright chestnut hair, "you were only a reflection of the future, showing me someone I had yet to meet."

"Does she know?" Kaede asked quietly already knowing the answer, and her question brought his eyes back to her.

Kusanagi didn’t answer her, but just stared solemnly down into her emerald eyes and she gave him a smile of understanding.

"It’s okay to love her, Kusanagi," she reassured him softly.

Kaede could see the words of denial forming on Kusanagi’s lips, and she put her fingers to his mouth to keep him from speaking them.

"You have been alone for so many years, Mamoru Kusanagi, feeling that your mitamas make you an outcast, someone who cannot find love or acceptance; someone who is unworthy of those things. But you’re wrong. You let your hatred for the Aragami hold you prisoner, defining yourself as one of them because of your blue souls. You’re not one of them. You’ve proven that by your actions, by defying their will and resisting their call, even when it caused you pain. And now you need to let go of the past, let go of your hatred, and find acceptance in who you are, in the man you’ve become. - You’ve been alone for so long, Kusanagi - but you don’t have to be alone anymore – " Kaede stopped speaking and gasped, her body going rigid and her hand dropped away from Kusanagi’s face.

"Kaede!" Kusanagi cried, feeling her slipping away.

"I – I –" she panted, struggling to draw her breath now, "I don’t have much longer – "

Kusanagi made a move to pick her up. "Let me get you some help."

"No – Kusanagi," she replied with difficulty, her hand fluttering up to his chest. "It was inevitable that this should happen, for my place is with Susano-oh. But there’s something that I need to do before I become too weak. You cannot defeat the Tengugaki alone, but with added strength -"

She put her fingers within the circle of mitamas on his chest and the crystal mitama on Kaede’s chest began to pulsate. Almost immediately, Kusanagi felt a warm burst of energy flow into his mitamas, first the ones in his chest and then the ones in his hands and knees, the resonance reminiscent of Susano-oh’s power. He suddenly felt a keen sense of awareness and the power in his mitamas seemed to be amplified.

Kaede’s eyes closed and her fingers slid away from his chest, drained from the effort of transferring energy. "Now you should be able to feel their presence, the same as Momiji," she murmured. "It is the last thing that I can do to help you to defeat the Tengugaki. I wish that I had been granted just a little more time, but – it was not meant to be - Goodbye my dear Mamoru."

"Kaede?" he uttered, his voice cracking as her body went slack and her head fell to one side.

She had stopped breathing but her mitama was still gleaming brightly.

"KAEDE!" came Momiji’s broken cry, an echo of Kusanagi’s despair, feeling the disappearance of Kaede’s aura.

"Kaede?" Kusanagi tried again, and when she didn’t respond, gently laid her down, knowing that she was gone.

He stood staring down at her still figure for a moment longer and then turned towards Momiji. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at her sister, a small bundle clutched against her chest. He took a step in her direction and then doubled over in pain, dropping to his knees as his mitamas began to glow brightly.

"Aaaggghh!" he choked, his body drawn up from the pain and his gaze flitted to Momiji afraid that she was in danger.

"Kusanagi!" she cried in alarm as he collapsed and she made to ascend the stairs but was stopped as she felt an electrical discharge flowing around her, keeping her from moving forward.

Momiji pulled back and watched as a blue-white vapor began to coalesce in front of her, brightening and solidifying until the transparent image of Susano-oh stood before her dressed in priests robes, his dark eyes gazing at her benevolently. Momiji stared, wide eyed as he glided closer to her and reached out to cup her cheek. Momiji had not expected to feel anything, but as his ephemeral fingers brushed against her face, they felt warm and comforting and very, very real.

Momiji closed her eyes and lowered her head, finding his kind gesture almost too much to bear. "I’m sorry, Lord Susano-oh," she cried disjointedly, stopping to swallow back the tears crowding her throat, "Kaede is – it’s all my fault – "

"Thank you, Kushinada," Susano-oh spoke into her thoughts, cutting across her words and Momiji stopped, opening her green eyes to focus on his face, bewildered by his gratitude. "Because of you, Kaede’s soul remains in tact."

"But – " Momiji stammered.

"No, Kushinada. You cannot blame yourself for wanting to protect those that you love. Your love is the reason I am here now, able to reclaim my Kaede, and I am grateful for that. Now you must use your love to protect the child." Susano-oh’s eyes swept down to the sleeping infant and he smiled, his hand moving from Momiji’s cheek to caress the top of Noa’s head, "I feel the strength of his father within him – this one will be a strong fighter, that he will."

His father? Momiji thought, wanting desperately to ask who the child’s father was, but unable to since Susano-oh had turned away from her and was gliding up the stairs to where Kusanagi lay incapacitated next to the still form of Kaede.

Susano-oh looked down at Kaede his eyes focusing on the crystal buried in her chest. Silently he leaned down and placed his hand over it until he covered it completely. Brilliant rays of light shot outwards creating a solid sphere that began as a small circle but rapidly grew until it encompassed Susanoh and Kaede and then Kusanagi, swallowing their figures within its brightness. And then it was gone, fading so quickly that it was as if someone had flicked a switch and Momiji had to blink several times before her eyes could adjust to its absence.

Momiji.

"Kaede?" Momiji called querulously, looking over to where the body of her sister still lay.

Momiji spun around, hearing Kaede’s voice coming from behind her farther away now, but she still couldn’t see her. "Kaede?"

Momiji numbly nodded her head, "Anything."

"I will tell him," Momiji whispered, staring into the darkness as her sister’s voice faded away, and then "and I will do my best to protect Hikaru’s son. I promise."

Momiji heard a scraping sound on the stairs behind her and she turned her head, looking back over her shoulder. It was Kusanagi. He was struggling to gain his feet, his chest heaving up and down from exertion as he finally managed to stand, swaying slightly, the shredded remnants of his light grey shirt stained bright red by Kaede’s blood. He glanced down at the lifeless body of Kaede. The crystalline mitama was now gone, he noted before he turned in Momiji’s direction his expression hardening as he began to stumble towards her, finding movement difficult.

Momiji watched him approach her and she tried to keep her heart out of her eyes, knowing that he must be in agony at having to lose Kaede all over again.

"Kusanagi," she began as he came to a stop in front of her, his face looking as if was carved from granite, "I’m sorry about –" and then jumped when he snapped at her.

"You should be! What the hell were you thinking, Momiji!?" he demanded, his face darkening with his fury now that he knew Momiji was safe. "Why the hell did you come here alone in the first place?"

"I was –"

"And what in god’s name did you think you were trying to do, standing in front of that vile bastard, Tamanasu like that!? How were you planning on defending yourself, you little fool?"

"But I –"

He leaned forward and shouted at her "I don’t care what kind of plans Susano-oh has for you, you should have waited for me to come back before you went haring off like some half-wit! You are NOT Kaede, Momiji! You have no mitama and Susano-oh isn’t waiting in the wings to whisk you away should something happen to you!"

Momiji flinched and recoiled at his words as if he had physically struck her, but he took little notice as he heard a strange squeaking noise, followed by a thin wail and his eyes slid away from Momiji’s face down to her chest where the sound was coming from, really noticing for the first time, the infant she had clutched to her.

"What the hell is that?" he asked thunderstruck. He watched small arms flail against her, and then saw a flash of deep blue.

"It’s a –" Momiji began and then gasped and stepped back as Kusanagi let out a growl and unsheathed the blades in his arms.

"It’s an Aragami!" he ground out, moving threateningly towards her his eyes focused on the blue mitamas as it continued to wail.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Momiji gasped, still backing away.

"I’m going to kill it!" he declared, his lip curling with hatred as he raised his arm to strike at it.

"NO!" Momiji cried turning away, holding Noa even tighter against her, looking with alarm back over her shoulder at the irrational look of hatred on his face, "Kusanagi, what are you doing!? You can’t!"

Kusanagi reached out and tugged on Momiji’s arm so that she was spun around and he raised his blade. "I’ve got to! It’s an Aragami! – Move, Momiji!" he ordered when Momiji ducked her head over it and wrapped her arms more securely around him to protect him.

Noa was crying in earnest now and Momiji’s body was shaking as she tried to shield him from the last person she would have ever expected to.

"He is NOT an Aragami!" Momiji contradicted desperately, "His mother is human – Please Kusanagi! Noa is only a baby; he’s not going to hurt anyone! He is the one that Tamanasu is after. We must protect him. It was what Kaede wanted. Please!! Kaede died trying to protect him! I promised her I wouldn’t let anything happen to him!"

Her words had their desired affect, and Kusanagi stepped back, the fires of rage in his eyes abating. His face assumed a wooden expression as he sheathed his blades, his arm dropping slowly to his side, and he abruptly shifted his gaze from the tiny infant to Momiji’s pale and tearful countenance. A silence fell between them and in the background, Momiji could hear Mr. Kunikida’s voice followed by the sound of Kome and Ryoko, and she wondered how they knew to come. Kusanagi’s eyes became brooding as he held her gaze for a moment longer, and then, without warning, he turned and bounded away, leaving her standing alone.

"Dear god!" Momiji heard Ryoko’s shocked voice echo from the landing at the top of the iwatto as Kusanagi tore past her. "Is that – Kaede?"

"Kaede!?" came Kunikida’s reply, and Momiji pushed her legs into motion when she heard him say, "where!? Let me see!"

Oh, no! Please no! Momiji thought, her feet pounding up the stairs, wanting to get to Kaede before they did, to try and shield her from their view until she had time to prepare them for what had happened.

"My Kaede!"

The tortured words echoed around the chamber walls, and Momiji pulled up short, just a few feet from Kaede’s body, guilt laying heavily upon her heart, feeling as if she had once again failed to protect those that she loved from suffering pain. Her eyes burned with sympathetic tears as she watched Mr. Kunikida go down on his knees and gather the lifeless body of his daughter close, his grief stricken expression tearing at her heart. Ryoko crouched down next to him, looking on helplessly as her husband rocked his little girl back and forth, broken sobs rising in waves, shaking his broad shoulders.

"What in the hell happened here?" came Sakura’s voice as she looked around, her eyes moving dispassionately from Tamanasu to where Kunikida sat rocking Kaede. "Hey," she said, recognition sparking in her crimson eyes as she pointed to Kaede, "isn’t that the stupid girl from Tokyo three years ago that gave us all that trouble –" she broke off in a squeal and turned to shoot a nasty look at Kome, rubbing her upper arm where Kome pinched her. "What the hell did you do that for!?" she demanded.

Kome’s eyes glittered with anger and she hissed, "That’s Kaede Kunikida - Mr. Kunikida’s daughter, you moron! You should know that since you read all the TAC files before turning them over to the CIA!"

Sakura’s gaze swung back to Kaede before returning to Kome, her crimson eyes burning with resentment, still rubbing her arm. "Of course I read the files," she said tossing her head, "but you can’t expect me to remember every little detail from something that happened over three years ago – that’s ancient history!"

"God, Sakura," Kome muttered, shoving her hands in her pockets and hunching her shoulders, "you really are dumber than a box of rocks!! But even if you had forgotten, aren’t you supposed to be some kind of psychic? I thought psychics were supposed to be sensitive to other people’s feelings, or is that just the really good ones?"

"Will you two stop it!?" Matsu whispered furiously, stepping between them, "and show a little respect!"

Kome shrugged her shoulder. "Sorry, Matsu," she said over her shoulder as she turned away, ignoring Sakura, her eyes suddenly going across the distance that separated them and settling on Momiji, flicking down with astonishment to the infant that she held to her. "Hey, Momiji, that’s a – baby! And it’s got mitamas!"

Everyone looked in Momiji’s direction, including Mr. Kunikida, and Momiji felt her mouth silently open and close, not knowing exactly where to start. "I – I," she finally stuttered.

"Hey," Sakura said, pushing past Kome and bearing down on Momiji, "I bet that’s the kid that ugly demon was talking about, huh?"

She stopped inches from Momiji, staring down at Noa, taking in his dark hair, his cat-like eyes and the bright blue souls buried in his chest. "Eeyew!" she grimaced, "he sure is an ugly little raisin, isn’t he? All red and wrinkly like that!"

"Shut up, Sakura," Momiji glared at her, putting her hand up and shielding Noa from Sakura’s critical eyes.

"I’ve never seen an Aragami child before," Matsu inserted her focus absorbed by the infant as she moved closer to Momiji herself so that she might get a better look at Noa, "well – that’s not including Lord Susano-oh, but you can hardly count him as Aragami since he is a god."

"N-Noa is not an Aragami," Momiji defended, backing up a step feeling crowded. "His mother was a human – "

Matsu’s gaze followed to where Momiji pointed. "Oh my goodness," she murmured and abruptly left Momiji to go over and see if there was anything that she could do.

Momiji watched her, even though she knew what the outcome would be, and wasn’t surprised when Matsu pulled up the blanket to cover Hikaru’s face.

"Did you say that this baby’s mother was a human!?" Kome blurted out, and when Momiji nodded in affirmation a look of astonishment crossed her face. "You mean an Aragami monster and a human actually…." She trailed off, a look of repugnance on her face and then her body quivered as she tried to shake the vile image from her brain. "That’s totally disgusting!"

"I don’t think that the father was a normal Aragami monster," Momiji replied in a thoughtful manner, remembering Hikaru’s wish that Tsurugi, the father, could see his son.

"I’m sorry, Momiji, but the words normal and Aragami just don’t belong in the same sentence," Kome told her ironically, "and even if it was an abnormal Aragami monster – it’s still gross."

"What is that?" a new voice was added to the fray and Momiji turned to see Sugishita standing with his hand over his nose and mouth to keep from gagging on the smell, looking down at Tamanasu’s corpse.

Even in death, Tamanasu’s red eyes had an evil intensity and his expression remained menacing. Sugishita put out a toe and gingerly pushed at the long blades extending from the Tengugaki’s fingers and he shuddered violently before turning away.

"I assume that’s a Tengugaki," Yaegashi replied, standing next to him, "although it looks completely different from the one that attacked us in Takachiho – except for the red eyes and the mitama."

"That’s Tamanasu, the same ugly bastard that attacked Momiji, Kusanagi and I when we went to Takachiho, isn’t it, Momiji," Sakura chimed in, her eyes turning to Momiji for confirmation.

Before Momiji could reply, Mr. Kunikida rose to his feet, his expression remote, showing none of the pain she knew he was feeling, and he approached Momiji.

"Momiji, I want a report on what happened here," he demanded in his most professional manner, his eyes flickering down to Noa before returning to her face. "Sugishita said that when he tried to call you, you weren’t home. So how is it that you ended up here, with," he paused slightly before finishing, his voice becoming strained, "Kaede?"

Momiji watched as everyone crowded around her and Mr. Kunikida, and she swallowed nervously, trying to pull her disordered thoughts together so that she could give a coherent account of what had occurred.

"Susano-oh called me here." At her words, there was a collective moment of stunned silence.

"Susano-oh?" Ryoko murmured faintly, "Kaede’s Susano-oh? – Why?"

"He called me to protect Noa. When I arrived, Kaede was already here, protecting Noa and his mother, Hikaru. She knew that Tamanasu was coming for them. And she also knew that I was coming."

"This is the baby that the Tengugaki want then?" Kunikida’s eyebrows went up as he looked at the baby. "what would they want with an Aragami child?"

"-He-‘s not an Aragami!" Momiji protested for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"In Takachiho, Tamanasu threatened Momiji," Sakura broke in. "He said that once they found the child, that Momiji’s life would be forfeit."

"Noa is like Kusanagi; part Aragami and part human. If Tamanasu or any other Tengugaki is allowed to absorb Noa’s mitamas," Momiji murmured, speaking instinctively, "then maybe he would become immune to the power of the Kushinada – the same as Kusanagi. If that were to happen, then sacrificing the Kushinada would become meaningless."

Kunikida glanced back at Tamanasu and then his eyes moved to Kaede before turning back to Momiji. "If that’s true, then they will stop at nothing in order to take possession of the child. You’d better let me have him, Momiji –"

"No!" she cried and seeing the shocked look on everyone’s face tried to explain, "I’m supposed to protect him."

"But, Momiji," Kunikida tried to reason, "his presence will only put you in danger. Don’t you see that it would be better to allow the TAC to take him into custody and find a safe place for him?"

"And what about the Aragami?" Kome demanded. "Don’t forget the Aragami blood that we found in Ise. I’ll bet that they will be looking for the baby too, wanting to use him just like the Tengugaki do."

"All the more reason that we should take him into protective custody," Mr. Kunikida responded.

But Momiji was shaking her head vehemently, her green eyes full of determination. "I can’t, Mr. Kunikida. His protection is my responsibility. I don’t know why, but Susano-oh has wanted this all along, and – it was what Kaede wanted, too. It was the last thing that she asked me to do before she –" Momiji stopped speaking as she saw the pain that flitted across Mr. Kunikida’s face at her words.

"Daitetsu," Ryoko murmured, "I can’t think of any safer place for him than to be with Momiji; after all, that means he will be protected by Kusanagi as well."

I wouldn’t bet on that, Momiji thought sadly to herself, remembering Kusanagi’s reaction when he had seen Noa’s mitamas, but she didn’t say anything, wanting them to believe that Kusanagi would offer the child the same protection as he did for Momiji.

"All right," Kunikida agreed, albeit reluctantly, but added, "but you must let us take him for now, Momiji. Just for a few days so that Ms. Matsudaira can examine him and make sure that he is okay."

Matsu stepped forward and Momiji reluctantly handed Noa over to her, feeling that she was breaking her promise as she did so.

"Don’t worry," Matsu told her, seeing the doubt in her eyes, "We just want to make sure he’s a healthy baby boy, that’s all, Momiji. I promise to take good care of him."

Momiji nodded her head but her eyes were still on Noa, watching as Matsu cradled the infant, turned and then climbed the steps to the entrance of the iwatto, which was now faintly illuminated by the early morning sun. Had she really been here that long, Momiji wondered numbly and then turned when she felt Mr. Kunikida lay his hand on her shoulder.

"Why don’t you let Ryoko take you home, Momiji? You look beat," he said.

Momiji hesitated looking into his craggy face. "What about you?"

"I’m going to stay here for a little while," he replied, his eyes going over to where Kaede was.

He would stay with her until the coroner came to get her, thought Momiji sadly, knowing that he had never imagined in his worst nightmare that this would be how he would be reunited with Kaede.

"Mr. Kunikida, Kaede spoke to me after Susano-oh came for her," Momiji told him and Kunikida’s eyes flew back to Momiji’s face in surprise.

"Came for her?" he asked faintly, not understanding.

"Kaede had a crystal mitama on her chest. She told me that it was how she was able to be here. And when she stopped breathing, her mitama still remained illuminated. Then Susano-oh appeared, and said that because Tamanasu hadn’t been able to steal the energy from her crystal, she could return with him." She stopped for a moment, watching the bemused expression on Mr. Kunikida’s face before adding, "He took the mitama, Mr. Kunikida, and when he did, I heard Kaede’s voice. She asked me to tell you that nothing had changed; that she was with Susano-oh, and that she was happy. She also asked me to tell you that your daughter would always love you –"

Momiji broke off as Mr. Kunikida crushed her in a tight hug that expressed both his sorrow and his gratefulness, and Momiji struggled to keep from breaking down, almost wishing that it had been her instead of Kaede that Tamanasu had attacked.

"Thank you, Momiji," Mr. Kunikida told her gruffly, struggling to hold himself together, giving her one more tight squeeze before he let her go and abruptly turned away, saying, "now let Ryoko take you home. You need to get some rest."

Together, Ryoko and Momiji left the iwatto and headed for Momiji’s car. But when they reached it, Momiji kept Ryoko from getting in.

"You need to stay here," she said, putting her hand out to stay Ryoko’s as she reached for the car door.

"No, Momiji," Ryoko objected weakly, although secretly wanting to stay by her husband’s side, "Daitetsu would never forgive me and I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. Let me take you home."

Momiji just shook her head adamantly. "He needs you, Ryoko. Go to him. I’ll be all right on my own. It’s just a short drive," she assured her.

"Are you sure?" Ryoko asked, biting her lip in indecision.

"Yes. Now please go to him," she ordered and watched Ryoko turn and head back up the path without looking back.

Momiji watched her until she was out of sight, and then she climbed tiredly into her car and started the engine, trying to keep her mind blank as she drove home. She was holding on to her composure by a mere thread and when she pulled up in the drive and saw that Kusanagi’s bike was gone, her composure threatened to snap altogether. She could feel the protective wall she had built around herself begin to crumble and would have gone to pieces right then and there had her mother’s car not pulled up in the drive next to hers.

"Momiji," her mother murmured in concern as she and Momiji’s grandmother climbed out of the car. "What’s happened? Are you all right?"

"Hi, mom," Momiji greeted her with a strained smile, "I’m fine. I was just on my way inside – I really don’t want to talk about it now if that’s okay," she replied. Her voice petered out at the end as tears crowded into her throat and choked off her words, knowing that she should tell her mother about Kaede, but also knowing that right now, she lacked the strength to do so.

"Momiji," Moe began, but was stopped when Momiji’s grandmother put a restraining hand on her arm.

"Leave her be," she murmured, and Moe subsided into silence.

Then Momiji’s grandmother turned and waddled closer to Momiji and took her hand into her own, pressing something long, hard and flat into it. "The trouble has only just begun, Momiji. You must be prepared," she said softly.

Momiji looked down, turning her hand over and saw the ornate scabbard of a ceremonial tantou. It was decorated with ornate chokin images; Lord Susano-oh and the first Princess Kushinada gilded in copper and gold. Momiji had never seen it before and she slid the thin bladed knife from its scabbard and stared down at it. There was something carved along the spine of the blade, but it was difficult to read, the letters worn smooth with the passage of time. Momiji squinted her eyes and ran her fingers along the symbols.

Ceremony of Sacrifice

"Grandmother, where did you get this?" Momiji asked, her eyes flying back to her grandmother’s face once she realized what it was originally used for, and wondering why her grandmother had chosen now as a time to give it to her.

"I have carefully guarded it for many years," her grandmother told her quietly, "not even your mother was aware of its existence until today."

Momiji slid a look over at her mother who just stood next to her grandmother, a distressed look on her face.

"I have given it to you, Momiji," her grandmother continued, "because I sense a great evil closing in around you. It is unlike anything the Kushinada have faced before, and I fear for your very soul. This blade was originally used against the Kushinada, during the Ceremony of Sacrifice, and over time, it had come to symbolize the futility of our struggle against Fate and the eternal sorrow of our Destiny. When it was passed on to me, I kept it hidden for those very reasons, unwilling for the history of our clan to chain my own family to the sacrificial altar. But I give it to you now, Momiji, knowing that your destiny has forever changed to path of the Kushinada. I now believe that there is another use for this blade. It has tasted the blood from many generations of our family and there is a great power that resonates within its blade, an almost divine power. It is a formidable weapon, and I ask that you keep it near you, to call upon that power should you need it."

Without another word, Momiji’s grandmother turned and shuffled back to the car, leaving Momiji standing there, her mouth agape as she watched her climb into it with painstaking movements. Then, Momiji turned and looked at her mother, who was still standing close to her, her green eyes full of questions. But Moe shook her head at her daughter’s silent questions, having no answers for Momiji, her own heart heavy with an uneasiness that knowledge of the existence of the blade brought.

"I wish that you had never been born to me, Momiji," Moe murmured miserably, grabbing Momiji and holding her close, her body shaking with sorrow, "my blood has placed upon your life a curse that I would give my heart and soul to keep from you. I am sorry."

And with that, she too turned and walked back to the car. Momiji clutched the scabbard of the blade tightly within her hand as she watched her mother drive away. Then she turned and slowly walked into the empty house, and the tears that she had held at bay for so long, now fell, unrestrained, her battered heart unable to contain them any longer.