Side Story - Mitsukai's Past Mitsukai looked out the window of the plane as it soared over the ocean. She sighed and glanced back at Hana, who was asleep in the seat next to her. She thought it was amazing Hana could fall asleep at all. They had already been flying for six hours and Mitsukai was unable to get a bit of sleep. She had too much to think about. This is the second time I’ve had to leave something precious to me behind. She thought as she leaned her head against the window. A single tear rolled down her cheek, and fell onto the armrest. She clenched her hand into a fist and pushed it into the thick window. The sun was setting in the distance. She looked out the window again, towards Japan. Why does that country hold so much pain for me? She smiled in a mocking way. She knew the answer to her own question, though she despised it from the bottom of her heart. Last time… I promised myself I’d never think of it again…but… this is the second time I’ve had to leave something behind that I could never return to… Even after telling herself not to, she began to recall the last time she had to watch those islands disappear through an airplane window.
A little girl ran through a large open field of knee length grass. She was no older than six. The sun was bright and the sky was dotted with white, fluffy clouds. It was the perfect day for being outside. The little girl started spinning around in circles, her white dress twirling out around her. Finally, she collapsed into the grass, laughing her lungs out. Her red tinted brown hair was streaming all over her shoulders and the grass that surrounded her. She sat up, smiling brightly. "Okaasama! Otousan! Oneesama!" The little girl called across the field. Her parents smiled and waved back at her. They had their arms around each other’s shoulders. The girl waved back. Her sister, who looked to be around fourteen, was waving her arms above her head and was smiling. The little girl stood up and started jumping up and down. "Come here!" The three of them called to her. The little girl stopped jumping and took off across the field. She ran like there was no tomorrow, her white dress catching around her legs. After a while the girl stopped smiling. It seemed the faster and farther she ran, the farther her family became from her. She slowed down and stopped running all together. She could barely see her family now. "Okaasama! Otousan! Oneesama!" She had her hands cupped over her mouth as she called for them. Then her family disappeared from her view completely. The sky clouded over, and became dark. Thunder roared through the sky, with streaks of lighting flashing every few seconds. The girl rubbed her shoulders as rain began to fall. From the distance she heard screams, and then an insane laugh. The last thing the girl saw was a great staring evil figure, cloaked in black.
The little girl sat up suddenly, panting hard. She had a look of terror and surprise on her face. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and let herself catch her breath. She then looked at her surroundings. "A dream… it was only a dream…" She sighed in relief. She was in a large canopy bed with white sheets, in her bedroom. It was a very large room, part of a large old Victorian style house. The room was strangely dark and quiet. The girl looked around slowly. An ominous wind passed over her; she shivered and hugged her shoulders. Nothing else in the room was ruffled by the wind, and both her windows were closed and locked. She could hear a storm thundering on outside. Something didn’t feel right to her. She got out of her bed and walked across the room to her door, and glanced out through a small crack. The hallway was quiet, too quiet, it seemed. She opened the door slowly and walked out into the hallway. Her bedroom was on one end, and her parents on the other. She tiptoed down the hallway. Half way through the hallway there was a landing, where stairs led down to the front hall. She took a small glance at the front hall as she passed it, but stopped suddenly and leaned against the rail. The rest of her family was lying in the front hall, twitching and bent in strange positions. They looked as if they were in extreme pain, but could not scream. The little girl looked on in absolute terror. It was only when she heard the same insane laugh that she had heard in her dream that she looked up. A man was laughing as he stood over his prey. His dark green hair spiked out in a messy way. The girl backed against the wall in pure horror. The man heard her and looked up, he was no longer laughing. The little girl saw that his eyes were a strange red color that she had never seen before. He smiled up at her and started to walk towards the stairs. "I guess I missed one of you." He reached the stairs and started to ascend. The girl backed herself farther and farther into the wall. The man finished climbing the stairs and stepped onto the landing. The little girl slid to the floor, looking up at him with fear. He smiled down at her, and she tried to look away, but found herself to be locked in terror. The man laughed insanely and opened what appeared to be a third eye. The girl blinked and stared. This was no ordinary man. This was no man at all. I’ve heard tales… this is a yokai… The little girl’s eyes were truly round with fear. The yokai stared down at her with his third eye, and reached out to grab her throat. The little girl suddenly came over herself and thrust her arms out in front of her face, as if she could block. She sat in that position for a few minutes, then opened her eyes and lowered her arms. She stood up and looked down at the front hall again. The yokai was lying in front of the door, unconscious. The little girl gasped. She had no idea how that had happened. She looked around quickly to see if anyone else was around. There was no one except her dead family, the yokai, and herself. She raised her hands in front of her face. Did I… The yokai came back to consciousness and jumped up. He glared at the little girl who had repelled his strong Jagan eye. "Why you little!" The girl ignored him, and continued to inspect her hands. The yokai became very annoyed and stomped to the bottom of the stairs again. "No one ignores me! I will kill you!" The girl became annoyed and glared down at the yokai. Her eyes lost their pupils, and turned an eerie off white color. She pointed her hands at the yokai. At first, the yokai just gave her a mocking look, then one of surprise. He was lifted off the ground, as if by an invisible rope. He raised his hands to his neck and tried to pull at some invisible hand, as if it was choking him. He struggled for a few seconds; then his hands feel limply to his side. The girl glared at him and moved her hands and arms as if she was throwing something. The yokai was thrown through one of the large stain glass windows that were on either side of the front door. Rain came in through the broken window. The girl’s eyes stopped glowing and she collapsed onto the landing.
"Oniisama! She’s still alive! This girl is still alive!" "Let me see! These other three are dead…" The little girl opened her eyes as she heard people talking around her "She’s coming to." Someone said who was sitting next to her. The girl sat up and looked around. A girl who appeared to be her age was looking over her with concern. She had long brown hair, and a tail. "Who are you?" The little girl asked as she noticed a teenage boy also standing over her. The other girl smiled. "I am Aohiki Kiragi, green goddess of wisdom." "D-did you say goddess?" The little girl’s eyes widened with wonder. "Oh, yes…" The teenage boy, who looked about nineteen, smiled in a proud way. "I am Koenma-sama! Son of Enma-sama of the other world." The little girl backed up against the wall. "Son of Enma-sama, and a goddess!" She looked between them both, in a confused, awed way. "Can you please tell us your name?" Aohiki said as she looked concernedly at the little girl. "M-my name is Takai Mitsukai." The little girl squealed. "Why are you in my family’s house?" She looked in between them. "A yokai was killed here, along with three humans." Aohiki responded. "Do you know how?" It seemed as if Mitsukai was going to shake her head, but she stopped. "Yes." Mitsukai looked up at Aohiki. "That yokai killed my family, so I threw him through the window, sort of..." "How did you throw a yokai with a Jagan eye through a window?" "What’s a Jagan eye?" Aohiki pointed to her forehead. "He had a third eye on his forehead that could controls people’s minds." "Why didn’t it control my mind?" Aohiki smiled. "That’s what we are trying to figure out. Now, please, can you explain to us how exactly you threw the yokai through a window?" Mitsukai glanced down at the front hall. "I held up my hands, and I felt… this power… I felt like I could control things with my mind! So I picked him up," She held her hands up to show them. "And I kind of strangled him, and then threw him into the window." Aohiki and Koenma exchanged glances. Koenma walked down the stairs and went to look at the three bodies and the yokai outside. "Mitsukai, you have telekinesis, I believe." Mitsukai gave her a strange look. "What’s telekinesis?" "It means you can move things with your mind. Like," Aohiki looked around the landing. "That book on the table. Try to bring it over here without moving." Mitsukai turned and looked at the table, but she couldn’t see the book from her position on the floor. "I can’t see the book…" "You don’t have to." Mitsukai closed her eyes and imagined the table. In her mind’s eye she saw a book lying on it. She imagined the book coming to her hands, and opened her eyes. She was holding the book. "How did I do that...?" "You have telekinesis and telepathy. That’s why you could move the book without seeing it. That is also why the Jagan eye had no effect on you." Mitsukai stared at her. This has to be a dream, all a dream... She closed her eyes and breathed slowly. She reopened her eyes and looked at Aohiki. "I’m not dreaming, am I?" Aohiki shook her head. Mitsukai looked down in a sad way. "That also means my parents, and Oneesama are dead." It wasn’t a question; she could read the answer in Aohiki’s mind. Aohiki sighed. "I’m sorry, Mitsukai." She stood up. Mitsukai looked up at her. "Where are you going?" Aohiki held out her hand. Mitsukai grabbed it and stood up next to her. "Reikai. And you’re coming with me. Since your family is dead, you are going to be staying with me. But we need to go to Reikai first." Mitsukai sighed. She followed Aohiki down the stairs and into the front yard. The sky was bright blue, and cloudless. Just like my dream, except there were clouds…
Six months later Aohiki, disguised as Hana, and Mitsukai were flying towards the United States. Mitsukai watched the islands of Japan disappear into the ocean. A single silent tear ran down her cheek. I promise, from this day forth, I will make sure no one has to go through the pain of losing anyone they love, because of yokai. I will get stronger. I will train with my powers. I will make them pay, all yokai. She glared out the window, and all the kindness in her heart dissolved, all except for her only friend, Aohiki. And I swear to always protect Aohiki… And she stayed like that, for another eight years.
Mitsukai sighed. She had killed many evil yokai since then. She had become a hundred times more powerful than she was at age six. Who would have thought… Mitsukai smiled as she leaned her head against the window again. Who would have thought… that I would like a yokai, after all that? Mitsukai reached into her pocket. No…not like… She pulled a pure red rose out of her pocket, and leaned her head back against the window, then closed her eyes. Not like…love. The End |
