thebastion | [Day 196 and 197] Seconds march into the past [OPEN

"I would not suggest anything now anyways, Kaoru, certainly not given the circumstances. Our relationship is...complicated," the onmyoji murmured with a faint smile and tilt of his head to regard the younger man.

"It is something better left for consideration at a later date, if you are quite interested. I intend to share a very long life with you. I think...children would only enrich it."

"We'll talk it over again later then, yes. In any case, we're woefully under-equipped to begin with." He still wasn't entirely sure how it was supposed to work out… surely it would be like trying to bake a cake without an oven. Or… no, that was exactly what it would be like. He had every confidence in Seimei's abilities, but… not in his ability to make children appear out of thin air.

But they had got rather ahead of themselves. Like Seimei said, they had a long time ahead of them to figure out this sort of thing - however they were going to figure it out.

"Well...let us not dwell on such things. For now, we have somewhere to be and a short leash with which to reach it," Seimei murmured, inclining his head to the path before them.

As with many of the pieces of Skyway that had been revealed to the residents recently it was not a terribly long journey. There was a bit of climbing involved and things were a little hairy on occasion but their combined skill was enough to see them through. There wasn't much in Izumo that they couldn't handle, as though the creatures of the Skyway themselves acknowledged that it was a hallowed place. True to his word it was littered with shallow graves and old wood and stone markers. Many of the bones were trampled and destroyed but the sheer numbers were overwhelming. An entire people simply wiped out.

Seimei's mood grew serious and quiet when they passed the first grave. After that, he had very little to say of his own accord, though he remained willing to answer questions.

The village, half-consumed by nature, was enough to give anyone a healthy dose of the heebie-jeebies, even Kaoru. He drew a little closer to Seimei on seeing the first piles of bones, and tried not to step on anything as he looked around them both. Unwittingly or other wise, it was rather bad form to stand on a grave.

Seimei had warned him, and he had been prepared, but… it was the size of some of the bones that made him draw in his breath. Small and fragile, and unmistakably a child's bones.

He tore his gaze away and swallowed, tugging on Seimei's sleeve and half-dreading the answer,

"…why did this happen, Seimei? Were these people dangerous…?"

"Someone thought they were," he answered a bit cryptically, though not with the intention of being so. His gaze drifted down, looking at the hand tugging his sleeve before reaching out and wrapping both arms around the both with a long sigh. It was as much for his own comfort as Kaoru's.

"Izumo was a powerful holy place with so many attachments to the Gods. The people were peaceful. Mystics and healers, mostly. Avarice and fear of the unknown started a complete genocide. Holy relics were stolen and taken to Kyoto. The saying goes that history books are written by the 'winner', and it is true. No story is ever wholly accurate. I can promise you one thing: what happened here was utterly senseless."

Another sigh, Seimei leading them around graves to the temple cave where he had faced Genkaku an opened the gate to heaven.

"...There are reasons I loathe mankind, Kaoru. It is not out of a sense of superiority. It is out of disappointment."

"But even the children…?" He knew was a pointless question; that in genocide it was never 'even the children?' but 'especially the children.' If a leader wanted to exterminate an entire clan or village, he wouldn't leave any possible link behind, no matter how small.

And Seimei was right. Most of their civilisations were built - even continued to be built - on senseless bloodshed; on exterminations like this.

He breathed a sigh of his own along with Seimei's, grateful for his lover's arms, and allowed himself to be steered as he calmed himself down. It was a little relieving to be away from the graves, but it still felt rather like his hair was standing on end, which was particularly unnerving.

"Was this the centre of the village?"

Seimei's eyes drifted over Kaoru at the question of children, wondering if perhaps he was wrong for bringing the boy here. Maybe he was, it was too late now. He knew he didn't have to reply, at least; the boy was smart enough to know the answer on his own.

"Spiritually, yes, physically, no. The village center is a little further up that way, where they started building around the cave, but the cave is what started it all," the onmyoji explained, issuing a wordless command for his attending shikigami to light the cave as they descended.

He was amazed at how well-preserved everything was. The carvings, the paintings, all of it still there. Bones were scattered in the center of the platform he had once been trapped on, and he knew instinctively that they were Genkaku's. Lips moving in silent prayer, Seimei leaned over and ran his fingertips across the dusty instrument the man had played in his last moments.

"This was the village leader. Only he and his two children survived. They ascended to the Heavens and Genkaku-sama exhausted his life saving me from death. Granted, he was the one responsible for my death in the first place, but it is no small thing to save someone like me."

Given their earlier conversation, Kaoru was trying not to dwell on children so much. If they were to have them - even if they could - was there any guarantee they would be able to protect them? Or would they be rendered just as powerless?

Even if he were seriously considering the possibility, it was out of the question until he knew he could guarantee their safety in this world. Not until he knew he could keep safe what he already had.

Anger flickered through him for a moment when he saw the pile of bones, when Seimei explained. Genkaku may have tried to attone for himself in the end at with his own life but... it didn't change that he hurt Seimei in the first place. Even if his anger was a little irrational, when Genkaku had clearly been dead for years - thousands of years, in Kaoru's own timeline. What was he going to do? What could he do? If anything, rather than getting angry shouldn't he be thankful? It was at the cost of his life that Seimei was even here with him, after all.

He had released Seimei's arm when he stepped towards the bones, himself lingering at the edges of the platform and not sure whether or not he should venture closer. After another moment's hesitation, he stepped onto the plinth behind Seimei, pressing his palms together and closing his eyes for a moment.

Edited 2014-06-24 09:36 (UTC)

Kaoru's prayer pleased the onmyoji and he watched for a moment before drifting off to explore the chamber and its various connections, eyes drifting over the paintings. He dearly wished they could remove some of the pieces and take them to the Bastion. He could place them in the garden somewhere, or on bases in the house. They deserved to be properly recorded, and he considered asking the large dragon fellow for help later. Perhaps he would assist...

He paused, eyes flicking to the side when his attention was caught by a flash of dull light down a long tunnel.

"Kaoru..." he murmured, holding up a hand and gesturing for the young man to stay back and behind him. "I am going to see something. Do not go anywhere alone, please," Seimei added, moving silently in the direction of the brief glint he had spied.

It was about that same time that the skull near Kaoru's feet trembled, clattering softly before rolling to one side and turning empty sockets upon the redhead.

He smiled at Seimei as he lowed his hands, nodding.

"I won't wander. I promise."

Kaoru watched him go, then turned on the spot, looking at the walls and the artwork there. Some kind of story? Unfortunately the movement of the skull distracted him from puzzling it out. When the skull shifted and rolled, Kaoru instinctively took a step back but otherwise kept his word, even as a shudder ran through him. He glanced around uneasily in search of his onmyoji, clearing his throat before he called,

"Seimei...?" He hesitated, wet his lips and tried again, "...uh, Seimei?

"...Seimei, Genkaku's staring at me."

"Tell him to stop, then," Seimei answered distractedly from further down the corridor, trying not to move his eyes from where he had seen the glimmer. "Its just a ghost, Kaoru, it can't hurt you," he added, attempting to be reassuring while being too busy thinking of something else to make a real effort.

The skull clattered softly again, scraping along the stone floor, other bones scritching and scratching along, clattering together like brittle bits of kindling inside of while a small animal might have been rummaging. There were no tendons, no muscles or flesh - it couldn't do anything or go anywhere on its own, but Kaoru's presence made the spirit curious.

"Actually, would you mind bringing him over here?" Seimei asked suddenly. "He might know what I'm looking for and directions would be useful. I am certain he can appreciate my desire to preserve what is left of Izumo."

Just a ghost. Just a ghost? Really helpful, Seimei. Ghosts didn't exist in Kaoru's world. They were not a natural part of his life before he came to the Bastion. They were just tricks - not real.

So he was a bit scared of trying to interact with them like normal now, and more than a little uncertain about whether or not to take Seimei's advice. What if the skull actually obeyed?

"Bring him?" Kaoru echoed, glancing between the pile of bones and Seimei's back. "...all of him? Or is it just his skull I'm bringing over?"

"Ah? Oh, just the skull is enough. I have no intention of putting him together and carrying him anywhere. If we do anything with the rest it will simply be burying it near his wife, if he pleases. Come on now, it is nothing to be afraid of - right Genkaku?" he asked, looking over his shoulder and arching a brow.

The skull and other bones fell still, teeth clacking together noisily enough to echo in the chamber. Evidently that was warning enough.

Jeez, Seimei. The things Kaoru does for you.

He turned and looked down at the pile of bones and took a deep breath. Right then.

"Looks like I'm taking you on a trip, Genkaku." ...and that's a skull in his hands. A human skull. A real one. He would try not to think too much of that as he took the step down and started to join Seimei.

The skull and its owner didn't seem terribly put off by being moved. When Kaoru came bearing his passenger, Seimei reached out and took the bony bit, turning it over in his hands and raising it face to face.

"Well, old friend, curious how the tables turn. I must say, I did not expect to see you here, even in this condition. Bear with me," the onmyoji murmured, holding the skull in one hand and pulling out one of his shikigami dolls. He could have used a simpler spell, simply given the man the power of speech, but he was feeling generous and chose to press the doll against the forehead of the skull.

A whispered word and Seimei stepped back, the skull floating in the air on its own before being enveloped with a thin mist that spread to the ground, coalescing into a human form with actual solid mass.

A moment later and Kaoru was looking at Genkaku himself in all his former glory - such as it was.

"Seimei..." the man murmured, drawing his chin up. The onmyoji simply smiled.

"A pleasure to see you again. Genkaku-san, may I introduce Hitachiin no Kaoru."

"...Mm." the older man murmured, bowing politely to Kaoru before casting a bland look Seimei's way.

"Oh do not look at me so. You should be pleased - you got your wish. All the world is gone and Izumo still stands. Poetic, I think," Seimei drawled, folding his hands into his sleeves. Genkaku frowned slightly before nodding his head.

"No one to appreciate it but you, though. Small surprise."

"Ah yes, and I thank you for the luxury," the onmyoji replied with a fox-faced smile. Genkaku simply sighed, casting his weary gaze on Kaoru again with idle curiosity. After all, the boy was certainly not the sort of person Genkaku would be familiar with, much like Seimei had not been.

Well.

Kaoru had always known Seimei was good. But he didn't know he was that good.

"...a pleasure to meet you too." He hoped Seimei would forgive the lack of intonation in his voice - it was taking everything he had not to reach out a hand and see if it went right through. Feeling up a stranger would be the height to rudeness.

He looked solid enough, but looks could be deceiving.

"So. Where are we going?"

Come on Kaoru, have more faith in the man. He might be diminished but he's hardly obsolete.

"That depends on your intentions," Genkaku answered, earning a raised brow from Seimei who then inclined his head and gestured to the side.

"Izumo is crumbling, all of our country is gone. I intend to collect everything I can and take it back to the Bastion - a haven where the last of us survive."

"I know of it," the elder murmured, reaching up and touching his forehead lightly where the paper doll had been. "Your shikigami is swift with details."

"I imagine so. You are already dead, so secrets are hardly worth keeping from you. Do you approve, Genkaku-san?"

The older man inhaled deeply and blew a long sigh, turning his head to regard the chamber behind them, riddled with cracks and caked with dust of the ages. Eventually he nodded, shaking his sleeves back and touching a beaded bracelet that matched one around the wrist of his corpse.

"The emperor moved several artifacts here, years later. It was restored to the status of a holy place. It would be for the best if these things were not lost. You have my blessing, Abe no Seimei. Come."

Waving them on, Genkaku led the two down the corridor to a spacious chamber with rotted wood trellis gates and several chests around a pedestal. The chests were easy enough to open and contained little more than scrolls and books but the pedestal held Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, one of the three Imperial Regalia.

"Where are the other pieces?" Seimei asked, lifting the sword carefully.

"I cannot tell you. If they are meant to be found, they will be."

"Of course," Seimei murmured, adjusting his bindings to accommodate the weapon at his hip. "And the remains?"

"Forget them. I will leave with the others when you take the spirit of Izumo with you. You, child..." Genkaku murmured, turning to Kaoru thoughtfully. "While Seimei scavenges the ruins, will you attend me for a time?" he asked, to which Seimei looked at Kaoru and nodded slightly, indicating it was his choice to go or not.

Hey now. Kaoru's doubts were mostly due to him still not knowing how Seimei's powers or his shikigami work. He couldn't help it.

He couldn't help but puff up a little indignantly, not so much at the call to be attended (he was close friends with Tamaki, after all) but more at being called a child. As far as he was concerned, he wasn't one though... he relatively speaking, he supposed, it was the case.

Eventually he dipped his head in consent, glancing at Seimei.

"Fine. Call if you need me?"

"Of course," Seimei replied, fingertips sliding along the hilt of the sword in reverence as much as anything as he turned away and began going through the vault.

To Genkaku, everyone was a child, and he meant no offense by it, walking off and expecting Kaoru to follow. He had the same sort of presence as Seimei, elegant and refined with an odd mix of arrogance and humility. He lead them back to the main chamber, standing over his other remains for a time, gazing idly upon them and saying nothing.

"Are you Abe no Seimei's pupil?" he asked, not looking up from his bones as he addressed Kaoru.

He watched Seimei a moment, before turning to follow. Back to the bones. Great. Wonderful, even. But at least Kaoru managed not to let his excitement overwhelm him and went obediently after Genkaku.

Kind of rude, not to look at the person you're talking to, but he supposed some concessions could be made, given that the man was standing in front of his own skeleton.

"His lover." He didn't see any point in skirting around it and wasn't about to. He clasped his hands behind his back, feeling a little underdressed - it was hard not to, surrounded by both Genkaku and Seimei in their layers and layers of robes.

"Ah. I suppose I should not be surprised," he murmured, nodding slowly and crouching by his bones, turning them over slowly until he found his prayer bead bracelet. Rising, he turned, holding it out slowly.

"Take these. There are other treasures here as well that you are welcome to, but this one is from me. I have a feeling you could use them, in the near future," the elder man murmured, tilting his head slightly without readable expression. What he meant was Kaoru's guess, but it was a fairly notable offer in that it was a historical relic, a piece of a ruined culture and a powerful priest's own possession. Not to mention the novelty of being gifted anything by a dead person in the first place.

"You have a twin..." he said after a moment, obviously enlightened by the shikigami acting as his transportation. "...Red-haired twins. Abe no Seimei is truly blessed by the Gods in everything he does," he sighed, sniffing softly. "There is another bracelet similar to this one laying around somewhere...ah. Over there, under the fallen brazier. Go and fetch it. It would be more auspicious for you both to have one."

"…yes. His name is Hikaru."

He hesitated, before accepting the bracelet with both hands and raising it briefly with a murmured "Thank you," even though Genkaku's words gave him a chill. The other man's words seemed strangely prophetic and he couldn't help but wonder what it was he was to pray for.

A slight bow as he slipped the bracelet onto his own wrist and moved to one of the braziers marking the eight points on the platform, crouching to shift one to the side to find the second bracelet as promised, bringing it back.

"…are you sure it's all right for me to take them?" He wasn't trying to refuse Genkaku's generosity, and he knew the dead would have no use for them. But he felt almost guilty all the same. "This isn't my time. And it isn't my place. Is it really okay…?"

"For all you or anyone else knows, you could be a Child of Izumo," Genkaku replied, folding his arms slowly and regarding the boy with a sober, cool expression. Seimei was old and wise in his way, certainly, but there was a gravity to Genkaku that the onmyoji never affected. A bitter, weary edge to his wisdom.

"The people who died here were not the only people of Izumo. There were others who did not live in the village, who married elsewhere, who traveled, who ran, who survived. The time and the place never matters when you carry an inalienable truth in your heart. It took me a long time to understand that," he admitted, pacing around the chamber and gazing at the stone walls and their paintings.

"I would rather the memory of Izumo lived on, carried by thoughts of peace and generosity. Those were the people of the Izumo I lost. Abe no Seimei is carrying Izumo out of this place, and so shall you. Twin boys with hair like fire and the son of Kuzunoha? Ha, I should be honored to have such people create a new Izumo. The paintings your people will eventually make of you will be quite exciting, I am certain."

Although Kaoru was uncertain, he nodded anyway. He knew his family could trace their heritage back to the old capital, but beyond that…? They had no military distinction to speak of. Rather, it was their art that had made the Hitachiin family, and a peculiar quirk of their line that the family name descended not through the first born sons, but the first born daughters. With so little of his early family history known, he could not be sure of Genkaku's words either way.

"…I will be sure to give it to him." He slipped the bracelet onto his left wrist. "…we will carry on that legacy for you."

"Better you three than myself. I made terrible choices that cost us everything," the elder replied, sighing softly to himself and trailing quietly around the chamber, touching the rock faces here and there, tracing the paintings.

"So long as people from our country survive, Izumo may live on. I am certain Seimei would wish to preserve more of our time but if Izumo is all that lives, I am not terribly burdened by grief. I had no love for the capitol. Still...I do hope you all find more as time goes on. It is enough that I will now rest in peace. I wonder if there is a place to go for souls like mine, now," he mused aloud, turning slowly to regard Kaoru.

"What do you plan to do, now that the world has crumbled away to dust?" came the curious remark as Seimei returned from the small vault, jingling softly. He held an elaborate necklace in one hand, head tilting with interest.

"Lady Aone's necklace and a few other pieces of interest. Who was responsible for storing these things?"

"Is it not obvious?"

Seimei's face fell slowly before he covered the expression with one of his usual smiles, bowed politely and returned to the vault wordlessly. Genkaku turned to Kaoru and clarified.

"Minamoto no Hiromasa."

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