Ties of Karma

Chapter Nineteen

Ties of Karma (enishi)

[Also A mini tribute to Kannazuki no Miko]

“I am on the moon? And that’s the blue earth in the sky? I am dreaming again.” Thought Hitomi as she gazed up at the night view.

She thought she might take a walk, just to explore what a moon in her dream is like.

Hitomi turned around, and saw a shrine on tall pillars, made of white marble. “The original design of Izumo Taisha?! This must be from the anime Kannazuki no Miko!”

Excited that she was having an anime dream, Hitomi ascended the long stairs. She didn’t bother to count, since the shrine sat high up in the air, about 50 metres off the ground -- there would be at least four hundred to five hundred stairs.

After about five minutes, Hitomi stood at the gate of the shrine. (tori-i)

Clapping her hands twice and saying a short prayer, Hitomi entered the building. At the centre, there was a large ice crystal, encircled by ceremonial straw rope and hanging paper talisman. Inside the crystal was a person frozen in ice, her body slightly bent, her eyes closed, her hands holding her own body. Hitomi took a closer look, “Me?!”

“Yes, that’s you.” A voice said.

Hitomi immediately turned to look, and was shocked“Yukari denka!”

Yukari was standing at the entrance, and her white swinging sleeve kimono had swirling shapes of gold resembling the northern lights on the lower half, with silver floral motifs decorating her brocade belt. On the belt, hang two pendants, each with a magnificent jewel centerpiece: one of obsidian, the other of sapphire. She had a crown on her head, with gemstones set on the gold band, and they were peridot, emerald, amethyst, ruby and rose quartz. Instead of having light purple trim on her entire kimono, the collar trim was light lavender, deep green on her left shoulder, light red on her right shoulder, lime green on her left sleeve, and light pink on her right sleeve.

In her hand, there was a hollow sphere of golden thread and silver lace, holding a crystallized spider’s web in its centre.

“Are you... but...could it be that...”

Yukari walked forward, and pushed Hitomi on her shoulders, until Hitomi’s back was pressed against the crystal of ice.

“I am Yukari, who will trample you like dust under my feet, and have you submit to my majestic power.”

She took Hitomi’s hands, lifting them over Hitomi’s head, holding them firmly with her left hand, and kept them there, now Hitomi’s hands were being pressed tightly against the ice.

Yukari gripped Hitomi’s chin up forcefully with her right hand, and continued to whisper into Hitomi’s ear.

“No one can resist my commands. All who dare to rebel against my authority are mowed down like worthless grass. I am seated upon my throne, and you will kneel and bow down in awe. You are but my tool at best, dust at other times, and an annoyance that I gracefully overlook and forgive.”

“I am also Midori, who will sway your heart with suggestive words and leave you no choice but to be swept away by your own intensified desire. And you will long to hear my voice, for without my voice you have no identity. You are only what I tell you to be. Without my voice, you have no meaning, and your existence would be a screaming hollow.”

“I am Kasumi, who can read you like an open book, and no secret can be hidden from me. It takes me just one look to know all your thoughts. My mind binds you like fetters and chains from which you can never escape.”

“I am Yayoi. I make you into my doll, and you obey me and do my bidding. Never again do you have to think. You have no control over what you are, who you are, or when to be yourself. I am the fearsome puppet master, and your fate lies in my hand.”

“I am Ryō, who makes your body a toy and your soul a prisoner. Your mind will be blown and your will is going to be shattered by the addictive pain that I inflict on you.”

“I am your Akishi Oneechan, who comforts you and caresses you. I hold your face and calm your heart with my gentle love. I stay by your side when you are depressed. I rejoice with you when you share news of happiness. The world takes on a more loving hue because of me. You will feel that your store of goodness and kindness would never be depleted as long as you have my presence by your side. Even the difficulties and trials will take on a softer outlook if we face them together.”

“I am your Arashi Oneesama, whom your heart desires, whom you pursue with your whole spirit and mind. I inspire you to self-improve with all your effort, and you feel self-driven when you want to stand shoulder to shoulder with me. We watched sunset together, and we will watch sunrise too, with your head on my lap, and my hands enveloping yours. We will watch the stars, the moon rise, flowers, rivers, falling leaves, falling snow and the floating clouds drifting by. We will listen to the birds, crickets, cicadas, mountain streams, waterfalls, and the howling winter wind. We will treasure each other in stillness while the transient world around us changes seasons. We will be the universe to each other. We will be the eternity to each other.”

Hitomi’s mind went blank.

“...How can this be... It can’t be, can it? You mean it was you all along?”

“No. In fact I was not any of them. But I will be all of them.”

“This is so confusing...” Hitomi thought she might get a headache. “Is this still the Kannazuki no Miko dream that I thought I was in? And what name do I even call you now??”

“This is not a dream. Hitomi’s life was a dream. Kagami’s life was a dream. This, however, is not a dream. And you know what to call me. You devised the longest title that anyone had ever come up with when they think of me.”

“This can’t be... How... you mean...”

“Yes, my dear, say it to me.”

“You are not offended by it, are you? You mean I can?”

“Say it.”

“Izanami the great Goddess”, Hitomi hesitated with embarrassment, “Queen of darkness, Lord of Underworld...” Hitomi continued, “...Yami no Jō’ō Heika, Myōkai no Shujō, Izanami Ōmigami-sama...”.

“Just now, ‘Hitomi’s life is a dream, but this is not a dream’, what can it mean? I lived my whole life as Hitomi, so who’s dreaming to be Hitomi? And if this is not a dream, am I actually on the moon? That can’t be!”

“This is not the moon. In fact, you are in a realm that I have newly created, just for you. The blue planet in the sky is the real earth. Hitomi lived until the age of twenty, and upon a bad break up with Rin, wandered aimlessly in the park until midnight, where she ended her life by jumping into the icy old water of the lake. Your spirit came to the underworld and I knew who you were and what had happened and I wanted to give you a happy ending. So I created this realm in the sky, and wove worlds of fantasy for you to reside. I reset your memory to a month before the break up, and made a world for you to have a happy ending. Then I led you into the world of magic, so you and the newly made Rin could work it out to resume your relationship afterwards. I am not creating a new earth, and this realm is very plain. On top of that, you don’t exist in the real world because you have already died. That’s the reason for you to live in dreams. Hitomi’s dream of being Kagami, Kagami’s dream of being Hitomi. I am with you every moment in the dreams, and we will live together, and never age.”

There was a long silence as Hitomi slowly processed the information.

“...Is the Road of Hirasaka still blocked, then? Are the dead going to come out?” Hitomi suddenly asked.

“I chased Izanagi out of anger, since his love was superficial and selfish to the extreme, despite the fact we had created the world together. He loved me because that was how he felt. He stopped loving me because that was how he felt. His only concern was himself. He liked me as an object. He did not treat me as an equal partner in creation. I haven't come out of the underworld all these years because I didn’t have a reason to do so. That rock which supposedly blocks the road had never been a real barrier to me. Why do you think I stopped the army of ghosts on the excuse of seeing three peaches? That should have been obvious, right? That I even gave a blessing to the peaches instead of cursing them.”

“I stayed in the netherworld because no one in the world that I had created wanted to be with me, but then a certain young girl started chanting my name every evening, and thought of me, and felt sorry for what I had experienced, and started piling title upon titles before my name.”

“That’s the reason. I came just to see you. I came out, made a new realm, and we are with each other. And don’t be embarrassed that the titles you compiled take too long to say, I would be happier if you would call me something special.”

“You should call me ‘goShujin-sama’.”

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[goShujin-sama: master/ mistress/ lord/ owner]

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Hitomi woke up.

“Rin”, she mumbled, “I just had the weirdest dream again, I dreamed that I was on a different planet and...”

“That’s just a dream, my love” Rin kissed Hitomi’s forehead.

“Now back to sleep”, Rin hugged Hitomi’s head, and pressed it tightly onto her chest.

“Yes, goShujin-sama.” Hitomi closed her eyes and went back to sleep, and as a result, didn’t manage to see a shimmering glow of spectral light from Rin’s right eye: in that colourful display of light, there was the glamour of amethyst, emerald, ruby, peridot, rose quartz, obsidian and sapphire.

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[Author’s Note]

This marks the official ending of the story, but it’s not the story in its entirety. There is one more chapter. This version of Chapter Nineteen is about 1700 words. There’s also an uncut version of 2500 words which I will be posting separately.

A few characters share the reading of yukari. Her Highness Yukari Nijō’s name uses the character meaning purple. The chapter name of Ch 20 uses the character that means Karma of Causation. Chosen on purpose, of course.

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