Life Worth Living

The pirates blinked back at the maiden, completely taken aback.
They were sitting in the middle of a serene mountain clearing, untouched by man; the legendary home of the Koi Tear. But instead of being met with a mystical treasure or an ancient dragon, the only thing staring back at them was a strange girl. The whole situation left Senren and Sumire at a loss for words.

“How did you get up here?” the girl inquired, sounding a bit nervous.

“Ah… Well…” Senren attempted to explain. “We simply traveled up the cascading ponds.”

The maiden blinked at him.
“...But you aren't fish.”

She repeated the fact as if it were some fundamental truth that, without, her reality would collapse.

“Yeah, we're not,” Sumire was starting to get her thoughts back together again. “Which is why we were able to climb up the rocks instead of jumping through the water.”

“I see…”

The girl seemed to be afraid of approaching them at all, though she didn't back away either. Seeing this as a sort of common ground they could meet on, Sumire pushed herself to her feet and tried to brush some of the rock debris and water droplets from her clothes.

“Hey, I know we just met and all, but my friend and I kinda came here to see some cool dragon. D’ya know where they might be?”

“A dragon?” The girl looked a little confused. “I’ve never seen any dragons here, not for as long as I've lived in this place.”

“And how long has that been?” Senren asked hesitantly, standing as well. The girl thought for a moment before answering.

“I suppose it's been a few centuries now.”

“C-centuries?!” Sumire exclaimed. “Wait, if you've been here for that long, then…”

The pieces were falling into place in her mind slowly. This strange girl, the only person present in this place, who happened to be speaking to the koi fish as if they were kin. Her pure white hair, dotted with spots and streaks of orange and black, the freckles and concentric markings upon her fair skin, and fingernails that shined like scales. Even her kimono, old and traditional yet obviously becoming tattered, was a clue to her true identity.

There was no grand dragon at the top of Mount Takiyan — this maiden was the legendary Koi Dragon, an ancient Yokai who persevered in the face of death.

“Forgive us for the intrusion,” Senren bowed politely to the girl, apparently having come to the same conclusion. “My name is Senren, and this is my dear friend Sumire. We embarked on a very long journey to get here. May we please have your name as well?”

The girl observed Senren very closely for a moment. Once she felt comfortable enough with his sincerity, she returned his bow.

“It is nice to meet you both,” she replied, straightening. “My name is Nimue. I suppose you could call me the guardian of this place.”

“Guardian… Not to be insensitive, but does that mean you're the last Koi Yokai?” Sumire asked bluntly. “What do you even do up here, all alone?”

Nimue looked solemn at first, but then she smiled and gestured to the koi pond.

“Oh, I'm not alone. I have my friends! I've been teaching them how to make Tears to travel up and down the river.”

When Sumire looked down, she saw several koi flitting about the pond, as carefree and ignorant as any other fish. However, three of them stuck close to Nimue, deliberately. It was as if they were protecting her, or simply didn't want to leave her side.

“Animals can become Yokai after they've lived for a very, very long time,” she continued. “So, hopefully my friends here will become Yokai like me soon, too.”

“I see… I-I hope so too…” Sumire felt her heart break a little bit. Nimue was so alone here, for so long, that she was trying to make Yokai out of the local koi who come and go. Sumire could only imagine the immense loneliness Nimue felt all these years, and to a degree she could relate to it.

“Oh! Where are my manners!” Nimue suddenly exclaimed. “These are my closest friends — Samael, Nishiki, and Tomoya.”

She pointed to the three koi by her feet — one black-and-platinum, one blue-bodied, and one orange-spotted brushed with black — respectively.

“Aha, it's nice to meet you all,” Sumire bent down and smiled at the fish, who jumped up to greet her.

“Yes, a pleasure,” Senren seemed much more awkward with the idea of talking to animals, but he was trying his best to be polite and kind.

“Humans have never made it up here,” Nimue then continued happily. “It's a historically momentous occasion. I should reward you for persevering this far!”

Senren and Sumire looked at each other hopefully. They were finally getting somewhere.

“Actually,” Sumire took a few casual steps forward, offering a friendly smile. “The reason we traveled here was to hopefully see the Koi Tear. The one that you brought here with you.”

“The… Koi Tear…” Nimue became a little nervous again. However, after examining them with her imperceptible gaze, the Koi Yokai stepped aside and offered for them to approach farther into the clearing.

“If that's all, I suppose I could show you.”

The pirates were surprised at how smoothly things were going. It was almost unnerving in itself, as if things were going too well and subtly paving the way for disaster. But, despite that foreboding possibility, Sumire and Senren were powerless to change what might be, so they moved bravely forward.

They followed Nimue past the pond and into the heart of the clearing, where two cozy but obviously makeshift structures stood. One looked like a small shelter attempting to be a rudimentary cottage, complete with a surprisingly effective fireplace and plenty of natural bedding. The other structure was what could only be described as an altar, however its design resembled more of a cradle for something precious than a pedestal for something worshiped. Sitting upon the altar, nestled in a bed of moss and volcanic soil beneath a canopy made of cedar, say a large and lustrous orb.

It held every single color of the rainbow in its shine, the spectrum changing when viewed at different angles. As if viewing a perfectly polished crystal that was somehow created by combining every gemstone, its mere presence radiated energy and power. Like a gift from the gods…

Without a doubt, this was the treasure which brought them here on their strenuous journey — The Koi Tear.

“There you are,” Nimue said. “The object you wished to see is here, that which I've been guarding all this time. I hope it was worth the journey to witness it.”

Senren found himself hesitant to approach, too awed by the grandeur. Unlike him, Sumire approached the orb breathlessly. It was beautiful, special, and right there for the taking. The object which could grant her truest wish; which could make all of her dreams come true. All she had to do was reach out and take it…

Something suddenly struck her heart. Not an object, but a feeling — an imperceptible pang which told her everything about that train of thought was wrong. Sumire couldn't steal the Koi Tear for herself, it would be like stealing Nimue’s reason to live.

“Nimue, I… I actually haven't been entirely truthful,” Sumire admitted. The Koi Yokai merely looked at her with confusion.

“What do you mean?” She asked. “Did you not come all this way for that?”

“We didn't actually come here just to see the Koi Tear,” Sumire continued, turning to face Nimue with a look of shame. “We came here to take it for ourselves.”

“You want… to steal it… You humans…”

“Sumire, be careful,” Senren warned anxiously. “She seems innocent, but we don't know how she might react. What if she—?”

“I don't care,” Sumire interrupted him with finality. “This is wrong. I can't just take it from her.”

“I don't understand…” Nimue didn't seem to hear them, still trying to process Sumire's words. “Why do you humans want to take this away from us? I brought it here to keep it safe from you creatures and your violence. It was entrusted to me to protect. I… I won't let any humans steal it away!”

She was becoming more upset, a fact which made Senren regard her as a potential threat. He moved his hand to his sword, but Sumire held her own up to call him off. Senren may have seen nothing in Nimue except danger, but Sumire saw the truth; Nimue's eyes were clouded with fear.

“I won't steal it from you, Nimue,” she replied calmly. “I only wanted it because… Because I wanted to be free.”

The answer seemed to make Nimue relax, only slightly, curious to hear Sumire continue.

“All I ever wanted to do was sail the open seas. It didn't matter what I was doing it for, I just loved to be out on the waves and breathing the salt air. But… then I got this awful disease that made everyone hate me.”

“A…disease…?” Nimue inquired, her curiosity beginning to overcome her fear. To prove it, Sumire flipped up her eyepatch and revealed the amethyst eye beneath it, earning a quiet gasp from the Yokai.

“Yeah, a disease. Now, no one will let me fish in my village because they think I'm a liability. So, I thought I'd become a pirate and get away from all that, but — ha! I can't even get a crew together to sail a ship! This Koi Tear… It was my only option to fulfill my dreams, and live a life worth living.”

The emotion in Sumire's voice and the vulnerability she shared seemed to speak to Nimue on a level Senren couldn't quite touch. It felt like something familiar yet hard to grasp, or perhaps it was something meant only to be shared between them in that moment. Senren got the overwhelming feeling that his responsibility was no longer to protect, but rather to bear witness to something indescribable.

“A life… worth…” Nimue mused Sumire's words, trying to comprehend them, but the pirate wasn't done yet.

“When we started this journey, I thought we'd just have to beat up some old beast and take it from ‘em,” Sumire admitted unceremoniously. “But if I have to trade someone else's purpose in life for my own, I simply can't do that. I won't do that. I ain't that kinda pirate.”

Nimue seemed to be trying to process more than just Sumire's words. All traces of aggression were gone from her demeanor, replaced instead with the sort of fear one has when confronting something they don't want to confront.

“All this time… I've been here, waiting…” she muttered, fidgeting with her dirty kimono. “My people were given this treasure… We were supposed to protect it. Mother died protecting it. They all died. I'm… I'm all that's left… But your eye… You have the mark…”

Now was the pirates’ turn to be confused. Cautiously, Sumire took a couple steps towards Nimue.

“Mark? What are you talking about, Nimue?”

Tears began to well in the maiden’s eyes as she clutched her kimono tighter.

“When the Prism God gave this to us, he… he said to wait for the ones with His Mark… But, when Mother gave this to me, she told me to… keep it from the humans…”

The tears began to flow faster than her sleeves could wipe them away.

“I don't know what to do… What should I do?! I… I can't betray them!”

Nimue was reduced to sobs and cries, and for a moment Sumire no longer saw an ancient Yokai standing before her. All she saw was a terrified girl holding too much pain to bear.

It was heartbreaking to witness. No one should have to shoulder all of that grief and responsibility on their own. So, Sumire decided that she would help bear it herself, and she bent down and pulled Nimue into a tight hug.

“If you don't want to give it away, then… Come home with us, Nimue.”

In that moment, it felt as if the world stood still. The only sounds were that of Nimue's quiet sobs as Sumire held her. She hadn't been held like that since her mother died, which somehow felt both debilitating and healing at the same time.

When she was ready, Nimue retreated enough to face Sumire.

“You mean, leave here?” She asked sheepishly. “And sail with you?”

“Well, yeah!” Sumire smiled brightly. “If you come with us, you can make sure we use the Koi Tear properly. That way, you won't betray your people or the Prism God. Plus, we'll go on some totally awesome adventures!”

The pirate looked Nimue in the eyes, attempting to convey every ounce of her conviction.

“Let's realize our dreams together.”

Like a lull before a storm, the tears which had slowed soon streamed down the maiden's face even harder. Unable to speak through her sobs, Nimue nodded her approval as hard as she could, then proceeded to collapse in Sumire's arms. Senren had never seen anyone cry so hard.

They didn't know how long it had been since Nimue started bawling, but by the time she'd stopped, night had already fallen. Fireflies danced with the stars, and all of the koi beside Samael, Nishiki, and Tomoya had left the pond. Sumire provided some food for Nimue while they all discussed plans to gather her belongings, the three fish, and the Koi Tear safely.

“I'm actually becoming rather excited,” the Koi Yokai declared, finally able to smile again. “There are so many things I've never experienced.”

“That's right! Ya better be excited!” Sumire exclaimed with fervor. “Just wait, kiddo. Your big sis is gonna show you the whole world!”

Nimue giggled along with Sumire's confident laughter, and even Senren was inclined to chuckle. However, a thought occurred to him.

“I hate to ruin the mood,” he interrupted gingerly. “But we still need to discuss something. What I mean to say is… How are we going to get back down the mountain?”

The women blinked and looked at each other. It seemed the new trio already had their first dilemma to solve together.