Main / Fics / 05.25.02
disclaimers
Oneesan
by M.E. (Magnificent Entity)
manda_hunter@yahoo.com
I can't believe I'm doing this. I haven't seen her in...
years. She was a tiny baby, and I left so soon that I never
saw her eyes open, never saw their color. I can still
remember the blue fuzz that cover the top of her head, as
well the delicacy of her limbs.
When my mother bore my younger sister, I was young, fifty
years old. But at the same time that she breathed her first
breath, my mother breathed her last. That is why I never got
to see her again. With my mother gone, there was no one to
support myself as well as my sister. So that was what first
gave me cause to go through these doors, so long ago,
seeking refuge.
I must say that my mother's pregnancy was quite strange.
While I am fifty years my sister's senior, I am also her twin. We
would have been identical, if I had not been born
premature. It is common among my kind for a woman's
pregnancy to last from four months to as long as two
centuries. No one knows why this happens, it just does.
The guard at the great double doors hesitates in allowing
me entrance. His companion looks up to see what the trouble
is. He seems to recognize me, but it is much more likely
that he mistakes me for my sister, as so many do. They wave
me in, never saying a word.
Inside I have to be quick to avoid slamming head-on into
any the onis that scurry around me. They remind me of ants,
and I smile in wonderment at what Koenma would say if he
found himself being compared to the queen of an ant hill.
The look I imagine on his face is enough to almost send me
into hysterics, and I am quick to compose my face to the
mask of indifference it usually is.
In front of me is his door, and I know that on the other
side she will be standing- waiting? No, not waiting. How
can you wait for something you don't know is coming, for
someone you don't even know exists. Most likely she is
laughing, joking with poor George, who always seems so
exhausted and harried.
My heartbeat quickens as I push the door open, and images
enter my mind unbidden, as I try to imagine what she looks
like. She will look like me, I know that much, and I know
that her hair will be paler than my own, at least it was
when she was a newborn.
My eyes widen when I see her. For some reason I still
expected her to be a tiny baby, maybe a toddler. But she is
not, she is a grown woman, and I now see why Koenma felt it
necessary to finally bring her to my attention. Bright blue
hair springs from a ponytail that sprouts from the center of
her head. Her eyes are nothing like I thought they would be
either. They aren't red like my own, and neither are they
blue like our mother's. Instead they are a pale pinkish
lavender, very pretty.
"Konnichi wa, Botan-chan," I say sternly, remembering the
name that Koenma put in the letter. I never really wanted
her, I even left the chore of naming her King Enma. "I'm
Arashi. Has Koenma informed you as to why I'm here?" I
spare the chibi-god a glance, and can tell that he expected
me to act differently. What does he want me to do, hug her,
tell her how proud of her I am? Why?
"No... He just told me to come to his office," she fidgets
nervously, but I still do not allow my face to show any
compassion. That would admit failure, defeat.
"I'm here to complete the legal unbinding of your adoption
by Reikai. You are now, with my permission, able to venture
elsewhere for work if you wish to." My head hurts, and I
wish to leave. Why did Koenma insist on my presence? The
little sneak didn't actually think that I would take her in
now, did he?
A wild look enters her eyes, and she glances first at
Koenma, then George, who is standing in a corner. Finally
her gaze comes to rest upon me again. "You mean I have to
leave the Reikai?"
"No, all this means is that you are now able to do so if
you wish to, nothing more," Koenma speaks at last. His gold
eyes show how angry his is with me, treating her so
unfairly. I refuse to even turn my head in his direction.
"Oh..." She is now more reassured, more confidant.
"I will be going now, Koenma-sama, if I'm not needed for
anything else," suddenly I feel small, tiny, and wish to be
anywhere but here.
"Go then, you have your own duties to attend."
I turn, not even sparing her a parting glance. There is no
need for her to know why it was important for me to be here,
no need for her to know our relationship. It has never
mattered, and never will.
Goodbye little sister, may we never meet again.
~ Owari ~
Author's Notes:
Arashi is not a new to either myself or my close friends.
At one time I planned to write a rather lengthy fan fic
about her, but other stories came up, and I forgot about
the cold older sister seen here.
She is the darker side of Death, the figure that works its
way into so many of those stories told around campfires. I
rather like Arashi, so I couldn't do away with her
completely. I hope you enjoy her, if you do, that lengthy
fic may someday see an end.
©1999 M.E. also known as Lady Manday of the Orange Root
also known as Manda Hunter, who can be reached at
manda_hunter@yahoo.com. Comments, criticisms, death threats,
etc. are encouraged and welcomed. Flames *will* be
accepted, but if you send me a flame, I might send one back
at you. All tessen wielding bandits from Konan will be
forwarded to Blue Jeans after being liberally doused with
sake. Don't say I didn't warn you!
^top^
