Transformation

How does one prepare themselves to be in the presence of a great spirit? The prayers and sacrifices don't prepare you for this. Nothing prepares you for this. The moment you see them you are under the influence of their magnetism, pulled in whatever direction they will. At least, that's how it feels to me. I cannot speak for the other two witnesses.

As the Peacock moves, I move, I follow, and so do Nobunaga and Hideyoshi. It doesn't really feel like we are walking though, I'm not even completely sure that our feet are touching the ground as we follow the path that leads down to the water gazebo.

Once there the peacock stops and turns towards us. I assume they are hearing what I am hearing, even though the strong, familiar, female voice is clearly inside my head. "Billions, perhaps even a trillion different branches of time and reality I have been searching for you. Eons have passed since I last ruled over this realm and only this stream of time gives me the chance to overthrow my brothers and rule again." As the white beast begins to descend from the sky and on to the water her large wings open and images of a great black dragon and the great nine tailed fox flash with the figures of great warriors and kings of the past at their feet all of them behind the image of Kenshin and Mitsuhide.

"Did you really think the only reason that Uesugi brat treated you so ruthlessly was because of the Oda?" A small chuckle comes from the spirit as she rests on top of the water like a swan. "I have witnessed it all turn out in thousands of different variations: you're Nobunaga's bride, you're his concubine, you fall pregnant with the dragon spawn and kill youself, or you run from Nobunaga and into the arms of another for marriage. All of those other options and your flames have never burned brighter than in this version of reality where you've chosen these two men and they in turn have chosen you without killing each other." Warmth spreads through me at her words, all my wonderings about the way they . "This is the first path that has a glimmer of hope of ending both the dragon and the fox's reigns." Both Nobunaga and Hideyoshi grab one of my hands, although I hardly notice as the heavenly creature before me continues. "Now that I have entered your realm in this form my siblings will know and they will reinforce their pieces. Because they've been using their powers to keep or to war for their lands their powers are weaker and spread thinner than mine and because I have waited patiently for the right path, I am able to endow you with more of my strength than they could dream of giving now." Nobunaga steps forward, offering himself as the vessel for her power, and she laughs. "Leave it to a man to think he can handle my flames. You don't have what is needed for this, because it will take too much of a sacrifice."

My voice is steady as I remember the dream with my father, the game of go, sacrificing important pieces to ensure the win in the end, isn't that what I did? "What do you need from me Kujaku? I am willing." Both my hands are squeezed a little tighter.

"Before you decide how willing you are, you should know the price of holding so much fire from the phoenix spirit that you speak to." My throat tightens as it continues to sink in that I am talking to one of the great creatures of destruction and creation.

Nobunaga speaks firm and low. "Whatever the price is, let me pay it." Hideyoshi follows, "And if one man isn't enough, could two suffice?"

More laughter erupts from the dazzling eternal bird. "All the men in the world couldn't replace what Rina has. I told you, her flames have never burned brighter in any other stream of time or reality and if they hadn't shown up the way they did earlier this evening, I wouldn't have bothered making myself known. It seems that the Oda's own powerful flames and the Toyotomi norMalloy calming winds increase the flames that have been in you since birth. Your flames should be enough to survive my gifts, but you will lose every reincarnation ahead of you but one, and I cannot tell you which one it will be."

"No." Nobunaga's word would be a growl if it wasn't for the spirit in front of us as he squeezes my hand.

The phoenix speaks in a calm, matter of fact tone. "It's not your choice Oda brat. Your destiny is to unify this land, if that is what you truly want then you will let Rina make her own decision."

I speak, clear and sure. "I will always take their concerns into consideration before making my decisions."

The phoenix rises to her talons and spreads her tail feathers. She sounds humored. "Perhaps that is your secret little one. Perhaps that is why your flames burn so bright. Whatever the case, you should know, Nobunaga will not be the one to sit on the throne of a unified Japan."

I squeeze his hand now as I speak. "Then who?" I ask.

"Toyotomi Hideyoshi will be the face of unified Japan, along with his first wife: the phoenix bride of the demon king." The goddess speaks plainly. "In every line of reality I have witnessed, if Nobunaga does not die at Honnoji, Japan will not submit to unity. My brother, the fox spirit, and his vessel, Mitsuhide Akechi, must believe that they have defeated the devil king and join the dragon in the North or your army will be split in half, ripped apart at the seems, and you will never bare the first of the Oda or the Toyotomi's children."

My head spins as I process everything she is trying to tell me. The deity on the water must be able to read my mind, because as soon as I make up my mind I feel the magnetic pull again. The men are not moving from their spot however and grip my hands as tight as they can until I slip out of their reach and they both yell my name.

My feet hit the water's surface but I don't sink and the voices of my men begin to fade as I walk towards the phoenix on my own volition until she is able to wrap me in her wings. I turn around just in time to see Hideyoshi holding Nobunaga back from jumping into the water, both of them look terrified as the wings close around me and my vision fades to black.

I can see nothing and I have lost all sense of where I am as I float in what I can only describe as emptiness. Small golden lights begin to float towards me on what now looks like pitch black water that I am standing on. As the lights get closer I can see that they are like the lanterns that my village sent out every year for the dead. Each lantern that passes has moving pictures on the panels of me.

I watch my mother bring me into the world, I watch my childhood. As a second layers of my childhood passes I don't recognize it, I don't know this memory. "Another you." The voice of the Phoenix fills the space. "I will show you what their choices brought and you can decide what choices you will make."

The lanterns begin to rush passed me faster, building in speed until they become a blur, and yet I miss nothing. When it is finished I have collapsed to my knees, still only sinking an inch into the water, nearly drowning in my tears though. "I'll do anything you ask if you let me keep them!" I sob my words to a dark and vast empty space.

A yellow light forms just beneath the dark waters in front of me and slowly a human form begins to emerge, at first looking like they are covered in a sheet of light until that film tightens around the form and fades to reveal a pale woman with bright yellow eyes and long shimmering golden hair. He expression is blank until her eyes find me and her features warm and she kneels beside me. "Rina." The voice of the Phoenix comes from her and I do not feel comforted. "You've seen what I've seen, and so have they." In my mind she shows me Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, collapsed on the gazebo in what looks like a deep sleep.

Seeing them only makes me more resolute. "Is there nothing you can do to help me keep them?"

He hand lightly presses against my cheek. "Without risking you or the child your carrying..." her eyes drop along with her hands to her knees and brows knit as she contemplates my request.

As she formulates a response I also look down, to my abdomen, and place my hands there. We've only been married for two weeks...

"I can hear their soul inside of you." The Phoenix answers at least a hundred questions with that answer. "He's going to be fearsome." She laughs. "No surprise since he's been conceived by such large flames as you and Nobunaga."

My eyes haven't left my stomach as I hear her announce my child's gender and speaks almost as if she knows him already. I lift my eyes and speak as I wait for her to meet them. "Did you show them this?" I ask.

"No. They've only seen the other timelines." She answers before meeting my eyes. "I've never interfered with your realm the way my brothers have Rina—so I can't guarantee any outcomes for you, but I can try to help. If you remove my brothers, my powers will be stronger, and I will have a better chance at pulling off a miracle. However, this will require me to give you more of my power than I was intending, and I cannot guarantee the safety of your child— unless—" her face perks. "I can keep him with me, in a phoenix egg. Once you've accomplished your mission he will return to your body. There will be some side effects, but nothing fatal..."

This is a lot to wrap my mind around. "What kind of side effects?"

She sighs and tilts her head back and fort before responding. "Once he returns to you the pregnancy will resume, but at an accelerated rate to maintain your due date. He may also be born with some of my power in him, making him more resilient than the normal human and a longer life span."

Perhaps she means blessings instead of consequences?

"What if it takes me longer than my due date?" I ask, hands still pressing to my stomach.

"Then he will not be able to rejoin you in this life." She states plainly.

"So to be clear," I begin to try to organize my thoughts and understandings. "You are going to store my child in a phoenix egg to keep him safe from the powers that you are going to bestow on me. Those powers will eat all but one of my future reincarnations. You are blessing me with your strengths so that I may kill your brothers, the Fox and the Dragon. With them out of the way you will reign over this realm and with the increased power from that position you will ensure that Nobunaga returns to me, in this timeline. How?"

The phoenix closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Don't worry about the details Rina. He knows what has to happen and he's agreed to trust me, do you?"

"Almost." I state as she opens her golden eyes back to me. "Does any of this put Hideyoshi in danger?"

She smiles. "No. That man's only threats have come from Nobunaga and you. And when I see his soul in this reality he is surrounded by Lions of protection and very large koi. You know his lineage now that you've seen the other realities, it's really no surprise that a descendant of one of the first leaders of the villages from the beginning of Japan should end up at its throne, leading it into a unified future."

I feel a little lighter after her explanations. There are so many other things she said that don't make sense to me right now, but I trust her and just like before, she must sense the trust, as she pushes me onto my back and hovers her hand over my lower abdomen.

"This is going to hurt." She announces before her hand dives into my abdomen and I feel some of the worst cramping and stabbing pains in my life as she digs around inside me until she find what she is looking for and pulls her hand out of the hole she created at the top of my pelvic. With her free hand she twists and spins her hand around in circles as golden pieces of sand build and swirl until they solidify into an egg that has just one opening to see silky cushioning inside. "Would you like to see him before I put him away for safe keeping?" She asks.

I nod my head without any hesitation as I sit back up and tears begin to fill my eyes. She open hand that she had inside of me to reveal a bright light. "I love you." I whisper through the knot in my throat before nodding to the phoenix. She places the soul of my son inside of the egg and closes the opening with more of that golden sand before handing it to me.

I press my nose and forehead to the large egg and take a few deep breathes. "We will be together again soon." I whisper to him. When I hand the egg back to her it feels like a piece of my own soul has been separated from me. She set the egg down on the black water and after kissing her fingers presses the egg down into the waters and we watch as it sinks out of view. "I'll keep him safe and warm in my nest Rina." She looks up at me with something like appreciation in her eyes.

"Are you ready to receive my power now?" She asks with a little smirk.

"How does one know if they're ready for such a thing?" I ask, genuinely curious.

She huffs. ��I suppose monks, priests, and shrine maidens would be equipped to answer that better than me." She climbs on to my lap and pushes me on to my back again, her face following mine closely. Our faces are close enough to share breath as she speaks. "In case I forget to say it later: I'm very grateful for you Rina." And with that the phoenix in her human form presses her lips to mine.

My mouth instinctually opens, but it is not her tongue that reaches inside. It feels like my soul is being explored as i begin to vibrate and heat up. When I look down at my body it is glowing and looks as if shimmering dust is being shaken out of me. It feels like every piece of my body, my skin, my muscles, organs, and hairs are being torn apart. If I'm screaming, I can't hear it except in my head as begin to forget who I am, why I'm here and what this is for.

Passionate carnelian eyes. Silky, long, dark hair. The smile that conquered my heart when it couldn't love itself. Nobunaga Oda. I'm doing this for him, for us, and for the future our child deserves.

Calming, caring, caramel colored eyes. Honey colored hair that falls in his face when he is frustrated or in deep thought. Those strong arms, the only ones that can hold me back when I feel like destroying my world. Hideyoshi Toyotomi. I'm doing this for him, for us, and for the future we will hold together for our children, for his legacy.

Japan. My small, war torn, island country. I do this for you and the future I believe we all deserve.

When my eyes open the phoenix is holding me in her arms as I lay on the dark waters. "You did well Rina. Now go and fight for all of us."

As she becomes the white peacock again she pulls me to my feet and into her wings as she ascends into the sky. When her wings open my feet rest on the waters and as she descends below the horizon the sun begins to rise and illuminate Nobunaga and Hideyoshi's stunned faces being illuminated by the early light of morning. I watch as they rise to their feet and I walk over the waters towards them.

Nobunaga's voice is rough and emotional. "Rina is that really you?" He asks as I approach the gazebo.

He keeps scanning my face, like he doesn't quit believe it's me. "Yes, can't you see it's me?" I come to him, cupping his cheek.

"Yes." He sounds unsure as he reaches for my hair and pulls a handful forward. "But your eyes and your hair..." when I look down at his hand I see the reason for his confusion. My once pitch black hair is no longer, it is white as snow.

I pull away from him and collapse to my knees at the edge of the gazebo to peer over at my reflection.

What once was long black hair is now white and somewhat translucent. What once were dark brown eyes are now bright golden irises. I can understand their confusion, I hardly look like myself anymore now that I have been transformed into the Phoenix's vessel. I turn back to look at them with worry in my eyes. "Do you think it's permanent?"