7: Peace Interrupted

Mizuki opens the sliding door at the end of the hall, pulling Sanemaru along with her onto a stone landing.

Standing on stone connected to a spiral staircase leading deeper into the mountain, she releases him.

Jumping up and aggressively fixing his clothes, they nudge each other playfully before dashing down two thousand steps carved in the mountain wall.

A tree growing from the middle of the floor behind them holds dark bark, vibrant green leaves, and glowing, yellow fruit.

Polished, glittering sunstone flooring highlights every flicker of light as they face large, double doors carved from solid, red wood arching high above their heads.

Flower scrolls and vines crawl around the broad, wood frame bordering a sea of glorious, glassy wood.

A dragon's face with prestigious, gold pointed horns protrude with fire opal eyes separated in the center where the doors meet.

Mizuki pushes one open by silver dipped teeth to reveal a grand, royal hall with stained glass windows depicting scenes with a blue dragon all the way down.

The duo steps onto gray cobblestone draped by a teal carpet lining their centered path.

Fire-bearing sticks of silver rest in brass holders mounted to the wall between every door and around every window in rotating, metal ribbons below winding chandeliers hanging below an arched, suffocatingly pure darkness overhead.

Five sets of stately archways inlaid with jewels face one another down an intricately simple, great hall.

At the end of the doors lies a staggeringly massive and ostentatious throne.

Pulling Sanemaru along to the second, seemingly ordinary wooden door on the left, she forces him inside of Tsukiyomi's study then waits outside.

Stumbling into the vast, round room with glowing crystals filling the ceiling, Sanemaru straightens and pats his shirt.

Gazing first upon a four-legged, carved wooden table with a matching chair to the inside right, a quick glance displays how every piece of furniture is an ornate dragon's claw clutching a gemstone orb.

Two wooden chairs with arm rests and short backs sit empty, facing the comfortably seated Tsukiyomi.

Surrounding walls are lined with stone and wooden shelves of neatly packed scrolls, books, boxes, statues and trinkets from around the world.

A woven tapestry hangs behind Tsukiyomi and his desk, pitched under a milky, white light with no discernable source that illuminates glittering threads.

Stitched into the fabric is a full moon above red, plum-blossom trees at the foot of a snowy mountain. The night sky, between a glorious moon and the mountain's crest, is filled with the magnetizing body of a silver, blue-green dragon.

Armorless in his kingly chair, a teal back arches above his head and below the face of a realistic, woven dragon that follows you around the room.

Casually approaching his master's workspace, Sanemaru notices a white, linen wrapped parcel bound by a golden cord resting on the edge facing the door.

Tsukiyomi glances from the bundle to Sanemaru, "For the human," he returns to watching a vibrating, orange crystal move across an open, blank scroll.

Tiny bursts of red light flicker within the stone, pulling red lines of ink to the scroll's surface as it glides to form a map.

"Is it special?"

The steed tilts his head, "Servant gowns don't come like that..."

Grabbing his tail to hold it in front of his stomach, "Won't that make her stand out -too- much?"

Sanemaru steps closer to the desk, glancing around cautiously and whispering, "I can think of quite a few people that'll get jealous when they find out," he releases his tail and gently taps the tabletop.

"One. In. Particular," he strums his fingers over the wood before crossing his arms, standing up straight, and nodding his head back at the door.

His gaze follows suit, "If you bag my berries?"

Receiving silence, he places one hand on his hip then holds himself up with the other on Tsukiyomi's table and leans in.

Staring at the top of his master's head as the crystal moves to bring more detail and words, "Wouldn't a servant's linen be better for her, considering why she's here?"

Sanemaru suggests freely, grabbing the bundle and holding it over his shoulder.

"Is this defiance?"

Tsukiyomi's peaceful gaze shifts from the scroll into Sanemaru's soul when he stops what he is doing to fold his hands on top of the table.

His blank expression and steady tone unsettles the horse yokai, Sanemaru's ears and tail perk up, "No, of course not, no, that's not—."

Sanemaru chuckles uncontrollably while stepping back, "that's not what it is at all."

Shaking his head, bringing his hands to the front of his body in surrender with the cord hooked around his fingers and hanging down the back of his hand, "I'm confused, master. That's all."

Correcting his demeanor and standing up straight, "Stitching it," he makes a sewing motion with his free hand across his lips, "My confusion is not your concern, -master-."

Bowing his head, Sanemaru glances at Tsukiyomi after a creeping silence to find him sitting with closed eyes.

Sanemaru's forehead wrinkles when the lord captures him in an intense stare, "The human," Tsukiyomi's unbiased tone refreshes Sanemaru's memory of his prior engagement.

"Oh. Oh?" He tilts his head, "Oh!"

Alarm striking, "She was taking a bath and I--!" Tsukiyomi flies past him, items from his table crashing down with the gust of wind his body creates.

Up the tower in a wink, Sanemaru closes the distance with the bundle in hand followed by an uninformed Mizuki.

***************

A bathing Umeko searches for peace, discovering only the spoils of trauma every time her mind silences.

An inescapable reality reminds her of the world's cruelty, and generosity, to innocent bystanders.

~ I should've gone back...to see if anyone needed help... ~

She sighs, hugging her knees in chest high, dark waters, sitting surrounded by blue and pink stone clusters.

~ I couldn't help anyone if I wanted to… ~

She groans, resting her chin on her arm and fighting back a pitiful, scornful chuckle then buries her face in the damp flesh of her inner elbow.

~ I couldn't even…help my own mother. If I tried harder…she'd still be with me. ~

Umeko lays back into the water, floating through steam as liquid spice releases its hold on her hair and its aroma fills her nostrils.

~ Everyone there looked out for each other! …and all I did! I–! ~

The young woman rolls over in the water, screaming the words echoing off the inside caverns of her skull until she could contain it no longer.

"COWARD!"

The velocity of air trapped in bubbles slowly dissipates along with her agony.

~ I have to go back just once. I can't– I won't. I won't take no for an answer. ~

Resting her knees on the unfathomably soft floor of the spring, she slumps in the water with her nose just barely grazing the surface with a shaky inhale.

Slicking her hair back before wiping her eyes, she gets lost in the water as its ripples still and she can see the outline of her face.

~ I'll beg Tsukiyomi if I have to. No matter what, I have to bury her. …and everyone else I turned my back on. I owe that much to them… ~

Grimacing, the muscles in her arms twitch hard enough to remove clenched fingers from indents in her own palms from balling her fists too tight.

With a frustrated groan, "Why couldn't I've just been killed with them?!"

Slapping and punching the water, muttering quietly, "I hate this. …I don't wanna be here…"

Shivering before another wave of anger takes over, she dives to pull herself along the strangely spongy floor, watching the sharp edges of glowing crystals bend under the weight of her hands instead of slicing her open.

~ If everyone had real weapons and learned to fight instead of digging holes in the dirt and stuffing our faces, this wouldn't've happened. ~

The familiar stinging of a nose readying for a good cry, she rises, her lungs filling with air as tears mix into the streaks of warm water cascading from her roots.

~ Grandma was right: comfort forges weakness. Bandits only attack the weak. They crumbled like senbei (rice crackers) to Tsukiyomi. It's our leader's fault for not preparing us! ~

Stiffening, Umeko focuses on an unusual sound suddenly echoing off the stone path behind large boulders on the other side of the pool.

Stealthily moving to the furthest edge of the water, she presses her back against the cave wall and shrinks to hide behind an opaque, green rock.

~ That big weirdo said he'd guard the door and he doesn't seem like the type to peek... Was he lying? Is this some kind of 'play with the human' game?! (@_@) I don't want to say anything if it's one of the hungry demons he warned me about! ~

Chewing her lip as tension floods her cells, she clutches the crystal with every part of her damp body sliding against a perilously smooth surface.

~ He wouldn't let one of those types in…I hope… Can they move through walls? It's not Tsukiyomi, right?!... Wh-what if it is—a-and he's looking for a rut? (=o.o=) ~

Subconsciously relaxing, imagining the ways their bodies would fit together, her bottom lip massages her front teeth when she pictures long, flowing locks cascading down his statuesque features and into the water as he approaches her.

~ That wouldn't be so bad... He burns me like fire... *shakes head* Really brain? He could probably eat you whole without a second thought… ~

A naughty grin creeps over her lips before she shuts her eyes and forces the thoughts away.

~ Why am I thinking about him like-- GAH! Stupid horny body. What do I do right now?! ~

Panic strikes as firm footsteps audibly approach her side of the spring, a broad shouldered silhouette entering her view through the steamy blanket covering her.