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sakon76Leaving now.
"I want you to teach me," Aya told the Sumeragi, looking almost level into the mismatched eyes. The onmyouji was just the slightest bit taller than he was.
"What do you want to learn?" the onmyouji inquired. "I won't teach you magic to kill."
"I want to know how to exorcise ghosts that aren't my own."
"Ah." The onmyouji wandered off the park path and Aya followed. A gaggle of shrieking, laughing children ran past, chasing a ball. "You've seen your friends' ghosts."
The protest ran through Aya's mind that they weren't his friends but his co-workers. It died of irrelevance before reaching his lips.
"They don't have your power to feed on," Sumeragi said after a few minutes. "Their ghosts aren't nearly as dangerous."
"I don't care," Aya replied. "I won't let them be destroyed by their demons once they die."
"By their deeds, rather." Sumeragi held up a hand that forestalled Aya's reply. "Let me tell you a story. Once there was a young onmyouji who fell in love with a fellow practicioner. The practicioner, however, had no heart. He utterly destroyed the onmyouji's life, shattering everything he'd ever believed. But the onmyouji couldn't make himself stop loving, and when they met years later, the practicioner killed himself on the onmyouji's hand, making the onmyouji the inheritor of all his dark magic." They'd come to an ancient sakura tree now, its trunk gnarled and twisted with age. Looking at it made the hairs on the back of Aya's neck stang up. His hand itched for his sword.
Sumeragi ignored the malevolence emenating from the tree and stepped forward, laying a hand on its trunk. He closed his eyes then opened them again. "I hear him," he said softly, no looking at Aya. "He screams, he whimpers, he begs. He cries. He suffers retribution at the hands of his victims, as all Sakurazukamori do. Some day I'll manage to exorcise enough of them that he, too, may be freed. This tree is my life's work and will likely be the work of my heirs as well." He glanced at Aya. "Perhaps you. but my point is this: no matter how many the ghosts, or how strong they are, you needn't worry that your friends will be destroyed. They'll merely suffer penance along with their victims."
"Penance or not," Aya said, "I won't let them suffer less than myself when my deeds have been as dark."
Sumeragi studied him for just a moment, then smiled. "I think you'll go far, Fujimiya-san. I'll teach you what you want to know. Just keep in mind that you can't fight everything. Unless you eat mermaid's flesh, death comes to us all."
"Mermaid's flesh is just a legend," Aya scoffed.
The Sumeragi smiled.
"I want you to teach me," Aya told the Sumeragi, looking almost level into the mismatched eyes. The onmyouji was just the slightest bit taller than he was.
"What do you want to learn?" the onmyouji inquired. "I won't teach you magic to kill."
"I want to know how to exorcise ghosts that aren't my own."
"Ah." The onmyouji wandered off the park path and Aya followed. A gaggle of shrieking, laughing children ran past, chasing a ball. "You've seen your friends' ghosts."
The protest ran through Aya's mind that they weren't his friends but his co-workers. It died of irrelevance before reaching his lips.
"They don't have your power to feed on," Sumeragi said after a few minutes. "Their ghosts aren't nearly as dangerous."
"I don't care," Aya replied. "I won't let them be destroyed by their demons once they die."
"By their deeds, rather." Sumeragi held up a hand that forestalled Aya's reply. "Let me tell you a story. Once there was a young onmyouji who fell in love with a fellow practicioner. The practicioner, however, had no heart. He utterly destroyed the onmyouji's life, shattering everything he'd ever believed. But the onmyouji couldn't make himself stop loving, and when they met years later, the practicioner killed himself on the onmyouji's hand, making the onmyouji the inheritor of all his dark magic." They'd come to an ancient sakura tree now, its trunk gnarled and twisted with age. Looking at it made the hairs on the back of Aya's neck stang up. His hand itched for his sword.
Sumeragi ignored the malevolence emenating from the tree and stepped forward, laying a hand on its trunk. He closed his eyes then opened them again. "I hear him," he said softly, no looking at Aya. "He screams, he whimpers, he begs. He cries. He suffers retribution at the hands of his victims, as all Sakurazukamori do. Some day I'll manage to exorcise enough of them that he, too, may be freed. This tree is my life's work and will likely be the work of my heirs as well." He glanced at Aya. "Perhaps you. but my point is this: no matter how many the ghosts, or how strong they are, you needn't worry that your friends will be destroyed. They'll merely suffer penance along with their victims."
"Penance or not," Aya said, "I won't let them suffer less than myself when my deeds have been as dark."
Sumeragi studied him for just a moment, then smiled. "I think you'll go far, Fujimiya-san. I'll teach you what you want to know. Just keep in mind that you can't fight everything. Unless you eat mermaid's flesh, death comes to us all."
"Mermaid's flesh is just a legend," Aya scoffed.
The Sumeragi smiled.
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Date: 2004-04-25 10:51 pm (UTC)