(Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com) Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own Wedding Peach.
I do not own any great quantity of money or property. I'm a STUDENT; that's
why I'm poor, okay?
Author's Notes: Some readers are having suspicions, which is
good! Especially the reader who signed herself as Ashley. All I can say
is that the dreams do place an importance in this story in terms of: when
they occur (I do put them in chronological order along with other scenes,
except for flashback of course), and what they are similar to. (Can you
guess what the last chapter's dream looked like?)
A squealing "I FOUND IT!!!" echoed through the library at ten o'clock
in the morning.
Sakura jerked out of her nervous state, curled up in a sofa.
Minoru threw an apologetic look at the librarian. "Potamos, can you
not be quiet for a second when you're awake?!" the elf grumbled in the
water-demon's direction.
Potamos continued to jump up and down, with a gloved hand clamping her
squealing mouth. Sakura quickly walked over to the book the water-demon
was pointing at.
Printed on the page was the diagram of a horse or what looked like
a horse. It had a snowy white coat, with a curled horn on its head.
"What is that?" Sakura asked.
"A unicorn, obviously," Potamos said. "Even in the human world they
still have 'm in paintings and books." She paused. "You... didn't know
that, Sacchan?"
"Uh...no." The kunoichi shivered in a nervous manner. Sakura was raised
in a human world, yes but not the human world Potamos knew and hoped
to visit. After all, this was a different dimension. "Potamos, what does
the description say about the unicorn?" Sakura asked quickly. "This isn't
just some bogus fortune-telling myth, is it? If this is anything like that
ridiculous Oracle of Delphi I read about, then it's only a waste of time."
"Unicorns DO exist," Minoru said. "I actually saw one myself; my sister
caught one."
Potamos scanned the text. "The unicorn is a healing creature. What most
humans don't know is that it's called the beast of Lumina."
Sakura nodded. She was thankful that she read a bit on the Spirit guardians
of this world. "Lumina, the guardian of Light." She rubbed her head, trying
to recall what she learned in Minerva's books about aura. "The other guardians
are... Luna, guardian of the Moon; Shadow, guardian of Darkness; and Dryad,
guardian of Wood and Plants."
Potamos grinned. "Don't forget the elemental guardians, Sacchan..."
"Slyph for wind, Undine for water, Salamando for fire, and Gnome for
ground," Sakura said, ticking the names off. "Happy?"
"Happy!" the water-demon cheered. "I knew it; humans aren't that dumb!"
Sakura frowned. "Hey, wait a min"
"Anyways!" Potamos exclaimed, clutching her fists in determination and
excitement, "This creature is supposed to be one of the best counselors
one could ever have. They're way more accurate and nicer than soothsayers,
and it cannot tell ANY lie in ANY language. If the beast likes you like,
really, REALLY likes you, it'll stay and explain things longer."
"The unicorn should be lurking around the Energy Spring of Lumina,"
Minoru said. "And that's our destination anyway. We need four of the non-elemental
ethers. We've got Luna down, so far. Now if we could just have the luck
of finding this creature..."
"It's possible to catch a unicorn!" Potamos said, punching her fists
in the air. "They're supposed to be really hard to find, but WE CAN DO
IT!!" The purple-haired girl continued to read through the pages.
Her eyes froze at one paragraph.
Potamos' cheeks began to flush red. "Um..."
Minoru read the page, and brightened. "Well, this shouldn't be too hard!"
he exclaimed. "My stupid brothers talked about luck and enchantment and
all that, but now that I read this official description it turns out
that they were probably teasing me. Let's see... 'Unicorns are attracted
to females, particularly virgins.' That's rather gender-discriminatory
of the creature... I'm disqualified, obviously. But we have you two on
the team. Sakura's angelic blood is a further advantage."
"Um, but, but..." Potamos stuttered, "I'm... I'm a demon! Yes: I'm a
demon!"
"That doesn't necessarily mean the unicorn will hate you," Minoru said,
scanning the text. "As long as you don't let off a burst of blood-lust,
you still can help Sakura-san catch it. Once it is tamed, I shall come
fetch the both of you."
Potamos let off a squeak.
"What are you so afraid of, Potamos?" Sakura asked. "Don't worry, the
unicorn won't hurt you unless you threaten it. Yeah, girl power!"
The water-demon looked absolutely terrified. "Yeah, sure... Girl power,"
she said nervously.
"And BY NO MEANS should you kill it," Minoru sternly said. "It lays
the curse of a half-life if you do."
"Yeth," Potamos lisped in an unnaturally high voice. "I know. The half-life
thingy." In truth, she was not worried about the curse of killing a unicorn.
What concerned her more was about meeting it in the first place.
Minoru sat at the window of the inn, watching the dwarf guards march
on the cobblestone streets in a disciplined manner. Like a human city during
the night, the streets were lit with dim torches. The only daylight which
reached this underground village was through a perfectly-chiseled circle
at the top of the cave ceiling. Thus, only around the time of noon was
pure sun visible.
Sakura and Potamos were snoozing peacefully. The two were quite tired,
as they had visited every weapon-shop in the village, which until now had
very few customers. Sakura was taught by one smith how to fight with axes
one of his stands full of weapons collapsed, and she offered her help.
It turned out that she could lift the heavy weapons without breaking a
sweat, as long as they were one at a time. ('The strength-training from
Tsunade-sama must have paid off,' Sakura thought to herself.) The dwarf
was impressed with her strength as a human-girl, and gave her a free three-hour
lesson, hoping to convert her to the art of axe-fighting. She thanked the
dwarf kindly in the evening, and went back to the inn. True, she would
probably never have the chance to lift an axe again yet she felt happy
and giddy from the unusual exercise.
The elf couldn't sleep very well, as the previous night he had been
studying in the library too long. 'Oh, yes, and the mirror enchantment,'
Minoru remembered. 'It is nearly impossible to forget doing that every
time, it becomes more amusing.'
Minoru walked over to Sakura's bed. He glanced at the sheathed katana
next to her body. 'Tennyo. Heavenly maiden, indeed...'
The blond intently studied Sakura's peaceful face. He brushed her silky,
pink hair out of her face. "I bless you with sweet dreams," he whispered
in elvish, letting his index finger trace her forehead.
He walked over to the mirror. His eyes closed. 'And now, for the bitter
ones. Think back... Back when you were alive, Emerald, my sister... for
that is all you allowed me to call you.'
His hand touched the surface of the mirror. It began to glow.
The palm of Minoru's hand began to sweat, making a haze on the glass
surrounding it. This was probably not a good idea: his aura reserves needed
to recover. Doing the powerful enchantment for two nights in a row was
demanding even when he was in the Rifts.
Plus, a voice in the back of his head told him: 'Stop it. It's not worth
it.'
Minoru lifted his hand off. The mirror's surface faded back to normal.
The elf slowly went to his bed. He needed rest.
(( (Fifty years ago, Frida Village)
"Emerald... Your garden is choke-full of weeds," Minoru said. He pulled
a loose strand of his sandy-blond hair behind his ear. "In fact, I now
dub it: The Weed Patch."
Emerald, the half-elf with dark, pink hair, swung down from the tree.
"I prefer to call it, 'a meadow'," she said thoughtfully. "That word is
so much more romantic, don't you think?"
Minoru heaved a sigh. Girls. "Romantic, indeed. Your flowers are dying
a weary and agonizing death."
"Oh, no!" Emerald shrieked.
She ran over to her patch and tripped, falling face-first into the
grass. Minoru blinked at his adopted sister's clumsiness, and laughed.
"For a sword-fighter, you sure are graceful," he snorted.
"Oh, be quiet," Emerald moaned, getting up and brushing herself off.
"I wish you weren't so sarcastic at times. I met a really, really cool
person who isn't afraid to tell the truth to me!"
"My, this person must insult you a lot," Minoru concluded. He grinned
at the fuming, pink-haired girl. He liked being blunt, as long as it did
not seriously offend others.
"That's it; you'll taste the wrath of my wooden sword!" Emerald yelled,
stomping off towards the house. Minoru laughed, and caught up to her, grabbing
her wrist.
"Sorry, Emerald, I didn't mean it that way. Forgive me?" His lips gave
the slightest hint of a pout.
It was more than enough, especially when he was so damn handsome, like
the rest of his blood-relations. The pink-haired elf sighed in defeat,
finding her own signature move used against her. "You steal everything
from me," she complained. "The Puppy-Dog Pout is MY move."
She walked over to the tree hammock, and lay down on it to take a nap.
Ten seconds later, she found another warm body next to her in the hammock.
"Minoru," she said in a growl, "I want some peace." Actually, she liked
him next to her, hugging her like the wonderful brother he was. But he
scorched her pride for a split-second.
"I'll make you a good-dream potion tomorrow if you let me stay," Minoru
coaxed.
Pause.
"It better be a good one," she said finally. Her brother laughed, planted
a light kiss on her forehead, and let her snuggle into his clothes. For
ten peaceful minutes, the two simply held each other.
Finally, Minoru broke the silence. "Who's this new person you met?"
he asked out of curiosity.
Emerald opened her eyes. "Hm? Oh, him... Just a passer-by, I met him
in the forest. I think he's a traveler, or something." A wistful look passed
her face, before she hid her blushing cheeks into his chest.
Minoru frowned. That weird, 'sad happiness' his mother told him about.
And meeting someone in the forest Emerald hardly ever went there, unless
she was accompanied by one in the family. Was she actually picking herbs
on a voluntary basis?
Absentmindedly, his fingers traced over his sister's neck. The fabric
of her scarf moved a little, and Minoru froze at what he saw. "Emerald,
you're wounded!" he exclaimed.
Her gentle eyes shot open in alarm. She clumsily toppled out of the
hammock, landing onto the ground in an odd position. Minoru looked down,
and
the scarf she wore around her throat fell away. There was no mistaking
it: two puncture-marks, surrounded by a spot of pale flesh. Emerald caught
the horrified look on her brother's face, and covered the wounds with her
hand. "Please don't tell Daddy! Please, Minoru!" she pleaded quietly.
Minoru's eyes were locked onto her neck. "Those are from a vampire.
You have been wandering out in the forest at night. Half-elf or no, you
must stay away from them."
"I was going to tell you; I swear this. Please, don't tell Daddy," Emerald
whispered.
Minoru bit his lip. Those of elfin blood never turned into a vampire,
so it was not as if his sister was in danger in terms of health. Their
father did not need to know; he would throw a fit if he found out.
"You DO realize that our human guard is dying because of the recent
increase of vampires attacks in this area," the elf said quietly.
"Because the humans are over-hunting the forests!" Emerald argued. "You
know that; all the elves know that!"
Minoru paused in thought. "I was wondering why you were buying scraps
from the meat-market. I first thought it was for the birds, but no it's
a humanoid, undead bat. How can you do that for him; he BIT you, for heaven's
sake!"
"Only for three seconds!" the girl insisted. "He couldn't even get a
teaspoon out of me because of my half-elf blood. He was starving! He's
tame if you just give him some food..."
Minoru scoffed. "Oh, I see. You are defending someone who attacked you,
and now is leeching off your kindness. I'm a little more merciful than
my brothers. But the likes of him deserves to crumble apart and have his
ashes thrown in the wind."
Emerald cringed. Her lower lip trembled.
Minoru's face fell. This nightmare kept turning worse and worse. "Oh
my God... You... and him!"
"No!!" Emerald sobbed. "Nothing of the sort. He's JUST a good friend,"
she insisted.
"It won't work out," Minoru directly stated. "You know that. You're
full of energy, with more than a century left to live and he's... well,
you know." His voice toward her softened a great deal more. An odd feeling
boiled inside him, making him start to choke on his words.
"It's one-sided, if there are any feelings," the half-elf stubbornly
resolved. "He's my friend; nothing more. I've been visiting him in the
forest for the past couple of days. He's the only one outside of the family
who talks to me as an equal! Please, please let me continue to see him..."
She covered her face in her hands, attempting to hide the tears trickling
down her reddened cheeks.
Minoru bit his lip in thought. "I will allow you to meet him, if you
so wish," he slowly said.
A mixed burst of joy and disbelief radiated out of Emerald's face.
"However," her brother said firmly, bursting her bubble, "before you
see him again, I must give you a talisman. Consider it an extra lesson
in magic." The elf grabbed the other by the hand, and pulled her to the
laboratory in the house.
Two weeks passed before the three made it to the Energy Spring of Lumina.
Most of the creatures were shy, and did not bother the traveling party.
Sakura learned from Minoru how to engage the energy-collector, while Potamos
looked around at the fine mist around them. She seemed extremely antsy.
Sakura looked at the four energy-collectors in Minoru's set. Two were
full one with a pale yellow, and one with a pure white. "Two down, two
more to go. Half-way through!"
"Don't count on the second half being the same level," Minoru corrected
dryly, closing the box of energy-collectors with a brisk snap. "We still
have the Energy Spring of Dryad and the Energy Spring of Shadow to visit.
Those places have far more dangerous monsters and creatures around."
"That's good," Potamos said, her nervousness still evident. "I was beginning
to think that the rest of the trip was going to be boring. Now let's go
straight away to the next Spring!"
"Did you forget the unicorn already?" Minoru asked in a testing manner,
"Or are you just trying to get away from the ordeal?"
Potamos winced. She had been hoping to weasel out of this, but the elf
was too sharp.
Minoru pointed to his left at a nearly demolished stone entry. White
steps, battered from wind and weather, led up to the gate. "That, my friends,
is the entry to the old temple to Lumina. It has long been out of use,
but spirits and creatures still lurk around there. You," he nodded to
Potamos "must go through there with Sakura-san, and look for the unicorn.
I'll stand watch here. If in the case you get into trouble, call for me.
It would take away our chances of finding a unicorn, but having you both
alive is more important. If you're not back in four hours, I will probe
you and fish you out. Any questions?"
"Yes," Sakura said, instinctively raising her hand. "If by any chance,
something does attack us would using celestial aura repel the unicorn?"
"You can use angelic or demonic aura, believe it or not," Minoru explained.
"Even the devil-child. As long as you keep your blood-lust down to a minimum,
it is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage to use magic in the old temple.
The key is to not attack or kill unless it is necessary."
"Okay, let's go!" Sakura said eagerly, dragging Potamos with her.
Minoru sat down on a nearby rock. "Good luck," he sighed.
Potamos trembled from nervousness. Vines and plants were growing in,
through and around the remains of the temple. There hardly was any ceiling
left of the white building. It looked quite nice, actually, with light
streaming in, and the patches of moss carpeting the blocks of stone. "How
long have we been here?" the water-demon asked.
Sakura looked at her watch. "Thirty minutes."
Potamos clutched her head. "Only a half-hour?! I can't stand it!"
"Your demonic powers aren't draining away from you, are they?" Sakura
asked quickly. "If Minoru-san lied to us, I swear that"
The water-demon frantically waved her hands in front of her. "No, no!
My aura is fine. It's just that I'm scared that if we meet the unicorn..."
"What?" Sakura asked. "It's a gentle creature; it won't harm you!"
The kunoichi froze. Her eyes landed on a tall, white column. She walked
over, and glanced at the inscriptions. "Potamos, can you read this?" Sakura
asked.
Potamos placed her fingers to her chin, studying the writing. "Hmmm..."
"Well?" Sakura asked eagerly.
"Gibberish," Potamos concluded. "It's too worn-out to read."
'Say that a little more quickly, SHANNAROOO!!' "But this column
sticks out like a sore thumb," Sakura insisted. "There must be something
special to it." Potamos blinked, still confused. The pink-haired girl sighed.
"Look at it: there are lots of columns in this place. Most of them are
broken. But this one seems more tall and intact than the others. Moreover,
it doesn't follow the regular pattern and design of the others."
"You're right, Sacchan..." Potamos crossed her arms. "This rock has
old lettering chiseled on its surface. But the other ones are smooth and
clean. A gothic pole in a romanesque temple."
Behind Sakura, a point of light glistened in the shadow.
Potamos froze. Her cat-eyes widened in fear at what she saw over her
friend's shoulder.
She immediately turned her heels and ran.
"Potamos?!" The pink-haired girl turned around. Sakura gripped the hilt
of Tennyo, and slid it out, making a battle stance to whatever was behind
her.
Three eyes sparkled in the shadows of the bushes. Sakura tightened her
lips, ready to use her katana if the creature attacked her. 'I will not
run.'
The being slowly came forward. What Sakura first thought was a third
eye turned out to be the point of a crystal a crystal horn. A large,
beautiful horse emerged from the shadow. Its coat was so white and shimmering
that the light refracted into a slight rainbow at some curves. The eyes
were black, but Sakura could see the hesitant shyness in them.
Sakura relaxed slowly, putting away her sword with care. She did not
want to make any sudden moves and scare the unicorn away. She gulped as
the great animal clopped over the white stones and undergrowth towards
her. Its smell was strong, hauntingly sweet. 'Okay, let it come first...
Reach out your hand when it bows to you...' The unicorn touched Sakura's
outstretched hand with its nose. The girl smiled; the feel of its coat
tickled. She stroked its nose, coaxing it to trust her.
Something in the atmosphere changed. Except for the unicorn's breathing,
there were no sounds of birds anymore. In fact, there were strange pants
coming from behind.
The unicorn jerked in fright. Sakura automatically glanced at the wind's
direction, as the horse must have smelled something.
Five goblins jumped out of the bushes, aiming their axes and stout swords
at the two. Sakura's breath seemed to stop as the monsters aimed to kill
her, and God-knows-what to the beast. 'These goblins must have been following
me, using me as bait for the unicorn!'
The kunoichi decided that she had to protect the animal. She slapped
it to make it move away. "Run!" Sakura hissed to the creature. "Before
you get hurt on my account!"
Sakura turned to the creatures. She performed the hand-seals without
hesitation: 'Kanashibari no Jutsu!'
Two of the goblins froze, the image of death shooting into their brains.
The kunoichi saw two of the unaffected coming for her, while the last one
ran around the trees to get to the unicorn.
Sakura's hands flicked into the sequence. 'Kawarimi no Jutsu!'
The two goblins swung their weapons towards Sakura and found them
stuck into a wooden log. The real girl appeared behind them, and they were
both decapitated by Tennyo in a split-second. She put chakra in her legs,
and ran towards where the unicorn was.
The unicorn was rearing on its back legs, facing the fastest and strongest
monster of the group. Whether it was neighing out of ferocity or terror,
Sakura could not tell. What she saw was that the goblin raised its axe
over its shoulders it would throw it into the unicorn's chest the next
instant.
Sakura's eyes widened in horror. 'Oh my god!! I'm not going to make
it!'
"MINO-CHAN!!!" Potamos ran through the gate and into a bewildered Minoru.
She was bursting into tears. "It's Sacchan; we've gotta help her!! I ran
away!"
"...You WHAT?!" Minoru exclaimed in fury. "You..."
A jolt went through his skull. "Who cares about the unicorn anymore!"
he snapped. "We're going in!! BOTH of us!" With these words, he ran into
the ancient temple, and Potamos followed him quickly.
The scream of a horse rang against the old temple walls.
Notes:
Oracle of Delphi this shrine to Apollo actually existed in ancient
Greece. Pilgrims would come and have the chance to ask a question, and
the priestess would give an answer, channeling the god Apollo. The only
problem was that the answers were so vague and paradoxical that it was
up to the pilgrims how to interpret them correctly. One rising-in-power
king asked the oracle, what would happen if he were to attack a certain
powerful neighboring country. It came up with the answer: "A great country
shall fall." (He lost the battle miserably, thus fulfilling the prophecy.)
And when one of the students of Socrates asked the question "Is there anybody
wiser than Socrates?", the answer was, "NO ONE." (Socrates investigated
this further, because he knew that he wasn't the most sensible guy on the
block. Eventually, he came up with The Socratic Truth: "I know, that I
know nothing.)
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please tell me! If
I suck, by all means tell me. In an intelligent manner.'
Book
collections on CD and DVD. A library for the price of a book.