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[Rei Ukiyo]

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Rei looked up from the book that she had been reading. Enveloped in the cool shade of the maple tree she was leaning against, she cast a watchful gaze upon her younger sisters. Her youngest sister, Harumi, was dancing with a pair of old fans she had found in their mother's chest. Her lithe form spun and wove in motions that reminded Rei of the falling maple seeds that were fluttering down to land in her hair and on the pages of her book. As if on cue, one fell spiraling down to land on the literature she held open. She brushed her hand gently across the page to send the seed over the edge, falling to the grass below in another series of twirls.

Across the yard Kaori was inspecting the flowers, a small bunch clenched in one fist as she peered into the blossom of her current prospect. She was only selecting those flowers that she deemed "just right", and intended to give them to their mother. Her uwappari had become green in the knees from where she had been kneeling in the grass. Satisfied that all was well, Rei returned to the world within her book.

~{@}~

The Ukiyo family lived on a humble farm located at the base of placid Mt. Sho. It wasn't the best of locations due to the proximity of the volcano, but their father, Haru, had made do with the lands he had been given. He was, like many Tokunese, driven by Kaizen, the philosophy of never-ending improvement. This philosophy he applied to his farm. The volcanic soil of the land surrounding Mt. Sho was exceptionally rich and fertile and their modest farm thrived. Haru knew that it was possible that Mt. Sho would erupt one day and cause great disaster for not only his farm, but the other homes in the lush valley. Still, he was unable to bring himself to move his family to a safer location. The benefits of the extremely healthy and abundant crops outweighed the risk, as Mt. Sho hadn't erupted in his or his grandfather's lifetime, and they had only ever experienced some very small earthquakes once every seven years or so.

He was harvesting some leaves from a tea bush when he felt the tremor in the soil beneath his feet. Instantly stricken with the feeling that his greatest fear was imminent, he dropped his basket in a shower of leaves and rushed back along the row of tea plants toward his house to find his family. He was intent on either hurrying his family away to safety or spending their last moments together.

He raced into the house breathless, for once not bothering to remove his waraji. He found his wife, Mariko, in the main room with one of the younger daughters under each arm, protectively. His oldest daughter stood just behind her, resting her hands on each of her mother's shoulders. They all gazed at him, their almond-shaped eyes widened with fear. He rushed to them, planting an affectionate and hurried kiss on each before wrapping his arms about them all in a hug. Reluctantly, he released them and took a step back toward the door, earning a cry of protest from his wife. He turned back toward them to explain.

"Must look for smoke," he stated emphatically, and he disappeared back through the doorway.

Rei leaned forward to hug their mother from behind, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. The women waited for what seemed like an eternity in paralyzed fear, huddling together in the main room. In actuality, it was only a moment or two before Haru was sliding open the door and returning with a hopeful look on his face.

"Was no smoke. No more shaking. All is good, for now," he assured them. Indeed, the ground was calm once more and Mt. Sho seemed content to rest silently. Haru had already decided that he would finally move his family out of the valley as soon as possible.

They let go of each other with great sighs of relief and started back to their previous activities, their mother heading into the kitchen to finish preparing dinner and the three sisters wandering slowly outside into the yard. Haru stepped through the front doorway, sliding it closed behind him. He kept a watchful eye on the mountain as he walked toward his tea field.

He stooped to collect his basket and pick up some of the undamaged tea. As his hand closed around a cluster of fallen tea leaves, he felt another quaking in the earth. He pressed his hand to the soil to better feel the slight tremor. Standing quickly, he cast a distrusting gaze at the mountain, but it remained calm. Scratching his head in mild confusion, he wondered where the shaking had come from.

Then he heard the sound. It was faint at first, but he could discern a slight yet steady increase in volume. With a cry of panic, he realized at last what the noise was. He could make out the grunting and growling of a large body of animals in fast motion. Whirling in the direction of the sound, he studied the forest line. Above the treetops, birds were flying recklessly from their perches in an effort to escape what was coming. The trees shook from the force of whatever was cutting a path through them. The earlier tremor must have caused the animals to stampede in fear. Judging by the damage being done to the forest, they soon would emerge from the woods into his fields with their path of destruction. Haru turned to run once more toward his house, in eerie imitation of his earlier flight.

Behind him, the herd had just come crashing free of the forest as he cleared his tea field. With an unhealthy curiosity, he paused to look back and see what form the devastation would take. He nearly died with fright at the sight of hundreds of tsuki wolves swarming from the trees into his fields. Screaming both in warning and fear, he ran haphazardly through the door of the small farmhouse, closing it in panic behind him.

"Mariko!" His wife came running from the kitchen at his fearful call to see what was wrong. He grabbed her arms, gazing wildly into her eyes.

"Wolves!" he yelled in panic. He knew there were only seconds left before the wolves would rip through the farmhouse. He gazed around frantically before meeting her gaze again. They both gasped their shared thought out loud in unison and looked toward the door that opened into their backyard.

"The girls!"

They had no further time for thought as the first tsuki wolves tore through the paper doors and gained entrance into their home.

~{@}~

Rei jumped up at the sound of her mother screaming, her book falling to the ground. She looked at the house with a mixture of fear and uncertainty, before quickly glancing to her sisters to verify that they'd heard it, too. Kaori and Harumi stood frozen where they'd been playing, also gazing at the backside of their family home.

Suddenly, the rear sliding door was torn asunder by raking claws and then trampled altogether by what must have been at least five tsuki wolves. Harumi screamed her fright at the sight of the three-headed beasts, inadvertently drawing their attention to herself. As she turned to run, she tripped on the hem of her kimono and fell to the ground. The wolves were on her in a split second.

Rei shoved a tight fist into her mouth to stifle a scream of horror at the sight of her youngest sister being clawed to death. Hot, instant tears fell from her eyes. Closer to her, Kaori had begun walking backward slowly, trying to slip away from the frenzied monsters without being noticed. It was then that she saw more tsuki wolves pouring from around the sides of the house.

Snapping into motion, she dashed to Kaori as fast as she could and grabbed her sister's hand. She tried to tow the younger girl, but Kaori was not as fast as she was and kept tripping. They would never be able to outrun the rampaging tsuki wolves at their pace. As if in some horrible dream, Kaori's clumsiness struck true and the girl's toe caught on a rock. She fell to her stomach with a cry, losing her grasp on Rei's hand. She turned back to help her sister, reaching for her, but the wolves were already there. Her sister's face disappeared in a curtain of fur. Rei dug her feet into the ground and ran faster than she ever had before.

She plunged into a tangle of brush at the edge of the yard and hid. Holding her breath and keeping very still, she hugged the ground, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight of the wolves tearing her family's home apart. She was too frightened to weep, and fearful they would hear her and find her. She lay silently like that for several minutes as the stampede continued its course past her hiding place and into the distance, cutting a path of destruction in its wake. She hid for several minutes longer, frightened to emerge too soon.

When she finally pulled herself to her feet, she shuffled slowly to the farmhouse, as if numb. Part of her dreaded facing the terrible reality, but a larger part of her needed to see if there was any chance that her family had survived. She picked her way through the destruction, climbing over the broken furniture and ruined bits architecture.

~{@}~

The sinking sun took with it the last of the day and Rei had just finished burying her family. She leaned the shovel against the remnants of an O'hii tree. She offered her prayers to the gods before finally allowing herself to grieve. She sank to her knees as tears made their way slowly over her cheeks. Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead to the soil and began to sob.

When the tears no longer came and her breathing calmed, she forced herself to stand. There was the future to think of, she couldn't stay here. She would have to take what she could carry and forge a new life somewhere else. Somewhere she could put her skills with magic to use and earn enough to survive. She began to dig through the ruins of the home for her belongings and whatever else she would take with her.

~{@}~

A week of travel found her stepping out of the glowing blue sliver of light into the busy city of Zento on Makoto-jima. Those first days of her arrival she walked the streets in awe. She had never seen so many buildings so tall and yet so close together. She wondered if there was truly a shop for everything one wished to buy. Many outsiders from the mainland were living in Zento, and she found their foreign language to be unusual, but she applied herself to the task of learning it. The ways of city life took a little getting used to, but she hoped it would not take her too long to become accustomed. Before long, she had obtained a job performing menial duties in the local mage shop and she was able to make her earnings stretch to cover her living expenses. All in all, she was doing quite well for herself when she met those of the Dragon Samurai Clan. Hoping they could possibly be a substitute for the family she'd lost, she swore her service to them.

As time went on she made a few friends within the clan, but she never felt at home among them. Most of this uncomfortable feeling derived from the way Lady Annawen treated most of the women around her. Lord Ashigaru's wife was a hateful, distrusting woman who would yell first and ask questions after. She frequently snapped at Rei for nothing, leaving her to wonder if the woman was truly mad. The woman's hostile behavior seemed to be affecting many within the clan and alliance.

One day, Rei's closest friend, Justarius, was badly injured during one of his spell-castings. The damage had rendered him unconscious for many weeks. During this time, she visited him often, sitting at his side reading to him and speaking. She hoped he would awaken, but she feared he would not. The situation within the clan was growing worse and worse each day, and Rei felt it was only a matter of time before the woman would lose it, altogether.

The day came sooner rather than later. Rei entered the monk's hut to visit Justarius, only to find that he was gone. The monks were unable to answer where he'd gone, they had no idea. It was as if he had just disappeared. Rei realized with a heavy heart that there was no longer anything left for her in Zento. She packed her belongings and stored her valuables in a bank box, then headed to the public moongate.

~{@}~

The next ten years were spent wandering. Rei spent the time learning to be at one with her native Isamu. She traveled the isle, sleeping in the wild and living from the land as she went. Her natural ability to hide was enhanced by studying the arts of the ninja in order to survive encounters with dangerous beasts. She read the various works of scholars and poets and philosophers along the way. When she'd finished a book, she traded it at the next village for a new one.

At last the day came when she decided it was time to return to Zento. Wondering what changes such a large city underwent in a decade, she emerged from the moongate. She wandered the city, noting that the buildings hadn't changed much. Inquiring about her former clan, she learned that it seemed to no longer exist, even though the hall still stood exactly as it had ten years ago, only empty.

In time, she learned that a new clan had arisen in the city. One that was strong and protective of Zento. She met members of this Blue Lotus clan one by one over the following weeks. When she was comfortable that this was not the same Zento she had left, she swore her service to the new Empress and the city. As she began to make friends among her new clan, she felt as if she had finally come home.