Meakashi !Wldd.BwohM 2012/11/22 (Thu) 20:24 No. 27560 ▼ File 135361588838.jpg - (962.64KB, 1200x900 , ecd79aee2025a3a166bb47edee468032.jpg)
Sorry for the delay, my laptop's internal WLAN card seems to be broken... and obviously I was not in the mood to write under such conditions. I hope that does not leave an impact on my writing though.
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The Yasaka Shrine seemed to be the obvious choice, as the Gion Matsuri was approaching and one could feel the spirituality of the people visiting it best during the preparation period. I felt that I needed to refresh my connection to the mythological world since I had not visited any shrines for a long time; my last occasion had been the New Year celebration of two years prior. Whenever I had entered a place that was representative for the spiritual, I had despaired at the prospect that the supernatural was just not real and could never become reality. However, for some reason I felt that with Maribel and Renko, I would not mind going to a shrine or any other holy ground; they gave me a feeling that they did not just go there to waste time trying to conjure spirits or the Kami, like what one would expect of a club with a shady description such as the Sealing Club's.
"I saw that coming, it was the most obvious choice."
Renko's response to my decision disheartened me, as I had not appeared interesting at all due to my way of normal thinking. Maribel only smiled and donned a coat over her purple dress, while Renko put on the jacket she had been carrying under her arm. Even though it was nearing summer, the nights were still not to be trifled with and people came down with a cold due to carelessness. I was no exception to that and had not learned from many previous cases of fevers and running noses, despite my ability to learn from almost all my other mistakes. Maybe I just did not consider it important enough or it did not register in my conscious thought that I would be wasting days in bed if I were to fall ill again. Thus, I was clearly not wearing enough for the chilly late spring nights in Kyôto, and even though we went by bus, I still could not help but shiver from the cold when we arrived.
It was not even seven in the evening, but as Japan did not incorporate the daylight savings time system, the sky was already darkening, as the sun tinted the clouds in a beautiful red. The view as we approached the Yasaka Shrine was magnificent and I felt as if I had been sent back in time, to an age in which people still believed that there were mysteries that could never be explained by man. The two girls walking in front of me walked towards the shrine's entrance and occasionally turned around to see whether I was following them. I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders; the slump I had been in lately seemed to have disappeared. I realized that despite the expansion of science and its knowledge, people who thought like I did could be found even today. However, I was also wondering how quickly my mood had improved and my path in life been corrected after only about an hour of conversing with the other two members of the club I had joined on a whim.
Renko showed me an expression that seemed to say "all in a day's work" when she noticed the puzzlement on my face at that realization. As the shrine was free of admission, we walked in through the little park surrounding the main shrine area. Maribel did not stop and continued to walk and soon we approached the south entrance; I wondered where she was headed, but did not say anything. However, as we left the shrine grounds, I scratched my head and looked back several times, unsure of how to judge the blonde girl's behavior. Renko did not seem to mind the changed destination and followed Maribel without any questions.
"Where exactly are we going?"
I finally could not hold myself back from asking, especially since staying outside for much longer in the streets would only increase the possibility that I would miss club activities for several days to come due to catching a cold. Then, I saw the Yasaka Pagoda, three of its five square-shaped roofs visible against the orange-red background that was the sky changing into its evening dress.
Maribel's silence made it clear that she had noticed my expression and that I did not expect a response to my question anymore. Even though it was called the Yasaka Pagoda, it was not on the Yasaka Shrine grounds but rather part of the Hokanji, a Buddhist temple. When speaking of a temple though, the Hokanji was only a collection of a few small buildings surrounded by an old residential area. The pagoda's floodlights were already switched on, although the roof tiles remained dark, appearing black in the dark red sky. The sunlight was fading noticeably and soon I could see stars taking its place to illuminate the night, albeit their efforts were unsuccessful. Street lights were scarce in this area and we proceeded to walk in the twilight until we reached the temple grounds, at which point the sun's reach had completely disappeared behind the horizon, leaving the city in a war between its lights and the darkness of the night, which would be ended by the morning sun.
"Now that I think about it, what did we come here to do?"
The question finally took form in my mind, as I had not been able to think about it earlier and I promptly voiced it; the air was getting colder and I was starting to seriously freeze, so my brain was trying to find ways to get out of the situation. One such way included questioning the authority that had led me to this place, leaving out the fact that it had been my idea to visit the Yasaka Shrine, resulting in the detour to the pagoda.
"We told you that to find the existence of the supernatural and parallel worlds, and proving it is the goal of this club, right?"
Turning around, Maribel was the one to answer my question, as she seemed to be leading today's field trip. However, Renko followed her example and picked up the conversation when I merely nodded in response.
"Well, we're already over the 'finding' part."
Upon her wide grin, my face turned blank in astonishment; my mind did not seem to be able to comprehend that outrageous statement, spoken with such confidence. I turned my gaze to Maribel, who seemed to agree with Renko's words, then back to the latter. For a second I thought I had heard wrong, for the following I thought they were playing me for a fool; however, part of me wanted to believe them, which was also the part that kept me there. If I had been a person with a little less interest in mythology and folklore, I might have simply walked away from the situation and forgotten about that day.
"What do you mean by that?"
Yet, I would not simply believe everything somebody told me, inquiring for more despite knowing that either their facade would collapse now and they would both start to laugh at the expression I had been showing on my face ever since Renko's revelation, or they would provide evidence for their claim. I was aware of the fact that the former outcome was more likely, but secretly I wished that it would be the latter.
"That we already reached half of our club's final goal. We are thinking of ways to prove the existence of what we found."
It was Maribel again, who answered me.
"Why would you have to think of a way to prove it? Just show it as evidence."
I was aware that these two university students before me already had considered that option, but something must have been adding complexity to the matter and eliminated the obvious and simple solutions. However, my brain did not seem to work properly as it was still processing the implications of Maribel and Renko's claim.
"I can show it to you, but only because it is you."
Before I could ask what it was that she wanted to show me or why I received such special treatment, space itself seemed to split before my eyes. My consciousness wavered and I suddenly stopped feeling my legs, before I realized that it was not just my legs but rather my whole body which felt like it had vanished. A calm part of me coldly ascribed it to an out-of-body experience, but that realization was of no significance, as I tried to regain my mental balance. The scenery of the temple with the Yasaka Pagoda had already been replaced by a psychedelic flow of various colors, of which purple was strangely the predominant one. Everything around me seemed to spiral towards one direction and my perception was not exempt from the pull of this unknown source, as I came to face it involuntarily. The colors accelerated and became a blur, to the point where they started to melt together to form pure whiteness.
Then I could suddenly feel my body again, as a strong wind howled in my ears, returning another one of my senses. At almost the same time my eyesight returned, having been blinded by the light before; it served to show me that I was in a predicament. The howling wind came from the fact that I was falling from high up in the sky.
Maybe the adrenaline rushed into my blood at that realization, before panic could take hold of me, but a calmness overcame me in that moment. I did not feel like I was falling but rather flying, over a scenery I had never seen before, and noticed that I was alone. My vision was filled by a beautiful landscape that was engulfed in the light of stars, unchallenged by the advances of human illumination. A big full moon, bigger than I had ever seen before, seemed to be within my grasping range, but my gaze turned downwards, to the forests, fields and mountains. I could see a village not far from where I would leave a staying impression in the earth, but right below me I saw the side of the one mountain that seemed to be the tallest in the area.
"Great, a sooner end."
The fact that I could still be cynical at this point of time proved that a part of me did not believe that this was reality. Thus I was able to assess that the place I was falling towards was in fact a shrine; the irony of this circumstance was not lost on me, as my eyes searched for a way to survive the crash. A shrine usually had a well, although on second though I realized that they also had a wooden ceiling, and any impact from the height I came from would surely be fatal. Right at that moment, I realized something flying past me, but my eyes had not been fast enough to follow it; however, I had been able to see what seemed to be black feathers, so I assessed that it must have been a crow. The next moment, I wondered why I even used any brain capacity on something unrelated shortly before my unavoidable death; I should have been looking for a way to save myself.
A little more time passed, long enough for me to realize my impotence at the situation, before I saw two people at the shrine. It seemed that I would not only leave an impact on the ground, but then I noticed something strange about the two, who I realized were females. One wore a strange hat and the other had a ring on her back. However, before I could see any more, I hit the floor and the world went black before I even felt anything.
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I opened my eyes in shock and sat up from a lying position, realizing in the next moment that I was in my own room and sitting on my bed. The experience from mere moments ago suddenly felt so distant, as if it had been nothing but a dream, something that became hazier the more you tried to recall it. However, I was unsure about how much of what I had seen had been but a dream; had I actually joined the Sealing Club, in which Maribel and Renko had been the only members before my addition? Did I have any proof that it had been real? I looked at the alarm clock, which showed a nightmarish two in the afternoon, and laid back in my bed; classes had already ended for me today, so there was no point in stressing myself out. Then I noticed the dizziness, like a wave coming over my mind; feeling my forehead, I realized that I was down with a fever.
However, I needed answers and if I went to the Sealing Club's "clubroom", I would find them for sure. If it had all been a dream, it had not been a bad one.
[X] Go to the Sealing Club right now.
[X] Stay in bed and try to recall the dream or the memories.
[X] Go back to sleep and cure myself.