Before the Fire-Visions of Destiny
rated PG13
by: Sailor Chibi Kamen
*************************************************************
I've always been fascinated by fire. For as long as I
can remember I've loved the warm glow of a flame, from the
tiny flicker of a birthday candle to the roar of the bonfire
fallen leaves necessitate. Today I gained a new respect for
it, however. Today was the day Ojii-chan taught me to read
the sacred flame.
For the past couple of weeks I've been having dreams
from which I wake up, screaming. At first I thought they were
just from watching "Ninja Scroll" too many times, but then I
started to remember them. In most of them I was wearing a red
and purple sailor fuku, a lot like Sailor V's. I was with other
girls who wore similar outfits in various other colors. We were
usually fighting monsters (sometimes with human faces). These
dreams all seemed... familiar, somehow, like they weren't really dreams.
The past few nights, though, I had the same dream. A
woman (girl?) with golden hair in odangos and ponytails, clad
in a flowing ivory gown, calls to me. A crescent moon glows
on her brow.
"Mars...."
"Yes, hime?" I answer, in a voice not quite my own, but
still mine.
"It is time, Mars. It is *our* time!"
I wonder, but there is no time to wonder
as her gown changes to a blue and red seifuku. A tiara appears, covering the
shining crescent. She smiles a secret smile,
salutes, and vanishes. For some reason her disappearance fills
me with dread and at this point I wake, screaming...
"SERENITY!!!!!!"
Somehow I know this is her name. I also know this is no ordinary
dream.
I finally told Ojii-chan what my dreams were. He nodded
and confirmed that they were most likely visions.
"Demo, Ojii-chan, what does all of it mean? I feel like
I know all of these girls, like we're almost sisters. And, who
is this Serenity?"
"Rei-chan, I wish I had answers for you. Demo, I am at a
loss," he said carefully, looking into my eyes. "I believe you
may already know the answers to your own questions, however."
"That's impossible!" I could feel my anger rising,
unbidden. I hate having such a quick temper, especially when
he's trying to help me. Demo, I hate being accused even more.
Right now it felt like I was being accused of... what? Lying
to him? Keeping a secret? The worst part was I could sense
he was right. I felt tears of frustration forming and looked
down so he couldn't see them.
"Calm down, Rei-chan," he said, catching my gaze. "I
didn't mean that you were hiding something, or consciously knew
the answers." (He knows me so well!) He sighed heavily.
"Granddaughter, it is time for the next step in your training."
"What do you mean?"
His light eyes bored into my dark ones. "You must
learn to read the sacred fire."
I was astonished. Shortly before my dreams/visions
started, I had asked Ojii-chan when he would teach me fire
meditation.
"When it is time, Rei-chan. When it is time," was his
only response. I suppose by now I should expect that. It's his
answer whenever I ask about *any* part of my training. I'm still
not sure I want to be a miko, but Ojii-chan says it was destiny
that brought me to live with him after Okaa-san died. He says
I am destined to take over for him when he is no longer able
to perform his duties. Sometimes I think he just hates sweeping!
I agree that destiny brought us together. Demo, I'm not certain
that my destiny is to be a priestess. These visions seem to
prove it. Ano, then, what *is* my destiny?
At Ojii-chan's direction I built up the sacred fire as
I knelt before it. I cleared my mind of all thoughts, save the
chant I would need to perform the ritual. I began the chant
slowly, in a whisper made shaky by the power I felt coursing
through me. By the end, though, I was practically shouting
(according to Ojii-chan. I don't remember.). Images formed in
the flames.
I saw myself in that now-familiar sailor fuku, flames
shooting from my fingers. I watched as I fought various youma,
on land and sea, even one that looked remarkably like a cat.
I fought two youma in a mountain of arctic ice. In killing them
I killed myself, only to be reborn. I envisioned a small,
pink-haired girl attempt to destroy life as we know it. I saw
the same girl fighting by our side in later days. I saw myself
surrounded by eight other women in sailor fukus, defending
an unknown crystalline kingdom from attack. Finally, it fell
as darkness overcame us.
I must have blacked out at some point. I came to on my
futon. Ojii-chan had fallen asleep at my bedside. He's always
so worried about me! I saw it was dark out so I gently woke
him, just enough that he could stumble to his own room.
I am puzzled by what the flames showed me today. I know
I was shown my true path in life, and it is not connected to the
jinja in any way I can see. I'll have to wait 'til tomorrow
to talk with Ojii-chan about it, and even then I still might
not understand. Ara! My life has always been full of surprises,
so why should this be any different? I'll just have to wait and
see.
*************
Vocabulary for the gaijin:
hime = princess Ojii-chan=grandfather demo=but
miko=priestess Okaa-san=mother
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