Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Chuushin ❯ Jinja no Chuushin ( Chapter 2 )

Jinja no Chuushin

By Asteria

Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi is the property of Ms. Watase Yuu. I am making no money from this story.

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I no longer remember the name my mother gave me.

I don't even remember my mother. I would not be able to pick her out of a crowd and if I were shown a portrait of her, it would mean nothing to me.

Sometimes it bothers me, this failure to remember. I must have had a mother and a father. They may still be alive somewhere. Did I have brothers or sisters? Did my parents love me? Did it hurt them to give me to the shrine when it became obvious what I was? Were my brothers jealous, did my sisters cry? These are the questions I ask myself at night when I can't sleep, which happens more often now that the rumors from Hokkan speak of the Genbu no Miko, the girl from another world destined to save her country. We live in marvelous times, says General Ryo, not everyone sees legends come to fulfillment. I am told daily that it is only a matter of time before the other Seiryuu no Shichiseishi appear and our own Miko arrives to guide Kutou to glory.

Every so often, I dream that I may leave this temple and return to my family. In this dream, my parents are alive, but old. My older two older brothers and one older sister are married and have children. My two younger sisters are also married, though neither has children yet. They are all overjoyed to meet me and introduce their spouses and announce to the neighbors that I am one of the destined Seiryuu no Shichiseishi. My mother and sisters cook for me, my nieces bring me flowers, my nephews want me to teach them how to fight, my father and brothers ask my opinion on the war, the state of the country, the rumors from the North that three of the Genbu no Shichiseishi have been located. They all call me by my own name.

I always wake in tears after a dream like this, because I can never remember the name they call me. I have been Miboshi for all of my thirty years and am destined to be so until I die.

Your name does not matter, says Master Haku whenever I speak to him of this, you are Miboshi. That is what is important. Master Haku instructs me in the priestly arts of meditation, conjuring and spell casting, just as General Ryo teaches me to fight, both barehanded and with a variety of weapons. Although after thirty years there is not much left to teach, so they only check my progress. I speak to Master Haku or General Ryo of nearly everything I think about, save my doubts.

I wonder if Seiryuu will be summoned within my lifetime. Even if Seiryuu no Miko arrives in ten years, I will already be approaching old age and will not be able to adequately perform my duties as a Seishi. Also, the other six Seishi have not appeared. I am certain of this. Several times every year, people come to the shrine claiming to be Seiryuu no Shichiseishi, or claiming that their children are. They use blue ink to stain the marks on their skin, but I find all of them out as imposters. For one thing, though it is common knowledge that a Seishi resides at this shrine, most do not know which one I am. Several people have claimed to be Miboshi. Even the ones who claim to be the others, my Star-siblings, are found out. I do not know how I can tell they are false, but I can always tell at a glance. It is worse since the rumors began. These past weeks have seen three of Ashitare and Miboshi, five each of Tomo, Nakago and Suboshi, eleven of Soi and no fewer than fourteen of Amiboshi. We are not like those northerners who fear their Seishi, says General Ryo, we show the proper respect to the chosen of Seiryuu. Hokkan cannot prevail, they have too much angered Genbu. We are the instrument of the gods!

General Ryo includes all of Kutou in his description, but in truth I alone am an instrument of the gods, so says Master Haku. General Ryo is a wise man, says Master Haku, but he is a warrior and warriors know nothing of the gods. You and I, Miboshi, we are priests, we understand the world of the spirits better than other men.

But even Master Haku now is less expert in matters of the spirit than I am. I have scrolls he does not know I have, and I believe I have solved the problem of my age. The scrolls contain powerful spells that can be used to enter any living body and force the soul within to leave. I will be nearly immortal. I say nearly because unless I leave the body I inhabit before life does, I will die along with it. But I do not intend to get killed. I intend to bide my time, wait for the appearance of my Miko, and serve her, as is my destiny. For I am Seiryuu no Shichiseishi Miboshi, and although my heart resides in this woodland shrine, my soul rides among the stars.