Death is Only the Beginning(Zuki)

[由 Yuna 奈]

Some say that when you die everything is over. There will be nothing more. You will feel no more, experience no more, love no more. But others say that death is only the beginning. To live, you must first die. But... to a miko, even one who believed in the afterlife and reincarnation, that made little sense. Why must you first die to truly live?

She had met vampires before. Well, one vampire, to tell the truth. And that man had said that he wished he had stayed dead. He did not want to be alive once more. He said that it had been better before he had been changed. But the miko assumed that that was not the case for everyone and everything. Perhaps other beings that had died, but than returned, actually did prefer life more now.

The miko, Yuna, stared at the remains of what was once a thriving village filled with life. Now it was nothing more than a shadow of its former self. The houses and general store, weapon shop, all the buildings had fallen long ago, over a hundred years before. Their remains were now all but gone, with just the hints of old rotting wood covered in green. The plant life had completely overtaken everything. Vines, flowers, grass... even a few trees. It looked so beautiful, it was impossible to tell that this had once been the site of a massacre.

All of the demons had been eradicated, killed by a rival clan that had wanted their power. The clan had not received it, though they had managed to completely destroy this village. The demons, weasels, had attacked when the leader was away. However, the leader, Jiro, had returned just in time to get himself killed by the weasel's leader. Yuna had witnessed the event, which scarred her heart greatly. For Jiro had been her husband, her one true love. Losing him, and their only child, her son, had been devastating.

And now returning to the place where it happened. Well, that in itself was nearly impossible for her. But... she wanted to finally try and move on past the hurt. Past the pain of it all. Strolling slowly through the village she made her way toward the small graveyard with only one thing on her mind.

[都Tsuzuki筑]

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Jiro whispered the name with tenderness, with reverence, as he gazed down upon the priestess. Part of him screamed to run to her, to embrace her, let her know how much she had been missed and never let her go again. But the voice of reason in his mind silenced such silly notions. He had been dead a long time-- and while he did not doubt in his love for her, he couldn't pretend that she was the same woman he left all those years ago.

He wouldn't have wanted her to live in the shadow of his death, and he didn't expect her to-- but Jiro also understood what this meant for him. Yuna was young, beautiful, powerful-- it would be silly to think no other would court her. Foolish not to assume she had a new husband, and children by him.

Though his sense of smell was not as powerful as that of some demons, he could smell the other on her. Faintly, but demon scent, male demon scent, was still present. And he wasn't about to ruin his love's newfound life by popping up again. She deserved her happiness, if it cost him his own... but as long as she was content, Jiro knew he would be able to bear it.

And bless the Kami for allowing him moments like these-- hidden though he was, near the site of his own death, he could watch his beautiful wife, his priestess, his Yuna... Even if she couldn't know he was there. [/blockquote][/size][/font][/ul]

[由 Yuna 奈]

The graveyard was also overgrown, Yuna was saddened to discover. She had last visited this place two months before, when she had believed she was going to die, but these plants had not been there then. Maybe their presence was a good sign... like that maybe things were finally right with the world.

She stopped at a grave in the middle, marked by a large stone. It was one of the few from the time that had received a proper marker such as this. She had been hurried, and had possessed no desire to stay in the village longer than need be to bury the dead. So she had really only taken the time to make graves for two. Her husband... and her son.

Yuna breathed a sigh as she pulled herself from her memories. Kneeling before the grave she placed her hands in front of her, palms together, in a prayer. Once that was through she lowered her hands to rest them on her lap. She stayed in that position for a moment, simply staring at the grave. Finally she sighed once more before speaking.

"It is over, anata(*)... When I came here two months ago I told you that I had married again... that I was happy..." She let out a bitter laugh. "But it was a lie. Shitsurei shimashita(*). I never should have lied to you... I was never happy with him... I may have fooled myself into thinking that I was, but... it was not true. When I was with him I had lost everything. My purpose, my powers, my children, even."

She closed her eyes. "The biggest thing I lost though... was you... Not with him, of course. But when I lost you... my world ended. I was completely lost... I still am," she admitted softly. "I can pretend to be happy, but... I am not... I am needed by none, feared by many, and hated by myself. I... hate myself for not being able to save you... I'm a priestess, I have the power to heal. I should have been able to save you."

"But I could not. And now..." Taking a deep breath she continued. "...now I do not know... is not my purpose already fulfilled? Have not I lived long enough on this earth?" She smiled sadly. It was a foolish question coming from a fool. She was a fool to believe she would really receive an answer. "I wish that you could answer, my love... so I could hear your wonderful voice once more..."

{Anata - Dear, what a wife would call her husband
Shitsurei shimashita - An apology

Lol sorry it's so long... muse got me xDD}