Soul Harvest [Private]

[Ryu Hime]

Long stairs separated the shrine from the street level, and the design of the aged building seemed to be as old as time itself. It was crafted from wood with a vintage design, and appeared to be well-kept for such an old establishment. The air was filled with the sweet scent of cherry blossoms as the trees around the area were strangely in full bloom. It would seem unusual for those who do not frequently come to the shrine for it was the season when all trees have long lost their leaves. Yet for some reason the area around the sacred shrine remains lush and green with flowers everywhere. While the rest of the village enjoys whatever season it may be in, the shrine seemingly remains in an ever constant spring as if trapped in time. The shrines patrons were all Yamanaka seeking enlightenment and it is through their powers that the flowers remain in bloom.


Flower petals dance in the air to the gentle roaming breezes of the wind and the tree branches begins to sway gently to the wind. A crow flies down and lands on one of the fox statues. The black bird welcomes Hakuren with a loud caw. With careful eyes one would see many forms of life. A black cat lays by the entrance bathing in the warmth of the last few rays of the sun, couple of rabbits nimble at the bed of flowers and a cricket begins to play its song for the coming night. They were being watched by the residence of this place, but they mean no harm. They are merely watchers used to keep an eye out for those who would seek to make trouble.

Hakuren had invited Yume to her shrine for something interesting. Not too long ago Hakuren became the supposed avatar to one of the local deities at the shrine. This deity has taught Hakuren how to separate a price of her soul and imbue it into items. Now however she wants to go the next step, which is to create a soul. Like for normal people the creation of a soul requires two people; it is the merging of two souls. Though enjoyable to Hakuren as that method of soul making might be, she has a different thing in mind. Often special items used to express emotions or an item that hold sentimental value can be passively imbued with the owner’s soul over a long period of time. Hakuren believes Yume may just have such an item, which is she suggested Yume to bring her stuff for a private concert.

 

[Yume]

Needless to say, this invitation was really... really suspicious sounding. A private concert? Those don't come free. Besides, Yume was on a hiatus after that whole shot and almost died event. The sutures were out, but the scar down the middle of her chest still remained. She wasn't sure if it was going to be a big concern, come summer swimsuit promotion time.

There wasn't going to be a private concert anytime, anywhere soon. But at the same time, Yume currently had nothing but Sennin duties to do, and that just sounded boring. So, suss sounding invitation to the shrine it was. It wasn't Jade Temple, not where her brother rested, so she had no sense of ease being here.

One step into the grounds and she instantly could feel that she didn't belong. Unlike the animals in the wild who tended to run away or eat her, the creatures who resided in this shrine snapped their attention towards her, watching intently at the young girl's not at all angelic presence. Yume froze, unable to take another step further in. She stood awkwardly by the entrance, bringing a hand up to her ear.

"Oppa, pick me up soon. I think the animals are going to try kill me..." Yume mumbled into her headset.

Beep.

"Um... Hello?" she called into the shrine grounds. Yume crossed her arms, uneasy on what this would imply to the shrine workers here. What was she again? A demon or a ghost? Yume glanced down at her fading fingertips, refocusing herself in a panic to make sure that she was opaque at least. She was both.

 

[Ryu Hime]

“Welcome Yume-sama, I am so glad you could make it.” Hakuren greets her warmly and gives her a traditional bow of respect. “Come the twins are waiting to perform for you.” The twins where Hakuren’s first creations. They had a childish personality and quickly became big fans of Yume. The Twins desire to be popstar idols like her someday. They practice singing every day and now they were going to show what they got to the person they look up to most. Yume’s opinion would way quite heavily on the twins; Hakuren hopes Yume will be careful with her words. “I’m sorry for asking you to bring your equipment. We don’t own anything like that in the shrine nor would we know how to operate it if we did.” Hakuren gives a slightly awkward laugh after she says that. She did not like admitting to having a lack of knowledge in things.

Yume would likely be giving a confused look as her initial impressions of why she was invited was proven false. Not that the letter was purposely misleading. “Oh did I forget to mention in the letter? This was a Private Concert for you to watch. I would have went to your manager first if I wanted you to perform.” Hakuren slides open the entrance door. The tranquility of the yard matched the interior of the shrine. While there were modern light fixtures, the shrine was candle lit with an abundance of tall white candles. Burning incense gave the air a unique flavor. Finely carved idols and architecture completed the rustic atmosphere. This was not a temple of the progenitor of fire, or the five, but it had a similar spiritual energy. “Now please follow me.” She would say as she guides Yume down the hall passing doors along the way.

 

[Yume]

Not long after, the priestess greeted her. Well, it looks like there was no way to get out of here. As long as she can pass through the gardens without any of the animals attacking her, guess it'd be alright. Better yet, they should just run from the devil passing though.

Yume's confusion was clearly evident on her face. Oh, it was a private concert for her to listen to, not the other way around? Now that she thought about it, that made more sense than asking her to perform privately. Yume doesn't do that, not unless she was clearing out the Yamaguchi home.

The pair made their way down the corridor, with small, almost negligible chills creeping up and down the idol's back. Hakuren's apology of the miscommunication left her to smile politely. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry, I didn't bring any equipment. I can't do much heavy lifting right now anyway. But I'm sure you have plenty of rooms with good acoustics, so that you wouldn't even need any special equipment for a performance."

The only thing she probably had on her that was remotely related for her performance was her discreet headset, which could--if needed--switch into a headset microphone for the more energetic performances. But even then, it'd need to be connected to a speaker to have any voice amplification.

The further they went into the temple, the more aware Yume was feeling of the shivers that now brushed along her limbs. Her face stayed innocent as she looked around and took in the interior decor.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Song​

As Hakuren and Yume walk through the shrine they could hear the twins singing as they practiced for their concert. Rin starts the song and Len soon leads himself in perfect harmony with his twin sister. Together they sang a heartfelt story between a man and a woman. It was happy, sad and beautiful all at the same time. They sang of love, despair, loss and sacrifice. It was Hakuren’s favorite song for it was the lullaby that her parents use to sing to her and her twin sister at night. It has been many years since she has heard this song. It reminds her of better times and when they come to the place she stops. “Well, here we are.” As she opens the door Yume is welcomed into the Zen Gardens.

Soft gravel set the path through the garden and led to a routinely-raked meditation ground. There was an abundance of flora and fauna, which came in a multitude of species and vivid colors. A few candles hung around the premises in bronze lanterns suspended from trees and the temple by hemp rope, which illuminated the grounds with dancing light as light breezes made each one rotate and swing. In the center of the garden were the two twins, who did not even noticed the door being open. They were busy getting ready and sang all the while. She would fix his tie while he does her ribbon. Hakuren found it interesting how inseparable they were, but at the same time was not surprised. They were somehow created from the same soul.

 

[Yume]

The idol stepped into the grand Zen gardens, marvelling at the appearance of the place, but at the same time, thought how impractical it would be to do a performance in an open space without proper equipment. Ah... So that's why they asked for microphones and speakers. Oh dear.

But that's fine. This was a performance for a small crowd of one, so special equipment was not necessary anyway. Yume found herself a seat before the twins, clapping her hands together in polite delight.

"Oh, how lovely! I totally dig your aesthetic, very modern. Your names are...?"

Yume's charming smile hadn't left her lips, though the top of her brain crept with a niggling itch on the inside of her left palm. It was generally easy to deal with by simply discreetly scratching at it as she laid her hands on her lap, but the warning was so clear.

She can't stay in this temple for long. The holy energy was not good for her. It'd be how long until the itch turned into a burn? How long until it would start to spread? For now, Yume pushed it to the back of her mind, managing her itch secretly as she watched the performance of the twins.

 

[Ryu Hime]

The holy presence within the sacred shrine is like a poison to those of demon heritage. Yamanaka are well known for their expertise in poisons. Many strange poisons like this one have herbal remedies. The shrine has many types of flora, both common, rare and demonic. There is an unusual flower that grows in the gardens that feed on the blood of humans. By feeding it sanctified blood the staff member were able to concoct an antidote that will temporarily make one with demonic blood immune to the holy presence. The pursuit of its creation was not for Yume’s sake. The shrine has had many visitors like her before and will likely have many like her after.

Yume’s condition is quite well-known. Almost anybody worthy of calling themselves a fan would know that demon blood runs through her veins. Rin grabs a bottle of red liquid and runs over to Yume with her twin brother. “This is for you.” Some may fine the existence to such an antidote in a shrine odd. But this is a place of enlightenment. Corruption means nothing to the staff here as long as it leads one to the path of enlightenment


Yume would likely be cautious of drinking anything after what she has been through. An assassination attempt would give anybody an acute case of paranoia. “It is to help you withstand the holy aura of this place. Unless you like the burn; surprisingly we have had one masochistic fellow with demonic heritage. He gave me the creeps, but we try not to judge.” That individual actually stayed to his entire body was covered in third degree burns and was enjoying every minute of it. Hakuren had to leave every time he visited because she could not handle watching that; his gitty laugh while in pain sent chills down her spine.

 

[Yume]

Yume's smile froze, like how a retail assistant would when faced with unexpected behaviour of a customer. She glanced at the vial of blood red liquid in her grasp and looked back the three in a smile of both politeness and confusion.

"Oh, thank you? What is this?"

When Hakuren answered her, the confusion didn't appear to leave her face. On one hand, she thought that they heard of the unfounded rumours of her demon heritage through fans and the tabloids. She could correct that with a lie very easily if that was the case. But on the other, she felt her insides stiffen with concern. This was a shrine, with tangible holy energy and what appears to be a legitimate priestess. It wasn't farfetched to fear that the lie wouldn't pass here, especially if Hakuren was skilled enough to discern Yume's true nature.

So she played it safe, neither confirming or denying, but keeping the unsure smile on her face. "Burn?" That question was legit, she wasn't feeling a burn anywhere... yet. "Demons? I'm not sure I get what you mean by that, miko-san."

The vial of mystery liquid stayed held snug in her hands. If it was truly to function as how Hakuren described it, the Yume didn't need it now. She pushed the itch on her hand to the back of her mind and smiled at the twins, who had still yet to tell her their names.

"Now, what will I be watching today?"

 

[Ryu Hime]

The holy presence only inflicts harm to demons of malicious nature and does not affect all demons. This is because the aura in created by demons in the first place. The shrine has four local deities in which they ask guidance for. All four of these deities are Tenko, heavenly foxes, they are a type of kitsune. In the four corners, located in the four carnal directions, of the shrine there is an alter to each deity and on this sits an unusual orb. The object was smooth and white and appears to be a rather large pearl. These are the deities Hoshi no Tama, which is said to contain a piece of a kitsune’s very soul. Being that the hoshi no tama belongs to Tenko they give off a holy presence. The Zen Garden where two of them now stood was at the very center. The walls of the shrine surrounds them on all sides. The walls around the shape the Zen Garden into an octagonal shape and each wall has a trigrams on it made of broken and unbroken lines. This is known as Bagua and it represents the fundamental principles of reality. Being in the center where the holy auras of the four deities tend to overlap was not a safe place for Yume and would be highly recommended that she drinks the antidote sometime during her visit. A normal person would find themselves in utter serenity. This would be the perfect environment for meditation which the Zen Gardens were created for. In the center of the Zen Garden was a circular stone platform with a yin-yang on it.

Hakuren waves a hand, “don’t worry about it. I never did put trust in those darn tabloids, but the twins insisted.” After saying her peace Hakuren leaf the garden for Yume to enjoy her private performance. It is unfortunate the Yume did not bring any of her gear. Looks like Hakuren’s plans to take advantage of the twins show was a failure. It would be back to the drawing board with her.

Meanwhile in the Zen Garden the twins finally introduce themselves. “I’m Rin.” “And I’m Len.” The two of them then wrap an arm around the other twins should and with their free hands they back a shared hand heart. “And we are The Blooming Gardenia.” In Hanakotoba, the language of flowers, the Gardenia represented secret or forbidden love. The twins found this appropriate since most of their repertoire consists of love song which is normally sang towards each other.

 

[Yume]

"Oh, I see. Well thank you anyway."

How lucky for her that Hakuren did not have true ESP, or at least, didn't reveal that she did. Yume smiled and held onto the vial in her hands out of courtesy, though she didn't dare try take a sip. The need to protect her image was high. Despite rumours floating around about her demon blood (how did they even come to that conclusion, anyway?), it would the be proverbial nail in the coffin if Yume really did take a drink of this mystery liquid.

At the same time though, if she does get a worse and noticeable reaction than a tiny itch, then that would confirm it too. Ah, she'll worry about it if/when the time comes.

"Nice to meet you Rin and Len," she giggled, finally privy to their names. "What a cute unit name you created! What will you be performing?" Those names sounded like they'd be really famous singers at some point, in a world more technologically advanced than this.

Yume settled in her seat to watch the performance. With her hands on her lap, the hand holding onto the vial tightened on its grip as a discreet distraction from the itch that was now slowly creeping up her arm.

 

[Ryu Hime]

There was but a single tree in this garden. It grew tall and slender with few out reaching branches. The tree did not grow straight up but at an angle. A keen eye might notice small plaques with a number carved on top. The numbers one through twelve went around the circle and at this time of day the tree’s shadow pointed to one of them. As the twins preform for their precious idol singing solos and duets while dancing around the platform, the shadow moves from number to number. There list of songs was coming to a close and as they finish singing their final ballad they bow towards Yume respectfully and thanked her for coming. Though they did have requests of her that might seem a little forward. “Forgive us, but we heard you have a manager and we were wonder if he would be willing to help us.” “We have no manager and it is unlikely we will get too far without one.”

 

[Yume]

Her hands clapped to the rhythm of the song. Though it was in a style that was vastly different from hers, merit is given where merit is due. Surely at some point in the future, if they worked hard, they could gather themselves a dedicated fanbase. Her eyes trailed up to the lone spiralling tree in the garden for a moment and narrowed in confusion. Was that her imagination? She thought she saw something move.

Never mind. The final performance was nearing its end and Yume's clap quickened to a round of applause when the twins bowed. They thanked her for coming, par for the course, but their next words made the idol raise an eyebrow just slightly.

"Ah... You two want to go into the industry, do you?" Yume's fingernail tapped against the glass vial that she still held as she turned her head heavenwards to think. "Hmmm..."

Seconds ticked by slowly until she straightened her head again, shifting her gaze between the two young performers. She finally smiled, rising up from her seat. Yume approached them, leaning over slightly to keep on the same eye level.

"Then you should come to FiRE E&M and audition for the idol category. We're opening auditions next week, so you should definitely contact FiRE and apply," she replied in a hush, as if she was divulging a big secret. "I'll give you some advice for the audition. Be confident and show your passion for performing. I'm sure you two will do really great." Her hands reached out to clasp over their shoulders in encouragement and she gave a huge grin.

The grin faltered not long after though.

Yume blinked a couple of times, glancing down at her hands on their shoulders, then at their faces. Quickly, she cleared her throat and let go, straightening up before the twins caught her examining them for too long. The idol smiled at the pair.

"You'll do great," she repeated.

Marked for training - WC 250+

 

[Ryu Hime]

The twins looked to each other smiling ear ton eat at their idols praise. “Then we have no time to waste.” “Yeah we be get ready and prepare a routine.” The two of them would leave the gardens in a hurry discussing idea. Yume would have to see herself out.
[left topic]

 

[Yume]

In their enthusiasm, the twins left her alone before she could say anything else. Yume scratched the back of her head, confused. "Those two..." she mumbled under her breath. With a shrug, she dismissed the thought, as it wasn't her business.

Leaving the vial of red liquid on the seat, Yume stepped out of the shrine grounds, finally able to shake away the itchy rash that was peppering away on her palm. As the redness disappeared, so did she.

[Topic left]