Miyoshi Seikai "The Iceman"

"Torn by Darkness"

Part Fourteen

Despite the mission Arimani had set herself, the longing ache of her severed bond to Seikai wrenched and twisted through her ethereal form.

The construct between them was something she relied too much upon, she knew. What had begun as one unwilling to leave, and one unwilling to let go, had, over subsequent years, become a kind of unspoken inter-dependence.

She of course was sorrowful, although she rarely showed him, and considering he never once called her by name, it kept bringing home to her, he believed she had truly crossed the bridge to a new existence.

But exist she did, in a way, although beyond pretending to be his mental torment, she hadn't experimented much with any things she might be able do in this form. Being close to him was enough, and she didn't wish to jeopardise that by something as stupid as playing with energies she didn't understand.

The world she remembered was not the way she saw it now. For the most part, it was colourless, like a faded picture, the only vibrance being Seikai himself, which, considering he was a child of the shadows, was quite ironic.

Were there others of her "kind"?

If that was indeed the term?

Over the years, she had glimpsed shades, echoes, here and there. Some were frightening, held by a thread of anger or hate to the world, some were just the essence of something much darker and ancient.

There had even been a few more mournful than herelf, lost and wandering, perpetually crying in pain and anguish, or a heart broken to pieces..

It was relatively early on she had made sure to stay within the safety of being near Seikai, in fact she spent far more time with now than she ever did. She also had learned much more about him, things she wished he had shared with her.

But all that was gone. Gone forever.

Perhaps it really was time she discovered what she could do, show him she wasn't just a figment of his imagination. She would have to prove her worth though, because her greatest fear, her terror, was that he would banish her to an eternity without him.

Having materialised within Taro's smithy, she was surprised to discover that some time had passed in her travelling through the ether, the sun was heading towards the tail end of its daily journey, and the smithy itself was quiet and empty. She drifted to his small attached home, which was also minus its large, muscle bound owner, and she wafted through his things, trying to figure out where he might be.

Sensing life energy wasn't something she had practiced, her bond to Seikai meant it was unnecessary, but now, she realised, she was going to have to learn some new skills rather quickly, especially if she was going to make Taro her new mission.

Her brows creased tightly together as she tried to gather her awareness, it wasn't much, but she was immediately bombarded with all sorts of little hints, like faintly coloured light sources within the palette of greys which were her usual world away from Seikai.

So many little creatures, she mused, fascinated by the experience, her range was limited, however, and still no Taro. Then it struck her, the water pool! Of course!, How stupid not to think of that first, and with a shake of her head, she sighed, exasperated at herself for not even getting the first step of her new mission started before tripping over her cloudy mind.

"Well." She huffed to the empty room, "At least no one saw me being an idiot."

Her form shimmered into nothing more than a swirl of dusty air (had anyone been there to see it), and not half a second later, she appeared nearby the pool, mindful that an eyeful of a bathing Taro might be too much for her senses, let alone seeming inappropriate, even if he would be none the wiser to her presence.