2018-06-12 - LOTUS AWAKENING: Mikoto Minagi

Title: LOTUS AWAKENING: Mikoto Minagi
Summary: Mikoto Minagi awakes from a terrible dream, only to find that reality is just as she left it. Her Lord Brother would never leave her, after all...
Who: Mikoto Minagi
Where: Mount Moto, Nishitama Park
OOC - IC Date: 2018-06-12 - 4-25-2015

The shamusho of Minagi Shrine is rich more in the manner of history than of decadence. It is achingly traditional, smooth wood and sliding doors, and it is strange amongst shrine offices in that it has no public-facing aspects at all. The Minagi Shrine is self-contained, upon Mount Moto. Few would dare to tread there.

But the shamusho is not where Mikoto Minagi, guardian of Miroku, sleeps.

Rather: it is not where Miroku sleeps, and where Mikoto must sleep as well.

She sleeps within the naijin, the inner sanctum of the main sanctuary, and only one other may tread there. The inner sanctum is a lavish place, terrible and imperious, the velvet throne of a spartan hall. It is all in reds and purples and blacks, built to house the most sacred objects of dark and transcendent things.

But despite its status, apart from humanity, it is a comfortable place. And it is comforting in its familiarity; she has always dwelt here, as long as she can remember. And though it is not a place for humanity, there are cats. There have always been cats, in the shrine. There is a cat sleeping beside her, now, and its warmth is scant but comforting. It means she's not lonely at all.

There are no bad dreams in a place like this. And yet...

Mikoto tosses and turns in her bedding, curled around her sword-case, and the cat flees the disturbance to stand further away. There is a voice -

Because there is one other who may tread here. The Lord of the shrine must have full reign; could Mikoto accept any other explanation?

"Mikoto," calls that voice, achingly familiar. "Mikoto!" A hand on her shoulder, as pale and noble as her own. Golden eyes scrunch up and open, looking up into mirrors just as yellow and bright as her own. Short hair, like hers, though missing her braids. Taller than her, more firmly built. A few years older than her, perhaps.

Her breath catches in her throat and her eyes widen at the sheer impossibility of it. She finds she cannot move, cannot find the words to speak, yellow lost in yellow because it isn't possible.

"Mikoto," he repeats, caring and concerned, "are you okay? You're never late to breakfast..."

Her lips shape the words before her breath manages to form them. "Lord - Lord Brother -" The words are disbelieving and confused and uncertain.

He frowns as he sees the tears welling in her eyes, brushing a braid back from her face. "Mikoto... talk to me. What happened?" And his voice is warm, and comforting, and it is home, home, home.

"I -" Mikoto's voice quavers; she finds she's shaking. "Lord Brother, you were gone, and I - had to find and - and I couldn't, and -" - but the memory seems so distant now. It's not that she's forgotten - Mikoto Minagi has an excellent memory, and forgets very little - it's just that dreams get all mixed up, upon waking. It's like trying to view a distant mirage. "There was... a girl." Warm like the memory of a cat which has fled. "Lots of girls. And, something bad happened..."

"Oh, Mikoto," her Lord Brother smiles, gently, offering a hand to pick her up. "You were just dreaming. There are no girls here, aside from you. And I'd never leave you - you know that. It was all just a bad dream..."

Mikoto straightens, with his assistance, and buries her face against his shoulder. She wraps her hands around his back, clutching tightly. "My Lord Brother's really here?!"

He breathes out, resting his chin on her head, and wraps her in an enveloping embrace. "Yes, Mikoto... I'm right here. Don't be silly, I didn't go anywhere. Hey, shh..." She's crying, of all things, and he rubs the back of her head soothingly. "... I'm here. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

She swallows, and nods. It all seems so distant, now, the desperation...

But now she's awake, and everything is fine. Everything is as she expects it to be. Her home, her Lord Brother - everything as it's always been. Everything she wants, and everything she needs.

"Come on," her Lord Brother straightens, once her sniffles abate. Once more, he offers her a hand up, ever strong and sturdy. "If we're any later for breakfast, Grandfather will start to worry. You know how he is."

---

"Mikoto-sama!" Her Grandfather, when he sees her enter the dining area of the shamusho, chides her gently. His tone is formal, but fond despite it. He gently pushes aside a cat trying to get into the pantry with a foot. "It's not like you to be a late riser. Are you all right?"

"I'm okay," Mikoto says, a little uncertain. "I just, um..."

"She had a bad dream," her Lord Brother explains, a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course, my Lord. Mikoto-sama, please, sit, eat. I've prepared your favourite breakfast." Pancakes are a strange thing to see, in a place like this, but it makes sense. They're delicious, after all, and her family knows how much she likes delicious food. Like ramen! Mikoto loves ramen.

And so her eyes light up, and she sits, resting Miroku against the side of the table as she devours a stack of pancakes with aplomb. It's the sort which might almost have been inspired by a German-themed diner - except there's nothing like that, up here.

One of her uncles passes through the dining room, as the three of them are eating. He smiles, warm behind his dark glasses. "Good to see everyone's in good spirits. We'll be taking care of the bokken today, so..."

Mikoto swallows, and looks up. "Need help?"

"No, no," her uncle waves her off, as he picks up a piece of fruit from the bowl, "we'll be fine. There are many other tasks for you." Another cat passes him by as he leaves, and it seems utterly disaffected by any of the kitchen excitement.

Her Lord Brother looks up from his own stack of pancakes, sly. "Say, Mikoto... instead of any of that, want to go hiking with me? Just training every day really gets old."

She brightens, a smile spreading over her face. "Really?!"

Her Grandfather chuckles. "Well, I suppose it's fine to take a day off every now and then. Just be careful. I'd hate for anything to happen to you."

"Don't worry!" Mikoto chirps. "I won't let anything happen to my Lord Brother!"

And her Lord Brother laughs. "Mikoto, that's my line!"

---

Their obsidian blades are safe within their sheathes, as Mikoto and her Lord Brother depart the shrine gates. They pass a cat, wriggling in through the thorns of the bushes without a single scratch.

Mount Moto is a beautiful place - virtually untouched by human hands, as old edicts keep so many from its slopes. They can spend hours, out there, stalking deer for the sport of it and climbing trees just to find the flowers atop them. Mikoto's very good at climbing, just like her cats.

But Mikoto is a HiME, after all, who has trained for years to be her Lord Brother's beloved warrior. She knows how to attack every single type of youma - though not people, of course. But there are things which hunger for the love of HiME and care little for taboos or customs.

The reason her Grandfather bid her to be careful is quite obvious: Orphans.

"Trouble!" Mikoto calls out in alarm, as her sharp senses catch the sound of something slithering. It is a thing like cobra, with sails where its hood ought to be, and it bursts from the ground with a thunderous clap.

Their blades are out in an instant - claymore and katana both.

Because while Mikoto has been training to be a warrior, her Lord Brother hasn't neglected his training, either. "About the flank, Mikoto!" He calls simple instruction and she obeys, like lions hunting an antelope. They are equal partners, in this. It's so much better to fight together than alone.

He would not ask her to risk her life alone, after all. When she cuts in to cleave at one side of the youma, he pierces the other. And when its thrashing catches her in her all-out offence and sends her tumbling to the ground, he is there, slashing its sails into ribbons to keep it from savaging her. "Mikoto!"

She leaps; she cleaves into its heart; it is overwhelmed. She has always been the force behind his finesse.

They sheathe their blades, and her Lord Brother rushes to her, brushing leaves from her hair. "Mikoto, are you okay?"

"Yup!" Mikoto grins, cheerful again now the danger has passed. "I'm fine, 'cause Lord Brother's here!"

"Oh, Mikoto," he smiles, gently, "I'd never abandon you to danger. You're my adorable little sister, after all!" He pauses, concern in his tone. "Do you want to head home..?"

She shakes her head. "No way! Gotta see sunset first!"

He laughs, with a sly grin. "Can't keep Mikoto down, huh? Come on, I'll give you a ride." He kneels down, and Mikoto hops up onto his back, happily. This is her favourite place!

---

They come to the edge of the overlook to watch the sky turn red, and soon red becomes blue-black, glittering with stars and the light of the moon. Mikoto loves the full moon; its light is more than enough for her catlike eyes to navigate by.

But it's not the light of the moon which catches her attention, now. She perches astride a rock, and looks down at the sparse lights of Nishitama Park, of the glittering Tokyo beyond. She frowns, thoughtful. "Does my Lord Brother... ever wonder what's out there?"

"Nothing good, Mikoto," her Lord Brother replies, with ease. "It's much better up here, where we belong. Why, were you thinking of travelling?"

She shakes her head, emphatically.

"Really?" He asks, raising a brow. "There's nothing that would make you consider going down there?"

Mikoto makes a thoughtful noise as she considers the question. "... I'd leave for Lord Brother's sake!"

He chuckles, shaking his head. "I know you would, Mikoto. You're such a good girl."

She smiles, bright enough that even the moon can't compete. "What about Lord Brother? Ever thought about it?"

"Hmm... maybe one day." He reaches out, and ruffles her hair. "But don't worry, Mikoto - you'll be right there by my side."

And Mikoto looks down at the world, and she cannot help but feel that she ought to know more about it, if her Lord Brother wants to venture there. She's torn from her thoughts by the meow of an adventurous cat, who strides to the edge of the overlook. Mikoto straightens up and scoops it up in her arms, turning to her Lord Brother.

"Let's head home, 'kay?" It is, after all, where they belong. Where she belongs.

Where her happiness lies.