Tenzoku of Izuchi

Was there anything different that he hadn’t noticed…?  Physically, nothing felt too different aside the surprise of his hair or the slight growth to his height.  As for anything else…

“Well, as long as it’s not too bad, let’s head to the surface,” he said as started walking toward the exit.

There was so much more they needed to discuss, but staying there wasn’t going to help anything.

‘Ah…’ Sorey came to a pause as yet another thought crossed his mind.  With his friend here, maybe he could give him a second opinion.

“Hey… about this.” he pointed at his hair, “I really did… end up the way I thought I did, didn’t I?  Does it look weird?”

The more he thought about it, the more he almost didn’t look forward to traveling through the ruins they explored together so often when they were still young. He was aware of how much it had changed, but only distantly; it all happened rather slowly, at such a pace that the encroaching plant life was barely noticeably different from year to year. The changes would certainly come as a surprise to Sorey though.

“No, it looks like it did when you would use kamui form, it’s not all that different,” he said, deciding that over embellishing changes wouldn’t be very helpful.

“Are you sure you don’t feel strange at all?” he questioned.

“Right.” Sorey laughed awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck, “We did, didn’t we?”

If he was going to see how much the world had changed, and face how much time had passed.  It would help to have someone he trusted to be by his side when he found out things that may not be so joyful; like the passing of friends and loved ones for example.

Speaking of which… if he were to start learning more about the outside world, perhaps they should start by going outside. 

And perhaps get out of the uncomfortably bright light above them. And away from an area of the floor that they knew was weak.

“We did,” he echoed. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

He almost laughed to see that Sorey’s mannerisms hadn’t changed. It made sense that they wouldn’t have, even the awkward ones he did, but it was still warming to see.

“It is, though it doesn’t look much the same,” he said. “The ruins back in Izuchi look pretty different as well, though they’re not quite so decrepit.”

This really was Mikleo and yet… not.  He was older.  Centuries older.  Sorey on the other hand may look the way he did now, yet there was a distance there- a gap in memories and experience.  Those thoughts were what brought on another feeling he wished he could ignore.  Loneliness.

For himself who never got to experience or see what his closest friend had seen in the years that had past.  To the reasons as to why or how Mikleo looked the way he did now.  Sorey… never got to see.  And with that last comment, he found himself turning his glance to the floor in a moment to gather his courage. 

He did leave him for so long…  made him wait for such a time.

Sorey’s appearance was still a reminder that time hadn’t stopped altogether for him. His hair was hacked so roughly that it looked as though he’d gotten into a fight with a pair of scissors. More noticeably, they were closer to being at eye level with each other, albeit not quite even.

Sorey’s question made him smile despite the previous serious turn in the conversation. 

“I see…” Sorey said in return before a defeated smile made its way to his face, “Of course it has…  Centuries, huh?”

But declaring that one was prepared was different from facing the actual results.  Knowing how much has past, and how little he knew as well of those he cared for, well– it was harder to just swallow.

“That means I have a lot to catch up on.” he continued with a soft laugh, “Will you tell me about the world, Mikleo?”

Better yet…

“Will you tell me how you’ve been?”

Even with how much time passed, he could hear the way Sorey echoed the word centuries with a tone that didn’t match the smile.

“Izuchi hasn’t changed all that much,” he said, smiling slightly. “There are a few new buildings, some other tenzoku have come to live there...but it’s the human cities that are the most interesting to see. Lady Lake is almost twice the size it used to be.”

“I’m fine.” he laughed pleasantly, “I–”

Although he couldn’t help but fall silent.  His last moments before his long slumber were not particularly pleasing, but he did remember them.  His last exchange with Heldarf and saying goodbye to the tenzokus who had helped him in that journey, surreal as it all felt.

“… I remember.” followed his simple response with a fleeting glance to the insignia on his left glove.

He then turned his attention back to Mikleo and grimaced.

That was one of the questions that Mikleo dreaded answering. Even though Sorey knew just how long it could be when he decided to go through with the plan that brought them to where they were then, there was still something grim about relaying that information.

The implication of simply stating how long it had been would relay all of the bad news without even directly stating it. Alisha was gone. Rose was gone. Every other human they’d met along the way was too. 

Sorey found himself chuckling as relief took over all the anxiety he felt, and he returned the embrace of the Tenzoku he had grown up with.

He had changed over the years of his slumber - he’d aged some, but not much, just enough that he didn’t look like an overly excited teenager anymore. The differences were far from being enough to make him unrecognizable. Then again, even if he had changed more, Mikleo was still fairly certain he still would have recognized him. 

“Are you alright? Do you really remember everything?”

However, more important matters had to be addressed over other thoughts.  He was at an advantage with the light above him and it allowed to see this person’s features clearer and closer.  He could feel the drumming in his chest grow faster, louder, until finally… this person looked up towards him.

Despite some changes to his features, those recognizable tone of amethyst was one Sorey dared not forget.  He was greeted with a look of surprise, one he couldn’t blame him for, but it soon changed… softer… familiar…

He knew that face.

‘… You’re finally here.’ Sorey found himself thinking before he gripped at that hand tighter before helping him back onto solid ground.

He sat back on the floor, still keeping his glance straight at the silver haired tenzoku and his hand around the other’s wrist, a turmoil of emotions swirling in his heart.  Joy and relief, yet anxious at the same time.  Was Sorey just familiar?  Or did he actually know who he was?  … Did he still remember? 

Well… there’s only one way to find out.

Mikleo grabbed hold of Sorey’s wrist as best he could despite the awkward angle. Without waiting for another moment to pass, Sorey pulled him up onto solid ground. 

The timing of it all almost made it seem too good to be true, but Sorey was still right there in front of him. His mind was starting to race - waiting for him to wake up again had always been marred by worries of it he would remember him or if his memories would be hazy or even incomplete. Sorey was naturally kind, even time couldn’t change that - he’d rush to the aid of someone even if he didn’t know them. 

Regardless, that concern was swiftly assuaged when Sorey greeted him by name. Relief made him start to smile again.

“Sorey-” he began, but then paused.

So silently, he trailed after the stranger, into one of the inner rooms of the temple.

That room in particular was strange as in comparison to the rest of the temple it was rather well lit.  Though admittedly, Sorey had done little on his own in terms of exploring, or at least not since the day they faced off with Heldarf.  However, his attention still centered upon the individual who entered the ruins. 

Long silver hair… wardrobe of blue and white… a water tenzoku.  Sorey’s eyes slowly widened as he suddenly felt a wave of familiarity, hope that perhaps this person was who he thought he was.  He quietly made his way into the room and observed every movement, wishing that this person could turn around, to confirm the truth he was eager to receive.  Finally… finally…

“Mi–!” he opened his lips to call out after him when he realized that the floor had suddenly collapsed beneath the visitor’s feet not long after they touched the blue jewel mounted upon the pedestal.

A strong hand seized his wrist without a moment to spare. 

He hung there for a moment as he winced and started to turn his head upward. He blinked as he looked up to see who had come to his aid, hardly wanting to address the hope in the back of his mind for the chance of being wrong. It wouldn’t make sense if someone had Izuchi had followed him this far - he would have noticed them long before getting this far into Maoterasu’s temple.

Footsteps.

He dared to open his eyes, glancing over his shoulder from the direction of where the sound echoed.  The weight of those steps were unfamiliar and brought little hope to whom he wished they could be.  But that didn’t deter his curiosity.

He walked toward the altar on the far side of the room but paused when he stepped under the bright light streaming in from above. It was bright enough to be blinding and he lifted his hand above his eyes to get a better look at where it was coming from. He progressed forward and his gaze settled on the turquoise gem in the center of the altar.

It was darkness that first greeted Sorey as he returned to the waking world.  He laid upon a cold hard surface, his senses surrounded by what was both foreign and familiar.  The ambiance was strange, a deafening silence that he was unused to.  His nostrils were filled by a damp and musty smell of a place that clearly had not been opened for a good number of years.  Ruins…

That’s right.  The last of his memory was a surreal scene where a man who believed his ways were correct, met his demise upon Sorey’s hand.  And in that person’s place, he took on the role of absorbing Maoterasu, only waking when the world was purified.  He bid his friends good bye and thanked them for their help.  Then… it was sleep.

But now he was awake, and that could only mean that his goal had been reached. 

Pushing himself up to a seated position, he finally glanced around his surroundings to figure out where in the world he was to begin with.  Or more like, how long?  If he remembered correctly, even he had been prepared to sleep for centuries as the darkness in the world was strong and existed in the hearts of every living thing. 

‘So long as I remember my promise, we’ll be together again.’

“Ah…” he mouthed.

There was that as well.  Even if his goal was reached, there was still a promise he had to keep.

And this was where he found himself sitting within the darkness of the very same ruins.  Who knew how long ago it was when he first woke up.  He had discovered much about himself and these ruins in his stay, some of which were a little distressing.  For one, his hair had changed to an uncanny colour of pale yellow from its original brown.  Not to mention the length had become so dangerous that leaving it be resulted to him tripping a number of times.  He had been forced to cut it a few inches below his waist with a sharp rock he had found while walking about the ruins.  His face as well seemed to have shown some changes when he glanced upon his reflection, and there seemed to be a difference in his height if the length of his pants were any proof of it.

Then there was the one question that lingered in his mind upon waking. The question of how long has it been?  Judging from the walls alone, the stone were already showing stages of decay that could only occur after decades, maybe centuries after they were built.  If that was so then… where could he go? Where would… Mikleo be?  If he left this place, how would he find him?  Would Mikleo still know he was Sorey?

It was those very questions that led him to the decision to wait within these walls.  While it was purely his conjecture, he felt that this was the best way to find his childhood friend.   These were the ruins of Maoterasu’s temple and the place he parted with all of his companions.  Eventually, Mikleo would return.  

He tried not to think about just how long it had been. When he looked at it like that – waiting around for decades that became centuries for someone he’d known for just two decades – it almost sounded ridiculous. Mathematically speaking, they’d only known each other for what was now a rather small fraction of his lifetime. Izuchi hadn’t grown all that much in the long stretch of time, but even there, there were people who didn’t know who he was talking about if he mentioned Sorey. It always struck him as odd when that happened, since even though he had a few centuries of memories, it was those very old memories that were the clearest in his mind.

Everything looked so different from the way it used to. The ruins had their fair share of wear and damage when he explored them with Sorey, but now, so many areas of them were downright dangerous. The state of the old stone revealed too clearly just how much time passed. He tried his best not to fall into that category as well, though with the amount of time that had gone by, even that goal wasn’t a simple one. He didn’t look the same as he did back then. As much as Edna insisted that no one would forget what his frown looked like considering that most people who deal with him saw it too often, he didn’t want to be unrecognizable. There were those lingering questions from so long ago about if Sorey’s memories would be impacted by absorbing Maoterasu; the last thing he wanted to imagine would be seeing Sorey again only for him to be unable to recall who Mikleo was.

Camran was in even worse shape; a human village of rather simple construction could not withstand the test of time. The houses were in ruins back when they had fought their way Maoterasu’s temple the first time, but now there was barely anything left of them. But that almost seemed like another lifetime. For humans, it would have been a couple of lifetimes. Their birthplace almost looked as if no one had ever even lived there.

Sorey stood there with arms slouched in defeat before a long sigh followed.