Shades of Time
folder
Gensomaden Saiyuki › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
53
Views:
6,034
Reviews:
117
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Gensomaden Saiyuki › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
53
Views:
6,034
Reviews:
117
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Gensomaden Saiyuki, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Run
Konzen raised one eyebrow as the door to his office flew open to reveal a very disheveled looking Tenpou.
“Where is she?” he demanded without greeting or preamble.
“Where’s who?” Konzen asked, not taking his feet down from the desk.
“You know perfectly well whom. Shi-ne. She’s gone. I’ve looked everywhere for her. Today and yesterday but she’s nowhere to be found.”
Konzen tilted his head a little and studied his friend. He had never seen Tenpou this flustered over not being able to find something. Or someone as the case was.
“I’m not Shi’s keeper. She’s perfectly free to do as she pleases. The healers released her so she’s probably in her office. Or maybe she went to see Thies at the infirmary. Or she might be at the big waterfall with the boys. I haven’t seen Goku for an hour or so either.”
“I’m telling you, Konzen, I’ve looked everywhere for her. No one has seen her. I went to her house and it’s locked up tight. That indicates she left on purpose because she never locks the house. Logically, the only person she’d tell she was leaving is you.”
“Sit down, Tenpou,” Konzen said, indicating the chair across from his desk.
“I didn’t come here to be lectured by you, Konzen. If you don’t know where she is just say so.”
“Sit. Your. Ass. Down. Now!”
Tenpou stared blankly at him for a moment before sitting down.
“Tell me what you did or said that made Shi believe she needed to get away and think.”
***
Shi dug her feet further into the warm sand and put her chin on her knees as she watched the sun begin to set over the water. She felt better already, more clear and focused. The only trouble now was what to do when she had to go back to the tangled state of confusion and trouble that had sent her running here in the first place.
Yes, it had been a run; she could at least admit that to herself even though it wasn’t a pleasant thought. She was still puzzled and felt like her world had tilted sideways and completely spun off track. Tenpou had told her he loved her. Granted, he probably didn’t remember it as he’d been asleep at the time. She had woken up to find him wrapped around her in her bed, completely snoozed out, mumbling in his sleep. She doubted she would have heard him if he hadn’t been breathing on the back of her neck at the time. She shivered a little in the light breeze. What to do with that knowledge was her dilemma now.
“Soledad!”
Shi lifted her head to see a boy of around ten running down the beach toward her and an old woman picking her way carefully behind him. She had no idea why the people of this village had nicknamed her la Soledad but it had stuck since day one and wasn’t changing so she accepted it.
The boy skidded to a halt next to her. “Soledad, Abuela wants you.”
Shi started to stand but the other woman waved her back down and sat next to her. She shooed the boy off and they sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the sunset together.
“You know, when you first came here, I was so jealous of you,” the woman said.
Shi stared at her for a moment, taken completely off guard by the statement. “Why would you be jealous of me, Manuela?”
The old woman smiled. “Because you had every man in the entire village from eight to eighty willing to do anything to make you smile. To break you out of the self imposed solitude and sadness everyone saw in you.”
Shi laughed a little. “You were only . . . what? Twelve or so at the time.”
“Yes. But I saw so much of you in me at that time. I didn’t know what I was seeing just then but I realized it a few years later. I’d been chasing Carlos around since we could walk and I wasn’t anything to him but an annoyance at best. Until one day I got tired of chasing him and stopped. That naturally threw him for a loop and made him think about a few things. I’m guessing much the same thing has happened with your soldier.”
“When did you get so wise? I’m at least a thousand years older than you are yet you figured out something about me years ago I’ve only realized the last few months.”
“It’s because I don’t get endless amounts of time to consider things. Life is so short here so one has to live it to the best of their ability every day. Now, what about your man?”
Shi sighed. “I’ve been chasing him for the last hundred years of my life, Manuela. Gods only know why. He never even looked at me half the time, didn’t want me around at all. Where I come from there are so many beautiful women, elegant and refined. I didn’t think I could ever measure up to them so I suppose I did all the wrong things in annoying him like a ten year old. It finally came to the point a friend pointed it out to me and I gave up. Then all of a sudden, he acted like he wanted my company. Even took care of me when I was injured. I don’t understand. Why now when I’m too exhausted to chase him anymore?”
“Because you did something he wasn’t used to, I’d imagine,” the other woman laughed. “Men don’t like change, no matter if they be fishermen or gods. That probably made him take a step back and really look at you. Now, the next question is, will he come looking for you? Because I really don’t relish the thought of a war god tearing the village apart searching for his lost love.”
“Ah, you make it sound so romantic. I doubt most heartily it will come to that. He’ll probably just harass our mutual friend to the point of murder before giving up.”
***
“If I tell you where she’s probably gone, will you leave me the hell alone?” Konzen said, sounding irritated.
“Where?”
Konzen sighed. Shi was going to hang him with his own entrails for telling Tenpou this. “There’s a little fishing village on the coast of Espania in the lower world where she goes to think.”
“Where is she?” he demanded without greeting or preamble.
“Where’s who?” Konzen asked, not taking his feet down from the desk.
“You know perfectly well whom. Shi-ne. She’s gone. I’ve looked everywhere for her. Today and yesterday but she’s nowhere to be found.”
Konzen tilted his head a little and studied his friend. He had never seen Tenpou this flustered over not being able to find something. Or someone as the case was.
“I’m not Shi’s keeper. She’s perfectly free to do as she pleases. The healers released her so she’s probably in her office. Or maybe she went to see Thies at the infirmary. Or she might be at the big waterfall with the boys. I haven’t seen Goku for an hour or so either.”
“I’m telling you, Konzen, I’ve looked everywhere for her. No one has seen her. I went to her house and it’s locked up tight. That indicates she left on purpose because she never locks the house. Logically, the only person she’d tell she was leaving is you.”
“Sit down, Tenpou,” Konzen said, indicating the chair across from his desk.
“I didn’t come here to be lectured by you, Konzen. If you don’t know where she is just say so.”
“Sit. Your. Ass. Down. Now!”
Tenpou stared blankly at him for a moment before sitting down.
“Tell me what you did or said that made Shi believe she needed to get away and think.”
***
Shi dug her feet further into the warm sand and put her chin on her knees as she watched the sun begin to set over the water. She felt better already, more clear and focused. The only trouble now was what to do when she had to go back to the tangled state of confusion and trouble that had sent her running here in the first place.
Yes, it had been a run; she could at least admit that to herself even though it wasn’t a pleasant thought. She was still puzzled and felt like her world had tilted sideways and completely spun off track. Tenpou had told her he loved her. Granted, he probably didn’t remember it as he’d been asleep at the time. She had woken up to find him wrapped around her in her bed, completely snoozed out, mumbling in his sleep. She doubted she would have heard him if he hadn’t been breathing on the back of her neck at the time. She shivered a little in the light breeze. What to do with that knowledge was her dilemma now.
“Soledad!”
Shi lifted her head to see a boy of around ten running down the beach toward her and an old woman picking her way carefully behind him. She had no idea why the people of this village had nicknamed her la Soledad but it had stuck since day one and wasn’t changing so she accepted it.
The boy skidded to a halt next to her. “Soledad, Abuela wants you.”
Shi started to stand but the other woman waved her back down and sat next to her. She shooed the boy off and they sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the sunset together.
“You know, when you first came here, I was so jealous of you,” the woman said.
Shi stared at her for a moment, taken completely off guard by the statement. “Why would you be jealous of me, Manuela?”
The old woman smiled. “Because you had every man in the entire village from eight to eighty willing to do anything to make you smile. To break you out of the self imposed solitude and sadness everyone saw in you.”
Shi laughed a little. “You were only . . . what? Twelve or so at the time.”
“Yes. But I saw so much of you in me at that time. I didn’t know what I was seeing just then but I realized it a few years later. I’d been chasing Carlos around since we could walk and I wasn’t anything to him but an annoyance at best. Until one day I got tired of chasing him and stopped. That naturally threw him for a loop and made him think about a few things. I’m guessing much the same thing has happened with your soldier.”
“When did you get so wise? I’m at least a thousand years older than you are yet you figured out something about me years ago I’ve only realized the last few months.”
“It’s because I don’t get endless amounts of time to consider things. Life is so short here so one has to live it to the best of their ability every day. Now, what about your man?”
Shi sighed. “I’ve been chasing him for the last hundred years of my life, Manuela. Gods only know why. He never even looked at me half the time, didn’t want me around at all. Where I come from there are so many beautiful women, elegant and refined. I didn’t think I could ever measure up to them so I suppose I did all the wrong things in annoying him like a ten year old. It finally came to the point a friend pointed it out to me and I gave up. Then all of a sudden, he acted like he wanted my company. Even took care of me when I was injured. I don’t understand. Why now when I’m too exhausted to chase him anymore?”
“Because you did something he wasn’t used to, I’d imagine,” the other woman laughed. “Men don’t like change, no matter if they be fishermen or gods. That probably made him take a step back and really look at you. Now, the next question is, will he come looking for you? Because I really don’t relish the thought of a war god tearing the village apart searching for his lost love.”
“Ah, you make it sound so romantic. I doubt most heartily it will come to that. He’ll probably just harass our mutual friend to the point of murder before giving up.”
***
“If I tell you where she’s probably gone, will you leave me the hell alone?” Konzen said, sounding irritated.
“Where?”
Konzen sighed. Shi was going to hang him with his own entrails for telling Tenpou this. “There’s a little fishing village on the coast of Espania in the lower world where she goes to think.”