The priests were filing out of the temple as Suzume approached. She stood off to one side, watching as the line of priests trickled past her.  They priests seemed have to been too absorbed in their prayers to notice what had transpired outside. They wore serene expressions with their hands folded in front of them as they passed her by. The scent of their incense clung to their robes and wafted over Suzume as they walked past. It smelled musky, with slight floral undertones.

While Suzume waited, she let her mind wander.  What if Rin is right? What if Kaito and I are destined to be together?  She shook her head. That was impossible. There was no way, she was meant for someone as boorish and arrogant as Kaito. She was willing to accept the fact that she was Kazue’s reincarnation it explained her dormant powers. Given the fact that she was Kazue in a past life did not mean they had to share men. No way.

The last of the priests exited, closely followed by the head priest and his second. The Head Priest turned to see Suzume standing to one side, her arms wrapped around her protectively as she contemplated her unfortunate fate. The head priest smiled at her and nodded his head in greeting. He walked past Suzume and down the covered walkway before Suzume had the sense to speak.

“Excuse me!” Suzume called out. Her voice cracked across the hushed silence of the temple and reverberated back at her. The echo did not disguise the desperate whine of her tone.

The Head Priest stopped and turned to face Suzume. The second hung back behind the Head Priest’s shoulder as the he addressed Suzume. “Young priestess, how can I be of assistance?”

Finally! Someone with some manners.

She bowed. “I was hoping I could speak with you, if it is not too much trouble.” Suzume felt compelled to respect the priest, she could not exactly say why. Even back at court when addressing her father, the emperor, she had sometimes been haughty and disrespectful.

 “What a coincidence. I was hoping to speak with you as well. Shall we walk in the garden together?” He motioned towards the gardens on the other side of the walkway.

Suzume smiled in response. “That would be lovely, thank you.”

The Head Priest excused himself from his second and then offered a bended arm to Suzume. She took his arm and they walked together in the opposite direction from the other priests. They headed towards the shrine and Suzume’s stomach clenched with fear. Before they got too close, however, they turned and walked down a few steps and onto a garden path. Suzume exhaled with relief. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go near a shrine again.  There was a stone pathway which weaved among miniature, decorative bushes. They were silent for quite for a long time. Suzume took the time to enjoy the serene surroundings. It was a refreshing change. No monsters threatening to devour her for her powers. No creatures lurking in the shadows hunting her. And best of all, Kaito was off somewhere pouting, which meant Suzume had a moment of real peace for the first time in weeks.

 Since meeting the priest, Suzume had felt drawn to him. She hoped he would be the one that could help her master her powers. They passed by a decorative pond with koi swimming about it. There were more gingko trees here that shaded the walk. The umbrella shape leaves littered the ground in a yellow carpet. It’s almost too perfect here. I really hope this priest is really a priest and not some tree monster who wants to use my eyeballs in an evil potion that help make him invincible or something awful like that.

“You have questions?” The priest prompted ending the comfortable silence and dashing Suzume’s twisted thoughts.

Suzume, by now used to mystical individuals seemingly reading her thoughts replied, “Yes. You mentioned our souls met in a past life. What did you mean?” She wanted to keep asking questions but something about the slow cadence of the priest’s voice and the tranquility around them kept her from asking all her questions in a rush. She would get the answers she wanted in good time, a voice said at the back of her mind. As much as she felt it would, waiting wouldn’t kill her.

He patted her hand which was linked through his arm. “I have been head priest here for many lives. Often times souls that reincarnate, will travel similar paths. It was two centuries ago that your soul was last here.”

Suzume gasped, impressed by his intuition. “How do you know that?”

He pulled away from her so he could face her. “It was a guess.” He smiled.

Suzume frowned at the old man. “That’s not funny, you tricked me.” Maybe I misjudged him after all.

He chuckled. “I apologize. I could not resist. Your soul and mine did indeed meet long ago. When you are trained as I am, you can sense these things. The reason I was able to deduce the time frame is because of the Great Dragon.”

“What does he have to do with this?” Suzume crossed her arms over her chest.  

“Because your souls paths are bound together.”

“No they’re not!!” Suzume shouted without thinking. She balled her hands into fists at her sides. Why does everything come back to him and me? Can we all just move on from this destined souls thing?  The priest’s brow furrowed. Suzume hurried to cover her faux-pas. She had been spending too much time with the dragon. “I’m sorry. I don’t think my soul has anything to do with the dragon.”

The priest folded his hands in front of him. He inserted his hands into the billowing sleeves of his robe. He regarded Suzume for a moment without speaking. Suzume squirmed beneath his gaze.  It felt like when he looked at her he could see right through to her soul and for the first time she was afraid of what someone saw within her.

“There is a bond when two souls must share a journey. Those that are trained to see these kinds of things, like myself, can recognize the signs of the bond. You and the Dragon share this bond. It does not have to be a romantic bond, often times it can be merely friendship. Many souls travel the same paths. Despite that, no journey is the same. You may be the reincarnation of Hotaru Kazue, but it does not mean you will love and live as she did. You are your own person, you merely share a soul. And as with High Priestess Hotaru, when a soul has been damaged by a past life, it may sometimes tread an entirely different path to heal the old wounds.”

Suzume was somewhat mollified by this. Then I don’t have to be with Kaito...She was oddly disappointed but she pushed the feelings aside. It was better not to analyze that thought. “What can you tell me about Kazue?”

“High Priestess Hotaru?” He corrected, using her more formal form of address. “She is often called the first priestess and she is credited with founding many of the shrines around the kingdom, including The Eight High Deity Shrines, which includes the Shrine at the White Palace.”

“Is it true she was the mother to the first emperor?” Suzume asked. What a strange twist of fate if I was my own great-great-great-great-grandmother.

The priest shrugged. “It is difficult to say. During Priestess Hotaru’s time, the empire was made of many factions ruled by different lords. The early records were destroyed when the shrine that held them burned back in the two hundred years after the beginning of our empire. Most of those early days have been lost to the mist of time. There is no way to say where she was the one who bore the first emperor or if it is truly myth. This I can tell you: she trained in this very temple and she died at a young age.”

“How did she die?” Suzume asked but as the questions escaped her mouth, a roar ripped through the tranquility of the garden. “What was that?” Suzume twisted around to find the source of the sound.

The ground rumbled beneath Suzume’s feet. It lurched and bucked and she had to focus just to keep her balance. Suzume threw her arms out to keep from falling. She looked to the priest. He had his head tilted up to the sky. He muttered under his breath and it sounded a lot like the prayers she had heard earlier that day. Suzume followed his gaze. Gray storm clouds fat with rain had blotted out the sun when just moments ago it had been a sunny day. Rain burst from the clouds and pelted Suzume and the priest like icy needles.

Suzume squinted as something writhed among the clouds. Lightning flashed and lit up the dark sky. Then she saw a flash of pearlescent skin and a serpentine body. No! The dragon was hovering far above them and he opened his mouth in another thunderous roar. His eyes were an electric blue like the lightning that cracked and sizzled behind him. He opened his mouth and ice shot from it. The ice flung to the ground and impaled the earth at their feet.

Suzume threw her hands up just in time to create a barrier to protect herself from the falling ice. The dagger sharp shards sizzled and clanked off her forcefield. Her forcefield had transformed to create heat to melt the ice as it hit. Some of the ice daggers were so large they did not melt immediately but threatened to pierce her barrier. The dragon circled back around and disappeared behind the clouds. While he was gone, Suzume chanced a glance at the priest.   He had fashioned himself a barrier as well and continued chanting under his breath.

“What’s going on? Is that Kaito?” Suzume shouted to the priest.

He did not respond. The rain had solidified and now pelted their barriers as enormous balls of ice.  The ice balls hit her barrier before sizzling and rolling off in rivulets of water as it melted.

The dragon roared and coiled about the sky.  It looked like Kaito in his dragon form, but between the clouds it was hard to tell. All she could see was the writhing body of the dragon seething among the clouds. How many other dragons could there be?

Then her questions were answered when the dragon bellowed, “Kazue, I am coming for you!”

Great, what have I gotten myself into now?

  AN: Before anyone comes after me with pitchforks for the short chapter after a long delay, I am going to be posting Chapter 25 as soon as I get it back from my beta reader. Sorry for the long delay between chapters. I was sick and the holidays were just nuts. I thank everyone whose commented and asked me to continue. I will be seeing this story through to the end and since the illness has passed and the holidays are over, you can expect much more frequent updates. :3