2Shojogurl: I'm working on what feels like a hundred different stories! I'm trying to get one posted every month; I've just started to write this one, I haven't updated any of my other ones… Why am I plagued by all these ideas that fill my brain! Anyway, I got the inspiration for this from my Origami and Kirigami calendars. (I couldn't decide which one I wanted more so I got them both.) Pleez R&R! (All translations are at the bottom)
Prologue
"Long ago in the Ronbun kingdom, the king and queen had two babies. One born during the day, which they named Ori, and one born during the night, which they named Kiri. Kiri was the older of the two and was very quiet. Ori was loud and loved to trouble her mother. The day they were born a woman came to see them. She was their Godmother.
"I will bestow upon them The Gami curse. They will need the blessing when they are older." She told their parents. She handed them two rings. One was a bright stone that had many shades of Red, Yellow, and orange in it. The other was a dark stone with many Blues, purples, and greens in it. The colors flashed around in the stones almost like they were trying to be set free.
"This curse can only be given if the blessed are complete opposites. Like day, and like night." Sure enough both girls were completely opposite. Kiri had thick brown hair and brownish-bluish eyes. They would turn completely brown in time. She was quiet and shy. She would be the sensible one of the two. Ori, on the other hand had thin blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She was loud and outgoing. She would be the reckless one. The old woman put the rings on their tiny fingers and started chanting.
"Kodomo o de naite ken dei,
Ete korera ringu tebiki maro oite goshu in fuu
Ete kerera shukakutentou aterakete
Ken zen kono sakerida kyoute."
The rings glowed in a mixture of the colors. You could see the individual colors, but they looked as one. She pulled the rings off of their fingers after they stopped glowing. The woman left the city crying. No one knew why. It was always a burden being the priestess of the castle and the surrounding lands. She knew what the future would bring, but she was not to change it. She was very young to be Godmother to the princesses. But it was her duty. The oldest child always took the throne; the younger was to be priestess. Her sister, the queen was five years older than her. She was the youngest priestess to ever be appointed. She was eighteen. She had been appointed a year ago. Her sister was twenty-three. But, she knew she wouldn't be the youngest ever. There would be younger girls than her. An example was her niece who would be appointed after her own child, if she ever had one. The priestess left the city, never to return until it was in ashes.
The twin sisters grew and soon it was their fifth birthday. They were almost identical except with their hair, eyes and personalities. Ori had curly blonde hair with bright blue eyes and was happily playing games with her friends. Kiri had straight brown, almost black, hair and coffee brown eyes. She sat guarding the presents from her dear sister.
"Kiri!" Came a hushed whisper. She turned and saw her friend Tsukiko.
"Tsukiko-kun! She whispered and sneaked over to him.
"Hello Kiri! Happy birthday! Here's a present for you!"
"Thank you! But where's your cousin-" she was interrupted by a loud scream.
"AH!" A woman screamed. A red headed young boy ran out from under the table that the woman was sitting at.
"Ori! Happy Birthday!" He said and ran to the princess. He held out a box to her and she took it.
"Thank you Yoko-kun!" She said taking the box from his hands.
"There he is." Tsukiko said. Kiri and Tsukiko walked to where their relatives were standing. They all laughed. Yoko was covered in dirt and mud.
"Girls, why don't you open your presents before Yoko goes home for a bath." The queen laughed. Kiri carefully opened hers up, while Ori tore the paper off in a hurry. They finished opening them at the same time. They both gasped. Kiri had a blue moon pendant and Ori had a golden sun pendent. They both kissed the boys on the cheek. Tsukiko blushed.
"Eww! Cooties!" Yoko joked. Soon after that they finished opening presents, their guests left. The girls were about to go to sleep when their mother came in. Holding two small boxes.
"Girls, these are from the priestess. She's your Godmother. She says she hopes you have a happy birthday." She laid the two presents on their beds, and walked out.
"What do you think it is?" Ori asked.
"Let's open them and find out." They both opened the presents and were surprised to find paper.
"What's this for?" Ori picked up the paper. It was a black color. Kiri picked up a colorful piece of paper. Ori started aimlessly folding the paper. "Why did she give us paper?" Kiri folded her paper then began to cut shapes out of it. They started talking about all the reasons she could have given them the paper. They couldn't think of one good reason. Ori looked at her paper. It looked like something. She wasn't sure what. She looked up and ran her finger over the head and, to her surprise, it felt feathery. She looked back down and saw the paper, now a bird staring back up at her. She gasped. Kiri looked over at her and looked in astonishment at the bird.
"It's a real bird!" Ori managed to get out.
"Of course I'm real." It replied.
"What are you?" Kiri asked still amazed at the bird.
"I'm a raven. My name is Karasu." Kiri felt something move in her hands. She opened them and found a butterfly walking on her hand.
"And I'm Chou. I'm a butterfly, in case you didn't know." She said as she stretched her wings and fluttered on Kiri's shoulder. "I'm hungry. Do you have a flower I could drink from?" She asked. Kiri took another piece of paper and cut out a flower. They watched as it became real. Chou Glided onto a petal and started drinking from the center.
"I'm hungry too. I feel like fish." Ori folded a gold paper into a fish and gave it to him. He swallowed it whole.
"Shouldn't we be getting to bed right now." Kiri whispered to her twin. Ori only nodded.
"What about them?" She asked.
"Oh, don't worry about us. He'll make a nest and sleep, and I'm a lunar butterfly, I like the night." Chou reassured them.
"Besides, when we go to sleep, we turn back into paper." Karasu informed. "We can also turn to paper at will. We prefer being able to move, but if the time ever comes, we can stay paper."
The girls agreed to go to sleep. The two paper animals stayed awake until they were both asleep.
"I hope they know about the curse." Chou wondered aloud.
They're only little girls so they probably don't. They probably wouldn't know what it meant anyway." Karasu said getting comfortable on the nightstand.
"You're probably right." She said and wrapped up in her wings. They formed a cocoon around her body and she fell asleep.
Ori slipped on her kimono and tied her obi. She walked out of her bedroom and went to the courtyard of the castle. Once she was outside, Karasu caught up with her and rested on her shoulder.
"Hello, princess. Happy Birthday." He said.
"Hi Karasu-kun. Thank you." She told him politely.
"Any new schemes, princess?" He asked. He was her partner in crime. She smiled. "I know that smile. How long do we have?"
"Until noon. I have to start being courted then." She was going to play a trick on the suitors. All of them. Her sister's and hers. She made her way across the courtyard. She reached her sister.
"Kiri, do you have any paper?" Her sister nodded.
"Yes, what do you need them for?" She asked as she gave her sister the paper.
"You'll see." She ran to the gate and climbed the stone wall, carefully so as not to get her kimono dirty, or break her sandals. She reached the top and started folding. She folded birds, baskets, and eggs. She tapped everything with her finger and they became real.
"Okay everyone, here's the plan." She whispered the plan to them and they got to work. She helped them put the three eggs in the baskets and gave one basket to each bird. It was almost noon so Ori folded a parachute, touched it, and strapped it on her back. She jumped down and landed safely on the ground. She tapped the parachute and it went back to its original state. She ran as fast as she could to the courtyard. She sat down in her chair and smiled.
"Where were you?" Kiri asked. "Suitors started showing up half an hour ago!" Ori looked to where the suitors were standing. Most of them were as old as her father. Some probably courted her mother. The suitors got in lines in front of the princesses and Ori gave the signal. She started coughing violently. She stopped the moment she saw Karasu take off. 'Three, two…one!' she thought and watched the baskets fall on top of the suitors heads. Only two of the suitors were laughing. Ori recognized them as Tsukiko and Yoko. The rest were scowling. Most of the suitors left. Most of them were older men, just there for the throne. The men who stayed were mostly the ones that managed to dodge the eggs, or boys like Tsukiko and Yoko; they could take a joke. One man sped to the front of the line.
"This is an outrage. How dare you drop eggs on me! Lord of the Northern providence!" He shouted. Both of the girls could tell he was there for the throne. He was balding and there was no way he wanted girls that could be his granddaughters. He walked up to the princesses.
"You both will pay!" He shouted. He grabbed Kiri by the wrist and Ori kicked him in his gut. "Insolent wench!" He yelled and grabbed her hair. Yoko was the first in action. He hit the man in the jaw and the man lost his balance. Yoko helped Ori up and Tsukiko helped Kiri to regain her balance. The ma got up. You haven't seen the last of me! You will be punished!" He said and stormed out. Kiri gripped Ori by the arm and started crying into her sleeve. The king and queen both reached their girls. The girls gripped onto their parents.
"He is a great Lord." Their mother whispered worriedly to their father.
"I'll handle it." He said.
Kiri smiled fondly at the necklace that she put on. Today was the day. She would be crowned queen and her Tsukiko would be king. Ori would be appointed Priestess and Yoko would be the priest. Today would go perfectly.
"Kiri, are you done?" Ori asked from outside.
"You can come in." She told her. Ori walked in and smiled.
"You look beautiful." Kiri believed her sister. She was wearing a traditional white Kimono with five layers under it. Her hair was done in a bun with chopsticks holding two cranes at the end of them. She didn't touch them because if she did, they would come alive. She would only do that after the wedding was over. They were fifteen now. The threat of the Lord had subsided. They had given him an apology and he accepted it unnaturally fast.
"Did you make the doves?" Kiri asked.
"Yes. I made them real and they're just waiting for us to come out of the building." Kiri nodded. "Don't worry. Everything will be alright. How long has Tsukiko been courting you?"
"Five years." She answered.
"He loves you. Just like Yoko loves me."
"That's obvious. You make out for at least an hour everyday." She said.
"Hey. That's how we show affection. Just like when you and Tsukiko kiss and hug." They talked for a little while longer until it was time to go to the ceremony. Kiri waited by her father and the doors slowly opened. He walked her down the isle and to the alter. They were halfway through the service when there was a loud crash. They turned and saw the Lord walk through the doors.
"What's this? You're getting married? Why wasn't I invited?" He asked and smiled. "Well, be prepared for a living hell." He said and an arrow clattered though the window setting the church on fire. People screamed and ran to the nearest exit. They quickly ran back inside at the threat of dieing by sword.
"Kiri!" Came a hushed whisper. She turned to see Ori in the back. Tsukiko saw Ori at the same time and pushed Kiri to her. She looked back at him with pleading eyes.
"Kiri, Go." He said gently.
"But, what about you?"
"Don't worry about me. Just remember, I love you. And I always will." He kissed her passionately and she started crying.
"I love you too." She whispered. She went with Ori. She turned back in time to see Tsukiko stabbed. She couldn't move, she couldn't Breathe, She wasn't able to do anything. She just cried. Ori grabbed her hand and drug her to the back of the building.
"What happened?" Yoko asked when he saw them.
"Tsukiko was-was…" Kiri broke down. Yoko looked at Ori and understood immediately. He was dead. They heard a crash. A samurai had followed them. Yoko stood.
"Yoko don't-" Ori started.
"I won't let him hurt you." He said. He starred into her crystal eyes. He kissed her softly. "I love you. And I will even after I'm gone."
"No, no…" She kept whispering. "You won't die. You can't. I can't live without you."
"You can. And you will." He said and turned. "Now go." He said gently. She took Kiri and ran. She stopped and hid behind a tree so Ori could fold a flying machine. Before she tapped it she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"I love you, Yoko! I'll love you until forever ends!" She knew he had heard. She tapped her creation and it grew. She put her sister in front and she hopped in the back. She cried the whole time she flew. When she finally landed she waited. Before she reached her sister she told Chou and Karasu to meet them by the big oak tree in the middle of the forest. She heard the familiar 'Caw' and looked up. Sure enough it was Karasu and Chou. Ori stood up and folded another paper. She made it into a horse and carriage. She put her sister in the back, and she crawled in the front. Karasu perched beside her and Chou went to her mistress and calmed her nervous dreams. They didn't talk until they reached a lake. Ori folded a boathouse and fixed lanterns on it. She made a dock out of another sheet of paper and tied the boat to it. She tapped both and set her sister on the boat. She took her inside and laid her down on one of the two beds. Then, she too, fell asleep.
Kiri was outside gathering firewood when she saw someone. She ran to the boathouse and called her sister.
"Ori! Someone's here!" Ori peeked her head out of the window and saw the figure. Ori stayed right where she was. They had been living in the boathouse for a year and still weren't comfortable with strangers. She held her sun pendant for reassurance. She soon saw that the figure was a woman. When she could see the woman clearly she saw she was fairly young with black hair and hazel eyes. She smiled.
"Is that anyway to treat your Godmother?" She asked. "Ori and Kiri." Those words were all they needed to know she was telling the truth. They ran to her and hugged her around her waist.
"Godmother, They're all gone. What do we do?" Kiri asked.
"I cannot tell you what to do. That is not my job. I can tell you the secret of the Gami curse. They both looked puzzled.
"The Gami Curse?" They asked cluelessly.
"Sit and I'll tell you." They sat on the dock and she began.
"The Gami curse is fairly simple. In order to be cursed, you must be complete opposites. When you are cursed, you are able to make things out of paper. Things that can come alive. I'm sure you know about that by now though. You must have a stone to channel your energy. Here are those stones." She handed them the rings. They examined them carefully and then put them on. "If the stone breaks, or one of you die, The other will die too. It's like Ying and Yang. Two opposites that connect. All I can tell you about the future is to follow your heart. And hope everything turns out all right." She stood and walked off…"
"What a weird legend." The teacher thought. "It would make a great project for my students." She thought and began planning her lesson plans.
I hope you enjoyed it. Look for my other stories on
Translations
"Children of the night and day
Let these rings guide you on your way.
Let these opposites attract
And complete this sacred pact."
See ya next chapter! R&R!