Safe and Sound (Pyrite)

Safe and Sound (Pyrite)
Date of Cutscene:	24 July 2023
Location:	Soryuu Shrine, Japan
Synopsis:	A mother who has done everything for her daughter makes a difficult choice.
Cast of Characters:	Pyrite

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1487 C.E. Sengoku Period, Japan

       War is Hell.
       A century of War is a century of Hell.
       With the destruction of Kyoto in the war ten years prior, and the collapse of the shogunate's power, War was everywhere, and so was Hell. That's what Sengoku meant. The Age of the Country at War. All of Japan, at War with itself, always, everywhere. They didn't know back then that it would be a century. Back then, the common people tried to survive, or to gain power for themselves now that the hierarchical structure of society was in shambles.
       Masterless swordsman and soldiers under military warlords ravaged not only each other but the countryside, taking whatever the commoners managed to make, earn, or grow, and leaving a trail of blood from one village to the next.
       So far, Mariko Soryuu had managed to keep herself and her daughter alive. She had done many things to accomplish this, from working the jobs normally reserved for Eta, to being a mistress, to theft, and even darker things she tried not to think about.
       Her daughter was ten now. A beautiful little doll, like Mariko had been at the same age. Maybe even better. She would not let the men who tore the country apart have her precious Himeko. But they were being hunted. Because Himeko was no ordinary little girl.
       She was the illegitimate daughter of someone very, very important. And those who wanted to gain legitimacy in their attempts to rule the land were aware of that fact.
       And so they wanted poor little Himeko Soryuu to die. Or, if they could not have that, to use her for their own political ends. Or... Other things that could seal a marriage into a new shogunate.
       Mariko had done everything she could. Her hair had gone white from the stress and strain of evading their pursuers -- not gray, but actual snow white. She had used it more than once to scare away interlopers by posing as a Yuki-Onna. But that wasn't going to work this night.
       An abandoned shrine on the outskirts of the town -- that the mother and daughter had been trying to blend into -- was their hiding place. The sound of her daughter's voice asking why the town was on fire while tugging at her clothes had stopped a while ago. The smoke rose high into the air, and spread ashes and cinders even as far as this rotten former shrine to kami who were stone silent.
       They had done their part.
       The men on horseback, the ones who had been hunting them, were finally closing the distance. If Mariko fled now, she would be ran down in the open and speared like a boar. And if she left without Himeko, they would immediately go back and check for her. Mariko was out of plans. She was tired. Tired, inside and out, and so sad that it had come to this.
       Mariko had already carried out her final plan. The hunters would never find their prey. Not the prey they sought, at least.
       "Okaa-san?" little Himeko's voice called out uncertainly from the darkness further back. Mariko forced a smile onto her face and turned to face her daughter. "Come here." she replied, and gestured the girl over. Somehow, Himeko was even more beautiful now. Shining, and bright, and untouchable. The final gambit had paid off, and her prayers had been answered.
       Himeko moved forwards hesitantly, haltingly. This was new for her. But all Mariko saw was a perfected version of her daughter. However, there was one last thing she needed to do. The darkness of the shrine had grown deeper. Little hands of shadow were reaching out towards Himeko, trying to claim the prize that had been offered them in exchange for granted prayers. They were already embedded in the little one's back, trying to kill her light.
       Mariko simply held her girl in her arms. "I will never let you go." she reassured her.
       Tears started to stream down Himeko's face. She could feel the death coming. Despite the words spoken, she knew her mother would not be with her anymore very soon. "Okaa-san..." she choked out. "Don't leave me here alone."
       The sound of hoofbeats grew louder and louder, and shadows enlarged by firelight swayed back and forth across the walls as the red glow seeped through the cracks.
       "You'll be alright," Mariko reassured. She looked past Himeko, to where her daughter's corpse lay in the backroom, separate from the Himeko she was embracing. "No one can hurt you now." Tears ran from Mariko's eyes then too. "Come morning light..."
       The doors burst open, as the final words were lost in the crash and the sound of a sword being drawn.
       ~You and I'll be safe and sound.~