Somewhere ... Over the Wall: A Haibane Renmei/Wizard of Oz Crossover Fan Fiction Story

Couldn't find any "appropriate" pics but I like this one. L-R: Nemu, Reki, Kana,
Hikari, Kuu, and Rakka with the bread. Artist: Naotan54 on Deviantart.

Somewhere ... Over the Wall

by

C V Ford


It was in the middle of a particularly harsh winter, the town of Guri/Glie was hit by a brief rise in temperature. More than enough to leave an unusually thick blanket of fog covering everything within the wall. The sun set, the mist held. Soon after, the dogs picked up their communal howl.

Starting small, within minutes turning big. First one dog then another, gradually building up until all the canines in Gurie had joined in. Their cries filling the white shrouded winter skies above. For other than the fog, something else was in the air that night.

Kana gripped the railing below the clock towers' face as she peered out into the whispy murk. Though way past quitting time, she wanted one last look over the town before heading home. If she COULD look that is. It was thicker than the cafes' proverbial pea soup. Though thinner up where she was, no more than fifty feet distant could be clearly seen before the cottony mass obscured.

The scene before her had the feel of being in a cloud drifting over the world below, the haunting ethereal beauty, breathtaking. The serene quality being totally ruined by the baying of what seemed all the dogs in the world. The fairy tale ambiance more like the scary stories Kana would frighten Kuu with so long ago, with moonlight vainly trying to pierce through.

Blinking hard, she then rubbed her eyes. A faint coalesence at first, she passed it off as a trick on the eyes, a cause of the cottony chaos swirling about. Materializing more definite, solid, the young Haibane knew it not an illusion. Something was swiftly, silently coming close to the clock tower. Huge ... Enormous ...

Kana backed away from the railing into the wall beneath the clock face. Letting out a frightened gasp as the ... thing ... loomed over the towers' very top. Though still only a shadow, it bespoke a more than tangible danger in its' drifting closer.

Though not usually one to fear anything, she frantically grasped for the balconys' door to her left as she stumbled and fell, certain whatever it was had deadly intent.

As quickly as it had come, the apparition vanished in the gray dark towards the direction of the temple, just missing the tower by only a few scant feet.

Dashing to the end of the platform, Kana could only catch a glimpse of colossal shadow disappearing completely into the nights' heavy gloom.

Rushing inside, more than eager to tell ANYONE left in the shop below. Her disappointment great when no one would believe her.

xxxxx

To say the last two days had not been good for the professor would be an understatement. The journey had begun disastrously. The young lady who was to accompany him in the hopes of getting back to her home, abruptly left the basket moments before take-off. An unholy gust of wind jerked the balloon out from the great city he once ruled, up thousands of feet within minutes. The overpowering westerly currents carried him far, over two sleepless days without let-up. Helpless, he could only go along with being carried to only God knew. The fantastic speeds the winds moved the vehicle made descent a perilous proposition.

The only course was to wait it out.

At the beginning, he was, as he told some new found friends only a few days before in regard to a related incident ... petrified. A reasonably strong heart can get used to anything after prolonged exposure and about an hour or so out, his fears were replaced with a fatalistic determination to see it through.

At the suns' setting on the second day, the wind subsided. Tired and numb, he decided to set down for a well deserved rest and try to get his bearings.

Then to find himself descending in this unusually thick bank of fog.

Not knowing how fast the descent or what the balloon would run into, he started dumping ballast, hoping to regain altitude. It was only by sheer chance he barely missed collision with that clock tower.

The tower, at least, indicated the howling from beneath were town dogs and not an unusually large pack of wolves lying in wait in a wilderness below. Meaning ... Civilization! Rest, food and a chance of getting a sense of direction. If he could further avoid crashing into something and find a place to land ...

As if by miracle, the fog suddenly lightened into a brief break, revealing ...

Before him, the cliff loomed, at first threatening, though he could see he was about to clear it.

To his right, a strange cylindrical structure built two thirds up the crag. In front, a mist shrouded waterfall with footbridge before. At his left, a small figure could be seen trudging along a narrow trail between cliff and mist filled gorge.

Digging into one of his voluminous pockets, the professor withdrew a collapsible spyglass. Extending it, he focused on the slow moving pedestrian.

He let out a startled gasp. Though he spent years in the fantastic place he once ruled, marvels never ceased to amaze. He could plainly see the small wings flexing on the hikers' back. And on the ... her ... head ... A halo? Other details showed the walker to be otherwise quite human and not one of the winged minions of a now deceased adversary he recently contended with.

Reaching back, he grabbed a conical tin megaphone. Directing it in the figures' direction, he called out.

xxxxx

After a long day of cleaning plaques and the gathering of light leaves, Rakka was eager to make her way back to Old Home for supper with friends. On setting out, she would not let the fog deter her.

The howling of the town dogs distant, picked up as she was half-way across the foot bridge, giving her second and third thoughts about moving on. As it was, she decided to finish what she started, now hugging close to the cliff wall. She shuddered, knowing only a few scant feet away, a sheer drop to the water below.

A feeling of relief swept over her on the sudden lift in fog. The trails' edge didn't seem so close now as she picked up speed though still hugging the cliff. The howling had also stopped, giving a more optimistic feel to her situation as she made her way along. It was then she noticed a new sound replaced that of the hounds. Someone calling out ... to her?

The Washi? No. Though it did come from the temples' general direction, it sounded more from above. Turning quickly, seeing nothing directly behind, she altered her gaze upward, gasping in amazement.

A ... balloon? Yes. But not like any she had seen the vendor in the town square selling. This one was absolutely ... HUGE! A purple and orange color pattern, ropes starting halfway down suspending a ... large basket? Within the basket, calling down to her ... a ... man?

"Helloooo! You! ... Down there!"

Raka could only stare up, dumfounded. Out of reflexive politeness, she started to wave.

"Yes! ... YOU! ... You on the trail!"

She waved even more.

"Am in need of direction and assistance. I seem to be lost! Could you be so kind as to tell me where I am and what place this is?"

The last sentance shook her out of her daze. The language, though strange to her, she knew deep down she had heard it before. From her previous life, before her rebirth within the wall? It may not have been her primary one then, but she was sure she encountered its' use long ago. And that curious lettering halfway up the side ...

Knowing she could do nothing but observe, she continued doing so, taking in every detail her mind would let her.

A thought struck her. Reaching into a jacket pocket, she withdrew her paybook and pencil and started scrawling what she could, paying particular attention to the lettering.

xxxxx

The professor sighed as the fog started closing back in. A foreign land, it was too much to expect a local to understand let alone reply. At least he knew he was near civilization and better yet, was going to clear the cliff and wall before setting down.

xxxxx

Still peering up into the regathering gloom, Rakka pocketed book and pencil. Someone had to be told ... someone ...

"It is gone child."

With a start, Rakka spun to her left, seeing the Washi and an accompanying touga.

"Did you ... ?"

"Yes. We saw it drifting by."

"Was it from ... ?"

"Outside? Yes child, it was. As you know, in winter, the wall diminishes in power. Though it isn't often things other than birds get in even then."

The Washi extended his hand, palm up. Without any urging, Rakka knew what was wanted, handing over her paybook. The old man neatly tore the section out.

"I  ... didn't mean to ... "

"Fear not. No rules broken on your part child. They do not foresee things extraordinary as this. In your desire to help and inform, you did what you could under the circumstances ... Nevertheless ... "

Rakka stiffened, possibility of penalty foremost in thought.

Handing the book back the old man concluded the matter.

"This occurrence ... What you have seen ... Must be treated and handled the same way any matters and duties you have within both temple and wall."

Solemnly nodding she replied, "yes ... I understand."

The Washi gestured toward the tall, silent, masked figure present.

"This touga will escort you back to Old Home. In your haste to leave, you gave us quite a start little one. It can be dangerous enough here in daylight if one is not careful."

xxxxx

The rest of the journey was uneventful. Before Rakka could even thank the humanoid "wraith", he (It?) had already vanished into the dark. Turning in, she entered through the kitchen and into the dining area.

"I tell ya'!" Exclaimed Kana to all and sundry. "It was absolutely huge! Like a balloon or ... something ... BUT BIGGER! ... Lots bigger!"

At the tables, the young feathers oooed and aaahed as Kana recited her tale for the umpteenth time.

Nemu, Hikari and the house mother looked on, shaking heads.

Noting their doubt, also for the umpteenth time, Kana sighed.

"Still not gonna' believe me, are you?" Frowning in frustration.

"I'm sorry Kana," Hikari replied, slight smile. "It's just too fantastic to believe. I'm sure you saw SOMETHING. As for what it was ... And you're the only one who saw it. No one else to-"

"I believe you Kana!" Hana exclaimed.

Kana patted the young feather on the head.

"Aw ... You have to hon. You're my 'petite souer'."

"Huh?"

"Don't know what that means ... Just popped into my head."

Kana espied Rakka entering in.

"Wait! Rakka!" Kana exclaimed. "You might have seen something. It was heading your way at the time."

"What was ... seen?" Rakka, nervous, tried to look convincingly confused.

"You know ... The balloon ... or ... Whatever it was."

"Ball ... oon?"

The other three adults sighed as Kana went into her story for the ump-umpteenth time. The kids just as spellbound as before. For her part, Rakka knowing EXACTLY what the tomboy was talking about, listened carefully for any details she herself might have missed. As it was, compared to what she had seen, Kanas' description was meager at best."

"But," Kana concluded, "all I could make out was a huge shadow. Seemed solid enough. Looked like a humoungus ... uh ... balloon ... You sure you didn't see ANYTHING? I KNOW it was going in the direction of the temple."

"No," answered Rakka. "Fog was too thick. So much so, the Communicator had one of the Touga escort me here."

"Hmmmph!" Kana  waved about the dining area indicating the young feathers, "Other than my LOYAL following, no one seems to believe me."

Kanas' hands hit her sides with an audible slap.

"I have to freshen up," Rakka excused herself. "Be right back."

She noted the skeptical look on Kanas' face as she left.

xxxxx

In her room, the young Haibane quickly rewrote her observations, complete with a hasty drawing, on paper separate from her journal. Her work within the wall trained her memory well. She copied word for word from what the Washi confiscated and then some.

She pondered the balloons' strange lettering. The "script", like the mans' speech, seemed somewhat familiar. They had to be related to her previous life in some way. It was unlikely she would ever be able to read it. And if she did, it was even more unlikely she would know the meaning of STATE FAIR OMAHA.

xxxxx

Before re-entering the dining area, Rakka paused to check herself and survey the scene. Kana, now seated between Nemu and Hana, seemed calm, eating and talking about other things, everyone else joining in.

Taking a place between two young ones, Rakka felt the warmth. Not of only the place itself and the food but also of the atmosphere of those around her.

Yes. Times such as these. With friends ... Friends? ... Family actually. Who could they be anything but? Family yes, most definitely. Where there is family, there is home.

And there's no place like home.

END

Storyline (only) copyright © 1-3-14 C V Ford


My other Haibane Renmei fanfics:

Uncle Wolf here.

An Offer She Might Refuse here.

An Exception In Gurie here.

Washi With the Mask Off here.

His Mother Was the Lightning, His Taker, the Light here.

You Devil You here.


Wikipedia article on the film, The Wizard of Oz here.


My profile page and my fanfics of other anime on fanfiction.net here.

fanfiction.net here.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here.


Disclaimer: The preceding is a NON-PROFIT work of fan fiction for entertainment purposes only. I make no claim to ownership of the COPYRIGHTED names/characters, places, & events mentioned in this work. They are the sole properties of their respective owners. Please, by all means support the owners of such properties in the purchase & enjoyment of their works.

Uncle Wolf, A Haibane Renmei Fanfiction

Gurie/Glie street scene drawing by
the Haibane artist Wolf ... or is it?

Uncle Wolf

A Haibane Renmei Fan Fiction

by

C V Ford


"Why are your wings so dark Uncle Wolf?"

"Hachi!" The older Hana exclaimed. "You shouldn't ask questions like that!"

"I jus' wanna know ..."

Wolf smiled as he tucked the large sketchpad under his arm. Hachi being a new arrival of only three weeks & a young feather at that, it was only natural she would ask. As for him, he stopped letting it bother him long ago. A glance at his wings revealed to him their black mottled, gray scheme. An improvement (He hoped.) over what they were several years before.

Looking at the child he replied. "Well ... before I came here ... I must have been BAD, I guess."

"How bad!?"

"Hachi!"

"Why ... Almost as bad as ... ," he slowly turned in a crouch & pointed. "YOU!"

Another young feather, a boy this time, jumped back.

"No way!" The kid was smiling. He'd obviously been through this before. "I grew out nice charcoal grey feathers!"

"Stop it! NOW! All of you!"

Everyone looked up to see Hikari approaching from the kitchen.

"Awww ... Kids just being kids Hikari ..."

"Some of them BIG kids too!"

"I tried to stop it Hikari but ..."

"It's all right Hana. I heard everything." Half smiling, Hikari looked at Wolf. "It's almost time for their afternoon nap. You shouldn't get them so riled up."

"Just a little fun. I like kids ... sorry ... "

Hikari gave a little laugh. "You should be ... So ... leaving?"

"I have all the little details I need. I can start on the main event in a day or so. Besides ... If I stay any longer I'll be sketching portraits of everyone."

"Looks like you already have," Hikari noted looking at the thick sketchbook.

"That's probably what kept me here all yesterday too."

"That's exactly what it was! I saw ..."

"It's OK Hana. We know Wolf gets as much fun out of everything he can," the ponytailed blonde reassured. Looking back at Wolf, "they really like the drawings you made of them yesterday ... hung them all over the classroom. You DID get all the details you needed didn't you?"

"Took awhile ... but yes."

"With LOTS of interruptions?"

"Couldn't be helped ... They were all over me ..."

"They're more than a handful."

"By the way, thank you for the wonderful lunch."

"No trouble at all. I always like working with food. Makes me wish I was back at the bakery."

"Yes ... They miss you there. Like you said, these kids are more than a handful ... ," he said turning toward Gurie. "And with that ... I shall leave."

As were the past lives of individual Haibane,
the group of buildings history was vague at best.

Saying their goodbyes, Wolf strode off in the direction of Gurie proper. It had been a wonderful day & a half of Autumn at Old Home. The young feathers weren't any trouble with their interrupting & he was more than happy for the distraction of drawing anything other than the task at hand. He was that good. A few days before, he was hit with an inspiration of how to commit the old dorm/fort to canvas. He would do it gratis, not as it was now or new, but before it started to fall apart. He would depict the crumbled wall as whole & other things not so dilapidated. As it was in its heyday, whatever purpose the place was originally for, no one knew. As were the past lives of individual Haibane, the group of buildings history was vague at best.

The towns' clock tower loomed in the distance. As he walked back to town he pondered the previous five years of his existance in this strange, walled-in shadowland.

He was cocoon born with the blackest of wings thus causing most at Abandoned Factory to shun him almost immediately. On his Acceptance at the temple the Washi informed him of his sinbound state. As far as the communicator could make out, had he not come here, he would have had much to answer for & a tremendous understatement at that.

Suppressing an initial wave of rage & rebelliousness, he resolved if he couldn't atone for something he had no idea of, he would at least try to live a life different from before as far as he knew. Though not proud of his wings' coloration, he wouldn't hide it either. Even when later offered a temporary remedy from Old Home. He would walk in the light of day & having people accept him as he was, chips falling where they may. It caused some strife at Abandoned Factory at first but as he stood up for himself, giving as good as he got & then some, the others grudgingly accepted him or steered clear.

Being an avid reader as well as a stickler for organisation & tidiness, he soon secured employment as an assistant librarian. The position vacated by an older Haibane of Old Home leaving to care for the young feathers due to another taking her Day of Flight.

He also found he had a more than adequate artistic talent. Though he dabbled in sculpture it was in drawing & painting he excelled. So much so, the sight of a black winged Haibane with sketchbook or easel became familiar in & around Gurie. Townsfolk on seeing his work, eventually came to him with comissions, a most welcome supplement to his librarians' wage. Mostly portraits & landscapes, several wall murals about town also attested to his skill.

He later took to frequenting the cafe & two taverns where he could be found in vigorous conversation over coffee (later beer) & checkers expounding about art, philosophy, & local affairs. So much had he become a local fixture, most everyone knew him by name. The children, Haibane & human alike, took to calling him Uncle Wolf.

His given name, reflecting his cocoon dream, was Suibou, meaning downfall ... ruin. Not caring for it he broke with tradition & settled on Worufu or Wolf. A name appealing to him for reasons he could not fathom but took to it he did.

Like a former resident of Old Home, he painted
some works having to do with that dream ... 

The dream itself, now haunting him less, had him engaged in futile warfare involving strange weapons & fantastic machines. It would be interspersed with visions of being before vast crowds or smaller groups of officious looking men in strange uniforms, speaking on the nature of struggle ... or of things darker. Like a former resident of Old Home, he painted some works having to do with that dream &, like the other, they were vague shadows at best ... of an even vaguer shadow.

In the middle of his third year he did something unprecedented for a Haibane, raising not a few eyebrows. He moved out of Abandoned Factory. Between his librarians' pay & artistic endeavors he was able to afford a modest three room flat above the used clothing store of which he made into his private studio. The Washi reluctantly allowed for this as it loosely fit that part of the Haibane creed about self reliance & non-dependance on the community.

On being warned by the communicator of the possibility of too much involvement in human affairs, Wolf assured him. He was well aware that aside from civil law & some social interaction, the ways of Haibane & human were mutually exclusive.

It was to his apartment he was now headed. To drop off his sketchwork before repairing to the cafe where he was sure a hot coffee & an even hotter game of checkers awaited. Instead of taking the outside steps up he decided on entry through the shop instead. Business to discuss.

Boroya & Wolf were friends long before their relationship of landlord/tennant began. The merchants' grandmother engaged Wolf in doing a canvas of the chapel where she was married long ago. Through old photographs supplied by Boroya & some research, Wolf decided on doing a bonus picture of the structures' interior as well ... Decked out as it had been on the day of the ceremony.

How the dear old lady fretted over what she thought to be a long wait over a single painting. Wolf reassuring her it was well worth the wait. When she was presented with not one but two well executed works ... She was astounded to say the least.

He agonised over how much he should have charged but in the end, left it up to her as to their worth. Out of politeness, he refrained from even glancing at his pay-book & courteously took his leave. A couple blocks later with curiosity getting the better, he withdrew the booklet & looked.

After picking his jaw up from the pavement, he rushed back exclaiming she paid way too much. She insisted he earned every mite of it & wished she could pay more. He felt bad about it until Boroya later told him she could well afford it.

The amount would have kept him in rent & food for almost two months.

"Back so soon?" Asked the clothing monger on seeing the artist enter.

"Only needed to get a few more details down & that was it. I start on the canvas after work tomorrow. Right now, I think I owe you something."

"Yes," replied the landlord. "Tomorrow's the first of the month."

"There's also ... ," Wolf added pointing, "... that."

On the wall by the counter hung a large, like new uniform great coat of the kind worn by the gatekeepers. The portly former owner insisted it to be a size too small. Wolf felt it would make for an excellent overcoat for the soon to be winter.

"I noticed you had your eye on that for awhile." Boroya got the coat down handing it to the artist. "Here you go."

"And here YOU go," Wolf replied giving an already prepared sheet from his paybook, with rent & coat price scribbled on. Gathering it up, he headed for the stairs. "Just gonna drop everything off & I'm gone."

"Woah ... Wait a minute!"

"Oh?" Wolf turned back seeing the sheet handed back.

"You did it again."

"What the ... Oh geez! Just when I think I've stopped doing that, it happens again."

Taking the sheet he crossed out the errant signature. Entering the correct one he handed it back.

In his dealings with the Haibane, Boroya knew more about them than most residents of the town. Sometimes even surprising Wolf with his knowledge.

"You know," he speculated looking at the first signature. "I still think this might have been your name before coming here. You must have signed a LOT of things with it for it to have ... uh ... 'followed' you."

"Nothing bad I hope."

"I wouldn't worry."

Boroya watched as the artist ascended the stairs, halo & black mottled gray wings swaying softly. Looking down at the sheet in his hand he contemplated the superceded mark.

"Curious name," he thought. "This ... Adolf ... What COULD it mean?"

He knew there was no way of knowing, not even by the Renmei itself. Deep down, something told him it was probably for the best that no one EVER could.


Storyline copyright © 12-12-2012 Jay Agan


More of my Haibane Renmei fan fiction:

An Offer She Might Refuse here.

An Exception In Gurie here.

Washi With the Mask Off here.

His Mother Was the Lightning His Taker the Light here.

You Devil You here.


Articles:

Haibane Renmei: One Side of the Equation here.

Haibane Renmei: Awww Rats! here.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here.


Disclaimer: The preceding is a NON-PROFIT work of fan fiction for entertainment purposes only. I make no claim to ownership of the copyrighted names/characters, illustrations, places, some dialogue & events mentioned in this work. They are the sole properties of  Radix & Funimation. Please, by all means support the owners of such properties in the purchase & enjoyment of their products.

An Offer She Might Refuse: A Haibane Renmei Fanfiction

Hikari: The "inventor" of doughnuts.

                         An Offer She Might Refuse: A Haibane Renmei Fanfiction

                                                                      by

                                                                          C V Ford


      When Gian-Carlo told her his father wanted to speak with her, Hikari thought only the baker would be waiting in the back room where the accounts were done. She was surprised on seeing his wife, Klara,  seated to the right of the old desk. The older woman smiled back as Ben pointed to her seat at the front.

      Hikari sat in slight apprehension adjusting her apron. She knew Ben (The sizable man was sometimes referred to as "Little Ben" by some townspeople.) to be a stern but kindly employer in her three plus years at the bakery. As she was an excellent worker he never before needed to speak much in regard to her performance. With Klara also present, she knew it was something important.

      In his characteristic taking of the initiative, Ben started things off.

      "So how long HAS it been since you started working for us Hikari? Three years isn't it?"

      "Almost 3 1/2 sir," she replied.

      "And in all this time, I've had no reason to regret having you on here."

      Hikari relaxed slightly but the relief was very short lived.

      "Until now ..."

      The young haibane brought herself up abruptly. If it had something to do with-

      "It has nothing at all to do with your performance here," Ben assured her. "In fact I'd like to have you here always. It's ..."

      Hikari blinked, her bespectacled eyes shifting between the baker & his wife.

      "We would've talked to you sooner but it wasn't the right time. We've worried how you might take it & ... we don't want the washi having any lee-way in this ..."

      "Ben!" Klara tightened her grip on Bens' hand.

      "It's all right Klara ... he's never done anything in regard to us before ... & it's doubtful he'll do anything now." He looked back to Hikari. "Klara has something of a reverence for the washi that I uh ... lack. But that's another subject entirely."

      Confused, the haibane girl started asking, "but what does the washi ...?"

      "I'll get right to the point. It's about your ... Day of flight."

      The young girls' eyes widened as the three words hit her hard. Day of flight!? Something she & others of her kind spoke seldom & in hushed whispers. Except for the emotional times when Kuu & Reki "left" or when mentioned by the washi himself, it was something all haibane kept among themselves. As long as she lived in Guri, she had not heard of humans having any knowlege of the deeper things of the haibane. From what she heard in passing, she assumed they just accepted the fact a haibane, every so often, "leaves" & nothing more.

      Yet here were two before her who in only a few moments, revealed they may have knowlege not typical. It just wasn't possible. Unless they were more than they appeared to be ...

      "How ... how could you ...?"

      "Know anything at all about this?"

      Hikaris' mind raced.

      "How ... when it's a haibanes' time to leave? When whatever inner problem or ... uh ... sin is resolved, a haibane goes to those ruins in the woods & leaves in a display of light over the wall?"

      Speechless, Hikari could only stare.

      "The reason for my knowing this," the baker not hesitant, "& more, is simple. I ... some twenty five years ago ... Was one of you. A haibane."

      The young ladys' mouth fell open. It couldn't be ... yet ...

      "It's not possible! A haibane who doesn't take his day of flight ... leave the nest ... is ... is ... doomed to ..."

      "... Hiding away ... living away from one & all in a miserable isolated existance. I know. Yet ... as you can see ... I'm not only among the living so to speak but doing well ..."

      "But how can you-?"

      "All in good time hon. We have more important things to discuss ..."

      "And you ...", Hikari turned to Klara, "are you ..."

      "Oh heavens no dear!" Klara smiled. "No ... I was born like everyone else in Guri. I met Ben soon after he started work here."

      "So you ... he ...?"

      "We've been married just over twenty years ago." Both hands now gripping Bens' left. "Four sons & many memories. I've not regretted it."

      "Nor I," Ben declared. "As they say 'behind every successfull man & father is a woman.' Klara is that & much more."

      Amazed puzzlement showed acutely on Hikaris' face. So much yet in a way so little had been dropped in her lap. "I'm ... more than ... confused. I don't ... can't see ... how ... you could ..."

      "Ben? I don't think we're going to get any further with Hikari without telling your story first."

      "I suppose you're right hon. It might clarify the urgency of the situation.

      "Try not to ask questions until after I'm finished Hikari. What I'm about to tell you must not leave this room. If, however, you feel you must speak to the washi about this there's nothing I can do to stop you. You are, after all, still under the rule of the Renmei. It'd be interesting to hear what the ... old man ... has to say."

      Hikari noted the bakers' look of disdain on his face on mention of the communicator. Was it possible Ben & the washi had bad feelings between? Even enmity?

      "Well, best to begin at the beginning as all stories go ...

      "I was born ... hatched ... at Abandoned Factory about twentyfive years ago. Like you, I was presented with halo & went through the ordeal of wings ... the already blackening feathers marked me ...

      Hikaris' intake of breath was more than audible.

      "Yes ... Unlike you, I was born ... sin bound.

      "While still somewhat disoriented, I was taken to the temple, presented to the washi & went through the initiation of bell ritual & ... paybook."

      "Paybook" sounded like an expectoration. The young haibane wasn't sure she was going to like the way Bens' narrative seemed to be going.

      "The crowning gesture of the ritual was the washi taking me aside & revealing the meaning of my black feathers. Seems I was guilty of some trangression or ten in my past life & I had to own up to it somehow ... atone for something I couldn't even vaguely remember. My only clue is my coccoon dream ... One of fire, battle & intrigue.

      "I found such a thing unacceptable. I saw no reason to feel reponsible for something I knew next to nothing about & didn't even try. Try as I might, I couldn't get what I felt was a straight answer from the washi over the time of my being a haibane. Needless to say, he & I didn't get along well ..."

      Hikari knew the washi to be a stern judge & guide. In her time at the bakery she found Ben to be a strong (Though kindly & fair.) personality. She could only imagine, but it seemed logical for there to be a clash between the two.

      "Because of my black feathers, later wings, a good many of my "fellow" haibane looked a bit askance of me at first. In time most of them knew I had a "problem" of some kind & accepted me as one of them.

      "As time went on, I drifted from Abondoned Factory, taking up residence in the farming district as a hired hand. I took to wearing a jacket or heavy shirt & a hat to hide wings & halo. Though I was rather proud of my black wings, I still didn't care for the attention they got from those around me. You know what that's like, I'm sure ..."

      "Yes ... Even though they're usually nice & just curious, it's still a pain."

      "Seems after a time, everyone there assumed I was a regular human. Something I didn't try to correct. Only the couple at the large farm I worked at had any idea. I'll always be grateful for their keeping quiet about it.

      "It was there I became fascinated with the process of growing things & making them into finished product. In my deliveries of produce & grain to town, I became aquainted with the various shopkeepers & business folk. Contacts I maintain to this day ..."

      "But you ... your day of flight ...." Though she inwardly cringed at the thought of the baker snapping at her (He never did.) her impatience got the better of her. The man only smiled & went on.

      "Yes ... yes ... that. I had been warned repeatedly by the washi of the consequences of my ... uh ... rebelliousness... but ... that ... & ... the old mans' deliberate inexactness & just being less than vague, only made me want to dig my heels in deeper.

      "Once ... Not long before I was due to ... uh ... 'leave' ... ." The pause was long. "I marched into the temple ... Without bothering for permission to enter or even speak ... & DEMANDED he be plain & just out & out tell me what it was in my past I had to be so contrite about. Several of those speechless goons had to escort me out. I then concluded he really knew no more about it than I did. Probably less."

      Hikaris' mouth hung open in amazement. She had no idea a haibane could be so defiant. From what Rakka told her of Reki, this was beyond comprehension. Yet ... there it was.

      "The old man had me restricted to the farming district for an indefinite period. Being I had no intention of reform I stayed there until my day of flight came.

      "Of course I couldn't take it & didn't want to. While there was a slight 'pull' in my heart urging me to the western woods & possible punishment/banishment, I resisted easily enough & continued to stay where I was.

      "Over the course of several weeks ... things happened ... & didn't happen. First, my halo came off. Day by day, I felt its' hold lessen until ... one day ... I was able to pry it off. I wasn't going to wait for it to fall off. I wanted it off quick as possible. It hangs on a nail in the attic at home. I go look at it ... sometimes. ...

      "My raven black wings withered & eventually dropped. Somehow my body remembered how wonderful it was to lay flat on my back in bed, nothing between me & matress.

      "As for what didn't happen, well ... I felt no compulsion to hide myself away from people. None of the washis' speechless minions came to take me away, or any of the constables to arrest me. When I stepped outside the farming district no one pursued from the temple.

      "When I chanced to meet the washi after my leaving the district, the sky didn't fall in on me. We just looked at one another. He only shook his head & moved on ... I was free ... FREE!"

      The bakers' face became animated under his telling. Hikari, fascinated, leaned forward listening intently.

      "I was able to secure employment here. The then owner knew me from before when I delivered grain & took me on. It was here I established myself in the world of men. Here I learned my trade & for the first time earned a real living, a real wage. I tell you Hikari, there's nothing like earning & having real money in your pocket. Nothing like that notebook scrip the old man uses to keep you under his thumb, but actual money.

      "My purse became my symbol in dealing with others on a one to one, value for value basis. You might have heard the saying that 'A man is as good as his money'? It's not the money itself but in how one gets it. If one gets it rightly, on the square ... without swindle or shortchanging, then his money is  good as he is good.

      "I know this is new & alien to you but bear me out. You've been quite a while in Guri but only under the sway of the Renmei. But even within the confines of the wall, there's a whole new world waiting for you.

      "I certainly didn't spend my money like a fool. I was used to doing without & still bought used out of force of habit. I lived simply as possible, scrimped & saved, building my earnings, I eventually took out a loan at the bank, buying this business when the owner retired. In a few short years I was able to pay off the loan & expand.

      "During that time, Klara & I met, got married & raised a family ..."

      Hikari cast a questioning look Klaras' way.

      "He slowly told me over the course of our courtship about himself. At first I thought it wild fantasy but kept it to myself. It wasn't just the sincerity in the way he told it but the very detailed explanations about the haibane I eventually came to believe ...

      "On our wedding night," the older woman blushed,"when I saw the scars on his back ... from where his wings had been ...

      "A bad haibane, but a good man ..."

      Hikari knew the couple to be close over the time she worked for them. Now she knew it to be more so than originally thought.

      "You mentioned ... new world?"

      "Yes ... As a haibane & later in my apprenticeship here, I studied all I could, not only of Haibane lore & law but also that of Guri itself. In them I found nothing that said I HAD to accept a solitary life away from all if I didn't take my day of flight.

      "My theory is that anyone going into exile does so out of a profound feeling of guilt. A guilt so heavy they can't find it in themselves to counter or resist. A guilt I can only at times feel oh so ... slightly. I know there was something in my past before Guri but for the life of me I can't figure. Knowing no specifics, I've bothered less & less over the years."

      The young haibane girls' eyes widened. She had known only respect & reverence for the ways of her kind. Here, before her ... talking with her ... was some kind of unrepentant ... "fallen angel".

      "Over the course of time I made aquaintance of three other people of interest. One is a member of the town council, another a constable. They were both intrigued & did studies of their own. Their findings pretty much corroborated mine: Like anyone else, I'm free & clear to go about my life here providing no actual statute laws are broken.

      "You mentioned three ..."

      "Yes ... the third one was himself a haibane."

      There was no getting over it for Hikari. Much of what she "knew" was being rewritten on the spot.

      "An older gentleman. Regular customer here. I won't mention his name but you know him on sight. He too chose not to leave. Unlike me, he was not sin bound or so he says. His own investigations pretty much confirm what I already believe.

      "My guess is there may be others here ... not many ... but here. It could be a sizeable portion of the population have haibane ancestry they know nothing of ...

      "Who knows what else the washi ... & this ... renmei ... may be keeping from everyone."

      "Ben!"

      The baker glanced at his wife & back to Hikari, noting the bewildered expression on her face. "Oh yes ... new world ... "

      "The only new world I can ever know is over the wall ... the-"

      "So far as you know hon."

      "But-"

      "But there's one waiting for you right here."

      "You mentioned that before," the young habane stated. "All I can see in being here is-"

      "Waiting for your day of flight? Sorting out whatever inside," he held his hand to his chest, "keeping you here?"

      "Y ... Yes ..."

      "I said the time was urgent after mentioning the possibility of your leaving-"

      "But how can you know my time is near!? ... Even I-"

      "We've BOTH seen it before ... in others. How quiet, distant ... introspective ... they get when that feeling of completeness & fulfilment comes upon them ... keeping to themselves. That distant look they have ... to that place in the woods."

      "We've seen that in you dear."

      Hikari turned her now panicked glance at Klara.

      "For the past couple days we've noticed how quiet & even more thoughtfull you've been ... That look of contentment ..."

      "But I've had no thought of leaving ... no ... " Any thoughts of contentment were also far from her in this agitated state.

      "A haibane has no thought of leaving until hours, even minutes before the urge comes. In the times we've seen it in others, it came suddenly. Before we knew it that beam of light ascended to the heavens from the ruins in the woods & we were missing someone we knew ... Someone we cared for."

      A dark thought Hikari harbored from the beginning of this conversation came to the fore.

      "What do you gain from telling me this? What is it you hope to get out of all this.?"

      "Ah! You do know my mind."

      "More than minutes ago! I thought you kind ... good ... helpful. You two ... " She looked at Klara then back to her employer,"... were like ... parents ... you ..."

      "I will admit ... there are selfish motives here. Yes, I do hope to gain from this. However, I never try to get something for nothing ... something without an even exchange. One for one as I've said before."

      "And that would be?"

      The baker smiled inwardly. He knew the girl had a bit of sand under that sweet exterior & it heartened as well as amused. He knew he made the right choice in her.

      "Before you came through that door 3 1/2 years ago, I swore to have as little to do with the washi & the Charcoal Feathers Federation as was possible. Preferably NONE. It goes without saying I wouldn't have taken it out on you young folks. After all, you're just pawns in that game ...

      "I couldn't believe it when you came through the door looking for work that day. I thought it a colossal joke of sorts. Was the washi trying to pull something? It even crossed my mind to hire you for the sole purpose of rubbing the old mans' nose in it. 'Look o' great communicator! One of yours is working for ME now ... HA!"

      Ben continued before Hikari could indignantly interject.

      "Whatever it was ... your smile ... that pleasant personality ... Maybe it's the way you light up the place when you're here ..."

      "What we do know love," Klara exclaimed. "Is we had to keep you on."

      "There is also the fact ... your enthusiasm ... you're ... you're a damn ... darn ... good hard worker Hikari! I'd hate to lose you."

      The young haibane noted the bakers' now flustered state. He wasn't one to stammer. There had to be more to it than ...

      "It can't be just that! You can always get someone else. Another baker. Another one to work for you. Even if I was going to ... uh ... leave ... if ... I ... Why should I give up a chance at something as wonderful as ... just so you-"

      "Yes ... yes ... there's more ... there's ..."

      "What!?" For several minutes Hikari had been leaning forward, hands on desk. She felt Klaras' left hand holding her right.

      "When you first started here, both Klara & I decided to actually pay you a living wage.

      "We considered your being paid in the washis' notebook scrip to be outrageous ... Nothing more than a way to keep you under his control. We couldnt let you have it for the time being of course, so we waited."

      "Waited until now to bribe me from what may be the greatest ..."

      The baker held up his hand. Hikari could see He was reaching a limit.

      "There's 3 1/2 years of wages, including raises & bonuses when business was more than good. The money's in an account at the bank under a different name. All that needs be done is for Klara or I to sign off on it. If you decide to stay in Guri you won't be without resources. You'll have a definite leg-up."

      Hikaris' exasperation had built up. She couldn't possibly see how money could ever compensate for a missed chance at transcendance. An offer in the face of that was beyond ridiculous. It was ... blasphemous ... it was ...

      She abruptly stood up, drawing in her breath to voice her indignation when Klara cut her short.

      "Think of it dear ... as a dowry of sorts."

      The young womans' gasp more than audible. Wind taken from her sails before even moving.

      "D ... dow-ry?" She slumped back down in her chair, at a total loss for words.

      "Klara & I feel there is no one better for a daughter in law than you. You've worked alongside our sons all this time & know them more than well. Of course Vitorio is already married & Susuke's too young. However both Jotaro & Gian-Carlo have expressed much more than a passing interest to us. They know of my past & thus your situation. They've both sworn to hold off until my say so. They bide their time."

      Klara smiled. "Gian-Carlo is intrigued with the idea of  a ... 'faerie wife'."

      The blush on Hikaris' face was more than evident.

      "Of course if you stay, you're under no obligation to marry anyone. The money in the account is yours, free & clear. You've more than earned it."

      The young haibane alternately shifted her gaze from Ben to Klara several times. A lot had been put upon her in the last few minutes. A few short moments before, life had been simple with no complication.

      "Hikari ... hon ... You have a choice. A real one to make. One we hope you make before the washi hands you that little box ...

      "You can take your day of flight ... go over the wall ... to whatever afterlife the washi may have only vaguely hinted at. Who knows? Maybe it is that something glorious most of us thought it might be.

      "Or ... you can stay with us. Here you have resources, position & a more than even chance of a real, definite future with the possibility of marriage & children. Something you may not have had in your previous life & certainly not as a haibane ... Something ..."

      From across the desk, both of Klaras' hands clasped Hikaris' right.

      "Dear ... Whatever you decide ... If ... if you do go over ... if you choose to leave & you are in that beyond ... remember us. Remember there are those of us here who ... not only care for you ... But deeply love you."


Copyright © 6-1-2012 Jay Agan
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More of my Haibane Renmei fan fiction:

An Exception In Guri here.

Washi With the Mask Off here.

His Mother Was the Lightning His Taker the Light here.

You Devil You here.

Other:

Haibane Renmei: One Side of the Equation here.

Haibane Renmei: Awww Rats! here.

Go to Main Page here.

Disclaimer: The preceeding is a NON-PROFIT work of fan fiction for entertainment purposes only. I make no claim to ownership of the copyrighted names/characters, places, some dialogue & events mentioned in this work. They are the sole properties of Radix & Funimation. Please, by all means support the owners of such properties in the purchase & enjoyment of their products.

An Exception In Guri: A Haibane Renmei Fanfiction

... looking neither to the right nor the left as he walked ...

                             An Exception In Guri: A Haibane Renmei Fanfiction

                                                                   by

                                                                       C V Ford


      It is said Haibane are here only for a short time & then they're gone. No one knows how they leave though they do. Rumor has it some don't & if so, they live out their days isolated & forgotten in dreary, secluded existance. As far from people as the wall will allow. Forgotten ... never to be remembered.

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      Even when he was in the town of Guri/Glie proper, the Washi/Communicator passed by only on occasion. He never stopped by but the baker always made it a point to show himself when the holy man walked past. The Baker cared little if the shaman ever entered his place of business even though he preferred the masked one didn't. It's not that the baker was afraid. Not only did he not have any reverence, he absolutely hated him.

      As the robed figure strode on, people would stop what they were doing. Some would stare in awe, others avert their eyes. Some ... even bow.

      Not so the baker. He always placed himself on the sidewalk at the door to his shop. Arms folded or hands/fists on hips, he'd look at the priest in calm, cold defiance & contempt. Not making a show of it, if anyone ever noticed, no one mentioned it to him or others after.

      The robed one went by, staff tapping the pavement in rythmic accompaniement to the soft tinkel of the bells of his ornate, green robe. Masked countenance looking neither to the right nor the left as he walked.

      The figure receding in the distance, the baker mused:

      "You ... thought ... YOU THOUGHT ... if I didn't conform to your beliefs ... didn't ... leave ... I would still go along with the rest of if? Live a miserable non-existance somewhere out of the way? Dwell ... in a hermitlike undeath, out of the minds of others?

      "You thought old man ... you thought wrong.

      "Every moment held under your sway, I hated. Your warnings of me paying for some sin or sins I have no recollection of went unheeded. I was actually proud of my black feathers ...

      "All the same, you have no idea the happiness I felt when they finally dropped off. When the halos' hold was weak enough, I ripped it from my head!

      "Just WHAT did you think? That I ... would continue to stay under your thumb? Sequester myself away from the sight & mind of all ... or become one of those mute freaks who serve you? No! I did none of that!

      "How it must gall you old man. How it must tear your guts knowing ... knowing ... not only did I not shut myself away in undeserved sorrow & guilt ... but lived ... And still living! I have a wife & family. A business even! I've made a life of my own & the things that go with it. Things you wouldn't allow any of  those poor children at Old Home or the Factory to have.

... a damn good worker & a cheerful one at that ...

      "And don't even think for one moment it's a quest for pennance or your non-existant forgiveness that I employ one of those unfortunate souls at my place of business. Nor is it out of my having been one of them so long ago. She's a damn good worker & a cheerful one at that!

      "Cheerful ... you wouldn't allow me that either ...

      "I've even set aside wages for her though she doesn't know it. Your not allowing one to better oneself ... Altruistic nonsense! No ... there's the off-chance she'll not take her day of flight & she could use a leg-up.

      "And I've two good, sturdy sons for her to choose from. Both have taken a liking to her. They know my past & bide their time as well.

      "Chance nothing ... I'll talk to her when the time is right. Even with my black feathers, I knew just how she felt when my day of flight neared ... Still do ...

      "Yes old man ... You thought wrong ..."


Copyright © 5-14-2012 Jay Agan

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My other Haibane Renmei fanfiction:

Washi With the Mask Off here.

His Mother Was the Lightning His Taker the Light here.

You Devil You here.

Other Haibane Renmei articles.

Haibane Renmei: One Side of the Equation here.

Haibane Renmei: Awww Rats! here.

Go to Main Page here.

Disclaimer: The preceeding is a NON-PROFIT work of fan fiction for entertainment purposes only. I make no claim to ownership of the copyrighted names/characters, places, & some events mentioned in this work. They are the sole properties of Radix & Funimation Entertainment. Please, by all means support the owners of such properties in the purchase & enjoyment of their products.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.