the owl's wish

chapter 13: lady of the yellow springs

Bokuto stumbles inside, eyes reeling with images from past and present. His socks nearly slip against the chalky, dark stone, but he pulls himself upright just before he can fall. Akaashi's head hangs low. Bokuto isn't sure if his eyes are even open.

The very air blisters around them. Rivulets of bubbling lava run in winding paths around the room, a vertiable net of magma ribbons twisting beneath his feet. Steam hisses as it puffs up from the lava and slides between rock formations.

Small paper lanterns hang from the stalactites. They swing precariously as the very cavern rumbles around them. Each lantern has a character painted onto the front. Cat, owl, crow. Animals. Almost every lantern contains a flittering butterfly, shadow stretching and warping as the insect moves around.

Almost every lantern, except for one. The character on the front reads "fox." It is empty.

At the center of the room, a tall, beautiful woman sits on an ancient throne. Her long black hair is tied up neatly into a bun, her slender hands arched delicately on top of the arms of her chair. Her dark silk kimono pools at the hem, like it was stitched from liquid abyss. Her butterfly wings are thin and paler than the moon.

A banner, faded and threadbare, hangs over a rotting torii gate. The characters painted on it are too faint for Bokuto to read.

Then the woman stands, and he can't see the banner anymore.

"Welcome," She says, smiling. "I am Akiko, the Lady of the Yellow Springs."

"Please," Bokuto somehow manages to get the words out of his mouth, mind still flashing between what was and what is. "Akiko-san. Please, you have to help Akaashi! He's hurt! If you don't help him, he might- He might-"

Bokuto can't bring himself to finish the sentence. At his side, Akaashi's knees almost give out, muscles slack and shaking.

Akiko moves to take him from Bokuto. She cradles Akaashi in her arms like he weighs nothing, gently brushing the sand from his face. His wings hang limp, dusty and dull against her shimmering kimono.

"M... My wish," Bokuto can barely hear Akaashi's voice, even though he stands close enough to see each of the feathers falling from his wings. "I... I want..."

The Lady of the Yellow Springs hushes him gently, her long antenna dipping down brush his forehead.

"Oh, my darling Akaashi Keiji," She says softly. "I have known your wish since before you even passed the first trial."

"What?" This declaration forcibly yanks Bokuto back into the present. "Akaashi? Akaashi, what did you wish for?"

Akiko does not seem to hear Bokuto, As she leans forward, the characters on the banner come into focus.

Yomi-no-kuni, it says.

Realm of the dead.

"You wished," Akiko whispers. "For the pain to end."

There is something in Akaashi's eyes when she says this. A flash of recognition, acceptance. Peace.

Bokuto watches, frozen, as that something, as well as all the traces of color and light, melt from Akaashi's face.

His eyes are now dull. Unblinking.

"Wings are such fragile things, aren't they?" Says the Lady of the Yellow Lake, keeper of souls and queen of the underworld. "Cut one wrong feather and you could bleed to death."

She gently closes Akaashi's eyelids. It almost looks like he's sleeping. Bokuto's whole body trembles.

"Akaashi," Bokuto struggles to find his voice. "Akaashi, wake up."