The woman stepped off the train, and looked around to get her bearings...
Then, suddenly, she smiled in recognition, and started walking.
    A young man smiled back at her, as she approached.  "It's good to see you
again, Shigawe-san," he said, bowing slightly.
    The woman quirked an eyebrow.  "You're a lot more formal than when I last
saw you.  Does that mean I can't call you Junta anymore?"
    Junta chuckled.  "By all means, Hitomi.  I just wanted to err on the side
of caution."
    She continued walking, and he fell into step beside her.  "I don't care
about that sort of thing.  You know that."  She threw a sidelong glance at
him.  "I thought you didn't either."
    "On the contrary," he replied, gazing off into the distance.  "Some humans
find titles and forms of address very important."  He ran his hand through his
short, messy hair, and suddenly grinned at her like the sun breaking through
clouds.  "And I always try and make people feel at ease."
    "Of course you do," Hitomi replied.  After a moment, she said, "I'm not
here just to chat with you, of course, pleasant as your company is."
    Junta's smile faded.  "Yes...the stars are right."
    "Or wrong, depending on your point of view."
    They walked on in silence for a few more moments.
    "You know more about it than I do," Junta said.  "Is it going to be as bad
as...as she always told us?"
    "It could be," Hitomi replied, pushing her glasses up on her nose.  "Or,
on the other hand, it could be a lot worse."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Dark Star, Chapter 9: Rising Stars

written by John Evans (jevans@alum.mit.edu)
originally presented by ImproFanfic (http://www.improfanfic.com/)
now hosted by Beware the Radish (http://www.chaoseed.com/btr/)
Dark Star started by Chandra Rooney

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Tenkou surveyed the room.
    "This is the big preparation, that was so important?"
    Joodan walked over to the front desk, and blew on it gently.  A cloud of
fine dust billowed lazily into the air.
    "Years," he concluded.
    "It wasn't my idea," Zellar muttered.  Milei slipped past him and gazed
around the room rapturously.
    "It's like a haunted house!" he piped excitedly.
    "Now that DS is here, it certainly is," Joodan noted.
    "Joodan," Zellar said, his voice level.
    Joodan blinked, his face innocent.  "I thought you didn't like 'Angst
Boy'."
    Vincent stepped past Zellar and glanced around the room with interest.
    "My name is Zellar," Zellar snapped.  "It's a perfectly serviceable name.
If you don't like that, you can even call me Kurayamino Hoshi."
    "I know another guy named Hoshi," Joodan said, polishing a bell.  "He's a
half-dragon.  You'd probably have a lot in common, but you'll understand if I
don't want to mix you up."  He tapped the bell, and scowled at the rusty clank
that was produced.
    "So this used to be a hotel, Zellar?" Vincent asked.
    Zellar looked off into space.  Tenkou shivered involuntarily; it was the
expression Zellar had when he 'talked to himself'.
    "Apparently it was the 'Bright Star Hotel'," Zellar answered.  He glanced
around with a grim expression.  "Run by Kuroi Hoshi, as a safe house for the
Stars.  For some reason, it was abandoned, but I have the legal authority to
reactivate it."  He shrugged.  "I don't understand the legal stuff, but we can
stay here.  And any of the other Stars that come along."
    "More than four hundred years old, and you still don't understand legal
stuff?  Now *that* I find scary," Vincent said, turning the crackling pages of
the guest book.  "So are we going to have customers?"
    Zellar stared off into space again, then shivered slightly.  "Why?  For
money?  We don't need money, just a place to stay."  He turned to Tenkou and
grinned.  "You can stay here too, if you want.  The beds are nice and soft..."
    Tenkou stepped back.  "You're...the other one, again.  I don't trust you."
    He stepped towards her, and suddenly his hand was resting softly against
Tenkou's cheek.  Her eyes widened, and she grabbed his hand...but couldn't
bring herself to pull it away.
    "You don't have anything to fear from me," he whispered, moving even
closer to her.  "Him and me, we're two sides of the same person.  He wouldn't
hurt you, and neither would I.  How could we?  You're so beautiful..."
    CLANGGG!
    They both blinked.  Tenkou immediately stepped back, blushing furiously.
Zellar sighed, then turned around, scowling.
    Joodan rubbed his head and picked the bell up from the floor.  "Sorry...it
slipped out of my hands.  I guess I'm still unlucky..."
    Milei giggled.  Vincent sighed, and closed his sketchbook.

=====

    "It seems we are at an impasse," Kuroi Hoshi said calmly.
    Yasha stared at her, idly stroking the back of her left hand.  Then, after
a moment, she smiled.
    "I think not," the demoness replied.  "You're here, Tenshi is here, and
neither of you can escape my realm.  Powerful cards for my already winning
hand.  I'm afraid you underestimated me, my old...OLD, friend."  Her grin was
almost feral.
    The Black Star's eyes narrowed.  Being trapped in this demon realm was bad
enough...Had she underestimated Yasha in other ways?  Out loud, she said, "We
have no time for this."
    "Oh, I think we do," Yasha purred.  She snapped her fingers, and flaps
suddenly opened in the floor under Tenshi's feet, sucking her away in a
heartbeat.
    "Tenshi!"  Kuroi Hoshi leaped forward, but the floor closed in her face.
She barked a word of power and a hole opened, only to reveal a surreal vista
of shifting, warping walls and tunnels.
    "She's long gone, and you'll never find her," Yasha grinned.  "I told you
this is *my* realm, and I have absolute power here."
    Kuroi Hoshi straightened up, and turned back to the queen.  "So it's back
to that hideous machine for her?"
    Yasha allowed herself a cackle of laughter.  "Oh, of course not!  That was
just for your benefit.  I knew you wouldn't be properly spooked if you just
found her like this..."  She snapped her fingers, and a globe of darkness came
into being in the air above them.  Tenshi was visible through the black aura,
naked and huddled in a fetal position.  Kuroi Hoshi stepped forward, but Yasha
waved her back with a chuckle.  "Don't bother, it's just a magical image."
    "What are you doing to her?" the mother of Stars murmured.
    Yasha's eyes gleamed.  "I've realized that the body is nothing...
especially when dealing with spirits.  No, it's the mind that's important.  A
simple truth, but somehow so hard to realize..."
    Kuroi Hoshi wiped her forehead, her skin pale.  "You *have* learned a lot,
over the centuries..."
    "Learned a lot, and acquired many allies.  Perhaps you might be interested
to meet one.  Gyoshi, come forward..."  She made a gesture, and the gray-robed
torturer stepped out of the shadows.
    Kuroi Hoshi stared.  "But...Yasha!  That's one of *hers*!  Have you gone
insane?"
    "You know nothing," Yasha snapped.  "I'm not afraid of Shiko.  Gyoshi is
loyal to me, and me alone.  Isn't that right, Gyoshi?"
    Gyoshi bowed.  "Yes, my Queen," he intoned.
    "Good.  You may proceed with your work."
    Gyoshi turned to face the black sphere.  After a moment, he brought his
hands together in a meditative gesture, and began to chant under his breath.
Flashes of color began to intrude on the edge of the sphere.
    Tenshi moaned, and pressed her face against her knees.
    Kuroi Hoshi forced herself to breathe evenly.  "This is for me...as much
as for her.  Isn't it?  My torture, to see her like this."
    Yasha chuckled.  "A bit slow, but you may catch up yet."
    "What do you want from me?"
    Yasha extended a hand, with one finger outstretched.  "Love."  A glowing
point appeared in the air, and she moved her hand downward.  "Reality."
Another point appeared, making two.  "Death.  Justice."  Now there were four
points, in a rough curve.  After a moment, lines traced themselves between the
points, creating a pentagram.  Yasha moved her finger to the top of the
star, where the point was dark, in contrast to the others.  "And the last...
Mind.  Yet there is no Star to fill this point."  She leaned forward.  "I've
kept track of you for centuries.  The rest of your generation of Stars are
dead, but there are only four in the current generation.  Where is the last?"
    Kuroi Hoshi smiled.  "I'll never tell you."
    "You won't tell me now, of course," Yasha admitted.  "Or tomorrow, or the
next day, and so on...but eventually..."  The demon queen's expression
hardened.  "Eventually, Tenshi will be broken.  And if you're still resistant,
you will take her place."  She leaned back and rested her head on her hand.
"And eventually...you *will* tell me."
    Kuroi Hoshi kept her eyes on Tenshi...but a small smile was on her face.
    How would Yasha react, she thought...if the queen knew that she *couldn't*
tell her?

=====

    Night had settled over the town.
    The shops were closed, the streets quiet.  The few lights shone in
isolated rooms, where students worked frantically to finish homework, or
writers to meet deadlines.
    The square where the fountain was felt particularly empty.  When the
statue was there, people always felt like someone was watching over them.  Now
it felt...dead.
    Then something happened.  There was a shimmer in the air...like a mirage
on a hot day.  Light twisted and bent around a point in space, and suddenly a
man was there.
    If it truly was a man.  His gaze swept around the square, a red glow from
his right eye flitting into the shadowy corners.  His left eye was a light
hazel.
    The man grinned.  "Ha!  I'm the first one here," he cackled to himself,
his voice rising and falling in pitch seemingly at random.  "They'll all be
jealous when they get here and I've taken care of everyone already!  My name
wll go down in history...what history there is remaining of course.  Kyoku the
Quick, they'll call me, Kyoku the Frenzied Death, highest of the Young One's
servants...now to find a place to crash."
    Reality twisted again, and he was gone.

=====

    Himiko stared out at the morning sunlight with mounting fury.
    "I tell you, I'm fine!  I want to get out of here!  I have important
things to do!"
    "Nonsense," Michiyo purred.  "You can't recover in just a couple of days.
You simply *must* let us take care of you longer.  Now lie down, it's time for
your morning sponge bath..."

=====

    Junta and Hitomi walked along, enjoying the atmosphere of the town."
    "Say, Hitomi...I don't mean to bother you, of course, but this isn't the
way to the hotel," Junta said.
    "We can go there later," Hitomi said, frowning.  "I can feel some magical
emanations from this direction, though.  There's probably a sacred site or
something."
    "Oh, okay," Junta said equably.
    After a few minutes of walking, they came upon the fountain square.  Milei
was sitting near the fountain, playing with rocks and pebbles, and Vincent was
standing nearby, painting.
    Junta knelt down near Milei.  "Hello, little fellow," he said.
    Milei looked up alertly.  "Hello, big fellow," he replied.
    Junta chuckled.  "My name's Junta.  What's yours?"
    "Milei," the child replied.  "Are you a monster?"
    "No, I'm a teapot."
    Milei blinked.  "Really?"
    "Sure.  I'm a little teapot, short and stout..."  He did the gestures.
    Hitomi smiled.  "You're silly."  She peered at the fountain.
    "So you're not a monster?" the child asked.
    Junta rubbed his chin.  "I'm afraid not..."
    "Oh."  Milei sniffed.  "Too bad."
    The Star smiled, then looked at his companion.
    "There used to be a statue here," Hitomi murmured to herself.
    Junta's smile faded a little.  "Do you know anything about this fountain?"
he asked Milei.
    Milei shook his head.  "I lived in the forest.  Until just a little while
ago."  He looked over to Vincent.  "You should ask Mr. Painter.  He knows all
about Mr. Zeller and stuff.  And he paints good too."
    The two companions exchanged a glance.  "Well, then...perhaps we will.
Thank you, Milei."
    "You're welcome!" Milei piped up.
    Junta smiled and tousled Milei's hair affectionately, and then he and
Hitomi walked over to stand behind Vincent.
    Vincent didn't bother to look up, or give any indication that he knew they
were there, so intent was he on painting.  When the two Stars looked over his
shoulder, they found on the canvas a half-finished painting of an angel,
pouring water.  She stood on a pedestal in the middle of the fountain.
    Junta looked at Hitomi.  She nodded.
    "You're very good," Junta said.
    "Thank you," Vincent replied, not looking up from his work.
    "It's incredible, the way you can see her like that...even though the
statue isn't here anymore," Junta continued.
    Vincent's brush hesitated, for a fraction of a second, before continuing.
"I can see her," he replied.
    "Why have you painted the tips of her wings black?" Junta said.
    The brush hesitated for a longer second.  "Because that's how I see her,"
the painter replied.
    Junta glanced at his companion, who rolled her eyes.  He grinned to
himself.  "Do you love her?" he asked Vincent.
    The brush stopped entirely.  After a moment, Vincent turned to look at his
interrogator.  "Love her?" he asked, looking baffled.
    Junta shrugged.  "You paint her with such care...I just thought there were
some feelings behind it."
    Vincent looked back at his canvas, and frowned.  "Well...no.  I just paint
her the way I see her.  She's very..."  He groped for words.  "She just
radiates emotion.  I couldn't *not* paint her with care."  He studied the
canvas some more.  "Besides," he said eventually, "she loves someone.  That
much is obvious even to me."
    Junta nodded to himself, and Hitomi leaned forward.  "Do you know how you
know all this?" she asked, peering at Vincent intently.
    Vincent turned to look at her...and stopped, his mouth open.
    "It's obvious you have some talent in the Arts," she continued.  The
capital letter was audible.  "Do you know how to use them yet?"
    After a moment, Vincent found his voice.  "Well, I...uh...Master Elcid
said that I had some talent...and...and, he told me these old legends and
stuff and...but...well, I don't know...I mean..."
    Hitomi raised an eyebrow.  "There's often a lot of truth in old legends.
You should ask this Master of yours for more knowledge."  She glanced around
the square.  "Well, I've satisfied my curiosity.  Let's get going, Junta."
    "You go ahead," Junta replied.  "I want to look around some more.  I'll
catch up."
    She shrugged.  "Suit yourself."
    The two young men watched her go.
    "Do you want some advice?" Junta murmured.
    Vincent turned to him and blinked.  "...Uh...yes?"
    Junta looked at him, and smiled softly.  "She respects knowledge.  You can
impress her by developing your talents."
    Vincent's hands started to twitch.  "Yes...I'll paint her!  I'll bring out
her beauty for all the world--"
    Junta gently pushed down the painter's arm, chuckling.  "No, not like
that.  I mean...the *Arts*, that she mentioned."
    Vincent stood still for a moment, then jolted into action.  "Yes!  I'll go
ask Master Elcid!  He said he'd teach me..."  He quickly packed up his art
supplies, bowing to Junta in between.  "Thank you, so much, sir!  I'm Vincent,
by the way."
    Junta nodded.  "I think we may be seeing a lot of each other.  Well,
then...take care, and good luck."  He smiled, and turned to follow the path
his fellow Star had taken.
    "Master Elcid," Vincent muttered, shouldering his pack.  "This is a chance
I can't miss...Milei!  Come on, we're going to see a friend!  Milei--oh!"  He 
stopped short as he found Milei sitting in the lap of an unfamiliar woman.
    The woman smiled.  She had short brown hair, and looked rather young,
almost a teenager.  "I'm sorry, I was just playing with your little brother
here," she said.
    "Uh, no, he's not...well, I'm just taking care of him for a friend, you
see," Vincent said.  "But we have to be going, I'm sorry.  Come on, Milei."
He grasped Milei's arm and gently pulled him along, in his haste missing the
uncomfortable expression on the child's face.
    "Goodbye, Milei-chan," the woman said, waving.
    "...goodbye...neesan," Milei replied softly, his face pale.
    The woman watched the two walk off, then smiled a secret smile, and
disappeared.

=====

    Father Cloud wiped his brow.
    "This has nothing to do with me," his whispered.
    Master Elcid slumped back in exasperation.  "But it's got to have
*something* to do with you!  The name of your ancestor is written right here!"
    Father Cloud shook his head, although in a hesitant manner.  "I know
nothing about Shiko or these pentagrams or whatever."
    "And what about Dark Star?" Elcid snapped.
    The priest's face got even paler, and he looked away.  "I fulfilled the
bargain," he managed.  "They have no reason to see me again."
    "So you *do* know!"  Elcid almost leaped out of his seat at the priest.
    Father Cloud looked down at the floor.
    Elcid sighed...then, after a moment, walked over to place his hand on
Father Cloud's shoulder.
    "I don't want to force you into anything," he said softly.  "But I need
your help.  And if the prophecies in the book are right, you're already
involved beyond any hope of extrication."
    Father Cloud let loose a shuddering sigh.  "...Elcid..."
    "Yes?"
    "...You're older than I am.  I've known you for so many years...if there's
anyone I'd trust, it would be you."  He looked up at the old painter, his face
grim.  "I will help.  Tell me what you want."
    Elcid exhaled.  "I'm glad, my old friend...well."  He shook his head.
"Time is of the essence.  What I need is any information on this matter, that
you might have access to.  The line of Master Painters goes back far indeed,
but even our records are sometimes..."  His mouth quirked.  "Abstract."
    Father Cloud nodded, and got to his feet.  "The church has books...one in
particular, which I know you'll want to see.  I will fetch it..."  He left the
room, still trembling and pale.
    Elcid looked back at the book he had brought with him.  "The stars are
right...not much time, until Death is born again."
    The page showed one large pentagram, with one smaller pentagram centered
on each of its points.  Five, times five...

=====

    And somewhere, in a place no one knew...something dark stirred.


To be continued...

=====

Author's note corner

"I have an itsy-bitsy sponge..."
                 --A nurse, Night Court

Kyoku: "bend; wrong; detail; unusual; song; play" (such a wonderful range of
meanings, don't you think?)
Junta: the first kanji is "jun" meaning "pure" (even if it isn't, it is in
*this* story)

Togashi Hoshi is property of Five Rings Publishing Group.

Jonatan Streith influenced this story, probably without realizing it. As did
Philip Barkow, but I think he can guess how.

Thank you, and let's hear it for our next author...Gink!  With chapter 10 of
Dark Star. That's something of a milestone.