Meditation on Beach 2 (Mizuki/Yang)

After giving instructions to Yang on what to do, Mizuki closed her eyes and began to drown out all sounds around her.  The ocean waves was now but a faint sound.  The birds chirping faded away from the inside her mind.  She mentally pictured the raging storm in her mind- the problems, the issues, everything.  She floated through it, making her way to the center of it.  But something felt... different.  When she touch the center light, a blinding flash occurred, leaving her dazed for a moment.

Mental landscape

Mizuki found herself in the same dream. The same hallways lined up in a temple made of gold and jade. She followed the jade path looking at the walls as she passed them. The same names were scribed upon them. She had recognized them as the names of her family, starting with hers and his brother’s. It seems that the walls contain the names of her family members. Jokai. Mashi. Tori. Detsu. The names of her family members continued, seeming as though there was no end. What did this mean?

She finally made it to the end of the hallway, which led into a throne room. It was the same throne room she would end up in before she woke up from the dream. She entered into the throne room containing two statues. One of the statues was of a man with a sun on his chest with eight arms. Another was of a woman with the moon on hers wearing qipang with ribbons on her arms and legs. This was where she would wake up, covered in sweat. But not this time. She was in her meditation.

There was a loud rumble throughout the throne room. Mizuki went on guard prepared for what was about to come. Then one of the stone statues began to crumble before her- it was the woman with a moon on her chest. Her skin was light blue with white lines running through it. She had white french braids with two long white rabbit ears sticking out of it and a moon adorned on her chest She seemed to be wearing a quiapong with different designs on it- different flowers covered in different elements that she already knew. The others were blank and hard for her to see. The ribbons on her legs and arms seem to flow like water with the four elements that Mizuki knew.

She took a step forward towards Mizuki towering over her with her massive size. “I have been waiting for you, Mizuki,” the giantess said softly, her white blank eyes fixed on Mizuki. “I was wondering how long it would take you to get here.” Mizuki stared at the eyes, trying to speak… but no words came out. “There is no need to talk,” the being said. “I already know what you are thinking before you say it.” She sat down in front of Mizuki, causing the floor to ripple like water. She crossed her legs and sat in a meditative pose. “The other half of the Haymaker twins. We have been waiting for this for quite some time.”

Mizuki was wondering what she was talking about until she answered, “I am Devi Tsukuyomi,” the giantess answered with a smile. “But you can call me by your nickname-Tsuki. You are probably wondering where you are at.” She waved his arm around, indicating the entirety of the temple. “This is your inner self. Only those who understand and practice the martial art ever get this far. This “temple” contains your memories and your ancestors’ names. They are the people who have mastered the art."

This confused Mizuki even further, causing her to give a puzzled look. “I can understand the confusion and I am here to explain,” Tsuki said with a smile. “I once created the art alongside my brother, Ameterasu,” she said nodding towards the other statue. “I believe your brother has already met him. I can tell that you are really close to your brother and share his ideas of bringing people together. And don’t worry about the whole ‘liking girls’ thing.” Tsuki smiles at Mizuki. “I was paticaularly fond of the same sex myself.”

Mizuki was surprised to say the least. It was like this woman knew her whole life without even asking a question. “My child, I know everything about you. I am your inner self." The center of your continued. “I am here to tell you the true name of the martial art you practice. The reason your father hadn’t told you the real name was he wanted you to discover me for yourself.” She got close to Mizuki. “Don’t worry. I will guide you through this.”

Mizuki nodded slowly, not sure on how she should feel. “Good, then we have a deal,” the being said. As soon as he said it, the words in the hall rearranged in order until all the names were in the “throne room”, with her and her brother’s name in giant gold kanji on the wall where the statues stood. “I am not here to give you more power or anything like that. You need to do all of this with your own power. I am just here to provide you advice. So listen carefully. When you go into the stance, you can call it ....”


End of Mental landscape

Mizuki opened her eyes and spoke the words slowly.  "Devi Muay Thai," she quietly.  A gentle breeze washed from her, the words of her art now filled with meaning and a purpose.  However, she did not have much time to focus on it for too long.  She saw Yang panicking, attempting to breath for air.  Mizuki put her arms around her, attempting to soothe her.  "Easy there," she reassured her.  Yang felt soft to the touch and was warm to her.  She felt Yang's heartbeat racing in her chest.  "You know what- that's enough for now.  I think it would be good if we took a break."  Mizuki stood up and an idea came to mind.  "I have an idea."

Mizuki had a plan to make things better.  Well... she couldn't call it a plan.  More like what her brother would do if the situation got tough- go with the flow.  Musutafa had a lot things to do in it and was still early.  She wanted to share all those things with Yang.  To show Yang there was more to life than whatever was going in her head.  They didn't talk about much of each other's past and they had been friends for weeks.  More because Mizuki didn't want to push a sore subject with her new found friend and cause issue between them.

'Not true,' Devi, her new inner self, spoke.  'You know that is not the reason you don't want to go deeper with your 'friend'.'  Mizuki mentally blinked a couple of times.  'I have no idea what you are talking about.'  Tsuki shook her head at her new found partner.  'Yang might not be able to see it, but I can.  Tell her the truth.  Tell her- you like her.'

Flashback

"Alright Mizuki," Desmoshi said closing his math book. "I think I am all caught up."  He turned to his sister to see if there was anything else she needed him to do.  However, he was surprise to see Mizuki looking off elsewhere, lost in a daydream of some sorts.  "Hey sis," Desmoshi started concern for his sister. "Everything good with you.  You haven't said anything since we started studying.  What's on your mind?"

Mizuki snapped out of her thoughts, looking at her brother.  She didn't know how to go about what she wanted to say.  They had a tight relationship for years.  And she was thinking about could ruin that. "I know you won't let it go until I tel you," she said with a sigh.  "See...  I like this girl..." Desmoshi's "oooo's" somewhat threw her off, but she continued, "But I don't know how to tell her... or the person who might like her."  The girl she was talking about was Yang.  She knew her brother had a small crush on her.  She didn't want to ruin their dynamic if she could help it.  But the question had been burning for quite a while.

Desmoshi looked confused for a second, and then shocked after he put it together.  'Crap,' Mizuki thought.  She didn't know to do next.  That is until her brother gave a huge smile.  "If you like Yang," he said very reassuringly, "then you should tell her how you feel.  I just want to see you happy."  Mizuki was confused about this.  "But what about you?"  "I'm good," Desmoshi replied. "Besides you two have more in common, and you guys can learn more about one another if you try."

End of Flashback

Maybe Desmoshi was right.  Maybe Mizuki should tell her how she felt.  But she needed to do this is a subtle as possible.  Maybe Yang might not feel the same way as she did.  Or she may not be like her in the sense of liking the same sex.  As she was trying to sort things out, she suggested to Yang a new plan.  But before she could finish, Yang handed a large conch shell that she had found.  It was beautiful as it shined in the light, glistening from the water that covered it.

"It's beautiful," Mizuki said softly with a smile. She admired it for a moment before putting it into her gym bag.  This confirmed that she needed to continue her idea.  "How about a day out into the town?  It's still early in the morning, and we have the whole day to ourselves.  And you don't have to worry about buying anything.  I got it covered."  She didn't want to seem like so spoiled rich kid who was trying to buy her friendship, but she did want to show Yang a really great day... and how she truly felt.

As Mizuki was packing her yoga mat, Tsuki took the moment to chide in her mind. 'You like her,' she sang.  'Why don't you just tell her?'  Mizuki didn't mind the spirit as much, but she felt kind of crowded with all the advice and egging on she was trying to do.  'I don't want to rush that on her.  She might know how she really feels about other people yet,' Mizuki replied mentally.  'We have only known each other for a couple of weeks.  I don't want to scare her away.'  'You don't wait to long young one.  Time is short,' Tsuki said in a sad tone.  This puzzled Mizuki for a moment.

Mizuki gathered her things along with Yang and waited at the bus stop with her.  She already planned where they were heading first.  While they were waiting on the bus, Mizuki took this moment to talk to Tsuki.  'So what happened?' Mizuki asked her mental partner.  She had just met Tsuki but she felt like she had seen her forever due to all dreams she had.  Tsuki took a small breath and looked off into the distance of Mizuki's mind. 

'It felt like ages ago,' Tsuki started, her blue glowing eye leaking a little.  'I was a small village girl with my brother.  We were homeless and we didn't have much to our name.  A monk found us and took us in.' Tsuki took a pause.  'She was everything to me.  She taught Ame and I so much.  She was a year or two older than us, but she knew so much.  She was like family to us.'  Tsuki looked down, as though she was looking for a memory that was lost to her.  'As time grew, we became my mistress and I became more than friends.  Ame pratically told her I liked her.  He was so loud when we were young,' she said as she chuckled at though.  Then she grew quiet.

This worried Mizuki a bit.  'What happened?' Mizuki asked, fearing what the answer would be.  Tsuki looked up as though she was looking at her partner.  'I lost her,' Tsuki said with tears streaming down her face.  'I never even got to say goodbye.'  She had a small smile as she spoke again.  "Little one.  Never take too long to do something.  You never know how much time you have left.'  At this moment, she went into a meditative pose as she sat down.

Mizuki had a tear come down her cheek.  She would never had thought that the most powerful warrior that was told in her stories had loss something so dear to her.  It was more than she actually realized.  She wiped the tear from her eye as she put on a smile for Yang.  "I think I know where we could go first," Mizuki said to Yang as the bus pulled up.  She climbed the stairs and asked the bus driver, "The next stop is in Musutafu, right?"  The driver nodded his head.  She gave a thank you to the bus driver as her and Yang took their seat next to each other.

On the drive to where they were going, Mizuki asked, "So Yang.  There is still so much I don't know about you. Who was your family?  Where did you come from?"  She wasn't sure what response she would get, but maybe she could make some ground.

She could sense it. She wasn't sure how, but she could sense something when she asked her about her family. Sadness? Anger? Confusion? Mizuki couldn't tell. She could sense Yang wasn't trying to keep her out on purpose. Maybe it goes deeper than this. But she wasn't going to push the subject further. Not remembering a biological family had to be more painful than remembering the family you had lost. Mizuki wished she could help Yang find the answers she was looking for.

But Yang's question was a reminder of why she couldn't at the moment. Her family? She loved her family. She loved everything about them. The problem was they were different than her. Her mother was the calm and patient one of the family. The wise one. Her father was more outgoing and known for his great boxing while keeping his vigilante life a secret. And Desmoshi… Well, he was Desmoshi. But what was she? Who was she in the family of the Haymakers?

She looked out the window, watching the trees blur by as the bus slowly sped down the road. She looked at the scenery as though she was searching for the words to give to Yang’s question. “My family and I are different,” Mizuki started, still looking out the window. “When it comes to positivity and being outgoing, I am the black sheep of the family. I tried to be a little like them. But I like being the quiet one. The reserved one.” She looked at Yang. “To be honest, as much as I love my family, I don’t know where I fit in with all of them. I feel like I am- alone.”

Silence fell between the two, thinking or searching for the words to say to one another. The bus came to a full stop as the driver opened the door for a few passengers. Mizuki looked up to see a few of them get off at a stop that she wasn’t going to. “I feel like everyone else knows where they are going,” Mizuki said watching the passengers get off one by one. “But for me- I have no idea where I am going or even heading. I have no idea where to start.”

Mizuki looked out the window again watching the people scattered through what seemed to be a small neighborhood. One of them was a man with glasses wearing a business suit greeting his wife with a kiss at the front door. Mizuki wished that she could have that. She wished she could have the life that most people that were normal could have. She wondered out loud, “Maybe I could have the life that these people have. No cares about impressing anyone. No cares about who they are or what they are going to be. Just happy.”

But she knew that with her being a quirker, that was impossible. She knew those ideals were too impossible to reach. She turned back to Yang and continued her conversation. “Even with me training to be a hero, I still feel like there's more to this than just saving “people's lives and getting the glory”. To be honest with you, I don't know how to feel about this or what to do.”

The bus began to pull off from its stop, continuing to Musutafu. Mizuki said, “I am sorry if that was a lot there. I guess I have been holding it in for some time. I didn’t mean to dump it all out on you. I just wish I had someone to talk to about my troubles.” She stared at her hands, clasped together in thought. “I am always feeling like I have to be the responsible one in the family. I feel like I have to be the one to watch over them and make sure everything is good. I feel like... I feel like I am chained to the responsibilities of my family. I know no one asked that of me but I still have to be the one that makes sure everyone stays together. At the same time, I feel like I don’t have my own identity.”

Mizuki kind of felt bad. She didn't want to dump all her problems on Yang. But she felt like that her troubles and worries had been building up for quite some time and she needed to get it out. And for some weird reason, it felt like Yang understood her better than most people. She felt like she could tell her anything. Well, almost anything. She still didn't know how to approach telling her about her father. I mean, who would want to be your friend after they found out what your father did for a living? Did she trust Yang enough to tell her the truth? Did she trust her enough to tell her that part of her life? Would Yang still accept her after the fact?

As the bus pulled up into Mustafa, the driver made the announcement for all who was still on that this was the final stop. Mizuki took a deep breath and looked at Yang with a smile on her face.. "But that's not here nor now," Mizuki said with a smile on her face "Today is supposed to be a good day and I promise to show you a good day." She got off the bus and made her way down the stairs and waited for Yang to get off with her.

She took a look around Musutafu. It was looking better and better each day. She was slowly getting over the whole “being homesick” issue. And now that will be a lot easier with a friend. “So where to first?” Mizuki asked Yang. She wanted Yang to have the best day ever. No worries about who or what might come there way. Just the two of them hanging out among friends with no interruptions. Musutafu was their playground, and they could do whatever they wanted.  As long they were within the law of course.

Once they had gotten off at the bus stop, Mizuki could feel and hear the bustle fo city life within Musutafu. It was nice to see the people in their everyday average lives and it did her some good to get out. She heard about the place from Desmoshi but never had time to take a look at everything. But now seeing it up close, she could understand why her brother loved it so much. There was so much going on. From the children playing in the plaza to the vendors selling novelties, it seemed that there always something happening here in Mustafa. And she would get to explore all of that with her new friend, Yang.

The grumbling sound from her stomach, however, told her she needed to get breakfast first. In her excitement to see Yang, she had forgotten to grab a small bite to eat and now she was starving. Lucky for her, Yang had suggested grabbing a bite to eat first before doing anything else. "Sounds like a good idea," Mizuki said with a smile. "I know just the place. My brother and I usually go there for our weekend get-togethers.”

Lately, she and her brother had been spending a little bit of time together. Mostly due to how busy they had been at school, so they rarely got to sit down and talk much except for lunch or in the common area. Desmoshi had been working on developing his quirk and martial art more after his performance at the festival, which Mizuki found was a good thing that he wanted to improve himself. But when it came to her, she didn’t know what goals she wanted to set for herself, nor did she knew how she would go about attaining those goals.

As they made their way up the sidewalk, Mizuki looked at the different stores they had. A music store. A bakery. Even a skating rink. There was so much to do here and they had the whole day to enjoy themselves. Just the two of them. This was the first time Mizuki had spent the day with anyone that was not her family. Hell, this was the first time she ever talked to a stranger about her feelings. But for some reason, she felt comfortable around Yang. Maybe because in some ways, she was just like Yang. Quiet. Reserved. Intolerant of loud people. And trying to find their place in a crazy world. Yep, they had a lot more in common than Mizuki realized.

Mizuki stopped in front of a large white and blue building that had a sign that read, “I-Top: Best Pancakes since 1958.” Mizuki had originally done her research on the place before when Desmoshi first suggested. According to a website, they started their business in 1958 in California, wanting to give people the in diner experience with their breakfast menu. In twenty years, they became a large popular chain, expanding out and into other countries. Today, it was still growing strong and made its way into Japan.

“Well, here it is,” Mizuki said getting the door for Yang. She continued as she walked in behind her. “My brother and I come here to talk about school and everything that has been happening lately.” She found a nearby table near the window, the sun filtering through, lighting up the place. “Here is a spot for us.”

As they took their seat, a waitress came by them. “I will be with you guys in just a moment. I just need to get a few things.” Mizuki gave a polite smile. “Take your time, ma’am. We are in no rush, to be honest.” As the woman made her way back into the kitchen, Yang apologized about her being silent during their bus ride. “No, it was my fault for asking the question,” Mizuki replied sincerely. “I should have never asked the question. I, of all people, should understand when someone wants to keep things in the past.” Mizuki looked out the window, seeing a couple of kids running by, excited that their break was coming soon. “I know the past can be a scary thing to confront,” Mizuki said watching the children. “It reveals truths that we cannot accept and sometimes it hurts. But if you can talk with someone about it, then the wounds will heal eventually.”

She turned back to Yang and blushed a little. She really did look beautiful. The sunlight caused her black hair to shine in the light and the grey flecks in her eyes spoke mystery to the young twin. Her pale skin mixed in with the sunlight, making her look like a glowing angel. Mizuki looked quickly downward at the table to avoid the embarrassing moment of her staring at her newfound friend. “I mean, if you want to talk about it, I am right here,” she said her hands gripping her purple shorts tightly in her lap. Why were her palms so sweaty? Why was she so nervous? It felt out of character for her and at the same time she kind of liked it. The feeling of liking someone… it was kind of new for her.

As she looked at the menu to see what she wanted, she wondered what today would bring. There has been times where she would wake up in the morning and didn’t feel like dealing with it. But since meeting Yang, she was given a new purpose to actually try to enjoy life. She would have never suggested a day out in the town with anyone, even with her brother. But with Yang, she felt like she was not the only person in the world who was going through being left out.

As she viewed the menu, the waitress from before came back to the table. Preparing to take her order. “Today we have a special veggie omelet with a nice serving of rice cakes and fresh-made bento if you would like to try it,” the waitress suggested. “That sounds good. Yang, what would you like?” Mizuki asked her friend.

Mizuki was drinking her water until she choked a little on from the question that was asked to her. Did she just ask to come home with her? Isn't that what couples do when they finally get to know each other? Why was she thinking that way? Yang might only want to be friends, not girlfriends. She might be wanting Mizuki to come home with her to see her family as friends. But there was a part of her that was disappointed at the thought of that. She wanted to be more, but she didn't want to scare Yang. She was so confused.

"I... I..." Mizuki stuttered a bit. 'Say yes,' Tsuki cheered mentally. 'You don't just say yes to that,' Mizuki thought to her inner self. 'That's a whole new level of... well, I don't know what to call it.' Mizuki didn't want to say no though. She really did want to go with Yang. She wanted to spend more time with her and be with her and... Slow down. She had to get through this hurdle first.

"Yang," Mizuki said softly, "I am not sure yet. I want to go. But at the same time, there are some... things I need to figure out. But I promise I will give you my answer soon." As they waited quietly for their food, Mizuki thought back to when her mother told her about "love".

Flashback

Seven-year-old Mizuki was sitting with her mother, meditating together like they usually do. The boys were out for a while playing, so it was these moments where they had their mother-daughter time. The moment where they could just talk about life and their inner struggles.

"Mom," Mizuki asked looking at her mother. "How do you know when you like someone?" Her mother opened her eyes for a moment, putting a finger to her chin in order to think. "Well," her mother said with a smile. "When I met your dad, I just... knew." Mizuki looked confused. "You just knew." Her mother nodded. "Yes. Sometimes you can just feel when you were destined to be with someone. And it’s those moments when you realize that this was the person that fate has given you." Her mother looked at her daughter, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, you will know."

End of Flashback

Mizuki thought about that day. Did she know that she liked Yang? Was it possible that fate had brought them together for this moment, in this life? Or was just impulse taking her over, tricking her into believing? She looked at Yang as she read a menu. She was really pretty. And beautiful. She was mysterious. She was in a way, like her. But did she feel the same way about her? This is what scared her more than anything else. The two sat in silence, wondering what the other would say next. A moment to could determine if they could get through the first part of their day with no incident.