Ok, this is the second part to
the fanfic. See below for my personal comments, since I don't want to
create any conceptions of what should be. I'll let your own mind make
itself up.
-
-Rena (jmondazzi@mail.arc.nasa.gov)
p.s. if this appears as HTML to you, I really can't do anything to
change it, since I'm not on a system that allows me to create this
document as ascii or change the format in any way. I apologize, and
hope someone in the ML can help me out by translating it for you.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Alone in my heart, I can't sleep at
all.
My world fell apart, my
back to the wall.
Storm clouds are near,
feeding on fear,
Midnight.
Downtown is washed in
tranquil moonlight,
But out on the road, it
lurks in the night.
What cursed us before, has
come back again.
Can't you feel it under
your skin?
When we're together, there
are no worries.
You and I were meant to be
side by side.
My love for you is an
endless story.
I know what you need to be
satisfied.
Don't close your
heart.
You don't have to face the
night alone.
Don't close your
heart...
Don't close your
heart...
Dreams of a Blue
Sky
by: Jennifer L.
Mondazzi
09/24/96
Part 2:
Midnight
_____________
"Subaru, say
we'll always be
together."
"We will, I
promise."
"You mean
it?"
"You're silly,
Aoi-chan!"
"I am
not!"
"Are
too!"
"Am
not!"
"Miichan-ha
chan!"
"Subaru no
baka!"
Aoi woke to the sounds of
children's laughter echoing in her head, trailing up after her into
wakefulness. The shadows, cast across the ceiling by the full moon's
light shimmering through the half-closed blinds, created an
oppressiveness in the small
room.
I must have
fallen asleep as soon as we got here.
Aoi groaned as
she stretched, forcing the sore muscles to uncramp, trying to beat the
exhaustion which threatened to overcome her
again.
It must have
been the hike. Maybe I'm still recovering from last night. I wonder
what time it is.
Sitting up, Aoi looked
around for her watch, found it on the chair next to the bed. She
stretched over, and grabbed it, bringing it up close to her puffy,
sleep-filled eyes. The light coming into the room was enough for her
to see that the hands on the time piece had stopped. She shook it,
banged it against the head of her bed. Nothing. It was
dead.
Damn! Subaru's
magic must have done something to it. This watch was a present from
mother, too! Now I'll have to get a new
one.
She sighed, as
she sat up, and realized she had slept in her pants and shirt. Every
muscle protested her forced movements, and she groaned each time she
moved too quickly. The hike up to this place had really been a
challenge, despite being in pretty good physical shape.
Despite his own heavy
breathing, Subaru had not complained once. Aoi was determined not to
whine in front of him, and had toughed it out as they had spoken to the
resort's kanri-nin.
Subaru had managed to
negotiate two rooms and food for them, for a week, in exchange for
using his special "talents" to exorcise a pestering obakegaki, which
had haunted the place for the past few years. The whole time, Aoi
stood by silently, despite the protests of her sore and tired body.
Once she got into the room, however, she had felt the weight of the
last couple of days overwhelm her, and barely remembered to take off
her watch and remove her shoes and socks before falling into bed,
succumbing to sleep's call. The horrors of what she had seen, coupled
with the exhilarating pace of their hunt, was washed away when her
eyelids shut, and calm, healing rest claimed
her.
Looking in the small
mirror now, which adorned a small make-up table in the corner of the
room, Aoi stared back at a face she almost didn't recognized. The hair
was disheveled, the eyes tired, the face pale. She sighed, and made up
her mind. The kanri-nin had mentioned some natural hot springs nearby,
and so she collected a towel from the small bathroom's rack, put her
hair into a bun and pinned it secure, put on the resort's complimentary
slippers and went down to the front desk to ask
directions.
It turned out that the
springs were just down a small path to the right of the resort, maybe
seventy feet from the front lobby. Being a natural part of the
mountainside, the owners decided not to change the landscape
surrounding the small pool too drastically. Only a simple bamboo wall
separated the front and the two sides of the pool, and a small sign
hung from a post, indicating which direction the lady's and men's sides
were on.
Aoi stripped down out of
her clothes, placed her towel on the side of the pool and lay back into
the water, enjoying the warmth seeping into her bones. Staring up into
the starlit sky, the night seemed perfect. Aoi began to quietly sing a
song, one her mother had used to sing to her when she needed
reassurance before bedtime. It was believed to have been an ancient
chant which was used by mountain villagers to keep the evil spirits
away when darkness came.
Sleep child, sleep
spirits,
Silence your
words
For another
day.
Silence your
thoughts
For another
night.
Sleep child, sleep
spirits,
Listen no
more
For another
day.
Close your
eyes
For another
night.
Sleep child,
sleep.
Aoi lost herself in
memories of her own mother's elegant voice, soothing and sweet to the
ears of a frightened ten year
old.
"You have a beautiful
voice," said the man, from the other side of the bamboo wall. Aoi was
startled into silence. Who was that? The man's voice seemed vaguely
familiar, and yet...she could not place it. The wind picked up in the
few seconds of quiet, and in that time, the faint scent of tainted
cherry blossoms came to her. Aoi's blood suddenly ran like ice through
her.
"Come now, Aoi-chan.
Don't stop on my account," Seishirou Sakurazuka whispered in her ear,
his breath warm upon her bare neck. A warm hand touched her shoulder,
a naked body pressed close against her back. Sudden fear enveloped her
soul, freezing her like a doe in headlights. Her mind swam, her heart
pounded loudly in her ears, her breath
quickened.
Kami-sama, help
me! she silently prayed, her mind beyond the ability to quell
the terror which had suddenly gripped
her.
"What...what do you
want?" she managed to say, her voice barely audible above the wind
which had picked up. Sakurazukamori chuckled, wrapped his right arm
around her waist, bringing her closer to him, delicately, yet
insistently; almost like a lover in his gentle embrace, yet unlike in
that his touch repelled her.
"I want your soul,
little blue hawk," he said, his fingers lightly tracing up and down her
spinal column, giving her chills in the cool night air. "I want your
fear." Aoi's body shook, as a dark dread filled
her.
Subaru,
please....help me! she begged telepathically, hoping against
all hope that he would somehow hear her. Seishirou seemed to have read
her thoughts.
"He won't come for you,
just as he didn't for his sister." His words pierced through her; she
gasped in surprise. Aoi had felt Hokuto die through her connection
with Subaru. She had known of his terrible anguish and guilt at his
twin's death. Everything that Subaru had become was because of this
murderer, who had robbed her beloved of his innocence, of his dreams.
It was all Sakurazukamori's
fault.
Sudden purpose began to
clear the fog of fear away from her. This was her chance to end it,
and give Subaru back his life. She took a few seconds to try to calm
herself, to put focus back on the situation, and not let panic rule
her. The only way to get out of this alive was to think, and stay
calm.
Sakurazukamori's lips
bent to her ear again, but this time he did not speak. Instead, he
lightly began nibbling on her, drawing her closer to him once more,
until their bodies were pressed together intimately. She rebelled,
pushed against him, but his grip was strong. His hand came up, feeling
her body as she struggled. She heard him chuckle again, this time at
the seeming futility of her efforts.
"When I'm done with you,
Subaru will fall easily at my feet," he sneered, laughing cruelly,
pinning her arms behind her back. There was pain flashing in her head,
but after the initial shock, Aoi used it as a focus. She felt
something just beyond her reach, and tried for it again and again,
using the bursting pain behind her eyes to keep her energies
centered.
Suddenly, something
within Aoi snapped.
"What?" Sakurazukamori
cried out in surprise. Aoi unleashed a torrent of energy at him,
fueled by her pent up anger and hostility. It took on the form of a
blue hawk, and attacked him mercilessly. Sakurazukamori jumped out of
the way, and leapt into the shadows of the nearby trees. The hawk
dissipated as it reached the line of foliage. Seishirou was no where
to be seen, but she could feel him. He was still
here.
"Very interesting,
Aoi-chan. It seems you've discovered your latent powers," he said, his
voice echoing from all places at once. "You're still not strong enough
to defeat me, however."
"I won't let you hurt
Subaru anymore, Sei-chan," she said, mocking his
former nickname. There was silence for a moment, and then,
Sakurazukamori spoke
again.
"Next time, Aoi, we will
finish this."
The darkness which seemed
to overwhelm the forest around her suddenly lifted, and she knew
Seishirou was gone. A sudden weakness caused her knees to give out,
and she slipped until only her head and neck remained above the
spring's water. Heat returned to her chilled flesh, her breathing
evened, and her heart slowed until it returned to a normal
pace.
"Aoi-chan! Where are
you?"
It was Subaru! He had
heard her, and come to
help.
"I'm here, Subaru!" she
called to him. The sound of swift moving footsteps approached, and
then Subaru, dressed in his crisp, white robes, rounded the corner. He
had been running, and stopped to catch his breath, leaning over the
spring's water.
"Are you..." he asked,
concern crossing his face. It was the first time he had shown any
emotion to her since that day in the alley.
She smiled, relieved to
see him. "I'm fine, really. Sakurazukamori was here, but he's gone
now." She turned to face the line of trees behind her. "I...I drove
him away."
"Drove him away?"
Subaru seemed clearly shocked. She turned to face him, and their gazes
locked. He seemed to consider her for a moment in silence, then nodded
once. "There's some things we need to talk about later, I see," was
all he said. Aoi nodded.
"Yea, I think you're
right," she said, suddenly feeling much better. Subaru was offering to
help her! She could learn about her powers, how to control them. It
would bring them closer. Strength suddenly filled her heart. "Hey, I
bet Seishirou will think twice about coming after us again, now that
he's got two onmyoujis to deal
with!"
He nodded once, and
smirked. A slow blush suddenly crept up his face, as he seemed to
notice, for the first time, her state of undress. Try though he might
to compose himself, before turning around, Aoi caught the truth of what
he was thinking in his eyes. She
grinned.
"Ne, Subaru," she said,
as she stepped out of the water, dried off and dressed
again.
"Yes?" he said, without
turning around. She approached him from behind, resisting an urge to
touch his shoulder. Instead, she walked next to him as they headed
back for the resort. The frozen, controlled composure was back in
place on his face. "My name represents my spirit bird, did you know
that?" Subaru stopped walking, looked intently at her. His eyes were
back to being
unfathomable.
"I figured something
like that," he said with his usual shrug, and kept walking. It was
Aoi's turn to be surprised. She ran to catch up with Subaru's quickly
moving form.
"Hey, when did you
know?" she asked, excited at learning more. He didn't stop walking,
nor turned to face her. "Stop being impatient," he chided. "I said
we'd talk about it later. Right now, I'm tired and want to get some
sleep. It's past midnight you know." They were nearing the front
lobby entrance to the
resort.
"Oh, come on, Subaru! I
want to know now. You promised to teach me." Aoi knew she was
sounding like a demanding, spoiled child, but it was fun to try to goad
Subaru. She giggled. Subaru was great to
tease.
"You've always been a
silly girl, Aoi-chan," he said, as he reached the door to open it. Aoi
put her hand against the wood and kept it shut. He seemed to grow
impatient, yet his eyes remained impassive. Aoi was determined to
break that cold facade for good -- someday.
Of course, tonight was
as good a time as any to
start.
"Am not!" she said, and
stuck her tongue out at him. That didn't get the reaction she hoped
for. Subaru merely looked at her with his mysterious green eyes and
did something unexpected -- he
winked.
"Miichan-ha
chan!"
He walked past a stunned
Aoi, through the door and up the stairs. She followed him with her
eyes for a few seconds, and then chased after
him.
From his chair behind the
front desk, Makoto, the resort's kanrin-nin, watched the pretty, young
girl chase after the handsome, young priest, and shook his head in
knowing, a smile on his old, wisened face.
Love may not be
dumb, but it's definately blind at times. Makoto knew the
signs all too well, having worked behind the desk of a hot springs
resort, made specifically for ii-hito, for so many
years.
Needless to say, he was
quite stunned when, five seconds later, he heard the girl yell at the
top of her lungs.
"Subaru no
baka!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's
Notes:
ALL FOREIGN WORDS ARE IN
JAPANESE.
The term, "chan" is used
as endearment, normally for girls. Closest meanings are, "beloved," or
"dear".
"Miichan-ha chan" means
"silly girl" in an affectionate
manner.
"Subaru no baka" means
"Subaru is foolish /
stupid".
"kanri-nin" is the term
for a "rental manager."
"obakegaki" is a "hungry
ghost."
"Kami-sama" is the term
for "God"
"Aoi Taka" translates to
"blue hawk," literally.
An "Onmyouji" is a
"yin-yang sorcerer".
To get someone's
attention, you can simply say, "Ne". It serves a similar purpose as,
"Hey!" in English.
"Makoto" translates to
"sincere", and is a name given to both girls and
boys.
"ii-hito" are lovers or
sweethearts.
The song,
"Midnight" is from the English-dubbed anime,
Bubble Gum Crisis #5: Moonlight Rambler,
AnimEigo, 1995.
The song, "Sleep Child" is
the property of this writer,
1996.
The characters
Subaru and Seishirou
Sakurazuka (Sakurazukamori) are the
property of CLAMP, 1993-96. All other characters and situations are
the property of this writer,
1996.
_______________________________________________________
Additional notes from the author:
I hope you gained a little more insight into Aoi & Subaru's pasts, both
together and apart. At this point in the story, they had been
traveling together for many months, following Sakurazukamori's bloody
trails, and trying to catch up with him before he could strike again.
The night before, they had found one of his victims several miles away
from the mountain resort (it eludes to this early on in the story, when
Aoi thinks back on the "horrors" she had witnessed). Perhaps this
drove them towards the resort, for hopes of catching him this time. Or
perhaps it was a need simply for rest. You make up your own mind.
Making Aoi an onmyouji is understandable. She has a power (which bonds
her to Subaru), can tap into it to use it, but isn't nearly as strong
as Subaru or Sakurazukamori is, simply because she doesn't have the
family karma going with her. She's sort of one of those freaks of
nature that shouldn't have power, but does. I think her mother had
known of her daughter's potential (I've eluded that her mother could
almost see the future, but didn't necessarily have the same power as
Aoi), and so aptly named her "Blue Hawk" after her guardian spirit
bird.
I also hope you see a new side to Seishirou that you never imagined
before. I personally picture him as the type who uses people's fears
to test his own limits. Is is possible to feel something for a
terrified victim? So far, Sei-chan hasn't been able to, but I think he
believes that if he keeps doing it, eventually he'll have to feel
something. I also think it's possible that Seishirou and
Sakurazukamori are seperate entities within the same body, and
Sakurazukamori is in control of the soul at the moment, keeping
Seishirou a prisoner within himself. Sort of like the evil twin
brother theory. At least, this is how I'd like to see Sei-chan. I'm
always the optimist -- hoping there's a way to save Seishirou before
Sakurazukamori destroys the last bit of humanity within him.
However, I think Subaru knows that the only way to save Seishirou is to
kill Sakurazukamori -- which will kill Seishirou as well, since they
share a body. I think Seishirou doesn't mind dying however, if it
means stopping Sakurazukamori.
At least, I'd like to think this way...so don't shatter my illusions.
: )
With Aoi not appearing in the "X-1999" story line, that means I'll have
to somehow take her out of the picture. I've already decided how this
was going to happen, after much pondering on the subject. Don't ask me
now, just read the other installments to find out. Part 3 should be
coming soon.
I hope you enjoy the stories so far. Let me know what you think.
Constructive critisim and compliments always welcome! : )
- Rena