Well, I hope this time you can see
this one not in html. I've tried saving it in plain text form, GENEVA
font 10 point. There aren't any italics, bolds, etc. in it, so that
might help. Let me know if it's still acting up on your side and I'll
just have to keep trying until we get it right.
Other than that, enjoy!
- Jennifer "Rena" Mondazzi (jmondazzi@mail.arc.nasa.gov)
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Caught by the moonlight,
A silent mist, a shimmer in the trees.
Oh, what a night for dreams,
A night of Destiny.
Others are sleeping,
So unaware of magic in the air,
Magic you weave, just for me....
Dreams of a Blue Sky
by: Jennifer L. Mondazzi
09/30/96
Part 3: Innocence
At that moment, when their hands had touched, Aoi had felt her soul
open to Subaru, her mind caressed by his, her heart laid bare before
his guilelessly probing, emerald eyes. It remained her first, still
untainted memory in this life.
Then suddenly, the innocence was all gone.
Her mother had taken her and quietly slipped away in the darkness,
never giving her a chance to say goodbye. On the road that night,
tearfully gazing upon the brightest star in the sky, Aoi had silently
promised to someday return to Subaru's side, and once there, to stay
with him always.
And now, here they were. Together again. And he was completely a
different person.
Aoi looked out of the corner of her eye to glance upon her silent
companion, her fingers unconsciously twisting the golden band on her
right hand around and around. Often, she found herself using the ring
as a focus when considering a problem. As she looked up at Subaru now,
her fingers moved unconsciously, turning it over and over again.
His eyes were locked upon the strange old, spiritualist, who was now
walking quickly through the crowd away from them. His piercing gaze
had targeted his prey, and he moved swiftly to catch up, leaving Aoi
behind, as if unaware of her presence. She struggled to keep up with
his longer stride.
As they moved silently through the crowd, she considered her partner.
She found the new Subaru to be strange, and yet, strangely compelling.
Obsessed with the task of hunting down and destroying his enemy,
Sakurazukamori, he left little room in his life for feelings other than
anger and vengeance.
A few weeks before, when at the mountain resort, Aoi had thought she
had begun to break through his barriers, but the recent string of
grisly murders had hardened him again. There were no more jokes, no
more teasing words between them. He spent time each day, teaching her
about her powers, but each session was short, and talk between them
strained. If she asked him questions outside of the lesson, he would
simply shrug, as if to imply his noncommittal to her needs and
requests. Subaru had reaffirmed his cause in his heart, and Aoi was
shut out once more.
Yet, there were times, like yesterday, for instance, when his eyes
would burn into her soul as he gazed upon her. He'd appear indecisive,
considering something which he alone knew, never sharing his thoughts.
At those times, when he caught himself, he would simply turn away from
her, and focus his energies on finding his enemy once more.
Subaru was in a state of constant struggle, and Aoi felt helpless
against it. She longed to help him to overcome his "demons," but each
time she got close, he'd become defensive, closing himself off again.
She was frustrated with him, and each time he ignored her, she swore
she would walk away from the entire situation, leave him to chase his
dammed revenge by himself.
Yet, each time she would resolve herself to that action, she found that
she could not go.
This angered her more than anything. She knew that she was tied to
Subaru, her recent foretelling had confirmed that, yet part of her
longed to be away from the hate, to be free once more. She knew that
was impossible, however. Her destiny was already decided for her.
<You will protect the last of the Sumeragi, and together, you will
defeat your enemy.>
Her mother had spoken those words to her when she was barely ten years
old. She remembered that night clearly. She had just been tucked into
bed, and a breeze from the open window blew the warm summer's wind into
the room, causing her curtains to billow and blow gently.
<Okaasan, can you really see the future?>
<Of course, dear.>
<Can you tell my future?>
<If you'd like to know, I can.>
<Oh, yes! Please tell my future.>
Aoi silently berated herself. Her selfish need to know what lie ahead
had cost her the life of her mother.
They turned down a set of twisting side streets, into crowds of people,
moving swiftly past them without care for their personal space. The
whole chase seemed wrong somehow to Aoi, but she kept silent about it,
thinking. Subaru's white robes and her own black, leather punker
jacket made them easily noticeable, yet, it appeared, the old priest
had not yet perceived that he was being followed. When he turned down
another alley, into an area where less people walked, they followed at
a discreet distance.
As they rounded the corner into the alley, they stopped. Subaru began
swearing under his breath. The alley was deserted.
"Well, he can't have gotten far," she said quietly, standing shoulder
to shoulder with her friend. "Want me to take a look from topside?"
Aoi pointed skyward, and turned to him for an answer. He seemed to
consider for a second, then nodded once. Taking a few steps forward,
Aoi sought an area big enough to accommodate the spell range. Having
decided upon a place approximately five feet away from Subaru, she
kicked an empty can out of the way, and stood calmly, preparing her
mind.
She cleared her mind of the outside noise and bustle of the city
streets, shutting out everything except a focus -- her ring. She
removed it from her ring finger and placed it between her palms,
bringing them together. The gold vibrated, gave off a warmth that
tingled. She concentrated hard on it's perfect curve, it's heat.
Weeks of training had made it easy to attain the peace she needed, and
when she was ready, she pushed her hands away from each other, only
fingertips touching, until she formed a tent-shape with her fingers.
The ring suspended in the air between her fingers, held against gravity
by her magic. The large baguette-cut sapphire, which was embedded
within the gold, twinkled at her in the light, capturing her
concentration. Turning her hands, so only her index fingertips and
thumbs touched, palms away from her, she formed the Triangle Pattern.
Her chi flowed around her and through her, and she was vibrantly aware
of all of the life in all of the things around her, from the bricks and
concrete to Subaru, who stood mere feet away. The force of life
penetrated her awareness, rushed through her blood. Focusing this
power, she called forth the shape of her shikigami, the blue hawk,
speaking aloud the words of summoning.
"Kudatte, Shikigami Taka-sama!"
It appeared above her in a flash of brilliance, flapping it's large,
graceful wings, the blue aura surrounding it blinding, yet hauntingly
beautiful. The shikigami perched on Aoi's right shoulder, weightless,
as spirits were, and awaited it's mistress' command.
Subaru had told her that thoughts were shared between a shikigami and
it's Master, and so, when Aoi explained her need telepathically, the
hawk leapt into the air, powerful and majestic in it's flight, it's
aura streaking behind it.
For several seconds, Aoi seemed to be staring off into space, but then,
the blackness within her mind formed a picture. She could clearly see
the small, dirty alley through the eyes of her shikigami, could see
herself and Subaru clearly, for the eyes of the hawk were sharp. It
flew higher, seeking out it's prey. Circling over and around the tall
buildings, the hawk could spot no sign of the old man within the
general vicinity. Something didn't feel right about all of this.
Something was wrong. Aoi mentally recalled the bird, and it
immediately changed it's course to obey.
"Nothing," she said, disappointed. "He's gone." Subaru remained
silent, but she could feel the frustration radiating from him. She
focused her attention once more on seeing through the bird's eyes. As
Taka-sama came into view, something blurred past it's vision, catching
it's attention. Aoi gasped aloud, as she realized what it was.
"Subaru!" she called out, suddenly frightened to the core of her
being. "It's Seishirou...he's here!" She turned to him, her face pale
and her eyes wide with fear.
"You're sure?" he asked, suddenly alert. She felt him build his power
up, having it surround them both quickly. Aoi nodded once.
"It's a sakura blossom." A tremendous urgency filled her, causing her
to shake all over. She telepathically called her shikigami to return
as quickly as possible. Aoi knew something terrible was about to
happen.
Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain tear through her left arm. Crying out
in pain, she grabbed onto it, dropping the ring accidentally. It
struck the ground, and rolled away from her before she could reach for
it. She felt the warm trickle of blood meander down her arm, through
her fingers. As she bent to retrieve the ring, again she was struck,
and this time, the pain shot up her right leg, knocking her to her
knees.
"Subaru, help Taka-sama, please!" she cried out, as she felt her
shikigami taking hit after hit from an unseen source. The pain pierced
her back, her face, her stomach. In each spot, her blood flowed
freely, pooling at her feet. She tried again and again to stand up,
but the attacks were relentless.
She coughed up blood, as she was hit brutally once more, causing vomit
to rise in her throat. The world spun, and she collapsed onto the
ground, her lungs burning, her vision swirling around her. One thought
kept going through her head: Sakurazukamori was trying to destroy
Taka-sama. If he succeeded, she would die also.
<I must get the ring!>
She stretched for it, but there was no strength left, no energy to move
beyond where she lay. Still she tried, the tears flowing down her
cheeks in frustration.
Suddenly, she felt a prickling on the back of her neck as Subaru
released his own shikigami into the sky. Within moments, the attacks
had stopped, and the cries of her wounded hawk and Subaru's doves were
the only sounds she could hear. It was so hard not to close her eyes.
Everything hurt.
"Aoi-chan!" Subaru cried out, kneeling beside her, gently lifting her
to his chest and cradling her head against him. She could barely see
him, the tears blurred her vision. His eyes showed concern for her.
"Aoi-chan, hang on."
"Su...ba...ru.."
The world went black.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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Author's Notes:
ALL FOREIGN WORDS ARE IN JAPANESE.
1. "Okaasan" means "mother."
2. A "shikigami" is a spirit companion. It usually takes the form of
an animal, and is said to be a reflection of it's master's true
nature.
3. "Kudatte" means "come down," and, in this case, is a command for
the shikigami Taka-sama to appear in the realm of the living, by coming
/ stepping down from the spirit realm.
4. The term "-sama" after a name usually refers to one who is greater,
older, wiser, or bigger than the speaker. In this case, the term
"Taka-sama" means "Great Hawk".
5. "Sakura" means "cherry" in Japanese. Sakurazukamori often uses
Sakura blossoms to destroy his enemies, and it is a symbol of his
power.
The song, "Adesso e Fortuna" was written for "Record of Lodoss War",
copyright Kadokawa Music, 1993-4.
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.
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Additional notes:
I KNOW I left you hanging...but anticipation is always best. ; ) Hope
you've enjoyed it so far. Subaru and Aoi's travels are FAR from over,
so don't worry. There WILL be more, and hopefully you're liking it
enough to keep reading.
- Jennifer