|
rlm@0
|
1 Author’s notes: Hello minna-san! ^-^ This is the first story I’ve
|
|
rlm@0
|
2 written since I’ve moved. I’ve been having a hard time handling
|
|
rlm@0
|
3 things, so this has helped me to focus some of that energy. I wrote
|
|
rlm@0
|
4 most of this on three separate nights. It’s my second Saint Tail
|
|
rlm@0
|
5 story and hopefully it won’t be my last. ^-^ I would love to hear any
|
|
rlm@0
|
6 comments, so if you feel up to e-mailing, I would appreciate it. ^-^
|
|
rlm@0
|
7 This is an alternate end for Saint Tail, so I know it doesn’t fit
|
|
rlm@0
|
8 exactly with the end of the series. Oh, and Meimi originally had
|
|
rlm@0
|
9 glasses in the manga. Megumi Tachikawa said that she was farsighted
|
|
rlm@0
|
10 and only used them for school but she stopped drawing Meimi in them
|
|
rlm@0
|
11 because she didn’t have her in class much. I thought this was cute,
|
|
rlm@0
|
12 so I wanted to add it. ^-^ Anyway, thank you so much for reading! ^-^
|
|
rlm@0
|
13
|
|
rlm@0
|
14
|
|
rlm@0
|
15
|
|
rlm@0
|
16 Can’t Say Goodbye to Yesterday
|
|
rlm@0
|
17 by Amazoness Duo
|
|
rlm@0
|
18 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
|
|
rlm@0
|
19
|
|
rlm@0
|
20
|
|
rlm@0
|
21 ‘The church is really beautiful,’ Meimi thought to herself as the
|
|
rlm@0
|
22 large structure came into view. A small smile crossed her lips as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
23 hugged her sweater to herself. ‘I’ve been here hundreds of times, but
|
|
rlm@0
|
24 I never really noticed just how beautiful it really is. But Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
25 always noticed. She spent even more time here than I did.’ With the
|
|
rlm@0
|
26 changing direction in her line of thought, the brunette’s smile
|
|
rlm@0
|
27 faded. Sighing, she paused in front of the large, ornate doors. Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
28 heart plummeted as her mind drifted back to a conversation she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
29 had with Seira earlier.
|
|
rlm@0
|
30 Meimi was now fifteen. Though not the best of students, with
|
|
rlm@0
|
31 Seira’s help, she had passed rather well through her high school
|
|
rlm@0
|
32 entrance exams. Finally having such a huge weight lifted from her
|
|
rlm@0
|
33 shoulders, Meimi had been exhilarated at the newfound freedom. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
34 her excitement was short-lived. When she had asked Seira about what
|
|
rlm@0
|
35 the Catholic high school was like that they would be going to, Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
36 had told her she would find out for her. Then she had struck Meimi a
|
|
rlm@0
|
37 blow that she was still reeling from. Seira wouldn’t be joining her
|
|
rlm@0
|
38 at the high school. She was going to Rome with one of the older
|
|
rlm@0
|
39 Sisters, presumably to prepare for entering the convent in a few
|
|
rlm@0
|
40 years. Something that Meimi had thought was years away was now
|
|
rlm@0
|
41 painfully close.
|
|
rlm@0
|
42 There wasn’t a time that Meimi could remember not having her gentle
|
|
rlm@0
|
43 best friend near. Seira was always there to help her through things,
|
|
rlm@0
|
44 always there to listen to her heart. The Sister-in-training made a
|
|
rlm@0
|
45 wonderful listener and she had granted Meimi a wonderful confidante.
|
|
rlm@0
|
46 Seira had been willing to do anything for her, from pretending to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
47 Meimi to protect her identity to running around dressed like a snow
|
|
rlm@0
|
48 girl. She had always been infinitely loyal to Meimi, always ready to
|
|
rlm@0
|
49 help her. But now Meimi was facing the thought of losing Seira and it
|
|
rlm@0
|
50 drove splinters through her heart. ‘Why God? Why are you taking her
|
|
rlm@0
|
51 away from me? I know you need her. But so do I...’ Meimi prayed
|
|
rlm@0
|
52 silently. The thought of losing her best friend sent shivers through
|
|
rlm@0
|
53 her. It felt like a large piece of her life was about to fade away,
|
|
rlm@0
|
54 something more important than a limb. She could already feel that
|
|
rlm@0
|
55 something was missing even though Seira wouldn’t be leaving for at
|
|
rlm@0
|
56 least another month. But that month hung over Meimi like a death
|
|
rlm@0
|
57 shroud. Despite Seira’s warm smile when she had come to greet her at
|
|
rlm@0
|
58 lunch, Meimi had only barely suppressed tears before running away
|
|
rlm@0
|
59 from her friend. How was she supposed to pretend that nothing was
|
|
rlm@0
|
60 wrong when Seira would be leaving so soon? How could she live through
|
|
rlm@0
|
61 the month when Seira would be gone by its end?
|
|
rlm@0
|
62 So here she was. The brunette thief had called Seira shortly after
|
|
rlm@0
|
63 getting home. She needed to speak with Seira as quickly as possible.
|
|
rlm@0
|
64 She didn’t know how, but she had to find some way to convince Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
65 to stay. There had to be something she could do. Maybe God wanted
|
|
rlm@0
|
66 Seira for whatever His plans may be. But if that was the case, the
|
|
rlm@0
|
67 Saint Tail would have to steal her away. She hoped He would
|
|
rlm@0
|
68 understand. He would have to. He had placed Seira in her life, after
|
|
rlm@0
|
69 all. He had to know how important she was to Meimi.
|
|
rlm@0
|
70 Steeling her resolve, Meimi entered the church. Her fists clenched
|
|
rlm@0
|
71 in determination, the brunette girl glanced about for the one
|
|
rlm@0
|
72 troubling her thoughts. Seira had insisted they meet on the church,
|
|
rlm@0
|
73 something that seemed only fitting after how often they had met
|
|
rlm@0
|
74 there. Trailing her fingers over the edges of the pews, Meimi made
|
|
rlm@0
|
75 her way towards the altar. “Forgive me, Lord, for I am without
|
|
rlm@0
|
76 deceit,” Meimi whispered to herself.
|
|
rlm@0
|
77 “I hope you aren’t planning on going out as Saint Tail tonight. I’m
|
|
rlm@0
|
78 afraid there’s nothing to steal.” Seira’s words brought Meimi’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
79 attention to her immediately. The young Sister-in-training smiled
|
|
rlm@0
|
80 sweetly, dressed in her all white habit. Standing up from the front
|
|
rlm@0
|
81 Pew, she rested her hands together in front of her. She had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
82 praying for hours, having come to the church as soon as school had
|
|
rlm@0
|
83 ended. One of the nuns had to come get her when Meimi had called for
|
|
rlm@0
|
84 her. She felt her heart swell to see the mysterious thief once more.
|
|
rlm@0
|
85 Despite her best efforts, Meimi was never far from her mind.
|
|
rlm@0
|
86 Spotting Seira near the front, Meimi offered a small smile of her
|
|
rlm@0
|
87 own. “Everyone always comes to you to pray when they need Saint
|
|
rlm@0
|
88 Tail’s help. But this time, I think Saint Tail is the one who needs
|
|
rlm@0
|
89 help.” Her smile faltered as Seira slowly eliminated the distance
|
|
rlm@0
|
90 between them. Her vision blurred as tears once again threatened to
|
|
rlm@0
|
91 ruin her composure. She averted her gaze quickly, hoping that her
|
|
rlm@0
|
92 friend wouldn’t notice.
|
|
rlm@0
|
93 “You’re always welcome in the Lord’s home, Meimi-chan. You know
|
|
rlm@0
|
94 that. Everyone can come pray here. Even Saint Tail.” Seira felt an
|
|
rlm@0
|
95 icy chill overtake her as she saw just how close to tears the
|
|
rlm@0
|
96 brunette thief was. She took Meimi’s hand and led the semi-startled
|
|
rlm@0
|
97 girl over to the pew near the front that she had been using. Sitting
|
|
rlm@0
|
98 down, she motioned for Meimi to join her. It hurt her to see Meimi in
|
|
rlm@0
|
99 such pain. Which is why she had put off telling her for so long. In
|
|
rlm@0
|
100 retrospect, she had to wonder if that had been a wise decision. Maybe
|
|
rlm@0
|
101 if Meimi had known longer, it wouldn’t hurt so much now. But that was
|
|
rlm@0
|
102 all in the past. All she could do for now was try to help as well as
|
|
rlm@0
|
103 she could. “What’s wrong, Meimi-chan?” she asked worriedly. She knew
|
|
rlm@0
|
104 the problem well enough. It had been troubling her for quite some
|
|
rlm@0
|
105 time. If only she knew how to solve in better.
|
|
rlm@0
|
106 Meimi took a deep breath, staring straight ahead. Why was this so
|
|
rlm@0
|
107 difficult? Because Seira had never been leaving before. This had
|
|
rlm@0
|
108 never been a problem for her. But now she felt off balance, unsure.
|
|
rlm@0
|
109 “Seira-chan... Are you sure this is what you want to do? Go into the
|
|
rlm@0
|
110 convent, I mean. Is that really what you want to do with your life?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
111 “Of course, I do, Meimi-chan. I can’t think of a better path in
|
|
rlm@0
|
112 this life than one that serves the Lord. And how better to repay the
|
|
rlm@0
|
113 nuns here? They raised me, a poor orphan girl left on their doorstep.
|
|
rlm@0
|
114 No one forced them to. No one made them. I want to repay them for
|
|
rlm@0
|
115 that. For all of the happiness in my life. I owe so much to them. I
|
|
rlm@0
|
116 believe it’s my path in life,” Seira explained, watching the
|
|
rlm@0
|
117 brunette. This was something that she had decided long ago, but never
|
|
rlm@0
|
118 before had she had to explain it to her best friend. Meimi had simply
|
|
rlm@0
|
119 accepted it before now. But now, Meimi appeared to be having her
|
|
rlm@0
|
120 doubts. Of course, Seira had other reasons as well, but ones that
|
|
rlm@0
|
121 were a little more difficult to go into.
|
|
rlm@0
|
122 “But...” Meimi began, her voice breaking. She took another breath
|
|
rlm@0
|
123 before continuing. “But what about falling in love? What about
|
|
rlm@0
|
124 finding your special someone, of spending your life forever with him?
|
|
rlm@0
|
125 I can’t imagine God denying you that.” She knew she was grasping at
|
|
rlm@0
|
126 straws now, but she had to try. She couldn’t imagine Seira alone
|
|
rlm@0
|
127 forever, never falling in love. Why would God wish such a lonely life
|
|
rlm@0
|
128 for his diligent servant? It didn’t make any sense. Seira deserved to
|
|
rlm@0
|
129 have that. And Meimi wanted her to stay, so they could find it
|
|
rlm@0
|
130 together.
|
|
rlm@0
|
131 Seira paused for a moment, studying the teary eyed thief. After a
|
|
rlm@0
|
132 long silence, she answered, looking to the altar. “I’ve already
|
|
rlm@0
|
133 fallen in love, Meimi-chan. I fell in love a long time ago. God
|
|
rlm@0
|
134 didn’t deny me that. And I’ll forever thank Him for allowing me to
|
|
rlm@0
|
135 fall in love with such a wonderful person. That’s one of the many
|
|
rlm@0
|
136 reasons why I want to repay him by becoming a Sister.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
137 Watching Seira quietly, Meimi was astounded by how radiant she
|
|
rlm@0
|
138 looked. Whether it was because she was speaking of God or the one she
|
|
rlm@0
|
139 loved, Meimi couldn’t tell for sure. Whatever the case, Seira was
|
|
rlm@0
|
140 practically glowing. It wasn’t fair. Seira deserved to be happy. To
|
|
rlm@0
|
141 be loved. To be nearby. Meimi had always thought it would be fine
|
|
rlm@0
|
142 when Seira one day became a Sister, thinking she would simply become
|
|
rlm@0
|
143 one nearby. In her mind, it didn’t feel like anything would change.
|
|
rlm@0
|
144 But now, it felt too horrible to think of Seira all alone and far
|
|
rlm@0
|
145 away. The thought that Seira was in love only made that worse.
|
|
rlm@0
|
146 “You’re in love? Seira-chan, you never told me. You’ve always been
|
|
rlm@0
|
147 there to listen to me, but I guess I wasn't very good at listening
|
|
rlm@0
|
148 when you needed me. I’m sorry.” Meimi hung her head guiltily. She was
|
|
rlm@0
|
149 usually so much better at handling things, even if she could have a
|
|
rlm@0
|
150 fiery temper, but at the moment she was completely lost. How often
|
|
rlm@0
|
151 had Seira been there for her? How often had Seira saved her in one
|
|
rlm@0
|
152 sense or another? Without magic and without athletics, Seira had
|
|
rlm@0
|
153 always been there to save Meimi when everything was out of control.
|
|
rlm@0
|
154 She would always think of something to help her, even when her secret
|
|
rlm@0
|
155 identity was at stake. Seira had been her guardian angel. No one knew
|
|
rlm@0
|
156 her better than the Sister-in-training. Seira didn’t know the newest
|
|
rlm@0
|
157 trends or the hottest bands, but she knew everything about Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
158 herself. Yet Meimi had failed her. She had had no idea of Seira’s own
|
|
rlm@0
|
159 love. A hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
160 slowly looked up into Seira’s understanding blue-gray eyes.
|
|
rlm@0
|
161 “Meimi-chan, please don’t blame yourself. I never told you because
|
|
rlm@0
|
162 I didn’t want you to know. It wouldn’t change things right now even
|
|
rlm@0
|
163 if you did. I couldn’t get with this person no matter how much I
|
|
rlm@0
|
164 would want to. I’ve already decided what I’m going to do with my
|
|
rlm@0
|
165 life.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
166 “You didn’t want me to know? But why not? I’m your best friend. I
|
|
rlm@0
|
167 just thought there wasn’t anyone you liked.” Meimi’s mind started
|
|
rlm@0
|
168 sifting through everything, hoping for some clue to unravel Seira’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
169 love’s mystery identity. Part of her was hoping it would be the key
|
|
rlm@0
|
170 to keeping Seira from leaving. If she could only find out and somehow
|
|
rlm@0
|
171 fix things, then maybe Seira would change her mind. Determination
|
|
rlm@0
|
172 began to well up inside of her, burning throughout her body. Saint
|
|
rlm@0
|
173 Tail had helped countless people before. Now she would save the most
|
|
rlm@0
|
174 selfless and loving person she could think of. Somehow.
|
|
rlm@0
|
175 Unfortunately, whenever Saint Tail was off to solve things, Seira was
|
|
rlm@0
|
176 there to provide her with the information she needed to know. This
|
|
rlm@0
|
177 time she had no such luck. It left her wondering how she could manage
|
|
rlm@0
|
178 without her best friend. Would Seira leaving mean the end of Saint
|
|
rlm@0
|
179 Tail as well? She quickly shook off the thought. She couldn’t quit
|
|
rlm@0
|
180 being Saint Tail anymore than she could quit being Meimi. They were
|
|
rlm@0
|
181 like two different people, but they were both parts of her. ‘I can’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
182 do this without you,’ Meimi thought desperately. ‘But I have to try.’
|
|
rlm@0
|
183 Thinking quickly, her mind latched onto the first possibility. “Is it
|
|
rlm@0
|
184 Sawatari-kun? He does seem to like you. And he is pretty cool,” Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
185 conceded, watching Seira for any reaction. To her surprise, the young
|
|
rlm@0
|
186 Sister began to laugh. Meimi sweatdropped. “And you always laugh when
|
|
rlm@0
|
187 he hits on you.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
188 Giggling, Seira nodded, covering her mouth primly. “That’s because
|
|
rlm@0
|
189 it’s funny. I think it’s silly that he would go to the trouble.
|
|
rlm@0
|
190 Everyone knows I’m going to become a nun. Besides, I love someone
|
|
rlm@0
|
191 else. So I couldn’t fall for his ‘charms’ even if I wasn’t going to.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
192 Another giggle escaped the dark haired girl’s lips as she watched the
|
|
rlm@0
|
193 quizzical look that Meimi gave her. She had always been amused that
|
|
rlm@0
|
194 Sawatari would shower any attention on her. It was something that
|
|
rlm@0
|
195 other girls didn’t understand. They would all kill for his attention.
|
|
rlm@0
|
196 That he would choose her out of everyone couldn’t help but make her
|
|
rlm@0
|
197 laugh. She wouldn’t be getting with anyone anyway. There was only one
|
|
rlm@0
|
198 person that she would want at all and it certainly wasn’t him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
199 Meimi could only stare for a long moment, unsure of how to
|
|
rlm@0
|
200 continue. Well, it obviously wasn’t Sawatari. But who did that leave?
|
|
rlm@0
|
201 Seira was kind and sweet to everyone. But even then, there weren’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
202 any boys that stood out. Plenty came to her to pray and to confess
|
|
rlm@0
|
203 things, but none really knew her all that well. And Seira didn’t seem
|
|
rlm@0
|
204 to mind. There weren’t any boys that came to mind. Unless... Meimi’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
205 eyes went wide as a thought struck her. “It isn’t a boy, is it, Seira-
|
|
rlm@0
|
206 chan?” Her heart began to pound quicker in her chest as she waited
|
|
rlm@0
|
207 anxiously. Just how much had she missed about her best friend? How
|
|
rlm@0
|
208 much had she let go unnoticed? What if it was a girl? Who?
|
|
rlm@0
|
209 A look of surprise crossed Seira’s features for a moment. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
210 hadn’t quite expected Meimi to ask anything like that. The dark
|
|
rlm@0
|
211 haired girl had been inclined to leave it off with there simply being
|
|
rlm@0
|
212 someone she was in love with. But though Meimi could be... moody, she
|
|
rlm@0
|
213 certainly wasn’t naďve. Slowly, she found herself nodding. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
214 couldn’t bring herself to lie about it, especially to Meimi. “Hai,
|
|
rlm@0
|
215 it’s a girl,” Seira said quietly, almost reluctantly. She couldn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
216 bring herself to meet Meimi’s questing gaze. Her cheeks darkened
|
|
rlm@0
|
217 slightly in embarrassment and frustration. What was she supposed to
|
|
rlm@0
|
218 say if Meimi asked her? What could she do? She didn’t have to tell
|
|
rlm@0
|
219 her who it was. She could refuse to answer. But after all they had
|
|
rlm@0
|
220 been through together, could she really do that to Meimi? Didn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
221 Meimi deserve to know? She would be leaving soon enough anyway. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
222 wouldn’t be able to cause much harm.
|
|
rlm@0
|
223 “Is that why you’re leaving? Is that why you want to be a nun?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
224 Meimi asked quickly, staring intently at the white clad girl next to
|
|
rlm@0
|
225 her. Things slowly began to make more sense to the mysterious thief.
|
|
rlm@0
|
226 That was why Seira was never interested in any of the boys, why she
|
|
rlm@0
|
227 was never interested in dating. Seira had been raised by the Sisters,
|
|
rlm@0
|
228 so of course she didn’t think she could be with a girl. That was why
|
|
rlm@0
|
229 she was intent on becoming a nun, remaining celibate.
|
|
rlm@0
|
230 Seira shook her head, clasping her gloved hands in front of her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
231 Only her face was visible in the long white dress. “No, that’s not
|
|
rlm@0
|
232 it.” She paused to consider for a moment. “That’s not all of it, at
|
|
rlm@0
|
233 least. Like I said before, I want to for the Lord. I want to pay back
|
|
rlm@0
|
234 the Sisters who raised me. And yes, because I’m in love with another
|
|
rlm@0
|
235 girl. I can’t be with her. And I won’t love anyone else. Anyone
|
|
rlm@0
|
236 besides Him. So I’ll be His willing servant.” Falling in love with
|
|
rlm@0
|
237 Meimi had only fortified Seira’s decision to become a Sister. She had
|
|
rlm@0
|
238 tasted love in all of its bittersweet glory. She had that and always
|
|
rlm@0
|
239 would. But it only helped her to realize where her path in life lay.
|
|
rlm@0
|
240 She couldn’t be with Meimi. She understood that. So there was nothing
|
|
rlm@0
|
241 to keep her from a life devoted to God.
|
|
rlm@0
|
242 Meimi’s head spun, her only real argument, that of Seira falling in
|
|
rlm@0
|
243 love, having faltered. Her spirits dwindled as she thought of life
|
|
rlm@0
|
244 without her guardian angel, of a life apart from her best friend. No.
|
|
rlm@0
|
245 There had to be something she could do. This couldn’t be it. She was
|
|
rlm@0
|
246 Saint Tail. She could fix this. She always gave people their happy
|
|
rlm@0
|
247 ending. Why couldn’t she have hers? “But maybe she could likes you
|
|
rlm@0
|
248 to. Or maybe she would if she only knew. Seira-chan, it can’t be a
|
|
rlm@0
|
249 sin for you to fall in love.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
250 “And I don’t think it is. The Lord allowed me to fall in love with
|
|
rlm@0
|
251 a girl that fills my heart with joy. And I’m ever grateful for that.
|
|
rlm@0
|
252 But she’s out of my reach. Like a star in the sky, I can watch her
|
|
rlm@0
|
253 and love her, but I can’t have her no matter how my heart wishes
|
|
rlm@0
|
254 otherwise.” Seira smiled a little sadly at the brunette, suddenly
|
|
rlm@0
|
255 feeling very lonely in the large and empty church. Meimi was right
|
|
rlm@0
|
256 next to her, but it might as well have been thousands of miles away.
|
|
rlm@0
|
257 Like the face of God, some things were simply out of one’s reach. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
258 fought back the urge to cry herself. Swallowing back a lump in her
|
|
rlm@0
|
259 throat, she managed to hold the smile for a bit longer. Meimi was so
|
|
rlm@0
|
260 beautiful, so wonderful. If only love wasn’t such a double edged
|
|
rlm@0
|
261 sword. Her heart sang for the brunette, relishing in her company and
|
|
rlm@0
|
262 in the adoring thoughts she had of Meimi. But her heart also ached
|
|
rlm@0
|
263 terribly from the burden of that love. But she would suffer through
|
|
rlm@0
|
264 it as best she could. “Besides, you’re already in love with Asuka
|
|
rlm@0
|
265 Jr,” she finished.
|
|
rlm@0
|
266 “I am NOT in love with...” Meimi trailed off, Seira’s words ringing
|
|
rlm@0
|
267 in her ears. Her mouth opened and closed in a futile attempt to
|
|
rlm@0
|
268 continue. “Me?” she got out weakly, shock overtaking her. It felt
|
|
rlm@0
|
269 like an eternity before Seira replied with a small nod. Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
270 suddenly felt as if she were being tossed around on an unfriendly
|
|
rlm@0
|
271 sea, dipping below the treacherous waves that tried to drown her. How
|
|
rlm@0
|
272 could she be the one that Seira loved? How could she be the girl that
|
|
rlm@0
|
273 lay in Seira’s beautiful heart? But in many ways, it made sense.
|
|
rlm@0
|
274 Seira had always been willing to do anything for her, had always been
|
|
rlm@0
|
275 the there for her throughout it all. She had been the one to convince
|
|
rlm@0
|
276 Meimi to be Kaitou Saint Tail in the first place. She was the one who
|
|
rlm@0
|
277 was always seemed to matter the most to Seira, the one who Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
278 always prayed for. Meimi clung to this newfound revelation as a life
|
|
rlm@0
|
279 raft, trying to stay afloat in her own sea of turmoil. “I’m not in
|
|
rlm@0
|
280 love with Asuka Jr.,” she stated again, more quietly this time. “I
|
|
rlm@0
|
281 hate him.” This was safer territory. She knew how to handle this.
|
|
rlm@0
|
282 They had spoken about it before. It was much easier for her to handle
|
|
rlm@0
|
283 than the uncharted territory of Seira’s feelings for her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
284 Seira contemplated Meimi’s words for a moment, a small smile on her
|
|
rlm@0
|
285 lips. “Sometimes I think that you and Saint Tail are two completely
|
|
rlm@0
|
286 different people. You hate Asuka Jr., but she loves him. Or maybe she
|
|
rlm@0
|
287 just loves the chase,” the Sister-in-training said thoughtfully. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
288 had said it. At last. She had finally told Meimi how she felt about
|
|
rlm@0
|
289 her, albeit in an indirect fashion. But at least she had. She had
|
|
rlm@0
|
290 almost decided against it when she had realized how soon she would be
|
|
rlm@0
|
291 leaving. But this was for the best. She wouldn’t have a chance to
|
|
rlm@0
|
292 ruin things. And at least Meimi would know before she left. Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
293 would understand how important she was to Seira.
|
|
rlm@0
|
294 “I don’t...” Meimi struggled for words, unsure of what to say. Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
295 mind swirled about in one direction and another. “He’s such an idiot.
|
|
rlm@0
|
296 When I’m Meimi, we argue a lot and he really gets on my nerves. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
297 when I’m Saint Tail, I can’t wait for him to catch me. I keep
|
|
rlm@0
|
298 wondering when it will be. It’s like this fascinating game. I love
|
|
rlm@0
|
299 how he pays so much attention to Saint Tail. She’s his singleminded
|
|
rlm@0
|
300 obsession. I like how that feels when I’m her,” Meimi conceded at
|
|
rlm@0
|
301 last. It wasn’t something she thought about often. It was more of a
|
|
rlm@0
|
302 feeling than anything else. But it was so different when she was
|
|
rlm@0
|
303 Meimi and when she was Saint Tail. How could she have such
|
|
rlm@0
|
304 conflicting emotions?
|
|
rlm@0
|
305 Nodding thoughtfully, Seira watched her friend. “That’s what I
|
|
rlm@0
|
306 thought. It does sound like you’re two different people. She thinks
|
|
rlm@0
|
307 one way and you think another. But I noticed that a long time ago.
|
|
rlm@0
|
308 She gives you a chance to be something different, to be something
|
|
rlm@0
|
309 special. She lets you get the spotlight. You’re more confident as
|
|
rlm@0
|
310 her, as well. And everyone else seemed to notice her, especially
|
|
rlm@0
|
311 Asuka Jr. But what no one else saw, what you didn’t see, was that
|
|
rlm@0
|
312 Meimi-chan is special. That she’s more amazing than a thousand Saint
|
|
rlm@0
|
313 Tails. Everyone loves a good mystery. But what happens when the
|
|
rlm@0
|
314 mystery is gone, when the riddle’s been solved? What more does it
|
|
rlm@0
|
315 hold? That’s why I always simply thought of Saint Tail as you. As
|
|
rlm@0
|
316 Meimi in a cute magician’s outfit. But everyone else, even you, think
|
|
rlm@0
|
317 of her as something completely different, as a mysterious puzzle.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
318 Seira smiled softly, tilting her head to the side as she studied
|
|
rlm@0
|
319 Meimi. Her heart felt warm and fuzzy, her love surrounding herself
|
|
rlm@0
|
320 like a blanket. “I always thought you were perfect the way you are
|
|
rlm@0
|
321 Meimi. You don’t need to be mysterious. You don’t need to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
322 something more than you are. It was always enough for you to be you.
|
|
rlm@0
|
323 At least, I thought so. I always thought it was strange how Asuka Jr.
|
|
rlm@0
|
324 could chase Saint Tail so passionately and yet be so cold to you.
|
|
rlm@0
|
325 You’re more amazing than Saint Tail could ever hope to be, Meimi-
|
|
rlm@0
|
326 chan.” It was nice to be able to tell Meimi these things, to be able
|
|
rlm@0
|
327 to say them out loud for once. It relaxed a burden on her soul. Yes,
|
|
rlm@0
|
328 she would be gone soon. But at least she would have no regrets. “I’ve
|
|
rlm@0
|
329 loved you for the longest time.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
330 Meimi blushed deeply as her own blue eyes met Seira’s. She was left
|
|
rlm@0
|
331 at a loss for what to say. She had to admit that it felt nice to know
|
|
rlm@0
|
332 that someone thought that way about her as Meimi, but Seira? It was
|
|
rlm@0
|
333 so bizarre. She wanted to say something, to make sense of the moment,
|
|
rlm@0
|
334 but coherent thought eluded her. No reply seemed adequate enough to
|
|
rlm@0
|
335 express her feelings. Words couldn’t begin to explain the swirl of
|
|
rlm@0
|
336 emotions that frenzied throughout her soul. The beautiful Sister-in-
|
|
rlm@0
|
337 training before her would soon be gone, leaving a void in her life
|
|
rlm@0
|
338 that she couldn’t replace. How was she supposed to go on without
|
|
rlm@0
|
339 Seira? How could she push forward without the dark haired girl’s ever-
|
|
rlm@0
|
340 present companionship and support? It would be like being lost in the
|
|
rlm@0
|
341 desert without any food or water. It would be like finding no shelter
|
|
rlm@0
|
342 in the midst of a storm. She would be lost without Seira’s inner
|
|
rlm@0
|
343 light to guide herself by. When the game was all over and done with,
|
|
rlm@0
|
344 what would become of Asuka Jr. and herself? He loved Saint Tail,
|
|
rlm@0
|
345 after all. And she loved the chase. What then? Could she even be
|
|
rlm@0
|
346 Saint Tail without Sister Seira to help her see things through? Would
|
|
rlm@0
|
347 it even be worth it? When all was said and done, it was Seira that
|
|
rlm@0
|
348 she needed, that Meimi needed. The game was wonderful, while it
|
|
rlm@0
|
349 lasted. But one day there would be no time for games. And she would
|
|
rlm@0
|
350 have to grow up. This wasn’t about Saint Tail, Meimi suddenly
|
|
rlm@0
|
351 realized. This was about herself. It didn’t matter what Saint Tail
|
|
rlm@0
|
352 thought or how she felt about whom. This was about Meimi and where
|
|
rlm@0
|
353 her own heart lay. But where exactly was that?
|
|
rlm@0
|
354 Seira stood up slowly, smoothing down her long white skirt. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
355 offered a weak smile to her friend. She still didn’t know what to
|
|
rlm@0
|
356 think about Meimi’s reaction. She tried to tell herself that it
|
|
rlm@0
|
357 didn’t matter, that she would be leaving soon anyway. But she wanted
|
|
rlm@0
|
358 Meimi to have good memories of her. She wanted Meimi to remember her
|
|
rlm@0
|
359 fondly, not with concern. “I have to get to sleep, Meimi-chan. You
|
|
rlm@0
|
360 probably should, too. Otherwise your parents might wonder why you’re
|
|
rlm@0
|
361 so sleepy tomorrow morning.” Her back was to Meimi now, her hands
|
|
rlm@0
|
362 once again clasped in front of her. ‘Please, Lord, please don’t let
|
|
rlm@0
|
363 me cry. Not now. Please let me last until she’s gone. Just until
|
|
rlm@0
|
364 then. Please...’ she prayed quietly. The dark haired girl had trouble
|
|
rlm@0
|
365 focussing, feeling the anguish in her heart cascading throughout her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
366 She didn’t want to leave Meimi, even if it was necessary. Her heart
|
|
rlm@0
|
367 couldn’t handle the strain.
|
|
rlm@0
|
368 Seira was a good girl. She never lied, cheated, or stole from
|
|
rlm@0
|
369 anyone. Sometimes she would bend things, but only if she believed
|
|
rlm@0
|
370 they were for the best, for God. She didn’t get into trouble and
|
|
rlm@0
|
371 helped whoever she could. Yet this Sister-in-training had fallen in
|
|
rlm@0
|
372 love with a thief. Love was cruel, the sweetest torture that God
|
|
rlm@0
|
373 could ever have conjured up. And it was one that left Seira weak and
|
|
rlm@0
|
374 confused.
|
|
rlm@0
|
375 Hands slowly turned Seira around from where she stood. The dark
|
|
rlm@0
|
376 haired girl was too weak to stop it and too lost in thought to have
|
|
rlm@0
|
377 seen it coming. Her clasped hands were soon taken by Meimi’s. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
378 looked at Meimi silently for a long moment. Meimi slowly brushed her
|
|
rlm@0
|
379 tears away with her fingertips. The two simply stood in an odd moment
|
|
rlm@0
|
380 of tranquility. And then, the mysterious thief stole a kiss. It took
|
|
rlm@0
|
381 Seira by surprise, her heart both unsure and enraptured at the same
|
|
rlm@0
|
382 time. She could feel Meimi’s deliciously soft lips against her own,
|
|
rlm@0
|
383 leaving her breathless with a soft and intoxicating kiss. Seira could
|
|
rlm@0
|
384 only watch for a moment in silence. She wanted to thank Meimi, to ask
|
|
rlm@0
|
385 her why, to kiss her again, to do anything at all. But all she could
|
|
rlm@0
|
386 do was cry. Meimi held onto her as Seira collapsed to her knees. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
387 mysterious thief held her close as she cried. Seira could only lay
|
|
rlm@0
|
388 against Meimi, her heart torn apart, sobbing.
|
|
rlm@0
|
389
|
|
rlm@0
|
390 ‘The church is really beautiful,’ Meimi thought to herself as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
391 entered the silent building. Sunlight spilled through stained glass,
|
|
rlm@0
|
392 painting the ground near the altar in a torrent of colors. Kneeling
|
|
rlm@0
|
393 in the midst of this shining rainbow was a girl clad simply in white.
|
|
rlm@0
|
394 A smile crossed the mysterious thief’s lips as she crept ever closer,
|
|
rlm@0
|
395 being very careful not to make a noise. ‘It is beautiful, but not as
|
|
rlm@0
|
396 beautiful as Seira.’ To Meimi’s delight, Seira remained deep in
|
|
rlm@0
|
397 prayer as she approached. Being the daughter of a magician and a
|
|
rlm@0
|
398 thief, the auburn haired girl could appreciate the element of
|
|
rlm@0
|
399 surprise in things. Especially when it was offered so easily to her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
400 And what made a better surprise than surprising the one you love?
|
|
rlm@0
|
401 “Hello, Meimi-chan,” Seira called out, not bothering to open her
|
|
rlm@0
|
402 eyes.
|
|
rlm@0
|
403 Meimi stopped short, just a foot behind the kneeling Sister-in-
|
|
rlm@0
|
404 training. Unfortunately, she hadn’t remembered one of the most
|
|
rlm@0
|
405 important credos of any magician, things are not always as they seem.
|
|
rlm@0
|
406 “Seira... How did you know it was me?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
407 Performing the Sign of the Cross, the young nun rose, a smile on
|
|
rlm@0
|
408 her lips. “I always know when it’s you,” she stated simply. Truth be
|
|
rlm@0
|
409 told, she had been waiting for her friend’s arrival. She had known it
|
|
rlm@0
|
410 would only be a matter of time before Meimi came to see her. But as
|
|
rlm@0
|
411 always, Meimi’s presence sent her heart aflutter. It was so strange
|
|
rlm@0
|
412 for Seira when she would see Meimi at the church, her refuge, her
|
|
rlm@0
|
413 asylum. The church offered Seira the chance to commune with God, to
|
|
rlm@0
|
414 feel at peace with the world and it’s inhabitants. It was her most
|
|
rlm@0
|
415 treasured place. She could spend hours there, deep in prayer or
|
|
rlm@0
|
416 simply lost in thought. It was such a lovely place and it still held
|
|
rlm@0
|
417 the awe that had lured Seira to it as a very young child. It gave her
|
|
rlm@0
|
418 such a calm, safe feeling when she was there. Meimi, on the other
|
|
rlm@0
|
419 hand, gave Seira a very different feeling. Seira had been the auburn
|
|
rlm@0
|
420 haired girl’s best friend for quite some time, and in all that time
|
|
rlm@0
|
421 she had always found herself amazed by the athletic young magician.
|
|
rlm@0
|
422 There was something about Meimi that spun her around and left her
|
|
rlm@0
|
423 breathless. It was something she had struggled to understand while
|
|
rlm@0
|
424 their friendship grew. But even before she had requested Meimi to
|
|
rlm@0
|
425 grant people God’s protection as Saint Tail, she had known that she
|
|
rlm@0
|
426 was in love with the other girl. Watching the beautiful auburn haired
|
|
rlm@0
|
427 girl work her magic spun silk strands around Seira’s heart, holding
|
|
rlm@0
|
428 it captive. Having Meimi in her refuge, standing so nearby in this
|
|
rlm@0
|
429 have on God, it always left her feeling nearly overwhelmed. The best
|
|
rlm@0
|
430 of Heaven and of Earth.
|
|
rlm@0
|
431 Meimi sighed as she absentmindedly played with the cross hanging
|
|
rlm@0
|
432 from Seira’s neck. “I guess so. But doesn’t it defeat the purpose of
|
|
rlm@0
|
433 me being a ‘mysterious thief’?” That was one thing that always caught
|
|
rlm@0
|
434 Meimi off guard, the fact that Seira always seemed to see right
|
|
rlm@0
|
435 through her. She couldn’t pull anything over on the dark haired girl.
|
|
rlm@0
|
436 For a girl that didn’t know anything about the latest hit songs or
|
|
rlm@0
|
437 fashions (unless she needed to find out about them), there wasn’t a
|
|
rlm@0
|
438 thing about Meimi that she didn’t know. Meimi’s eyes slowly trailed
|
|
rlm@0
|
439 up from the cross to Seira’s slate gray eyes. The auburn haired girl
|
|
rlm@0
|
440 smiled as the Sister-in-training watched her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
441 “I must know all of your tricks, then, Meimi-chan.” Giggling, Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
442 wrapped her arms around the slightly taller girl’s neck. She couldn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
443 remember the last time she had felt so lighthearted, so free. ‘And He
|
|
rlm@0
|
444 will lift me up on eagle’s wings…’ Her nose rested against Meimi’s as
|
|
rlm@0
|
445 she looked into beautiful blue eyes. There was more magic in those
|
|
rlm@0
|
446 shining eyes than there were in all of the magic Meimi performed as
|
|
rlm@0
|
447 Saint Tail. After all, that was just smoke and mirrors. But the
|
|
rlm@0
|
448 beautiful sparkle in her eyes was a gift from God, a true miracle.
|
|
rlm@0
|
449 And one that Seira couldn’t help but love dearly. “You should wear
|
|
rlm@0
|
450 your glasses more often. You look so cute in them,” Seira suggested
|
|
rlm@0
|
451 after a moment.
|
|
rlm@0
|
452 Blushing faintly, Meimi closed her eyes. “You really do know all my
|
|
rlm@0
|
453 secrets. But I hate wearing those things. I don’t even wear those in
|
|
rlm@0
|
454 class anymore. They looked so stupid.” While Meimi wasn’t exactly
|
|
rlm@0
|
455 vain, she did know that many of her classmates thought she was
|
|
rlm@0
|
456 pretty. She hadn’t been very happy about needing to get glasses when
|
|
rlm@0
|
457 she had found out she was farsighted because she felt it made her
|
|
rlm@0
|
458 look boring. She didn’t like having the glasses in her way. So she
|
|
rlm@0
|
459 hadn’t worn them very often since getting them. Seira was one of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
460 few people who even knew she had them.
|
|
rlm@0
|
461 “I still think you looked very pretty in them,” Seira insisted,
|
|
rlm@0
|
462 trying to envision how Meimi would look in her glasses at the moment.
|
|
rlm@0
|
463 The last time she had seen the auburn haired girl wear them had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
464 over a year before. “Besides, you think very highly of your father
|
|
rlm@0
|
465 and he wears glasses,” she pointed out. A smile crossed her lips when
|
|
rlm@0
|
466 she saw Meimi waver. She knew that it would make Meimi rethink it. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
467 was why the other girl had gotten into magic in the first place,
|
|
rlm@0
|
468 after all.
|
|
rlm@0
|
469 “I hadn’t thought about that,” Meimi admitted, relenting. “Maybe
|
|
rlm@0
|
470 I’ll wear them sometime soon, if you think I should.” Seeing Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
471 nod in agreement, Meimi smiled. If Seira thought she looked cute in
|
|
rlm@0
|
472 her glasses, she suddenly didn’t have a very good reason not to wear
|
|
rlm@0
|
473 them anymore. It was nice knowing that the perceptive Sister-in-
|
|
rlm@0
|
474 training found her pretty. What Seira thought was much more important
|
|
rlm@0
|
475 than what anyone else thought. So when she heard such things from the
|
|
rlm@0
|
476 dark haired girl, it always stayed with her. Perhaps it was because
|
|
rlm@0
|
477 she knew that Seira wouldn’t lie to her, that when Seira said these
|
|
rlm@0
|
478 things she meant it wholeheartedly. Or maybe it was as simple as
|
|
rlm@0
|
479 those sorts of things sounding so much better coming from the person
|
|
rlm@0
|
480 who loved you. Whatever the case, Meimi took it to heart. “If you
|
|
rlm@0
|
481 know all of my tricks and secrets, then you should be my assistant,
|
|
rlm@0
|
482 Seira. Every good magician has an assistant.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
483 Giggling, Seira shook her head. “I’m really not sure if I’d make a
|
|
rlm@0
|
484 very good assistant. They’re only there to distract the audience.
|
|
rlm@0
|
485 You’re too good a magician to need anything like that. I don’t think
|
|
rlm@0
|
486 I’m dazzling enough to make a decent assistant.” Though the proposal
|
|
rlm@0
|
487 certainly had its appeal, Seira couldn’t imagine being on stage while
|
|
rlm@0
|
488 Meimi performed her magic. Especially in whatever skimpy outfit being
|
|
rlm@0
|
489 a magician’s assistant usually meant having to wear. She was much
|
|
rlm@0
|
490 more of a behind the scenes player in such things. Just as she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
491 always been throughout Saint Tail’s career. She would provide the
|
|
rlm@0
|
492 information and whatever help she could. Meimi was much better suited
|
|
rlm@0
|
493 to the spotlight.
|
|
rlm@0
|
494 “Oh, that’s not true. You’d make a gorgeous assistant. You’d just
|
|
rlm@0
|
495 need a flashier outfit, like my Saint Tail one. Something cute and
|
|
rlm@0
|
496 lacy. Then we could go on stage together.” Though Meimi was only half-
|
|
rlm@0
|
497 serious, she could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest. If
|
|
rlm@0
|
498 only Seira would agree, then everything would work out. It would be
|
|
rlm@0
|
499 the perfect way of keeping the dark haired girl from leaving to
|
|
rlm@0
|
500 become a nun. They could be a team, just as they were now. They could
|
|
rlm@0
|
501 stay together, forever. Meimi tried to force the thought away, but it
|
|
rlm@0
|
502 was like trying to push a freight train. Seira would be leaving very
|
|
rlm@0
|
503 soon. There was a chance that she may never see the young Sister-in-
|
|
rlm@0
|
504 training again. Even if they did meet again, Seira would be a full
|
|
rlm@0
|
505 fledged nun by then. Their relationship would have to come to an end,
|
|
rlm@0
|
506 their friendship all that remained. Meimi didn’t know if she could
|
|
rlm@0
|
507 take that. It wasn’t just life without Seira anymore. It was life
|
|
rlm@0
|
508 without the love that she now found herself needing more than the air
|
|
rlm@0
|
509 she breathed.
|
|
rlm@0
|
510 “And usurp you while you wear that cute tuxedo on stage? I could
|
|
rlm@0
|
511 never do that, Meimi-chan.” Seira smiled brightly, happy to have
|
|
rlm@0
|
512 Meimi so near. She could feel Meimi’s hands slip around her waist,
|
|
rlm@0
|
513 anxiously pulling her closer. Seira relaxed against the slightly
|
|
rlm@0
|
514 taller girl, her worries far behind her. Because above all else,
|
|
rlm@0
|
515 Seira had faith that things would turn out for the best. She had
|
|
rlm@0
|
516 faith in God above. She would follow his will wherever it led her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
517 And she had faith in a girl named Meimi Haneoka. She knew that
|
|
rlm@0
|
518 somehow everything would work out. Her heart fluttered delicately,
|
|
rlm@0
|
519 like a cherry blossom in a gentle breeze. This was perfect. Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
520 fingers interlocked behind Meimi’s neck, covered by the other girl’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
521 beautiful auburn hair. She was very thankful for her blessings,
|
|
rlm@0
|
522 indeed.
|
|
rlm@0
|
523 Meimi, being the overemotional girl she was, felt her own heart
|
|
rlm@0
|
524 pounding in her chest. She wanted to hold onto the moment, steal it
|
|
rlm@0
|
525 away and hide it forever in a locket. The pretty young Sister-in-
|
|
rlm@0
|
526 training in her arms was held close to her beating heart, sending
|
|
rlm@0
|
527 tremors through her soul. Seira was so sweet, so gentle. Sometimes
|
|
rlm@0
|
528 Meimi wondered why it had taken her so long to start dating Seira. At
|
|
rlm@0
|
529 other times she was completely surprised to find herself so enamored
|
|
rlm@0
|
530 with this loving spirit. At times like that, she was unsure of how
|
|
rlm@0
|
531 she had ended up in such a strange predicament, but incredibly
|
|
rlm@0
|
532 grateful she had ended up there nonetheless. Right now she found
|
|
rlm@0
|
533 herself simply caught up in the beat of Seira’s heart against her
|
|
rlm@0
|
534 own. So calm, so reassuring. All the while, Meimi’s own heart played
|
|
rlm@0
|
535 a staccato beat inside of her. In many ways, it was just like the two
|
|
rlm@0
|
536 girls. Very little could bother Seira while Meimi found herself
|
|
rlm@0
|
537 reacting heavily to everything that she stumbled across. Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
538 watched as the dark haired girl closed her eyes, content to listen to
|
|
rlm@0
|
539 the musical harmony of their joined hearts. But that just made the
|
|
rlm@0
|
540 young magician’s heart beat that much faster, a hand going up to
|
|
rlm@0
|
541 trail along Seira’s soft cheek. She smiled when she saw Seira’s eyes
|
|
rlm@0
|
542 flutter open, dark lashes batting as gray eyes looked back into her
|
|
rlm@0
|
543 own. ‘Kiss her,’ she heard echoing through her thoughts. Without
|
|
rlm@0
|
544 another thought, she obeyed, kissing her pretty best friend. It was
|
|
rlm@0
|
545 what she wanted, after all. What she had wanted to do when she was
|
|
rlm@0
|
546 first sneaking up behind Seira. Just a simple kiss. Her lips pressed
|
|
rlm@0
|
547 lightly against Seira’s, startling the young almost-nun at first.
|
|
rlm@0
|
548 Meimi kissed the other girl harder, pouring out the flurry of
|
|
rlm@0
|
549 emotions struggling through her heart as their lips met. As Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
550 often did when they kissed, she marveled at how soft Seira’s lips
|
|
rlm@0
|
551 felt against her own, at how warm the kiss felt, at how delicious it
|
|
rlm@0
|
552 tasted, at how Seira seemed to melt into her. It all swept her up
|
|
rlm@0
|
553 like a tornado, whipping around her fiercely as she and Seira waited
|
|
rlm@0
|
554 in the eye of the storm.
|
|
rlm@0
|
555 Thoughts were only dimly functional in Seira’s mind. They fought
|
|
rlm@0
|
556 through her head with the same strength of whispers. There was a
|
|
rlm@0
|
557 bright light, shimmering and all encompassing that held Seira’s soul
|
|
rlm@0
|
558 up high. And there were warm, persistent lips that were rarely away
|
|
rlm@0
|
559 from her own for more than a fraction of a second. She shifted
|
|
rlm@0
|
560 against Meimi, unsure of her own strength to stand. She felt like
|
|
rlm@0
|
561 light was pouring through her whole body, her lips drawn again and
|
|
rlm@0
|
562 again to Meimi’s as if they were magnetized. She could feel soft hair
|
|
rlm@0
|
563 under her fingers as Meimi’s own fingers cupped her cheek. She felt
|
|
rlm@0
|
564 deliciously lightheaded, as if nothing mattered in the world. ‘Thank
|
|
rlm@0
|
565 you, Lord, for letting me meet her,’ she silently prayed as she felt
|
|
rlm@0
|
566 Meimi kiss her again. Her lips parted for the mysterious thief when
|
|
rlm@0
|
567 they met again, an acute thrill rippling through Seira’s normally
|
|
rlm@0
|
568 placid world like a stone skipping over a pond. If there was one
|
|
rlm@0
|
569 guilty pleasure that Seira had to admit to, it was that Meimi was an
|
|
rlm@0
|
570 excellent kisser. It was Meimi’s kisses that kept Seira up at night,
|
|
rlm@0
|
571 dreaming about one more soul stirring kiss.
|
|
rlm@0
|
572 When the two finally pulled apart, the Sister-in-training placed a
|
|
rlm@0
|
573 finger on Meimi’s nose, holding her at bay. “Meimi-chan... We
|
|
rlm@0
|
574 probably shouldn’t be doing that in here.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
575 “Do you really think He’d mind?” Meimi asked, her arms
|
|
rlm@0
|
576 outstretched. The problems with dating a girl who was raised by nuns,
|
|
rlm@0
|
577 she conceded. But she wouldn’t trade those problems for anything.
|
|
rlm@0
|
578 Seira smiled at Meimi’s question, shaking her head. Taking the
|
|
rlm@0
|
579 auburn haired girl’s hand, she led her outside to the garden. “It’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
580 not Him that I’m worried about. It’s Sister Abbess who would most
|
|
rlm@0
|
581 likely have a problem with it. I’d rather spare her the sight of your
|
|
rlm@0
|
582 world famous kisses.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
583 Meimi stuck her tongue out, sitting alongside Seira on one of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
584 garden’s benches. “They can’t be world famous if you’re the only one
|
|
rlm@0
|
585 who knows about them.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
586 With a giggle, Seira nodded. “Good, then let’s keep it that way.
|
|
rlm@0
|
587 I’d rather be the only one to know about them. I’m sure Sister Abbess
|
|
rlm@0
|
588 would be much happier that way, too.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
589 Meimi couldn’t help but smile at her dark haired friend’s sweet
|
|
rlm@0
|
590 presence. She couldn’t put her finger on anything specific. She just
|
|
rlm@0
|
591 felt so... in love. It was like a fireworks display in her heart, a
|
|
rlm@0
|
592 blinding display of pyrotechnics. “I love you, you know, Seira.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
593 Smiling, Seira nodded, kissing Meimi’s cheek. “I know. I love you,
|
|
rlm@0
|
594 too.” She watched the blue eyed girl for a long moment, simply gazing
|
|
rlm@0
|
595 at her lovely features. She couldn’t think of anything prettier in
|
|
rlm@0
|
596 the garden. After a moment, Meimi yawned, a hand going to her mouth.
|
|
rlm@0
|
597 “You didn’t sleep much last night?” Seira asked. Seeing Meimi nod,
|
|
rlm@0
|
598 the dark haired girl took Meimi’s head and rested it in her lap,
|
|
rlm@0
|
599 stroking her long, auburn hair back.
|
|
rlm@0
|
600 Meimi stifled another yawn and a protest. She was about to say that
|
|
rlm@0
|
601 it wasn’t too bad, but Seira’s lap felt so nice. And she had to admit
|
|
rlm@0
|
602 that it was better than sitting up. Seira’s gentle hands felt so nice
|
|
rlm@0
|
603 through her long hair, drifting through it ever so softly. Everything
|
|
rlm@0
|
604 began to grow blurry after a long, sweet moment. Meimi fought to keep
|
|
rlm@0
|
605 her eyes from closing, trying to focus on a tree across from them. “I
|
|
rlm@0
|
606 was working on a new magic trick. I thought it might come in handy if
|
|
rlm@0
|
607 Saint Tail needs to go help again sometime soon.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
608 Seira kept up her gentle brushing of Meimi’s hair, looking down at
|
|
rlm@0
|
609 her sleepy best friend. A smile lit up her face. The athletic girl
|
|
rlm@0
|
610 was so cute when she was tired. Maybe she put the other girl through
|
|
rlm@0
|
611 too many late nights as Saint Tail, but Meimi never complained about
|
|
rlm@0
|
612 it. “You were working on a new magic trick? That’s great. You can try
|
|
rlm@0
|
613 it out tonight.” She watched the other girl, waiting for a reaction.
|
|
rlm@0
|
614 Meimi seemed more intent on holding in another sigh for the time
|
|
rlm@0
|
615 being.
|
|
rlm@0
|
616 “Yeah? That should be...” Meimi trailed off, her mind finally
|
|
rlm@0
|
617 catching up. She sat up quickly, her long hair drifting in the wind
|
|
rlm@0
|
618 for a moment. Suddenly wide awake, Meimi turned to the Sister-in-
|
|
rlm@0
|
619 training. “Wait... Oh, no.” She shook her head. “I have tickets
|
|
rlm@0
|
620 tonight. We’re going to the Jun concert, remember? I bought those
|
|
rlm@0
|
621 tickets weeks ago. We have a date tonight. I don’t have time for
|
|
rlm@0
|
622 Saint Tail.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
623 Sweatdropping, Seira placed both of her hands in her lap. “I know.
|
|
rlm@0
|
624 But this girl really needs God’s protection. And Saint Tail is the
|
|
rlm@0
|
625 only one who can give it to her. I really wanted to go on our date
|
|
rlm@0
|
626 tonight, too, Meimi-chan. But I think it’s more important that you
|
|
rlm@0
|
627 help her.” Seira gave Meimi her best hopeful look, squeezing her
|
|
rlm@0
|
628 hands together tighter. The other girl tried not to meet her eyes,
|
|
rlm@0
|
629 but Seira kept up, her slate gray eyes following Meimi’s.
|
|
rlm@0
|
630 “But I had to wait in line for two hours for those tickets,” Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
631 whined, slumping back on the bench with her arms crossed. Staring up
|
|
rlm@0
|
632 at the treetops, she harumphed. “It was supposed to be a big night,
|
|
rlm@0
|
633 too. I was really looking forward to this.” She had gone on plenty of
|
|
rlm@0
|
634 dates with Seira in the time they had been together, but that didn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
635 mean that she wanted to sacrifice her upcoming one for Saint Tail.
|
|
rlm@0
|
636 She could see a dove carrying off the tickets in her mind’s eye.
|
|
rlm@0
|
637 Seira’s hand rested on her own, trying to calm her. She sighed.
|
|
rlm@0
|
638 “I was looking forward to it, too. But I think this is more
|
|
rlm@0
|
639 important. Besides, I don’t think your two hours of waiting have to
|
|
rlm@0
|
640 go to waste. I know two people who would love to have those tickets.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
641 Seira smiled brightly, catching Meimi’s eye again. Taking Meimi’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
642 hand with both of her own, she held it to her heart. She had no idea
|
|
rlm@0
|
643 who Jun was other than she was some idol that Meimi liked to listen
|
|
rlm@0
|
644 to. So it didn’t bother her that she couldn’t see the girl sing. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
645 was disappointed that she couldn’t go out with Meimi that night, but
|
|
rlm@0
|
646 she believed that Saint Tail was needed.
|
|
rlm@0
|
647 “But that’s not fair! Why can’t we go on our date? Isn’t it time
|
|
rlm@0
|
648 for Saint Tail to have a break? I just want to be with you tonight,”
|
|
rlm@0
|
649 Meimi said at last, turning to meet Seira’s gaze. She squeezed
|
|
rlm@0
|
650 Seira’s hands, her own disappointment evident even in the face of
|
|
rlm@0
|
651 Seira’s optimistic smile. It had sounded like such a magical night.
|
|
rlm@0
|
652 Tickets for Jun’s new concert and Seira would be coming with her. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
653 would have been such a perfect date, being there together with Jun’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
654 love songs drawing them together. And it was one of their last
|
|
rlm@0
|
655 chances to be together. Meimi was all too aware that she was running
|
|
rlm@0
|
656 out of time with Seira. But even packing in as much time as she could
|
|
rlm@0
|
657 with the Sister-in-training, it never felt enough. There was always
|
|
rlm@0
|
658 that nagging feeling that it would all be coming to an end all too
|
|
rlm@0
|
659 soon.
|
|
rlm@0
|
660 “She’s very sick right now. She can’t go out much and she may be
|
|
rlm@0
|
661 with God very soon. I met her at the hospital when I went with one of
|
|
rlm@0
|
662 the other Sisters. She has a love letter at home, one that she wrote
|
|
rlm@0
|
663 a long time ago but never delivered. A beautiful pink letter with a
|
|
rlm@0
|
664 long ribbon on it. Her mother has it, along with the rest of her
|
|
rlm@0
|
665 things. She wants to give it to the person she likes, but she can’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
666 even get home to find it,” Seira explained, still holding onto
|
|
rlm@0
|
667 Meimi’s hand. “I told her she would surely have God’s protection.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
668 “Oh... I.. I didn’t know.” Meimi could only stare, her heart
|
|
rlm@0
|
669 dropping. That poor girl. The thought of her dying without even being
|
|
rlm@0
|
670 able to tell her love of her heart’s true feelings was horrible. What
|
|
rlm@0
|
671 if she hadn’t known of Seira’s feelings before she left for Rome?
|
|
rlm@0
|
672 That would have been unbearable. The pretty thief nodded solemnly,
|
|
rlm@0
|
673 her mind made up. “I’ll do it. Saint Tail will find the letter.” Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
674 heart melted when she saw the grateful smile that Seira flashed her,
|
|
rlm@0
|
675 along with a sweet kiss on the cheek.
|
|
rlm@0
|
676 “You have my gratitude as well as the Lord’s. And I’m sure Ryoko
|
|
rlm@0
|
677 and Kyoko will be very happy as well when they get the tickets.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
678 Seira couldn’t help but smile happily at her defeated friend. A date
|
|
rlm@0
|
679 would have been lovely, but somehow it seemed more fitting to spend
|
|
rlm@0
|
680 one of their last nights together helping others through Saint Tail.
|
|
rlm@0
|
681 “All right. But you have to wait for me at the church. I’m coming
|
|
rlm@0
|
682 right back after I’m done,” Meimi said stubbornly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
683 “But you need your sleep, Meimi-chan,” Seira argued. She could
|
|
rlm@0
|
684 still see the sleepiness in Meimi’s blue eyes, but the auburn haired
|
|
rlm@0
|
685 girl fought it off. She didn’t know if she should feel bad or happy
|
|
rlm@0
|
686 that she was the reason that Meimi was always sneaking off late at
|
|
rlm@0
|
687 night. She decided that it was probably a good thing, even if it did
|
|
rlm@0
|
688 leave poor Meimi sleep deprived.
|
|
rlm@0
|
689 “I don’t care. I need to see you more than I need to sleep. We can
|
|
rlm@0
|
690 talk in the garden or just sit in the church or whatever. I just want
|
|
rlm@0
|
691 to be with you tonight.” Meimi looked over at Seira determinedly. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
692 saw Seira nod in assent, and felt her heart relax. It wasn’t the big
|
|
rlm@0
|
693 date she had been planning, but at least it was something.
|
|
rlm@0
|
694 “I’d love that, Meimi-chan,” Seira replied, resting her head on
|
|
rlm@0
|
695 Meimi’s shoulder. Her gray eyes fluttered closed, her mind
|
|
rlm@0
|
696 concentrating on the girl next to her. If any of the nun’s saw them,
|
|
rlm@0
|
697 they probably wouldn’t think anything. But even that didn’t really
|
|
rlm@0
|
698 seem to matter. It was just enough that she was there with Meimi.
|
|
rlm@0
|
699
|
|
rlm@0
|
700 ‘Now where could it be?’ Moving with the lithe ease of a trained
|
|
rlm@0
|
701 gymnast, Saint Tail made almost no sound as she slipped through an
|
|
rlm@0
|
702 upper window of a seemingly empty house. But appearances can be
|
|
rlm@0
|
703 deceiving. The woman of the house could be home or Asuka Jr. could be
|
|
rlm@0
|
704 waiting for her. Lurking in the shadows, the mysterious thief crept
|
|
rlm@0
|
705 silently forward. Her prize lay somewhere in the house, a pretty,
|
|
rlm@0
|
706 pink love letter. Meimi grinned to herself. She got to play Cupid for
|
|
rlm@0
|
707 once instead of just a thief.
|
|
rlm@0
|
708 Turning a doorknob ever so slowly, Meimi ducked into a small room.
|
|
rlm@0
|
709 ‘Just where Seira told me it would be,’ Meimi thought happily. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
710 room was small, but very cute. Stuffed animals lay on the bed atop a
|
|
rlm@0
|
711 large well used quilt. A small white desk took up the other corner of
|
|
rlm@0
|
712 the room, books and notes all over it. Meimi smiled to herself as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
713 looked about the room. Chisato, the girl that lived there must be
|
|
rlm@0
|
714 very sweet. She had to quell the thought when she remembered the girl
|
|
rlm@0
|
715 was in the hospital. The difference between the well lived in room
|
|
rlm@0
|
716 and the stuffy atmosphere of the hospital was tremendous. “Hopefully
|
|
rlm@0
|
717 she can come back home soon. And when she does, maybe she’ll have a
|
|
rlm@0
|
718 boyfriend waiting for her.” Smiling again, Meimi set her sights on
|
|
rlm@0
|
719 the desk.
|
|
rlm@0
|
720 Flipping through notebooks, Kaitou Saint Tail tried to uncover the
|
|
rlm@0
|
721 elusive love letter. She felt bad for snooping through the girl’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
722 private possessions, but she had no other way of finding the letter.
|
|
rlm@0
|
723 Besides, she was a thief after all, so this was her line of work. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
724 smiled at the small drawings in the notebooks, cute little pictures
|
|
rlm@0
|
725 of little animals and classmates with little captions around them.
|
|
rlm@0
|
726 ‘Poor Asami-chan doesn’t like tests,’ one read next to some Math
|
|
rlm@0
|
727 notes above a picture of a girl looking frantic. ‘Almost lunchtime!’
|
|
rlm@0
|
728 another read with a girl staring anxiously at the clock. Saint Tail
|
|
rlm@0
|
729 continued to flip through the notebook, amused by the little
|
|
rlm@0
|
730 drawings. Her smile faded slowly as she found more and more of them
|
|
rlm@0
|
731 as the girl become bedridden. ‘Mama makes the best soup!’ was the
|
|
rlm@0
|
732 caption of one that showed her in bed with a big bowl. ‘I miss Asami-
|
|
rlm@0
|
733 chan...’ another read, showing her stuck in bed and gazing out the
|
|
rlm@0
|
734 window. The paper around the drawing was wrinkled as if teardrops had
|
|
rlm@0
|
735 fallen on it.
|
|
rlm@0
|
736 Shaking her head, Meimi put the notebook back down. She had to find
|
|
rlm@0
|
737 the love letter. That was her goal. Everything else could wait. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
738 had promised Seira that she would do this. A sigh escaped her as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
739 saw the clock. She was missing Jun’s first song. And she would
|
|
rlm@0
|
740 probably hear how wonderful it was the next day from Ryoko and Kyoko.
|
|
rlm@0
|
741 Turning her attention back to the task at hand, Meimi sifted
|
|
rlm@0
|
742 through several more folders and notebooks but to no avail. Her hands
|
|
rlm@0
|
743 traveled down the desk, searching through every drawer she came
|
|
rlm@0
|
744 across. Still nothing. The desk had been her obvious answer, but she
|
|
rlm@0
|
745 couldn’t find the love letter on it at all. Turning to check the
|
|
rlm@0
|
746 nightstand near the bed, Meimi stumbled over a wastebasket. Covering
|
|
rlm@0
|
747 her mouth, she cursed silently, hoping she hadn’t made too much
|
|
rlm@0
|
748 noise. Sighing after a moment of silence, Meimi pushed her pony tail
|
|
rlm@0
|
749 back. ‘Maybe I should wear my glasses more often after all. All this
|
|
rlm@0
|
750 running around in the dark can’t be good for my eyesight.’ Kneeling
|
|
rlm@0
|
751 down, the mysterious thief began to pick up the wastebasket. It had
|
|
rlm@0
|
752 been nearly overflowing with tissues. Well, the girl had been sick.
|
|
rlm@0
|
753 But they were all dark, stained. It took Meimi a moment to notice
|
|
rlm@0
|
754 that they were all bloody. Her heart rolled in her chest as she set
|
|
rlm@0
|
755 the basket aside. She couldn’t get distracted by these things. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
756 had to find the letter.
|
|
rlm@0
|
757 “Where is it?” Meimi asked in frustration. As if in answer, the
|
|
rlm@0
|
758 closet door opened. The auburn haired girl froze as a boy’s figure
|
|
rlm@0
|
759 stepped out.
|
|
rlm@0
|
760 “Looking for this?” Asuka Jr. asked, holding up the rectangular
|
|
rlm@0
|
761 envelope in his hand. He grinned to himself as he watched Saint Tail
|
|
rlm@0
|
762 motionless in the shadows. “I don’t know why you’re here to steal
|
|
rlm@0
|
763 some girl’s love letter, Saint Tail, but I’m not going to let you get
|
|
rlm@0
|
764 away with it. Tonight, you’re mine.” He watched her for a moment, but
|
|
rlm@0
|
765 she made no move to escape. He grinned in anticipation as he hurried
|
|
rlm@0
|
766 forward to claim his own prize. He reached out, grabbing hold of
|
|
rlm@0
|
767 Saint Tail’s arm with all the strength he could muster. “You’re not
|
|
rlm@0
|
768 going anywhere!” He hauled her closer, his heart pounding as his face
|
|
rlm@0
|
769 inched closer to her own. He was about to see who she was. He would
|
|
rlm@0
|
770 finally know who Saint Tail was. His heart felt like it would burst.
|
|
rlm@0
|
771 His head finally reached hers, his eyes straining in the darkness. To
|
|
rlm@0
|
772 his surprise, Saint Tail had no face. “Wha?!” The face was completely
|
|
rlm@0
|
773 blank, absolutely no features at all. She bobbed back and forth like
|
|
rlm@0
|
774 a balloon as he pulled back. Something behind him took the letter
|
|
rlm@0
|
775 right out of his hand in his state of surprise. “Huh? No!”
|
|
rlm@0
|
776 “Thank you! There’s someone who needs this love letter much more
|
|
rlm@0
|
777 than you. I hope you don’t mind. I have Cupid’s arrow to deliver.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
778 Leaping out of the way, Saint Tail waved to the young detective
|
|
rlm@0
|
779 before disappearing out the window. Landing on her feet, she
|
|
rlm@0
|
780 immediately broke into a run, sticking to the shadows. ‘Wow... It’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
781 like his spell’s been broken. I was always so eager to see if he’d
|
|
rlm@0
|
782 find out or not that I would freeze when he was about to find out.
|
|
rlm@0
|
783 But now that I’m dating Seira, it’s like it doesn’t matter. I’ll have
|
|
rlm@0
|
784 to thank her later.’ Smiling to herself, the mysterious thief made
|
|
rlm@0
|
785 her way to the hospital.
|
|
rlm@0
|
786
|
|
rlm@0
|
787 Sneaking past the front desk, Saint Tail tried to determine where
|
|
rlm@0
|
788 Chisato’s room was. It was past visiting hours, but she thought that
|
|
rlm@0
|
789 a quick visit couldn’t hurt. Besides, she thought it would cheer the
|
|
rlm@0
|
790 sick girl up to know that her love letter had been retrieved and was
|
|
rlm@0
|
791 about to reach the hands of the one she loved. Maybe that would give
|
|
rlm@0
|
792 her the strength to get better. Meimi smiled at the thought. Before
|
|
rlm@0
|
793 she could go another step, she heard someone rush up to the desk. Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
794 ears perked up at the frantic tone of voice.
|
|
rlm@0
|
795 “I need to know where a girl named Chisato Hikari’s room is! I need
|
|
rlm@0
|
796 to stop Saint Tail!”
|
|
rlm@0
|
797 Meimi’s eyes went wide. It sounded like Asuka Jr. had ran all the
|
|
rlm@0
|
798 way to the hospital. He obviously didn’t feel like giving up easily
|
|
rlm@0
|
799 tonight. This would have to be a very short visit, then. Taking her
|
|
rlm@0
|
800 best guess, Saint Tail dashed down the mostly empty hallway, ducking
|
|
rlm@0
|
801 past a handful of nurses. A shout behind her told her that she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
802 been spotted by the persistent detective’s son. Whirling around,
|
|
rlm@0
|
803 Meimi brought her top hat about, doves flying out towards the
|
|
rlm@0
|
804 detective to distract him. ‘I have to tell her that her letter will
|
|
rlm@0
|
805 be delivered directly. That should perk her up. Even if Asuka Jr.’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
806 here, I can still do that. I’ll just make it quick.’ The birds did
|
|
rlm@0
|
807 their job distracting the young detective, giving Meimi the chance to
|
|
rlm@0
|
808 slip into Chisato’s hospital room.
|
|
rlm@0
|
809 Walking to the small bed, Meimi held up the pink love letter to
|
|
rlm@0
|
810 show to its owner. “Chisato-chan...” she whispered, stopping beside
|
|
rlm@0
|
811 the bed. “I have your love letter. Don’t worry. It will be in your
|
|
rlm@0
|
812 love’s hands before the nights over,” she whispered reassuringly. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
813 girl was deathly pale, her long hair disappearing behind her. Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
814 leaned closer, trying to get Chisato’s attention. “Chisato-chan...”
|
|
rlm@0
|
815 she whispered, a little louder this time. Still no response. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
816 there was a strange beeping in the room and a ruckus coming from the
|
|
rlm@0
|
817 hallway. “Chisato-chan?” The girl just lay there, silent and
|
|
rlm@0
|
818 unmoving. Meimi took a step back as the door burst open, doctors
|
|
rlm@0
|
819 rushing to the girl’s side. Her heart hung like a weight in her chest
|
|
rlm@0
|
820 as she watched them gather around the girl’s prone form. She shook
|
|
rlm@0
|
821 her head, her ponytail moving from side to side. “No..” she
|
|
rlm@0
|
822 whispered, realization hitting her. She felt like the floor had just
|
|
rlm@0
|
823 given way underneath her. Her legs didn’t respond to her mental
|
|
rlm@0
|
824 commands, collapsing underneath her. She could only watch as doctors
|
|
rlm@0
|
825 began to slow their hurried performance. It all felt so surreal, men
|
|
rlm@0
|
826 gathered around an unmoving child, intent upon one who is doing
|
|
rlm@0
|
827 nothing at all.
|
|
rlm@0
|
828 An unsteady hand helped Saint Tail back to her feet. Asuka Jr.
|
|
rlm@0
|
829 could only stare as the doctors continued swarming around the
|
|
rlm@0
|
830 unmoving girl. “What happened?” Asuka Jr. heard. The voice startled
|
|
rlm@0
|
831 him. It took him a moment before her remembered it was his own. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
832 sounded so distant, as if it had traveled to him through a body of
|
|
rlm@0
|
833 water. He had been so intent on catching Saint Tail, but now that
|
|
rlm@0
|
834 hardly seemed to matter. Was that the girl that Saint Tail was trying
|
|
rlm@0
|
835 to help in the bed, surrounded by an army of masked doctors? What a
|
|
rlm@0
|
836 frightening sight, all of these faceless people surrounding someone,
|
|
rlm@0
|
837 poking and prodding relentlessly. “What’s.. What’s going on?” Asuka
|
|
rlm@0
|
838 tried again, getting no more strength behind his voice.
|
|
rlm@0
|
839 For what felt like an eternity, both thief and detective stood and
|
|
rlm@0
|
840 watched, unable to do a thing. Their eternal struggle forgotten, they
|
|
rlm@0
|
841 stood together against the wall, too forlorn to offer anything but a
|
|
rlm@0
|
842 shoulder to lean on. During all this time, the letter remained in
|
|
rlm@0
|
843 Saint Tail’s hand, feeling like it held the weight of the world
|
|
rlm@0
|
844 within it, almost too heavy for her weak fingers. Slowly, a doctor
|
|
rlm@0
|
845 approached the two, pulling down her mask. “I’m sorry. She’s dead. We
|
|
rlm@0
|
846 did all we could, but it was too late. Her body just gave out. Were
|
|
rlm@0
|
847 you friends with the deceased?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
848 ‘With the deceased’ played again and again through Meimi’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
849 thoughts. This was a girl with hopes and dreams, fears and loves.
|
|
rlm@0
|
850 Meimi had only known her from the writings she had seen, the drawings
|
|
rlm@0
|
851 this girl had drawn with a hand that no longer moved. That she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
852 seen with eyes that could no longer see. No, Meimi had not been
|
|
rlm@0
|
853 friends with her, had not even known of her until earlier that day.
|
|
rlm@0
|
854 But this had been another girl, a beautiful, sweet girl. And now she
|
|
rlm@0
|
855 was dead. Meimi felt her heart seize in her chest. “I.. I just wanted
|
|
rlm@0
|
856 to help her..” she barely got out, the world around her blurring as
|
|
rlm@0
|
857 tears burned at her eyes. She couldn’t even see as the body was
|
|
rlm@0
|
858 wheeled out of the room. ‘I miss Asami-chan,’ Meimi heard in her
|
|
rlm@0
|
859 head, the image of the lonely girl looking out a window returning to
|
|
rlm@0
|
860 her. She closed her eyes tightly. “I.. I have to go..” She pulled
|
|
rlm@0
|
861 away, clutching the letter like a lifeline. She had to hurry. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
862 didn’t know why, only that she couldn’t waste a second. Perhaps it
|
|
rlm@0
|
863 was a way of escaping the tragedy of the moment. Perhaps it was a way
|
|
rlm@0
|
864 for her to busy herself with something else. Whatever the case, she
|
|
rlm@0
|
865 quickly turned to leave.
|
|
rlm@0
|
866 “Good luck,” Asuka Jr. called after her, his hands in his pockets.
|
|
rlm@0
|
867 He didn’t feel like following. He couldn’t bring himself to. Not
|
|
rlm@0
|
868 tonight.
|
|
rlm@0
|
869
|
|
rlm@0
|
870 With trembling hands, Saint Tail slid open the window to another
|
|
rlm@0
|
871 bedroom a short time later. Slipping into the room, she held the love
|
|
rlm@0
|
872 letter to her chest. “Are you Asami-chan?” she heard herself asking
|
|
rlm@0
|
873 into the darkness, pointed towards the bed. “I have something for
|
|
rlm@0
|
874 you.” Her mind refused to deviate from her task. She was here to
|
|
rlm@0
|
875 deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver
|
|
rlm@0
|
876 the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the
|
|
rlm@0
|
877 letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter.
|
|
rlm@0
|
878 Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver
|
|
rlm@0
|
879 the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the
|
|
rlm@0
|
880 letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the
|
|
rlm@0
|
881 The figure on the bed stirred, shifting sleepily before finally
|
|
rlm@0
|
882 sitting up. In the darkness, the half blanket shrouded figure looked
|
|
rlm@0
|
883 far too much like ancient depictions of death to Meimi. Shuddering
|
|
rlm@0
|
884 violently, the mysterious thief tried not to think at all. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
885 focused solely on her mission. This was what she had been meant to
|
|
rlm@0
|
886 do. She had to give the letter to this girl. “I’m Saint Tail. I have
|
|
rlm@0
|
887 a letter that belongs to you.” Her fingers shook as she held out the
|
|
rlm@0
|
888 letter. It slipped from her fingers, pinwheeling in the air before
|
|
rlm@0
|
889 flopping on the floor. Meimi reached for it, taking two tries to
|
|
rlm@0
|
890 finally clasp it in her gloved hand again.
|
|
rlm@0
|
891 The sleepy figure shook her head, trying to get her bearings.
|
|
rlm@0
|
892 “Saint Tail?” she asked curiously before yawning. Reaching forward,
|
|
rlm@0
|
893 she slowly took the pink love letter. Her mind was still half asleep.
|
|
rlm@0
|
894 “What’s this?” It took her a moment to see through the blurry haze of
|
|
rlm@0
|
895 sleep. She turned the letter over in her hand. A small drawing of a
|
|
rlm@0
|
896 lovestruck girl on the back brought a smile to her lips. “Chisato-
|
|
rlm@0
|
897 chan.” Her mind was still tired to make anything of the connection to
|
|
rlm@0
|
898 her friend.
|
|
rlm@0
|
899 “It’s for you. From her. Chisato-chan. She.. She wanted you to have
|
|
rlm@0
|
900 it..” Meimi got out weakly. “I.. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She could
|
|
rlm@0
|
901 feel her eyes tearing up again. She had to leave. And soon.
|
|
rlm@0
|
902 Asami shook her head, anxiety gripping her soul. Tearing open the
|
|
rlm@0
|
903 letter, she skimmed through the cutely decorated stationary. It was
|
|
rlm@0
|
904 obviously Chisato’s lovely handwriting, with her shy, delicate way of
|
|
rlm@0
|
905 speaking. She smiled as she read through it. Chisato must have sent
|
|
rlm@0
|
906 it sense she was stuck in the hospital. They hadn’t been able to talk
|
|
rlm@0
|
907 much because the hospital didn’t let visitors see her often. How
|
|
rlm@0
|
908 sweet of her. Halfway through, she finally understood. Her reading
|
|
rlm@0
|
909 quickened, her eyes tearing over the paper. “She.. loves me?” She
|
|
rlm@0
|
910 glanced up to the mysterious thief. To her surprise, Saint Tail
|
|
rlm@0
|
911 shrank back into the shadows, shaking her head continuously. “Chisato-
|
|
rlm@0
|
912 chan’s in love with me?” she asked again. She was overcome by shock.
|
|
rlm@0
|
913 Chisato had been her best friend for years now. She had always been
|
|
rlm@0
|
914 so sweet. It took her off guard that Chisato could be in love with
|
|
rlm@0
|
915 her. The other girl had always been so shy around her, blushing when
|
|
rlm@0
|
916 she would ask questions about love or relationships. She still didn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
917 know how she felt about it. Flattered? Embarrassed? It was such a
|
|
rlm@0
|
918 beautiful, glowing letter. She held it close to her chest. She felt..
|
|
rlm@0
|
919 happy. She smiled. Maybe.. Maybe she felt the same way.
|
|
rlm@0
|
920 “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Meimi repeated, nearly at the window.
|
|
rlm@0
|
921 She could barely think, suddenly overcome by what had happened
|
|
rlm@0
|
922 earlier. She no longer had her mission to keep her from thinking
|
|
rlm@0
|
923 about it. It consumed her soul, dark tendrils holding her, sending
|
|
rlm@0
|
924 icy chills throughout her body. Her heart felt frozen.
|
|
rlm@0
|
925 “Sorry..? For what? What’s going on?” Asami slid off of her bed,
|
|
rlm@0
|
926 suddenly panicking. Was Saint Tail crying? Moonlight sparkled off of
|
|
rlm@0
|
927 her tears, little shooting stars slipping down her chin and falling
|
|
rlm@0
|
928 to the earth below. “What is it? What happened?” Asami demanded.
|
|
rlm@0
|
929 Saint Tail’s mouth opened and Asami’s world shattered as if it was
|
|
rlm@0
|
930 made of brittle glass.
|
|
rlm@0
|
931
|
|
rlm@0
|
932 “It’s not fair! It isn’t fair at all!” Meimi sobbed, her head on
|
|
rlm@0
|
933 Seira’s lap sometime later. She had left Asami alone, leaving when
|
|
rlm@0
|
934 she had been unable to comfort her. The last she had seen of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
935 other girl had been her crying and broken in her room. Meimi had
|
|
rlm@0
|
936 hurried straight to Seira, the night taking it’s toll on the
|
|
rlm@0
|
937 mysterious thief. And there she found herself, crying into Seira’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
938 blue nightgown.
|
|
rlm@0
|
939 Seira gently stroked Meimi’s hair, unsure of what to say to soothe
|
|
rlm@0
|
940 the distraught thief. She could feel the warm tears against her legs,
|
|
rlm@0
|
941 seeping through the fabric of her nightgown. A chill went through her
|
|
rlm@0
|
942 as the night wind blew across the two girls, but somehow she doubted
|
|
rlm@0
|
943 it was the cause of her sudden chill. She swallowed painfully,
|
|
rlm@0
|
944 closing her eyes. “I should have explained. Sister Emari and I were
|
|
rlm@0
|
945 visiting the terminally ill patients. They knew she was going to die
|
|
rlm@0
|
946 soon. I just didn’t think it would be tonight. I’m so sorry, Meimi-
|
|
rlm@0
|
947 chan.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
948 “But why, Seira? Why?” Meimi asked, wiping her eyes on Seira’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
949 nightgown. “Why did He take her? She was a sweet girl, I could tell.
|
|
rlm@0
|
950 And.. and she was in love. Asami.. I think she loved her back. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
951 now she’ll never know. Now she’ll never be able to see.” Meimi shook
|
|
rlm@0
|
952 her head in frustration, tears sliding down her cheeks.
|
|
rlm@0
|
953 “I don’t think she would have told Asami-chan otherwise, Meimi-
|
|
rlm@0
|
954 chan. She was very shy. She didn’t know how to tell her friend. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
955 wrote that love letter before she got sick. She wasn’t going to give
|
|
rlm@0
|
956 it to her. But when she got sick, she thought it was her only
|
|
rlm@0
|
957 chance," Seira explained, her fingers brushing away some of Meimi’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
958 tears.
|
|
rlm@0
|
959 “Then I failed her. I didn’t get it to Asami-chan in time. If I
|
|
rlm@0
|
960 had, maybe they could have talked. Maybe they could have had some
|
|
rlm@0
|
961 time together.” Meimi shook her head, tears clinging to her
|
|
rlm@0
|
962 eyelashes. She felt so weak inside, so torn apart. Saint Tail always
|
|
rlm@0
|
963 brought people God’s protection. How could she have failed? It always
|
|
rlm@0
|
964 helped people, but this time she felt no joy in accomplishing her
|
|
rlm@0
|
965 task.
|
|
rlm@0
|
966 Seira gently held Meimi’s head in her lap, her gray eyes looking
|
|
rlm@0
|
967 deep into Meimi. “Meimi-chan, death is not failure. Death doesn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
968 mean that you lost. Life is more than winning and losing. She may
|
|
rlm@0
|
969 have died, but that doesn’t mean her love died with her. It was only
|
|
rlm@0
|
970 sealed away in an envelope. You delivered it for her. She was too shy
|
|
rlm@0
|
971 to tell her True Love how she felt. You couldn’t have prevented her
|
|
rlm@0
|
972 death. It was God’s will that she return to Him now. But you did give
|
|
rlm@0
|
973 her love a last message. She’s free from her pain now. But you have
|
|
rlm@0
|
974 freed her from a regret that may have stayed with her soul. She has
|
|
rlm@0
|
975 finally been able to tell the girl she loves how she felt. I’m sure
|
|
rlm@0
|
976 she’s smiling up above, watching over Asami-chan. And now Asami-chan
|
|
rlm@0
|
977 knows. What she does with that knowledge is up to her. But if it
|
|
rlm@0
|
978 weren’t for you, she would never have known that Chisato-chan was in
|
|
rlm@0
|
979 love with her.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
980 Meimi sniffled, trying to meet Seira’s gaze. “But it’s still not
|
|
rlm@0
|
981 fair. I tried so hard, but I feel like it didn’t mean anything.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
982 “For Chisato-chan, it meant everything. She can rest peacefully now
|
|
rlm@0
|
983 thanks to you, Meimi-chan.” Seira bent over, kissing Meimi’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
984 forehead. “You did your best. That’s all anyone could ever ask of
|
|
rlm@0
|
985 you.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
986 “I know..” Meimi replied weakly, resting an arm across her face. “I
|
|
rlm@0
|
987 know.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
988 Seira sighed sadly, still stroking Meimi’s long hair. “Sometimes
|
|
rlm@0
|
989 it’s very hard to understand His plan, Meimi-chan. Sometimes it’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
990 easy to lose our way. But we have to have faith, even when we wonder
|
|
rlm@0
|
991 ‘why’. Sometimes ‘because’ is the only answer we can find. Life is
|
|
rlm@0
|
992 full of beauty and sadness. Even in the simplest, plainest things are
|
|
rlm@0
|
993 immeasurable beauty. And there can also be immeasurable pain. We have
|
|
rlm@0
|
994 to console each other while we’re on this earth. We have to help each
|
|
rlm@0
|
995 other. Even then, pain will still find us. But with pain and with
|
|
rlm@0
|
996 anguish, there is always hope. We have to nurture it like a tiny
|
|
rlm@0
|
997 flower, letting it bloom in all of us. Hope, love, dreams, these are
|
|
rlm@0
|
998 all parts of the same thing. There the gifts that He has given us. As
|
|
rlm@0
|
999 long as we have hope, despair can never ruin us. Never completely.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1000 Seira placed another kiss on Meimi’s head. “I love you, Meimi-chan. I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1001 realize now that I would have made a huge mistake if I hadn’t told
|
|
rlm@0
|
1002 you.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1003 “I love you, Seira..” Meimi got out quietly, her voice choking up.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1004 She closed her eyes, tears silently falling onto Seira’s lap.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1005
|
|
rlm@0
|
1006 Meimi sighed as she slumped onto her bed, exhausted. A groan
|
|
rlm@0
|
1007 escaped her after a quick glance at the clock. Why did Saint Tail
|
|
rlm@0
|
1008 always have to work at night? It was too bad that being a mysterious
|
|
rlm@0
|
1009 thief wasn’t a valid excuse for staying up so late at night. And
|
|
rlm@0
|
1010 neither was spending the wee morning hours with a pretty Sister-in-
|
|
rlm@0
|
1011 training. Somehow she doubted the nuns at her school would accept
|
|
rlm@0
|
1012 either excuse. Yet she already knew that sleep would elude her. Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1013 mind was still too focused on Seira, on the past few hours. On what
|
|
rlm@0
|
1014 little time they had left. That thought alone would keep sleep at bay
|
|
rlm@0
|
1015 for quite some time. The whole thing with Chisato had her even more
|
|
rlm@0
|
1016 concerned with losing Seira. Shifting uneasily in bed, the auburn
|
|
rlm@0
|
1017 haired girl found herself staring at the clock as minutes silently
|
|
rlm@0
|
1018 ticked away. Hopelessness surrounded her heart, thick and heavy. Each
|
|
rlm@0
|
1019 minute that ticked by signaled another moment that she could not
|
|
rlm@0
|
1020 reclaim, another instant with Seira that was forever, inexorably
|
|
rlm@0
|
1021 gone.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1022 Rolling onto her back, Meimi stared up at her roof, trying
|
|
rlm@0
|
1023 unsuccessfully to push away such troublesome thoughts. But she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1024 never been good at such things. This would keep eating at her until
|
|
rlm@0
|
1025 it went away on its own or until she could resolve the situation. And
|
|
rlm@0
|
1026 there was nothing she could do about it. In less than a week, Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
1027 would be gone. When next they met, the dark haired girl would be a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1028 full-fledged Sister. They would still be friends, of that Meimi was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1029 certain. They would forever be friends. But what of their courtship,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1030 which Meimi was starting to feel was going to be cut off all too
|
|
rlm@0
|
1031 briefly? That was something they would have to abandon once Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
1032 became a nun. Seira would then be a woman of God, destined to a life
|
|
rlm@0
|
1033 of celibacy, married to the Church. Such childish things as their
|
|
rlm@0
|
1034 relationship would be nothing but memories.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1035 And where did that put Meimi? Would she eventually find some boy
|
|
rlm@0
|
1036 and get married? That didn’t sound right, to move on when Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
1037 became a nun. But what else was she supposed to do? What did their
|
|
rlm@0
|
1038 relationship mean, anyway? ‘It means I love her,’ Meimi mentally
|
|
rlm@0
|
1039 answered, her hands behind her head. ‘And I would still love her,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1040 even if she does go off and becomes Sister Seira.’ But could she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1041 really spend forever alone, as Seira was about to? That thought was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1042 too lonely to bear, chilling Meimi’s heart. So how, then, could Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
1043 live with the thought? It would have to be a terribly lonely life, a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1044 life without the love Seira had held for so long. She could see Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
1045 kneeling in prayer forever. Why would God want to deny one of his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1046 kindest, gentlest subjects the chance at love? It baffled Meimi.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1047 But then... Perhaps He didn’t. Meimi sat up suddenly, pacing the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1048 floor of her room, almost stumbling over her pet hedgehog, Ruby.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1049 Throughout the past few years, Saint Tail had been the one to grant
|
|
rlm@0
|
1050 God’s protection. All at the behest of Seira. She had always gone to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1051 help whoever Seira had asked her to. Who better to receive God’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1052 protection from the mysterious thief Saint Tail than the girl who had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1053 brought it all about so selflessly to begin with? Who was more
|
|
rlm@0
|
1054 deserving than Seira? Yes, it made perfect sense. But how?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1055 Pausing for only a moment to pick up Ruby, Meimi resumed her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1056 pacing. What could Saint Tail do to prevent Seira from leaving? What
|
|
rlm@0
|
1057 was within her power to fix things for the young Sister-in-training?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1058 This was always Seira’s line of work. She was the one who came up
|
|
rlm@0
|
1059 with how to fix things for people. But this time Meimi was on her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1060 own. She thought frantically, not noticing the light starting to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1061 spill through her window. There had to be something, somehow. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
1062 wasn’t as if she could just steal Seira. Or could she? Lifting up
|
|
rlm@0
|
1063 Ruby, she smiled brightly at the cute hedgehog. “I can’t let Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
1064 go. I won’t let her. I need her here, Ruby, with me. And I’ll make
|
|
rlm@0
|
1065 sure she’s happy. I’ll grant her God’s protection. This will be Saint
|
|
rlm@0
|
1066 Tail’s finest performance!”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1067
|
|
rlm@0
|
1068 “Please guide me. Please help me find my path.” Dim light bathed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1069 the young nun as the sun struggled up into the sky. Dawn had only
|
|
rlm@0
|
1070 broken a short time before, but the dark haired girl had been there
|
|
rlm@0
|
1071 for much longer. She was alone in the large, empty church, hands
|
|
rlm@0
|
1072 clasped in prayer. Her simple white outfit shimmered in a myriad of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1073 colors as the sun played across the beautiful stained glass. Had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1074 anyone seen her, they might well have mistaken the girl for an angel
|
|
rlm@0
|
1075 sent from Heaven. To the Sisters who had raised her, she was a little
|
|
rlm@0
|
1076 angel, something that had brought joy and wonder to their lives. A
|
|
rlm@0
|
1077 little gift from God that had landed on their doorstep by a mother
|
|
rlm@0
|
1078 who could not take care of her. They had pulled together to raise
|
|
rlm@0
|
1079 this little orphan into the beautiful young lady she was today. Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
1080 felt she owed it to these loving women who had brought her up for as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1081 long as she could remember. She wanted to dedicate her life to the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1082 God that she loved so dearly. This had been her destined path, her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1083 future for as long as she could remember. But now...
|
|
rlm@0
|
1084 Sighing, Seira’s head lowered. She was having trouble thinking. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
1085 church had always been such a tranquil place for her. But now her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1086 heart was being torn in two. She had been in love with Meimi for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1087 years, but had never thought she could actually be with Meimi. That
|
|
rlm@0
|
1088 was one of the reasons she had wanted to join the convent. It would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1089 be easier that way. If she could not be with the one she loved, then
|
|
rlm@0
|
1090 she would devote herself to the Lord. Now she had a taste of the love
|
|
rlm@0
|
1091 in her heart and it left her unsure of herself. She knew that her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1092 faith would not waver. She would always be devoted in her heart. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
1093 her path now seemed so uncertain. Her whole life had been leading up
|
|
rlm@0
|
1094 to her eventually becoming a nun. Seira didn’t know any other way.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1095 Everyone had expected her to become a nun. The Sisters at the school,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1096 the students, even Meimi and herself.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1097 But with Meimi in her life, she was suddenly left with a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1098 surprisingly different option. Her heart belonged to Meimi, of that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1099 she was certain. She could go and be with her, stay with her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1100 mysterious thief. She could give in to the yearnings of her heart.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1101 She could have one but not the other. Her dream since she had been a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1102 child, the life she had prepared for could be hers. Or she could have
|
|
rlm@0
|
1103 the girl of her dreams. Which would it be? Seira felt as if she were
|
|
rlm@0
|
1104 being tugged in all directions. Her heart felt empty, afraid.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1105 So she prayed. And prayed. Because if there was one thing this
|
|
rlm@0
|
1106 could not affect, it was her faith in God above. Her delicate hands
|
|
rlm@0
|
1107 still held together, she continued her prayer for guidance. “Please
|
|
rlm@0
|
1108 help me to understand. I will follow your will wherever it leads me.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1109 She swallowed pack the pain of tears left unshed. “I love her so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1110 much. Thank you for placing her in my life. For giving us the time
|
|
rlm@0
|
1111 together that you have. I will always cherish that gift you have
|
|
rlm@0
|
1112 given me. But now I find myself at a crossroads and I don’t know
|
|
rlm@0
|
1113 which path to take. I want to dedicate myself to you, to live my life
|
|
rlm@0
|
1114 for you. But I can’t do that if I’m with Meimi. But I don’t want to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1115 leave Meimi, either. I’m lost, my Lord. Please help me to find my
|
|
rlm@0
|
1116 way,” she whispered, her eyes closed tightly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1117 “Seira-chan, what are you doing up so early?” a voice asked from
|
|
rlm@0
|
1118 the back of the church.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1119 Seira crossed herself before turning to see who the voice belonged
|
|
rlm@0
|
1120 to. There was nothing she could do for now but wait and hope that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1121 her prayer would be answered. “Good morning, Sister Emari. I was just
|
|
rlm@0
|
1122 praying.” The dark haired girl smiled softly at the older woman as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1123 the Sister joined her in front of the altar. She hadn’t slept at all
|
|
rlm@0
|
1124 the night before, leaving her fuzzy and unfocused. Her mind was still
|
|
rlm@0
|
1125 jumbled, her heart heavy. But she would have to have faith that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1126 things would work out. Wherever God led her, she would follow.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1127 The older woman yawned tiredly as she reached the Sister in
|
|
rlm@0
|
1128 training, a hand covering her mouth. “And I thought I was an early
|
|
rlm@0
|
1129 riser. You must have a lot on your mind if you came to pray so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1130 early.” Pulling down her glasses, Sister Emari rubbed some of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1131 sleep from her eyes. She smiled gently at the younger girl after
|
|
rlm@0
|
1132 replacing her glasses. Her smile faded as she saw the wet sheen over
|
|
rlm@0
|
1133 Seira’s gray eyes. “Is something troubling you, dear?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1134 Picking up her bible, Seira averted her eyes, hugging the book
|
|
rlm@0
|
1135 tightly to her chest. The only sound in the large expanse of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1136 church was Seira’s cross lightly sliding across the bible as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1137 shifted. “I’m going away in less than a week,” the dark haired girl
|
|
rlm@0
|
1138 said at last, turning to look at the older woman.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1139 “Is that what you’re concerned about, Seira-chan? Dear, you
|
|
rlm@0
|
1140 shouldn’t worry about that. I know that you’ll make such a lovely
|
|
rlm@0
|
1141 nun. You’re kind and sweet and gentle. We’ll all miss you terribly,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1142 but when you return, you’ll be Sister Seira.” Sister Emari put a hand
|
|
rlm@0
|
1143 on Seira’s shoulder, smiling at the younger girl reassuringly. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
1144 didn’t seem to help Seira’s disposition any. The older Sister pushed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1145 her glasses back up. “That’s not it? What is it, Seira-chan?” The
|
|
rlm@0
|
1146 younger girl was practically a daughter to her and to the rest of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1147 nuns at the school. It worried her to see Seira so troubled by
|
|
rlm@0
|
1148 something. Usually the younger girl was so bright and full of life.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1149 Now she seemed consumed by doubt. Could it be the upcoming trip to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1150 Rome itself? Seira had been so eager when they had first told her of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1151 it several months before. What could be bothering her about it now?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1152 For a moment, Sister Emari could see the small child that had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1153 left at the church doorstep, the one that she had watched grow over
|
|
rlm@0
|
1154 the years. Like any mother, she couldn’t stand to see the younger
|
|
rlm@0
|
1155 girl in pain. None of the Sisters at the school could. Seira was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1156 their pride and joy.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1157 Seira hesitated for a moment, hugging her bible. What was she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1158 supposed to say? She always believed in doing what was right, what
|
|
rlm@0
|
1159 the Lord wanted, but she knew that sometimes you could bend things if
|
|
rlm@0
|
1160 it would help. Like having her best friend steal items to bring them
|
|
rlm@0
|
1161 back to those that needed them. Like lying about Ruby being a stuffed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1162 animal so Asuka Jr. wouldn’t catch on that Meimi was Saint Tail. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
1163 could she lie about this? About being in love with another girl?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1164 Whenever Seira would bend things, it was only to help others, never
|
|
rlm@0
|
1165 herself. Sighing inwardly, she could feel herself trembling as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1166 lowered her gaze. “I don’t want to leave Meimi-chan,” she whispered.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1167 “Is that what this is all about? I’m sure you can come back and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1168 visit soon enough after you get settled. We’ll all want to see you
|
|
rlm@0
|
1169 again soon anyway. And I’m sure that the two of you could write each
|
|
rlm@0
|
1170 other.” Smiling warmly, Sister Emari tried to work out the soonest
|
|
rlm@0
|
1171 that Seira could return. She would miss the dark haired girl
|
|
rlm@0
|
1172 considerably, as she knew everyone else would. Maybe they could try
|
|
rlm@0
|
1173 to collect some money and fly her back for a visit sooner than they
|
|
rlm@0
|
1174 had originally planned. Anything to see their smiling little girl
|
|
rlm@0
|
1175 again. If only she would smile. Sister Emari frowned. Seira was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1176 usually so happy, always smiling or giggling. It was horrible to see
|
|
rlm@0
|
1177 the pretty younger girl robbed of her beautiful smile. Just as it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1178 would be sad when Seira left. The Sister-in-training really
|
|
rlm@0
|
1179 brightened the lives of the nuns.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1180 “I love her,” Seira said, looking down. She had never told any of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1181 the Sisters before of her feelings for Meimi. With the churches views
|
|
rlm@0
|
1182 on homosexuality, she had been too afraid to say anything. And it had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1183 been pointless to worry about it before. She would be joining the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1184 convent, away from the girl she loved. She wouldn’t be acting on her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1185 feelings, so it wasn’t a problem. It didn’t make her love Meimi any
|
|
rlm@0
|
1186 less, but it just hadn’t been important because there was no way she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1187 could be with the other girl. But now that was different. She was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1188 afraid of how the older women might react, afraid that she would let
|
|
rlm@0
|
1189 down these wonderful women who had raised her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1190 “Oh...” Sister Emari cleared her throat, pushing up her glasses.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1191 The older Sister began to look around the large room, her eyes
|
|
rlm@0
|
1192 wandering. That had been... unexpected. Still, had she really
|
|
rlm@0
|
1193 expected Seira to grow up and never fall in love? Such a thing was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1194 preposterous. Of course their little Seira had fallen in love. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
1195 with Meimi? “You love Meimi?” Sister Emari repeated. Seeing Seira nod
|
|
rlm@0
|
1196 slowly, Emari sighed. She had heard correctly after all. “But she’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1197 so... moody.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1198 Seira giggled softly despite herself. “I’ve noticed. But it’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1199 something I’ve always loved. She’s very emotional.” Releasing a sigh,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1200 she closed her eyes. Her heart was still entangled hopelessly in a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1201 web she couldn’t begin to untangle. But her mind understood the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1202 church doctrine well enough. If she was to remain celibate, then it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1203 didn’t matter if she had feelings for another woman. “I know where I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1204 belong, Sister Emari. I love her, but that just makes it even more
|
|
rlm@0
|
1205 important that I join the convent. I will be God’s servant.” She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1206 waited for the older woman’s agreement but when none came, her eyes
|
|
rlm@0
|
1207 fluttered open. Sister Emari had her arms crossed, her attention cast
|
|
rlm@0
|
1208 forward as if she were deep in thought. “Sister?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1209 “Her name was Kasumi.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1210 Blinking in confusion, Seira shook her head. “Whose name was Kasumi?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1211 The older Sister smiled, her glasses glinting in the growing light.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1212 “Nothing. It was a long time ago. Seira, I’m not sure if your place
|
|
rlm@0
|
1213 is in the convent. You’ve always been God’s servant. You’ve always
|
|
rlm@0
|
1214 helped His people as best you could. And you aren’t a Sister yet.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1215 Even then, you’ve done wonderful things for people. I meant what I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1216 said earlier. You are kind and gentle and loving. But you don’t need
|
|
rlm@0
|
1217 to be a priest or a nun to follow the Lord’s path for you.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1218 “I don’t think I understand, Sister Emari. Doesn’t all of this make
|
|
rlm@0
|
1219 it even clearer that I should become a nun? Doesn’t all of this make
|
|
rlm@0
|
1220 my path clear?” Seira asked, gray eyes meeting the Emari’s brown
|
|
rlm@0
|
1221 eyes. She had made her decision, but now it seemed that Sister Emari
|
|
rlm@0
|
1222 was telling her otherwise. Confusion rolled over her, tossing the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1223 young Sister-in-training about.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1224 “I can’t tell you what your path is, Seira-chan. Sometimes we have
|
|
rlm@0
|
1225 a hard time seeing it, but if we listen closely enough, we can
|
|
rlm@0
|
1226 understand in the end what we were put here for. You have done a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1227 wonderful job helping people even without being a nun. I don’t think
|
|
rlm@0
|
1228 being one would change you one bit. I do, on the other hand, think
|
|
rlm@0
|
1229 that the Lord would want you to be happy. He would want you to have
|
|
rlm@0
|
1230 joy in your life. And most of all, He would want to see your precious
|
|
rlm@0
|
1231 smile, just as He’s let us all see it as you grew up here.” Emari
|
|
rlm@0
|
1232 reached out and held the dark haired girl’s cheek. “You’re like a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1233 daughter to me, Seira-chan. To all of us. He would want you to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
1234 happy. We want you to be happy. We always thought you would grow up
|
|
rlm@0
|
1235 to become a nun because of how you are. But we don't expect it of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1236 you. Perhaps your path lies elsewhere. You’re one of the Lord’s most
|
|
rlm@0
|
1237 faithful servants. I can’t see Him wanting you to be lonely.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1238 “I... Sister Emari...” Seira got out weakly, taken aback. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1239 blinked weary, tear streaked eyes. Her tangled heart struggled
|
|
rlm@0
|
1240 against the confining webs, Sister Emari’s words coursing through her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1241 soul. Crying softly, she felt arms pull her closer, gentle hands
|
|
rlm@0
|
1242 stroking her back. Was Sister Emari right? Could she be with Meimi?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1243 But still, she felt the convent’s calling, could feel her life’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1244 dream waiting for her. Her mind collapsed into confusion. Resting
|
|
rlm@0
|
1245 weakly against the older woman, Seira cried herself to sleep.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1246
|
|
rlm@0
|
1247 “Saint Tail!!” Darting forward, Asuka Jr. snagged at thin air.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1248 Blinking confusedly, the boy barely had time to notice his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1249 surrounding before he tumbled to the floor. Grumbling, he sat up,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1250 throwing his blankets to the side. Just another dream. Sighing, the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1251 green haired boy walked barefoot across his tidy room. Some would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1252 call him obsessed with the mysterious thief, but he didn’t care what
|
|
rlm@0
|
1253 anyone else thought. Only one thing mattered to the young detective,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1254 and that was unmasking Saint Tail. One day he would. One day soon. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
1255 would catch her. He would be the one. Saint Tail had promised him
|
|
rlm@0
|
1256 that he would be the only one to catch her. She was his first thought
|
|
rlm@0
|
1257 upon waking and his last thought upon drifting off to sleep. She was,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1258 for all intents and purposes, his one driving goal in life.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1259 Stepping up to his window, Asuka Jr. drew the blinds. The dark
|
|
rlm@0
|
1260 haired boy winded as light poured into his room. Yawning, he turned
|
|
rlm@0
|
1261 away and began to get dressed. He hadn’t gotten much sleep the night
|
|
rlm@0
|
1262 before, having followed Saint Tail all the way to a hospital. He had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1263 almost caught her when doctors had run past, nearly knocking him
|
|
rlm@0
|
1264 over. They had run to the same room Saint Tail had been heading
|
|
rlm@0
|
1265 towards.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1266 Asuka Jr. closed his eyes tightly, trying to force out the thoughts
|
|
rlm@0
|
1267 that followed. But even as he tried to relegate them to the shadows
|
|
rlm@0
|
1268 of his mind, searchlights brought them out into the open. The girl
|
|
rlm@0
|
1269 had died. The girl that Saint Tail had been helping had been dead by
|
|
rlm@0
|
1270 the time the doctor’s reached her. Her body had finally given out,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1271 one of the doctors had told him. He and Saint Tail had been side by
|
|
rlm@0
|
1272 side as they heard the news. He could have caught her then and there.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1273 But he couldn’t. His heart hadn’t been in it. He saw them cart away
|
|
rlm@0
|
1274 the body of a pale girl and he suddenly hadn’t felt strong enough to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1275 stand, let alone to haul in Saint Tail. It was then that he learned
|
|
rlm@0
|
1276 that Saint Tail had been about to deliver a love letter from the now
|
|
rlm@0
|
1277 dead girl. It had been her final wish. So Asuka Jr. had let her go.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1278 How could he let the girl’s final wish go unfulfilled? At least this
|
|
rlm@0
|
1279 way, she wouldn’t regret never telling her love on the other side.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1280 They would know. But that thought sent a cold chill through him. How
|
|
rlm@0
|
1281 would he handle a letter confessing someone’s love for him only to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1282 discover they had already died? It was a painful situation, he knew.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1283 He was relieved that Saint Tail had been the one to give the letter
|
|
rlm@0
|
1284 and not himself. He didn’t know if he could do that.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1285 Trying to shake off the haunting feeling the thoughts gave him,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1286 Asuka Jr. turned to pick up his backpack. Something on the window
|
|
rlm@0
|
1287 caught his eye. Squinting, her walked closer to the plane of glass.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1288 “Traeh s’arieS retsiS rof emoc lliw I ,thginoT,” he managed to sound
|
|
rlm@0
|
1289 out. “What the hell?” Had Saint Tail suddenly started writing in
|
|
rlm@0
|
1290 code? Or was this some strange type of riddle? He shook his head,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1291 trying to decode the bizarre message. It finally hit him the third
|
|
rlm@0
|
1292 time through. She’d written it on his window from the outside. It was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1293 backwards. “Tonight, I will come for Sister Seira’s heart. Saint
|
|
rlm@0
|
1294 Tail.” He read it over again. What could she mean? He shook his head.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1295 It didn’t matter. He would find out tonight. Tonight, for sure! He
|
|
rlm@0
|
1296 would catch Saint Tail!
|
|
rlm@0
|
1297
|
|
rlm@0
|
1298 The church was completely empty except for a lone girl. Seira sat
|
|
rlm@0
|
1299 quietly in a confessional, her heart struggling to understand where
|
|
rlm@0
|
1300 her place was, where she belonged. She couldn’t tell how long she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1301 been there or even when she had first arrived. This was her usual
|
|
rlm@0
|
1302 spot, inside the church, waiting for those in need. But now she found
|
|
rlm@0
|
1303 herself in need. She could usually determine what needed to be done
|
|
rlm@0
|
1304 to help people, to fix their problems. But she found herself unable
|
|
rlm@0
|
1305 to come up with a solution to her own predicament. Her heart teetered
|
|
rlm@0
|
1306 back and forth on the edge, unsure of which choice to make. On one
|
|
rlm@0
|
1307 hand, she loved Meimi dearly. On the other, her life was one that was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1308 committed to God. It left her in a precarious predicament.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1309 A sound in the other side of the confessional dragged Seira out of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1310 her thoughts. She smiled softly as she looked over at the screen.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1311 This was something she could handle. It was so much easier helping
|
|
rlm@0
|
1312 others figure out what to do than trying to decide what to do on her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1313 own. She would be leaving in a few days, but maybe she could get
|
|
rlm@0
|
1314 Saint Tail to help a few last people before she left. Or she could at
|
|
rlm@0
|
1315 least help ease someone’s mind with whatever troubles they had. “Can
|
|
rlm@0
|
1316 I help you?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1317 “I have a confession to make,” the voice said from the other side.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1318 It sounded strange, unfamiliar. “I’m in love with another girl. She’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1319 all I think about anymore. She’s just perfect. She’s so sweet and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1320 caring. She would do anything for me. Even though I do some stupid
|
|
rlm@0
|
1321 things sometimes, she always helps me out of it. I can always come to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1322 her with my problems and she always listens to me, no matter what
|
|
rlm@0
|
1323 they are. She can get a little jealous sometimes and she can get me
|
|
rlm@0
|
1324 to do things without my even knowing she tricked me into it, but it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1325 all just makes me love her even more. She knows me better than anyone
|
|
rlm@0
|
1326 else could ever hope to.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1327 Seira felt her heart pounding in her chest. Holding her hands in
|
|
rlm@0
|
1328 her lap, she tried to come up with a reply. “Are you worried that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1329 it’s a girl? It sounds like you’re very much in love. I don’t think
|
|
rlm@0
|
1330 the Lord would ever fault you for such a thing.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1331 “I’m not worried about that. But I think she is. I think she’s been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1332 worried about that for some time.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1333 “So she’s afraid that it’s wrong for her to be in love with another
|
|
rlm@0
|
1334 girl.” Seira sighed, bowing her head. “I know how that feels. But God
|
|
rlm@0
|
1335 loves all of his children. He isn’t an exclusive being, there only
|
|
rlm@0
|
1336 for some and not others. I don’t see how being in love can be a sin.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1337 He’s so loving. He wouldn’t be angry with you for being in love, no
|
|
rlm@0
|
1338 matter who you’re in love with.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1339 “Really? I wish you could tell her that. I’m so scared that I’m
|
|
rlm@0
|
1340 going to lose her because of this. And I can’t lose her. I need her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1341 More than anything. She makes my life complete. I’d be lost without
|
|
rlm@0
|
1342 her. She’s always been my guiding light. She’s the one that steers me
|
|
rlm@0
|
1343 in the right direction.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1344 Standing up, Seira reached for the door. Something about this was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1345 just too strange. It sounded too familiar. The door opened and she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1346 stumbled into Saint Tail. The Sister-in-training’s arms flailed as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1347 she fell against the mysterious thief. Both girls tumbled to the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1348 floor in a heap. “Meimi-chan?” Seira looked up directly into auburn
|
|
rlm@0
|
1349 hair. She closed her eyes as it tickled her nose.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1350 “You weren’t supposed to come out yet,” Meimi explained, getting to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1351 her knees. She smiled at the dark haired girl. “It’s ventriloquism.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1352 I’ve been practicing. I knew it would come in handy one of these
|
|
rlm@0
|
1353 days.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1354 “So you were waiting right outside? What in Heaven for?” Seira
|
|
rlm@0
|
1355 asked, blinking. She slowly gathered up her skirt underneath her,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1356 still kneeling herself.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1357 “For this.” Meimi cupped Seira’s chin, kissing her softly. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
1358 young nun froze as she kissed her warmly, gloved fingers stroking
|
|
rlm@0
|
1359 under her chin. Meimi held the kiss, drawing it out before finally
|
|
rlm@0
|
1360 pulling away. Seira was pleasantly dizzy when she was done. Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
1361 smiled and trailed up to Seira’s lips with her fingertip. “I love
|
|
rlm@0
|
1362 you, Seira. I need you.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1363 Seira shook her head, slowly getting to her feet. “Meimi-chan.. You
|
|
rlm@0
|
1364 really shouldn’t do that in here.” She turned her back to the auburn
|
|
rlm@0
|
1365 haired girl, trying to quell her warring feelings. She held her hands
|
|
rlm@0
|
1366 to her chest, breathing slowly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1367 “Why? You said yourself that He wouldn’t fault you for it,” Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
1368 argued. Still Seira looked uncertain. Meimi took her hands, looking
|
|
rlm@0
|
1369 the dark haired girl in the eye. “Please come with me. Just for now.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1370 I have to show you something. Ruby has something she wants to show
|
|
rlm@0
|
1371 you.” Her blue eyes pleaded with Seira until the young nun finally
|
|
rlm@0
|
1372 relented. She hurried outside, leading Seira into the darkening
|
|
rlm@0
|
1373 night. Stars already twinkled outside like lanterns in a long and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1374 dark sea. “Ruby!” Meimi called. The cute little hedgehog ran out from
|
|
rlm@0
|
1375 behind some bushes, leaping up into Meimi’s waiting hands. “I would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1376 have done this on my own, but Ruby wanted to come along,” Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
1377 explained.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1378 “Ruby’s always welcome to come along,” Seira said with a smile,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1379 petting the hedgehog in Saint Tail’s hands. Something glimmered in
|
|
rlm@0
|
1380 the moonlight, hanging from Ruby’s ribbon. Seira looked at it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1381 curiously, reaching out. She gently pulled it away from the ribbon,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1382 holding it up in the dim light. A small gold ring glimmered in her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1383 hand. Seira opened her mouth but nothing came out. She suddenly felt
|
|
rlm@0
|
1384 much dizzier than she had after the kiss. She was about to sit down,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1385 but Meimi took her hands, piercing blue eyes captivating her. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1386 could only look back, ring still in hand.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1387 “It’s my mother’s engagement ring. She was actually really for this
|
|
rlm@0
|
1388 plan when I asked her if I could have it.” Meimi swallowed, licking
|
|
rlm@0
|
1389 her dry lips. She felt so anxious. She had never before thought of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1390 doing this, had never thought of how difficult it would be. But the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1391 thought of losing Seira spurred her on. This was what she wanted, to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1392 be with Seira forever. Standing there in her Saint Tail tuxedo, it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1393 seemed all too fitting. “Seira, will you marry me?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1394 Seira stared back in stunned silence. A marriage proposal? Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
1395 was proposing to her? Her cheeks darkened as the thought made its way
|
|
rlm@0
|
1396 to her heart. “I.. Meimi-chan..” she got out, blushing. “But we
|
|
rlm@0
|
1397 can’t.” She tried to think, but her mind was paralyzed, trapped on
|
|
rlm@0
|
1398 the ring and Meimi’s blue orbs.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1399 “I know we can’t legally get married, but I want to marry you,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1400 Seira. I thought long and hard about this. This is what I want. I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1401 hope it’s what you want, too. I promise I’ll take care of you. I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1402 promise I’ll love you forever. I know we’ll have God’s protection on
|
|
rlm@0
|
1403 this. Just please say yes,” Meimi pleaded, her fingers entwining with
|
|
rlm@0
|
1404 Seira’s. Her heart hung above infinity as she awaited Seira’s reply,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1405 her eyes questing into Seira’s for an answer.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1406 “Saint Tail! You won’t get away this time!” Asuka Jr. yelled as he
|
|
rlm@0
|
1407 ran towards the two girls.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1408 Meimi smiled at Seira before taking a step back and turning to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1409 Asuka Jr. “Sometimes, a magician will reveal her tricks to the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1410 audience so they can see the illusion for what it is. I’ve played
|
|
rlm@0
|
1411 this game long enough. Thank you for playing it with me, Asuka Jr. I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1412 had fun. But I can’t play it anymore.” Reaching up, Meimi pulled out
|
|
rlm@0
|
1413 her ribbon, her long ponytail spilling behind her. She shook her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1414 head, her hair fluttering around her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1415 “Haneoka-san?!” Asuka Jr. stared in amazement. “You.. You’re Saint
|
|
rlm@0
|
1416 Tail? But how?” For all of this time, there had been hints of Meimi
|
|
rlm@0
|
1417 in Saint Tail, but he had never been certain. There had always been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1418 that mystery. But now, the mystery of Saint Tail was laid out right
|
|
rlm@0
|
1419 in front of him. He could only watch, unsure of what to do. She was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1420 unmasked. What more could he do?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1421 Meimi turned back to Seira, and with a graceful step was right
|
|
rlm@0
|
1422 against her. Wrapping an arm around Seira’s waist, she held the young
|
|
rlm@0
|
1423 Sister-in-training tightly. Pulling up her top hat, she counted down.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1424 “One! Two! Three!” With an impressive burst, a group of colorful
|
|
rlm@0
|
1425 balloons lifted above them. Meimi grabbed the line as the lifted into
|
|
rlm@0
|
1426 the air, pulling Seira into the sky with her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1427 Asuka Jr. watched the two girls float into the air for a long
|
|
rlm@0
|
1428 moment, watching until they were far out of sight. Collapsing
|
|
rlm@0
|
1429 backwards, he could only sit there, Saint Tail’s unmasking burned
|
|
rlm@0
|
1430 into his mind. It was over. The chase had finally ended. He had what
|
|
rlm@0
|
1431 he wanted. He knew who Saint Tail was. So why did he feel so empty?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1432 The mystery was gone, the one thing that had kept him on edge, eager
|
|
rlm@0
|
1433 to find it’s resolution. It really was like finding out how a magic
|
|
rlm@0
|
1434 trick worked. When you saw it again, the magic was gone. It was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1435 simply a gesture. Saint Tail was simply Haneoka. There was no magic
|
|
rlm@0
|
1436 behind it, no mystery anymore. He sighed. He didn’t bother looking
|
|
rlm@0
|
1437 when someone sat down next to him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1438 “Well.. You know now.” Lina looked up into the heavens, following
|
|
rlm@0
|
1439 Asuka Jr.'s gaze. “Is it everything you had hoped for?” she asked,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1440 looking over to him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1441 “The magic’s gone. She showed me how the magic works. It’s just..
|
|
rlm@0
|
1442 gone.” Asuka Jr. shook his head, still in shock. “I don’t know where
|
|
rlm@0
|
1443 to go from here. I don’t know what to do. Saint Tail was everything.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1444 I finally caught her. I know who she is. Now what? The game’s over.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1445 Lina nodded thoughtfully. She offered a small smile, catching Asuka
|
|
rlm@0
|
1446 Jr.’s eye. Resting a hand on his, she shrugged. “Real magic doesn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
1447 work that way. Real magic doesn’t disappear when you find out what
|
|
rlm@0
|
1448 causes it.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1449 Asuka Jr. sighed, looking down at Lina’s hand. “I guess you’re
|
|
rlm@0
|
1450 right. But what do I do now?” He looked up again, seeing Lina bathed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1451 in moonlight. He didn’t know why, but for the first time, he realized
|
|
rlm@0
|
1452 how pretty she was.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1453 “Keep looking. Saint Tail wasn’t the magic you were looking for. So
|
|
rlm@0
|
1454 keep looking until you find that magic. Until you find the real
|
|
rlm@0
|
1455 magic. Magic that won’t disappear when you understand it.” Lina
|
|
rlm@0
|
1456 smiled, taking his hand in her own.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1457 Asuka Jr. nodded, smiling faintly himself. “I’ll keep looking.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1458
|
|
rlm@0
|
1459 Up above, a young Sister-in-training and a mysterious thief floated
|
|
rlm@0
|
1460 through the air. Seira had been taken by surprise at first, too
|
|
rlm@0
|
1461 shocked to keep herself from being whisked away by Saint Tail. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1462 had had the presence of mind to hold onto the engagement ring,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1463 luckily. The two hung above, suspended up in a beautiful star
|
|
rlm@0
|
1464 speckled heaven. Seira sighed, resting against Meimi as she held onto
|
|
rlm@0
|
1465 her. The two floated quietly for what felt like a beautiful taste of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1466 eternity. Seira could feel Meimi’s heart beating against her own, a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1467 thunderous beat against her own. Meimi was usually so much more
|
|
rlm@0
|
1468 confident as Saint Tail, but it seemed that even that confidence
|
|
rlm@0
|
1469 couldn’t shield her as she waited anxiously. “I’ll marry you, Meimi-
|
|
rlm@0
|
1470 chan,” Seira said at last, pulling back enough to look into Meimi’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1471 gorgeous blue eyes. She smiled at the look of relief that washed over
|
|
rlm@0
|
1472 the auburn haired girl’s face. “It’s what I want, too.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1473 Meimi smiled brightly holding Seira even tighter. The future
|
|
rlm@0
|
1474 suddenly wasn’t weighing upon her shoulders. Instead it made her feel
|
|
rlm@0
|
1475 lighter than air, drawing her above her worries. The future was no
|
|
rlm@0
|
1476 longer something to dread, but something to await with each passing
|
|
rlm@0
|
1477 breath. “Seira..” Meimi felt her heart float joyously like the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1478 balloons she was holding. “I love you, Seira,” Meimi whispered.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1479 Seira’s decision was finally made. She felt free, given the eagle’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1480 wings she had sought for so long. Life was the most precious dream.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1481 She silently thanked the God that she had dedicated her life to for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1482 this beautiful moment, for letting her future lay with Meimi. That
|
|
rlm@0
|
1483 future lay before them, unwritten but full of glorious promise and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1484 wonder. And they would write their future hand in hand. “I love you,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1485 too, Meimi-chan,” Seira replied, her gray eyes sparkling. Leaning
|
|
rlm@0
|
1486 forward, she kissed the mysterious thief, her very own not-so-
|
|
rlm@0
|
1487 mysterious thief with all the love in her heart. With her hands
|
|
rlm@0
|
1488 behind Meimi’s waist, she slipped on the engagement ring, a thrill
|
|
rlm@0
|
1489 passing through her as the symbol of their union clasped her finger.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1490 And so they floated through the skies above, the silhouette of a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1491 thief and a nun kissing in the light of the moon.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1492
|
