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author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:42:35 -0400
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1 Dreams Part 2
3 Megumi shivered as the cold night wind lightly blew against her and
4 Kumiko. “I can’t believe we’re doing this, Kumi-chan. It’s late, it’s
5 cold, and I’m tired. My parents are going to expect to see me in bed
6 in..”, as she looked at her wrist, Megumi remembered that she
7 actually didn’t wear a watch. She could hear Kumiko giggle slightly
8 as if she knew that would happen. “Well, I need to be there in a few
9 hours.” Not like they’d actually be home, but she wasn’t feeling very
10 well and that pain in her chest was getting stronger again. It was a
11 good enough excuse at any rate. At least, she hoped it was.
12 Kumiko sighed. “I know. I really don’t want to be here either, but
13 I just have to learn something about those people in the tape.
14 Remember, in the tape? That Sakura girl said that she always was
15 recording her. So, if there was a tape in the camera, maybe there was
16 another tape? Maybe there are a lot of other tapes. Maybe that could
17 explain why I felt so..” she shook a bit, not wanting to think about
18 it. “Maybe that could explain why I felt so attached to those girls
19 in the video. That wasn’t just some normal deja vu. That was
20 something.. special. What do you think, Megumi-chan?”
21 “Hmm?” Megumi looked up from the lamp she was toying with. “Well, I
22 think that we shouldn’t be digging through some rich person’s trash
23 can. That’s what I think.”
24 Kumiko stuck her tongue out at her. “Oh sure. I’m having lots of
25 fun digging through the trash. Luckily, they’ve only seem to have
26 thrown away most of the yard sale stuff so far. Seriously, what do
27 you think? About the tape?”
28 “I.. I don’t know. I feel so many things about the tape. I feel the
29 pain from falling, I feel the happiness from being with her, and so
30 much more. It seems so sad when I think about it, though. Like
31 something tragic happened to those people. Even though I don’t know
32 them, and don’t even know what happened, it hurts. Like I lost
33 something dear to me, but found it again. Like if you moved away and
34 then came back, I guess.” Megumi ran her arm under across her eyes
35 and was surprised to find that her eyes were wet.
36 Kumiko looked concerned and pulled her into a tight embrace. “It’s
37 okay, Megumi. I feel pretty much the same way. It’s really confusing
38 to feel that way about someone you don’t know. I wish I had the
39 answers, but I don’t. So, I’m looking for them. Do you think we’ll
40 find anything? If we do, should we even look at it? With how one tape
41 was, I couldn’t imagine how a collection of them would be.” Kumiko
42 slowly pulled away from Megumi. With a deep dramatic sigh, she threw
43 her arms down in defeat. “Well, I give up. I’m not going to find
44 anything digging around in the trash in the dark.” Kumiko started
45 forward, but tripped and fell into Megumi’s arms, knocking them both
46 off balance and sending them into the cold hard ground.
47 Both girls just looked into each other’s eyes, curious if the other
48 was thinking the same thing they were. Kumiko opened her mouth in an
49 attempt to say something, but stopped herself. After a few seemingly
50 everlasting moments of silence, Megumi spoke up. “Are you okay Kumi?
51 Aww.. you scraped your knee. Should I kiss it and make it better?”
52 Kumiko blushed and nodded weakly. Megumi ever-so-slowly leaned
53 forward and kissed the slightly injured knee. “There. All better? I
54 really can’t stand to see you hurt, you know, Kumi-chan.” Megumi
55 smiled proudly at the dark blush on Kumiko’s face. Quickly, she stood
56 up and offered out her hand. Kumiko grasped her hand and squeezed
57 reassuringly and let Megumi help her to her feet.
58 “I’ll come over to your house early tomorrow, okay, Kumi? Do you
59 think the library will be open on the weekend?” Megumi asked
60 curiously. She regretted saying the words shortly after they were out
61 of her mouth. She -really- wasn’t feeling good. She needed to get
62 home soon. And she really didn’t know if she’d be up to checking out
63 a library the next day. The blonde was thankful for the darkness in
64 masking her increasingly pale features.
65 Kumiko nodded thoughtfully, brushing back a lock of brown hair
66 behind an ear. “Yeah, it should be. We’ll head there in the morning
67 and see what we can find. There has to be something on the girls in
68 that video. Or at least I hope so.” Sighing, the teenager yawned
69 exaggeratedly. “For now I’m gonna get some sleep. Do you think you
70 could stay for a bit? I need to sneak back in anyway. Mom and dad
71 still think I’m sleeping.” She smiled over at the blonde girl
72 hopefully. “I always sleep better after I talk to you.”
73 Megumi returned the smile weakly and shook her head. “I’d love to,
74 Kumi, but I’m not sure how appreciative your mother would be of me
75 teaching her daughter all sorts of strange things this late at night.
76 And I already know she likes me, so I can’t jeopardize that.” A laugh
77 accompanied the hug she gave Kumiko. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kumi-
78 chan. You have beautiful dreams in the meantime. I know you’ll be in
79 mine.”
80 The wind picked up slightly, blowing Kumiko’s hair around as she
81 returned the hug. “Okay. Maybe some other time then. I’ll be thinking
82 about you, Megumi-chan. Sleep we...” Before she could finish that
83 thought, Megumi’s lips pressed tightly against her own. Her cheeks
84 darkened as her eyes fell closed and she kissed back.
85 “Goodnight, Kumi.” And with that, Megumi was off.
87 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
89 Wet tears spilt down Megumi’s cheek to the bathroom tile beneath
90 her. The tile was cold against the bare skin of her legs peeking out
91 beneath her jumbled nightgown, but she’d long since given up on
92 caring about such trivial discomforts. Her whole body was screaming
93 at her, fire burning maliciously at all of her senses. Even taking
94 her medicine hadn’t helped in the least. She should be in bed, but
95 she couldn’t make it the short distance back to her bedroom. So she
96 knelt on the floor in the bathroom, her head leaning against the
97 cabinets under the sink. Her skin was deathly pale, nearly as white
98 as the tiles underneath her.
99 “Daddy... Mommy... Somebody... please...” Her voice barely reached
100 her own ears, seeming no more than a whisper. More cold tears fell
101 down her face. Her parents weren’t there. Again. They were always
102 working these days. To get away from her. No, that wasn’t true. That
103 couldn’t be. They were both working to afford all of the medicine and
104 the treatments and the doctors. Megumi shuddered violently at the
105 memories. It always hurt so much. And the doctors had been pretty
106 grim whenever they talked to her parents. She didn’t need to be a lip
107 reader to know that she was dying. A cold hand was gripping her soul,
108 frightening the poor girl even more. She didn’t want to die. She
109 didn’t want to leave Kumiko. Kumiko... Of course she hadn’t told the
110 other girl about any of this. It would only make her worry. And
111 Megumi had long ago found out that there was nothing that she could
112 do about it. So why worry Kumiko when it was so much nicer to see her
113 smiling, happy face?
114 A sudden fit of coughing shook the blonde girl’s small body as she
115 reached up to her trembling lips. When she pulled them away, they
116 were wet with fresh blood. The sight sent her into more tears. She
117 was so scared but there was no one who would come comfort her. If
118 Kumiko found out, she would be right over, but then she’d worry
119 herself to death. Her parents were nowhere to be seen, so she was all
120 on her own. Be a big girl, her mother had told her, several years
121 before. Be a big girl and you’ll make it through this. Megumi didn’t
122 want to be a big girl. It hurt too much.
124 Kumiko yawned tiredly, rubbing the sleep from her violet eyes. Her
125 long, dark brown hair was done up in braids today. Sleep had not been
126 easy in coming to her the night before. Her mind kept going back to
127 the girls on the tape and why it had seemed so familiar. Had
128 something similar happened with her and Megumi, explaining the shared
129 sense of deja vu? Or was there something deeper behind all of it? “I
130 really hope we can find something here. And soon. I’m hungry. I
131 didn’t get any breakfast before we left.” Megumi winced at the
132 mention of food. The blonde girl really didn’t look very good this
133 morning. Her skin was paper white and her lips were drawn tight. The
134 sunglasses she wore looked cute on her and they hid her bloodshot
135 aquamarine eyes well, but Kumiko could see them occasionally as the
136 sunglasses almost slipped off. She sighed as they entered the
137 library. Megumi looked like she was getting sick, but she looked like
138 that so often these days. Her lover would always deny that anything
139 was wrong besides a slight cold when Kumiko would ask her about it.
140 Megumi shivered in the air conditioned building, rubbing her arms
141 as she tried to keep warm. “It’s freezing in here. Let’s just try to
142 get the information and get out of here. Mom wants me home early
143 today so I can’t be out long.” It always pained her to lie to Kumiko,
144 but she really didn’t feel like being out of bed at all today. She
145 kind of doubted her mother would be home at any rate.
146 “Well, if you’re tired, you can always take a nap at my place when
147 we’re done with all this, Megumi-chan.” Kumiko smiled brightly as she
148 took her best friend’s cold hand. A sigh escaped her lips as she
149 looked for a good place to begin their search. “Something tells me I
150 should have just tried to look up all this stuff on my computer
151 anyway. At least then I could go make some lunch.” Another uneasy
152 look on Megumi’s face told her to drop the subject of eating. But she
153 was sooooo hungry. “Here we go.” Finding a free terminal, she began
154 searching for relevant information.
155 Pulling up a chair, Megumi relished the feeling of being off her
156 feet. The entire way there, she had felt ready to collapse. Her body
157 was still aching from the night before, but she couldn’t let it show
158 through. She didn’t want Kumiko to start worrying about this,
159 especially when her heart was so set on finding out who the people on
160 the videotape were. The sick girl wasn’t really sure she wanted to
161 know, herself. It was all just too freaky. Who cared who some people
162 on an old, dated video were? All she needed was Kumiko. As long as
163 she had the other girl nearby, everything would always be all right.
164 “Find anything?” she asked after realizing she had nodded off for a
165 bit. She tried to suppress a yawn, but to no avail.
166 Giggling at her friend, the brown haired girl nodded. “Yeah, I
167 think so. Apparently the mansion had been owned by the Daidouji
168 family previously.”
169 Megumi gasped. “Daidouji? The Daidouji Company kind of Daidouji”
170 Nodding again, Kumiko grew more serious. “Yeah, it looks like the
171 place belonged to the Daidouji family for quite a while, but recently
172 it had been sold by Daidouji Maya, the current head of the company.
173 She went there to move out some of the things that were important,
174 but it looks like some of it got left behind and the new occupants
175 are getting rid of it.”
176 “So does that mean that one of the girls on the videotape was from
177 that family line? Is there any information on them? Maybe we could
178 find some pictures.” Megumi’s heart was pounding in her chest. Part
179 of her wanted to reach over and turn off the power on the computer,
180 to tell Kumiko it didn’t matter who was on some stupid videotape and
181 that she was the only one that mattered to her, but she was
182 paralyzed. She didn’t want to know. She was too afraid to find out.
183 But she couldn’t get herself to keep from hearing more.
184 “Yeah, that’s what I’m checking right now. They’re a pretty
185 powerful family, so there should be a fair amount about them. I think
186 one of them is in our class. That Sumire girl? The one with the
187 glasses and the scary looking dark haired girl that’s always
188 following her?” Glancing back at Megumi, she saw the blonde nod in
189 response. “Come to think of it, she does look a bit like the girls
190 in the video. Though I can’t tell which she looks more like, so I
191 don’t know who she’s related to. And I don’t know how she could
192 possibly be related to both.” Oddly enough, the idea sounded right.
193 She shook her head and kept looking at the screen. “Here it is.” A
194 list was on the screen, showing the family line back for quite some
195 time. “Yep, there’s Sumire. It looks like the first Daidouji on
196 record is Daidouji Sonomi and she founded the company. She had a
197 daughter, Daidouji Tomoyo. Apparently she had a daughter named Bara.
198 And she had a daughter named Maya, the current head of the Daidouji
199 Company. And she has a daughter named Sumire. Yeah, she’s in our
200 class. There’s her picture.” Kumiko pointed at the picture of a
201 frustrated looking girl in big glasses with dark hair done up in
202 pigtails.
203 Megumi nodded slowly, not sure if she could take much more of this.
204 The anticipation was maddening. The sunglasses had slipped off her
205 nose, but she hardly noticed. “Can you find any other pictures? What
206 about the rest of them?”
207 Typing in another command, Kumiko looked back up at the screen.
208 Pictures began appearing by the names, as well as links for more
209 information on each member of the family. First a determined looking
210 businesswoman with a slant style hair cut and then a beautiful pale
211 woman with long dark hair that ended in curls with the same stormy
212 blue eyes as her mother. The braided girl stopped there. “That’s
213 her!! That’s the one from the videotape!” Her violet eyes went wide
214 in shock as she stared at the screen. She was much older in the
215 picture, a full grown woman as opposed to the teenager in the video,
216 but it was obviously the same person.
217 Feeling sick to her stomach, Megumi heard her ask a question she
218 was dreading. “Does it have any information on her? Or who that
219 brunette might have been?”
220 “Let me see...” Biting her lower lip, Kumiko continued looking
221 through the information. A summary of the woman’s entire life up on
222 the next page was briefly skimmed through as her whole body
223 threatened to shake. Being so close to all of this was exciting. She
224 knew that what she was looking for was near, an answer to the
225 question posed by the videotape. “Kinomoto Sakura! Right here. It
226 says that she got married to Daidouji Tomoyo. Wait, that can’t be
227 right. Yeah, it says that they got married and had a daughter. That’s
228 bizarre. But here she is.” The slightly shorter girl moved to the
229 side to give her lover a better look. On screen was a woman with
230 fairly short brunette hair and a happy smile, looking out with
231 emerald green eyes. It had to be the other girl from the videotape.
232 “How’d they die?” Megumi blurted out. “Maybe it was really tragic
233 and they possessed the videotape or something. I thought they
234 wouldn’t have lasted much longer past the videotape if it seemed so
235 important.”
236 Skimming the information, Kumiko shook her head. “It looks like
237 they lived long, happy lives by all accounts. Daidouji Sakura... Oh,
238 she must’ve changed her name when they got married. Anyway, she fell
239 down the stairs when she was a grandmother. Daidouji Tomoyo died a
240 few days later of no explained cause. Her daughter seems to have
241 thought it was heartache over the loss of Sakura.”
242 Megumi shook her head, running hands through her curly blonde hair.
243 “None of this makes any sense. We know who these people are now, but
244 that still doesn’t explain anything. Why do we know them at all?
245 Maybe it was the camera angle. Maybe we just got so caught up in
246 watching the old thing that we started thinking there was more to
247 it.” She was shaking now, afraid. This was all too strange for her.
248 Kumiko took Megumi’s soft hand, trying to comfort her. “Megumi...
249 There has to be something to all of this. I know there is. It’s just
250 too much to be a coincidence.”
251 “How do you know, Kumi? Maybe that’s all it is...” Megumi’s voice
252 was unsteady and she couldn’t meet the braided girl’s gaze. She
253 squeezed Kumiko’s hand.
254 “Then why do I know things about them that I shouldn’t? Things that
255 video couldn’t have told me. That they came up with the baby’s name
256 while strolling through a rose garden. That Tomoyo loved to sing to
257 Sakura. That Sakura liked to cook for Tomoyo even though they had
258 people who could do that for them. That the world looked all tumbly
259 when she fell down the stairs.” Kumiko shuddered at the unbidden
260 images in her mind. It all looked so real. Like she was reliving old
261 memories. Even slipping down the stairs...
262 “Stop it!!” Megumi stood up suddenly, tears starting to form in her
263 eyes. “Just stop it, Kumi! You’re scaring me...” Her voice went from
264 a scream to a barely audible whisper in seconds. Shaking hands wiped
265 at her eyes as she took a few weak steps back. Kumiko reached for her
266 seconds before she collapsed.
269 “Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” Kumiko demanded of the
270 prone girl in her room.
271 “I didn’t remember..?” Megumi ventured after a moment’s hesitation,
272 trying to smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.
273 “Hmph...” Turning away from her, the slightly shorter girl crossed
274 her arms. Megumi could tell that she was fuming.
275 “How did you find out?” the blonde asked quietly, almost ashamed.
276 “Your mother told me when I called and told her that you had
277 collapsed at the library. I thought you’d just fainted from too much
278 shock. But she said you’ve been sick off and on for the past three
279 years. And that you’re getting worse.”
280 “That’s technically inaccurate. I’ve been sick since I was a little
281 girl. It’s just been getting progressively worse for the past three
282 years.” Megumi tried another smile, but it seemed to have no affect
283 on Kumiko’s back. Sighing, she shook her head. She felt defeated. “I
284 didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to worry about all
285 this. I know how hard it is to know that you’re dying and that no one
286 can help. I know how bad that feeling of helplessness is. And I would
287 never want you to have to experience it. It makes you feel all sick
288 and twisted up inside. Besides, your smiles have always been the best
289 therapy for me. I don’t want them to be tainted with worry whenever
290 you look at me.” Closing her eyes, the wind from the fan rustled the
291 blankets over her. “It’s not like I could have hid it from you much
292 longer anyway. It’s starting to get to the point where I can barely
293 hide the pain sometimes. You would have found out sooner or later.”
294 “But you’re supposed to tell me everything! I’m your girlfriend! I
295 love you! I can’t...” The anger in Kumiko’s voice drained away as she
296 released a choked sob. “I don’t want to lose you... I... I need
297 you... Megumi...” She collapsed to her knees, burying her face
298 against Megumi’s side as she clung to her raggedly. “I love you... I
299 love you too much to let you go..”
300 Megumi couldn’t hold back her own tears as she gently stroked
301 Kumiko’s back. “Kumi...” she whispered softly. This was exactly what
302 she’d feared would happen if Kumiko found out, but she found herself
303 oddly relieved to know that her love finally knew of her personal
304 pain. It felt so much freer. Like it was finally all right to cry. To
305 stop being a big girl.
307 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
309 Sitting in the tree adjacent to the window, a woman watched the two
310 girls in silence. She had been there for some time, but no one seemed
311 to notice her presence. Her eyes sparkled from behind her glasses as
312 she continued her silent vigil. She had a keen interest in the
313 futures of the two girls inside the small room. But revealing herself
314 would be troublesome. They weren’t supposed to know about her.
315 Especially not yet.
316 Lavender eyes fell upon the sleeping form of Megumi. “Tomoyo-
317 chan...” the mysterious girl whispered softly. She had this all
318 planned out, but now it was almost impossible to continue on. Her
319 heart ached too much to continue on this way. But it was because of
320 her that this was happening. Well, most of it. She had never planned
321 on Megumi getting sick. Or the girls finding out about their pasts.
322 They were supposed to be oblivious to what was really going on. That
323 was their single goal in life that she had set out for them. To eke
324 out lives for themselves, together. They weren’t supposed to get
325 involved. But seeing her lying there, being held by the brunette was
326 almost too much for her. How she longed to go inside there and take
327 Kumiko’s place. She had been so sure of her plans when she’d set
328 everything in motion years before. But now after all that she had
329 endured, she was having second thoughts. It wasn’t fair that she was
330 supposed to be alone. That she was only here for a very specific
331 purpose. And the most painful part of it all was that she had brought
332 it all upon herself.
333 “Tomoyo-chan... I miss you.” Long fingers wiped at the tears
334 building in her eyes behind the glasses. It was a bad idea to come
335 back. She should have known she wouldn’t be able to handle it. Why
336 had she come after all? Because she had to see her again. But
337 watching her in the arms of the other girl, dying, was just too much
338 to bear. A mournful sigh escaped her lips. This was stupid. She never
339 should have come. Standing on the branch she had been sitting on,
340 long wings unfurled from her back. “Sleep well, Tomoyo. I’m sorry for
341 hurting you.” Blowing a kiss through the window, she got ready to
342 push off when Kumiko turned around. Her heart skipped a beat. No, she
343 hadn’t noticed her. Her magic was still shrouding her. There was
344 nothing to worry about. Then their eyes locked.
346 Kumiko stared wide eyed at the red haired angel floating outside
347 the window. An uneasy feeling had been building in her chest for the
348 past few minutes and it had just reached a deafening crescendo. Her
349 instincts had finally taken over at the feeling of being watched. But
350 she certainly hadn’t been expecting that. Kumiko had led a rather
351 normal life for the short time she had been alive. Nothing stranger
352 than a slightly eccentric girlfriend. But now there were videotapes
353 of long dead girls and deja vu from some past life and strange
354 feelings she couldn’t pinpoint. And now this. Her heart seized up at
355 the sight, as if her mind wanted to deny the very existence of this
356 girl. ‘No, she’s not there! Ignore her! Pretend that you’ve never
357 seen her and everything will go back to normal,’ her mind screamed to
358 her. And part of her knew that it was true. Everything could be the
359 way it used to be. All of this craziness could be forgotten. But as
360 she watched the girl outside her window, she found herself being
361 drawn closer. The angel knew. She knew all about what was going on.
362 And Kumiko needed answers. She bolted to the window.
363 The angel could easily have flown away by now, but she stayed where
364 she was, perched atop the branch and peering in. Her eyes followed
365 Kumiko’s every movement. The large, white wings moved ever so
366 slightly behind her as she shifted her balance. “You weren’t supposed
367 to see me, Kumiko. You weren’t supposed to see any of this. I should
368 make you forget about all of it.” Her voice was calm, even. Her eyes
369 narrowed through the glasses, giving her a slightly menacing look.
370 The whole thing sent a shiver through Kumiko. She knew that the
371 angel in the tree could very well back up her claim. “Who are you?
372 What’s going on? Why is all of this happening?” she asked, heedless
373 of whatever danger she was putting herself in. It didn’t matter. She
374 couldn’t sit back while all of this washed over her. The only girl
375 she had ever loved lay dying in her bed and she was still so confused
376 about everything. And the firey haired angel was the key to it all.
377 The angel looked back at Kumiko through her glasses, lavender eyes
378 meeting violet in an intense stare that neither was willing to back
379 down from. The angel finally sighed, shifting to the side as her
380 wings stretched out behind her. “Kumiko-chan, you really aren’t ready
381 for any of this. Just go back inside and hold onto Megumi tightly.
382 Love her. Hold her. Comfort her. That is why you exist.”
383 “So I can watch her die?!” Kumiko shouted, rage burning in her
384 heart. Her hands shook as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
385 Her violet eyes were ablaze with the pain and anger that clung to her
386 heart like needles. “I exist so that I can watch my only love slip
387 away from me?! So that I can be there for her while she dies so
388 young?” Hot tears fell past her chin as she shook her head intensely.
389 “No!! That’s not it!! That’s not how things are supposed to work!”
390 The angel’s beautiful face turned cross as she flew up next to the
391 window in one long, graceful movement. The wings beat slowly,
392 luxioriously as she remained aloft in front of the startled brunette.
393 “Will you please be quiet? You’re going to worry Tomoyo-chan. She
394 needs her sleep right now.“ Closing her eyes, she chanted something
395 under her breath before motioning with her hand.
396 Kumiko watched in shock as a gentle blue wave surrounded Megumi
397 before fading away. “What the hell did you do to Megumi-chan!?!” she
398 demanded furiously. She reached out and grabbed hold of the angel’s
399 blouse, holding on tightly. “You leave her alone!!”
400 The angel just watched Kumiko for a silent moment, her lavender
401 eyes betraying a deep loneliness in her heart. “I was simply putting
402 her to sleep. She’s in enough pain as it is. Now she’s dreaming, far
403 away from the pain. She doesn’t need you waking her up and
404 frightening her about all of this. All she wants is to be with you.
405 Don’t you understand? That’s all she ever wanted. And that‘s what I
406 gave her.”
407 Kumiko’s hands fell uselessly to her sides as she took a half step
408 backwards. “You... You planned all of this... You know what’s going
409 on, don’t you..? So, you know all about the videotape and the
410 memories and everything... Right?” The angel nodded slowly,
411 thoughtfully. “Then... Then you have to tell me! I need to know
412 what’s happening!! I have to!” She asked anxiously, her eyes welling
413 up as she collapsed against the window sill, barely supporting her
414 weight on her hands. “Please...?” she asked pathetically, her eyes
415 begging the silent angel. “You have to...”
416 Closing her lavender eyes, the angel sighed, shaking her head. “It
417 wasn’t supposed to be this way. You weren’t meant to find out. You
418 were simply supposed to live your lives, to be happy.” Her eyes
419 fluttered open, looking directly into Kumiko’s soul. She could see
420 every nuance of the girl before her, everything that made her what
421 she was. In a way, it was like looking into a mirror. Of course, her
422 life had changed certain things, forcing her to grow up very
423 differently than the girl before her.
424 Kumiko waited nervously through the scrutiny she was receiving from
425 the angel. It was with some surprise that she realized the angel was
426 younger than her. She looked no more than fourteen years old. But
427 even then, it still frightened her to see those piercing lavender
428 eyes focused so intently on herself. “You said... You said that it’s
429 why I exist... What do you mean?” she ventured, hoping that her
430 pleas wouldn’t go unheard this time.
431 Sighing, the angel pushed up her glasses, her red hair moving
432 slowly as the wind caressed it. In the blink of an eye, she
433 disappeared, Sakura blossoms floating gently to the grass below.
434 “No! No! Come back!! Please come back!!! There’s so much I need to
435 know!” Verging on panic, Kumiko leaned out the window and called
436 again and again for the firey haired angel. A tap on her back
437 startled her, almost to the point of falling out the window. Her
438 heart pounded in her chest in shock as she finally turned around. The
439 angel stood before her without a trace of her beautiful wings. Kumiko
440 blushed in embarrassment, staring at the floor. “I thought that you’d
441 left...” she admitted sheepishly.
442 To the brunette’s amazement, the angel smiled softly. “Don’t worry.
443 I probably would have done the same. Which is why I know that I can’t
444 leave. You can’t hide from the truth, even if it is safer that way.
445 You would continue relentlessly pursuing it until it finally consumed
446 you.”
447 “You make that sound like a bad thing to be a little determined now
448 and then,” Kumiko said, frowning as she crossed her arms. This girl
449 knew all the right buttons to push.
450 “It can be. Especially when others are trying to protect you from
451 the truth. You don’t understand how brutal it can be.” The angel
452 looked over at the blonde asleep in the bed. “But you’re beginning to
453 get a taste.” Her glasses glinted in the sunlight as she turned
454 around. “My name is Meishi. I am the reincarnation of the sorceress
455 Sakura Daidouji.” She smiled again, gesturing to the mirror.
456 Kumiko’s eyes traveled quickly to it. Rather than the firey haired
457 angel, the girl Kumiko had seen on the computer earlier that day took
458 her place. She looked to be about the same fourteen years as the
459 angel. Confusion gripped her heart as she tried to make sense out of
460 what was going on. “But I thought... I thought that I was Sakura,”
461 she said quietly, her voice no more than a ghost. Wasn’t that what
462 her memories were telling her? What she had seen in the video? Wasn’t
463 she that girl?
464 “You are a dream. Born from my love for the girl that you know as
465 Megumi. You are here to love her always, to be with her throughout
466 all her life. That is your lot in life. And I would give anything to
467 trade places with you.” Her small body shuddered almost imperceptibly
468 as she closed her eyes. When they opened, her lavender eyes shimmered
469 with unshed tears. Kumiko couldn‘t utter a word in response. A dream?
470 She was only a dream? Some sort of puppet? “I knew that one day I
471 would have to set things in motion, that I would need to return to
472 finish what started with the Cards. But I also knew how difficult
473 that would be. I knew that I couldn’t leave Tomoyo behind. She means
474 everything to me. But I didn’t want to get her caught up in what I
475 needed to do. Too often she was nearly hurt because of my
476 carelessness. Her heart suffered the worst because of me. I wasn’t
477 going to let that happen again.” She took the brunette’s hands and
478 pulled her gently closer until they were both in front of the mirror.
479 To Kumiko’s surprise, neither were present in the mirror. There were
480 instead two Sakura’s standing there, in the same positions that she
481 was in with Meishi. “So I created you to take care of her, to love
482 her, to be with her while I handled the magical side of things. It’s
483 something that I’ve come to regret now.” Her eyes once again settled
484 on the peacefully sleeping form of the blonde girl. “I never expected
485 her to get sick. I didn’t think she would die like this.”
486 As if snapping out of a trance, Kumiko took a step forward. She
487 couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “So even though she’s your
488 Tomoyo, you’re still going to let her die? With all the magic at your
489 command, your not even going to try and save her life?” All the fear
490 and worry that had entered her heart at the mention that she was
491 created of a dream for Sakura’s purposes dissipated in an instant as
492 fury returned. “How could you say you love her if you aren’t willing
493 to do anything for her? How could you stick her with a dream and then
494 leave her to die?” Her voice was frantic, pained, but she forced out
495 the words.
496 Meishi slumped to her knees at Megumi’s bedside, holding her pale
497 hand tightly. Kumiko’s brazen words had cut her deeper than any knife
498 could. “You don’t understand. I’m the one who brought her back. My
499 magic is too strong. I can’t die. Not completely. But Tomoyo-chan...
500 She can die. She did die. So I brought her back. I reincarnated her.
501 Because I got scared. I couldn’t bear to be without her. She’s always
502 been there for me. Without her love and support, I’m nothing. I
503 couldn’t go on if she wasn’t there. So when I died and was
504 reincarnated, I brought her with me. I didn’t let her move on. I took
505 her with me. It was selfish. I came back in two bodies. This one,”
506 her free hand indicated herself before motioning towards Kumiko. “And
507 that one. You were supposed to find Tomoyo-chan’s soul in whichever
508 body it wound up in so that we could be together once more. I was
509 supposed to put everything in order with the Cards. But Tomoyo... She
510 came back in this body, but now it’s dying. I have to wonder if it’s
511 my fault. If she wasn’t meant to come back like this. I used my magic
512 to bind her here, to bring her back to life. She wasn’t allowed to
513 move on. Because I couldn’t go on without Tomoyo-chan...” Tears fell
514 down from under her glasses as she watched the sleeping girl
515 intently. “So now she’s hurting because of me. Now she’s dying all
516 over again because of my selfishness. So I can’t try and make her
517 better. Part of me wonders if I should let her live in such pain.”
518 “No!!” Kumiko shouted, reaching Megumi’s side in seconds. “I won’t
519 let you take her away form me! I know she’s in pain, but I...” Her
520 voice trailed off as it hit her. She was saying the exact same thing.
521 “I... need her...” she whispered, her eyes still wide. “I’m... I’m
522 doing the same thing... I’m hurting her, too...”
523 “Because we’re the same,” the red haired girl finished. “You can’t
524 live without her anymore than I could. The thought of going on
525 without Tomoyo-chan by your side doesn’t make any sense. It’s like a
526 world without love or without air. It would be completely desolate.
527 Her heart warms you up that way, brightening everything in your life
528 to the point that you take her wonderful light for granted, not
529 seeing just how wonderful she makes it. Her love and support keep you
530 going when you would rather give up in defeat. It’s just the way she
531 is. Just as it’s the way we are to need her.” She sighed, looking
532 infinitely older than the young girl that rested against the side of
533 the bed. “If I end her pain, I would send you along with her.” She
534 shook her head quickly at the look Kumiko gave her. “You wouldn’t
535 want to live without her. Trust me. The last fourteen years have been
536 like a nightmare. My only happiness was knowing that the two of you
537 were out here. Besides, I wouldn’t want Tomoyo-chan to be lonely on
538 the other side.”
539 A cold chill traveled up Kumiko’s spine at Meishi’s words. Despite
540 her confusion and her own fear of seeing Megumi in any more pain, she
541 steeled her resolve. “I don’t care. I don’t care if you did make me
542 for this reason or if you screwed up when you brought Megumi back. I
543 won’t let you take her from me. She’s here now. That’s what matters.
544 I won’t let you or anyone else take her away from me. I love her too
545 much.” Determination glittered in her violet eyes, her gaze never
546 wavering as the sorceress looked back at her.
547 Giggling softly, Meishi stood up. “I’d almost forgotten what that
548 looked like. You really do have all of her love and support, don’t
549 you? I remember that determination from long ago. It took me a long
550 time to understand that she was the cause.” Her fingers trailed
551 gently along Megumi’s pale cheek before brushing back some of her
552 curly blonde hair. Her heart seized up as she looked down at the
553 sleeping girl. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan... I miss you so much...” A half sob,
554 half sigh escaped her lips. Her head nodded weakly. “All right. I’ll
555 leave her with you. But you better make sure that she’s happy. She’s
556 already in enough pain. I want her to die happily.”
557 “But... I don’t want her to die...” Kumiko whispered. She silently
558 berated herself. Her vision blurred as burning tears stung her eyes.
559 She clenched her fingernails into her palms in an effort to focus
560 past the tears. Meishi was right, the thought of living a life
561 without Megumi was a bleak as walking through an endless desert.
562 Megumi was her best friend, the girl that she loved. They were
563 partners. Neither was complete without the other.
564 “I don’t want her to, either. Please take good care of her for me.”
565 Hesitating for only a second, Meishi leaned down and kissed the
566 sleeping beauty, her firey red hair kissing Megumi’s beautiful blonde
567 hair. Her heart surged as she felt Tomoyo in the all too brief kiss.
568 She smiled sadly down at her love, her fingers trailing gently over
569 the blonde’s cheek as aquamarine eyes slowly blinked open.
570 Megumi strained to make out the blur in front of her as she finally
571 woke up. “Kumi?” her groggy voice asked. As her vision slowly
572 cleared, the figure that had been above her faded away. If she didn’t
573 feel so sick, she may have thought there had been someone over her a
574 moment before. “Kumi-chan?” she asked tiredly, trying to keep the
575 panic out of her voice as she searched desperately for the brunette.
576 “I’m right here!” Kumiko said quickly, taking Megumi’s cold hand as
577 she sat next to her on the bed. The jealousy she had felt when the
578 sorceress had kissed her best friend quickly faded away, replaced
579 with concern for her slowly awakening friend. “I’m right here, Megumi-
580 chan. I’ll always be right here for you.” She still didn’t know quite
581 what was going on with Meishi or what she had in mind, but that
582 hardly mattered at the moment. It didn’t even matter if she was
583 Sakura or just a dream. All that mattered was her best friend and
584 what lay before her.
585 Megumi offered a weak smile before coughing for a few moments. “I
586 know, Kumi. It’s part of why I love you so much.” She didn’t know
587 what had happened, but at least Kumiko wasn’t mad at her anymore. She
588 didn’t know how much more of that she could have taken before just
589 dying of a broken heart. Wet, cold tears splattered against her
590 cheeks from up above. Her arms wrapped around the brunette’s waist,
591 even though they felt like overcooked noodles.
592 Leaning down on top of her best friend, Kumiko kissed Megumi softly
593 again and again, sobbing quietly as she did. “I love you so much...
594 I’ll always love you... I promise... I promise we’ll always be
595 together... No matter where we are...” she whispered, giving Megumi’s
596 lips more feathery kisses.
597 “I know... I know, Kumi. Always.”