rlm@2: Dreams Part 2 rlm@2: rlm@2: Megumi shivered as the cold night wind lightly blew against her and rlm@2: Kumiko. “I can’t believe we’re doing this, Kumi-chan. It’s late, it’s rlm@2: cold, and I’m tired. My parents are going to expect to see me in bed rlm@2: in..”, as she looked at her wrist, Megumi remembered that she rlm@2: actually didn’t wear a watch. She could hear Kumiko giggle slightly rlm@2: as if she knew that would happen. “Well, I need to be there in a few rlm@2: hours.” Not like they’d actually be home, but she wasn’t feeling very rlm@2: well and that pain in her chest was getting stronger again. It was a rlm@2: good enough excuse at any rate. At least, she hoped it was. rlm@2: Kumiko sighed. “I know. I really don’t want to be here either, but rlm@2: I just have to learn something about those people in the tape. rlm@2: Remember, in the tape? That Sakura girl said that she always was rlm@2: recording her. So, if there was a tape in the camera, maybe there was rlm@2: another tape? Maybe there are a lot of other tapes. Maybe that could rlm@2: explain why I felt so..” she shook a bit, not wanting to think about rlm@2: it. “Maybe that could explain why I felt so attached to those girls rlm@2: in the video. That wasn’t just some normal deja vu. That was rlm@2: something.. special. What do you think, Megumi-chan?” rlm@2: “Hmm?” Megumi looked up from the lamp she was toying with. “Well, I rlm@2: think that we shouldn’t be digging through some rich person’s trash rlm@2: can. That’s what I think.” rlm@2: Kumiko stuck her tongue out at her. “Oh sure. I’m having lots of rlm@2: fun digging through the trash. Luckily, they’ve only seem to have rlm@2: thrown away most of the yard sale stuff so far. Seriously, what do rlm@2: you think? About the tape?” rlm@2: “I.. I don’t know. I feel so many things about the tape. I feel the rlm@2: pain from falling, I feel the happiness from being with her, and so rlm@2: much more. It seems so sad when I think about it, though. Like rlm@2: something tragic happened to those people. Even though I don’t know rlm@2: them, and don’t even know what happened, it hurts. Like I lost rlm@2: something dear to me, but found it again. Like if you moved away and rlm@2: then came back, I guess.” Megumi ran her arm under across her eyes rlm@2: and was surprised to find that her eyes were wet. rlm@2: Kumiko looked concerned and pulled her into a tight embrace. “It’s rlm@2: okay, Megumi. I feel pretty much the same way. It’s really confusing rlm@2: to feel that way about someone you don’t know. I wish I had the rlm@2: answers, but I don’t. So, I’m looking for them. Do you think we’ll rlm@2: find anything? If we do, should we even look at it? With how one tape rlm@2: was, I couldn’t imagine how a collection of them would be.” Kumiko rlm@2: slowly pulled away from Megumi. With a deep dramatic sigh, she threw rlm@2: her arms down in defeat. “Well, I give up. I’m not going to find rlm@2: anything digging around in the trash in the dark.” Kumiko started rlm@2: forward, but tripped and fell into Megumi’s arms, knocking them both rlm@2: off balance and sending them into the cold hard ground. rlm@2: Both girls just looked into each other’s eyes, curious if the other rlm@2: was thinking the same thing they were. Kumiko opened her mouth in an rlm@2: attempt to say something, but stopped herself. After a few seemingly rlm@2: everlasting moments of silence, Megumi spoke up. “Are you okay Kumi? rlm@2: Aww.. you scraped your knee. Should I kiss it and make it better?” rlm@2: Kumiko blushed and nodded weakly. Megumi ever-so-slowly leaned rlm@2: forward and kissed the slightly injured knee. “There. All better? I rlm@2: really can’t stand to see you hurt, you know, Kumi-chan.” Megumi rlm@2: smiled proudly at the dark blush on Kumiko’s face. Quickly, she stood rlm@2: up and offered out her hand. Kumiko grasped her hand and squeezed rlm@2: reassuringly and let Megumi help her to her feet. rlm@2: “I’ll come over to your house early tomorrow, okay, Kumi? Do you rlm@2: think the library will be open on the weekend?” Megumi asked rlm@2: curiously. She regretted saying the words shortly after they were out rlm@2: of her mouth. She -really- wasn’t feeling good. She needed to get rlm@2: home soon. And she really didn’t know if she’d be up to checking out rlm@2: a library the next day. The blonde was thankful for the darkness in rlm@2: masking her increasingly pale features. rlm@2: Kumiko nodded thoughtfully, brushing back a lock of brown hair rlm@2: behind an ear. “Yeah, it should be. We’ll head there in the morning rlm@2: and see what we can find. There has to be something on the girls in rlm@2: that video. Or at least I hope so.” Sighing, the teenager yawned rlm@2: exaggeratedly. “For now I’m gonna get some sleep. Do you think you rlm@2: could stay for a bit? I need to sneak back in anyway. Mom and dad rlm@2: still think I’m sleeping.” She smiled over at the blonde girl rlm@2: hopefully. “I always sleep better after I talk to you.” rlm@2: Megumi returned the smile weakly and shook her head. “I’d love to, rlm@2: Kumi, but I’m not sure how appreciative your mother would be of me rlm@2: teaching her daughter all sorts of strange things this late at night. rlm@2: And I already know she likes me, so I can’t jeopardize that.” A laugh rlm@2: accompanied the hug she gave Kumiko. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kumi- rlm@2: chan. You have beautiful dreams in the meantime. I know you’ll be in rlm@2: mine.” rlm@2: The wind picked up slightly, blowing Kumiko’s hair around as she rlm@2: returned the hug. “Okay. Maybe some other time then. I’ll be thinking rlm@2: about you, Megumi-chan. Sleep we...” Before she could finish that rlm@2: thought, Megumi’s lips pressed tightly against her own. Her cheeks rlm@2: darkened as her eyes fell closed and she kissed back. rlm@2: “Goodnight, Kumi.” And with that, Megumi was off. rlm@2: rlm@2: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ rlm@2: rlm@2: Wet tears spilt down Megumi’s cheek to the bathroom tile beneath rlm@2: her. The tile was cold against the bare skin of her legs peeking out rlm@2: beneath her jumbled nightgown, but she’d long since given up on rlm@2: caring about such trivial discomforts. Her whole body was screaming rlm@2: at her, fire burning maliciously at all of her senses. Even taking rlm@2: her medicine hadn’t helped in the least. She should be in bed, but rlm@2: she couldn’t make it the short distance back to her bedroom. So she rlm@2: knelt on the floor in the bathroom, her head leaning against the rlm@2: cabinets under the sink. Her skin was deathly pale, nearly as white rlm@2: as the tiles underneath her. rlm@2: “Daddy... Mommy... Somebody... please...” Her voice barely reached rlm@2: her own ears, seeming no more than a whisper. More cold tears fell rlm@2: down her face. Her parents weren’t there. Again. They were always rlm@2: working these days. To get away from her. No, that wasn’t true. That rlm@2: couldn’t be. They were both working to afford all of the medicine and rlm@2: the treatments and the doctors. Megumi shuddered violently at the rlm@2: memories. It always hurt so much. And the doctors had been pretty rlm@2: grim whenever they talked to her parents. She didn’t need to be a lip rlm@2: reader to know that she was dying. A cold hand was gripping her soul, rlm@2: frightening the poor girl even more. She didn’t want to die. She rlm@2: didn’t want to leave Kumiko. Kumiko... Of course she hadn’t told the rlm@2: other girl about any of this. It would only make her worry. And rlm@2: Megumi had long ago found out that there was nothing that she could rlm@2: do about it. So why worry Kumiko when it was so much nicer to see her rlm@2: smiling, happy face? rlm@2: A sudden fit of coughing shook the blonde girl’s small body as she rlm@2: reached up to her trembling lips. When she pulled them away, they rlm@2: were wet with fresh blood. The sight sent her into more tears. She rlm@2: was so scared but there was no one who would come comfort her. If rlm@2: Kumiko found out, she would be right over, but then she’d worry rlm@2: herself to death. Her parents were nowhere to be seen, so she was all rlm@2: on her own. Be a big girl, her mother had told her, several years rlm@2: before. Be a big girl and you’ll make it through this. Megumi didn’t rlm@2: want to be a big girl. It hurt too much. rlm@2: rlm@2: Kumiko yawned tiredly, rubbing the sleep from her violet eyes. Her rlm@2: long, dark brown hair was done up in braids today. Sleep had not been rlm@2: easy in coming to her the night before. Her mind kept going back to rlm@2: the girls on the tape and why it had seemed so familiar. Had rlm@2: something similar happened with her and Megumi, explaining the shared rlm@2: sense of deja vu? Or was there something deeper behind all of it? “I rlm@2: really hope we can find something here. And soon. I’m hungry. I rlm@2: didn’t get any breakfast before we left.” Megumi winced at the rlm@2: mention of food. The blonde girl really didn’t look very good this rlm@2: morning. Her skin was paper white and her lips were drawn tight. The rlm@2: sunglasses she wore looked cute on her and they hid her bloodshot rlm@2: aquamarine eyes well, but Kumiko could see them occasionally as the rlm@2: sunglasses almost slipped off. She sighed as they entered the rlm@2: library. Megumi looked like she was getting sick, but she looked like rlm@2: that so often these days. Her lover would always deny that anything rlm@2: was wrong besides a slight cold when Kumiko would ask her about it. rlm@2: Megumi shivered in the air conditioned building, rubbing her arms rlm@2: as she tried to keep warm. “It’s freezing in here. Let’s just try to rlm@2: get the information and get out of here. Mom wants me home early rlm@2: today so I can’t be out long.” It always pained her to lie to Kumiko, rlm@2: but she really didn’t feel like being out of bed at all today. She rlm@2: kind of doubted her mother would be home at any rate. rlm@2: “Well, if you’re tired, you can always take a nap at my place when rlm@2: we’re done with all this, Megumi-chan.” Kumiko smiled brightly as she rlm@2: took her best friend’s cold hand. A sigh escaped her lips as she rlm@2: looked for a good place to begin their search. “Something tells me I rlm@2: should have just tried to look up all this stuff on my computer rlm@2: anyway. At least then I could go make some lunch.” Another uneasy rlm@2: look on Megumi’s face told her to drop the subject of eating. But she rlm@2: was sooooo hungry. “Here we go.” Finding a free terminal, she began rlm@2: searching for relevant information. rlm@2: Pulling up a chair, Megumi relished the feeling of being off her rlm@2: feet. The entire way there, she had felt ready to collapse. Her body rlm@2: was still aching from the night before, but she couldn’t let it show rlm@2: through. She didn’t want Kumiko to start worrying about this, rlm@2: especially when her heart was so set on finding out who the people on rlm@2: the videotape were. The sick girl wasn’t really sure she wanted to rlm@2: know, herself. It was all just too freaky. Who cared who some people rlm@2: on an old, dated video were? All she needed was Kumiko. As long as rlm@2: she had the other girl nearby, everything would always be all right. rlm@2: “Find anything?” she asked after realizing she had nodded off for a rlm@2: bit. She tried to suppress a yawn, but to no avail. rlm@2: Giggling at her friend, the brown haired girl nodded. “Yeah, I rlm@2: think so. Apparently the mansion had been owned by the Daidouji rlm@2: family previously.” rlm@2: Megumi gasped. “Daidouji? The Daidouji Company kind of Daidouji” rlm@2: Nodding again, Kumiko grew more serious. “Yeah, it looks like the rlm@2: place belonged to the Daidouji family for quite a while, but recently rlm@2: it had been sold by Daidouji Maya, the current head of the company. rlm@2: She went there to move out some of the things that were important, rlm@2: but it looks like some of it got left behind and the new occupants rlm@2: are getting rid of it.” rlm@2: “So does that mean that one of the girls on the videotape was from rlm@2: that family line? Is there any information on them? Maybe we could rlm@2: find some pictures.” Megumi’s heart was pounding in her chest. Part rlm@2: of her wanted to reach over and turn off the power on the computer, rlm@2: to tell Kumiko it didn’t matter who was on some stupid videotape and rlm@2: that she was the only one that mattered to her, but she was rlm@2: paralyzed. She didn’t want to know. She was too afraid to find out. rlm@2: But she couldn’t get herself to keep from hearing more. rlm@2: “Yeah, that’s what I’m checking right now. They’re a pretty rlm@2: powerful family, so there should be a fair amount about them. I think rlm@2: one of them is in our class. That Sumire girl? The one with the rlm@2: glasses and the scary looking dark haired girl that’s always rlm@2: following her?” Glancing back at Megumi, she saw the blonde nod in rlm@2: response. “Come to think of it, she does look a bit like the girls rlm@2: in the video. Though I can’t tell which she looks more like, so I rlm@2: don’t know who she’s related to. And I don’t know how she could rlm@2: possibly be related to both.” Oddly enough, the idea sounded right. rlm@2: She shook her head and kept looking at the screen. “Here it is.” A rlm@2: list was on the screen, showing the family line back for quite some rlm@2: time. “Yep, there’s Sumire. It looks like the first Daidouji on rlm@2: record is Daidouji Sonomi and she founded the company. She had a rlm@2: daughter, Daidouji Tomoyo. Apparently she had a daughter named Bara. rlm@2: And she had a daughter named Maya, the current head of the Daidouji rlm@2: Company. And she has a daughter named Sumire. Yeah, she’s in our rlm@2: class. There’s her picture.” Kumiko pointed at the picture of a rlm@2: frustrated looking girl in big glasses with dark hair done up in rlm@2: pigtails. rlm@2: Megumi nodded slowly, not sure if she could take much more of this. rlm@2: The anticipation was maddening. The sunglasses had slipped off her rlm@2: nose, but she hardly noticed. “Can you find any other pictures? What rlm@2: about the rest of them?” rlm@2: Typing in another command, Kumiko looked back up at the screen. rlm@2: Pictures began appearing by the names, as well as links for more rlm@2: information on each member of the family. First a determined looking rlm@2: businesswoman with a slant style hair cut and then a beautiful pale rlm@2: woman with long dark hair that ended in curls with the same stormy rlm@2: blue eyes as her mother. The braided girl stopped there. “That’s rlm@2: her!! That’s the one from the videotape!” Her violet eyes went wide rlm@2: in shock as she stared at the screen. She was much older in the rlm@2: picture, a full grown woman as opposed to the teenager in the video, rlm@2: but it was obviously the same person. rlm@2: Feeling sick to her stomach, Megumi heard her ask a question she rlm@2: was dreading. “Does it have any information on her? Or who that rlm@2: brunette might have been?” rlm@2: “Let me see...” Biting her lower lip, Kumiko continued looking rlm@2: through the information. A summary of the woman’s entire life up on rlm@2: the next page was briefly skimmed through as her whole body rlm@2: threatened to shake. Being so close to all of this was exciting. She rlm@2: knew that what she was looking for was near, an answer to the rlm@2: question posed by the videotape. “Kinomoto Sakura! Right here. It rlm@2: says that she got married to Daidouji Tomoyo. Wait, that can’t be rlm@2: right. Yeah, it says that they got married and had a daughter. That’s rlm@2: bizarre. But here she is.” The slightly shorter girl moved to the rlm@2: side to give her lover a better look. On screen was a woman with rlm@2: fairly short brunette hair and a happy smile, looking out with rlm@2: emerald green eyes. It had to be the other girl from the videotape. rlm@2: “How’d they die?” Megumi blurted out. “Maybe it was really tragic rlm@2: and they possessed the videotape or something. I thought they rlm@2: wouldn’t have lasted much longer past the videotape if it seemed so rlm@2: important.” rlm@2: Skimming the information, Kumiko shook her head. “It looks like rlm@2: they lived long, happy lives by all accounts. Daidouji Sakura... Oh, rlm@2: she must’ve changed her name when they got married. Anyway, she fell rlm@2: down the stairs when she was a grandmother. Daidouji Tomoyo died a rlm@2: few days later of no explained cause. Her daughter seems to have rlm@2: thought it was heartache over the loss of Sakura.” rlm@2: Megumi shook her head, running hands through her curly blonde hair. rlm@2: “None of this makes any sense. We know who these people are now, but rlm@2: that still doesn’t explain anything. Why do we know them at all? rlm@2: Maybe it was the camera angle. Maybe we just got so caught up in rlm@2: watching the old thing that we started thinking there was more to rlm@2: it.” She was shaking now, afraid. This was all too strange for her. rlm@2: Kumiko took Megumi’s soft hand, trying to comfort her. “Megumi... rlm@2: There has to be something to all of this. I know there is. It’s just rlm@2: too much to be a coincidence.” rlm@2: “How do you know, Kumi? Maybe that’s all it is...” Megumi’s voice rlm@2: was unsteady and she couldn’t meet the braided girl’s gaze. She rlm@2: squeezed Kumiko’s hand. rlm@2: “Then why do I know things about them that I shouldn’t? Things that rlm@2: video couldn’t have told me. That they came up with the baby’s name rlm@2: while strolling through a rose garden. That Tomoyo loved to sing to rlm@2: Sakura. That Sakura liked to cook for Tomoyo even though they had rlm@2: people who could do that for them. That the world looked all tumbly rlm@2: when she fell down the stairs.” Kumiko shuddered at the unbidden rlm@2: images in her mind. It all looked so real. Like she was reliving old rlm@2: memories. Even slipping down the stairs... rlm@2: “Stop it!!” Megumi stood up suddenly, tears starting to form in her rlm@2: eyes. “Just stop it, Kumi! You’re scaring me...” Her voice went from rlm@2: a scream to a barely audible whisper in seconds. Shaking hands wiped rlm@2: at her eyes as she took a few weak steps back. Kumiko reached for her rlm@2: seconds before she collapsed. rlm@2: rlm@2: rlm@2: “Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” Kumiko demanded of the rlm@2: prone girl in her room. rlm@2: “I didn’t remember..?” Megumi ventured after a moment’s hesitation, rlm@2: trying to smile in an attempt to lighten the mood. rlm@2: “Hmph...” Turning away from her, the slightly shorter girl crossed rlm@2: her arms. Megumi could tell that she was fuming. rlm@2: “How did you find out?” the blonde asked quietly, almost ashamed. rlm@2: “Your mother told me when I called and told her that you had rlm@2: collapsed at the library. I thought you’d just fainted from too much rlm@2: shock. But she said you’ve been sick off and on for the past three rlm@2: years. And that you’re getting worse.” rlm@2: “That’s technically inaccurate. I’ve been sick since I was a little rlm@2: girl. It’s just been getting progressively worse for the past three rlm@2: years.” Megumi tried another smile, but it seemed to have no affect rlm@2: on Kumiko’s back. Sighing, she shook her head. She felt defeated. “I rlm@2: didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to worry about all rlm@2: this. I know how hard it is to know that you’re dying and that no one rlm@2: can help. I know how bad that feeling of helplessness is. And I would rlm@2: never want you to have to experience it. It makes you feel all sick rlm@2: and twisted up inside. Besides, your smiles have always been the best rlm@2: therapy for me. I don’t want them to be tainted with worry whenever rlm@2: you look at me.” Closing her eyes, the wind from the fan rustled the rlm@2: blankets over her. “It’s not like I could have hid it from you much rlm@2: longer anyway. It’s starting to get to the point where I can barely rlm@2: hide the pain sometimes. You would have found out sooner or later.” rlm@2: “But you’re supposed to tell me everything! I’m your girlfriend! I rlm@2: love you! I can’t...” The anger in Kumiko’s voice drained away as she rlm@2: released a choked sob. “I don’t want to lose you... I... I need rlm@2: you... Megumi...” She collapsed to her knees, burying her face rlm@2: against Megumi’s side as she clung to her raggedly. “I love you... I rlm@2: love you too much to let you go..” rlm@2: Megumi couldn’t hold back her own tears as she gently stroked rlm@2: Kumiko’s back. “Kumi...” she whispered softly. This was exactly what rlm@2: she’d feared would happen if Kumiko found out, but she found herself rlm@2: oddly relieved to know that her love finally knew of her personal rlm@2: pain. It felt so much freer. Like it was finally all right to cry. To rlm@2: stop being a big girl. rlm@2: rlm@2: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ rlm@2: rlm@2: Sitting in the tree adjacent to the window, a woman watched the two rlm@2: girls in silence. She had been there for some time, but no one seemed rlm@2: to notice her presence. Her eyes sparkled from behind her glasses as rlm@2: she continued her silent vigil. She had a keen interest in the rlm@2: futures of the two girls inside the small room. But revealing herself rlm@2: would be troublesome. They weren’t supposed to know about her. rlm@2: Especially not yet. rlm@2: Lavender eyes fell upon the sleeping form of Megumi. “Tomoyo- rlm@2: chan...” the mysterious girl whispered softly. She had this all rlm@2: planned out, but now it was almost impossible to continue on. Her rlm@2: heart ached too much to continue on this way. But it was because of rlm@2: her that this was happening. Well, most of it. She had never planned rlm@2: on Megumi getting sick. Or the girls finding out about their pasts. rlm@2: They were supposed to be oblivious to what was really going on. That rlm@2: was their single goal in life that she had set out for them. To eke rlm@2: out lives for themselves, together. They weren’t supposed to get rlm@2: involved. But seeing her lying there, being held by the brunette was rlm@2: almost too much for her. How she longed to go inside there and take rlm@2: Kumiko’s place. She had been so sure of her plans when she’d set rlm@2: everything in motion years before. But now after all that she had rlm@2: endured, she was having second thoughts. It wasn’t fair that she was rlm@2: supposed to be alone. That she was only here for a very specific rlm@2: purpose. And the most painful part of it all was that she had brought rlm@2: it all upon herself. rlm@2: “Tomoyo-chan... I miss you.” Long fingers wiped at the tears rlm@2: building in her eyes behind the glasses. It was a bad idea to come rlm@2: back. She should have known she wouldn’t be able to handle it. Why rlm@2: had she come after all? Because she had to see her again. But rlm@2: watching her in the arms of the other girl, dying, was just too much rlm@2: to bear. A mournful sigh escaped her lips. This was stupid. She never rlm@2: should have come. Standing on the branch she had been sitting on, rlm@2: long wings unfurled from her back. “Sleep well, Tomoyo. I’m sorry for rlm@2: hurting you.” Blowing a kiss through the window, she got ready to rlm@2: push off when Kumiko turned around. Her heart skipped a beat. No, she rlm@2: hadn’t noticed her. Her magic was still shrouding her. There was rlm@2: nothing to worry about. Then their eyes locked. rlm@2: rlm@2: Kumiko stared wide eyed at the red haired angel floating outside rlm@2: the window. An uneasy feeling had been building in her chest for the rlm@2: past few minutes and it had just reached a deafening crescendo. Her rlm@2: instincts had finally taken over at the feeling of being watched. But rlm@2: she certainly hadn’t been expecting that. Kumiko had led a rather rlm@2: normal life for the short time she had been alive. Nothing stranger rlm@2: than a slightly eccentric girlfriend. But now there were videotapes rlm@2: of long dead girls and deja vu from some past life and strange rlm@2: feelings she couldn’t pinpoint. And now this. Her heart seized up at rlm@2: the sight, as if her mind wanted to deny the very existence of this rlm@2: girl. ‘No, she’s not there! Ignore her! Pretend that you’ve never rlm@2: seen her and everything will go back to normal,’ her mind screamed to rlm@2: her. And part of her knew that it was true. Everything could be the rlm@2: way it used to be. All of this craziness could be forgotten. But as rlm@2: she watched the girl outside her window, she found herself being rlm@2: drawn closer. The angel knew. She knew all about what was going on. rlm@2: And Kumiko needed answers. She bolted to the window. rlm@2: The angel could easily have flown away by now, but she stayed where rlm@2: she was, perched atop the branch and peering in. Her eyes followed rlm@2: Kumiko’s every movement. The large, white wings moved ever so rlm@2: slightly behind her as she shifted her balance. “You weren’t supposed rlm@2: to see me, Kumiko. You weren’t supposed to see any of this. I should rlm@2: make you forget about all of it.” Her voice was calm, even. Her eyes rlm@2: narrowed through the glasses, giving her a slightly menacing look. rlm@2: The whole thing sent a shiver through Kumiko. She knew that the rlm@2: angel in the tree could very well back up her claim. “Who are you? rlm@2: What’s going on? Why is all of this happening?” she asked, heedless rlm@2: of whatever danger she was putting herself in. It didn’t matter. She rlm@2: couldn’t sit back while all of this washed over her. The only girl rlm@2: she had ever loved lay dying in her bed and she was still so confused rlm@2: about everything. And the firey haired angel was the key to it all. rlm@2: The angel looked back at Kumiko through her glasses, lavender eyes rlm@2: meeting violet in an intense stare that neither was willing to back rlm@2: down from. The angel finally sighed, shifting to the side as her rlm@2: wings stretched out behind her. “Kumiko-chan, you really aren’t ready rlm@2: for any of this. Just go back inside and hold onto Megumi tightly. rlm@2: Love her. Hold her. Comfort her. That is why you exist.” rlm@2: “So I can watch her die?!” Kumiko shouted, rage burning in her rlm@2: heart. Her hands shook as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. rlm@2: Her violet eyes were ablaze with the pain and anger that clung to her rlm@2: heart like needles. “I exist so that I can watch my only love slip rlm@2: away from me?! So that I can be there for her while she dies so rlm@2: young?” Hot tears fell past her chin as she shook her head intensely. rlm@2: “No!! That’s not it!! That’s not how things are supposed to work!” rlm@2: The angel’s beautiful face turned cross as she flew up next to the rlm@2: window in one long, graceful movement. The wings beat slowly, rlm@2: luxioriously as she remained aloft in front of the startled brunette. rlm@2: “Will you please be quiet? You’re going to worry Tomoyo-chan. She rlm@2: needs her sleep right now.“ Closing her eyes, she chanted something rlm@2: under her breath before motioning with her hand. rlm@2: Kumiko watched in shock as a gentle blue wave surrounded Megumi rlm@2: before fading away. “What the hell did you do to Megumi-chan!?!” she rlm@2: demanded furiously. She reached out and grabbed hold of the angel’s rlm@2: blouse, holding on tightly. “You leave her alone!!” rlm@2: The angel just watched Kumiko for a silent moment, her lavender rlm@2: eyes betraying a deep loneliness in her heart. “I was simply putting rlm@2: her to sleep. She’s in enough pain as it is. Now she’s dreaming, far rlm@2: away from the pain. She doesn’t need you waking her up and rlm@2: frightening her about all of this. All she wants is to be with you. rlm@2: Don’t you understand? That’s all she ever wanted. And that‘s what I rlm@2: gave her.” rlm@2: Kumiko’s hands fell uselessly to her sides as she took a half step rlm@2: backwards. “You... You planned all of this... You know what’s going rlm@2: on, don’t you..? So, you know all about the videotape and the rlm@2: memories and everything... Right?” The angel nodded slowly, rlm@2: thoughtfully. “Then... Then you have to tell me! I need to know rlm@2: what’s happening!! I have to!” She asked anxiously, her eyes welling rlm@2: up as she collapsed against the window sill, barely supporting her rlm@2: weight on her hands. “Please...?” she asked pathetically, her eyes rlm@2: begging the silent angel. “You have to...” rlm@2: Closing her lavender eyes, the angel sighed, shaking her head. “It rlm@2: wasn’t supposed to be this way. You weren’t meant to find out. You rlm@2: were simply supposed to live your lives, to be happy.” Her eyes rlm@2: fluttered open, looking directly into Kumiko’s soul. She could see rlm@2: every nuance of the girl before her, everything that made her what rlm@2: she was. In a way, it was like looking into a mirror. Of course, her rlm@2: life had changed certain things, forcing her to grow up very rlm@2: differently than the girl before her. rlm@2: Kumiko waited nervously through the scrutiny she was receiving from rlm@2: the angel. It was with some surprise that she realized the angel was rlm@2: younger than her. She looked no more than fourteen years old. But rlm@2: even then, it still frightened her to see those piercing lavender rlm@2: eyes focused so intently on herself. “You said... You said that it’s rlm@2: why I exist... What do you mean?” she ventured, hoping that her rlm@2: pleas wouldn’t go unheard this time. rlm@2: Sighing, the angel pushed up her glasses, her red hair moving rlm@2: slowly as the wind caressed it. In the blink of an eye, she rlm@2: disappeared, Sakura blossoms floating gently to the grass below. rlm@2: “No! No! Come back!! Please come back!!! There’s so much I need to rlm@2: know!” Verging on panic, Kumiko leaned out the window and called rlm@2: again and again for the firey haired angel. A tap on her back rlm@2: startled her, almost to the point of falling out the window. Her rlm@2: heart pounded in her chest in shock as she finally turned around. The rlm@2: angel stood before her without a trace of her beautiful wings. Kumiko rlm@2: blushed in embarrassment, staring at the floor. “I thought that you’d rlm@2: left...” she admitted sheepishly. rlm@2: To the brunette’s amazement, the angel smiled softly. “Don’t worry. rlm@2: I probably would have done the same. Which is why I know that I can’t rlm@2: leave. You can’t hide from the truth, even if it is safer that way. rlm@2: You would continue relentlessly pursuing it until it finally consumed rlm@2: you.” rlm@2: “You make that sound like a bad thing to be a little determined now rlm@2: and then,” Kumiko said, frowning as she crossed her arms. This girl rlm@2: knew all the right buttons to push. rlm@2: “It can be. Especially when others are trying to protect you from rlm@2: the truth. You don’t understand how brutal it can be.” The angel rlm@2: looked over at the blonde asleep in the bed. “But you’re beginning to rlm@2: get a taste.” Her glasses glinted in the sunlight as she turned rlm@2: around. “My name is Meishi. I am the reincarnation of the sorceress rlm@2: Sakura Daidouji.” She smiled again, gesturing to the mirror. rlm@2: Kumiko’s eyes traveled quickly to it. Rather than the firey haired rlm@2: angel, the girl Kumiko had seen on the computer earlier that day took rlm@2: her place. She looked to be about the same fourteen years as the rlm@2: angel. Confusion gripped her heart as she tried to make sense out of rlm@2: what was going on. “But I thought... I thought that I was Sakura,” rlm@2: she said quietly, her voice no more than a ghost. Wasn’t that what rlm@2: her memories were telling her? What she had seen in the video? Wasn’t rlm@2: she that girl? rlm@2: “You are a dream. Born from my love for the girl that you know as rlm@2: Megumi. You are here to love her always, to be with her throughout rlm@2: all her life. That is your lot in life. And I would give anything to rlm@2: trade places with you.” Her small body shuddered almost imperceptibly rlm@2: as she closed her eyes. When they opened, her lavender eyes shimmered rlm@2: with unshed tears. Kumiko couldn‘t utter a word in response. A dream? rlm@2: She was only a dream? Some sort of puppet? “I knew that one day I rlm@2: would have to set things in motion, that I would need to return to rlm@2: finish what started with the Cards. But I also knew how difficult rlm@2: that would be. I knew that I couldn’t leave Tomoyo behind. She means rlm@2: everything to me. But I didn’t want to get her caught up in what I rlm@2: needed to do. Too often she was nearly hurt because of my rlm@2: carelessness. Her heart suffered the worst because of me. I wasn’t rlm@2: going to let that happen again.” She took the brunette’s hands and rlm@2: pulled her gently closer until they were both in front of the mirror. rlm@2: To Kumiko’s surprise, neither were present in the mirror. There were rlm@2: instead two Sakura’s standing there, in the same positions that she rlm@2: was in with Meishi. “So I created you to take care of her, to love rlm@2: her, to be with her while I handled the magical side of things. It’s rlm@2: something that I’ve come to regret now.” Her eyes once again settled rlm@2: on the peacefully sleeping form of the blonde girl. “I never expected rlm@2: her to get sick. I didn’t think she would die like this.” rlm@2: As if snapping out of a trance, Kumiko took a step forward. She rlm@2: couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “So even though she’s your rlm@2: Tomoyo, you’re still going to let her die? With all the magic at your rlm@2: command, your not even going to try and save her life?” All the fear rlm@2: and worry that had entered her heart at the mention that she was rlm@2: created of a dream for Sakura’s purposes dissipated in an instant as rlm@2: fury returned. “How could you say you love her if you aren’t willing rlm@2: to do anything for her? How could you stick her with a dream and then rlm@2: leave her to die?” Her voice was frantic, pained, but she forced out rlm@2: the words. rlm@2: Meishi slumped to her knees at Megumi’s bedside, holding her pale rlm@2: hand tightly. Kumiko’s brazen words had cut her deeper than any knife rlm@2: could. “You don’t understand. I’m the one who brought her back. My rlm@2: magic is too strong. I can’t die. Not completely. But Tomoyo-chan... rlm@2: She can die. She did die. So I brought her back. I reincarnated her. rlm@2: Because I got scared. I couldn’t bear to be without her. She’s always rlm@2: been there for me. Without her love and support, I’m nothing. I rlm@2: couldn’t go on if she wasn’t there. So when I died and was rlm@2: reincarnated, I brought her with me. I didn’t let her move on. I took rlm@2: her with me. It was selfish. I came back in two bodies. This one,” rlm@2: her free hand indicated herself before motioning towards Kumiko. “And rlm@2: that one. You were supposed to find Tomoyo-chan’s soul in whichever rlm@2: body it wound up in so that we could be together once more. I was rlm@2: supposed to put everything in order with the Cards. But Tomoyo... She rlm@2: came back in this body, but now it’s dying. I have to wonder if it’s rlm@2: my fault. If she wasn’t meant to come back like this. I used my magic rlm@2: to bind her here, to bring her back to life. She wasn’t allowed to rlm@2: move on. Because I couldn’t go on without Tomoyo-chan...” Tears fell rlm@2: down from under her glasses as she watched the sleeping girl rlm@2: intently. “So now she’s hurting because of me. Now she’s dying all rlm@2: over again because of my selfishness. So I can’t try and make her rlm@2: better. Part of me wonders if I should let her live in such pain.” rlm@2: “No!!” Kumiko shouted, reaching Megumi’s side in seconds. “I won’t rlm@2: let you take her away form me! I know she’s in pain, but I...” Her rlm@2: voice trailed off as it hit her. She was saying the exact same thing. rlm@2: “I... need her...” she whispered, her eyes still wide. “I’m... I’m rlm@2: doing the same thing... I’m hurting her, too...” rlm@2: “Because we’re the same,” the red haired girl finished. “You can’t rlm@2: live without her anymore than I could. The thought of going on rlm@2: without Tomoyo-chan by your side doesn’t make any sense. It’s like a rlm@2: world without love or without air. It would be completely desolate. rlm@2: Her heart warms you up that way, brightening everything in your life rlm@2: to the point that you take her wonderful light for granted, not rlm@2: seeing just how wonderful she makes it. Her love and support keep you rlm@2: going when you would rather give up in defeat. It’s just the way she rlm@2: is. Just as it’s the way we are to need her.” She sighed, looking rlm@2: infinitely older than the young girl that rested against the side of rlm@2: the bed. “If I end her pain, I would send you along with her.” She rlm@2: shook her head quickly at the look Kumiko gave her. “You wouldn’t rlm@2: want to live without her. Trust me. The last fourteen years have been rlm@2: like a nightmare. My only happiness was knowing that the two of you rlm@2: were out here. Besides, I wouldn’t want Tomoyo-chan to be lonely on rlm@2: the other side.” rlm@2: A cold chill traveled up Kumiko’s spine at Meishi’s words. Despite rlm@2: her confusion and her own fear of seeing Megumi in any more pain, she rlm@2: steeled her resolve. “I don’t care. I don’t care if you did make me rlm@2: for this reason or if you screwed up when you brought Megumi back. I rlm@2: won’t let you take her from me. She’s here now. That’s what matters. rlm@2: I won’t let you or anyone else take her away from me. I love her too rlm@2: much.” Determination glittered in her violet eyes, her gaze never rlm@2: wavering as the sorceress looked back at her. rlm@2: Giggling softly, Meishi stood up. “I’d almost forgotten what that rlm@2: looked like. You really do have all of her love and support, don’t rlm@2: you? I remember that determination from long ago. It took me a long rlm@2: time to understand that she was the cause.” Her fingers trailed rlm@2: gently along Megumi’s pale cheek before brushing back some of her rlm@2: curly blonde hair. Her heart seized up as she looked down at the rlm@2: sleeping girl. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan... I miss you so much...” A half sob, rlm@2: half sigh escaped her lips. Her head nodded weakly. “All right. I’ll rlm@2: leave her with you. But you better make sure that she’s happy. She’s rlm@2: already in enough pain. I want her to die happily.” rlm@2: “But... I don’t want her to die...” Kumiko whispered. She silently rlm@2: berated herself. Her vision blurred as burning tears stung her eyes. rlm@2: She clenched her fingernails into her palms in an effort to focus rlm@2: past the tears. Meishi was right, the thought of living a life rlm@2: without Megumi was a bleak as walking through an endless desert. rlm@2: Megumi was her best friend, the girl that she loved. They were rlm@2: partners. Neither was complete without the other. rlm@2: “I don’t want her to, either. Please take good care of her for me.” rlm@2: Hesitating for only a second, Meishi leaned down and kissed the rlm@2: sleeping beauty, her firey red hair kissing Megumi’s beautiful blonde rlm@2: hair. Her heart surged as she felt Tomoyo in the all too brief kiss. rlm@2: She smiled sadly down at her love, her fingers trailing gently over rlm@2: the blonde’s cheek as aquamarine eyes slowly blinked open. rlm@2: Megumi strained to make out the blur in front of her as she finally rlm@2: woke up. “Kumi?” her groggy voice asked. As her vision slowly rlm@2: cleared, the figure that had been above her faded away. If she didn’t rlm@2: feel so sick, she may have thought there had been someone over her a rlm@2: moment before. “Kumi-chan?” she asked tiredly, trying to keep the rlm@2: panic out of her voice as she searched desperately for the brunette. rlm@2: “I’m right here!” Kumiko said quickly, taking Megumi’s cold hand as rlm@2: she sat next to her on the bed. The jealousy she had felt when the rlm@2: sorceress had kissed her best friend quickly faded away, replaced rlm@2: with concern for her slowly awakening friend. “I’m right here, Megumi- rlm@2: chan. I’ll always be right here for you.” She still didn’t know quite rlm@2: what was going on with Meishi or what she had in mind, but that rlm@2: hardly mattered at the moment. It didn’t even matter if she was rlm@2: Sakura or just a dream. All that mattered was her best friend and rlm@2: what lay before her. rlm@2: Megumi offered a weak smile before coughing for a few moments. “I rlm@2: know, Kumi. It’s part of why I love you so much.” She didn’t know rlm@2: what had happened, but at least Kumiko wasn’t mad at her anymore. She rlm@2: didn’t know how much more of that she could have taken before just rlm@2: dying of a broken heart. Wet, cold tears splattered against her rlm@2: cheeks from up above. Her arms wrapped around the brunette’s waist, rlm@2: even though they felt like overcooked noodles. rlm@2: Leaning down on top of her best friend, Kumiko kissed Megumi softly rlm@2: again and again, sobbing quietly as she did. “I love you so much... rlm@2: I’ll always love you... I promise... I promise we’ll always be rlm@2: together... No matter where we are...” she whispered, giving Megumi’s rlm@2: lips more feathery kisses. rlm@2: “I know... I know, Kumi. Always.” rlm@2: rlm@2: