Un Ciel Bleu
by pure.innocence
Phase 01
It's been six moths since Doumyouji got out of the hospital. He still can't remember; yet…I still love him. Hours are like days, days are like months, and months are like years. The wound is old now, but it hasn't even begun to heal. I wish I could tear away from it all, but I can't. I can sense him everywhere, in the school, on the streets, in my heart. I've thought about going away, far, far away, to some place no one's ever heard of. But I'm Makino Tsukushi remember? I have weed power! No man is going to control my life. But sometimes…sometimes it really does feel too overwhelming, too much for me. I hate this, I hate this weakness. Oh Kami, I sound like a silly little girl don't I? I have to stand still and be me; I have to hang on to hope because maybe that's really all I have.
"Makino."
That strong, soft voice…Hanazawa Rui.
"Hey Hanazawa Rui…"
I tried to sound happy, but it's Hanazawa Rui. For him, I have to peel off the masks I've put on to fool the world.
He plopped down beside me on the stairs. He didn't talk, but I felt strangely at peace because even though his face never betrayed any emotions, I could see in his eyes that he was lending his strength to me. We sat wordless for hours. The silence enveloped itself around us, cradling us in its tender care. Finally I decided to get up.
"Thank you..." I whispered quietly.
"You say that too much."
I smiled; he smiled back. And suddenly, I felt the weight on my shoulders lighten a bit. With Hanazawa Rui here by my side, maybe time really will heal all wounds.
~
I walked aimlessly into someone, with my head lowered, I mumbled a fast, "Gomen nasai!" and was retorted with,
"Rui's woman, watch where you're going!"
I didn't even have to look to see who it was, but I glanced up anyway. The sight that greeted me was shocking, but I guess I had been prepared all along. Umi had her arms wrapped around Doumyouji's arm. He didn't seem to be annoyed either. At that moment, I just turned and ran like the Devil was after me. When I reached the emergency stairs, Hanazawa Rui was still there. But I didn't really care…I just couldn't take it in anymore. I collapsed to the ground, covered my eyes with my hands and just cried. Not one of those silent drips of tears nor those loud, heartfelt sobs, but just a good cry. I didn't realize as Hanazawa Rui made his way towards me, but I did hear his words,
"If you ever feel like crying, look up at a blue sky because the fragments of your tears will turn into a cloud and flow away with the wind…"
It was barely audible, but I heard it so clearly. Before I could reply, he walked away. If someone else said the same thing, I would have laughed in their face. But no matter how weird his words are, I somehow always understood.
And out of nowhere, I had this sudden urge to look up. I gasped. Even though it was the middle of December, the sky was so blue...
So, so blue…
~
"Makino…I remember."
And he ran towards me, with his arms wide open, with his warm brown eyes…
It was all a dream, just a fantasy to give me faith, to give me life.
Hurry Doumyouji, hurry!
A cold hand on my shoulder disturbed my thoughts.
"Hanazawa Rui."
"Let's go somewhere."
"Huh?"
With that, he grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the safe confines of Eitoku.
"Slow down!"
He didn't slow down, just pulled me like a rag doll towards whatever destination he had in mind.
We stopped at a park. He led me to the center of the park; there was an empty ice rink. It was so beautiful…a smile spread out on my lips. I turned to him and saw that he was staring intently at me.
"What are you looking at?"
"You're much prettier when you smile."
I blushed. I get really flustered when guys compliment me, especially good-looking guys. I turned to the ice rink again.
"Wow, this is really beautiful Hanazawa Rui…"
The ice looked like thousands of fairies, flapping their smooth, silver, shimmering wings. The rink was surrounded by tall evergreens, the tips of the needles were white from frost, the green color showed no sign of giving up to the harsh sweeps of winter. All in all, the landscape was truly breathtaking. I stood in wonder, looking around.
"Yo, Makino, let's go skate."
"But we didn't bring skates…"
He didn't answer me, just stepped onto the ice and glided around the rink twice before stopping, then unexpectedly, he held out his hand.
Watching him glide upon the ice so gracefully with no skates gave me newborn confidence. I took his hand and stepped onto the ice. Surprisingly, skating with tennis shoes was not that bad. Of course, I still fell every once in a while. Ok, fine, I fell a lot.
Suddenly, Hanazawa Rui came up from behind me and tossed me into the air. I screamed, but thankfully, he caught me.
"You didn't really think I'd let you fall did you?" he said with a smirk across his lips.
I refused to say anything.
He took hold of my hand again and led me around. Every few minutes, he would quietly hum a tune.
And for the entire time, he never let go of my hand.
~
Disclaimer: Hana Yori Dango and its characters do not belong to me; they are the works of Kamio Youko. Don't sue, I'm poor. Also, Hanazawa Rui's quote (blue sky) was taken from Margaret. The disclaimer applies to the rest of Un Ciel Bleu also.
Copyright 2003 (applies to rest of Un Ciel Bleu)