By Ryu-chan
It's always you
That I heed for care
It's always you
That is always there
Rein attended the banquet for the emperor for his 18th birthday. She wasn't usually invited to these kinds of parties but her parents thought that she was old enough to go. 'Well, they've come to their senses! I mean I've been old enough for 16 years.' She thought. As she walked around, she heard snobby people talk about the emperor, about how he was supposed to pick a bride already but couldn't decide, about how handsome he is, about how he could fall in love with one of them. They were so pathetic! WHACK! She bumped into someone when she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. She rubbed her head in pain. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." A young male voice said. She looked up and saw a guy with violet hair rubbing the back of his head, smiling at her. 'He's cute.' She thought. "It's OK. Actually, I'm the one supposed to say sorry because I was the one who wasn't looking where I was going." She said flashing him her killer smile. "Well, no point in just standing here. Hi, I'm Chou Ryuuen, sichiseishi no Nuriko." He said extending his arm for a handshake. "A sichiseishi?!" She asked surprised. She couldn't believe a sichiseishi could be this handsome! "Yes." He answered. "H-hi, umm, I'm Rein Asagiri. Uh, I'm just an ordinary girl." She stammered holding up her hand to shake with his. 'Wow! I met a sichiseishi! This is great!' She thought with a smile that went up to her ears.
It's always you
That I see everyday
It's always you
Who comes if it may
Nuriko and Rein turned out to be good friends. They always went out together, went to parties together, and did pretty much everything together. They became the best of friends. When either of them has a problem, the other would help out. It's good to have a sichiseishi as a best friend because you have the honor of dining with the emperor, doing serious stuff with the emperor, and even having fun with the emperor. She already met all the sichiseishi of Suzaku. Mitsukake was the healer, Chichiri was the magician, Tamahome was the fighter, Tasuki was the bandit, Chiriku was either the musician or the brains, and the emperor, Hotohori, was the swordsman. And of course, she couldn't forget her best friend, Nuriko, the brawns of the group. After a while of hanging out together, her feelings towards Nuriko changed from being best friends to wanting to be more than friends. She started to fall in love with him. 'What happens now?' She thought. 'What am I going to do?'
It's always you
Who gives me advice
It's always you
Who takes chances and rolls the dice
The passed weeks, Rein noticed that Nuriko acted differently than usual. Actually, he acted kind of sweetly towards her. It came to her as a shock. The passed events were a total blur for Rein. She couldn't take it out of her mind. That afternoon, she looked for Nuriko to try to figure out what happened to him, if he really has feelings for her. Not just the best friend type of feelings but feelings for more than a friend. She found him admiring the playfulness of the wind to the leaves in the garden. He, as usual, was smiling at this. 'Nuriko…' She thought. "Nuriko!" She called out. Nuriko snapped back to reality, looked towards her, and flashed his innocent smile. "Hey." He greeted. "Umm, Nuriko, I need your advice." She started. "Sure. What is it?" He asked. "Well, I have this friend and she's fallen in love with her best friend." She stopped and looked at him to see if he's getting her point that it was her that she was talking about. He listened to her intently to get every detail. "And?" He asked again. "Well, her best… OK, let's name him Toshiro. Well, 'Toshiro' acted differently towards, let's say, Ana. But it wasn't just any different act. It was kind of sweet act, you know, bringing her home and buying her stuff, things like that. My friend and I were just wondering if 'Toshiro' has feelings for her. I mean for you, what do you think since you're also a guy?" She asked looking down and blushed. "Well, I think he does." He answered. 'Whoa! Direct approach.' She thought. "Really?" She asked again. "Yeah really." He repeated. She smiled at him and hugged him. "Thanks." She whispered.
It's always you
Who comforts me
But now I know
That you're in heaven, watching me
Nuriko walked along the alleys of the Konan kingdom since it was said that there were Kutou men around the kingdom. Since Rein was worried for Nuriko, she followed him. As she turned the curve, Nuriko was gone. She ran towards the end of the alley but he wasn't there. She lost him. As she was about to go back to the palace, a hand covered her mouth and pulled her back into the alley. "What are you doing here?" The man asked. He loosened his grip on her and turned her around. She saw that it was Nuriko. "Don't do that to me again!" She said playfully punching him in the ribs. "Well, you shouldn't stalk me like that." He reasoned putting his hand on the part where Rein punched him. "Sorry." She apologized. "Sssh…" Nuriko hushed Rein and pulled her down to his hiding place before. "What is it?" She asked whispering. "It has been rumored that the Kutou army has entered the Konan kingdom. I'm doing rounds." He said in the same softness of Rein's voice. A cat jumped from the trashcan to the ground and Rein screamed. Nuriko put a hand on Rein's mouth. The men looked towards the alley. "Who's there?" A soldier asked. He advanced holding his sword in front of him. "We are the Kutou army, so better come out or you're dead." He threatened. "Oh really?" Nuriko asked standing up. "Stay here." He commanded Rein. She just nodded. He fought the men from Kutou but was injured by one of them. One or two soldiers escaped unharmed and left a badly hurt Nuriko. Rein came out of the shadows to look for Nuriko and found him flat on the ground in a puddle of blood. "Nuriko!" She shouted. She turned him over to see if he was still breathing. She placed his head on her lap. "R-rein…" He managed to say. "Don't talk. You should stay still." She said managing to keep the tears, welling up in her eyes, from falling. She strokes his hair back, away from his eyes. She bent down and kissed his forehead. He managed to smile. "Do you remember the time you asked me the thing about your friend? I knew it was your situation you're talking about." He said closing his eyes. "And what I told you was true." He continued. Her eyes grew wide in shock. It was true that he had feelings her, feelings for more than a friend. "I'll always love you." With his statement, the tears that she was trying to keep fell from her eyes and didn't stop from flowing. Every tear she shed fell on Nuriko's face. "Don't… cry. I'll… always be… with…" He faded. She felt his body was lifeless. She moved her hand to his mouth to see if he was still breathing but nothing came out. She bent down and cradled his limp body in her arms. The tears kept flowing from her eyes and wouldn't stop. 'I'll always love you.' Were the words that kept running through her head. "And me towards you. I love you, Nuriko." She said placing her forehead on his.
Life is not about what you did when you were still alive but how you lived it. Love is not about whom you loved but how much you loved the person.