Chapter Three: Animate
"Yui-chan? Seiryuu No Miko?"
I had no idea what the fuck I was saying, it just came out like that! Her face went from confused to horror in point-nothing-flat.
"Who are you?" She whispered, like it was a big secret. On the other hand, she didn't seem to NOT know what I was talking about. Me, I was shaking like a damned leaf. I mean, here I am at some dumb party like some fricken southern deb-u-tant, and I meet someone I REMEMBER-remember! Jesus, this has never happened before, so what do I do?
"Uh, let's go back and sit, ok?" She nodded, and I lead us back to the bench. She was staring at me like I got two heads or something. We were just looking at each other like we don't know what to do next. So I said, "You know what that means, right?"
Her face got all tight, like she didn't want to know, but does anyway. "How did you know? Who are you?" She thought a sec, it seems, and then said "Who WERE you?"
I tell you, it was like a fucking light went on in my head! I grabbed her arms, and I was whispering just as intent as she was. "So, it's possible right? I'm not fucking crazy! It was all real, we were all there!" I guess I realized she was about an inch from hitting me, because I let go and started pacing. "I only remember seeing you like maybe twice, but Miaka used to talk about how she had to save you. I remember sorta seeing you in Kutou that time when we came for Tamahome, and then on the battlefield."
She was looking at me like I was some sort of bug she hated. I don't know, it didn't occur to me then that maybe being the Seiryuu priestess was something she wasn't proud of. I was too hyped up on finding someone I knew from Then. I certainly didn't hate her or nothing. I was so glad to find someone from Then I coulda kissed her! Finally she said, "Suzaku Seichi ….. Tasuki, wasn't it?"
I laughed out loud. "Yes!" I can't believe I did this, but I HUGGED her. I think I might have even kissed her cheek after all! I was laughing, and well, almost crying really. "You know! You remember! I'm not fucking nuts, it really was real!"
"Rowe-san, please!" Yui pushed me away and stood up. Now she was pacing and I was sitting on the bench. "Let me see if I understand. You are the reincarnation of Tasuki? But, you were never sure of it?"
"Never!" I pulled out another smoke and lit up. "All my damned life I've remembered it all, but how could I tell it wasn't some totally screwed up dream thing, like being psycho or something? I never found any of the others. Well, I'm pretty sure about Kurt, but he doesn't remember anything."
"Who was Kurt?"
"My buddy Kouji. From the bandits. I was the leader of a group of bandits, did you know that? Uh, you mighta seen them during the battle…." I had to stop. Like, then it finally occurred to me that maybe she didn't wanna talk about it. Or, not talk to ME at any rate. I was the enemy, right?
In fact, Yui didn't look good at all. She looked like she was about to like bust out crying or something. I stood up and put my hand on her shoulder. "Hey," I said, "I don't hate you or nothing, OK? I'm just so glad to find out that all the shit I had in my head my whole life is true." She still looked bad. I hate crying chicks, so I figured I'd distract her. "Ya know, Miaka said you were her best friend, but she never mentioned you were a total babe."
Now she looked at me like I had two heads and was neon green to boot, but at least she wasn't about to cry or nothing anymore. She took a step back, though. "Rowe-san…"
"Glen. Or Tasuki. Whichever." I didn't want her to be all formal. I wanted her to be a friend. It all seemed so nuts, but I remember fighting that bastard Nakago, and I remember that Yui Hongo used her last Seiryuu wish to give Miaka the power to call Suzaku. I also remember she nearly died. I don't know that I ever even thought about how life mighta turned out for her.
She looked me in the eye. "Glen. I …… I can't."
Like that she was gone. She just split! Next thing I know I'm chasing her back into the party, out the door, and watching her taxi drive away! Blew my fricken mind. I didn't think that all her memories might be bad. But then, I had this whole life to get shit straight in my head. Now I knew that only a few years had passed – and THAT was a whole weird-ass Star Trek paradox if I ever heard one. I mean, if she was about 20 too, then it's only been like 5 years for her and Miaka, but a whole LIFETIME for me. Which meant Miaka was meeting Me-Tasuki in that world, while Me-Glen was on the streets of NYC trying to find a warm place to sleep. Shit.
That's some weird-ass fucking shit.
Anyways, in a second Terry was yanking me around to introduce me to a bunch of people, and I had to be all charming and shit. But Kurt catches my eye and I look at him and I know he saw me chasing Yui through the hotel, and I can just TELL he's dying to find out what's going on. After all, who's ever seen Glen Rowe chasing a girl? No one, that's who.
After fricken HOURS of torture, the party's finally over and I'm about ready to shoot myself, I was so damned beat, and all I can think is, I ain't crazy, I met Yui tonight. The Seiryuu No Miko and she REMEMBERED ME! Kurt grabbed me, makin' all our excuses to the party-hounds lookin' to drag us out for after-hours, and he stuffed me in a cab. We're headed home and Kurt's lookin' at me like I'm one of those paintings he likes to stare at for hours.
"So? What the fuck?" he said.
Shit, and people say I'm el-o-quent! I just shook my head. How in hell do I explain everything? I mean, shit, he was THERE and he don't remember any of it. How the fuck is it gonna sound if I go 'well, in a past life I knew her, only it wasn't a past life for her, it was only five years ago…' He'd think I'm fricken bonkers, that's what he'd think. On the other hand, I could show him the notebooks I wrote everything down in. And I mean EVERYTHING, like my whole life in Konan, with him and ReiRei and Hakurou, and the War, and the Suzaku warriors, and the Seiryuu, and after, with him and Chichiri dyin' and me killin' myself.
Well, why the fuck not? Shit, I've been carryin' this load my whole life, and for the last five hangin' with Kurt I've been carryin' his load too. Now I know I'm not nuts, it's all true. So I tell him, as soon as we get home, I'll explain everything. We get in the door, I dig out the notebooks, and hand them to him, saying "Read these first." He just nods and takes a seat on the couch and starts reading.
I put a beer next to him an hour ago. He ain't touched it yet. Why do I feel like everything's about to go to hell in a bucket?
