Chapter Seven
Kai paused at the top of the long flight of steps that led to the mausoleum, shading his eyes against the sun for a moment and just breathed.
It had been twenty seven years since the twins had fallen asleep, and much had changed during that time. George, a man nearing sixty when the cocoons had formed around the twins, had died last year in his sleep, leaving behind the Omoro and letters for all of his children - including both Saya and Natsuki. Those letters now sat unopened on the bedside table of their room, which hadn't been touched other than the occasional clean.
The grief from his passing still lingered, but it was less raw, less sharp edged. George Miyagusuku had taught his kids to live in the present, and live for the future, and both Kai and Riku observed that. They mourned him, yes, but they carried on living at the same time.
Riku had gone to Tokyo to attend a top university there, and was now happily settled in the suburbs of the city with a wife and two kids, aged forty two.
Kai, at forty-four and nearing forty five, had no children, but a long term girlfriend called Meryl. Four and a half years ago, at much prompting from a much aged David (whom Kai swore was only still alive due to being a Hunter, though David liked to insist it was his strength of character) he had sat her down and finally told her the truth; answering her impatient questions about the sisters he was waiting for, about his visits to his family grave, about the stone figure of Hagi which resided there. She'd accepted it all; a very resilient character who insisted on hearing absolutely everything, she had quickly joined him on his weekly visits to the grave. She wasn't with him today; sometimes, he needed to go alone.
David and Julia, who had passed away, had had one son, whom David had refused to pass on the legacy of his name to and had instead named him Josh. Josh was nearing twenty-two, still in a local college and just as intelligent, curious and invested in chiropteran research as his mother had been.
Lewis hung around the Omoro, a wizened favourite of the public who liked to sit by the bar and alternatively sing and tell jokes, both of which tended to get more raucous the more drunk he became.
Lulu, who'd already been living on borrowed time due to her being a Schiff, had also passed away sixteen years ago, happy and at peace; grateful that she'd managed to experience life properly, and eager to share it with her fellow Schiff when she died.
Joel hadn't married (despite being named the Bachelor of the year by some women's magazine, something that both Kai, Lewis and David found hilariously funny and never failed to tease him about) and hadn't had children either. He lived nearby the Omoro, funding the Silverstein Chiropteran research facility - set up by Julia and now taken over by her son - living quietly and simply as Kai, Lewis and David did.
Mao and Okamura had gotten married, with minimal bitching on the actual day but involving several epic cat fights during the planning, the likes of which Kai didn't think could be rivalled. They'd moved to America, and while they were still in touch, they were no longer as close as they had been.
It was a much calmer world that Saya and Natsuki would soon wake up in; quieter and simpler, with hopefully no bloodshed on the horizon. Life unrolled smoothly.
Kai grinned and continued towards the stone grave where his sisters slept. He doubted it would last, to be honest.
-n/s-
"Even the constant distance is changing,
And the light I only think I can see
Is getting further away,"
"Where is the start of today?
Where is the end of tomorrow?"
"The irregular hours are fooling my mind
And even my memories
I am only resting here in the quiet,"
"Until the end of this dream
We're going to keep on dancing here, just for a little while
We want to be sure, want to be sure
So we fall asleep again,"
"When I opened my eyes, it was dawn
If I keep silent,
I'll know of precious things,"
"As if I'm going up in a spiral
I struggle and struggle
But something always comes of it,"
"I leave my body to the waves
It can only take me to old places
Overcome by the constant beat,"
"I'm looking for the reasons to live,
The reasons to wake; still resting
I'm sick in mind, if not in body,"
"Until we wake from this dream
We want to keep on singing here, just for a little while
We want to be sure, want to be sure
Even if our voices become strained,"
"I'm still overcome,
Today is disappearing,
If that can become a comfort,
My world is connected,"
""Until the end of this dream
We're going to keep on dancing here, just for a little while
We want to be sure, want to be sure
So we fall asleep again,"
They sang through their dreams, twined around each other. They'd been to this dreamland before; but there'd always been a mirror separating them. They didn't know why, and they didn't care.
Now, they were together again, as they should be.
They slept.
They dreamed.
They sang.
-n/s-
Kai rested a hand on the webbed surface of the cocoon, smiling softly at the echoes of song he could hear. He couldn't make out anything more than the odd word, over the steady, synchronised sound of their hearts beating.
So closely had they fallen asleep that they simply stayed together; rather than two separate cocoons, they slept inside one, which pulsed gently with purple light and echoed with snatches of singing.
"Three more years, I think. About that. Man, everything's changed so much… but we don't know if you're gonna remember enough to realise that… I can't say I'm sorry about that though. You've both had such difficult lives. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have a couple of years without those memories…" He murmured softly. Their heartbeat thumped steadily, and he grinned at them; two pale figures barely visible through the webbing, and covered by masses of long, long, dark hair, forming a protective circle like an inner cocoon.
"I wonder what you'll be like, without your pasts…"
Shorter, filler chapter this week, I know. Sorry if that's disappointing for some people, but it made more sense to me structurally to split it from the next chapter - which is well under way, and I will hopefully be able to get it up within another week. This is unusually short - it will be very rare for chapters to be this short, and they will only ever be this way for a good reason.
Thank you again to everybody who reviewed/story alerted/favourite this, I cannot thank you enough. Reviewers, I haven't been able to reply to all of you individually, and probably won't unless you ask a direct question, but be aware that I read and treasure every single review I am lucky enough to get. :)
Hope everybody enjoyed this anyway, and please review! Tell me what you think of all that's happened in those 30 years - people familiar with Blood+, do you think it's realistic? Let me know! XD
