She woke to sunrise. For once. Everything important had been happening at night lately, from Irita's kidnapping to stabilizing the Akuto flow.
The flow! She kicked her blankets aside and ran to the window. The sun was coming up in the east, but the flow was on the other side of the sky, and maybe --
There. She spotted it, still glowing faintly in the dawn.
It hadn't been a dream. They really had done it. She pumped a fist in the air.
"Yes!"
Her muscles protested.
"Ow, ow, ow." Apparently, fixing an ancient break in the Akuto cycle was more than one could recover from in one night. Besides, she'd never been good at moving fast early in the morning. Unless she was late for school.
School.
An ache spread across her chest. Now that the flow was fixed, her job here was done. Sooner or later, she'd have to…
"Munto," she whispered.
X X X
She bathed and changed, then found her own way to the breakfast sunroom. No one had come to get her, so they'd probably decided not to disturb her until she woke on her own.
Munto was there. He jumped to his feet when she walked in, came to her and took her hands. "Are you feeling all right?"
"Um…" She tried to pull a hand free to rub the back of her head, but he wouldn't let go. "I'm a little drained, but okay. You?"
"Keh." He brushed that off. "That was nothing."
"Oh, shut up." She slumped into a chair.
He grinned and pushed a plate in her direction. He had one too, she noticed.
"Eat," he ordered.
Whatever it was, it smelled good. For once, she didn't argue.
X X X
"You're really going to let her go?"
Munto concentrated on the report in front of him. There seemed to be a mountain of them needing his attention, piled all over the war chambers. Reactions to the stabilized flow had been many and varied, but at least nobody was trying to argue that it was a bad thing. "You know I can't force her to stay."
"She just got here," Rui said plaintively. "I don't want her to leave."
Munto shot him a challenging look, not sure how much to read into that. Rui waved his hands defensively.
"I'm not talking about me, you idiot. I think she would stay if you asked her to. And you're easier to live with when she's here."
The king's expression tightened. "She made a promise," he said softly. "She has to go back."
Rui smacked the table impatiently. "Fine, she goes back. If she goes back, she can come back. Can't she?"
He stalked to the door.
"Rui!"
Rui threw him an exasperated look. "Stop punishing yourself," he said, and left.
X X X
"Yumemi."
She stirred. "Not yet, Mom," she murmured. "I don't want to go to school."
He cracked a smile and patted her shoulder. "Come on. Wake up."
She rubbed her eyes reluctantly. "Air smells strange… Oh!"
She bolted upright, almost conking her head on his chin. They were on the roof of the house opposite hers.
"We're here," he said quietly.
She stared at her house, a wave of emotion sweeping through her insides. Home and yet not-home, the place she'd come from, the place she'd known she would have to return to -
There had been a farewell party, of course, but she hadn't enjoyed it. How could she? Ryuely had been serious, Rui dejected, Munto unreadable between hints of misery.
"We'll miss you," they'd all said. Well, except for Munto.
She'd miss them too. Terribly.
They landed on the grass, silent as moonlight. She made a fuss of smoothing her dress, not ready to go in. She hoped the alarm wasn't on…
She sensed rather than heard him lift again. "Munto! You're not leaving already?"
He paused, but didn't come down. "I don't belong here," he said simply.
I don't --
"But -- will I see you again?" She caught his ankle, heard her voice rising. "We're friends! Friends should see each other again."
He didn't answer.
"Ah…" She let go and stepped back, hurt piercing her chest. Idiot. "I forgot. Akuto has returned to the heavens, right?" She forced a smile. "You don't need me anymore."
She ran towards the house. She couldn't wait to get inside.
"Yumemi."
If his voice hadn't stopped her, the healthy grip on her wrist would have. She tugged, unsuccessfully.
"Go shopping," he said softly. "Get your paycheck. Buy cute T-shirts at your Internet stores."
She felt tears burning her eyes, but to wipe them would be to give them away. "Just go."
He went on as though she hadn't spoken. "And when you've done all those things… come back to me."
Her mind went blank.
He turned her round, touched her damp cheek. "Promise me."
She raised her pinky wordlessly. Images flickered through his mind; promises made, remembered, honored. The unfamiliar gesture felt natural, as though he'd grown up with it.
"It's a promise, then."
"I promise." What was she saying?
She considered, and found that she meant every word.
She moved as though to hug him, but he shook his head. "If you do," he said meaningfully, "I'll take you back right now."
Instead he leaned down and brushed her lips, the gentlest first kiss in the world.
Her mind went blank for the second time in three minutes. Then he was gone, hurtling into the sky.
Her sky.
"I promise," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She couldn't wait.
-The End
DISCLAIMER: You know it! This story not created, acknowledged or endorsed by Kyoto Animation or Yoshiji Kigami, to whom all relevant characters and trademarks belong. No infringement is intended and absolutely no profit was or ever will be made. King of Dreams itself is fan domain and may be freely recopied and archived. No heavy critique, please -- it is what it is -- but reader reactions are appreciated, as always.
