A Meeting and A Dream.

A K.N.M. Fan fiction.

I do not own Kannazuki no Miko, this story belongs to me however. Please respect the ideas of myself, and others. Thank you.

NOTE: Though some might see it as a continuity error, let's just say that the college Himeko goes to allows mid-term registration. After all it's all fictitious, we're talking about Mahoroba here. On a side note, look that name up and you'll find some interesting history.

Chapter 10: Chikane's Light.

It had been a short stay in the hospital, the doctors just wanted to make sure that Himeko had not other injuries. She still wore a cast but it was only long enough to support the area where her arm had been broken by the hit she took. It was healing quicker than expected even with the area of the break and the severity the doctors had been a little surprised by the speed of the healing. It was not healing so quick they would think her a genetic mutant but enough to question what the cause would be. In the end nothing had really come of it and Himeko had been released after a couple days in the hospital.

Though it had been discussed slightly during her stay in the hospital, Himeko was slightly leery of Chikane's decision to quite her work. It was not because she did not want the young woman to be near her, that was possibly the farthest from the truth. She was just worried that Chikane was giving up something important just because she wanted to stay close. If that was the only reason, just to be with her, then there was not way Himeko could ask Chikane to do such a thing. Speaking of the dark haired young woman, she had left to take care of some business. Himeko was fine going home alone, it was a little sad being without the young woman but she knew it was not a big problem. It was just that she suddenly realized how lonely her life had been before the two of them had met once again. The blond closed her eyes and clutched the pink seashell around her neck, their link, and gained strength from it. Chikane was here now and she would be here always. Everything else was of no importance.

Her cab pulled up to her own apartment building, it looked so run down now that her eyes almost hurt to see it. She had nothing else to compare it to before, ever getting outside of her neighborhood to do anything but go to school, but since being to the shopping district and downtown she could now see she was poor by comparison. With a sigh she entered and made her way to her room where there was a note on her door, probably left by Makoto. Reading it revealed that her friend was worried about her and wanted her to call as soon as she got the chance. Now that she thought about it, Himeko realized that she had not been anywhere that was not next to her princess for over a week now. She knew that Oogami Kazuki had got her a week of, it was most probable that Chikane had got her an extra few days of but she did not want to assume anything.

Picking up the phone she dialed Makoto's number and waited as the phone rang and there was a click on the other end, "Hello, this is Saotome Makoto."

Makoto... This is Kurusugawa... Himeko," It had been a long time and the blond was unsure of how to introduce herself.

There was a pause before voice from the other end responded, "Himeko? Himeko! Where have you been? I can't believe this, you just disappear for a week and come back . Are you okay? Did something happen to you?"

"Oh, um, I just had some personal business to take care of," Himeko responded before she paused, "Makoto, I need to talk to you."

For her part, the girl on the other end of the phone had a bad feeling but kept it out of her voice, "Alright, class is almost over. You're coming back tomorrow right?"

"Yeah," Himeko sighed and looked at her arm, "Though I don't know how much I'll be able to do, I broke my arm," Realizing how that sounded she quickly added, "I'm okay though, really. It's healing fine."

Makoto sighed, "Fine, listen, I'm coming home right after class is over. Don't move. I want to talk to you also."

There was a click as the conversation ended and finally Himeko built up the courage to open the door to her room. Inside was as she left it, apparently her absence had not been enough to keep the girl from going out as she usually did. The thought was not as depressing as she would have thought but she sure wished that something had been different in her absence. Chikane had dropped by earlier and returned all thing things she had taken with her to the apartment, and the things they had bought together. With a sigh, Himeko sat down on her bed and felt lonely for the first time in a while. It was not because of any one missing thing, it was because she was alone in the room with nobody around her. Anyone would be lonely in such a case. At some point the blond became bored and before she knew it she was passed out on the couch, hanging slightly off.

The next thing she heard was a knock on the door and for a second she thought it was Makoto but then realized the her friend had a key. Rising with slow deliberate movements the young woman made her way over to the door and stumbled as she looked through the sight hole that was inset into it. She barely managed to catch a glimpse of dark blue hair before she opened the door wide.

"Hello, Himeko," Chikane said as she grabbed the surprised girl in an embrace, "I finished my business and heard you had been let out of the hospital. I came by to see if you were okay."

"Um, yeah, I'm fine, Chikane-chan," The blond responded, "I was just resting."

"I have something important to talk to you about, may I come in?" Chikane asked.

Though she knew it was probably not a good idea to let her in while Makoto was on her way home, she could not better deny Chikane than she could stop the moon from rising, "Oh, um, please do."

Chikane walked in and sat down on the couch, "Thank you."

"Would you like some tea?" Himeko asked as she disappeared into the kitchen area.

Looking around at the apartment, Chikane responded, "Yes, that would be great."

"All I have is the bags, I hope that's okay," Himeko called as running water was heard.

"That's fine," Chikane called as she sat back on the couch, it was surprisingly comfortable for being in such a run down place.

Minutes later Himeko came out with a tea pot and two cheap white porcelain cups, setting the down on a coffee table. Chikane leaned forward and took a sip before wincing just the slightest bit. It was drinkable but the taste was something that the dark haired woman was not used to. She was surprised that there was even a difference between ground leaves from a plant. The world was strange.

Chikane set the cup down and patted the seat next to her to indicate that Himeko should sit there, "I've missed you."

Himeko sat next to the woman, close enough to feel her warmth, "I missed you too, but then, you probably knew that already."

"Indeed, I did, that was one reason I came by," Chikane turned and kissed the young woman deeply, "The other reason was to ask you to move in with me."

The door had opened before either of them knew it and Makoto gasped as she saw Chikane and Himeko embracing each other. Looking over, Himeko's eyes widened and she quickly stood, leaving Chikane to face plant on the couch with a muffled scream of shock. For the blond it was about the shock of finding out that she had been seen in such a position by her friend. There was no embarrassment but she was still Himeko and she still became embarrassed easily. She excused herself to the kitchen to make another cup of coffee while Chikane extracted her face from the couch cushion with as much dignity as she could muster in such a position.

Makoto sad down in a chair and silently watched her.

The dark haired woman could tell by the look on Makoto's face what was going on behind her eyes, she was good at reading people, "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. It must be painful."

The brown haired girl looked down, "I knew... I knew I never had a chance, but as much as I keep telling myself it still hurts. And with the princess of Himemiya Industries... I never would have imagined."

Chikane set down the tea she had been sipping on and sighed, "First, don't call me a princess. Second, it's natural to hurt, but it will only hurt more if Himeko never knows. Trust me, keeping a secret like this never helps you."

Makoto watched a look of pain wash over the young woman's face, "You look like you know a lot about it."

"... Do you believe in reincarnation?"

Himeko entered and placed a cup in front of Makoto who picked it up and took a small sip, slowly, "What are you two talking about?"

Chikane stood, "Where is your bathroom?"

"Just around the corner... But it's probably not very clean by your standards," Himeko realized what she said and quickly added, "I mean we keep it clean, but you have maids that take care of that, and, um, you know, I just think it would be cleaner if-"

"Hush," Chikane said gently, "I get it. Makoto has something to talk to you about," the dark haired woman looked over to Makoto, "Don't you?"

The brown haired young woman just nodded as Chikane walked off. As the door to the bathroom closed, Himeko noticed that her friend looked reserved. It was a look that told her that whatever was about to be said between the two would not be easily started. Himeko tried to get the conversation started.

"Is the tea okay?" The blond asked, "I could get you another if you want."

"Himeko," Makoto took a deep breath, "I love you."

The pause was so palpable a hammer would have had trouble breaking through it, finally Himeko responded, "I, can't. I'm sorry, Makoto, I just can't. I love Chikane-chan with all my heart, she-"

"I know!" Makoto yelled as tears poured down her cheeks, "I've known from the beginning that you couldn't love me like that! All of this time I was hoping you would forget but I knew you wouldn't. I was a friend only. That's all I can ever be, I was fine with that until now. I thought it would be fine if you actually found who you were looking for, because I want you to be happy. Now you are happy," Makoto let a few sobs pass through her before she continued, "But even so, even so, it hurts. I never thought it would hurt this bad! I never wanted this pain!"

Himeko slid next to the young woman and cradled Makoto in her arms, "It's okay, Makoto, I'm sorry I hurt you but you're going to be okay. If it's you, you'll get through this. I know you won't let this get to you because you are my friend, I've lived with you for years now."

"I want to," Makoto said, "But this pain still won't go away."

The blond woman squeezed Makoto tighter, "I know, being separated from the one you love hurts bad, so bad that you never want it to happen. Once is too much... twice would be... unbearable. It will hurt for a while, and it may never end, but you must always move forward. For every heartbreak there is always someone waiting to put the pieces back together. A friend, a family member, or even someone else that loved you. As long as you keep moving forward, facing the pain and finding your one shining truth, you will get through this."

"How would you know, you never even loved anyone before Miss Himemiya," Makoto sound bitter but Himeko could tell her tears were nearing an end.

Himeko paused for a second, unsure of whether she should reveal everything, "I, um, well..."

Chikane entered the room and saved her suddenly, "We know because we have both loved before. Only we were ripped apart by fate just as we realized our feelings."

Finally the brown haired girl stopped crying all together, wiping her face free of tears, and Himeko backed away from her, "I'm not sure I understand."

Sitting down, Chikane picked up her tea and took a sip of it, offering for Makoto to do the same in hopes that it would calm her slightly, "I was asking before if you believe in reincarnation. It's important to believe because that is how Himeko and I knew one another before. Many times I have been the priestess of the moon and she the priestess of the sun. Each new life we had to choose to sacrifice love for the fate of the earth. I do not know the exact number but it's been more than twice."

Himeko looked down and smiled bitterly, "Every single time, we loved each other. But the last time... The last time was a little more painful than normal. By the time I realized what was going on it was too late. I had happy times with Chikane-chan but then the world came crash down around both of us..."

"When I found out that one of us would have to sacrifice ourselves I was determined for it to be me," Chikane closed her eyes, "I tried to make Himeko hate me, I did horrible things to her. Even with all the things I did, I never expected her to know me so well, or to love me that deeply. Neither of us could be the sacrifice so I was punished for my evil and imprisoned. I knew I would be reincarnated but it still hurt to separate like that. Even though I wanted her to find me again, part of me thought she would never forgive me."

"I did though," Himeko said.

Makoto looked like she was ready to cry, "I had no idea you two had been through so much. I'm sorry for forcing my problems on you. And here I thought you were just normal people."

"We did it so you would understand," Chikane said, "It's unfortunate that you were in love with Himeko but the important thing is those feelings. The capacity to love is a good feeling but it causes pain sometimes. Not only for you but for others. There are too many people in the world for emotions in general to be so limited. I guarantee that the person you love will be loved by another somewhere. In our case, Himeko was loved by Souma and I was, well, let's just say I was a kind of school idol."

Finishing her tea, Makoto took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh, "I understand, it may take some time but I promise I'll move forward. If it worked out for you two it should be fine for me. Now what is it that you wanted to talk to me about."

At this point, Himeko felt like she might be adding insult to injury but it was better to lay all cards on the table, "I'm thinking of moving in with Chikane-chan. The thing is, I really don't want to leave you alone but I also really want to stay with her."

"I think that would help me," Makoto said softly, "I need some time and that would be good for me. You'll still stop by from time to time, right?"

"Of course," Himeko sounded shocked, "I would never abandon a friend. I'll wait until you're ready though. I understand that you need time."

Makoto stood, "Okay, then I'm going to grab a drink."

Though it sounded like she was just going to drink her worries away, Himeko knew that it was her way of pressing on, Makoto had a quite social life after all, "I'm glad. I knew you were strong Makoto. Thank you for everything, I'll definitely come by whenever you're ready."

Makoto turned and made her way towards the door before she turned once more, "Himeko?"

"Yeah,"

"You told me to find my light," Makoto looked down for a second, "What was your light and how did you know?"

The blond thought for a second before responding, "My light was one that shines even in the darkest places, the light of the moon that shows you the way when you are lost. Mine was Chikane-chan. You'll know yours when you find it, I can't explain it but it's a different feeling."

Makoto looked up with a smile, "Thank you, I'll definitely find my light. I hope you stay with yours, you look so much happier."

With that, the woman was out the door, Himeko hoped she found what she needed to get through this because she was a friend. Chikane felt the same way in truth, she knew how it felt to be in love with someone and not have them give the feeling back. That was the whole reason she had done what she did to Himeko in their past life. Somehow, she knew that everything would be fine for Makoto, she was a good person and bad things did not happen to people like her. Not in this life.

------------------------(Sniffles)-----------------------------------

I know I said this wouldn't be too depressing but that last scene was pretty bad. I tried to make it end as good as possible, but somehow I kept feeling as if I was just brushing it off. Like "poor you, get over it". Believe me, that's not what I was going for. Also, there were some changes to sentence structure as some of the sentence were a little too dramatic, so they made me laugh instead. I'm not 100 sure that this came out as I wanted but then again I tend to be my own worst critic. If you ask me I don't even belong writing but everyone keeps saying it's good and I DO enjoy it. About the whole last chapter, I don't think I'll be calling Chikane a "cow" anymore. I just about fell out of my chair when I realized I put that in there. Granted, it goes with Girochi's attitude but the shock value isn't worth it. It was slightly amusing in a "oh my god what did I just do" kind of way.

All I want to say is that I hope you enjoyed this chapter and more are on the way. Though the exact number of how many more is unknown since I need to find a way to get to my ending. That's right, I have an ending and that's a start to completing a good story instead of leaving it half-finished with everyone cursing you... Ahem, not that I've done that before... Really.