Beautiful Dreamers
Anything that sounds like it was slapped with a big
ol' copyright, we don't own.
We do own: four books of manga, (CCS, Sailor Moon,
Fushigi Yuugi, Magic Knight Rayearth), one Digimon puzzle, one plastic Biyomon,
the godforsaken Nimoy-ish Matt Ishida throw pillow, a videocassette of
Princess Mononoke, the Mandy Moore CD I'm listening to, and my dish of mint
chip ice cream.
~*~
~*~
"Swordsman Ishida?" she whispered. He glanced down at her, twilight blue eyes sparkling. "The healers are through. It's all right for you to go in."
"Thank you, Kimi."
"I'll be back. The kitchen staff wanted me to bring up a bowl of miso soup and some green tea."
The young man nodded and darted down the hallway, silent and lithe. He nudged a mahogany door open and slipped inside.
"I'm glad you're all right," he murmured, running his hand along the curve of her face.
"Yamato…" she whispered, trying to sit up.
"Lie back down, you've got heat sickness and if you think I'm going to let it worsen you've got another thing coming, Sora Takenouchi."
She smiled at him weakly. "You're so sweet."
Kimi, the little servant girl, snuck into the room, her tray laden with comfort food.
"For you, Lady Takenouchi."
The poppy-haired girl nodded, once again trying to sit up. Her blonde companion shook his head and took up the bowl.
The auburn-haired youth gasped, pulling a note from the pocket of her apron, handing it to Yamato.
"Master Yamato, this came for you today! I would've given it to you earlier but when you and Lady Sora came in covered in blood it totally slipped my mind!"
He scanned the letter quickly, grimacing. "I have to leave."
Sora gasped. "No…you can't! Why?"
He held the note out in front of her. "The emperor's summon. I'm needed."
The young woman threw back her covers. "I'm coming too. You need me, I'm your partner…in more ways than one."
He shook his head. "No, I can't let you. You're unwell. Besides, after what happened yesterday, I can't risk anything else happening to you."
Sora threw her arms around him and wept, warm tears splashing onto his shoulder.
"Please, Yamato! Don't leave. Please."
Yamato smiled faintly, wiped the stray tears off her cheeks, and got up.
"I'll come back as soon as I can, Sora. You just get well for me."
And with those words, he left. She fell back onto her pillows and sobbed.
~*~
~*~
"We are growing very impatient, Chancellor. We sent for Swordsman Ishida hours ago. Why hasn't he graced our presence yet?"
The chancellor wrung his hands. "Well, Your Majesty, he is coming from halfway across the empire. And there were reports just this morning that his companion the Lady Takenouchi had been ambushed by desert rogues, so that may very well have slowed him."
"We do not want excuses, Chancellor. We want things done quickly. Do we make ourselves clear?"
A/N: Don't you just love the authoritative plural royalty figures use? Hotohori uses it in the manga!
"Perfectly clear, Your Majesty."
"The Swordsman Ishida is here, Your Majesty. Shall I have him sent here?"
"Yes, we would appreciate your efforts, Lei Lei."
She bowed again and exited, her slippered feet making not a single sound on the carpet laid out over the marble floors.
The emperor sat up, straightened his headpiece, and tried to appear more regal than usual.
"Ah, we did. We were getting a bit worried, Swordsman Ishida. You have never been tardy for an audience before us."
"I apologize, Your Majesty. I had some…personal matters to attend to."
The emperor nodded sympathetically and motioned for the girl, Lei Lei, to deposit the crystalline pitcher of cold drink on a small side table.
"Yes, how is the Lady Takenouchi?"
Yamato blushed. "Fairing as well as someone with heat sickness can. As for the bandits who abducted her, those that didn't taste my blade have fled."
"Excellent. We are aware that you and the Lady were just returning from your journey to the north, and we apologize for such shortcomings in informing you sooner, but…"
"Say no more, Your Majesty. I am at your service, as always."
The emperor smiled, pouring himself a drink and sipping it lazily. "I know I can count on you. The situation is grave, and could mean the destruction of my empire."
"As you can see, Swordsman Ishida, this is where the palace is located. And if we are correct, you reside here." He pointed to a location west of the city.
"Yes, and the Lady lives with me as my guest."
"The imperial forest, here, three miles from your home, is where the problem is. We have been told that the creatures in the forest have suddenly begun metamorphosing into monsters that enter, here, from the southwest."
"Is that why I have heard nothing of this?"
The emperor smiled. "Don't forget, you and the Lady have been gone for several months. I fear, not as we the emperor but as me the man, for the people of my empire. You see, after my father died it was my sole duty to run this kingdom at the tender age of eight. It was under my reign that the country flourished. Truthfully, our empire grew not by force, but because the surrounding countries wanted to share in our bounty. I have been working my whole life to make our empire a strong one, and I cannot imagine what will happen if the peace and prosperity of decades crumbles."
Yamato stood, bowing again. "I swear on my honor to do everything in my power to restore the harmony, Your Majesty."
"Go with my blessing, Yamato Okami Ishida. May the gods shine down on your endeavor."
M/N: Lia's been making up middle names again. Three
guesses what mine might be.
~*~
"Any word from Master Yamato?" she questioned, accepting another cup of tea from the girl.
Kimi dug around in her pockets again, her almond-shaped eyes narrowed with frustration.
"The falconers just gave me a note from the palace addressed to you, Lady Sora. I just had it…ah! Here we are."
The girl handed the parchment to her superior, picking up an empty bowl and straightening the pillows while the young woman perused the message.
Sora frowned at this. Yamato was always good at reading thoughts.
You are of more value at home, especially if I fail in stopping whatever it is I'm supposed to be fighting. Don't make that face, Lady Takenouchi, it will stay that way.
She smiled at those words, leaning back in her pillows.
That's the Sora I love. May the gods keep you well, my lady. I will send word as often as I can.
Always yours,
~Yamato
"Lady Sora, what are you…?"
"If Yama thinks I'm staying home like some bedridden, incapacitated, helpless housewife he has another thing coming. Kimi, my garments. And tell Yoshi to saddle up Uma."
A/N: Uma is the Japanese word for horse. So Sora has a horse named Horse.
Is that like an ape named Ape?
Kimi shook her little head, folding her arms across her chest. "Master Yamato said no."
Sora grinned slyly. "Yes, but is Master Yamato here?"
"No, but…"
"And what Master Yamato doesn't know, won't hurt us. Besides, what if he gets himself into trouble out there? Hmm? He'd need my help. Please, Kimi. He may be your master, but Yamato is my partner, my friend, and my love."
The girl sighed, reluctantly opening the wardrobe doors. "Your coral robes or your blue ones?"
~*~
He absentmindedly flicked another branch onto his campfire, not daring to venture into the forest alone, at night, and with monsters roaming around. Wolves were one thing. He could handle wolves. It was wolves turned to hideous creatures with snarling jaws dripping with foam and claws that could rake a man in two that he worried about. Even the chipmunks and squirrels were a hazard!
The horse whickered behind him, as if in agreement.
"And she's a lot better company then you are, Akai. No, I was right. She's not well, and she wouldn't be up to full strength."
"Good evening," the rider called in a clear tone. "Might you know where I can find Yamato Ishida, swordsman of the Emperor?"
"I am the Swordsman Ishida."
The rider leapt from their mount, a paper lantern swinging wildly. The figure walked forward with an elegant stride, holding the lantern close to their face.
"And I am the Lady Takenouchi, come to aid you on your quest to restore the harmony to our empire."
"I couldn't stay at home, and reading your letter made me want to come even more."
The blonde warrior walked over to her, reached out his hand, and slapped her across the cheek.
"That was for your disobedience and insubordination," he stated, icily.
The redheaded woman clutched her throbbing cheek, tears welling in her eyes.
Yamato scooped her up into his arms and kissed her, his lips warm and tender.
"And that?" she questioned.
"For your disobedience and insubordination."
"I'm sorry, Yamato. I just couldn't let you do this alone. I didn't want you getting hurt, so I…"
He pressed a finger to her lips, cutting her off.
"Did you hear that?"
She shook her head. He released his grasp on her, drawing a shining blade from its sheath.
"By the Gods! What is that thing?" Sora gasped.
"I believe, my dear, it is your common bat-turned-vicious mutant," Yamato replied sarcastically.
A/N: I almost wrote Tamahome. Hmm…LOOK EVERYONE, IT'S YAMAHOME!!!! SQUEE!
Oh brother. -_-;
The young man held his sword up, poised for combat.
"Sora, get back!"
"But I…"
"Run, now!" he commanded as the monstrous creature dove out of the air. Sora backed off, crouching a safe distance away and checking her assortment of concealed weapons, preparing herself for the fray.
But butterfly it wasn't. The monster descended, curling back its lips and sinking those razor sharp fangs into the shoulder of the swordsman. Yamato shrieked in agony, dropping his sword to the dust and clutching the wound, blood oozing from between his fingers.
"Yamato, it's coming back! Pick up your sword and get it!" Sora cried, ready to join in at the moment's notice.
"Take your shirt off," she ordered, dipping into her bag.
"Sora, I really don't think now is the best time to…"
"Yamato, keep your mind out of the trash heaps and do as I say. You're losing blood fast and I won't be able to fix you up with five yards of silk in the way."
He removed the blood-soaked cloth, taking his hand away from the gash.
"Now I'm doubly glad you ignored my orders," he said through clenched teeth as the redheaded young woman washed the lesion with an astringent she kept in a small vial in her pouch. She smeared a greasy ointment on the raw skin and bandaged it tightly.
"There. That should heal up fast," she murmured, wiping the blood and lotion off her hands.
She was already asleep, wrapped in a blanket she had pulled out of somewhere. Yamato smiled at her, picked up her lantern, kissed her cheek, and walked off into the pitch-dark forest.
~*~
Soft rustlings of dry leaves and the whispers of the fresh green variety resounded through the forest. The quiet, gasping sound of something breathing other than the lone swordsman caused his pulse to quicken. Yellow eyes flickered in the underbrush, growls issuing. The scraping sound of claws on dirt and moss grated in his ears. Yamato drew his sword, the metal ringing as it left its leather casing. A hoard of lowly coyotes sprang from the bushes, foaming and snarling as rabid beasts perform. They were mutants of a kind, beasts so hideously grotesque that they could not be of this world, or any. They circled around, ragged, dull coats glinting in the lamplight.
"Yamato Okami Ishida, how dare you take off wi…"
Her voice trailed off. The color drained from her face. The coyote's head lowered, fangs poised on that crucial vein.
~*~
She woke with a start, screaming hysterically. His screams of terror joined hers, and the both of them tumbled off the couch, falling spread-eagle on the Oriental rug. She was sobbing now, clinging to his body, slick with perspiration.
"Oh Matt…" she whimpered, tears splashing on his clothes.
He held her close, rocking on his knees. "Sora, don't cry. It was just a dream, that's all."
"Matt…"
He lovingly stroked her hair. "I'm here, it's all right. Don't cry anymore, Sora. I won't leave you, I promise."
They clambered back up onto the couch, settling themselves once again on the soft cushions. She smiled childishly and closed her eyes, sleep being the main priority. He flashed her the ghost of a smile and succumbed to his own exhaustion. The clock on the VCR flickered 12:46 AM.
~*~
She walked over to his side, stepping over the fallen carcasses. He glanced up at her, golden hair falling into his eyes. The Lady Takenouchi held out her palm, striking his cheek with brutal force.
"That," she said with a cool, even tone, "was for deceiving me."
The swordsman said nothing, silent save for his raspy breathing. The poppy-haired young woman jerked her partner up by his collar and kissed him deeply.
"And that?"
"For deceiving me."
~*~
"We better find whoever it is soon, I'm running out of throwing ammo," the Lady sighed.
The blonde swordsman grinned foolishly. "You could throw cooking pots and chopsticks."
"Hmph. You'll be my first target, Yamato, if you keep up the jokes."
"I wonder how the horses are faring."
Sora raised an eyebrow in confusion. "We're on a mission from the emperor and you're worried about the horses?"
"If we don't have horses," Yamato mused, "we won't be getting home any time soon."
"So…you are the Swordsman Ishida and the Lady Takenouchi," the voice of an unseen figure stated. "I have heard much about you."
Metal sang as Yamato drew his blade, sunbeams glinting off the metal. Sora pulled back her sleeve and fitted an arrow to the taut bowstring. A figure leapt from a sturdy bow, his own rapier in hand.
"You're behind this?" Yamato questioned, his voice icy.
The young man scowled, twirling the hilt of his rapier in his fingers.
"And do you know why? Because I am second born! When my father dies, all the land that stretches from coast to coast will go to my sister! A woman running this empire! It's abominable! A female ruler will be weak, the empire will crumble in less time than it takes to make tea!"
The Lady Takenouchi narrowed her amber-ruby eyes. "And you think by turning the forest creatures into monsters this will change anything?"
"If I don't get what I want, I take it by force! If I have to destroy the empire, I will. I can rebuild it in a season, better than before! Now stand aside, fools."
The swordsman charged, expertly handing the weapon in his hands. The emperor's son smirked, parrying the blow.
"Get up!" Sora shrieked as the young prince ran towards him, blade aimed at his heart and hollering bloody murder. Yamato blocked, the other man's sword snapping with a metallic clang.
"I see that my combat skills are no match against yours, Swordsman. But how are you at handling magic? Creature, I summon thee!"
M/N: Lia! Quit it with the Rayearth refs.
A/N: Oh, come on, be a sport. And don' interrupt.
A huge toad hopped out of the woods, its throat bulging as it croaked.
"Creature, destroy the Swordsman!"
The toad's enormous pink tongue whipped out towards the young warrior, ready to snap him up and swallow him whole. The protruding tongue stopped short inches from him, however, an arrow quivering in the flesh.
"Don't touch him," the Lady spat, pulling a dagger from her boot.
"Sora!" Yamato hollered, leaping and bringing the blade down. The toad's tongue lolled on the ground, sliding its writhing coils off the gasping young woman. The toad itself vanished in a hissing cloud of smoke.
"How endearing, each protecting the other, even if it means self-sacrifice," the emperor's son sneered.
"If that's all the magic you can do, I'd say you were a pretty pitiful mage," Yamato taunted, ready for another go.
"Yamato, don't provoke him!" Sora hissed. "Neither one of us have magic powers, so he has the advantage."
"Who needs magic when I have the greatest gift of all guarding my life?" he murmured.
"Ready, love?" Lady Sora questioned. Yamato nodded curtly.
Lady Takenouchi fired a volley of arrows, a cloud of metal, wood and feathers aimed at the emperor's son. Distracted by the airborne assault, he was unable to see the swordsman spring on him until it was almost too late. Purple-black light surging with a negative force exploded from the sorcerer's hands, one shot to the Lady, another to the swordsman. Both screamed in agony, Yamato bringing his sword down hard. However, the sword hit its mark with a sickening metallic sound as the blade plunged into the second-born child right to the hilt. He shrieked in rage and defeat, falling to the ground with an overdramatic air.
"You saved the empire," she whispered, taking his hand in her own.
"We saved it," he corrected.
Sora nodded, straining to keep her soul from departing. "We…aren't going to make it."
"I know. Marry me…in heaven, my Lady Sora."
She kissed his lips one last time, warmth draining from his body.
"I love you, Yamato," she sighed, her last breath drawn.
"Sora…"
There was a flash of ethereal white light, soft ivory feathers trickling through golden warmth.
~*~
The two teenagers opened their eyes slowly, blinking owlishly. They exchanged glances, unsure of what to say. Sora looked as though she may burst into tears, and yet she was blushing heavily. Matt appeared utterly spent, soaked in perspiration, golden locks plastered to his neck and face. Mrs. Takenouchi, who had been taken out to play and a late night drink by her husband, who had to head back to Kyoto in order to teach a Saturday class, stood over the couch.
"That must have been some movie," she commented, glancing at the television screen, still on.
Sora nuzzled up against Matt. "Too violent for my tastes," she murmured.
"And the ending sucked. That's the last time I take movie tips from my brother," Matt added.
"It's late. Why don't you crash here for the night? We'll call your father in the morning, Matt."
"Yeah, thanks. I doubt I can move anyway."
The florist nodded, turning off the television and a few lights that had been left on, making her way down the darkened hall to her bedroom.
"We had the same dream, didn't we?" she asked.
He nodded. "Maybe it was something in the popcorn."
The redheaded girl sighed, too exhausted to move. She picked up the blanket, tossed it around her slender shoulders, and curled up beside her young lover.
"G'night Matt. I love you."
"I love you too," he whispered, holding her close.
The last image they both shared before falling into deep sleep was of the Lady Takenouchi and the Swordsman Ishida riding side-by-side through golden sunlight and tall grass, the wind blowing their hair back as they raced forward towards forever.
~*~
Wow. I don't know where
that one came from.
Neither do I.
Jeez, Lia, you got violent!
I was going for
detail. If the plot of that thing confused you…Matt can explain.
Me?! Oh, fine. It was all a dream. Except for when we were awake.
Which I think I
got from a combination Fushigi Yuugi, Princess Mononoke, and Magic Knight
Rayearth. Please send me reviews! I love reviews!