Everywhere
By Kawaii Dragoness

Notes: You know that Michelle Branch song, "Everywhere"? It's the inspiration to this one, but from a different perspective. (Personally: I *adore* that music video! Yeah, baby!) But, it's got a semi-angsty flavor to it, unlike the song...oh god, 5xMei, AU, just read it. Takes place after EW, I guess.

Summary: After her death, Meiran's spirit watches her husband protectively, in total silence. What happens when he realizes she is there and he goes on a near-impossible quest to bring her back?

Dedicaton: To Oni, who loves this song, and also to prove to her that not every fic of mine has a Mary Sue.

::thoughts::
"speech"
*emphasis*
~POV change~
=::= scene change

=::=

~Meiran~

Ever since my death, I've been watching him. That poor scholar boy, who became a warrior when I died for the sake of our home. My husband, who took my place. Chang Wufei.

I follow him almost all of the time, just watching, in total silence. I've saved him from many a death in one way or another. I've entered his dreams with my fantasies--being with him again. I had grown a respect for him when he carried me to the field of flowers one last time--in the afterlife, I ended up falling in love with him. If only I had survived, I had thought at the time. I could tell him how I felt. I could....

But enough of what ifs. I followed him, in total silence, not able to tell him how I feel except through dreams. And from those dreams, I found out that he felt the same way, and deeply regretted never being able to tell me. One time, he woke up from one of those dreams and nearly began to cry. He missed me. It touched me deeply, and I hated the fact that I couldn't tell him how I felt in any other fashion--he must have thought that it was just his idea, his imaginings, his fantasies that would obviously never come true.

::Oh Wufei, to tell you how I feel would be...would be bliss!:: It was the truth, I knew it, and it was nearly my mantra of late. I knew there had to be *some* way or other to tell him, to put his mind somewhat at peace. I knew there was no way possible, but hey, anyone could dream.

I was everywhere around him, and I knew he sensed it somewhat--he seemed to believe that I resided somewhere inside that Gundam of his. He named it after me. He seemed to--to almost worship the goddess it was named after, but I knew the reference was to me. ::He worships me...:: I thought when I first saw him murmuring to Nataku. ::He worships me.::

Then I discovered something. Just because I am invisible does not mean that I do not take up bodily space. I can still touch something with a feel akin to human touch, and--oh, thank the goddess I was named for!--I could speak. I could do everything any human could do but be seen. I decided to use this to my advantage.

=::=

~Wufei~

That night was dark and lonely, just like any other. I was at a safehouse, alone, on Earth, in a forest, sitting on my tiny twin-sized bed. It was raining. All of these things reminded me of how empty my sad life was. I had nothing--no friends, no family, no one to love.

There are the pilots, of course. But they all paired off in the beginning--Heero with Duo, Trowa with Quatre--and then there had to be the odd one out. Me. The Solitary Dragon, the justice-loving freak of nature. And he is never at peace.

My own wife, may she rest in the peace I don't have, didn't accept me either when she was alive. She...she hated me. But then again, we were only children, as I still am now. I'm nothing but a child. I'm so small in this world, I can't make a difference with it without shedding blood. And the only way I am punished in return is the fact that I lost everything *I* stood for as well.

I can't believe that I had never realized that I loved her until after her death. I'm such an idiot. Intelligence and wisdom are two different things. I was known for my intelligence before I got myself caught into all of this mess. So I'm smart, but not wise.

::And now I'm going insane,:: I think as a breeze ruffles me. The windows and doors were closed--how could a breeze had come in? Before I can think, I realize that it is no normal breeze. Something...something's cupping my cheek. It feels like...like a slightly callused human hand, and it is very cold. Something about it is familiar.... ::No. That's impossible. Not...she's dead, it can't be...but....::

"It's me, Wufei." The voice is very soft, as if it is trying to be feminine when it's not supposed to be, and it's in Chinese. Again, very familiar.... ::Either I'm going insane, or Nataku-sama is in my room.::

"I know you're a nutcase, Wufei, but I'm here. You can't see me...but I'm here, dang it!" Her voice has grown colder. Now *that* I'm used to.

"So it is you...Nataku." I reply, softly, in my natural tongue.

"I'm glad you recognize." A sigh. "I wish I could show you that I'm here...but I can't. I'm dead, after all, and my soul...my soul has been watching you ever since you were gone."

"Nataku...." I breathed. "So you--"

"Yes, I know. Oh, Wufei, how agonizing it was to not be able to tell you! I didn't know that I could speak to you...."

"You've softened considerably since your death, Nataku." I observed.

"I've matured. In many ways, I guess. If I had a body...I'd look differently than you remember." If it wasn't for the fact that I couldn't see her face, I would have sworn that she had winked. "Besides," she said in a more serious tone, "I had realized on the very hour of my death that...oh, Wufei, I love you, more than you can imagine...." Warmth embraced me, and I could feel that...that she was right about her body.

"If only I could see you...I can only imagine how beautiful you are now...." I breathed, embracing her back. She's warm, for not existing. "I love you too, my Nataku." A soft non-kiss at my neck. "Oh to see you...."

She let go. "There is a way," she replied.

"Truly?"

"To get my body to reunite with my soul and let me live my life in natural order? Yes."

"How, Nataku? Tell me! I...I want...I want to live the rest of my life with you--but with a body, of course, so I don't look like a fool."

"You're going to have to find the *other* Nataku, and convince *her* that I deserve to live again."

"What?!"

"War claimed me, Wufei. So you will have to claim me back from its mistress. That mistress happens to be a goddess named Nataku."

"Do you know any way in which I can get there?"

"There is a forest of stone towers," the ghost replied. "Near the top of its tallest peak, there is a cave. Within the cave there she shall be. You will not see her at first...you must convince her first to come out of the shadows, and next to reclaim me. And here's a hint--I call myself Nataku because I look and act like Nataku. We are both stubborn, and we both...we both have a likeness to yourself. She is much older, though."

"How can a forest be of stone towers?!"

"What I told you is all mortals are allowed to know, Wufei. That part you must figure out for yourself."

"Will you follow me?"

"I always follow you, Wufei. I always will."

"So I've never been alone after all."

"No, you haven't." Soft lips, non-existant they may be, brush my own. "I love you, Wufei. Now go to sleep. You're going to have a long day tomorrow, ne?"

"Yes...I love you, Nataku...good night."

"'Night, love." Another non-kiss at my lips, this time a little deeper. I fall back on my bed and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. Warmth embraces me again, and I snuggle against the non-body that is Nataku...that is my love.

=::=

~Sally~

Things were always strange with Chang Wufei (oh, wouldn't *I* know, as his Preventor partner and all that), but things got even stranger just a little while ago. There was no event in my knowledge that happened that would make him change that way, but...something changed.

He called me by my name. If that doesn't convince you, very little will--I think you should have known by now that if Wufei calls me by name, it's either very serious or something groundshaking has changed his life.

He smiled at me. Oh dear. I like his smile and all--he should do it more often--but when he does, *some*thing's going on. That eliminated the "very serious" option.

And there I was, confused, when he came into my office and told me everything.

"Sally," he said. "I think you are confused about my...changes of nature, let's say."

"Yes I am. Who are you, and what did you do to my Preventor partner?"

A voice came from--nowhere. Nowhere. I couldn't explain it, but it was as if a young woman was standing next to Wufei and talking to me. She had a voice that was apparently supposed to be feminine--but not working. "I am Chang Meiran, Wufei's late wife, and I simply told him that I was watching him ever since I died and that I love him. What do you think...erm...Ms. Po?"

"Oh wonderful. I'm hearing voices. I never knew you had a wife, Wufei."

"We were arranged at fourteen," he replied, as if it were so obvious to the world. "And she's there--she's just dead, so you can't quite see her."

"And why should I believe this?"

"Because I hear the voices too."

"Aah. I am guessing that you need time off." I said. I knew it. Something about this Meiran character...maybe they believed that somehow they could get her back.... ::But that's impossible. She's dead.::

"I happen to hear thoughts as well as words, Ms. Po," the voice--named Meiran--replied curtly. "Nothing is impossible. If I can speak to you like this, who are you to say what is possible? My dear husband here needs to go to a forest of stone towers--"

"Stone towers?!" I piped. "Why, I know that place! It's the Lunan Stone Forests in China. I visited there once when I was a child. It's beautiful."

"Yes, there. In the highest peak there is a cave...in the cafe, inside the shadows, is the *other* Nataku."

"Other Nataku?" I asked.

"Didn't you know?" Wufei replied. "My wife called herself Nataku. There is also a Chinese goddess named Nataku. She is referring to the goddess."

"Aah." I said simply.

"Anyway," the voice--(Meiran? Nataku? Who was I to say?)--continued, "He must first convince Nataku to come out of the shadows, and next to reclaim me. Once he does, my body and soul will reunite--and I will live the rest of my life like a normal human being."

"'Normal' is a relative term." I said.

"I know. But wandering around without a body, by almost anyone's standards, is not 'normal', Ms. Po."

"Understood. How long will you two be gone?"

"Two weeks at the most," Wufei said briskly. "I know my way to the forests. It might take a while to get to and from there, and to convince this goddess, but I'm estimating two weeks at the most."

"All right. I'll tell Une. But I don't know how sympathetic she'll be." I said honestly. "You know how she is."

"She has to be," Wufei replied. "She lost someone she loved because of the war as well."

"How true. I'm glad you thought of it. I'll miss you, Wufei, and that isn't just honor talking. And I'll be glad to see your wife."

"Goodbye, Sally," Wufei replied.

"Goodbye, Ms. Po," The voice answered.

"Goodbye--Mr. and Mrs. Chang, am I correct?" I replied.

"That would be correct," Wufei said simply. He bowed and left, and the presence was gone.

=::=

~Meiran~

The world went quickly after that. Wufei called his fellow pilots together, and their strange talents together could achieve nearly anything--even convincing a goddess, which was the current need. Something between moving rocks, shuttles, movement, and a crisp oratory style, Wufei found a role for all of them. And to this day I still cannot figure out how he convinced them all to continue with him. I guess it had something to do with weaknesses--the fact that it was for someone who was lost to the war meant something to them.

I learned from it that they had each lost someone--or some*thing*--important to them. Heero lost his emotions, his feelings--and Wufei's love for me was something completely foreign to the soldier which he wanted to learn about. Duo had lost the only thing he could consider family--the Maxwell church--and the idea of getting even one person back excited him. I think he wanted to get them back as well. Trowa had lost his memories, so he didn't remember what he lost--but Catherine, his kindly sister, knew something about a girl named Midii. I guess he saw this as a step to finding her again. Quatre's was obvious--his family meant a lot to him, as did the clan to us, and he also wanted to somehow balance all the deaths he created.

I spoke to them a lot of the time, speaking mostly in length about the task ahead of them. After all, Duo pointed out simply, I was the only one who had any idea about how to go around this. And although to a foreign eye it might look strange--they were crowded around nothing, speaking to this nothingness--it always, always meant so much more.

The time soon came to leave for China. For the forests. For Nataku.

=::=

~Nataku-sama~

I like the shadows. They are dark, like the thoughts of the men who wreak havoc upon the mortal world. They are quiet, like a man dead from the spoils of war--from my whim. No person or thing can take me out of the shadows. And even if they magically do, they won't convince me to do their will.

They are mere humans! Pah, as if they could be more powerful than myself. More powerful than Nataku? That is a lot to ask for in a mere human. Too much, if you ask me.

A voice is calling. Another mortal's heart to break, ne? I smile as I hear it. It is a young man, probably around 17 or so, and he sounds very determined. "Nataku-sama, goddess of war, I commend you and ask of you to come out of the shadows."

"Why?" I ask, letting my full feminine voice echo through the caverns.

"To fight me." Ooh, a fiesty one. Sounds delicious.

"Why would you want to? You know you'll lose."

"Are you afraid of the idea that I may win? Why not prove that idea, Nataku-sama?"

"What are you fighting for, young man, whomever you may be? I believe you haven't even introduced yourself."

"My name is Chang Wufei. I--I am--" He choked up. Mmm, angsty. I like that. I hear whispering (so he is not alone! How wise.), and then he regains his composure. "The winner of our game will retrieve the soul of my former wife, Chang Meiran. If I win, you must allow her soul to come back to her body so she may live again. If you win, she stays as a ghost."

Meiran...I remember that one. She was a fiesty one herself, named herself after me. Why not? "One soul means little to me. I will take your challenge. What are the onditions?"

"It will be a swordfight. Not to the death, for you are immortal, but to the drawing of blood--or equivalent."

"So when a sword touches skin, the fight will be over."

"Yes. We will both walk forward, and in the middle will be our ground out infinitely around us. All movement and stylistics allowed--just touch skin."

"All right then. Walk forward, Chang Wufei, and meet your overtaker."

"I would doubt that idea, Nataku-sama. No offense, of course."

~Wufei~

"Luck be with you," Meiran whispered into my ear, and her hand squeezed mine. It was all I needed to hear. I walked, sure-footed, forward. Meiran did not follow this time. I had now learned to sense her presence, and she was not here. Neither were the pilots. It was just me and her.

We met in the middle, in customary fighting stance. She indeed looked like Meiran, but much older. As a matter of fact--::She looks like Ron Shirin....::

"That is coincidence, Chang Wufei." She read my thoughts. I could expect no less.

"Well. Nataku-sama. Shall we bow?"

"Of course. Take a step back, I shall as well." We stepped back and bowed. "Cross swords." We did. "Now...Fight!"

She took the first thrust, which I blocked and moved from. Slash. Parry. Slash. Parry. Slash. Parry. Slash. Parry. Damnit! Her moves were somewhat predictable, but put in a way in which you couldn't break from, otherwise you may be the one to lose because you didn't block, unless....

I kept going, slashing and blocking over and over again, but my mind wandered to the ceiling. ::It's worth a shot.:: I thought. ::If it doesn't work, so be it.:: I jumped, touched the ceiling, and came down. She followed me. In the crucial time in which I was going down and she was going up, I swiped at her stomach. ::Yes!::

"You have defeated me." She was matter-of-fact as she landed. "Meiran will return to her body."

"We did agree on that, did we not?"

"That is true. She will be in your arms sunrise tomorrow, just where you wish her to be."

"Yes, Nataku-sama."

We came outside, and it was dusk. We went into the shuttle to sleep the night...when we would awaken, the love of my life would be by my side at last.

=::=

~3rd Person~

The next day, at dawn, Wufei turned in bed and brushed against something unfamiliar. He opened his blurry eyes and saw a smiling, familiar face. "Nataku?"

"Yes, Wufei," she replied, caressing his cheek. "I'm back. Just like how the goddess said."

"Good morning."

"Same to you."

"I love you."

"As do I." She kissed him softly. "Let's go. I think they're waiting."

"The others?"

"They've been waiting to see me, Wufei. They're restless. Let's go." They got up, got dressed, and came to the kitchen, where everyone else was waiting.

They were greeted with rousing applause. When it died down, Quatre was the first to speak. "It is nice to meet you, Mrs. Meiran Chang."

She smiled. "No need for such formalities, Quatre. Just Meiran. Please."

Quatre nodded, as Duo began to mutter. "Wu-chan's got a girlfriend, Wu-chan's got a girlfriend...."

"Shut it." Meiran said. Her voice became icy cold, as did the look in her tiny black eyes. "I mean it. Now."

Duo whistled. "Fiesty. Good choice, Fei. Not like I'd have her myself, I mean, she's yours and all, but...."

"Just. Shut. It." Meiran said.

"Fine!" But they both smiled as Meiran softened her heart to the party. Heero and Trowa just murmured their greetings, and the preparations were started.

=::=

Nearly two years later...

"It's a girl, Mrs. Chang," the nurse said with a smile. "Congratulations."

Meiran sat up in bed as the little child was handed to her. "Isn't she beautiful?" she asked her husband in pride.

"Like you, love."

"You're too sweet." She looked down at the little baby. "What should her name be?"

"Meimei, for it means 'beautiful eternity.'"

"How wise. I think that soon we shall be overcome with burden with this child roaming about, and hopefully others...." A small, taunting expression was all over her face.

"Meiran!" He blushed furiously.

"A girl can always hope," she replied simply. "Can't she?"

"How true," he said. "I never said I didn't *want* that, for that matter." He bent down and kissed her cheek. "I love you."

"As do I." She held his hand tight. "I once followed you wherever you went, only dreaming of a chance for us to be together again. Now, there is no need for that, since I am back to a mortal form and we are together again. Nevertheless, we will always be together--every life, every time, every place. Always, forever, and everywhere."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Squeaks,
Kawa