Daydream Believer 5/6
Rated PG
Mamoru walked down the streets of Azabu, humming underneath his breath and feeling very refreshed. Spending the night with Serenity in his arms did wonders for him. All his thoughts had been of her. When he breathed, the air tasted so much sweeter and everywhere he looked, the colors were much more vibrant.
Pushing open the doors to the Crown café, he walked in and took a seat at the counter, unable to wipe the smile from his face. Today would be a good day, he just knew it. Nothing could ruin it for him.
Finishing up with a previous customer, Motoki caught sight of his friend, and before walking over to him, he quickly made up Mamoru's usual drink, one of the café's thick chocolate milkshakes. "You look like a man in love. Tell me, who's the lucky girl?"
Mamoru grinned sheepishly. "You might say it's the girl of my dreams."
Motoki's eyes widened. "You mean... you saw her again? The dreams returned after all? When? What happened? I want details!"
With a simple shrug, Mamoru replied, "The same night that you saw me nearly break down, they came back. I don't know how, but she came to me this time. And she stayed with me the entire night. No pun intended, but it really was a dream come true."
Stopping his methodical cleaning, Motoki stared at his friend. "Mamoru, I know you're happy with the way things are going, but don't you think this is getting out of hand?"
He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Motoki? I finally get to be with Serenity longer than a few moments and you're telling me I shouldn't be happy?"
Motoki pushed his damp cleaning rag out of the way, and he leaned on the counter. "No, that's not what I'm saying at all. I'm just trying to tell you that no matter how real Serenity is to you, you only see her within your dreams. If she did exist at all, it was over a thousand years ago, you said so yourself. She's long gone, Mamoru. No matter how much you wish for it to be true, you'll never be able to be with her."
Sitting there in an eerily silence, Mamoru gripped a napkin tightly, forcing back the angry tears that threatened to fall. "Don't you think I already know that? I know how hard you're trying to bring me back, but I've never been this happy before in my entire life, Motoki. Please, just let me have my happiness and keep reality out of it."
Motoki turned away from his friend, slightly discouraged. "I know you don't want to listen to me anymore, but there's just one more thing. I have a friend that knows more about this stuff than I do. She's a priestess up at the Hikawa shrine on Sendai Hill. Maybe she can help you make some sense of all this."
Mamoru managed a weak smile and got up to leave. "Thanks for the suggestion, Motoki. I've got a lot to think about anyway. See you around."
****
Scuffing his shoes against the sidewalk, Mamoru continued to meander around Azabu aimlessly. He didn't care where his feet took him any more. His once good mood was now dashed to pieces, impossible to repair.
He hadn't expected Motoki to believe him; all he was looking for was a little support in hard times such as this. When he couldn't be with the one person he loved the most, he needed friendship to fall back on.
Leaning against the wall of a building, Mamoru frowned over his current train of thoughts. He had known Serenity for such a short amount of time and yet he claimed in his heart that he loved her. But what about her feelings? He never bothered to ask her what she felt. Suddenly he felt selfish for thinking only of himself. Serenity was going through such a perilous time back home and though he had been there for her, in a way he had not.
The thoughts plagued him as he continued down the street. He was not the only victim in this though he was playing the part of one. Mamoru swore to himself that the next time he was with Serenity, he would make sure that everything was clear between them. He couldn't stand it otherwise.
Finally looking up at his surroundings, Mamoru was surprised that he had walked to the Hikawa Jinja. He had been by here a few times before, but had never gone inside. The mountain of steps was enough to intimidate anyone. Perhaps the priestess inside could really help him.
****
Mamoru plodded up the steep stairs and rejoiced silently as he reached the last step. It was enough exercise to make a person forget what they came here for in the first place.
He took in the atmosphere surrounding Hikawa Jinja, and stood there for a moment in silence. This was a stupid idea to come here. He had only taken Motoki's suggestion just because he was his friend and Mamoru knew he was concerned. But concern or not, nothing here could help him.
Just as he started to turn around, a voice stopped him. "Can I help you, sir?" Mamoru whipped around to face a young girl clothed in a miko's clothing. Obviously she was the one he had come here to see. But she looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years of age. The same age as Serenity, he thought. If she were from this world, he briefly wondered if she and this shrine maiden could have been friends.
Though Mamoru didn't readily trust strangers with his private life, something deep in the back of his mind told him she had a trusting soul, that he could count on her to help him. Nervously he began, "Are you the miko who runs this shrine?" She smiled, striking him as fairly pretty but he could not compare her to the beauty of his Serenity.
"I run this shrine under the care and tutelage of my grandfather. Is there something I can help you with? Perhaps you need a good luck charm or a prayer scroll?"
Mamoru was suddenly embarrassed. "Not exactly. My friend told me to come here, said you were a friend of his." The girl cocked her head to one side. "You must be Mamoru-san, ne? Motoki-kun told I might expect you." She smiled again. "I am Hino Rei."
He smiled weakly at her. "Just how much did Motoki tell you?" The last thing he wanted was to have his private matters spread all over the city.
"You shouldn't be too worried. He only mentioned you hadn't been getting much sleep in the past few weeks because of some strange dreams." Rei gestured to the door of the fire room. "Perhaps you'd like to tell me so I can help you." Mamoru gave her a skeptical look, but she dismissed it and motioned towards the door again.
With a reluctant sigh, Mamoru followed Rei into the dim room lit only by a steady burning fire. He began to feel uneasy again, but then he thought of his promise to Serenity. She was depending on him. That thought alone was enough to try anything now.
Rei kneeled on a mat in front of the fire and closed her eyes. In a calm voice she asked, "I need you to tell me everything, Mamoru-san. I must understand all that is troubling you."
Mamoru kneeled on another mat behind Rei and tried to collect his thoughts. Taking a deep breath, he began to tell her of his dreams, starting at the beginning and including everything that took place within the last few days. "I don't know what it is that continues to draw me to her, but I can't let go of it," Mamoru finished, rubbing his feet that had fallen asleep in the process.
Rei remained in the same position and began a soft incantation. Suddenly the fire roared and leapt high into the air, its heat emanating throughout the entire room. Mamoru felt he would be burned to a crisp if he had been any closer. After a few moments, Rei turned to him and studied him carefully. "Just as I thought. You and this Serenity are soulmates."
"Soulmates?" Mamoru sputtered. "What... h-how is that possible? I meet her in my dreams, find out we're nearly a thousand years apart and you think we're soulmates?"
She held up a hand. "Please, listen to me before you get carried away again. The holy fire told me of your bond to Serenity, but nothing else. I'm sorry, I know you wanted to know more than that."
Mamoru's shoulders slumped. That was not the answer he had been hoping for. He wanted to know all the reasons for this, not just the fact that he had a soulmate.
"There is one other thing," Rei's voice interrupted his thoughts, "but it's quite risky. I can put you into a hypnotic trance and then be able to see into your unconscious. I've only done it once before and it's really considered an invasion of your most private thoughts. I would be able to see almost everything inside your mind. But if you agree, Mamoru-san, I must have your complete cooperation to do this."
Mamoru furrowed his forehead in thought. "I... I'm not sure. When you said it was risky, what did you mean by that?" Rei sighed softly. "Because once I put you into a trance, I basically have no control over what the power of your dreams and the power I use in doing this will do when combined. I can only do this if you agree fully. It cannot work otherwise."
Staring at this quiet slip of a girl, Mamoru sensed much more power in her than she let on. What she was asking him to do was a serious matter, one that could possibly lead him to being with Serenity forever. He liked that idea. Now that he knew they were soulmates, it gave a whole different light to the subject. The feelings he had for her were only natural, not a cruel trick the fates were playing on him.
He bowed in Rei's direction. "I am willing to do anything, Rei-san. Right now the only thing that matters to me is seeing Serenity again." She guided him over to the mat by the fire and had him lay down on his back. "I need you to lay still as possible and concentrate on her as much as you can, because this is going to require a lot of patience and energy from both of us." Kneeling at his side, Rei gripped his hand in hers and began another incantation, slowly drawing Mamoru into a state of unconsciousness.
****
It seemed to be just as he remembered it, but something was different. Either it was the air or the corner of the garden in which he was standing, but it felt oddly strange to him. Perhaps it was the fact that Serenity was not there to meet like she always had been before.
Suddenly, he saw a flash of white out of the corner of his eye and his heart confirmed what his mind was thinking. Running in the direction he last saw Serenity, Mamoru tried to catch up with her retreating figure. She seemed to be in a hurry to be somewhere, maybe answering the beckoning of her mother.
He called out to her, trying everything in his power to get her attention. Mamoru was surprised and a little shocked when she didn't turn around. Then the thought suddenly came to him. When they had seen each other before, one of them had always been asleep. Could it be possible that when they were both awake, neither knew of each other's presence? And because he wasn't truly asleep at the moment, there was no way she could hear him, see him, or most importantly, be able to touch him. He mourned over that last fact the most.
"SERENITY!" he yelled in one last desperate attempt to get her attention, knowing it was of no use anyway. As if the fates heard his prayers, Serenity turned around, looking for who had called out for her. He nearly jumped for joy, seeing that he had reached her in a small way.
But this was truly torturing him. Mamoru could see her in her daily life, but could do nothing more than scream and hope that she would notice. It wasn't enough for him. He needed to be near her, hold her, whisper her name. In this state, he could do nothing but look on. Slowly, he turned around and retreated the way he had come, back to the soft light that was his ticket back home.
****
His eyes flickered open, disappointed to find himself back in the fire room. Rei still sat next to him with her eyes closed. Mamoru slowly sat up and removed his hand from her grip. "Why did you do that?"
Rei's eyes finally opened. "Do what? Take your hand?" He nodded. "I had to in order to complete the connection. Putting you into a trance was only the beginning. I needed some physical connection to you in order to look into your mind."
Staring at her for a moment, Mamoru sighed deeply and looked away, fixing his gaze on the exit. "I'm not sure this helped me at all. Thank you for trying anyway. I'd better go."
"Wait, Mamoru-san. I know you think that nothing happened here today, but remember that you are soulmates with Serenity. Nothing can change that fact, even if you are thousands of years apart. The course of true love cannot be swayed by anything, not even the boundaries of time and space."
He gave Rei a faint smile as he left the fire room. As he walked across the temple grounds, Mamoru was deep in thought. If their love was so strong to cross time, then why were they forced to be apart when they were awake?
****
"Mamoru!" Motoki exclaimed as his friend walked back through the door of the café. "I didn't expect to see you back here so soon. But I'm glad you did. I have something to tell you."
Mamoru slumped down on a stool, and propped his chin up with one hand. "I went and saw that priestess friend of yours."
"Did she help you at all?"
He shook his head. "Not really, she did everything she could but the only thing she was able to tell me was that Serenity and I appear to be soulmates."
Motoki's eyes widened. "But isn't that a good thing?"
"It is if you can be with that person. But remember, Serenity and I are separated by a thousand years. We're lucky to see each other once in a while through dreams. Rei put me under a hypnotic trance and sent me to her world, but it was torture because she couldn't see or hear me." Mamoru sighed.
Leaning forward on the counter, Motoki spoke in a low voice. "Mamoru, do you love her?"
"What do you mean by that? Of course I love her. Since when did you start believing me? I thought you were the one trying to drag me back into reality."
Motoki motioned for Mamoru to follow him into the back room, where he kept a personal computer for running the finances of the café and arcade. "I decided to look up a few things on my lunch break. You won't believe what I found. There's actual information on the Moon Kingdom. I only read the first few pages, but it seems as if people can't decide whether or not it's fact of fiction. But according to this source I found, this Serenity of yours really did exist."
Mamoru took half of the papers from Motoki's hands and skimmed through them, anxious to learn all he could about Serenity. When he came to the last article, his eyes widened and he gasped loudly. "Did you read the end of this, Motoki?" he asked, his entire body beginning to shake.
"No, why? What's the matter?"
He fell into a nearby chair, stunned into complete shock. "Listen to this. 'Although the Moon Kingdom does not seem to exist by scientific theories, many astronomers speculate that its probable existence was indeed a millenium ago, which was dubbed as the Silver Millenium because of its glorious reign.
'However, a horrible war broke out in the middle of the galaxy just before the turn of the 11th century. The magnificent kingdom was the last and the most brutally attacked. The few surviving records from that era show that after the war was over, not a single person on the Moon lived through the attack. All those remaining in the solar system mourned the untimely loss of their beloved queen and her daughter.'"