Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own anything, but what I already
mentioned……..demo… there are a few things I forgot to mention. I do own
Aikyo (Ai-chan), Seijun (Sei-chan), Megumi-san, and Banpou-chan (you'll
meet them in this chapter). If you would like to use any of these
characters in your story, you *MUST* ask my permission! Arigatou
gozaimasu!
Question: Do we ever find out the name of Chichiri's lost imouto-chan? If she does have a name, could you please let me know? Many arigatous if you do.
1 Koi Kokoro
1.1 Aniki…
She sat in contemplative remembrance, within the solitude of her room. A small calico queen lay curled up in her lap, which she absentmindedly stroked. On her mind was a memory she wished would be washed away, just like her family had been. ~It's not fair!~
"Suzaku, why did I have to live on alone? Doushite?! Why couldn't you have just let me have been killed along with my family? Along with my aniki!!" Megumi then buried her head in her hands, not allowing the tears their longed for release. Iie….she would be strong and continue to live on for her family. For her aniki. She would marry and have children, a life they would have wanted her to have. A life he would have wanted for her.
"Gods, I miss him so much," she sighed, bringing her head from her shaking hands. Great Suzaku she was exhausted and the day hadn't even started yet. ~I wonder if I'll have any work today?~ Megumi mused as she moved the cat from her lap, then crossed to her bureau. ~Perhaps Heika-sama will have her baby today….~ She stopped in mid thought and frowned, the top drawer of her dresser hanging halfway open. ~Even if she does, I probably won't be the one to deliver it, if I'm there at all…….Getsurei-san will probably be the one to, considering she's the one that delivered His Majesty…~ Sighing, she opened the drawer the rest of the way and pulled out a lilac kimono, medium blue over robe, and a dark pink sash. Carefully she slipped out of her nightgown, to avoid snagging her knee length, jade green hair. Megumi then pulled the kimono around her, getting it closed just in time for someone to knock on her door. She hurriedly pulled the over robe and sash on, making herself look presentable.
"Come in Houki-chan," she said, knowing that she was the only person that came to her room, this early in the morning…..besides it had become a daily routine.
"Ohayo gozaimasu Megi-chan!" her younger sister greeted, in her normal cheery voice. It always made the older girl smile, just like today.
"Good morning to you too, Houki-chan," Megumi said, then crossed to her vanity, so she could fix her hair. The younger girl stepped the rest of the way into the room and joined her sister.
"Did you sleep well," Houki asked, noticing the faint circles under the older girl's eyes. Megumi stopped brushing out her hair and looked at her little sister in the mirror. She couldn't lie to her, so she sighed and shook her head. The purple haired girl frowned and knelt beside her, resting a hand on her knee. "Still having those dreams about your family?" Megumi looked to Houki, setting the brush down, a memory of the past night's dream flooding to her mind.
*He stood on the bank weeping, screaming at Suzaku as he did.
"Why did you have to take them away from me? Why must I be the one to live on alone?! Suzaku, I thought you were a loving god?!!! You aren't, or else you would have at least let My Little Blessing stay with me! Why did you have to take her away from me?! DOUSHITE?!!?!!" He then sunk to his knees by the river sobbing and crying out her name, "MEGUMI-CHAN!!!!"*
Megumi felt a shiver course up her spine, as she forced the memory away.
"Iie, this time it was just about aniki. He was alive…….demo, I was dead. I was the one who had been swept away, and he had survived to live on alone……." she said, shrugging her shoulders. The jade headed girl looked to Houki and saw a puzzled look on her face.
"That's strange, what do you think it means?"
"I'm not sure. I don't want to get my hopes up either; it's been 7 years since it happened. If aniki was still alive, don't you think I would have found him by now?" Houki nodded, placing a comforting hand on her nee- chan's shoulder as she stood.
"Hai…." then the younger girl changed the subject, her eyes lighting up, like the morning sky outside. "Ne, how'd your date with Mitsukake-san go last night?" At this Megumi turned as pink as her sash, looking away from Houki,
"It wasn't a 'date' Houki-chan. We just went out for a walk around the grounds, that's all."
"Mmm hmm, sure. You know you like him," the 18 year old said, eyeing the older girl unbelievingly. She thought back to the previous night, when she and Megumi had been talking in Megu's quarters. Then came the knock on the door and Mitsukake stepping in. He looked all sorts of nervous, and when he had seen her in there, he said he would leave them be. However, catching on to what they weren't telling her (or each other for that matter), she left so they could be alone. Noticing Megumi's reaction as she did so.
"Baka Houki-chan," Megumi said, still blushing, her sister was right though. She really did like Mitsukake, a lot! Last night had been wonderful, just the two of them alone, walking around the palace. They had even stopped for a while to look at the stars and he pointed out the Suzaku Seishi constellations to her. She had secretly memorized his, so she could gaze at it again some night. Then when he had walked her back to her room, he kissed her hand as he bid her goodnight. ~Suzaku, you sure do choose your seishi wisely.~ She thought, a small grin spreading across her lips.
"Oi, Megi-chan, hello?!" Houki said, waving a hand in front of the older girl's distant eyes.
"Hmm?" Megumi said, snapping out of her daydream. A sly grin lifted Houki's lips upward,
"You were thinking about him weren't you?" The 20 year old girl swatted Houki,
"Cut it out will you?" The lavender haired girl snickered, enjoying being able to tease her sister. Megumi smiled and picked her brush back up. "At least I'm not in love with a bandit!" (
"So, at least he talks!"
"Hey! Mitsukake-san talks! Just not a whole lot, demo I am starting to get him to open up some," Megu said, giving her sister a 'Can we please drop this' look. The lavender haired girl thought about this for a moment, however when Megumi started giving her puppy dog eyes, she gave up,
"Ok, ok! I'll leave you alone, Baka-chan!" she said, getting a lock of her older sister's light green hair. Houki ran it through her thin fingers, as Megumi smiled to her,
"Arigatou Houki-chan."
"Hai, hai! Just hurry up so we can go to breakfast," the younger girl said, grabbing the brush from her aneki's hands.
"Nani?" the jade haired girl said, looking at where the brush had been a few seconds ago.
"Baka! I'm going to fix your hair, while you put on your make-up. We'll get done faster that way," Houki said, bopping the older girl lightly on the head.
"Ohh….hehe, hai," Megumi said, then started putting on her make-up. The memory of her dream still not gone from her mind. ~I wonder if Suzaku is trying to tell me something…….that aniki is still alive…….~
*~*~*~*
When he awoke, he didn't remember right away where he was at. However, as the sun warmed his face, it slowly came back to him. Nuriko yawned and stretched his arms over his head, while his back screamed at him, because of the uncomfortable position he had placed it in, the night before. He had slept in a chair by the bed, to make sure his friend was going to be ok. The purple haired seishi stole a glance at the sleeping form in the bed. His breathing was back to normal and his once anguished expression, had melted away to his normally soft features.
He thought back to the night before, when he had heard sobbing coming from the room next to his. Quickly he had slipped out of his bed and went to see what was wrong. Nuriko had found him, face completely hidden in his hands, while his body shook violently from the sobs wracking it. He had quietly wrapped his arms around the slightly larger seishi, not asking any questions, but simply letting him know that he was there for him. At first he had tensed, then after a while when Nuriko didn't move, he gave into the embrace and leaned against his chest. It hurt the purple haired seishi to see his friend in so much pain, considering he had never seen him this way before. Quietly Nuriko spoke calming words to his fellow seishi brother. After about 15 minutes or so, the crying stopped and he lifted his face from his hands. He turned to look at Nuriko, who smiled despondently, still not asking any questions. Finally in a shaky voice, his friend spoke,
"Gomen ne, I…..I didn't mean to wake you. I just had a bad dream." Nuriko brushed some of the hair from his friend's cheek and tenderly said,
"Daijoubu. It must have been pretty intense." He watched as his fellow seishi brother sighed, trying to push the remaining fragments of the dream from his mind,
"Hai, it was." That was all he said on the subject, for he was completely worn out, and just wanted to go back to sleep. Nuriko lied him down gently and covered him up.
"I'll be right here, in case you need me," he said, as his friend already started to drift off to slumber.
"Arigatou," he nodded drowsily and within a few minutes, he was asleep once again. That's when Nuriko found the chair and pulled it over to the bedside. Soon, he had joined his fellow seishi in his repose.
Nuriko let out a soft breath of air and pushed some of his friend's bangs from his face. He really didn't want to wake him, he looked so peaceful. ~A little more sleep wouldn't hurt him, besides it's still early. No one but me is probably even up yet……~ With that thought Nuriko stood and walked to the door, glancing back one last time to the sleeping seishi.
"See you at breakfast," he said softly, then left the room, closing the doors behind him.
*~*~*~*
Seijun was already up and wandering around the palace, hoping she didn't get lost in the process.
"Golly, this place is big," she breathed, as she looked down the hall before her. She slowly walked down it, admiring all of the elaborate artwork that decorated the walls. ~Thank Suzaku one of his seishi was rich!~ She thought to herself, as she came upon a set of doors with a marble statue of Suzaku on either side of them. ~Must be the Shrine of Suzaku…….I wonder if I would be able to go in, without getting harmed in any way…….~ Cautiously she walked up to the doors and pulled them apart. A giant golden statue of the beast god greeted her vision and she gasped in awe. ~It's beautiful!~ She said to herself, while taking a wary step into the shrine. Seijun felt her body begin to tingle, as tiny shivers of electric shocks went through her. It was a very interesting sensation and she wondered if this is what happened to the other seishi when they stepped into the shrine. As she drew closer to the statue, a figure became clearer in her vision. Long chocolate brown hair hung loose, over flowing imperial robes. ~Hori-sama….. I really shouldn't bother him…..~ Turning around, she left the young emperor to his praying and exited the shrine, closing the doors back. ~Hmm, now where too?~ She thought, looking to her right, then to her left, when suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder. Startled, she spun about and Nuriko's gentle countenance met her eyes. Sei-chan felt her face become warm and suddenly she had forgotten how to talk. However, it didn't matter, because Nuriko spoke first,
"Ohayo Seijun-san, what are you doing up so early?" She gazed at him, enjoying the fact that it was just the two of them alone.
"I couldn't sleep anymore, so I decided to take a walk around the palace, to see if I could memorize some of it," the Japanese American girl said, shrugging her thin shoulders. Nuriko grinned down to her,
"And….?" She looked up to him, smiling back.
"Well, let's just say that I know where the shrine of Suzaku is," Seijun replied, motioning behind her. The purple haired seishi's grin widened,
"How about I give you a tour of the place later, but for now why don't we go to the dining room and get us some tea. That will give us a chance to talk before the others arrive." She nodded, liking the sound of that idea. Nuriko chuckled softly and offered her his arm, which she timidly took. ~This is too good to be true. I've got to be dreaming……~ Seijun thought, then pinched her leg just to make sure. ~Itai, nope guess I'm not asleep after all. This is really happening!~ She thought, feeling ready to faint. All of the fears and sadness from the previous night seemed to disappear, as she walked arm in arm with the one she loved. ~Arigatou, Suzaku-sama.~
*~*~*~*
The young girl lied in the large bed, hands resting lightly on her stomach. Her thoughts were on a time that seemed to be very far away, only if it had been just one day. ~I wonder what it is like now, since Sei-chan and I were never born there………I wonder if someone else took my place to watch over Dimitri…….since he and I were so close……..~ Aikyo's brow then wrinkled as she thought about him and the new circumstances she faced, ~Matte…….what if he wasn't born at all…….What if my parents and Sei-chan's parents both fell in love and married other people……what if…….what if the family I once knew, no longer exists…….~ She felt tears swim in her eyes at the possibility. Since she never existed there, it was quite possible that Dimitri along with Seijun's siblings and nephew never existed either. The tears started falling quickly out of the corners of her eyes and she wiped at them furiously. ~Iie……..don't think about that! It does no good to dwell on what used to be……you just have to look ahead to your future here, now……….besides, you wanted this, didn't you?!!! DIDN'T YOU?!~ Aikyo started crying harder as the realization of what actually took place struck her. She wouldn't see them again. The people she knew as her family, didn't know who she was anymore and it hurt so bad! Ai-chan buried her face into her pillow and wept harder than she ever remembered. Maybe this wasn't what she had wanted after all. Sure, her life back on….what had Miaka called it?……'The Old World'? Yes, that was it…..The Old World wasn't all that wonderful, but at least she was loved and had a terrific family…….she honestly didn't want to leave them. She simply thought that the idea of being transported to another realm was intriguing. Aikyo never imagined it would truly happen, so she was content to just daydream about it and even tried her hand at writing about it. The story wasn't bad. Ok, so even if it was plausible (which it apparently was), was it supposed to hurt this much?! Especially if you went to the other world, to find your soulmate? One would think not, so why did it? Her body began to tremble with the force of her weeping and she gripped the pillow so tightly, she thought it would rip in half. A hand on her shoulder made her jump and she turned to see who it was. Yui's pretty face was seen through her tears, her blonde hair glittering in the morning sunlight. Aikyo thought she looked out of place, almost as if heaven was missing her.
"Daijoubu?" the younger girl asked, taking a seat next to Ai-chan. ~I should just tell her, since she went through this as well………~ Aikyo looked to Yui and sighed, reaching her hands up to dry her face.
"It's just………anou, the whole idea of me and Sei-chan never being born in the 'Old World'…..it…..it scared me. And then I got to thinking about my brother and Sei-chan's siblings and little nephew……and…..well I figured since Sei-chan and I weren't born there, then they must not have been either. I also thought that maybe my parents never met and ended up marrying other people, as did Sei-chan's…….." she trailed off, feeling the tears rise into her eyes again. Aikyo shook her head, forcing them down, as Yui placed a warm hand over hers.
"I know it's going to be hard, but things will turn out right in the end. Suzaku-sama is a very loving god and he wouldn't have done anything to purposely cause hurt to another," the younger girl smiled in remembrance before continuing. "Besides, you have us to help you adjust to life here. It really is much nicer than back in the 'Old World'."
"She's right," a soft voice said from behind her, and both girls turned to find Miaka standing in the doorway.
Question: Do we ever find out the name of Chichiri's lost imouto-chan? If she does have a name, could you please let me know? Many arigatous if you do.
1 Koi Kokoro
1.1 Aniki…
She sat in contemplative remembrance, within the solitude of her room. A small calico queen lay curled up in her lap, which she absentmindedly stroked. On her mind was a memory she wished would be washed away, just like her family had been. ~It's not fair!~
"Suzaku, why did I have to live on alone? Doushite?! Why couldn't you have just let me have been killed along with my family? Along with my aniki!!" Megumi then buried her head in her hands, not allowing the tears their longed for release. Iie….she would be strong and continue to live on for her family. For her aniki. She would marry and have children, a life they would have wanted her to have. A life he would have wanted for her.
"Gods, I miss him so much," she sighed, bringing her head from her shaking hands. Great Suzaku she was exhausted and the day hadn't even started yet. ~I wonder if I'll have any work today?~ Megumi mused as she moved the cat from her lap, then crossed to her bureau. ~Perhaps Heika-sama will have her baby today….~ She stopped in mid thought and frowned, the top drawer of her dresser hanging halfway open. ~Even if she does, I probably won't be the one to deliver it, if I'm there at all…….Getsurei-san will probably be the one to, considering she's the one that delivered His Majesty…~ Sighing, she opened the drawer the rest of the way and pulled out a lilac kimono, medium blue over robe, and a dark pink sash. Carefully she slipped out of her nightgown, to avoid snagging her knee length, jade green hair. Megumi then pulled the kimono around her, getting it closed just in time for someone to knock on her door. She hurriedly pulled the over robe and sash on, making herself look presentable.
"Come in Houki-chan," she said, knowing that she was the only person that came to her room, this early in the morning…..besides it had become a daily routine.
"Ohayo gozaimasu Megi-chan!" her younger sister greeted, in her normal cheery voice. It always made the older girl smile, just like today.
"Good morning to you too, Houki-chan," Megumi said, then crossed to her vanity, so she could fix her hair. The younger girl stepped the rest of the way into the room and joined her sister.
"Did you sleep well," Houki asked, noticing the faint circles under the older girl's eyes. Megumi stopped brushing out her hair and looked at her little sister in the mirror. She couldn't lie to her, so she sighed and shook her head. The purple haired girl frowned and knelt beside her, resting a hand on her knee. "Still having those dreams about your family?" Megumi looked to Houki, setting the brush down, a memory of the past night's dream flooding to her mind.
*He stood on the bank weeping, screaming at Suzaku as he did.
"Why did you have to take them away from me? Why must I be the one to live on alone?! Suzaku, I thought you were a loving god?!!! You aren't, or else you would have at least let My Little Blessing stay with me! Why did you have to take her away from me?! DOUSHITE?!!?!!" He then sunk to his knees by the river sobbing and crying out her name, "MEGUMI-CHAN!!!!"*
Megumi felt a shiver course up her spine, as she forced the memory away.
"Iie, this time it was just about aniki. He was alive…….demo, I was dead. I was the one who had been swept away, and he had survived to live on alone……." she said, shrugging her shoulders. The jade headed girl looked to Houki and saw a puzzled look on her face.
"That's strange, what do you think it means?"
"I'm not sure. I don't want to get my hopes up either; it's been 7 years since it happened. If aniki was still alive, don't you think I would have found him by now?" Houki nodded, placing a comforting hand on her nee- chan's shoulder as she stood.
"Hai…." then the younger girl changed the subject, her eyes lighting up, like the morning sky outside. "Ne, how'd your date with Mitsukake-san go last night?" At this Megumi turned as pink as her sash, looking away from Houki,
"It wasn't a 'date' Houki-chan. We just went out for a walk around the grounds, that's all."
"Mmm hmm, sure. You know you like him," the 18 year old said, eyeing the older girl unbelievingly. She thought back to the previous night, when she and Megumi had been talking in Megu's quarters. Then came the knock on the door and Mitsukake stepping in. He looked all sorts of nervous, and when he had seen her in there, he said he would leave them be. However, catching on to what they weren't telling her (or each other for that matter), she left so they could be alone. Noticing Megumi's reaction as she did so.
"Baka Houki-chan," Megumi said, still blushing, her sister was right though. She really did like Mitsukake, a lot! Last night had been wonderful, just the two of them alone, walking around the palace. They had even stopped for a while to look at the stars and he pointed out the Suzaku Seishi constellations to her. She had secretly memorized his, so she could gaze at it again some night. Then when he had walked her back to her room, he kissed her hand as he bid her goodnight. ~Suzaku, you sure do choose your seishi wisely.~ She thought, a small grin spreading across her lips.
"Oi, Megi-chan, hello?!" Houki said, waving a hand in front of the older girl's distant eyes.
"Hmm?" Megumi said, snapping out of her daydream. A sly grin lifted Houki's lips upward,
"You were thinking about him weren't you?" The 20 year old girl swatted Houki,
"Cut it out will you?" The lavender haired girl snickered, enjoying being able to tease her sister. Megumi smiled and picked her brush back up. "At least I'm not in love with a bandit!" (
"So, at least he talks!"
"Hey! Mitsukake-san talks! Just not a whole lot, demo I am starting to get him to open up some," Megu said, giving her sister a 'Can we please drop this' look. The lavender haired girl thought about this for a moment, however when Megumi started giving her puppy dog eyes, she gave up,
"Ok, ok! I'll leave you alone, Baka-chan!" she said, getting a lock of her older sister's light green hair. Houki ran it through her thin fingers, as Megumi smiled to her,
"Arigatou Houki-chan."
"Hai, hai! Just hurry up so we can go to breakfast," the younger girl said, grabbing the brush from her aneki's hands.
"Nani?" the jade haired girl said, looking at where the brush had been a few seconds ago.
"Baka! I'm going to fix your hair, while you put on your make-up. We'll get done faster that way," Houki said, bopping the older girl lightly on the head.
"Ohh….hehe, hai," Megumi said, then started putting on her make-up. The memory of her dream still not gone from her mind. ~I wonder if Suzaku is trying to tell me something…….that aniki is still alive…….~
*~*~*~*
When he awoke, he didn't remember right away where he was at. However, as the sun warmed his face, it slowly came back to him. Nuriko yawned and stretched his arms over his head, while his back screamed at him, because of the uncomfortable position he had placed it in, the night before. He had slept in a chair by the bed, to make sure his friend was going to be ok. The purple haired seishi stole a glance at the sleeping form in the bed. His breathing was back to normal and his once anguished expression, had melted away to his normally soft features.
He thought back to the night before, when he had heard sobbing coming from the room next to his. Quickly he had slipped out of his bed and went to see what was wrong. Nuriko had found him, face completely hidden in his hands, while his body shook violently from the sobs wracking it. He had quietly wrapped his arms around the slightly larger seishi, not asking any questions, but simply letting him know that he was there for him. At first he had tensed, then after a while when Nuriko didn't move, he gave into the embrace and leaned against his chest. It hurt the purple haired seishi to see his friend in so much pain, considering he had never seen him this way before. Quietly Nuriko spoke calming words to his fellow seishi brother. After about 15 minutes or so, the crying stopped and he lifted his face from his hands. He turned to look at Nuriko, who smiled despondently, still not asking any questions. Finally in a shaky voice, his friend spoke,
"Gomen ne, I…..I didn't mean to wake you. I just had a bad dream." Nuriko brushed some of the hair from his friend's cheek and tenderly said,
"Daijoubu. It must have been pretty intense." He watched as his fellow seishi brother sighed, trying to push the remaining fragments of the dream from his mind,
"Hai, it was." That was all he said on the subject, for he was completely worn out, and just wanted to go back to sleep. Nuriko lied him down gently and covered him up.
"I'll be right here, in case you need me," he said, as his friend already started to drift off to slumber.
"Arigatou," he nodded drowsily and within a few minutes, he was asleep once again. That's when Nuriko found the chair and pulled it over to the bedside. Soon, he had joined his fellow seishi in his repose.
Nuriko let out a soft breath of air and pushed some of his friend's bangs from his face. He really didn't want to wake him, he looked so peaceful. ~A little more sleep wouldn't hurt him, besides it's still early. No one but me is probably even up yet……~ With that thought Nuriko stood and walked to the door, glancing back one last time to the sleeping seishi.
"See you at breakfast," he said softly, then left the room, closing the doors behind him.
*~*~*~*
Seijun was already up and wandering around the palace, hoping she didn't get lost in the process.
"Golly, this place is big," she breathed, as she looked down the hall before her. She slowly walked down it, admiring all of the elaborate artwork that decorated the walls. ~Thank Suzaku one of his seishi was rich!~ She thought to herself, as she came upon a set of doors with a marble statue of Suzaku on either side of them. ~Must be the Shrine of Suzaku…….I wonder if I would be able to go in, without getting harmed in any way…….~ Cautiously she walked up to the doors and pulled them apart. A giant golden statue of the beast god greeted her vision and she gasped in awe. ~It's beautiful!~ She said to herself, while taking a wary step into the shrine. Seijun felt her body begin to tingle, as tiny shivers of electric shocks went through her. It was a very interesting sensation and she wondered if this is what happened to the other seishi when they stepped into the shrine. As she drew closer to the statue, a figure became clearer in her vision. Long chocolate brown hair hung loose, over flowing imperial robes. ~Hori-sama….. I really shouldn't bother him…..~ Turning around, she left the young emperor to his praying and exited the shrine, closing the doors back. ~Hmm, now where too?~ She thought, looking to her right, then to her left, when suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder. Startled, she spun about and Nuriko's gentle countenance met her eyes. Sei-chan felt her face become warm and suddenly she had forgotten how to talk. However, it didn't matter, because Nuriko spoke first,
"Ohayo Seijun-san, what are you doing up so early?" She gazed at him, enjoying the fact that it was just the two of them alone.
"I couldn't sleep anymore, so I decided to take a walk around the palace, to see if I could memorize some of it," the Japanese American girl said, shrugging her thin shoulders. Nuriko grinned down to her,
"And….?" She looked up to him, smiling back.
"Well, let's just say that I know where the shrine of Suzaku is," Seijun replied, motioning behind her. The purple haired seishi's grin widened,
"How about I give you a tour of the place later, but for now why don't we go to the dining room and get us some tea. That will give us a chance to talk before the others arrive." She nodded, liking the sound of that idea. Nuriko chuckled softly and offered her his arm, which she timidly took. ~This is too good to be true. I've got to be dreaming……~ Seijun thought, then pinched her leg just to make sure. ~Itai, nope guess I'm not asleep after all. This is really happening!~ She thought, feeling ready to faint. All of the fears and sadness from the previous night seemed to disappear, as she walked arm in arm with the one she loved. ~Arigatou, Suzaku-sama.~
*~*~*~*
The young girl lied in the large bed, hands resting lightly on her stomach. Her thoughts were on a time that seemed to be very far away, only if it had been just one day. ~I wonder what it is like now, since Sei-chan and I were never born there………I wonder if someone else took my place to watch over Dimitri…….since he and I were so close……..~ Aikyo's brow then wrinkled as she thought about him and the new circumstances she faced, ~Matte…….what if he wasn't born at all…….What if my parents and Sei-chan's parents both fell in love and married other people……what if…….what if the family I once knew, no longer exists…….~ She felt tears swim in her eyes at the possibility. Since she never existed there, it was quite possible that Dimitri along with Seijun's siblings and nephew never existed either. The tears started falling quickly out of the corners of her eyes and she wiped at them furiously. ~Iie……..don't think about that! It does no good to dwell on what used to be……you just have to look ahead to your future here, now……….besides, you wanted this, didn't you?!!! DIDN'T YOU?!~ Aikyo started crying harder as the realization of what actually took place struck her. She wouldn't see them again. The people she knew as her family, didn't know who she was anymore and it hurt so bad! Ai-chan buried her face into her pillow and wept harder than she ever remembered. Maybe this wasn't what she had wanted after all. Sure, her life back on….what had Miaka called it?……'The Old World'? Yes, that was it…..The Old World wasn't all that wonderful, but at least she was loved and had a terrific family…….she honestly didn't want to leave them. She simply thought that the idea of being transported to another realm was intriguing. Aikyo never imagined it would truly happen, so she was content to just daydream about it and even tried her hand at writing about it. The story wasn't bad. Ok, so even if it was plausible (which it apparently was), was it supposed to hurt this much?! Especially if you went to the other world, to find your soulmate? One would think not, so why did it? Her body began to tremble with the force of her weeping and she gripped the pillow so tightly, she thought it would rip in half. A hand on her shoulder made her jump and she turned to see who it was. Yui's pretty face was seen through her tears, her blonde hair glittering in the morning sunlight. Aikyo thought she looked out of place, almost as if heaven was missing her.
"Daijoubu?" the younger girl asked, taking a seat next to Ai-chan. ~I should just tell her, since she went through this as well………~ Aikyo looked to Yui and sighed, reaching her hands up to dry her face.
"It's just………anou, the whole idea of me and Sei-chan never being born in the 'Old World'…..it…..it scared me. And then I got to thinking about my brother and Sei-chan's siblings and little nephew……and…..well I figured since Sei-chan and I weren't born there, then they must not have been either. I also thought that maybe my parents never met and ended up marrying other people, as did Sei-chan's…….." she trailed off, feeling the tears rise into her eyes again. Aikyo shook her head, forcing them down, as Yui placed a warm hand over hers.
"I know it's going to be hard, but things will turn out right in the end. Suzaku-sama is a very loving god and he wouldn't have done anything to purposely cause hurt to another," the younger girl smiled in remembrance before continuing. "Besides, you have us to help you adjust to life here. It really is much nicer than back in the 'Old World'."
"She's right," a soft voice said from behind her, and both girls turned to find Miaka standing in the doorway.