*AUTHOR'S NOTE: Gomen ne that this chapter is kind of short--I was all ready to write the next scene when suddenly I was stricken with the tragedy of realizing my time on the computer was up. Alas...I must be on my merry way now, but tomorrow I'll get the scene finished up and posted...if all goes well. Ah, but don't let the lack of length stop you--read and review to your hearts' content, oh kind-hearted fanficcers... ^_^.
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"The Last Wish" - continued from Part II
~ ~ ~
It was more than a little strange, walking down the street to school with Nuriko beside her. He looked surprisingly...good in the typically-nondescript school uniform, his thick violet hair braided and hanging in a heavy line down his back, his white dress shirt spotlessly-clean and neatly-pressed...even his shoes were spotless, shined to a sparkling gleam. Nuriko was as immaculate as always... She frowned a moment, pausing in her examination--his hair was shorter than she remembered it being, coming only to the middle of his back...but it was only a minor flaw in the strange perfection of this real, living, breathing human being. This was definitely Nuriko...definitely. His movements, his vocal patterns, even the way he grinned at her when she said something less than intelligent--which was often--it was all so familiar, so perfectly, wonderfully-Nuriko... Suddenly caught up in the realizations of just where she was and who she was with, Miaka halted in the center of the sidewalk, turned and grabbed the older boy into a sudden, near-violent hug.
Nuriko broke off whatever it was he'd been chattering about and stared down at her in surrpise, his dark, glittering violet eyes widening, a soft breath escaping his lips. "M...Miaka?" he asked tentatively, gazing down at the brown head suddenly buried in his shirt. "Miaka, are you sure you're feeling all right?"
She held onto the embrace for a moment longer, squeezed Nuriko tightly...then released him, took a short step back. "Un," she answered, smiling softly. "Gomen ne, Nuriko...I just...I just needed to, that's all."
Nuriko shrugged, shoving his slim hands into his pants pockets and beginning to walk again. The two moved in silence for a few moments, their matching footsteps nearly inaudible against the background of moving traffic and bustling students and workers. At last, Nuriko glanced up from the moving patch of sidewalk he'd been staring at, turned briefly to the girl beside him. "Ne, Miaka," he began slowly. His voice was quiet, solemn. "I know...I know you're probably tired of me asking you this, but...well, today is...well, you see..." He closed his eyes briefly, coming to a stop, and let out a quiet sigh. "Today is the day...the day Kourin died, and I know I asked you this last year, too, but, I hate going to the cemetary alone and I know that Tamahome has practice tonight and so I thought that maybe--"
"Oh, no!" Miaka cried suddenly, bringing a hand to her mouth in horror. "No! Why did Kourin die here, too!? That's not fair! Oh, Nuriko, how'd it happen?"
Nuriko stared at her in shock, a stricken expression crossing his pallid features. His voice was low and hoarse. "M...Miaka...I...you know this already...after all, I mean...you were THERE..."
Miaka turned away, an anguished gleam springing to her eyes. "But I...I can't remember." She turned to him suddenly, grabbed his deceptively-slim arm and clung to it. "Onegai, Nuriko...tell me what happened...please, tell me what happened to Kourin!"
Nuriko was silent for a long moment, his face gone suddenly pale, his eyes wide and anguished. At last, he nodded slowly, then abruptly seemed to realize that they were standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk...he took her arm, led her to the edge of the walkway. "Fine," he said at last. "Miaka...I don't know what's going on or what's wrong with you, but..." He closed his eyes. "But, I'll tell you...if you want to know. Come on, let's sit."
The two moved to a nearby property wall, slid down onto it. Nuriko seemed to spend a few tense moments in mental preparation, then turned to her, fixed her with the same intense gaze she remembered so well from the cave all that time ago, just before they reached Hokkan...just before Nuriko...Nuriko...
Involuntarily, she shuddered, wrapping thin arms around herself, but Nuriko didn't seem to notice. Slowly, tentatively, he began to speak.
---
"The Last Wish" - continued from Part II
~ ~ ~
It was more than a little strange, walking down the street to school with Nuriko beside her. He looked surprisingly...good in the typically-nondescript school uniform, his thick violet hair braided and hanging in a heavy line down his back, his white dress shirt spotlessly-clean and neatly-pressed...even his shoes were spotless, shined to a sparkling gleam. Nuriko was as immaculate as always... She frowned a moment, pausing in her examination--his hair was shorter than she remembered it being, coming only to the middle of his back...but it was only a minor flaw in the strange perfection of this real, living, breathing human being. This was definitely Nuriko...definitely. His movements, his vocal patterns, even the way he grinned at her when she said something less than intelligent--which was often--it was all so familiar, so perfectly, wonderfully-Nuriko... Suddenly caught up in the realizations of just where she was and who she was with, Miaka halted in the center of the sidewalk, turned and grabbed the older boy into a sudden, near-violent hug.
Nuriko broke off whatever it was he'd been chattering about and stared down at her in surrpise, his dark, glittering violet eyes widening, a soft breath escaping his lips. "M...Miaka?" he asked tentatively, gazing down at the brown head suddenly buried in his shirt. "Miaka, are you sure you're feeling all right?"
She held onto the embrace for a moment longer, squeezed Nuriko tightly...then released him, took a short step back. "Un," she answered, smiling softly. "Gomen ne, Nuriko...I just...I just needed to, that's all."
Nuriko shrugged, shoving his slim hands into his pants pockets and beginning to walk again. The two moved in silence for a few moments, their matching footsteps nearly inaudible against the background of moving traffic and bustling students and workers. At last, Nuriko glanced up from the moving patch of sidewalk he'd been staring at, turned briefly to the girl beside him. "Ne, Miaka," he began slowly. His voice was quiet, solemn. "I know...I know you're probably tired of me asking you this, but...well, today is...well, you see..." He closed his eyes briefly, coming to a stop, and let out a quiet sigh. "Today is the day...the day Kourin died, and I know I asked you this last year, too, but, I hate going to the cemetary alone and I know that Tamahome has practice tonight and so I thought that maybe--"
"Oh, no!" Miaka cried suddenly, bringing a hand to her mouth in horror. "No! Why did Kourin die here, too!? That's not fair! Oh, Nuriko, how'd it happen?"
Nuriko stared at her in shock, a stricken expression crossing his pallid features. His voice was low and hoarse. "M...Miaka...I...you know this already...after all, I mean...you were THERE..."
Miaka turned away, an anguished gleam springing to her eyes. "But I...I can't remember." She turned to him suddenly, grabbed his deceptively-slim arm and clung to it. "Onegai, Nuriko...tell me what happened...please, tell me what happened to Kourin!"
Nuriko was silent for a long moment, his face gone suddenly pale, his eyes wide and anguished. At last, he nodded slowly, then abruptly seemed to realize that they were standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk...he took her arm, led her to the edge of the walkway. "Fine," he said at last. "Miaka...I don't know what's going on or what's wrong with you, but..." He closed his eyes. "But, I'll tell you...if you want to know. Come on, let's sit."
The two moved to a nearby property wall, slid down onto it. Nuriko seemed to spend a few tense moments in mental preparation, then turned to her, fixed her with the same intense gaze she remembered so well from the cave all that time ago, just before they reached Hokkan...just before Nuriko...Nuriko...
Involuntarily, she shuddered, wrapping thin arms around herself, but Nuriko didn't seem to notice. Slowly, tentatively, he began to speak.