"The Last Wish" - continued from 8
~ ~ ~
[the present]
Nuriko stared down at his slim fingers, gently rubbing his thumbs together as if to fill the sudden silence. Finally, he glanced at the speechless girl beside him, offered a weak smile. "That day..." He trailed off, shook his head. "You have no idea what you did for me, Miaka. You...you rescued me. If not for you being there, keeping me from...keeping me from dwelling on things...I might've spent my entire life living as someone else. Kourin died, Miaka...and, it was like...like a part of me died, too. I just couldn't accept it...I didn't want to, I think. But, I did. It took a long, long time...and, you were always there, helping me out, making me...smile. I don't know if I ever thanked you for that." The smile softened, and a new warmth crept into those soft violet eyes, spread a gentle solace over those pale, smooth features. "Come on," he said at last, rising from the wall and grinning down at her. "Let's get going. I have a feeling the office is getting tired of hearing our excuses, so let's not be late today, huh?"
Miaka smiled, rose to her feet, and brushed a bit of dirt from the back of her uniform. "Un," she agreed in the same soft voice. "Let's go...Nuriko."
---
The soft chiming of the bell, the echoing thunder of hundreds of feet pounding through the hallways, the muffled scent of chicken and gravy drifting from the cafeteria...sighing softly, Miaka let herself pause just inside the front door of the school, eyes closing lightly in bliss. It felt like it had been SO long since she'd been here...so long since she'd just been a normal teenager, nothing more important to worry about than where she was going to sit at lunch and what she was going to eat when she got there...ahhh, it felt good to be normal again. Hearing a slight sloshing sound, Miaka let her eyes slide open, just slightly, and peered out at the world through a haze of dark eyelashes. It was then that she realized the source of the sound--Nuriko was bending over the nearby water fountain, slurping contentedly...and, she noticed with a secret little smile, managing to slop a good quantity of the water onto his dress shirt. Ignoring the sudden flow of curses sliding from the violet-haired seishi's lips, she frowned slightly, let her thoughts complete themselves.
For these people...she'd been gone only a few days, hadn't she? As far as they knew, she hadn't changed at all...she was the same old Miaka, that naive glutton with the meatballs on her head... For them, she was the same as always. They didn't know she'd gone into the book and met all these wonderful new people and called upon the animal god Suzaku...they had no idea. They didn't know she'd changed...they didn't know their own world had, too. With that thought, she started, drawing her lips downwards into a slight, unhappy frown.
//That's right...I almost forgot. The book doesn't exist anymore. It...it never existed. I was never Suzaku no Miko at all...and, the seishi were never anything but normal high-schoolers. Feels...weird.\\
She jumped, two large, blinking violet eyes abruptly materializing before her face, narrowing as the lips beneath them frowned. "Miaka? Somethin' wrong?"
She stammered for a moment. "Uhhh...iie, Nuriko! Everything's just fine..."
The older boy studied her for another long moment, mouth twisting slightly in something much like suspicion...then, abruptly, he shrugged, took a short step back. "If you say so." He took a few long-legged steps, leaned his back against the wall just beside her. "Ne, Miaka...you're still trying out for the musical with me this afternoon, right?"
Her stomach rumbled in protest...but, she forced herself to ignore it...for Nuriko's sake, of course. "Uh...hai."
Nuriko grinned. "Great. See you then, I guess...time for class..."
Suddenly, inexplicably, a thick, heavy panic sliced into her, made her eyes widen, her hands begin to shake. Nuriko noticed the change, gazed at her with wide, concerned eyes. "Miaka?" he asked worriedly. "Doushita mo?"
She shook her head, staring straight ahead and struggling vainly to maintain some grasp on her thoughts...but, they were circling too quickly in her mind, fed by this strange, hurtling fear...this dark, fearful urgency...gods, what was going on...? "N...Nuriko," she managed. "Nuriko...onegai...don't leave...don't leave yet..."
He shook his head fervently, reached forward to take a gentle hold onto her shoulders. "Don't worry, I won't leave. Demo...demo, Miaka, you look terrible...maybe you should sit down..."
Miaka could only shake her head, the shivers rippling up and down her spine, and struggle vainly to figure out just what was going on...what was happening...WHY... It felt...it felt strangely familiar, as if she'd been here before, experienced this before...but, gods, what was it? Why did she feel so...so panicked all of a sudden? So afraid? Was something...going to happen?
An icy quiver of fear shot through her, made her wince. Kourin had died in this reality...what if...what if that meant that Nuriko was going to die, too? That...that all who had died in the other world... No. No, she wouldn't let that happen...it COULDN'T happen! This was her last wish! This was supposed to be a world where they could all live! Where Nuriko could celebrate his nineteenth birthday, where Chiriko could grow up, go to college...where Hotohori could see his baby born, where Mitsukake and Shoka could live and be happy...gods. Gods, this couldn't be...this couldn't be...no. No, she must be mistaken. Suzaku was a loving god, wasn't he? Yes...yes...he wouldn't do something so cruel...not to her, not to Suzaku no Miko.
Not when it had been her LAST WISH. God...
Suddenly, whatever it was that had held such a clawlike grip on her mind and body...abruptly let go. The strength bled out of her legs, then, and she felt herself falling, tumbling helplessly downwards...but, Nuriko caught her, lowered her gently onto the cool, polished marble of the floor. Miaka let her eyes close, forced herself to focus on breathing...and on not giving in to the hot, heavy tears pressing at the back of her throat.
//No,\\ she vowed silently. //No. I won't let them die. I won't...I won't let them!\\
After another long moment of breathing and thinking and praying, Miaka drew in a long, shuddering breath...and opened her eyes. Nuriko knelt on the floor just in front of her, his slim, gentle hands resting strongly on her shoulders, his eyes large and worried. "Miaka," he said quietly, peering at her as if afraid she was going to collapse. "Miaka...what happened?"
"Nuriko...," she murmured. Then, suddenly, she lurched forward, wrapped her arms tightly around the violet-haired seishi's neck and hugged him close. "Nuriko," she whispered frantically. "Nuriko, please...please, don't leave me..."
She felt his muscles tensing beneath her at the sudden embrace, felt his breath quicken and the soft thud of his heart beat faster...but then, after a moment, he relaxed. The tension bled from his muscles, and he wrapped his thin arms tightly around her, held her close. "I won't," he promised. His breath was soft and warm on her neck. A moment later, she felt the tingle of that thin hand smoothing down her hair, those deceptively-slim arms pulling her closer. "I won't leave you, Miaka. Not ever."
Yet, even as the words of reassurance rang in her ears, even as the warmth of Nuriko's body surrounded her, soothed her...she couldn't help but frown, a sudden mist of tears springing lightly to her eyes.
Because, that had been what he said last time, too...hadn't it?
---
*AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the record, as I have no idea at all what the Japanese school system is like, I'm writing Miaka's high school much like an American high school...which, alas, is the only thing I'm familiar with. :P So, please, no flames on THAT subject. :) As for other things...the opening sequence of this chapter, e.g., Miaka and Nuriko walking to school, was written to the intriguing background of "Low Rider." *grin* It's not my fault. :P Of course, I had to turn it off as more serious moments occurred...but, just in case you wondered...yeah. Low Rider. :P You CAN flame me over that if you want. :) ^_^.
Well. Now that you're down here...you might as well review, ne? It's not harrrrrrrd, is it? Typey-typey, clicky-clicky...wow, a review! See how simple? Now, you try! *waits patiently*
Arrigato. :)
-Ryuen
~ ~ ~
[the present]
Nuriko stared down at his slim fingers, gently rubbing his thumbs together as if to fill the sudden silence. Finally, he glanced at the speechless girl beside him, offered a weak smile. "That day..." He trailed off, shook his head. "You have no idea what you did for me, Miaka. You...you rescued me. If not for you being there, keeping me from...keeping me from dwelling on things...I might've spent my entire life living as someone else. Kourin died, Miaka...and, it was like...like a part of me died, too. I just couldn't accept it...I didn't want to, I think. But, I did. It took a long, long time...and, you were always there, helping me out, making me...smile. I don't know if I ever thanked you for that." The smile softened, and a new warmth crept into those soft violet eyes, spread a gentle solace over those pale, smooth features. "Come on," he said at last, rising from the wall and grinning down at her. "Let's get going. I have a feeling the office is getting tired of hearing our excuses, so let's not be late today, huh?"
Miaka smiled, rose to her feet, and brushed a bit of dirt from the back of her uniform. "Un," she agreed in the same soft voice. "Let's go...Nuriko."
---
The soft chiming of the bell, the echoing thunder of hundreds of feet pounding through the hallways, the muffled scent of chicken and gravy drifting from the cafeteria...sighing softly, Miaka let herself pause just inside the front door of the school, eyes closing lightly in bliss. It felt like it had been SO long since she'd been here...so long since she'd just been a normal teenager, nothing more important to worry about than where she was going to sit at lunch and what she was going to eat when she got there...ahhh, it felt good to be normal again. Hearing a slight sloshing sound, Miaka let her eyes slide open, just slightly, and peered out at the world through a haze of dark eyelashes. It was then that she realized the source of the sound--Nuriko was bending over the nearby water fountain, slurping contentedly...and, she noticed with a secret little smile, managing to slop a good quantity of the water onto his dress shirt. Ignoring the sudden flow of curses sliding from the violet-haired seishi's lips, she frowned slightly, let her thoughts complete themselves.
For these people...she'd been gone only a few days, hadn't she? As far as they knew, she hadn't changed at all...she was the same old Miaka, that naive glutton with the meatballs on her head... For them, she was the same as always. They didn't know she'd gone into the book and met all these wonderful new people and called upon the animal god Suzaku...they had no idea. They didn't know she'd changed...they didn't know their own world had, too. With that thought, she started, drawing her lips downwards into a slight, unhappy frown.
//That's right...I almost forgot. The book doesn't exist anymore. It...it never existed. I was never Suzaku no Miko at all...and, the seishi were never anything but normal high-schoolers. Feels...weird.\\
She jumped, two large, blinking violet eyes abruptly materializing before her face, narrowing as the lips beneath them frowned. "Miaka? Somethin' wrong?"
She stammered for a moment. "Uhhh...iie, Nuriko! Everything's just fine..."
The older boy studied her for another long moment, mouth twisting slightly in something much like suspicion...then, abruptly, he shrugged, took a short step back. "If you say so." He took a few long-legged steps, leaned his back against the wall just beside her. "Ne, Miaka...you're still trying out for the musical with me this afternoon, right?"
Her stomach rumbled in protest...but, she forced herself to ignore it...for Nuriko's sake, of course. "Uh...hai."
Nuriko grinned. "Great. See you then, I guess...time for class..."
Suddenly, inexplicably, a thick, heavy panic sliced into her, made her eyes widen, her hands begin to shake. Nuriko noticed the change, gazed at her with wide, concerned eyes. "Miaka?" he asked worriedly. "Doushita mo?"
She shook her head, staring straight ahead and struggling vainly to maintain some grasp on her thoughts...but, they were circling too quickly in her mind, fed by this strange, hurtling fear...this dark, fearful urgency...gods, what was going on...? "N...Nuriko," she managed. "Nuriko...onegai...don't leave...don't leave yet..."
He shook his head fervently, reached forward to take a gentle hold onto her shoulders. "Don't worry, I won't leave. Demo...demo, Miaka, you look terrible...maybe you should sit down..."
Miaka could only shake her head, the shivers rippling up and down her spine, and struggle vainly to figure out just what was going on...what was happening...WHY... It felt...it felt strangely familiar, as if she'd been here before, experienced this before...but, gods, what was it? Why did she feel so...so panicked all of a sudden? So afraid? Was something...going to happen?
An icy quiver of fear shot through her, made her wince. Kourin had died in this reality...what if...what if that meant that Nuriko was going to die, too? That...that all who had died in the other world... No. No, she wouldn't let that happen...it COULDN'T happen! This was her last wish! This was supposed to be a world where they could all live! Where Nuriko could celebrate his nineteenth birthday, where Chiriko could grow up, go to college...where Hotohori could see his baby born, where Mitsukake and Shoka could live and be happy...gods. Gods, this couldn't be...this couldn't be...no. No, she must be mistaken. Suzaku was a loving god, wasn't he? Yes...yes...he wouldn't do something so cruel...not to her, not to Suzaku no Miko.
Not when it had been her LAST WISH. God...
Suddenly, whatever it was that had held such a clawlike grip on her mind and body...abruptly let go. The strength bled out of her legs, then, and she felt herself falling, tumbling helplessly downwards...but, Nuriko caught her, lowered her gently onto the cool, polished marble of the floor. Miaka let her eyes close, forced herself to focus on breathing...and on not giving in to the hot, heavy tears pressing at the back of her throat.
//No,\\ she vowed silently. //No. I won't let them die. I won't...I won't let them!\\
After another long moment of breathing and thinking and praying, Miaka drew in a long, shuddering breath...and opened her eyes. Nuriko knelt on the floor just in front of her, his slim, gentle hands resting strongly on her shoulders, his eyes large and worried. "Miaka," he said quietly, peering at her as if afraid she was going to collapse. "Miaka...what happened?"
"Nuriko...," she murmured. Then, suddenly, she lurched forward, wrapped her arms tightly around the violet-haired seishi's neck and hugged him close. "Nuriko," she whispered frantically. "Nuriko, please...please, don't leave me..."
She felt his muscles tensing beneath her at the sudden embrace, felt his breath quicken and the soft thud of his heart beat faster...but then, after a moment, he relaxed. The tension bled from his muscles, and he wrapped his thin arms tightly around her, held her close. "I won't," he promised. His breath was soft and warm on her neck. A moment later, she felt the tingle of that thin hand smoothing down her hair, those deceptively-slim arms pulling her closer. "I won't leave you, Miaka. Not ever."
Yet, even as the words of reassurance rang in her ears, even as the warmth of Nuriko's body surrounded her, soothed her...she couldn't help but frown, a sudden mist of tears springing lightly to her eyes.
Because, that had been what he said last time, too...hadn't it?
---
*AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the record, as I have no idea at all what the Japanese school system is like, I'm writing Miaka's high school much like an American high school...which, alas, is the only thing I'm familiar with. :P So, please, no flames on THAT subject. :) As for other things...the opening sequence of this chapter, e.g., Miaka and Nuriko walking to school, was written to the intriguing background of "Low Rider." *grin* It's not my fault. :P Of course, I had to turn it off as more serious moments occurred...but, just in case you wondered...yeah. Low Rider. :P You CAN flame me over that if you want. :) ^_^.
Well. Now that you're down here...you might as well review, ne? It's not harrrrrrrd, is it? Typey-typey, clicky-clicky...wow, a review! See how simple? Now, you try! *waits patiently*
Arrigato. :)
-Ryuen