Title: Autumn's Raine
Chapter 8: Lost in Memories
Disclaimer: I don't own the Gravi characters. I do "own" Raine. o.o She's mine… yes, mine. ::nods:: I get something!
Warnings: Yaoi, a little AU, OC , and probably some OOCness.
Notes: Sorry it took me a little longer to get this chapter out. I actually did some of my homework, so this fic got halted. (Even if my muses were yelling at me to continue.) But, here is the next part. ^__^ Raine is starting to let the readers in on her past a little more. I know it's not that descriptive yet, but I don't want to give everything away just yet. Gotta make it more fun. o.o Oh, and the next chapter should have the others in it. ^^ Bare with me. I know this is taking forever, but I actually want it that way. I love detail, and I try to give that, so time in my fic does just that, takes time. ^__~ Hehehe, well enough of me babbling! Read on! (oh, and we back track a bit in the beginning here. just so you know.)
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Shuichi walked through the crowds with his head in the clouds. It was a beautiful day outside and he was happy with the reaction he had gotten from Yuki when he woke him up. Yuki hadn't told him to get out, hadn't hit him, and hadn't yelled, at least not as much as he would have all those months before. All of the threats and shoves had been half-heartedly. Yuki was really trying to change for the better and Shuichi was thrilled.
Making another turn Shuichi finally glanced to his left expecting to see Raine walking silently next to him. But when he did look over she wasn't there. Blinking several times Shuichi stopped, ignoring the few people that bumped into him and the mumbles coming from them. His eyes were frantically looking down the street for the missing Sprite.
"Raine!?" Shuichi's eyes widened and he got onto the tips of his toes trying to find her. He didn't think finding a bluish green head of hair would be hard but he couldn't see her anywhere. 'I've lost her!!?'
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"Shuichi?" Raine was now standing next to one of the many buildings along the street, her head looking one way and then the other for Shuichi. She didn't see his pink head of hair anywhere. "Oh my…" She frowned, not knowing what to do. She wasn't sure when she lost him, and it had already been twenty minutes since she did notice. He could be far away by now.
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"RAINE!!?" Shuichi had run back almost all the way to Yuki's apartment, trying to back track where he and Raine had been walking. He couldn't remember the last time he had looked over at her; he had been too immersed in his own thoughts. 'Damn!... I have to call Yuki! He'll know what to do.' He had been searching for about a half hour now and was already out of ideas. He didn't know where to look. Yuki would think he was a complete idiot this time.
Shuichi ran through the crowd once more, pulling out his cell phone and he looked at it. He waited until he got a good connection and then dialed the apartment. The phone began to ring and after that one ring Shuichi became anxious. He was standing by a road sign, watching the other people pass and searching for Raine at the same time.
He growled loudly when the answering machine picked up. 'Yuki better not be asleep!' Shuichi held the phone close to his face As soon as the beep was heard Shuichi started to speak, "YUKI!!! She's gone! Yuki, I don't know where she went! YUKI WAKE U-"
"I'm awake, idiot."
"Yuki!" Shuichi sighed in relief. "You gotta help me!"
"What are you talking about, brat? You lost Raine?"
"We were walking to the restaurant and I wasn't really paying attention to where she was. I thought she was still at my side. And then when we were almost to the place I glanced over and she was gone! I've been searching for a half hour but I couldn't find her. I need help, Yuki!" Shuichi didn't take a breath with his explanation, he needed Yuki to hurry.
"Why is this not surprising?"
"Yuuuuuuki, now is not the time for you to say how stupid I am! I need help!" He whined.
"Where are you?"
"Um…" Shuichi turned around and looked up and around just now realizing he was across the street from the apartment building. "Across the street… Damn, I didn't even notice that! Bah! Yuki I'm so confused and scared! Raine doesn't know where to go!"
"Shuichi! Calm down!"
"I can't Yuki! What if something bad happens to her? She is so sweet and kind! Who knows who will get her!" He was almost on the verge of hyperventilating.
"Just calm down and stay where you are. I'm coming down."
"Yuuuuuuki, hurry!" Shuichi heard a click as Yuki hung up the phone. His eyes began to look back and forth as he waited for his lover to come down from the apartment. He soon began chewing on the antenna to his cell phone as he became even more worried. "RAINE!!?"
Shuichi began to bounce on the tips of his toes as the minutes passed by. He didn't know how long he waited but as soon as he spotted his lover across the street he began waving his hand frantically. Another minute passed and Yuki came walking, briskly, over to Shuichi. "Yuuuki! I'm so glad you came down! I don't know what to do!"
"Calm down." Yuki frowned, his eyes scanning the crowds before he looked down at his lover. "Let's split up. You head that way," Yuki pointed ahead, "I have my cell."
That was all Shuichi needed to hear and he took off like a bullet down the street, Yuki heading in the opposite direction.
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Raine had been walking around for almost two hours now. None of the places she had been passing looked familiar. Now she was kicking herself for not paying more attention to where she and Shuichi had been walking. She let out a loud sigh as she followed another crowd across the street. For a moment she let herself look at all the things that were different then what she remembered. The machines on wheels were interesting. No horses.
Up ahead she saw a park, so she decided to head there. 'Maybe Shuichi will head this way?' Raine thought to herself. 'I *hope* he heads this way. I'm such an idiot.' Her shoulders slouched in defeat. It only took another minute for Raine to find her way into the park, and suddenly it looked familiar. 'Hey, this is where I came the other night… Where Shuichi found me! Oh, I bet he'll look here.' Suddenly Raine felt a little bit better and hope came back.
As she was walking through the park she watched all of the humans doing the same. Most of them seemed really happy, though she did see a couple that looked like they were ready to kill each other. Raine frowned slightly when that couple passed; she subtly probed their feelings and found them both hurt and angered over something. She wondered what it was and hoped they worked what ever it was out.
She hated to see couples mad at each other, 'Though, if it was truly meant to be they will figure things out for themselves.' Suddenly Raine wondered what she should be worried about humans she hadn't even met. She wondered if it was because thinking those things made her think of her own past. And she knew it was time she started to remember, no matter how much it hurt.
It had been a long time since Raine had fallen in love. She could remember her and her love taking long walks at night, silent but together. Those were the times she missed the most, the quiet nights together in the open night air. Though the air was a lot cleaner back there then it was here. She wondered if the entire world's air was as dirty as the air here. She also wished there had been a park as nice as this one back then too. 'Though, it doesn't matter. Just being with Charlie made almost anything a wonderful experience.'
'Charlie...' Raine sighed as she found a bench that was unoccupied and she sat down. 'Charlie Betony… you promised me… you would love me forever… and I did the same…' She sighed softly, glancing over at an older couple as they walked past. She smiled at there clasped hands, her own hands coming up to her chest. She clenched her hands together, her eyes closing in concentration. After a moment Raine's eyes opened and so did her hands, now lying on her palms was a modest diamond ring. 'After all these years, I still feel the same way… I can't stop loving you.' She closed her eyes once more picturing him in her mind, a soft smile appearing on her face. 'No matter how hard I try.'
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"RAINE!?" Shuichi ran down the street, his head snapping one way and then another. He had to find Raine. She had been missing for over three hours now and Shuichi was beginning to panic. He didn't want to imagine what could happen to her if she was alone for too much longer. There were a lot of weirdoes and he wanted to protect her from them.
"Shuichi!!" Shuichi stopped and blinked as he heard his lover calling to him. But he couldn't see Yuki anywhere. "Over here!" Turning around fully Shuichi spotted Yuki down the street, his hand in the air to get Shuichi's attention.
"Yuki!!" He quickly ran over to his lover's side, anxious for a report. "Did you find her!?"
"Do you see her with me?" Yuki sighed out glaring down at Shuichi. Though he wasn't mad at his lover, he was frustrated that he couldn't find Raine.
"Yuki, where can she be?..." Shuichi's eyes fell to the ground; he felt like crying and went with the feeling. Tears began streaming down his face and he couldn't hold back his sniffles.
Yuki sighed and rested a hand a top Shuichi's head, running his fingers through the soft pink hair. "Don't cry. We'll find her. Come on we'll look together." Moving his hand from Shuichi's hair, the novelist grabbed his lover's hand gently and he began walking.
Shuichi sniffled some more, the tears still flowing as he slowly followed behind Yuki in silence.
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Raine studied her ring for some time. She had kept the ring close to her heart for over ninety years, keeping the symbol of her commitment to one human from the other Sprites when she had returned "home". It wasn't unusual for a Sprite to fall in love with a human and spend the rest of their lives with them. So that wasn't the reason why she hid the ring, she just kept everything to herself, trying to hide the pain she felt from everyone, including her.
Raine's eyes ran over the edges of the small diamond chip that was on the ring. Charlie wasn't a wealthy man, but the price of the ring didn't matter to Raine, only the sentiment of it. Raine had been close to giving up her long life to age at the same rate as her human husband, but she never got the chance. She quickly stopped that train of thought.
She closed her hand over the ring and when she opened it again the ring was gone. She didn't like thinking about what happened, it hurt too much, but there wasn't a day that went by when she didn't think of her husband. He was a good, caring and loving man. Raine missed him.
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Yuki was still holding Shuichi's hand, though the singer had stopped crying and was now just depressed. 'He's no help.' The writer sighed, his eyes now locked on the park he saw straight ahead. He hadn't checked there yet so that's where he was heading. As soon as he was heading down the stone path he caught the site of a familiar head of blue-green hair. "Finally." Up ahead, sitting by herself on a bench, was Raine. She was smiling softly and her eyes were fixed ahead. She looked lost in thought.
"Finally?" Shuichi looked up at Yuki, confused. Yuki stopped and pointed ahead. Blinking several times, Shuichi followed the finger and saw Raine. "RAINE!!" Shuichi's eyes widened and in an instant he was running at full speed for the Sprite.
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Raine, who had been lost in thought, blinked at the call of her name. Just as she was turning her head to the right Shuichi latched onto her, hugging tightly. "Shuichi?"
"We found you!! I was so worried! I was afraid someone had gotten you and did horrible, horrible things to you!" Shuichi hugged her even tighter, almost in tears once more. "I would have died if something happened to you!"
"Shuichi! Let her breathe!" Yuki snapped as he walked over, Raine was turning a little blue from lack of air.
"Oh!" Shuichi leaned back, "I'm sorry! Are you okay!?"
Raine held up her hand, waving it slightly as she took several deep breaths. "I'm okay. You just startled me." She looked up at the two and smiled warmly. "I was hoping you would look here… I wasn't sure where to go after I lost sight of Shuichi." She blushed slightly embarrassed, "I'm sorry, I wasn't really paying attention to where you were… and then I realized you weren't there."
"No, it's not your fault!" Shuichi sat down on the bench next to her. "It was my fault; I should have been paying attention. I wasn't paying attention to where you were either. And you are not familiar with this area, so I should have been paying attention to you."
"I searched for you." She smiled softly, "It's amazing how I couldn't spot that pink head of yours anywhere."
"I couldn't find you either!" Shuichi laughed, "I thought that with your hair color it would be easy to find you. But I couldn't."
Yuki sighed loudly; they had both lost each other. "Idiots. The both of you." Shuichi continued to laugh, his hand going to the bad of his head.
"I know I am." Shuichi admitted.
"Yeah, me too." Raine chuckled, her eyes looking from both Shuichi then to Yuki.
Yuki just shook his head. "Next time you two go out you better pay attention… Or tie you hands together." Yuki snorted the last part out, turning to head back out of the park.
"Yuki?" Shuichi stood up grabbing Raine's hand and making her do the same. He wasn't about to lose her again.
"Let's go eat." Yuki began walking. "I'm hungry."
===to be continued===
CCT: The ending was kinda crappy, huh? Heh… I think it is anyway. I just didn't have anywhere else to end it. The next chapter will hopefully be a bit longer, and as I said earlier I will have some more of the others enter. ^__^ (most likely K, Fujisaki, Sakano and returning again, Hiro). Well, I need to go do more homework. ;.; Will it ever end?