Angel Sleep
Part 04
By Nekozuki
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Gah! I'm sorry for taking so long to update. I actually finished this like two days ago, but I couldn't post it cause I was working and studying at night and during the day I couldn't get on the computer because my brothers friend had taken to sleeping on our couch ^^"". OH well, he's cute, guess it's all good ^^. But it's Friday night, no school tomorrow, (Shibby!) so I can write at night with no obligations, and so here's the chapter!
Enjoy!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Shuichi and Sakura flickered into appearance on a busy street. People bustlyed just ahead of them, all intent on getting to their respective destinations. There wasn't too many cars at the moment though Shuichi saw a horde at a red light some 20 meters away.
"Why are we here?" he asked, looked at Sakura who floated slightly above him.
While he could also float, he definitely prefered to stay on the ground. His mind still thought of himself as a solid being, not some whisp of the imagination. Heights were definitely a no-no; he was going to stay on the ground as longas he could.
"This is where we're suppose to be." Sakura shrugged siplomatically.
Shuichi looked around and said slowly, eyebrow raised, "Alright."
Sakura nodded, and the two stood there, uncertain what exactly to do.
"Anyways." Shuichi stratched, giving a yawn. "This is not very fun."
"It's not really meant to be."
"Still." Yawning again, Shuichi began to walk forward. "Wah! I'm not technically alive, so why in the world am I tired? How weird!"
Sakura shrugged.
"So," Shuichi spoke up, "I have 2 days to do this right?"
"Yep, un till 3:00 pm on the last day."
"3:00 pm?" Sitting up, the singer gave the girl an odd look, "I have a specific time?"
"Yep, exactly 2 days from when you were told about the saving people and being able to save yourself and such."
Shuichi shuddered. "That's a little unnerving to know exactly when you will die."
"Be whiped out of existance." Sakura pipped up.
Shuichi's face kind of dropped, becoming quite dole. "Gee… thanks. I feel even better no-"
Shuichi squeaked as someone suddenly springted by, running quite boldly through him.
Staggering, Shuichi clutched at his chest, "That is the WEIRDEST feeling!"
Sakura ignored him, flying forward, 'That boy…"
"Hmm?" Shuichi looked curiously after the fleeing boy, forehead crinkling in concern upon spotting the teary eyes and wet checks.
"Hey…" not even aware he was moving after the boy, Shuichi spoke, "He was crying!"
The boy, perhaps 16 years of age, continued to spring away, unaware of what was going on around him. His stature was quite stunted, almost as small as Shuichi, and shoulder length blond hair fluttered behind him as he ran. Completely absorbed in getting away from whatever had distressed him, the boy didn't notice that he'd just sprinted into the stree, right in front of a speeding car.
"Watch out!!" Shuichi screamed, moving forward with some desperate hope that the boy could actually hear him.
There was maybe some sort of sense, a shiver down his spine or raised hair on the back of his neck, but one way or another the boy lifted his head. Dark brown eyes widened ni shock and fear. He dove backwards, struggling to get out of the way, arms windmilling frantically.
He almost looked like he was oing to make it out of the way, and Shuichi could feel his hopes rising, when the car seemed to jerk spazmatically. It swerved towards the boy than away again. However, the car moved away from the boy too late, and the end of the bumper clipped one of his sneaker covered feet. The force of the speeding car send the boy spinning, even though only his foot was hit. His upper body smacked into the side of the car. Limbs lax, he rolled away from the car, one arm trapped under him and bloddy face down as he tumbled to a stop.
Shuichi couldn't react uif he tried to, his eyes wide with shock and body trembling as the energy seemed to be sucked from him. Never before had he seen something so gruesome. He had seen such things of TV before of course, it was hard to turn it on without blood flying for some reason or another, but it made it so much more personal when you were right there. It stuck him his head, replaying over and over again as the reality strummed.
"Oh…" The singer chocked out weakly. "Is he…?"
"No." Sakura stated slowly, face blank. "I do believe that is why we are here."
"This?" Energy depleated, Shuichi sat down. "Why?"
"I think we should talk to him." Sakura pointed to the unconcious boy.
"Nani! How?" Shuichi yelped.
Sakura gave him a slow look, and after a few seconds Shuichi winced sheepishly.
"Oh yeah, he's like me huh?"
"Yep. Come'on, let's go." Sakura grabbed his hand and they flashed out of existance. Burned in Shuichi's memory was that of the limp body, partially crowded out of his view by the converned, curious group standing around him.
~~~@@@~~~
They appeared back in a white room quite similar to the one he originally woke up in, though this one was empty. Shuichi looked around curiously.
"Anou…"
"Ops!" Sakura clapped her hands suddenly and noisily, causing Shuichi to jump and put his hand over his heart.
"Gee."
"He hasn't arrived yet!"
"Huh?" Before Shuichi could fully question her, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to find the boy on the bed!
Mouth flapping a few times, Shuichi turned and pointed silently to the dazed figure, whose eyes were flickering and fingers twitching. Sakura looked at her watching and grinned.
"Right on time! Meet Anthony Alistar!"
Shuichi blinked (he found himself doing that a lot lately) and gave a resigned sigh. "At least theres one place that's always on time."
"Wha-!!" The boy on the bed popped up. "Where am I?"
"Coma!" Sakura pipped up all too cheerfully.
Grimacing, Shuichi climbed off the floor where he had face-vaulted, and gingerly rubbed his face.
"That was even worse than when you delivered the news to me!"
Sakura gave him a sad puppy-eyed look.
"But he's gonna live!" Sakura yelped. "Probably." She added quietly.
"So! Even if he is gonna live, you don't tell him like that!"
"But! But! Why should he care! All that matters is he's gonna live!" Sakura cried out in a pathetic attempt to defend herself.
"No I'm not."
"If you do things like this all the time you'll get in trouble and no one…" Shuichi slowly trailed off as what Anthony had said sunk in with a rather classical expression of dumbfundness.
"Huh?"
Anthony looked up calmly, face completely serene. 'I don't want to live, I want to die."
Sakura said nothing, instead just looking down with a rather odd, blank expression that made Shuichi hightly suspicious she wasn't as out of the loop as he was.
"Why?" Shuichi yelped.
"He doesn't love me." Tears burst to life in Anthony's eyes, though they only danced in his eyes and not down his checks.
"Huh?"
"I lov ehim and he doesn't love me so I want to die. I've been in love with him my whole entire life, but I never told him. My whole life, I mean, Joseph's my best friend! How could I tell him that when we were talking about our future wives and while he was describing a lovely, caring, beautiful woman, all I could imagine was living with him! It sucks, but I've been fine with it, I mean, I didn't like it, but at least I got to be with him. Than I had to ruin it all by going lax and kissin ghim. Gawd, his expression, so shocked and disgusted. I've ruined a wonderful friendship that I cherished more than anything at the same time that I-"
"So you're just going to give up?" Shuichi yelled, standing up.
He could literally feel himself trembling with anger, his hand clenching hard enough that his kncukles were going white.
"There's a bump in your life and that's it? Fuck it all? You're just gonna give up like that and die!?"
Anthony leaned back, eyes wide as Shuichi stalked forward.
"So he doesn't lvoe you, it sucks! Mourn it, than deal and move on!"
"But!"
"No! I'm here risking my existance here to get back to the person I love and here you are willing to give up because of a little trouble. Don't give up so fucking easily!!!"
Sakura blinked a little at the swear word. Shuichi was not the type to use epithet's; it was rather like a little pricess swearing some guy out.
Anthony blinked and gapped a few times, completely shocked at being bitched out by some unknown, gently looking boy.
"Is that what you really want to do?" Shuichi leaned forward until their noses were a butterfly wing away, "No friends, no sun, no flowers! No nothing! You really want to lose everthing just like that!"
Silence filled the room, and slowly those stationary tears began to fall.
"No. No I don't. I want to live and graduate and get a job and meet my nephew and everthing else. I …I just wanted him to love me too."
"That's something I can understand." Shuichi smiled sweetly, reaching forward to give the crying boy a long, hard hug.
Anthony burried his face into Shuichi's neck and sobbed all his fear, uncertainties and regrets into the small youths shoulder, soaking his clothes.
The singer climbed onto the bed so he could get as close as possible, and the two just sat there, Anthony releasing everything in big gasping gulps. Shuichi closed his eyes, and allowed the tears to trickle down his face, finally releasing some of his own fears.
~~~@@@~~~
"Ready?" Shuichi asked, smiling supportively at the trembling Anthony.
"I'm scared, but I'm ready." Anthony struggled to smile back, and while it was strained and shakey, he was trying, and that showed a whole lot.
"You'll be fine. I mean, you already have the advantage of being all befuddled from your accident. He'll have to make the first move, so that pressures off you."
"But what if he doesn't make the first move?" Anthony asked worriedly, brown eyes wide.
"From what you told me, he's a good guy, right? I don't think you have to worry." Shuichi rubbed his hand over Anthony's arm, and the other boy leaned into the caress.
"Yeah, he's a good guy. I know he wouldn't hurt me if he could prevent it. I'm just worried about what will be in his eyes. Guess I'll have to find out sometime though huh?" Anthony took a deep breath and looked a lot more prepared than he did before, smiling optimistically.
"Yep!"
"Alright." Biting his lip, Anthony stepped forward to take Sakura's hand. "Wish me luck!"
"You know it."
With one last nervous glance at Shuichi over his shoulder, Anthny smiled slightly and grasped Sakura's hand and disappeared. Shuichi grinned, feeling like a weight had been lifted of his shoulders.
"I think he'll be fine." Sakura said, appearing at his shoulder.
"ACK!" Shuichi jumped and jerked away.
"How do you do that? You just left!" Shuichi clutched at his heart.
Sakura shrugged and laughed, flipping her hair as she turned around. "I only had to drop him off."
"Right." Scowling slightly, the singer walked a few steps away, than stopped, sneaking a peek over his shoulder. He raised his eyebrow slightly. Slowly, Sakura peeked back and reciprocated the look. Laughing, the two suddenly twirled around.
"Let's go!" They said simultaneously.
The two grasped arms and left immediately to Anthony's hospital room.
~~~@@@~~~
Jabbing their heads through the wall, Shuichi clutched Sakura as they eavesdropped on their friends life. Anthony was sitting in bed, relatively awake, and hands fiddling. He looked extremely nervous, his lower lip locked between his teeth.
They watched for like a minute before Shuichi jerked restlessly.
"Let's do something!" He yelped.
Sakura grabbed his arm, "Looks like we don't need to."
Shuichi gave her a curious look and she pointed at the room. Almost simultaneously, the knob turned and a large man entered. After a few seconds, Shuichi recongnized the youth from Anthony's descriptions.
"Joseph." He whispered.
Sakura glanced at him, than at the two figures at the bed. They couldn't quite hear what was being said, but it didn't look to good judging from the way that Anthony was refusing to meet the other boys eyes.
"Come on Anthony, you can do it!" Shuichi whispered.
Suddenly, Joseph seemed to say something that surprised the younger boy, and Anthony looked up, eyes wide and shocked. Slowly they lowered a bit and seemed to moisen.
"Gak! He's crying! I'm gonna kill Joseph!" Shuichi surged upright, completely forgetting his fear of height and releasing his hold on Sakura.
"You can't!" She yelled, grabbing a hold of him.
"I will!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"THEY"RE HUGGING!"
"YE-… What?" Shuichi swirled and stared, looked at the still crying Anthony who was being clutched to Josephs chest. Fainly he could hear the older boy talking about how worried and afriad he had been.
"Looks like we're not needed anymore." Shuichi smiled softly.
"Nope. Lets go back."
"Okay."
"Hey! You finished your first mission."
Shuichi looked surprised. He wasn't even thinking of it that way anymore. "Oh yeah."
"Only three more to go!" Sakura clasped him on the shoulder, ready to phase out.
Right before they did, Shuichi dropped his head into his hands and sighed, considering the emotion rollorcoster he had gone through the last few hours.
"Gawd, if all the missions are like this, I'll die long before my time is up!"
~TBC~
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Wah! Done! And it's kinda even long! We're getting closer to the ending. Again I want to apologize for taking to so long. Time goes so fast when you have to do something ^^"" But it's finally up and I'll try hard to write the next one faster! Thankees!
Part 04
By Nekozuki
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Gah! I'm sorry for taking so long to update. I actually finished this like two days ago, but I couldn't post it cause I was working and studying at night and during the day I couldn't get on the computer because my brothers friend had taken to sleeping on our couch ^^"". OH well, he's cute, guess it's all good ^^. But it's Friday night, no school tomorrow, (Shibby!) so I can write at night with no obligations, and so here's the chapter!
Enjoy!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Shuichi and Sakura flickered into appearance on a busy street. People bustlyed just ahead of them, all intent on getting to their respective destinations. There wasn't too many cars at the moment though Shuichi saw a horde at a red light some 20 meters away.
"Why are we here?" he asked, looked at Sakura who floated slightly above him.
While he could also float, he definitely prefered to stay on the ground. His mind still thought of himself as a solid being, not some whisp of the imagination. Heights were definitely a no-no; he was going to stay on the ground as longas he could.
"This is where we're suppose to be." Sakura shrugged siplomatically.
Shuichi looked around and said slowly, eyebrow raised, "Alright."
Sakura nodded, and the two stood there, uncertain what exactly to do.
"Anyways." Shuichi stratched, giving a yawn. "This is not very fun."
"It's not really meant to be."
"Still." Yawning again, Shuichi began to walk forward. "Wah! I'm not technically alive, so why in the world am I tired? How weird!"
Sakura shrugged.
"So," Shuichi spoke up, "I have 2 days to do this right?"
"Yep, un till 3:00 pm on the last day."
"3:00 pm?" Sitting up, the singer gave the girl an odd look, "I have a specific time?"
"Yep, exactly 2 days from when you were told about the saving people and being able to save yourself and such."
Shuichi shuddered. "That's a little unnerving to know exactly when you will die."
"Be whiped out of existance." Sakura pipped up.
Shuichi's face kind of dropped, becoming quite dole. "Gee… thanks. I feel even better no-"
Shuichi squeaked as someone suddenly springted by, running quite boldly through him.
Staggering, Shuichi clutched at his chest, "That is the WEIRDEST feeling!"
Sakura ignored him, flying forward, 'That boy…"
"Hmm?" Shuichi looked curiously after the fleeing boy, forehead crinkling in concern upon spotting the teary eyes and wet checks.
"Hey…" not even aware he was moving after the boy, Shuichi spoke, "He was crying!"
The boy, perhaps 16 years of age, continued to spring away, unaware of what was going on around him. His stature was quite stunted, almost as small as Shuichi, and shoulder length blond hair fluttered behind him as he ran. Completely absorbed in getting away from whatever had distressed him, the boy didn't notice that he'd just sprinted into the stree, right in front of a speeding car.
"Watch out!!" Shuichi screamed, moving forward with some desperate hope that the boy could actually hear him.
There was maybe some sort of sense, a shiver down his spine or raised hair on the back of his neck, but one way or another the boy lifted his head. Dark brown eyes widened ni shock and fear. He dove backwards, struggling to get out of the way, arms windmilling frantically.
He almost looked like he was oing to make it out of the way, and Shuichi could feel his hopes rising, when the car seemed to jerk spazmatically. It swerved towards the boy than away again. However, the car moved away from the boy too late, and the end of the bumper clipped one of his sneaker covered feet. The force of the speeding car send the boy spinning, even though only his foot was hit. His upper body smacked into the side of the car. Limbs lax, he rolled away from the car, one arm trapped under him and bloddy face down as he tumbled to a stop.
Shuichi couldn't react uif he tried to, his eyes wide with shock and body trembling as the energy seemed to be sucked from him. Never before had he seen something so gruesome. He had seen such things of TV before of course, it was hard to turn it on without blood flying for some reason or another, but it made it so much more personal when you were right there. It stuck him his head, replaying over and over again as the reality strummed.
"Oh…" The singer chocked out weakly. "Is he…?"
"No." Sakura stated slowly, face blank. "I do believe that is why we are here."
"This?" Energy depleated, Shuichi sat down. "Why?"
"I think we should talk to him." Sakura pointed to the unconcious boy.
"Nani! How?" Shuichi yelped.
Sakura gave him a slow look, and after a few seconds Shuichi winced sheepishly.
"Oh yeah, he's like me huh?"
"Yep. Come'on, let's go." Sakura grabbed his hand and they flashed out of existance. Burned in Shuichi's memory was that of the limp body, partially crowded out of his view by the converned, curious group standing around him.
~~~@@@~~~
They appeared back in a white room quite similar to the one he originally woke up in, though this one was empty. Shuichi looked around curiously.
"Anou…"
"Ops!" Sakura clapped her hands suddenly and noisily, causing Shuichi to jump and put his hand over his heart.
"Gee."
"He hasn't arrived yet!"
"Huh?" Before Shuichi could fully question her, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to find the boy on the bed!
Mouth flapping a few times, Shuichi turned and pointed silently to the dazed figure, whose eyes were flickering and fingers twitching. Sakura looked at her watching and grinned.
"Right on time! Meet Anthony Alistar!"
Shuichi blinked (he found himself doing that a lot lately) and gave a resigned sigh. "At least theres one place that's always on time."
"Wha-!!" The boy on the bed popped up. "Where am I?"
"Coma!" Sakura pipped up all too cheerfully.
Grimacing, Shuichi climbed off the floor where he had face-vaulted, and gingerly rubbed his face.
"That was even worse than when you delivered the news to me!"
Sakura gave him a sad puppy-eyed look.
"But he's gonna live!" Sakura yelped. "Probably." She added quietly.
"So! Even if he is gonna live, you don't tell him like that!"
"But! But! Why should he care! All that matters is he's gonna live!" Sakura cried out in a pathetic attempt to defend herself.
"No I'm not."
"If you do things like this all the time you'll get in trouble and no one…" Shuichi slowly trailed off as what Anthony had said sunk in with a rather classical expression of dumbfundness.
"Huh?"
Anthony looked up calmly, face completely serene. 'I don't want to live, I want to die."
Sakura said nothing, instead just looking down with a rather odd, blank expression that made Shuichi hightly suspicious she wasn't as out of the loop as he was.
"Why?" Shuichi yelped.
"He doesn't love me." Tears burst to life in Anthony's eyes, though they only danced in his eyes and not down his checks.
"Huh?"
"I lov ehim and he doesn't love me so I want to die. I've been in love with him my whole entire life, but I never told him. My whole life, I mean, Joseph's my best friend! How could I tell him that when we were talking about our future wives and while he was describing a lovely, caring, beautiful woman, all I could imagine was living with him! It sucks, but I've been fine with it, I mean, I didn't like it, but at least I got to be with him. Than I had to ruin it all by going lax and kissin ghim. Gawd, his expression, so shocked and disgusted. I've ruined a wonderful friendship that I cherished more than anything at the same time that I-"
"So you're just going to give up?" Shuichi yelled, standing up.
He could literally feel himself trembling with anger, his hand clenching hard enough that his kncukles were going white.
"There's a bump in your life and that's it? Fuck it all? You're just gonna give up like that and die!?"
Anthony leaned back, eyes wide as Shuichi stalked forward.
"So he doesn't lvoe you, it sucks! Mourn it, than deal and move on!"
"But!"
"No! I'm here risking my existance here to get back to the person I love and here you are willing to give up because of a little trouble. Don't give up so fucking easily!!!"
Sakura blinked a little at the swear word. Shuichi was not the type to use epithet's; it was rather like a little pricess swearing some guy out.
Anthony blinked and gapped a few times, completely shocked at being bitched out by some unknown, gently looking boy.
"Is that what you really want to do?" Shuichi leaned forward until their noses were a butterfly wing away, "No friends, no sun, no flowers! No nothing! You really want to lose everthing just like that!"
Silence filled the room, and slowly those stationary tears began to fall.
"No. No I don't. I want to live and graduate and get a job and meet my nephew and everthing else. I …I just wanted him to love me too."
"That's something I can understand." Shuichi smiled sweetly, reaching forward to give the crying boy a long, hard hug.
Anthony burried his face into Shuichi's neck and sobbed all his fear, uncertainties and regrets into the small youths shoulder, soaking his clothes.
The singer climbed onto the bed so he could get as close as possible, and the two just sat there, Anthony releasing everything in big gasping gulps. Shuichi closed his eyes, and allowed the tears to trickle down his face, finally releasing some of his own fears.
~~~@@@~~~
"Ready?" Shuichi asked, smiling supportively at the trembling Anthony.
"I'm scared, but I'm ready." Anthony struggled to smile back, and while it was strained and shakey, he was trying, and that showed a whole lot.
"You'll be fine. I mean, you already have the advantage of being all befuddled from your accident. He'll have to make the first move, so that pressures off you."
"But what if he doesn't make the first move?" Anthony asked worriedly, brown eyes wide.
"From what you told me, he's a good guy, right? I don't think you have to worry." Shuichi rubbed his hand over Anthony's arm, and the other boy leaned into the caress.
"Yeah, he's a good guy. I know he wouldn't hurt me if he could prevent it. I'm just worried about what will be in his eyes. Guess I'll have to find out sometime though huh?" Anthony took a deep breath and looked a lot more prepared than he did before, smiling optimistically.
"Yep!"
"Alright." Biting his lip, Anthony stepped forward to take Sakura's hand. "Wish me luck!"
"You know it."
With one last nervous glance at Shuichi over his shoulder, Anthny smiled slightly and grasped Sakura's hand and disappeared. Shuichi grinned, feeling like a weight had been lifted of his shoulders.
"I think he'll be fine." Sakura said, appearing at his shoulder.
"ACK!" Shuichi jumped and jerked away.
"How do you do that? You just left!" Shuichi clutched at his heart.
Sakura shrugged and laughed, flipping her hair as she turned around. "I only had to drop him off."
"Right." Scowling slightly, the singer walked a few steps away, than stopped, sneaking a peek over his shoulder. He raised his eyebrow slightly. Slowly, Sakura peeked back and reciprocated the look. Laughing, the two suddenly twirled around.
"Let's go!" They said simultaneously.
The two grasped arms and left immediately to Anthony's hospital room.
~~~@@@~~~
Jabbing their heads through the wall, Shuichi clutched Sakura as they eavesdropped on their friends life. Anthony was sitting in bed, relatively awake, and hands fiddling. He looked extremely nervous, his lower lip locked between his teeth.
They watched for like a minute before Shuichi jerked restlessly.
"Let's do something!" He yelped.
Sakura grabbed his arm, "Looks like we don't need to."
Shuichi gave her a curious look and she pointed at the room. Almost simultaneously, the knob turned and a large man entered. After a few seconds, Shuichi recongnized the youth from Anthony's descriptions.
"Joseph." He whispered.
Sakura glanced at him, than at the two figures at the bed. They couldn't quite hear what was being said, but it didn't look to good judging from the way that Anthony was refusing to meet the other boys eyes.
"Come on Anthony, you can do it!" Shuichi whispered.
Suddenly, Joseph seemed to say something that surprised the younger boy, and Anthony looked up, eyes wide and shocked. Slowly they lowered a bit and seemed to moisen.
"Gak! He's crying! I'm gonna kill Joseph!" Shuichi surged upright, completely forgetting his fear of height and releasing his hold on Sakura.
"You can't!" She yelled, grabbing a hold of him.
"I will!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"THEY"RE HUGGING!"
"YE-… What?" Shuichi swirled and stared, looked at the still crying Anthony who was being clutched to Josephs chest. Fainly he could hear the older boy talking about how worried and afriad he had been.
"Looks like we're not needed anymore." Shuichi smiled softly.
"Nope. Lets go back."
"Okay."
"Hey! You finished your first mission."
Shuichi looked surprised. He wasn't even thinking of it that way anymore. "Oh yeah."
"Only three more to go!" Sakura clasped him on the shoulder, ready to phase out.
Right before they did, Shuichi dropped his head into his hands and sighed, considering the emotion rollorcoster he had gone through the last few hours.
"Gawd, if all the missions are like this, I'll die long before my time is up!"
~TBC~
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Wah! Done! And it's kinda even long! We're getting closer to the ending. Again I want to apologize for taking to so long. Time goes so fast when you have to do something ^^"" But it's finally up and I'll try hard to write the next one faster! Thankees!