A/N:
Sorry for the lack of updates guys. I've had a lot of pressing stuff to deal with these past few months, and to top it off my laptop broke down. But hey, it's a month later, I've got my laptop, and I'm happy.
Hopefully I'll have my Always Then Always Forever update by next week, providing nothing else pops up to harass me. Anyway, more stuff later. For now, storytime! :D
Notes:
~ indicate a change in POV
.oOOo.oOOo. is just a caterpillar crawling across the screen.
Chapter 2 : Thus The Tale Is Told
16 years later…
It was, she decided, a very bleak place.
Despite knowing how this place looked like before she visited, it had never sunk in exactly how vile this city was. What should have been ribbons of shimmering blue water was replaced by ugly drab slabs of black asphalt. Majestic trees were gone, replaced by tall dwellings whose symmetry was a mockery of her Fey soul. Yes, though light glimmered through the glass panes of these buildings, lights of various colours twinkling merrily away, they had no… what was the word? Life?
There was no life in this city, she thought to herself. The only sparks of souls were the mortals threading their lives through the bleakness of this domain. The whole place was just so miserable… where was the emerald of life brought by meadows and forests? Where were the colours?
Maybe, she mused to herself, the only colours they need are those they weave. The thought was particularly cheery, and it helped her ignore the harsh grating the air had in her lungs.
This was not a clean city either.
Anxious to get the mission over with, she leaned over to the side so she could have a better view of what the mortal was doing. "Aoshi-sama, are we going to pay Megumi-san a visit?" Kelcee asked, watching with interest at the figure currently pounding down on a patient's motionless chest.
She's pretty, she thought, a wide grin on her face as she contemplated the effects this would have on her Master.
As for her question, there was no answer from the man. She glanced to the side, her motions mimicked by the large horse she rode. Jet black save for the snow whiteness of its mane and tail, the horse rolled its eyes when it was clear Death was not going to answer Kelcee's question.
Far below them, illuminated by the yellow artificial light of the city, the few people who wandered the streets were oblivious to the two figures on horseback floating outside the seventh floor of the All Hallows Hospital.
"Aoshi-sama?" she prodded again.
"Sensei."
Kelcee blinked unusually dark blue eyes, "What?"
"You must call her Megumi-sensei. She is a doctor; give her due respect." He was all seriousness, this Death. With the thin sliver of the new moon behind him, a faint silvery light cast a faint glow about him; the darkness of his hair tinged with midnight hue, the elegant features set in an emotionless gaze.
A stab of sorrow; Aoshi-sama had lost his humanity. No, not lost it. He was denying it, and she could not help but be saddened. Where was the passion, the emotions, that the Fey so loved? That the Fey tried so hard to emulate what humans did effortlessly?
Regardless of her thoughts, a bright grin flashed, "But she's not a doctor yet."
"She will be."
With the atypical mood swings of the Fey, her sorrow turned to amused at his utter confidence. He was, after all, talking to the Future. She answered his statement with a nonchalant shrug. "Anyway, should we go now? The human's dead already and the Saugh are starting to make their move."
A nod of affirmation, "You will handle the newcomers. I will ensure she will not come to harm."
His companion smiled in delight, "Hai!"
.oOOo.oOOo.
A woman made her way down the corridor in a half-daze; her dark brown eyes filled with remorse, her steps echoing forlornly. Having reached an unassuming door, she fiddled with the doorknob for a second, unlocking it, before pushing the door open.
She needed something to get over this. Coffee might do. Liqueur would be even better, but she doubted there would be any in the room. Alcohol robbed the clear-thinking and precision required in a doctor.
But damned if she didn't need it right now.
Delicate fingers scrabbled a moment at the side of the room as she slipped inside, shutting the door behind her. For a moment she was engulfed in darkness, the next she was blinded as the room flooded with light.
Not for the first time, she cursed night shifts.
As her vision returned though, all thoughts of what had happened vanished as she noticed the tall figure standing placidly in the corner. Though the entire room was filled with light, it seemed as though it was cloaked in shadow.
Him, her mind corrected. In her mind there was no doubt at all that this intruder was male, even before her training picked out the typical male features; the broadness of his shoulders, the slope of his hips and even the angle of his legs.
That's odd, she thought absently, I can see his overall shape, but I can't see his features.
Out loud and with more calm than she felt, "What on earth are you doing in my office?"
The figure took a step forward. She noted the confidence in that simple movement, and automatically reached for the door handle behind her.
"What the…?" It was locked. From the inside.
"It's for your own safety." The voice startled her; very pleasantly deep and highly educated. It also had a trace of accent to it, very minute but there nonetheless.
"My own safety?" She couldn't keep the scepticism from her voice then, "I don't know who you are, sir. And it's three in the morning. What are you doing in my office at three in the morning? And, may I ask, how the hell did the door get locked?"
The figure seemed to have not heard her question, instead asking her conversationally, "Would you like some coffee?" A mug was held out to her, its tantalizing bitter-sweet aroma nothing like the slop they served at the cafeteria. Not that she ever touched the vile stuff. In her own medical opinions, caffeine was evil. A necessary evil sometimes, but one nonetheless.
A small flex of fingers accompanied his correction, "I'm sorry. Takani Megumi does not drink coffee now, does she? Would you rather green tea instead?"
He sounded very educated, and the coffee scent warped into the sharp tang of tea. She stared at him, then at the offered mug. Gone was the dark liquid, replaced by the clearness of tea. Behind her, her fingers scrabbled against the doorknob. It remained locked despite her best efforts.
Attention back to him, she frowned. Something was very wrong here. Why can't I see his face?
"It's for your own safety" the stranger repeated calmly, as though reading her mind.
She took a deep breath. This could just be happening in her head, she told herself. It could just be the hallucinations coming back. She had been skipping on her pills; she hadn't had any weird visions for ages. Maybe her psychiatrist was right after all. Maybe she wasn't fully cured yet. But then again, the door was locked, which meant there really was a stranger in her office at three in the morning.
Just as she was about to open her mouth, a bump from behind caused her to spin around.
"Ah, Aoshi-sama? They're regrouping," a voice called out apologetically as the door swung open.
Already rattled, Megumi could only stare helplessly at the newcomer, "That door was locked!" She was starting to wonder whether all those hours spent on night shifts had finally driven her off the edge.
A young girl stared back at her incomprehensibly, as though she had not expected her to be there, "Ahh… would you like me to get back outside and knock?"
A sigh from the tall man in black, "No, there's no need for that." Then, "Are you hurt?" The concern in his voice broke his monotony and Megumi found herself staring bewilderedly back and forth between the two of them. It was then that she noticed the large wound grinning wetly at her, stretching from the girl's elbow right up to her shoulder.
"I'll be fine, Aoshi-sama." A bright, quick grin then, "It's hard to fight and be a Fate at the same time."
Megumi interrupted then, finding that here was ground that was very familiar, "Look, I don't know who you are," her sharp words were aimed at the shadowy man standing by her desk and still holding on to the cup of green tea, "But if this girl is hurt which she most definitely is I'd expect you to do a bit more than just ask if she's alright!"
Ignoring the girl's surprised look, she knelt down and inspected the cut. Gaping red and half cloaked by large clumps of clotted blood, the sheer violence behind it made her grimace, "What in the world happened to you?"
Strangely intense midnight eyes focused on her as she was treated to an easy smile, "Had to drive off some imps, Lady."
"Megumi-sensei," the strange man, Aoshi, corrected as he sipped from the mug she had refused.
"Megumi-sensei," the girl finished without missing a beat.
"You," she pointed to Aoshi, "Quiet. And you…" she faltered as she realized she hadn't caught the girl's name.
"Kelcee," she quipped, seemingly not affected at all by the wound, which was now collecting an impressive puddle of blood at her feet.
~
Here was the power.
He felt it, the faint stirrings disturbing the air ever so slightly, and he could feel the ripples caressing what skin he had bare. A quick check then; vibrant, healing, warm. Yes, this was the energy unique to Takani Megumi.
Aoshi watched, his cloak starting to ripple from the energy building up in the room, watched as Megumi busied herself looking for a first aid kit in the room. Watched very carefully as she cleaned the wound, watched and marvelling quietly at her efficiency and professional air as she worked.
Does she even realize her potential? He wondered. A blink and he could see the aura of her palms, edged green and blue. Clearly the mark of a healer. Does she know that's all she'll ever need?
Remaining silent, he watched carefully as the doctor mopped up the blood, flushing the wound with a liquid whose bottle announced itself as an antiseptic, and inspected the jagged edges of the cut.
Finally, she seemed to have come to a conclusion as she sat back to rummage through the kit, "You'll need stiches. The wound's too deep and uneven to be left alone." The way she briefly regarded Kelcee spoke it all – Why on earth are you unaffected by the pain?
Aoshi's cup was halfway to his lips when the full implications of her words hit. Stiches. That meant sewing, and in this world of mortals, that meant steel. And iron. Iron.
He set the cup down, "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."
~
Kelcee watched quizzically as Megumi-sensei ignored Aoshi-sama's order. Ignored him! What mortal had the courage and self-confidence to ignore Death? She decided then that while being able to foresee the future was a great thing, it could not compare with what was happening now.
A soft 'bak' from the window confirmed her thoughts, and Kelcee hoped like mad Aoshi-sama hadn't discovered her sisters outside the window, especially since they had shape-changed to arguably blend into the current time.
She didn't think he would appreciate the Past and the Present, now a brown and white patched cow and a very straggly chicken, taking peeks in the room. Particularly a room which was five stories off from the ground.
A sudden jab on her arm demanded her attention then, demanding it only as all ice-cold flames tearing through pulped flesh could.
She sank into oblivion, unaware that the ear-piercing screams were her own.
~
"MOO!!"
To Megumi's horror and utter disbelief, a bovine head burst through her office window and began to flail about wildly, its fierce thrashing sending glass flying through the air and scattering over the plain floor. Faster than her eyes could follow, Aoshi appeared before her, ice blue eyes flashing. The deadly rain of glass stopped in mid air to drop down before him, tinkering on the ground. Meanwhile a small red and orange chicken wriggled through a small gap and began hissing – Can chickens hiss? Megumi wondered dazedly – and tried pecking at her.
Surrounded by this chaos, she screamed the first thing that came to her, "I can't work under this pressure!"
~
Nothing could surprise Shinomori Aoshi. He, the Grim Reaper, was unflappable. Not even the scene playing out before him could shake the cool façade he wore.
But it came close though. A close to hysterical woman – and right now he wished he himself could indulge in such hysterics –, a passed out fate lying in a rapidly growing pool of blood and glass, a half crazed cow stuck halfway through the window and a fully crazed chicken running around trying to peck out Megumi's stethoscope. That was so far the best candidate to drive himself mad.
He took a deep breath; he could handle this. A small moment to decide the best course of action, then at battlefield volume; "Girls! Stand down!"
The words cracked through the room like a gun-shot. Automatically both the cow and chicken paused, their expressions of confusion and betrayal clearly identical. He dismissed them with a single shake of his head, long bangs swaying gently, "Change back and get Kelcee out of here."
A small wriggle and as though from an optical illusion, the cow changed form; shadows on the shoulder darkening into facial features, a bovine leg suddenly becoming an outstretched arm, the head shifting in and out of focus to emerge as folds of a cloak.
A girl slithered through the window then, protected from the sharp glass shards by her white and brown cow-print cloak. Her limber form through, she was clearly chastised by Aoshi's stern look.
In the snapshot, the tall mortal Death was the calm in the midst of a huge storm of debris.
"Sorry, Aoshi-sama," the girl apologized, picking up the ever-confused chicken – Del – and placing her absently on her shoulder, "Its…"
She was silenced by Aoshi's stern look, his words final, "We leave now." She nodded, though still clearly upset. Picking up the unconscious Kelcee almost as though she weighed nothing, she hurried over to the window and shoving it open she hopped out.
That dealt with, he turned around just in time to see Megumi raise a finger at him. "I," she said warningly, and he could see her starting to tremble, "Am going to hate you for this."
He caught her just in time as she crumbled into a faint.
A/N:
How was that? :) Like it? Hate it? Too confusing to know? Leave me a review and let me know! In the meantime, I will be posting a long one-shotter pretty soon… A/Meg as usual, and so far I'm pretty happy with it. Which is rare. *grin*. Can't wait till it's finished.
Till the next chapter!