Summon: Hey guys! Come on! Review for me!
T-chan: Oh shut up.
Summon: Please? Review?
Shinos stood atop a cliff as he gazed down the castle. He snickered and said, "Meya you fool! You thought that Ascot was just a harmless, lowly summoner? Well, that's where you're wrong!" He threw his cloak over him and hid his face under his hood. He quickly jumped into the midnight sky. He quickly raced through the clouds, heading for the farthest and darkest point of Cephiro. He landed gently on a small patch of vegetation, the only visible patch. Shinos snickered. "Well, I haven't seen this place for a long time," he muttered as he walked towards a small cave that he was facing. As soon as he went in, a glowing image of Ascot was bonded and leaned against the wall. "It gets lonesome from time to time." Shinos walked over to Ascot.
"Why are you doing this?" asked the faint voice of Ascot.
Shinos squatted and chuckled. "Simple. You're too weak. To think we were actually trained to be the best breed of soldiers in the entire known universe.but you had to lose it didn't you Ascot?" Shinos spat on Ascot's face as he stood up. "It's a damn bloody shame to actually be you Ascot," he continued. "Well, that's all for my visit. I'll see you.after I rape and kill your friend Umi." Shinos laughed and turned back towards the entrance and started walking off.
"You sick bastard!" yelled Ascot. "What the damn hell does she have to do with this?! If you dare try to hurt her, I'll kill you and send you to back to Quatren's hell myself!" Shinos turned to look back at Ascot but didn't say anything. He just snickered and continued walking out.
"Don't act like that Ascot. After all, I was the one who preserved part of your soul. But don't worry," mumbled Shinos. "Now that I think of it, I don't think I'd like to touch that sick bitch of yours." He laughed and ran the rest of the way out. As soon as he got out, he once again jumped into the skies and headed for his home.
"Umi." murmured Ascot as he lowered his head and fell asleep.
Umi carelessly strolled back to her room. Her concentration wasn't focused at all and she often bumped into the wall or walked into open rooms. All her thoughts were focused on Shinos, Ascot, and Fuu. 'How can they all be connected?' she thought to herself. "Shinos is Ascot. That I know," she told herself. "But what does Fuu have to do with them?" Umi sighed and opened the door. She didn't realize that it was actually the room across from her room. It was Ascot's room. As she raised her head to look up, she saw Ascot's bed, still covered with blood. She realized her mistake and was about to leave. As soon as she opened the door again, she looked back and noticed that his body was gone.
Umi remembered that no one came into the room after they found his body and looked for anything strange. Nothing else was taken or touched but Umi realized that the gun-like object was also gone. She turned back to the room and looked around.
She had never actually paid much attention to neither Ascot's room nor his belongings. She toured his room and realized it was nothing she'd ever seen. It was tidy and neat. Only necessities of the summoner were displayed. No reading material, pictures, or anything else for that matter, was around. Only a comb, some of Ascot's folded clothes and a notebook was on the top of his drawer. It was Umi's first time to notice the notebook. She went nearer to the drawer to get a closer look at the book. Its cover was covered with a hide of some sort of reptile and was turquoise blue. On the cover was written the phrase 'Wa no ai'. Umi remembered all her language lessons but didn't recognize the first word. The second word was either Japanese or another language but the last word was definitely Japanese. She tried to think of any words that started with 'Wa' but she could only think of a phrase that Ascot taught her.
FLASHBACK
"Hey Ascot?" whispered Umi as the two friends lay lying on the soft grass in a meadow near the castle. They were both gazing up at the clouds; silence was around them both.
Ascot turned his head partially to look at her. "Yeah? Is something wrong?"
Umi sat up and said, "When you love someone here in Cephiro, what do you say to them?"
Ascot also sat up and faced Umi. "You just say the normal 'I love you' line," he replied. Umi laughed and embrace him. Ascot was surprised for a moment but knew that it was just a friendly gesture.
"Not like that," said Umi as she giggled lightly. "I meant that.well." Umi paused for awhile. After a moment, she continued, "Don't you have any special word or meaning or someway to show them?"
Ascot began deep thought. "Do you?" he asked as he continued to think.
Umi giggled some more and replied, "Well, I do. Kinda dumb isn't it?" Ascot shook his head and allowed Umi to continue. "To tell you the truth Ascot, it reminds me of that phrase of yours."
"What phrase?"
"That 'Wako no aiie shite rumo' line of yours. It's not Japanese, that I know."
Ascot smiled. "Yeah. It's not. It's another language."
Umi looked at him with wonder. "Really? What language is it in?"
"Something I learned when I was younger," Ascot replied. Umi watched him, expecting him to continue. But all Ascot did was lay back down and continued gazing at the sky.
"Did I offend you?" asked Umi as she, too, lied down and looked at the clouds.
Ascot shook his head. "No. I.well.it just reminded me of some memories."
"Bad ones, huh?"
Ascot stood up and shrugged his shoulders. "Not really." He began walking to the castle and Umi followed him.
"So are you going to tell me what it means?" she asked as she caught up with him.
"Suppose so," replied Ascot. He stopped and turned to face Umi. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and whispered the meaning into her ear. "It means I will never forget you. Weird, right?" He let go of her and continued walking.
Umi followed him. "Maybe. It's kinda cute.and romantic." She giggled.
END OF FLASHBACK
She tried fitting 'Wako' instead of 'Wa' into the title and it made sense. She read it and made some sense of the title. Ascot had written: 'I will love'. She also tried using the Japanese usage of 'no' and it also made sense. "My love," she muttered. As much as she didn't want to disturb Ascot's privacy in the book, she opened it. The first page had a drawing of a woman who looked very familiar to Umi. The drawing was colored so Umi somehow recognized the picture. The woman had deep navy hair tied at the end; her eyes of deep sea blue. She wore a light-blue dress that was ripped and torn at some places but it still looked pleasant. Beneath the drawing were the words: Diary- My Love. The last word was torn off so she didn't have a clue on what Ascot wrote. For some reason, her hands were trembling as she turned the page.
Ascot's POV
DIARY ENTRY 1 Is this all that's going to happen to me? People keep on ignoring me. Kids and elders make fun of me. Why do I lead such a life? Not even the person I love and consider as my best friend notices me. She treats me as if I was a disease or I was lower than dirt. To her, I don't exist. But why do I still have such deep and loving feeling for her? My heart beats faster when I see her or even the sound of her name makes my face burn. I know I shouldn't think of her in my fantasies (not that their anything close to being perverted, by the way) but I love her. I love Umi.
DIARY ENTRY 2 Umi'll never like me. I'm stupid, ugly, and I'm useless. I wish Shinos was here. At least no one will push him around or make fun of him. I mean even the kids make fun of me. At least with Shinos, they'll think I'm cool or something and Umi might like me or at least notice me.
Why did I even do this in the first place? Maybe I should have stayed. Even if I wasn't really liked, I still had people who respected me and didn't treat me like I was less than dirt. I miss Quatren. I miss the others.
Normal Narration
Umi closed the book. She didn't feel regret or happiness from reading the book. She felt ashamed about reading Ascot's private thoughts and feelings. She opened the book to the first page and looked at the picture again. The woman reminded her of one of her older sisters. "Marine. Tashimi. I.I.I'm sorry. You guys were right. I should never have treated him like that."
FLASHBACK
Umi ran down the street, trying to catch up with her sisters. "Guys! Wait!" The two girls turned around and smiled.
"Umi, you know you can't come with us," said Marine. "I wish you could but dad won't allow that."
Tashimi nodded in agreement. "She's right. But hey, we'll come back after a month." Tashimi smiled and ruffled Umi's hair.
"Okay," said Umi as she ran back to their house. "Promise?" Marine and Tashimi smiled and continued on.
1 month later.
Umi entered the shattered house as the boy had instructed her. "It's creepy here," she muttered as she looked around the broken building. A hand placed itself on the little girl's shoulder and she screamed.
"Don't worry," said a familiar voice. "I'll be here."
"You sure?"
"Positive," said the young boy. "I'll go watch the door."
Umi nodded and the boy stood under the doorframe. But secretly, he stepped out of the house and ran off. Umi silently and carefully walked around the foyer. Suddenly, the house began to shake and creak and the floor beneath her fell. Umi fell into the basement below the house and lost her consciousness.
She woke up and hour later, realizing the darkness that had surrounded her. "Shin! Help!" she yelled but her male companion had abandoned her. She sat down and hugged her legs.
"Umi!" yelled two familiar voices. Umi got up and looked around the darkness.
"Where are you?" she yelled back. Just then, her two sisters came running to her.
"We've been looking for you Umi," said Marine.
Tashimi nodded and added, "Mom and Dad are so worried. Why did you go into this house Umi?" Umi looked down with apologetic eyes. Tears welled up on them and she sniffed.
"Umi, just promise us that you'll never do this again," said Marine. "Imagine if you lose someone you love and realize that you have treated them as if they never existed. That might be how a friend of yours might feel if you got hurt or something."
Tashimi nodded. "Yeah. Come on, stop crying." Umi looked up at her sister. "And that reminds me. Umi, if you ever meet anyone who was always there for you, treat them with love. You don't want to have that feeling of guilt when they die. OK?"
"Yeah."
"Come on Umi," said Marine, placing her hand on the little girls shoulder. "We have to go home." As soon as she finished her sentence, the ceiling unexpectedly fell. The two girls screamed and Tashimi pushed Umi out of the way. Dust and debris flew around them, engulfing them. As soon as the air cleared, Umi saw the bodies of her two older siblings under mounds of stone and wood. She was overwhelmed by the sudden loss of her sisters that she just stood still and watched their bodies. As Umi watched them, a loose block of stone fell on her head and she was knocked unconscious.
END OF FLASHBACK
"Tashimi, I'm sorry," she said as she covered her eyes and cried silently. "I do care for him. But it seems like you had a point. I should've given him more attention. After all, he does love me." She looked back at the diary and read the first entry again. She never thought that Ascot would ever mention her name in his fantasies, much less include her in them. But she knew he has good intentions in them. He even told her what they were.
FLASHBACK
"Hey Ascot!" she yelled as she jumped at him. "Come on! Fess up!"
"Alright Umi! I will if you get off!" he said as he laughed. Umi got off Ascot's back and sat down on the soft, damp grass.
"So, tell me about your deepest, darkest desires," she said grinning. "I bet they're exciting, eh?"
Ascot laughed. "No. I'm no pervert okay? Unlike you." Umi jumped at him and tried to strangle him. "I'm just kidding!" Umi smiled and got off. "Well, I don't really want much of anything if I do get into a relationship," he said looking up at the clear blue sky. "I just want to make sure that I make whoever-the-girl-is happy." He looked back at Umi and smiled.
Umi laughed and said, "You are such a pain in the ass! And I thought that even the most innocent and harmless guy would have some naughty and dirty thoughts in their head. Dammit." She jumped on top of him and laughed some more.
Ascot laughed and placed his hands on Umi's arms. They both stopped laughing and realized what position they were in. "Sorry."
Umi got off her friend. "It's okay. So really. Don't you have some sort of dream that you want a girl to do to you or something?"
Ascot blushed. "Yeah." He got up and continued looking up at the sky. "It's embarrassing to tell you this but I've always dreamed of just taking her out on a ride with one of my friends and just spend time with her. That's all."
"What?!" yelled Umi. "And I thought you were going to tell me what naughty little thoughts run through your head!"
Ascot laughed. "I might tell you those things when I'm feeling a bit creative."
Umi smiled and got up. "Well, at least you know romance." She hugged his arm and pulled it close to her body. "Let's go back."
"Yeah," replied Ascot smiling.
END OF FLASHBACK
Umi looked around the room and plopped on Ascot's bloodstained bed. She looked at where they laid his body and placed herself next to it. She pretended as if he was still there, alive and blushing, that is, if she was really lying down next to him. "Oh Ascot," she whispered.
Strangely, Ascot seemed to have been in the room. "Umi, I'm so sorry."
Umi got up quickly and looked around the room. "Ascot? Is that you?" She looked around and saw nobody. She shook her head and left the room.
Summon: That was crap.
Tam: Aren't ya happy?
Summon: ¬_¬ No.
T-chan: Oh shut up.
Summon: Please? Review?
Shinos stood atop a cliff as he gazed down the castle. He snickered and said, "Meya you fool! You thought that Ascot was just a harmless, lowly summoner? Well, that's where you're wrong!" He threw his cloak over him and hid his face under his hood. He quickly jumped into the midnight sky. He quickly raced through the clouds, heading for the farthest and darkest point of Cephiro. He landed gently on a small patch of vegetation, the only visible patch. Shinos snickered. "Well, I haven't seen this place for a long time," he muttered as he walked towards a small cave that he was facing. As soon as he went in, a glowing image of Ascot was bonded and leaned against the wall. "It gets lonesome from time to time." Shinos walked over to Ascot.
"Why are you doing this?" asked the faint voice of Ascot.
Shinos squatted and chuckled. "Simple. You're too weak. To think we were actually trained to be the best breed of soldiers in the entire known universe.but you had to lose it didn't you Ascot?" Shinos spat on Ascot's face as he stood up. "It's a damn bloody shame to actually be you Ascot," he continued. "Well, that's all for my visit. I'll see you.after I rape and kill your friend Umi." Shinos laughed and turned back towards the entrance and started walking off.
"You sick bastard!" yelled Ascot. "What the damn hell does she have to do with this?! If you dare try to hurt her, I'll kill you and send you to back to Quatren's hell myself!" Shinos turned to look back at Ascot but didn't say anything. He just snickered and continued walking out.
"Don't act like that Ascot. After all, I was the one who preserved part of your soul. But don't worry," mumbled Shinos. "Now that I think of it, I don't think I'd like to touch that sick bitch of yours." He laughed and ran the rest of the way out. As soon as he got out, he once again jumped into the skies and headed for his home.
"Umi." murmured Ascot as he lowered his head and fell asleep.
Umi carelessly strolled back to her room. Her concentration wasn't focused at all and she often bumped into the wall or walked into open rooms. All her thoughts were focused on Shinos, Ascot, and Fuu. 'How can they all be connected?' she thought to herself. "Shinos is Ascot. That I know," she told herself. "But what does Fuu have to do with them?" Umi sighed and opened the door. She didn't realize that it was actually the room across from her room. It was Ascot's room. As she raised her head to look up, she saw Ascot's bed, still covered with blood. She realized her mistake and was about to leave. As soon as she opened the door again, she looked back and noticed that his body was gone.
Umi remembered that no one came into the room after they found his body and looked for anything strange. Nothing else was taken or touched but Umi realized that the gun-like object was also gone. She turned back to the room and looked around.
She had never actually paid much attention to neither Ascot's room nor his belongings. She toured his room and realized it was nothing she'd ever seen. It was tidy and neat. Only necessities of the summoner were displayed. No reading material, pictures, or anything else for that matter, was around. Only a comb, some of Ascot's folded clothes and a notebook was on the top of his drawer. It was Umi's first time to notice the notebook. She went nearer to the drawer to get a closer look at the book. Its cover was covered with a hide of some sort of reptile and was turquoise blue. On the cover was written the phrase 'Wa no ai'. Umi remembered all her language lessons but didn't recognize the first word. The second word was either Japanese or another language but the last word was definitely Japanese. She tried to think of any words that started with 'Wa' but she could only think of a phrase that Ascot taught her.
FLASHBACK
"Hey Ascot?" whispered Umi as the two friends lay lying on the soft grass in a meadow near the castle. They were both gazing up at the clouds; silence was around them both.
Ascot turned his head partially to look at her. "Yeah? Is something wrong?"
Umi sat up and said, "When you love someone here in Cephiro, what do you say to them?"
Ascot also sat up and faced Umi. "You just say the normal 'I love you' line," he replied. Umi laughed and embrace him. Ascot was surprised for a moment but knew that it was just a friendly gesture.
"Not like that," said Umi as she giggled lightly. "I meant that.well." Umi paused for awhile. After a moment, she continued, "Don't you have any special word or meaning or someway to show them?"
Ascot began deep thought. "Do you?" he asked as he continued to think.
Umi giggled some more and replied, "Well, I do. Kinda dumb isn't it?" Ascot shook his head and allowed Umi to continue. "To tell you the truth Ascot, it reminds me of that phrase of yours."
"What phrase?"
"That 'Wako no aiie shite rumo' line of yours. It's not Japanese, that I know."
Ascot smiled. "Yeah. It's not. It's another language."
Umi looked at him with wonder. "Really? What language is it in?"
"Something I learned when I was younger," Ascot replied. Umi watched him, expecting him to continue. But all Ascot did was lay back down and continued gazing at the sky.
"Did I offend you?" asked Umi as she, too, lied down and looked at the clouds.
Ascot shook his head. "No. I.well.it just reminded me of some memories."
"Bad ones, huh?"
Ascot stood up and shrugged his shoulders. "Not really." He began walking to the castle and Umi followed him.
"So are you going to tell me what it means?" she asked as she caught up with him.
"Suppose so," replied Ascot. He stopped and turned to face Umi. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and whispered the meaning into her ear. "It means I will never forget you. Weird, right?" He let go of her and continued walking.
Umi followed him. "Maybe. It's kinda cute.and romantic." She giggled.
END OF FLASHBACK
She tried fitting 'Wako' instead of 'Wa' into the title and it made sense. She read it and made some sense of the title. Ascot had written: 'I will love'. She also tried using the Japanese usage of 'no' and it also made sense. "My love," she muttered. As much as she didn't want to disturb Ascot's privacy in the book, she opened it. The first page had a drawing of a woman who looked very familiar to Umi. The drawing was colored so Umi somehow recognized the picture. The woman had deep navy hair tied at the end; her eyes of deep sea blue. She wore a light-blue dress that was ripped and torn at some places but it still looked pleasant. Beneath the drawing were the words: Diary- My Love. The last word was torn off so she didn't have a clue on what Ascot wrote. For some reason, her hands were trembling as she turned the page.
Ascot's POV
DIARY ENTRY 1 Is this all that's going to happen to me? People keep on ignoring me. Kids and elders make fun of me. Why do I lead such a life? Not even the person I love and consider as my best friend notices me. She treats me as if I was a disease or I was lower than dirt. To her, I don't exist. But why do I still have such deep and loving feeling for her? My heart beats faster when I see her or even the sound of her name makes my face burn. I know I shouldn't think of her in my fantasies (not that their anything close to being perverted, by the way) but I love her. I love Umi.
DIARY ENTRY 2 Umi'll never like me. I'm stupid, ugly, and I'm useless. I wish Shinos was here. At least no one will push him around or make fun of him. I mean even the kids make fun of me. At least with Shinos, they'll think I'm cool or something and Umi might like me or at least notice me.
Why did I even do this in the first place? Maybe I should have stayed. Even if I wasn't really liked, I still had people who respected me and didn't treat me like I was less than dirt. I miss Quatren. I miss the others.
Normal Narration
Umi closed the book. She didn't feel regret or happiness from reading the book. She felt ashamed about reading Ascot's private thoughts and feelings. She opened the book to the first page and looked at the picture again. The woman reminded her of one of her older sisters. "Marine. Tashimi. I.I.I'm sorry. You guys were right. I should never have treated him like that."
FLASHBACK
Umi ran down the street, trying to catch up with her sisters. "Guys! Wait!" The two girls turned around and smiled.
"Umi, you know you can't come with us," said Marine. "I wish you could but dad won't allow that."
Tashimi nodded in agreement. "She's right. But hey, we'll come back after a month." Tashimi smiled and ruffled Umi's hair.
"Okay," said Umi as she ran back to their house. "Promise?" Marine and Tashimi smiled and continued on.
1 month later.
Umi entered the shattered house as the boy had instructed her. "It's creepy here," she muttered as she looked around the broken building. A hand placed itself on the little girl's shoulder and she screamed.
"Don't worry," said a familiar voice. "I'll be here."
"You sure?"
"Positive," said the young boy. "I'll go watch the door."
Umi nodded and the boy stood under the doorframe. But secretly, he stepped out of the house and ran off. Umi silently and carefully walked around the foyer. Suddenly, the house began to shake and creak and the floor beneath her fell. Umi fell into the basement below the house and lost her consciousness.
She woke up and hour later, realizing the darkness that had surrounded her. "Shin! Help!" she yelled but her male companion had abandoned her. She sat down and hugged her legs.
"Umi!" yelled two familiar voices. Umi got up and looked around the darkness.
"Where are you?" she yelled back. Just then, her two sisters came running to her.
"We've been looking for you Umi," said Marine.
Tashimi nodded and added, "Mom and Dad are so worried. Why did you go into this house Umi?" Umi looked down with apologetic eyes. Tears welled up on them and she sniffed.
"Umi, just promise us that you'll never do this again," said Marine. "Imagine if you lose someone you love and realize that you have treated them as if they never existed. That might be how a friend of yours might feel if you got hurt or something."
Tashimi nodded. "Yeah. Come on, stop crying." Umi looked up at her sister. "And that reminds me. Umi, if you ever meet anyone who was always there for you, treat them with love. You don't want to have that feeling of guilt when they die. OK?"
"Yeah."
"Come on Umi," said Marine, placing her hand on the little girls shoulder. "We have to go home." As soon as she finished her sentence, the ceiling unexpectedly fell. The two girls screamed and Tashimi pushed Umi out of the way. Dust and debris flew around them, engulfing them. As soon as the air cleared, Umi saw the bodies of her two older siblings under mounds of stone and wood. She was overwhelmed by the sudden loss of her sisters that she just stood still and watched their bodies. As Umi watched them, a loose block of stone fell on her head and she was knocked unconscious.
END OF FLASHBACK
"Tashimi, I'm sorry," she said as she covered her eyes and cried silently. "I do care for him. But it seems like you had a point. I should've given him more attention. After all, he does love me." She looked back at the diary and read the first entry again. She never thought that Ascot would ever mention her name in his fantasies, much less include her in them. But she knew he has good intentions in them. He even told her what they were.
FLASHBACK
"Hey Ascot!" she yelled as she jumped at him. "Come on! Fess up!"
"Alright Umi! I will if you get off!" he said as he laughed. Umi got off Ascot's back and sat down on the soft, damp grass.
"So, tell me about your deepest, darkest desires," she said grinning. "I bet they're exciting, eh?"
Ascot laughed. "No. I'm no pervert okay? Unlike you." Umi jumped at him and tried to strangle him. "I'm just kidding!" Umi smiled and got off. "Well, I don't really want much of anything if I do get into a relationship," he said looking up at the clear blue sky. "I just want to make sure that I make whoever-the-girl-is happy." He looked back at Umi and smiled.
Umi laughed and said, "You are such a pain in the ass! And I thought that even the most innocent and harmless guy would have some naughty and dirty thoughts in their head. Dammit." She jumped on top of him and laughed some more.
Ascot laughed and placed his hands on Umi's arms. They both stopped laughing and realized what position they were in. "Sorry."
Umi got off her friend. "It's okay. So really. Don't you have some sort of dream that you want a girl to do to you or something?"
Ascot blushed. "Yeah." He got up and continued looking up at the sky. "It's embarrassing to tell you this but I've always dreamed of just taking her out on a ride with one of my friends and just spend time with her. That's all."
"What?!" yelled Umi. "And I thought you were going to tell me what naughty little thoughts run through your head!"
Ascot laughed. "I might tell you those things when I'm feeling a bit creative."
Umi smiled and got up. "Well, at least you know romance." She hugged his arm and pulled it close to her body. "Let's go back."
"Yeah," replied Ascot smiling.
END OF FLASHBACK
Umi looked around the room and plopped on Ascot's bloodstained bed. She looked at where they laid his body and placed herself next to it. She pretended as if he was still there, alive and blushing, that is, if she was really lying down next to him. "Oh Ascot," she whispered.
Strangely, Ascot seemed to have been in the room. "Umi, I'm so sorry."
Umi got up quickly and looked around the room. "Ascot? Is that you?" She looked around and saw nobody. She shook her head and left the room.
Summon: That was crap.
Tam: Aren't ya happy?
Summon: ¬_¬ No.