Memories by Orenji Yume
An Umi/Clef fic
A/N: Alternate Universe, OOC, only Umi and Clef are present in this fic, and there'll be numerous flashbacks.
STORY: A short, simple Umi/Clef fic (Clef's POV). Umi and Clef have known each other since young, and now Umi's 17 and Clef's 18. But Umi met with an accident and suffered from amnesia. Now, taking this chance during the Winter holidays, they're recreating their memories of each other...I'm sorry if I didn't write well. Enjoy!
(Note about chapter 3: Sorry for the delay! I'm having a lot of tests right now... (response to reviewers below))
DISCLAIMER:
I do not own Magic Knight Rayearth, CLAMP does.
But...if
that one does pick up from where they fell, and maybe with the help
of others, then...not only will they be able to collect new memories,
they may be able to recreate their old memories as well...
Stepping outside, I inhaled the fresh air surrounding me, it was almost welcoming me. Trying my best to put away what had just happened in the back of my mind, I sat down on a nearby bench. Around me, there were a number of people, especially children, enjoying their time out here. Leaning back, I closed my eyes. But once I did so, that familiar scene entered my mind, not letting me off, it replayed over and over again.
Opening my eyes, it disappeared in a flash. What can I do to help her with her lost memory? Brooding over the question, I did not notice a small girl approaching me. It was only when she sat beside me and shook me, did I snap out of my thoughts and turned my attention to her. Petite little girl, bright eyes and curly hair, with a beaming smile on her face.
"What is it?" I asked her.
She kept quiet at first before replying, "Do you know her?" And then she pointed ahead of her.
Following where she was pointing, I caught sight of Umi. A lump formed in my throat. When did Umi come out here? And...how did this girl know that I knew her? Looking back at the girl, I nodded in response.
"Oh..." She placed a finger to her lips, her eyes looking back and forth from me to Umi.
"How did you know that?"
Smiling, she answered, "I wasn't very sure. But when I talked to her, she kept on glancing over to you."
Hearing her answer, my heart skipped a beat or two. So...I guess things may not be as bad as I thought. Wanting to confirm my assumption, I asked the girl, "What do you think of her?"
"Mm..." The girl thought over the question for some time before breaking out into a smile. "I find her nice...and she's really pretty, whenever I talk to her she's always smiling. But..." Her voice lowered down. "But...I think she's sad inside her thought." The child placed a hand over her chest, where her heart was. "Because...I saw it all in her eyes."
Blinking, all I managed to say was, "Really?"
Nodding in return, the girl jumped off the bench and waved, "I'm just going to tell her about you!" And with that, she ran off, calling out towards Umi to grab her attention.
Tell Umi...about me? I choked. Why was she doing this? What's her intention? For some reason, she reminded me a bit of Umi when she was younger. As to in what way...I still haven't figured that out yet, but I will soon... Seeing the girl talking to Umi, and Umi turning her head to face me, I quickly shifted my eyes away from her.
……Flashback……
Spring had arrived. We were around the age of 15 at that time. Umi had asked me out to accompany her to the library. I was waiting for her at the park. When I spotted, her she waved and ran up towards me. Grabbing my hand, she dragged me along.
"Isn't the library in the other direction?" I gestured behind me. "Where are you going?"
Umi replied, "Isn't it obvious enough?" Looking back at me, she continued. "We're going to the seaside!"
Coughing, I gazed at my watch, "It's 8pm already! By the time we get there it'll be past 10pm!"
"I don't really care about that!" She cried out. "My purpose there is to watch the sunrise!"
Staring at her in amazement, I protested, "What are you going to tell your parents? They're going to blame me for this!"
"Don't worry," She stopped in her tracks. "I told them that we were staying over at someone else' place."
W-what?! I felt like shouting at her. She was too at ease with lying to her parents. Why does she have to lie anyway? No, why does she even have this sort of crazy ideas?! Does she mean for us to sit at the beach until the sun rises? There isn't any school tomorrow, but still, that's no excuse! What is she thinking? Sometimes I feel like asking her that, but she'll either brush it away or take it personally, too personally.
"Why must you drag me along...?" I said to myself, not intending for her ears to hear these words.
But still, she answered, "Because...you promised to take care of me forever. And...I trust you the most."
Blinking at these unexpected words, I stared at Umi. I thought that she would've blown her top and tell me off but instead...she said such...such... My cheeks were already a glowing red. Laughing, she merely tugged me at the arm and quickened her pace.
"There's the bus!" She called out. "Hurry up! Or we're going to miss it!" Pulling at my arm even harder, I nearly tripped over her.
……End of flashback……
"Would you like to go over and talk to her?" A voice broke my chain of thoughts. "She says it's okay with her."
I stared down at the little girl, trying to take in all of what she had just told me, "Really...? She said that?"
Pulling at my arm, the girl nodded, "Yes, yes! Come on, don't make her wait for you! Hurry up!"
Getting up, I followed her lead until I stood in front of Umi. She was sitting on a bench, hair tucked behind her ears neatly and her deep blue eyes gazing at me. Though a smile was on her face, but her eyes were still sad, exactly what the girl had said.
Making me sit down next to Umi, the girl waved, "I'm going off now! Bye bye!"
Watching her leave, I realised that I was with Umi now; no one else was actually paying much attention to us. Though I had a dozen things to tell Umi, but nothing came out of my mouth.
"The doctor told me everything," She began, her eyes looking down, and her hands placed on her knees, clenching. "About my condition...and...about you as well..." Raising her head, I saw her eyes shining. "I...I'm sorry about just now. I shouldn't have acted like that. I...I didn't know anything, what was going on and so..." Biting her lower lip, she bowed, "I'm sorry..."
"You don't have to be," I placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at me. "I should be the one apologising. I was the one that knew everything, and yet I still acted as if I didn't. It's not your fault so...don't be sad. And..." Wiping a tear away from her eyes, I smiled. "Don't cry...there's nothing for you to be sad about..."
With her arms hung around my neck, she leaned against me, "Thank you...Clef..."
Hearing these words, my heart warmed up immediately. I could feel her tears wetting my clothes, but that didn't matter. At least things were better than before. Just then, I had the urge to turn my head around. I did so, and spotted the little girl in a distance. Smiling at her, I nodded my head. In return, she giggled and waved at me, before leaving.
……Flashback……
We finally reached the seaside, and we were just in time for the sunrise, after delaying our journey for quite a while. Sitting on the beach, we removed our shoes and let the waves lick our feet. I guess...this wasn't such a bad idea of hers after all.
"Clef...isn't it beautiful?" Umi pointed at the rising sun. "This trip was worth it after all, right?"
Nodding at her, she turned back to watched the sun. But I was too occupied with observing her to bother about the sun. The sun's rays stretched over to her face, and her shadow cast behind us. In the waters, her reflection could be seen, a bit blurry. The sight of the rising sun may be breath-taking, the nature of the sea may be a grand sight, but in my eyes, she was an even more splendid sight. And she blending in with the sea and rising sun, the whole picture was even better than before.
"What are you looking at?" Umi rubbed her cheek. "Something on my face? Huh? Clef?"
Shaking my head, I turned my gaze towards the sun, "It's nothing. Don't worry."
"Okay..." And then she leaned against my shoulder. "Clef...if I was the sea...what would you be?"
If she was the sea...? Thinking about it for a while, I finally answered, "Then I would be the shore in which you met with."
Smiling, she let my arms embrace her, "Then...if I were the sun...what would you be?"
"I would be...the sky..."
"And finally..." She gazed into my eyes. "If I were the desert...what would you be?"
I immediately answered, "The wind which sweeps across you..." Stroking her hair, I asked her. "Why do you always ask such weird questions? And you always ask me..."
In a low whisper, she replied, "Because you're the closest person to me on the whole earth..."
……End of flashback……
Suddenly, Umi said something that brought me back to the past, "Clef...I've a weird question...please don't laugh." Pulling back, she hesitated for a minute or two before asking. "Clef...if I were a tree, what would you be?"
"The earth which your roots sink so deep into," I immediately replied, and assured her with a smile.
Feeling more at ease, she carried on, "And if I were the moon?"
"The star that would accompany you at all times,"
I thought that I knew what was coming next, but yet, she still managed to surprise me, "Finally...if I lost my memory...?"
Her words echoed in my head. Rubbing my head, they soon left me alone, and I answered, "The one who would help you bring it all back to you." Wrapping my hand on top of hers, words slipped out of my mouth. "I did promise to take care of you and help you recreate memories with you..."
"You did? When was that?" Eager, she urged me to tell her everything. I had expected her to feel miserable about it, but...I suppose she has thought through everything already.
A week or so has passed, and Umi has been discharged. As we were about to leave, a familiar face ran towards us. A bit reluctant to see us go, especially since that day, she has become closer with us; she did not dare let us leave at first. Soon, a nurse called after her to bring her back for her monthly check-up. Agreeing to be back soon, she pulled me to a corner.
"I have a question..." A grin played upon her lips.
"Yes?"
Tiptoeing, she whispered, "You like her, don't you? A lot, right? Are you two together already?"
Reddening slightly, I said nothing. But I could see that she knew everything already. It was hard to tell that she had been hospitalised since young, so as to treat her with a disease she had contracted then. She was always looking on the bright side, and cheering everyone else up, when you think that she needed it instead. And what's more, her parents did not visit her often, in fact, they hardly do so. I remember her telling me...that she had no friends outside the hospital to pay her a visit; her only friends are the hospital staff, especially the nurses, and the other patients. But when she was telling me this, she still had a smile on her face, and her eyes showed no regrets.
Finally, we said our last goodbye and left the hospital. I had not planned much on what we were going to do when we left. But I did have an idea in mind...and the more I think of it, the better it looks.
As we started our way back home, Umi asked, "Where are we going?" She was just following me, without any clue as to where we were or where we were going at all.
"Home,"
"Oh...there's nobody at home then?" Umi remarked.
I glanced over at her, "How did you know? Your parents are busy at work and wouldn't be able to see you for a few months."
Looking down, she commented, "Besides you, nobody else visited me...even if my friends didn't know, my family should've heard about me. But yet nobody else showed up..." And then she peered at me. "But at least I've got you. I guess that's enough already."
"Umi..." I wasn't planning to tell her of my idea yet, but seeing her rather dejected, I felt that there was a need to. "Umi, what do you think of retreating to the countryside during the winter holidays now? Just you and me. We'll spend the time together to search for your memories."
Her eyes lit up, "Really? Do you mean it? Or are you just pulling a fast one at me to cheer me up?"
Shaking my head, I took her hand and led the way, "I do mean it. I know of a place we could stay at. It isn't a very long journey to get there. If you want, we could visit that place now and see how it is."
"Now?"
Stopping in my tracks, my head turned from the direction towards home, and the direction towards the countryside, "Yes, now. And we can decide whether that is the right place for us."
"Okay," She agreed.
Making our way towards the countryside, I could see that she looked much better than before. We boarded a train and rode it, admiring the scenery that raced past us. After a few stops, we got off and took a bus. It was about five minutes later; I caught sight of the place that I had seen in the newspapers a few days ago. Alighting the bus, we headed towards the small cottage that stood there, trudging through the snow.
"Good afternoon," I knocked on the door. "Is anyone inside?" There wasn't any answer. I tried knocking again, and called out. But again, there was no response. "Maybe the owner left for a short while..." Surveying the area around me, I suggested. "How about taking a look around?"
Umi nodded, "Sure."
We first saw the little garden that was in front of the front door. It was covered with a blanket of snow, but I supposed once it cleared, we could see something. Walking behind, we saw a small shed nearby, and we also spotted a bare tree sitting in a distance.
"What do you think?" I asked Umi.
"It's not bad," She smiled. "But I do want to see the interior of the cottage." She pointed.
I nodded, "Yes...let's wait for a while then."
We sat down on the front porch, watching the few people that passed by the area. It had been an hour already, but still there was no sight of the owner. I was worried about Umi. She had just been discharged, I didn't wish for anything else to happen to her that would cause her to land up in the hospital once again. Maybe I was overprotective, but still, I could not help but worry. I stood up and pulled Umi up.
"I think we should go back now," I told her. "We can always come back tomorrow morning."
"Okay..." Though her eyes told otherwise.
We boarded the next bus that came, and went back to the train station. Catching the train back and walking back home, we were soon standing in front of her house.
"Clef..." She tugged at my arm. "Would it be alright if I stayed at your place instead?"
"I..." Staring into her eyes, I saw insecurity. "I suppose it's alright." I smiled and unlocked the door to my house.
……Later at night……
I knew I shouldn't be out at this time of the night and leaving Umi all alone in my house but...there was this urge in my heart to do so. I could not wait till tomorrow morning. I had to do it now. Wrapping a coat around me, pulling a hat over my head and slipping on a pair of gloves and shoes, I closed the door behind me and locked the door, dropping the keys inside the pocket of my coat. Starting down the stone slabs and walking onto the pavement, I saw that there weren't that many people in sight.
Quickening my pace, I hurried towards the train station. Luckily, I did not have to wait long to board the train. As the train pulled away, I watched as the train station became smaller and smaller, until it vanished altogether. It wasn't long before the doors opened and I got off at the correct station. Rushing to catch the bus, I found that I still could not put my mind at rest concerning Umi. But seeing that I was already here, I might as well do what I came here for. Upon reaching my destination, I got off the bus and walked towards the cottage. I saw that the windows were lit. I guess that meant that the owner was at home. Thankfully this trip wasn't wasted.
I knocked once more at the door and this time, someone answered it. I front of me, stood a fairly old man, but from the looks of it, he seemed rather healthy. As he welcomed me in, I looked around the cottage. A warm fireplace, cosy living room, it seemed quite comfortable. Sitting down opposite him, I began telling him about my intentions.
He nodded at my request, and when asked for the price, he replied that it was not necessary. Slightly taken aback, I refused to accept this and pursued the matter, insistent that he took something in return. In the end, his stubbornness finally gave in and he accepted a reasonable amount of money. After that, he took me around the house.
Two bedrooms, each accompanied with a bed, cupboard and a few other furniture. Besides that, there was a single bathroom with a heater and a kitchen. It seemed inviting enough. When things finally came to an end, I asked him where would he live when we move in.
"With my son,"
I relaxed. I didn't like the idea of kicking him out of his own home. As to when Umi and I were moving in...it was decided that the date would be two days later. That seemed enough time to tell Umi everything and get prepared for our retreat here.
Taking my leave, I quickly left and took the bus, and then the train. In my mind, I was imagining the scene whereby Umi woke up and found that I was not in the house at all. As to whether she would scream at me for leaving her alone or whether she would cry her eyes out, I could not decide on either one. Soon, I reached my house and I hurriedly unlocked the door and went inside. Silence filled my ears. Was she still asleep?
Quietly, I started up the stairs and headed towards her room, which was the guestroom. Opening the door, I peered inside and saw that she was still fast asleep. That's good. Heaving a sigh of relief, I closed the door and went to my room. That means I would tell her the good news tomorrow morning...
……The next morning……
"Really?!" Umi exclaimed. "You went there last night and the owner agreed? Why didn't you wake me up and take me along as well?"
I blinked at her. That was not the reaction I actually had in my mind. She wanted to come along? Usually she wouldn't...especially if she had been just discharged on that same day. Now...I wasn't so sure whether I knew her after all. Umi was almost a completely new person. She was somehow slightly different in personality from before. Whether it was for the better or for the worse...I did not dare think about that.
"I didn't want to disturb you..." I answered. "But we're moving in there tomorrow, is that too short a period of time?"
She shook her head in response, "Of course not! It's just nice! We can start packing our stuff today!"
"Glad to hear that,"
After breakfast, we started packing our things. We decided to limit our luggage, as over there, almost all our needs were taken into consideration. And also, we weren't there on a holiday, but we were supposed to help Umi recover her lost memories, that's about it.
……Flashback……
"Where are we going?" Umi asked me. We were only about the age of 8, and I was supposed to tag along Umi's family on a holiday. It was summer time then. "Hm? Clef?"
I answered, "Your parents said...I'm not sure. Somewhere in Japan, that's all I know..."
"You're coming along, aren't you?"
"Of course,"
She smiled, "Good. Because...I couldn't imagine leaving you alone here while I'm away with my parents at another place. I want to always be with you, Clef. Always..."
……End of flashback……
We come together and we try to clear the haze...
END
(Response to reviewers)
Shy-Lil-Dreamer: Haha, here's the next chapter all ready already. I'll try to write the next chapter as soon as possible.
hyperitaliangurl: Thanks! I really appreciate your effort! And thanks for your encouragement!
