Disclaimer: I don't own the original FY characters; I own Kei, Taki, Lily, Jason, their kids and any other person who isn't a FY character.
Thoughts
Memories
~*~Review Response~*~
~Jamie - Okay, okay, now you'll get your Hiroshi. Absolutely loving the end to Where do I Belong.
~Renku - I'll do my best, as always.
~Aiko - Nice seeing Akira not being a jerk, huh? I think his mean days are over.
~Rhapsody - Nice to see you again. ^_^ Thanks for reading the other fics. And don't worry. An Hua won't die. I couldn't kill a little kid.
~Cortney - Can't wait to see more DP!
~Ayama - Always nice to see new people. Don't worry about not reviewing. I know you're there now. That's enough.
~RekkaShinen1 - Hyperness isn't necessarily a bad thing. ^_~
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Akane paid no attention to her hair as it whipped around her face while she stood on the school roof. She rested her forehead on her hand on the fence as she stared down at the students leaving for the day.
Most of the students quickly learned to avoid Reizo. It really was for the best. She watched Reizo walk alone towards…somewhere. She couldn't help but wonder where he was living, how he was getting money to survive. She usually dismissed the question, telling herself the gods could do whatever they wanted, including giving random people from the book means of living in the real world.
"Here you are…" She turned to see Kano in the doorway of the stairwell.
"Yeah…" She lowered her eyes back to the ground.
"What are you doing up here?"
"Just watching."
Kano took a place next to her and looked down. He saw Reizo moving across the courtyard. He clenched his fist.
"I hate him…" Akane whispered. "Yet…part of me has to thank him…"
"What?" Kano stared at her in shock.
"Think about it…" She fingered his shirt collar. "If he wasn't creating mass chaos in our lives, would we be together now?" Kano started to open his mouth, but she continued. "As long as he's out there…we can be together. What happens after he's killed? The gods will send me home and keep you in the book…"
Kano looked into her eyes. "So that's what bothering you…the 'what happens after'…don't worry about it." He embraced her. "We live in the here and now. No yesterday. No tomorrow. Just now."
She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. "I don't want to lose you."
"You won't. Ever." He lifted her face to meet his and gently kissed her. "Now come on. We have a lot of History homework."
She smiled and nodded. "Yeah…you're right." He wrapped his arm around her waist and they headed back down to the front door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kimiko softly tapped her pen on her notebook. She'd been staring at the same math problem for 20 minutes when she realized her homework just wasn't getting done. Her mind was buzzing.
She closed the notebook and shoved it back into her school bag. She slipped on a pair of sandals and went downstairs.
"Kimiko, is your homework done?" Tora saw her heading for the door.
"No. I can't concentrate on anything."
"And you're hoping a walk will clear your mind?"
"Well…actually I was going to fly around the city, maybe pass by a few windows and see who I could freak out the most." She smiled.
Tora rolled her eyes but smiled. "You are shameless aren't you?"
"Yep!" She laughed. "I'll be back later."
Before Tora could say anything else, Kimiko ran out the door into the night. She sighed. "She really is her father's daughter…"
Kimiko hurried down the streets of town. After getting inside the park, she headed down to the mini lake in the middle. The surface of the water was completely still. Not even a gentle breeze disturbed it. The moon was bright both in the sky and on the surface of the water. An idea suddenly struck her.
She took off her sandals and put one foot on the surface of the water. To her surprise and happiness, she didn't sink if she concentrated. Timidly, she placed her other foot on the water.
The water felt nice and cool underneath her feet. It felt as if there was a sheet of glass under her feet holding her up. She began to take stronger steps as she became more assured of her ability. Math couldn't have been farther away from her mind as Kimiko danced on the water to a song she softly hummed.
"Looks like someone's having fun."
Kimiko turned around quickly and saw someone leaning on tree on the shore. "Who's there?"
"Who do you think? Who else happens to find you at 9 o'clock on a Saturday night?" Hiroshi stepped out into the moonlight. His silver hair looked almost white.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" She put her hands on her hips.
"Do goddesses have heart attacks?" He grinned.
"Ha. Ha." She walked back to the shore to meet him. "Very funny."
"Sorry."
"It's alright."
"What were you doing on the water anyway?"
"Thinking about stuff."
"Just stuff?"
"Uh huh." She looked back out over the water. "It's soothing. You wanna try?"
He gave her a look. "Ahhh…no thanks."
"What? Afraid?" She smirked.
He looked indignant. "No. I just don't think I should be walking on water."
"Come on! It's fun!" She grabbed his sleeve.
"I really don't think so…" He tried to pry her fingers off his shirt.
"Well, I do!"
She tugged harder. He tugged back. Kimiko, however, had the upper hand and eventually dragged him onto the water.
"See? It's not so bad is it?" She held onto his hand.
He looked down at the gently rippling water. He felt a little funny. "Eh…I dunno…"
"Wuss."
"Am not!" He grumbled.
She giggled. "You look so cute when you're pissed, you know that?"
He let out a sigh, but said nothing. He knew there was no point in arguing.
"Come on. Dance with me." She pleaded with him.
"Sure." He smiled.
Kimiko laughed as they glided across the water. "Hiroshi?"
"Yeah?"
"Will everything be okay when this is all over?"
He held her silently for a moment. "I think everything will be alright when Reizo is gone and Kouji and Kano can be with the women they love without worrying about what world they need to be in."
She watched his hair shine in the moonlight. "You think Kouji loves my mother?"
"Yes. I do."
She paused. "I do too."
He suddenly laughed.
"What?" She snapped.
"It sounds like we just got married."
She smirked. "You wish."
'You have no idea…' "It's late…"
"Is it? I like the dark. I didn't even notice what time it was." They walked back to shore.
"We have a long day tomorrow…and a whole hell of a lot of long days after that too…"
"I guess you're right…doesn't it seem like this month went by so quickly?"
"It does…seems like it was just last week we went back to school…"
"Yeah…" She slipped back into her sandals. "Let's go home."
"Alright…you're brother's probably going nuts now."
"Shut up!" She playfully punched him in the arm. "He's been really nice lately. Since we had dinner with Kouji and Kano."
"You brother? Being nice? Really?"
"Didn't I just tell you to shut up?"
"Maybe."
"Oh you…" Kimiko started walking.
They walked hand in hand back to Kimiko's house.
"See you in the morning?" Hiroshi played with a strand of her hair.
"Yeah." She smiled.
"Good night." He bent down and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.
"Night." She blushed and went back inside.
Hiroshi smiled and started walking home.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Akane stared out her bedroom window while the sun rose. It was getting bright enough to really hurt her eyes, but she kept watching. A bag sat on her bed, half filled with clothes to take back to Konan.
"Akane? Are you alright?"
She turned around and saw her father. "I'm fine Daddy."
"Are you sure? You look troubled."
"I…I was just thinking about going back and you know…what's gonna happen…"
"I understand." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Things will be fine…"
"I try to keep telling myself that…but somehow…I'm just not sure I can believe it…Reizo, he…"
"Reizo will get what's coming to him…"
"Why'd he have to do all this in the first place?"
"I wish I could tell you…"
"I can't believe so much has happened in such a short amount of time…"
"It's always a little hard to take in…"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tora traced her finger across the cover of the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho. "So this is the book?" She looked up at Kouji. They were standing together in the guest room of Kei and Tasuki's house.
"Yeah…" He nodded.
"So there really is a world inside? And that boy that attacked me lives there too?"
Again Kouji nodded. "Sometimes I don't want to believe it either."
"I'm really gonna miss you Kouji…these past few weeks have been the greatest."
He smiled. "I'll miss you too. You're an amazing woman, Tora."
She stood on her tiptoes to hug him. "You're coming back someday aren't you?"
"Someday yes." He wrapped his arms around her waist.
They stood in a silent embrace for what felt like an eternity.
"Tora…I have something to say…" He pulled back for a moment. "I…"
She quickly pressed her lips to his to quiet him. When she pulled away, she pressed one finger to his lips and shook her head. "Please don't say it, Kouji. It only makes goodbyes harder."
"Tora…"
"I know…I feel the same way…" She rested her head on his shoulder. "It can be the first thing you say to me when you come back."
He smiled again. "Sounds good to me."
"Keep an eye on Kimiko while you're in Konan, alright?"
"I will." He nodded.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Toru watched his brother lean on the wall. "Something wrong?"
"I dunno. I'm still not sure I accept everything that's happened…"
"It's too late not to. You really have to accept this."
"This is what I get for looking in the logic in everything."
"Yep."
Toshiro gave him a look. "Thanks."
"Anytime." His twin grinned.
"But in all seriousness, I'm still thinking about Reizo AKA Psycho. I mean, how many people end up with some deranged murderer going after their cousin?"
"I guess you're right. But we can beat him."
"You've always been more confident than me…"
"I try."
"Think we're ready?"
"We're as ready as we can possibly be."
"This is true…"
Pretty soon everyone was in the living room. Tora stood off to the side while the others stood together. She looked them over carefully. She could picture each one of them in the ancient Chinese world Kouji talked about. A few more things made sense now. She understood a lack of pictures even though everyone said Kouji grew up with the other men and Nuriko. She understood why there'd always been hesitation of some kind when Kouji talked about his life.
She watched in silence as the large group disappeared in a bright flash of light when the book was opened. When the light died away, she picked up the book. A bright red feather stuck out of it like a bookmark. She opened it to the marked page and sat down to read.
She silently prayed to her late husband from their safety, adding that if anything happened to any of them, she'd never forgive him.
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Short chapter? Yes. A little rushed? I think so. Next ones will be better. I could use a long weekend.
~*~Shadow Hawk~*~