Let Us Dance Among The Stars
Chapter 5
Streams of silver water surrounded Mikage's body. Cold water, abundant, kissed Mikage's cheek and soaked small strands of his pale pink hair.
'Mamiya' he thought.
The strange thing about the water that Mikage now just noticed when he snapped out of his trance was that it had the sweet fragrance of roses. He had forgot that he was in Mamiya's rose garden apparently. Roses floated like mini sailboats to and fro, and sliding past Mikage's eyes as he followed them by those eyes he claimed. The sweet, relaxing scent of roses made Mikage more content, more calm after nearly being forced into a traumatized state after nearly strangling the boy he yearned for.
He pulled himself from the shallow water to find a floating rose near his hand. The petals began to separate slowly and gently. One large petal floated far away from the rose and Mikage followed it with his two crimson orbs of curiosity. The petal floated past a reflection that caught Mikage's eye.
Nothing was more grandiose than what Mikage saw before him in the distance; he saw what he wanted to see for years, years of loneliness and seclusion that would drive any normal individual to suicide or eternal despair.
There stood Mamiya, outlined in silver and white from the large, pale, alabaster moon and the sprouting water from behind him. Apparently, Mamiya's axe fell upon a pipe that supported water for the vast roses to prevent them from dying. Mamiya was staring at Mikage without blinking or moving his eyes. His usual empty, stolid eyes now were filled with compassion and desire, something that was rare for Mamiya. His smile was welcoming and for once-happy. Mikage's eyes widened at the sight of the younger boy in such a spectacular image that his heavy heart bled with longing for him.
"Mamiya," Mikage whispered.
Standing at full erect, Mikage's reflection was nothing like what Mikage was, in fact, Mikage's watery reflection was dressed in a beautiful Victorian dueling uniform, Mamiya's in his familiar red rose-bride uniform that made him look like a handsome entity out of a fairy-tale of archaic lore. The two star-crossed lovers gazed at each other, roses among roses separating the two of them, however, not for much longer.
One by one, the ruby roses dispersed from the two boys' reflection and something Mikage never expected had just begun.
Mamiya's smile widened with love as he held out his hand for Mikage, indicating the invitation to a dance, more correctly, a waltz. Mamiya wondered if Mikage was willing to let go of the past, now and forever, so he would have the strength to carry on with the future. Death waits there, Mikage always thought. Death is the most patient; he paces here and there waiting for me. He has prepared my bedroom, prepared my resting place, but he will not be there to tuck me in comfortably because he is busy waiting for his next victim.
Mamiya's smile and warm and welcoming aura made Mikage realize that if he were to rest by the hands of an ill-anticipated death, he will be right there next to him, inside a coffin of roses, dying together with a lover's embrace to bid farewell to their living bodies that eventually will return to nothingness. For once in his life, Mikage was not smitten with living in the past. The solitary, dark past that served nothing but a hole in the wall for his ambitions that were impossible to him. Now, nothing is impossible, not if you face it with love and no intention of running away. Mikage understood now, after so long.
He reached his own hand out to take a hold of Mamiya's but faltered at one moment, but his heart bid him to continue. Their hands now touched and gripped each other's sweetly. Mikage pulled Mamiya closer to him as they began to dance. Millions of stars shot in millions of directions like one spectacular comet show that were only meant to be seen by long-lost lovers such as Mikage and Mamiya.
"Do you see, Mikage-sama?" Mamiya spoke to the older boy who slowed in his lead. "There are so many stars. They will never leave us, not ever. As long as they remain in the sky, they will always be there for us to see and reach out for. Mikage, I will become the stars for you. I will never leave you again, not ever. I promise, and this will be a promise I keep. Will you stay with me?"
Mikage and Mamiya ceased in their waltz. Mikage looked into Mamiya's eyes so deeply that he would have been well lost. Mikage now felt true love, he finally let go. The past-the loneliness-the misery-the black stigma roses he kept close to his breast for the wrong reasons-was finally relinquished. He smiled at the younger boy before him and said gently:
"Yes, Mamiya. I will forever and always be by your side, and I promise you this- I may not be able to protect you from everything harmful in the world, but I can only give you love, touch you, comfort you, and cry with you. I promise that nothing, not even End of the World or Eternity can take away that. Through the limits of the final apocalypse and even further will I love you, Mamiya. Let us walk, hand-in-hand, to the outside of the world witch we seek...together. It's time." With those last words, all of Mamiya's black roses in the water-filled garden transformed into ruby red roses and petals among hundreds and thousands of petals began to dance in the wind as if they were the rain itself.
Mamiya's eyes bore premature tears, he could not have been more happier. "Mikage, I do. I will go with you, to the outside world! I will!" Before the dance resumed, Mikage leaned in closer to Mamiya's face and licked his tears from his cheek and kissed his eyes. Mamiya smiled as he kissed Mikage's cheek. Before the next moment, they found themselves in a deep kiss that shot their hearts to delicate pieces. Mikage deepened the kiss so that their mouths were being crushed together. A strong wind found the two lovers and stars displayed themselves in an breath-taking celestial show that nothing could ruin the moment.
This was the time, this was the moment, this was Eternity.
They both caught their breaths as they touched each other's face and stroked soft skin. Both boys continued the dance and found the stars all around them; that was the promise that they would always have them and each other through the end of forever. Turning and spinning in each other's arms, Mikage smiled his first smile to Mamiya and his future. Mamiya smiled back as their reflections became one with a water's ripple and a rose falling and rising within its own reflection.
That rose was their destiny, through their times of love, which was so strong, it pierced their hearts. The blood dripped, yes, although, their blood ripped in unity.
The endless starry sky and the once covered rose ground was connected by them, everything in between was with the world.
All of the roses fell to the ground like rain, rose rains. Petals covered the entire school and bathed in the moon's light, an angelic night. As the night, in it's fake stillness, did the boys stop their waltz, yet no hands bid farewell; instead, they were intertwined with a promise that they would stay that way all the way back to the dark dorm room.
There they stood. Still. Yes, still. Nothing was the understatement of the century to describe what they were feeling at that second.
"I love you, Souji," Mamiya whispered. "So much."
"I do too," Mikage answered, "With all my heart."
Mikage found what he has been searching for-Eternity. It wasn't something you can throw in a box and wrap it up, oh, no. For Mikage, it was Mamiya, his only love. Knowing that he would not die, cry, or pine away alone made Mikage want to have tea and an engaging conversation with End of the World. Could that happen? hint hint
Mikage promised himself he would outlive Mamiya. Not to die for the person you loved was one of the greatest gifts you could give, considering that Mamiya gave Mikage his Eternity and love. What more could Mikage have ask for?
"Home?" Mikage asked.
"Home," mamiya agreed.
They would indeed go back to Mikage's place, together and it should have been that way.
About more than half of Mamiya's garden was flooded, but roses are like lovers. They will grow again to find the starry night to share with another rose. Adolescence was fragile, especially if two of them were in love. I guess many have much to learn about love. No person knows everything. However, I'm quite sure that the fax machine back at Mikage's room, that went all crazy with its messages (and probably needs more ink) is printing a message. The message will maybe read something like this:
ROUND 1 COMPLETE. PLEASE STAND BY. SEE YOU NEXT TIME END OF THE WORLD.
Games are ver complicated to everyone. Especially chess. A chess board has a black and white pattern, an ever opposing pattern. What could that mean? Don't worry, I'm sure Mikage or his fax machine can figure it out.