Chapter 5

Luminescence

Aya shot bolt upright as he collided painfully with the powerful oak, wood boards beneath him. Cold sweat covered him in disgusting sheen as he anxiously wiped heavy drops from his brow. He had to have been dreaming. It was all a dream, some impossible hallucination of his mind, a cruel side effect of expired tofu. It had to be, didn't it?

"Larva! NO!!!"

"Run. I said run. Now leave before she can no longer restrain me."

"But............Miyu............"

Miyu.

Aya squinted his eyes as tightly together as he could humanly do. It was all a lie. It was a dream - no, a nightmare! If ever there were nightmares, than this would be one.

He writhed weakly within his silk-thin sheets, attempting pitifully to escape, when he saw it.

His shoes were covered in mud and grass by the door, he had so lacked the integrity to even remove them at the doorstep. And his shirt was ripped irreparably on the neck and sleeve.

"It wasn't a dream........."

-

It isn't a dream...........

"Aya," Miyu sighed contentedly upon his shoulder. It was like silk to his ears to hear those words spring from her lips. She was heavenly. He softly caressed her lips chastely with his own.

To think such happiness could ever be reached on Earth. Had Aya ever been asked before hand, he would have deemed it impossible. How he knew and celebrated the truth now.

The last few months had flown by with such sureness, fluidity, and peacefulness, it all melded together. Already the school year was drawing to a close in a matter of two weeks, but so much had transpired in those few months.

"Miyu........"

Again his lips passed lovingly over hers, and they reveled in each other. The last of the cherry blossom blooms continued to cascade above them, showering them in a softly opaque light. And as Aya continued to hold Miyu close to his chest before him, inhaling her subtle scent so reminiscent of the surrounding cherry blossoms, a reverie took him.

She had run into his arms all those fleeting weeks ago, embraced him tightly, and done the last thing he had expected: she kissed him. And it was nothing like the passing lips on cheek he had given her as proof of his earnest emotions. No, it had been deep and passionate, full of longing and desire, and what constantly eluded him even now, sorrow. How he remembered those crystal tears that had fallen so freely as she had laid her emotions bare before him, no longer the unknown entity she had once been to him.

Miyu was warm. Miyu was loving. Miyu was all that mattered.

Miyu had brought an entirely new light into his life, a trueness he could never have reached alone. And now, Miyu was his world.

This beautiful person he once thought he could never have, was his. And he would never let his glowing goddess be stripped from him.

-

Larva stood at a distance ensconced perfectly within the shadows as he watched over Miyu and the human, Aya. Another pang etched his heart as the human's lips passed over hers once more. No one deserved her love but him.

He had stayed beside her for so many years and all she could do to repay him was to show him love beyond all comparison and then steal it from him once more? No. This was too much. He had stood aside far too long. He had been too conscious of her emotions rather than his own for far too long. He had never wanted to impose himself upon her. He had always tried to make her desolate, lonesome destiny better, even if only the most minute amount. How dare she do this to him?

"I hate you."

Three months.

It had been three months since he had felt her caress. Three months since he had felt her warmth. Three months since he had tasted her lips. Three months since he had been forced to relinquish her to a human whom he saw as unworthy of her.

And he had had to see it all.

Flash Back

She ran, tears streaked across her face into the arms of the flawless boy, so obviously displaced in his superiority from the other students around him, and kissed him with an unmatched ferocity, uncaring of the countless shocked eyes of the school grounds. It was spell binding as it continued onward, both enthralled with the intensity of the other, unwilling to end.

And she laughed.

Her bell-like pure voice pierced through his endless shroud of darkness, and despite himself, he was happy. How long had it been since she had smiled and laughed in his arms? He winced as her laughter, and as the quiet whispers, reached him across the breeze.

"I love you, Aya.........."

Too long ago to be remembered.

End Flash Back

But still he remained beside her. What else did he have left to him?

He was a shinma.

If he left the Guardian, if he left Miyu, he would be no better than all of the other stray shinma that ravaged Japan and so bound the one he loved to a fate and destiny she detested. No. He had to stay. He could not leave her.

It did not matter that Miyu would no longer even recognize his existence. He was just another soul-less feature of the picturesque world of humanity. It did not matter that when he came to Miyu's side in any battle against a shinma and saved her from imminent death, she gave him no more sentiment than the air she breathed. It did not matter. At the very least he could still be beside her.

Larva rose suddenly as he saw the pair begin to say their farewells as they made to return to each of their respective places.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" the mortal whispered softly into Miyu's ear as he gave her a parting, lingering kiss.

"Yes. See you tomorrow, Aya," Miyu returned gently as the mortal in question eyed her hesitantly, his gaze wandering all about her.

Larva smirked beneath his mask. He knew how the boy felt. The way his gut tightened at the very sight of "his" Miyu. The way his heart seemed to melt whenever her lips touched his. The way his skin burned whenever she laid hands upon him. These were not unknown sensations to Larva. But they were sensations he would never again feel.

One last fleeting gossamer kiss answered her and he left her with the doleful breeze and showering cherry blossoms before he could hesitate any longer.

She was beautiful as she stood there in all of her luminescent glory, shrouded yet magnified by the cherry blossoms that covered her everywhere. Larva could not dare to look away despite his inner protests, knowing full well that he was only fooling himself by allowing this to continue. Why fill his eyes with a sight that would only intensify his longing? Why continue denying the fact that he would never again have her?

Yet he could only sigh, as another escaped Miyu's soft, rose lips as well. He loved her. What was there to be gained by denying it?

Perhaps a less wounded heart.

Perhaps, but not likely.

"Larva, come here."

Larva could not believe his ears. Had it truly just been Miyu that had summoned him? Had she finally recognized his aura? Or had she just called to make apparent her agitation? It did not matter. Larva heeded her graciously as he came to kneel at her side, a monstrous cloud of darkness beside the benign moon.

"The end draws near, Larva," Miyu whispered softly, despite the fact that no one was there to hear for a distance. "I feel it. The last shinma we fought, Eros, he was the last; or so I thought. Yet still I remain here. I know he was the last shinma, a despicable bird, but somehow, I feel that it is not over yet. Still something keeps me here, but I do not know what.........." The words lingered in the air ominously, and Larva opted silence to Miyu's steady words. So many in one sitting, after so long an absence, was awe inspiring to Larva.

"I just wanted to tell you that."

She strode gracefully away without the slightest inhibition, leaving Larva alone with many questions.

The last shinma? Could it really be? Somehow it seemed surreal to Larva, but why? It was only logical that one day all of the shinma would be returned to the Darkness, but had Larva truly anticipated it finally? No. Something was indeed not in its place.

Larva stood up powerfully as the extent of his thoughts finally washed over him. It seemed insane. It seemed impossible. Yet......... Somehow Larva could not help but feel that there was some truth to his cynicism.

Yes. There was much to look into tonight.

-

Okay............. So I assume you all still want Aya to die. Well, too bad. He's not dying! At least.......... Not now, anyway. But I highly doubt that dampens your intense desire for his demise...........

Sorry if this was too much of a filler chapter for all of you, more of a chapter to despise Aya for, but have faith! There is a reason to the despicable amount of fluffiness occurring between two of the characters, one of which not being Larva........... Chapter six will elaborate upon this. And believe me, intensity of this story will only escalate from here.........

-

Review Responses

BlueDragonGirls: So yeah........ Aya will die. In time.

Tankbbg: I'm not an evil whore. That's mean......... Refer to Jenny's review response for further elaborations.

Stormyrose: ::shocked expression:: You don't mind Aya? This is a first. Normally everyone hates Aya........ As for your ideas on the continued story, you're not terribly off target in your predictions..........

Jen-Chan: Jen, I'm not an "evillllllll........evillllllll person". I just happen to be cynical and overly psychotic, at times. And I will not appreciate being burned at the stake with Aya. These aren't the Salem Witch Trials. And you're mean.......... You want to send the Bishonen Patrol after me for Larva's abuse? He's my bishi! I can hurt his feelings if I want to in a fic. It just means that I owe him a cherry custard pie from Marie Calendar's and an intensive fluffy/make-out scene with Miyu at one point or another......... And for your own reference, I took him out to get his pie on Wednesday. The glutton ate two whole pies by himself, and only left me this tiny malnourished cherry as consolation........ So don't go around calling me evil! I'm keeping my promises to my bishi. I just still owe him that fluffy/make-out scene.........