AN/ This chapter will also be sad… and you'll soon read why. Oh! And here is a list of the pairing in this story: Yuki x Shuichi, probably Ryu x Tatsuha (if I ever find a place in the story where they can meet)… and that's practically it… I may get Maiko with someone, but I haven't though that up yet. Let me know if you have any suggestions! I was thinking Maiko x Suguru… hmmm… -- ARGH! I am so ticked! They moved back the date of release for Final Fantasy: Advent Children to October, and not September! I was so looking forward to seeing it too cries! It's only one month added, but it's still disappointing… I wanted to see Vincent and Sephiroth SOOOO BAD! Sigh… oh well… here's the story! ;;
"Did you all manage to get here safely?" The priest asked, still his cheery self.
"Yes. But I think that they are trailing close behind." Hiro answered.
"Ah. Well then, follow me!" He chirped and lead them to the front of the alter.
Yuki scoffed for a moment and sarcastically put in, "Tch. What are we gonna do? Pray for out lives?"
"Yuki, be nice. He's helping us." Shuichi scolded his lover for his foul attitude.
"I think you'll be surprised my friend." Tatsuha smiled assuredly and pulled down the cross mantle piece in the middle of the wooden table. A clicking sound was heard coming from the object, and behind the priest a secret passage began to open. No one could tell that there was another door hidden in the pattern of the cobble stone wall. "Well? Are you all going to stand there gawking, or are you going to come along?" The black haired pastor waited at the hidden door's frame for them to snap out of their trance. A few seconds later, the three shook their heads briskly and started following Tatsuha again. The private passage turned into a winding stair case with bright torches flaming on the sides of the curved walls. It kept twisting upwards until a solitary wooden door was in sight at what felt like the very climax of the church's keep. Priest Tatsuha hummed to himself while pulling out of his pocket a set of keys for each room in the sanctuary. He had a special one at the end of the ring which he took hold of and pushed it into the key hole on the door knob. He jostled it a couple of times until you could hear a distinct click emit from the lock, and the door had opened.
Inside, was a cylindrical room made out cobble stone from top to bottom. The ceiling pointed up into a cone, which meant this was the church's tallest tower and above them was the steeple. There were a few picnic looking tables with crimson velvet cloth draped over each one. A carpet rested on the rock floor, forest green with gold embroidery. And the last bit of color in the den was the deep purple curtains lightly cascading down the sides of a particularly beautiful stained glass window. The sun that beamed through the glass caused each color to print itself neatly on the floor and walls. A design was in the middle of the piece, presenting a picture of an angel with short red hair and wearing a delicate golden brown robe streaming down the cherub's small form. Shuichi was enticed by this charming art, and felt like he was going to loose himself in it if he stared at it too long. The others looked around curiously, taking in the surroundings like a baby when it's first born. Tatsuha sat down at the blanketed table to the right and flipped through a think book that had already been set there. The rest of the group decided to do the same.
"Hmmm, let's see… no, not here… uh-uh…" The priest flipped through a few pages, fingering each line on the paper to find what he was looking for.
"Um… Uesugi-san?" Shuichi addressed shyly.
"Hm? Yes?" Tatsuha kept turning through the book.
"I have a feeling that… you know what's going on with me and the city. My mom even said that you predict futures for people."
"Ah ah… not just for anyone. I only did it for your mother because it was necessary. This is a big time we're going through right now, and it will be for the next few years or so."
"Okay, then can you tell me EXACTLY what's going on? I'm still a little confused. What's going to happen to me? What's my future? What will happen to Arbaphem. Who's behind all this?"
"…" Silence. "Ah-ha! Here it is!" Tatsuha exclaimed, and read from the paragraph.
Takashi Shindou- August 8th, 1760.
Shuichi knitted his brow in wonderment. 'Did he just say… Takashi Shindou?'
The day of judgment is approaching. Darkness will swallow the once tranquil land of this oblivious world, and all hearts will be lost in the everlasting evil that resides there. Our own fears and wants will grip our minds and bind us to an inevitable fate. Though the destiny of others will trial against these forces, none will prevail. It is a doom that will befall us in a time where our own shadows can't be trusted. As long as the empty void in the coldness of other's hearts live on, the people have no chance of achieving the after life, or deliverance from the omega.
Tatsuha checked to make sure everyone was still listening, and bent his head back down to read some more.
Only he, with the power to conquer this dark potency, can will away the black hole that's rested within trapped minds. The Salvation will emancipate the people's dark silhouette, and restore peace back to it's proper place in the world. He will break the bonds that hold fear and want together, changing them to courage and need. Hearts will lose their extra shadow and beat with the flow of morality again. The Salvation will mend the minds of all innocents back together and aid the current of time to it's formal self. Goodness shall reign, and darkness forgotten.
The pastor shut the book after the last word was spoken, and gazed up to see how the group would answer to that passage.
"…What was that?" Yuki asked, irritated and baffled at the same time.
"That was a paragraph written by a very significant someone in the 1760's. Takashi Shindou was a great man, full of ideas for the future. It seemed only natural that he'd find out about the world's fate and write something about it."
"But how did he know this was going to happen?"
"He was like me. A priest and a median."
"Takashi… his last name was Shindou?" Shuichi asked intently.
"Yes. Your last name, Shuichi. Your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great…"
"Get on with it!" The author snapped.
"…great grandfather." He finished, smiling amusedly at the grumpy blonde before him.
"I thought so… my father told me about him once. How dedicated to his work he was and all that…"
"He did come from your dad's side, and was well respected throughout this city. It was unfortunate what happened to him long ago."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, a false accusation was set against him by someone anonymous. I'm sure the guy was jealous of him or something of the sort. He was declared a wizard, and was sentenced to hang."
"So he died by the rope, huh?" Hiro declared. Shuichi's face sagged in sorrow.
"No. He didn't. When they were about to perform the sentence, a mob of Takashi's followers and fans raided the town, setting him free and driving away the guards. During the tussle, a woman was about to be shot for going against the authorities, but he knocked out the men and took the young lady with him." Tatsuha smiled. "That was the girl he soon fell in love with and married."
"What's so tragic about that?" Yuki raised an eyebrow.
"Well, what occurred next is what sent Takashi to his death. A darkness, just like what's taken over the city now, arose from the depths who knew where and started attacking people. He, being the guy he was, headed into town to cease this evil force."
"Did he do it? Did he put the shadows at rest?" Maiko was becoming interested in the story.
"Yes, he did. But at a price. His own life was sacrificed to seal away the darkness that plagued their land."
The group remained quiet, waiting for whatever else the priest had to tell them.
"He was a good man down to the end. It took a LOT of energy to banish the shadows in the people's hearts. Apparently, there was so much that it required the spiritual power of a person who had enough energy to carry out the seal. It was a risk that Takashi had to take at that moment."
"… So he didn't survive."
"I'm afraid not."
The boy drooped his head. His great, great, great… well, however many greats grandfather died trying to rid their city of darkness. Would that same fate apply to himself as well? Would he die trying to save his city?
"But that's why you are here, Shuichi. To help banish darkness all over again. Just like your grandfather."
The others jerked their heads at Tatsuha and gasped.
"Are you saying… that onii-san will have to seal away those creepy guys out there?"
"Right."
Now the novelist was angry. "So he's going to die while protecting Arbaphem!" He wanted to break something. Would he lose Shuichi?
"That's the thing. I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know! You're a future telling priest aren't you!" Yuki fumed.
"For some reason, I couldn't predict the true outcome of Shuichi battle with the darkness. I've tried time and time again, but nothing comes up."
"Then what's going to happen to me?" Shuichi asked nervously.
"Well, I figured that from what your 100 x Great Grandfather said about your future, that you may have a chance to live. And because your future is undecided, it means that you may have a choice in the matter whether you live or not."
"What? A choice?"
"You have a fate, Shuichi. Your fate is to destroy the turmoil that's being caused around here. But I believe that your destiny (your second choice, in other words) let's you decide how you seal the evil and whether you succeed or not. You can choose to heal the world, or to join it. That is the difference between the two."
The teen pondered a moment on what the pastor told him, then confirmed to himself… "So. I have a set fate already… telling me that I have to be the one that can save the earth. And my destiny leaves me to decide which fate my life will I end up with later on, right?"
"Uh, yeah. You could say that." This was all pretty confusing, even for Tatsuha himself.
"It's like having two fates… but I get to choose which fate I want. And that creates destiny."
"Uh huh! I think you've got it!" The pastor nodded vigorously.
"Okay. I think I understand a little better now. I have to be the one that delivers these people from darkness. I have to seal away the shadows that stain this land and hopefully come out of it alive. I've never been that good at stuff like this… making decisions, I mean. But I think I'll take risk or two." He smiled on the last sentence, remembering how his said grandfather took chances as well.
"So you'll do it!" Tatsuha clasped his hands together and inched closer to the 19 year olds face.
"Um, yeah?" Shuichi scooted away from the ardent man.
"Great! Then let's get you ready!" He stated while pulling on Shuichi's arm toward a round platform underneath the stained glass window.
"Huh! Get ready for what!" The boy was getting freaked out now.
"For your journey! Actually, it's more like a stand still journey. It's kind of complicated." Tatsuha rubbed the back of his head.
"What are you talking about?" Maiko asked.
Suddenly, the priest's face became serious as he further explained this actions. "Shindou-san… the darkness has just begun to rule over Arbaphem. Right now, it's at its strongest because of the newly found power they have received. And because of that, you can't fight them right away… I mean, your spiritual powers haven't awakened inside you yet. There's no chance for you to defeat them now."
Tatsuha sighed. The others watched him inquisitively. "That's why… you have to be put in a time capsule that'll freeze existence only around you… until the time comes when the darkness has weakened and your spiritually ready to face it."
This all started to soak in slowly for Yuki and Shuichi.
"I'm afraid that Shuichi… you'll have to stay in the capsule until another century passes."
"No…" The boy didn't want to believe what he was hearing. He had to leave everyone behind on this? His fate required him to go this… alone? But he wasn't strong enough yet! If he were to go on a mission like this, he wanted to share it with his remaining family. Hiro… Maiko…… Yuki…
"What the hell are you saying!" The enraged older man shouted at the solemn pastor. "Is this some kind of joke!"
"No. I kidd you not."
"Then where is this big, extravagant, so-called 'time capsule' of yours?" The blonde sneered.
"Right here." Tatsuha stepped over to the large stained glass portrait and tapped on the angel's body, making it glow differently than when the sun shone on it. The shards of glass in the structure then began to shift around like puzzle pieces, and after the transmission was done it had somehow moved the cherub's wings to become outstretched instead of folded behind his back. Out of the blue, a blinding light shot straight up from the circular platform and hit a mirror that hung on the slanted ceiling. This reflected the light to directly strike a valuable looking crest above the wooden door. The angel's form was embedded in the golden crest.
"The light that bounces off the mirror and onto that plate is what keeps the time capsule active. If you were to block that light or take away the object that the light's hitting, then Shuichi would be released and enter the normal flow of time again. However, we don't want that until many years later. All I know is that something will happen to the golden crest up there that disrupts the light's path, and he will be free once again when the time comes.
Yuki was still processing all this while thinking, 'So Shuichi will stay youthful in this capsule… while I age and die! No! I have to be there for him!' "I want to go with him."
"Yuki…" Shuichi's heart fluttered at the comforting words of his lover.
"I'm afraid that it out of the question." The pastor shook his head sadly.
"What? Why the hell not!" He barked at Tatsuha.
"… the capsule can only fit one person. And that one has to be Shuichi."
"So you expect me to watch helplessly as he stays nineteen and I grow grey and wrinkly?" Though the way Yuki worded the sentence sounded bad, everyone really knew how he felt… how he wanted to live his life with the pink haired baka, and not his afterlife.
"There's no other way. If he doesn't, then the destruction of Arbaphem will be confirmed." The priest looked the man hard in the eyes. "Do you want that?"
On the inside, the novelist wanted to say he didn't care, but how could he when he actually did? All he wanted was to be with Shuichi for as long as possible, and this stupid conflict was getting in their way. He had never loved like this before, and planned for this setting to be his future… but it seemed that Shuichi's future came first.
"Yuki…" Shuichi stared at his lover with the eyes of a dying puppy.
"But… why?" Yuki put a palm to his head and held back the scream that wanted to be released from his mouth.
"Yuki…" The boy slowly walked up to Yuki and brushed some hair out of his face. "I… I think that we'll be okay."
"Okay? Okay! Do you think I'm just forget about you!" He growled a little rougher than he expected.
"Well… fate and destiny have been getting in the way of things lately, haven't they?" He laughed a bit. "And because these two futures keep popping up in different places, I think one of our fates… is that we'll meet again someday."
This stopped Yuki in his fury, giving Shuichi room to continue.
"It's our fate that we have a destiny, and it's our destiny that we have a fate. I feel that it'll be our fate to see each other again, and our destiny that this fate will occur." A slightly confused graced the blonde's face, though Shuichi couldn't blame him. It would take a while to get used to this pattern, he knew. He just hoped that everything went according to what he wished.
"Guys!" Hiro grabbed everyone's attention toward the window. "They're here!" He warned.
"Oh no!" Maiko squeaks.
"Shuichi! There isn't much time! Please stand on the platform and say your last goodbyes before I activate the capsule." Tatsuha scurried all around the room, making sure that everything was ready for their encounter with the baddies.
Shuichi's eyes squinted at the tears stinging his vision. He wanted to break down and sob his heart out, but knew that he had a duty to perform. He faced his little sister Maiko, the last time he'd see her as she was now. He didn't quite understand it, but the boy just knew that she'd be there waiting for him in the future.
"Maiko-chan… I know you're going to be scared at times while I'm gone, but I want you to know that my essence will be inside you, building courage. But for me to do that, I need you to believe that you're brave. Understand?"
His younger sibling forced her trembling lips into a small smile, tears spilling out her eyes.
"Good. I know you will be okay. You are strong, Maiko… no matter what you tell yourself otherwise."
"Onee-kun!" She flew into her brother's arms and squeezed his torso for what seemed like forever. Once Shuichi patted the young girl's back, she let go and wiped the droplets of water staining her cheeks.
"Shu…" Hiro dismally turned to him and let his whole body slump. He knew this day would come, so why was he so depressed about it? Shuichi had been his friend after such a long time… he didn't want to say goodbye yet.
"Hiro… I hope we meet in the future too. I just know it." The boy acted as cheerful as he could at their departure.
"Tch… yeah. I hope this time thing works. I don't want you losing a single hair of pink on this trip, you got that?"
"Same goes for you!" He punched his arm playfully and smiled. Hiro pulled his arm and brought his best friend closer to him for a farewell hug.
"Don't hurt yourself." He whispered sincerely into the teen's ear.
"I won't. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you most, Hiro." Shuichi tightened their embrace, basking in this priceless moment one more time before the red head had to force him away to keep from crying.
"Shuichi. It's ready. Go ahead and step up on the platform. The shadows are in the sanctuary." The priest informed.
"Okay." He did as he was instructed, the blue light bathing him in its glory. But he was barely settled into an upright position before he was tugged down into the arms of another and felt a pressure against his mouth. Shuichi knew, that by Yuki kissing him like this, the blonde understood that he had to let go. It relieved the boy…
"…You better save the world in one piece, you brat." He mumbled into his partner's shoulder after they finished their last kiss.
"Don't worry, Yuki. I'll be okay. I promise. I hope I see you soon." Shuichi said comfortingly, though he knew that Yuki wasn't the only one who needed to be solaced. He was on the verge of tears himself. The author knew this, and only stroked the boy's hair, pulling him into his chest with greater force. They stayed like that for who knew how long, until a loud crash echoed from downstairs.
"They've gotten in… Shuichi." Tatsuha beckoned him to follow suit. After a few more seconds of bliss in his companion's arms, the pink haired man stepped away from the blonde and got back onto the platform. The priest positioned himself near the beam of light, put his hands together in the sign of Buddha, and began chanting a sort of sutras. A few lines into the "spell", a cold draft was crawling up against Shuichi's legs. When he looked down to see what it was, the boy was shocked to find some kind of diamond crystallization composing around the whole platform. At first he thought it was a defect, until Hiro reassured him that that was supposed to happen. And not too long had that been explained, another unusual incident occurred. The pink haired teen started to float! It was a strange, light feeling… almost like when you are falling fast from a very high place. Tatsuha continued to recite his chants faster, the noise downstairs was becoming louder by the second. Shuichi held out his small hand and intertwined it with his lovers, eyes shimmering with tears. Yuki's were watering too, but he didn't let them fall. The man tightened his hold on the hand, never wanting to let go.
"Uesugi-san…" Hiro peered anxiously at the wooden door leading out. A clattering could be coming from the wall that separated them from the sanctuary.
At the last words of his sutras, he nodded knowingly. "Hah!" The pastor jolted his arms out, letting a glowing blue aura be soaked from his hands to the time structure.
The crystallization was covering up Shuichi's chest at that time, which forced the two companions to let each other's hand go. The 19 year old folded his arms across his torso, and prepared for the capsule to work its magic. Yuki couldn't hold it back anymore… the tears streaked his face.
"I love you." He said desperately.
Shuichi gave him one more smile, brighter than any star the blonde had seen. And as the diamonds inched up to his neck, Yuki heard one last phrase from the boy's lips…
"Wait for me." And as the last bit of activity had been done by Tatsuha to the icy structure, Shuichi felt a cold and weary sleep rest on his eyelids, leading him into a deep meditation until the time came when he would execute his role of being The Salvation.
"Come on, you guys. We might as well go see what the ruckus is down there. People who have no respect for the church after all, will never receive deliverance from their sins." The priest smirked almost evilly and snatched up a staff he had lying in the corner of the room.
"We're going to fight them!" Maiko didn't like the idea one bit.
"It's the only way we'll be able to survive the next few days. You two, come with me. I'll bring us to our destinies." He opened the door and sped down the spiral path without another word.
"Wait! We have a weird future too! Uesugi-san!" Maiko followed after him.
Yuki rushed out the door as well (afraid that the priest might accidentally poke someone's eye out with that big stick). He paused at the frame of the exit, and glanced over his shoulder at the "sleeping" form of Shuichi in the crystallized structure, and uttered one last sentence to his frozen lover.
"See ya later, brat. I'll come back for you… I swear." And with that, the author left to aid his new comrades in driving off the darkness downstairs.
At that moment, a stray tear slid down the cold cheek of Shuichi, a tear of happiness and sorrow that told the unaware Yuki…
It's a promise…
A/N: No, so sad! ;; I hope you all liked that chapter, I sure did. In the next one, it'll be 100 years later! AH, OLD MAN YUKI! Just kidding! Yuki WON'T be and old man, that's for sure. That'll take a weight off yall's shoulders --; Anyway, thanks for the reviews! I appreciate each and every one of them! Keep reviewing and that way I'll be inspired to write more! Be looking forward to what'll happen next!
DEAR REVIEWERS
DeMoN4EvA- Thanks for putting me on your favourite list already, though you only read one chapter in the beginning nn I appreciated that! And don't worry, I won't let you down and leave my story hanging!
Hiei's Gothic Angel- Thanks for saying that I have talent, that cheered me up big time nn Yeah, there may be a few cliffhangers, but because I update pretty quickly, you won't be left in suspense for long. So don't worry, everything will turn out okay!
DatenshiBlue39- So Yuki and Tatsuha are your little boys, huh? You wanna take that up with me, huh? - - glares Tee hee! JK! See you in band later on, kay?
Bloody Dead Rose- In the story, it said that Hiro was told by Shu's parents what his best friend's future would be, and somewhere along there, Mrs. Shindou told him what would happen to her as well. I didn't mention that, but that's what happened. I did that because I knew that Hiro wouldn't have time to grieve over Shu's mom. He had to get the party to safety nn Thanks for asking though. Hoped I cleared that up for you! Thanks for your reviews!