There's an extra-long chatter by me at the end of this, the final chaptire... beware. XD
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Incurable - A TRC Syaoran Drama/Tragedy fic
Chaptire 7 - Endless
Rated T for violent recollections and character death.
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Kotori winced, finding herself flat on her back on a beach. How had she arrived here again? Her eyes widened, remembering the moments leading up to her arrival here - the bus, the memory, and the way he threw himself away from her...
She sat up, panicked eyes darting around the sand. It was still hard to see, though she could see the slight glow of the sun on the horizon - daybreak couldn't be far off. She leapt to her feet and took off one way down the beach, fear in her voice.
"Syaoran! Syaoran!" She strained her voice, calling the boy's name, hoping, praying for a reply. To her dismay, she was greeted only by the echoing of her voice. Panting, she stopped, resting her palms upon her thighs, back bent slightly.
A sudden gust of wind blew her hair skyward, drawing her gaze upward as she attempted to restrain the unkempt curls with her hands. As she lowered her hands, she froze, eyes wide. With only a glimpse to confirm his identity, she was once more, sprinting down the ever-lightening beach.
- - -
A funny thing it was, the ocean... Parts were bordered by sand, the waves calmly gliding upwards, only to fall back again, endlessly sculpting and re-sculpting the beach. Yet other parts, he observed, were quite the opposite. Syaoran stood staring off the edge of one of these 'other parts' - a cliff, where solid land suddenly dropped off, and save for a few small boulders a good hundred feet below, there was only the ocean.
The waves shattered harshly upon the boulders at the cliff's base, sending showers of white foam shooting up the immovable rock wall formed by the cliff. It was so much harsher than the waves that met the sand...
Harsh enough to steal the life from a person, he wagered.
He wondered if it'd really hurt all that much if-
"Syaoran!"
He turned his head sharply, a distraught expression on his face, as his empty eyes met Kotori's panicked ones. She was 15 feet from him. He was on the wrong side of a railing blocking off...
"Syaoran... come back over the railing." She struggled to keep her voice calm, as she extended a hand in his direction, beckoning him back. He merely side-stepped another foot from her.
"She wanted me to be happy..." He turned away, eyes tracing the edge of the cliff before him.
"And you think suicide will bring you happiness!" She clenched both hands into fists, trembling. He wanted to jump. To kill himself. Suicide. Suicide...
"...but I can't be happy without her..." He continued quietly, as though the young woman had said nothing. "...my happiness is her..." Syaoran closed his eyes, teeth clenched in frustration and... loss...
Kotori remained tense, her eyes resting on the boy's motionless form. Silently she waited for him to speak again, fearing her words would only worsen the situation. Slowly, Syaoran turned to stare at her again, a weak smile on his face.
"I wasn't strong enough...to be without her in the end...nee, Kotori-san?" His voice barely above a whisper, he continued. "I don't think there's really a cure for the past, death... murder..." He gave a short laugh, not unlike a sob, as he closed his eyes.
"But... I'm really glad fate... hitsuzen... led me to this beach. This world. Someone... so much like her..." Opening his eyes, he gazed at Kotori, a smile widening on his face. "Thank you."
Kotori gaped at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "But, I didn't do anything, Syaoran! Everything that happened, all that you showed me was your own! I gave you nothing..."
Syaoran shook his head. "No... you gave me everything. Your kindness... your patience... your smile." Turning away from her, to face the ocean, he reached to untie the clasp of his cape, sliding it over his head. Grasping the green material in his hands, he tossed it over his shoulder, where the breeze guided it into Kotori's motionless arms.
Syaoran took a step forward, toes curling around the edge of the rock cliff. He turned his head to the side, watching Kotori out of the corner of his eye. "I only gave you one thing. I gave you... our story."
He stepped forward.
She fell forward.
- - -
Kotori knelt, head buried in the rough length of material, struggling to steady her shallow breathing. A deep pain lingered in her chest, though she couldn't place the reason for it. Only as a tear slid down her pale face, dripping onto the dark green wrap before her did she realize it.
She was gone. And now he was gone too. Two souls, two lovers, two lifetimes, lost. Lost...
And then there was her.
Standing, she clutched the green fabric in a tight embrace, eyes closed, to the lightening of the sky before her. There was still one. She was still here. All couldn't be lost as long as...
Syaoran's final words rang in her ears, as she turned towards the shore once more, to begin her trek home.
'I gave you our story...'
People never die, as long as there are those who would remember them... right?
If that was true... it must be true... then she would make sure of at least one thing in her life...
That those two would never die. That their past would never be erasable...
Because some things are just incurable.
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It's... a finished fic. o.o -pops cork on sake- Kanpai, readers. Kanpai. This is the first chaptired fic I've finished, and I'm really... proud of myself. (Despite the fact that it took me MONTHS to do this chaptire properly, if you can call this proper.)
Yes. The thank yous, now.
MAJOR love to Cherry Tiger, Noir Rose, and LiLover131 for reviewing every chaptire. Yes, every single one (approximately), despite the minor issues it had early on. XP
Insanity Team! (Violet) and her sprites for the occasional review, and the insanity.
Steeple333 for squeeing over this fic irl. XD I worry you're going to eat me if you see this, and how long it's been since I updated... but oh well. I probably don't taste like chicken.
Where to go from here? Well, I think my writing's improved from what it was about 8 months ago, and so has my typing speed, so we could be seeing another fic in addition to From the Ashes, my other current fic (you should read it, yes you should. ;P) in the coming months.
Review, please, and Thank you again for reading!
Final edited version: 4.13.07. -- With some minor corrections, I put this fic down for good.
