Chp. 4 Reality, Infinity
As always-- I do not own 'The Garden of Everything or Steve Conte or Maaya Sakamoto "
A little suggestion: When you start reading the 2nd section of this Chapter, try to find and listen to 'Afternoon Repose' by Maaya Sakamoto!
Shugo and Rena reached the forest where Aura and Zefie exist.
"Big brother Shugo!!" A white fluffy thing bumped to Shugo, causing two of them crash to the earth.
"What the...Zefie?" Shugo found out that the fluffy thing that bumped to him was Zefie right before he starts to roar.
"LET GO OF SHUGO YOU LITTLE!!" Rena blew up and tried to pull Zefie away from Shugo BUT…
"Shut up, Ganguro girl." Zefie simply said and gave a blow on Rena's face, causing Rena flew high to the air. ( Notice : Ganguro is the Japanese which means trendy Japanese teens that make themselves look black and with white make up)
Shugo was frightened by the 'incident', as his face turned white and his whole body was shuddering.
"So Shugo and that Ganguro girl are the guests that mother mentioned! I'm so happy!" Zefie turned to Shugo and smiled. She gave another hug to Shugo.
"Yeah…right…"Shugo replied with shivering voice, "do you know where Aura is?"
"Oh…not really. When I woke up this morning, I didn't see mother and I couldn't smell her sense." Zefie thought for a moment, then said with a sad face.
"Huh? You couldn't find her?" Shugo was shocked by Zefie's word. So how can I meet Aura when nobody knows where she is?
"Hey…did you guys hear someone singing?" Rena recovered from Zefie's blow, although she was still shivering because of that.
"Someone is singing?" Shugo concentrated and tried to find the lines that the 'someone' was singing. The voice of the singer was so sweet that everybody took some time to stop themselves from getting obsessed in the voice and concentrate on finding the lines. After several loops of the song, Shugo finally got the lines:
… 'Uta wo ima kaze ni notte haruka tooi, anata no moto e…Itsuka sora ha hitotsu ni tsunagaru, watatteikeru anata no moto e (My song will ride the wind , far, far away to your side…someday two skies will become one, and I'll be able to return to you)'
"…that's…Aura's voice, isn't it?" Shugo turned to Zefie and asked.
"…Yeah! That's mother's voice! I'm sure!" Zefie nodded happily.
"But where is she? The voice seems to be everywhere around this field!" Rena tried to track down to Aura by her voice, but failed to do so.
"Yes…so how can we find her? Is it another quest for me?" Shugo guessed. Zefie looked at him for a moment, then asked, "do you know what song is it?"
Shugo shook his head, "don't think so…" Zefie sighed. "I figured out that you didn't really hear what I sang when you first found me, Shugo."
"Huh?" Shugo was puzzled.
"…Oh I remember this song's melody! That day when the sky of 'The World' started to rain, the BGM of the field changed into this song's melody!" Rena thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered.
"Really!? So what am I going to do?" Shugo asked in rush. I have to find her no matter what! I want to grant Aura her wish!
"Well okay…I'll help you to let mother knows you're here. " Zefie grabbed Shugo's hand. Immediately, lines of lyrics flowed into Shugo's mind. Shugo then went blank of his mind, and sang unconsciously:
'Eyes of pure, deep azure, quite unbelievable; Sun's daughter, you've been made not to fade, quite inconceivable…'
"Huh? What's that?" Rena asked Zefie.
"I told him the lyrics and made him sing through his mind." Zefie smiled.
After Shugo sang the lyrics, Aura stopped for a second, then appeared right in front of Shugo. She gave Shugo a warm smile and sang:
' Each atom sings to me: 'Set me free, from chains of the physical…oh free me…oh free me…'
"…Welcome Shugo, Rena, it's been a while since you two bring Zefie back to me." After the lines, Aura greeted the siblings. Then she turned to Zefie. "Sorry about today's morning, my wind." She patted Zefie's head softly. Zefie hugged her mother and nuzzled.
"Same here." Rena smiled and replied. Just then, Shugo regained his conscious.
"…Why don't we sit for a bit? I feel kinda dizzy…"Shugo groaned, and sit on the grassland of the forest. Rena and Aura both smiled a bitter smile and sit down. Zefie ran to the side of Shugo and lied down.
"So my songs did rode the wind and reached you, Shugo." Aura said, with a little bit sadness in her tone.
"Yeah, but it's really a surprise, reading the mail you wrote to me." Shugo nodded and replied, " so, how can I help?"
" Can you tell me your life in the real world? I really want to know more about it." Aura blinked her eyes and said.
"The real world, huh? No problem!" Shugo nodded immediately.
"I'll tell you two about the real world too!" Rena smiled at Zefie, and Zefie smiled back.
"So for now, my life is……" Shugo started. Then the next three hours, Shugo and Rena spent their time on telling the AIs about the reality, and the four of them enjoyed their time, not noticing that the time was slipping away and the night reached the sky.
"…so that's how my school life go. The end." Finally, Shugo finished his talk. Rena let out a sigh and let herself hit the grassland, as she's starting to get sleepy.
"Phew…hey bro, I'm logging out...I want to sleep…" Rena mumbled. Shugo let out a bitter smile and said, "alright, good night sis." Rena greeted back to Shugo then logged out. Zefie was already sleeping beside Shugo, letting out small inhales and exhales. Aura smiled gently to Zefie. She put Zefie into the bed and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Seeing this warm image, Shugo too let out a smile. Zefie surely looks like the little Rena… he thought.
Just then, Aura walked back to Shugo's side and sat down beside him. A gentle breeze went through the forest, as the two of them stayed silence for a while. The leaves that fell on the floor danced in the wind, and the moon was gently singing a lullaby to the forest.
"…Shugo? Will you listen to me?" After some time, Aura began, staring at the blue moon.
"…Yep…what is it?" Shugo replied, staring at the bluish grassland.
"…I…I…want to be in the real world." Aura hesitated for a bit, then expressed her wish to the boy.
"You want …to be in my world? Why?" Shugo immediately fixed his focus on Aura, who was still staring at the moon.
"…Although I'm the core of 'The World' and I enjoyed observing what the players been doing, I…felt lonely. I'm not allowed to communicate with the players and you're the only one who can talk to me so often." Aura said, a drop of tear fell and slipped down her face without a sign.
"Aura…" Shugo could only watched as he couldn't think of a word to comfort Aura.
"I want to escape from this eternal chain of digital world and loneness , and be in the reality, then I can talk to you and Rena whenever I want. I don't need to worry about being deleted, I can touch you and feel your warmth…" Aura said softly, "this…is my wish." She turned to Shugo and her azure eyes, now deep azure, met Shugo's turquoise eyes.
The girl stared at the boy with sadness and great desire to be free.
The boy stared at the girl with sympathy and great desire to help.
"……your wish…it's such a simple wish, yet it's hard for you to make it come true…" Shugo commented to Aura's wish.
"…………" Aura silently nodded, more tears fell from her eyes. Yet she didn't cry, just simply let her tears fall.
"…its okay, Aura…I'll do my best to help you." Shugo comforted Aura by warping his left arm around her back. Aura buried her head in Shugo's chest, seeking for solace.
"……Thank you, Shugo…I know I'm asking too much from you, but…" Aura whispered in Shugo's embrace.
Shugo didn't say a word. He stared at the blue round moon, determined to help Aura.
"If only I were the god of the moon," he thought, "then I would be able to watch over this lonely girl every night…"
The gentle breeze blew again, the forest was murmuring solace to the goddess, who had suppressed her feelings for a long time. And the Heir of the twilight bracelet was there, determined to create a miracle for the goddess.
Chapter 4 ends here!
I've been trying hard to make Aura looks like "the goddess who is trapped by the name of goddess" rather than "a normal girl who's in love", as I don't want to change Aura's personality and keep the characters as same as the ones who are in mangas or animes. But it's really a hard work…anyway, please R&R!
Chapter 5 preview: After Shugo promised to make Aura's dream come true, he started his quest with Rena. On the other hand, the legendary hero--Kite, was back to 'The World'. What can Shugo learn from the legendary hero about Aura? And who's the female Heavy Axeman who dressed in black and white, and has the same face as Aura? Plz wait for Chapter 5 patiently!( Chp. 5 may take some time, but it'll be up for sure!)