Title: Echoes

Pairing: Kaho/Fujitaka

Canon: manga

He was like them both and so he caught her eye.

The first time had been during the first shrine visit of the year before Eriol had come to Tomoeda. He came separately from his daughter and stayed longer at prayers. She watched him, knowing who he was, as he bent his head before the shrine bell. The air around him rippled with the presence of a spirit and she wondered briefly if it was his departed wife that his son had spoke about at times.

When he finished his prayer, he turned to look around the temple for a moment before spotting her. She gave him a smile that he returned. Then, with a brief nod of his head, he turned and left. She turned her attentions to the other patrons and it was done.

--

The second time had been after her return from England some six years later. She had loved Eriol but the time for them to part had come and she left, sad but accepting. She returned to her shrine, her heart empty of anything but memories. It had been years since she had really been alone. Not since Touya had she experienced loneliness and it was a hard homecoming.

Not that she had been left to idle. Almost immediately, Sakura had come to the shrine, knowing, in that way she had, that her old teacher had come home. At sixteen, Sakura was far more sensitive to romantic attachments and had gently inquired why Eriol was not with her. It had been a conversation punctuated with tears and finished with an invitation to the tea party a few days later.

Once more, she was brought face to face with him and she couldn't help but see all the similarities. The face was the same, the glasses too. Their height and they way they stood. Worse, it was blurred together with the mannerisms and looks of his son and in one body, she was faced with the two men she had loved.

He was all that was polite to her, gracious and understanding. He thanked her for her part in the magic. She accepted it quietly, unable to quite relax in his presence. Magic was just one more similarity and blending of the two. His aura was like both of theirs and she knew without asking that he, so like Touya had, could now see his much beloved wife.

She didn't stay long.

--

The third time was on his deathbed.

"Kinomoto-sensei, I understand you asked for me."

"Yes, Mizuki-san. Please sit."

She sat in the chair facing him in the oddly quiet hospital room. It was past visiting hours and so she was alone, serving as a religious advisor of sorts. She couldn't help but stare at him. Years had passed and the pain of her lost loves had faded but in his face there was always an echo.

"I always felt bad for you, really."

She stiffened, startled. "Why?"

He smiled at her sadly. "In all this destiny, all the magic planned centuries before, you are the only one that was left unsatisfied. No destined love, no great magic. You were used as a tool then set aside."

He spoke with the candor of a dying man who realized that saying what mattered was what was important. She opened her mouth to argue but couldn't find the words.

"I don't mean it meanly, Mizuki-san. You helped my daughter when she needed it most. You helped my son, too. And in the end, you are alone. You haven't even dated since you returned six years ago if gossip is to be believed."

She blushed. "There was no one else."

"I'm truly sorry. I hope that you find someone."

She looked at him, the echo of those she loved. His face was pale and bruised. He was dying and with him the blurred combination of her love. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him but knew it would only hurt them both. He was never hers to begin with, but she had a feeling that when he went, the last shadows of her feelings might go with him. She would at last be able to move on.

She met his eyes and knew that he had an idea of her thoughts. She gave him a sad smile and he returned it. For a moment, there was peace.

"Now, I know you really called me here to talk about your children and your magic. Why don't we talk about that?"

"Please."

--

The fourth time, at the funeral, she let go

A/N: All the ones I've written today (of which there are a few more that I have yet to post) are so melancholy. It could be to do with the pairings themselves but I suspect it has something to do with the rain.

Next one should be funny though.