Disclaimer: We don't own Tsubasa, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ouran, or anything else. All belong to their respective owners. The only things we own are the plot and our original characters.
The song used in this chapter is Bring Me to Life by Evanescense. We hope that you all enjoy this next chapter. :)
Chapter Nine
The Ball Begins
While the boys, Haruhi, and Mokona helped with the preparations in the ballroom, Fallin, Guardian, Bekah-chan, Yami, and Sakura were all in the Ranger room, busy with their makeup, hair, and picking out dresses for the party. Yami helped Fallin with her long blue black hair, flat-ironing it with the big flat-iron Guardian had brought with them, as Guardian straightened her own hair and Bekah-chan helped Sakura with her dress and makeup.
After Guardian finished with her hair and put on some subtle natural colored make-up, she went to put on her dress. Fallin looked up in the mirror in front of her and saw Guardian's back as she put on her dress. Three long narrow diagonal scars were apparent on her back from where Envy had slashed her with his claws back in Amestris. Fallin felt her eyes prick with tears as she remembered that Guardian had almost sacrificed herself in that battle in order to get Sakura's feather back for her, selflessly retrieving the feather herself so that no one else had to get hurt as badly as she had.
Guardian felt eyes on her as she finished zipping up her dress and tying the sash of her dress in a bow. She turned and saw Fallin quickly avert her gaze. Guardian knew that Fallin had seen the scars on her back. The little Light Alchemist walked up to her friend and placed a hand on her shoulder. Fallin looked up at Guardian.
"What happened in the past happened, Fallin. No one can change that," Guardian said with a small grin. "I don't regret putting my life on the line during the battle back in Amestris. I did it for all of you and for Sakura. So don't be sad when you see my scars. They're not a symbol of regret or pain. They're a symbol that I survived and I'll tell everyone who asks about them that they're a symbol of the love I have for my friends and the deep friendship that I share with all of you." Fallin smiled then Guardian wrapped her arms around her best friend's shoulders. "Now...let's get you in your dress, Fallin."
xXx
After they finished with preparations, the boys, Haruhi, and Mokona stood outside of the door to the Ranger room, waiting for when the girls would come out. Then the door opened and Fallin, Bekah-chan, Yami, and Sakura all walked out.
Fallin was wearing an ice blue strapless mini dress with a cerulean blue sash and lining and a slit up the left side, revealing the cerulean blue cloth underneath with white embroidery and sparkles. Bekah-chan wore an aqua blue halter-top dress with a white sash and the skirt went down to her knees in wave-like ruffles. Yami wore a bright green silk spaghetti-strap dress that came down just below her knees and had light green, pale gold, and white beading along the sash of her dress. Sakura wore a rose pink sleeveless dress with a magenta sash and pink silk rose attached to the sash and the silk skirt came down to her knees and swirled around her knees whenever she twirled.
Syaoran couldn't keep his eyes off of Sakura as she walked over to him and was trying really hard not to blush. "Do you like my dress, Syaoran?" Sakura asked him with a smile, turning around once so that Syaoran could see every inch of the pink dress as it swirled around her knees before settling back to its original position. Syaoran smiled at her and replied, "I do. You look beautiful, Princess." Sakura smiled great big at his compliment.
Fallin smiled at the sight and snapped her fingers, remembering something. "Oh! I just remembered. I want Ed and Vic to see us in our dresses before the party started." Then Fallin made a projection with her pendant and an image of Ed and Vic appeared before them. "Hey, Ed, Vic!" Fallin said to the two of them. Ed chuckled and Vic smiled. "Hello, to you, too, Fallin," Ed replied with a smile. "You look amazing, my Ice Princess." Fallin smiled great big at Ed's compliment before Vic looked around the room and said, "Hey, where's Guardian?"
Fallin looked around the room for a minute before she remembered. "Guardian?" Fallin called to her. Guardian poked her head out of the Ranger room, the rest of her body still hidden from the others. "Yes, Fallin?" Guardian replied innocently. "What is it?"
Fallin rolled her eyes playfully at Guardian before she said, "Come on out here. Everyone wants to see you in your dress." Guardian looked unsure for a second before she disappeared into the Ranger room once more. Everyone looked at each other, sharing confused looks, before Guardian shyly stepped out of the Ranger room.
Guardian was wearing a yellow sleeveless dress, the same color as Belle's dress from Beauty and the Beast, that came down to her knees with a gold sash and a slit up the front of her dress and on the bodice, revealing the sparkling gold cloth underneath.
Everyone smiled as Guardian walked towards them and Fai said, "You look beautiful, Guardian." Guardian smiled sheepishly before she said, "Thank you, Fai." Then she looked at Vic and Ed. Both had smiles on their faces and Vic said, "Our little 'Belle' of the ball." Guardian smiled at her Leader's compliment and looked at her feet for a moment before looking back up at him and humbly saying, "Thank you, Vic." Fallin grinned at the boys.
"Well, don't you all look dashing, especially Kurgs here!" she said, poking him in the chest. Kurogane mock growled and swatted her hand away with yet another rare smile. All of the boys were wearing suits, but each one of them had a different color. Kurogane's suit was a dark midnight color with deep red pinstripes running vertically along the fabric, and the tie he had was a rich crimson, which stood out against the simple black button-down he was wearing underneath the blazer. Tamaki's suit was all black, no pinstripes, and his tie was a brilliant indigo color, just like his eyes. Both of the twins had black suits with bright, brilliant orange ties that illuminated their hair and mischievous attitudes.
Mori and Honey had similar suits: Honey-senpai's suit was a sky blue, with a pastel, shimmering tie and a deep black base that was a good contrast to the light blue, while Mori's was a deeper, more ocean blue and a lighter black base. Honey had even given Usa-chan a tie to go with his. Kyoya was the only host in a different type of suit, this time the shadow king had chosen to wear a deep black vest over a shirt that was a color of purple Fallin hadn't ever seen before. This purple was so deep that it was almost black, and it glittered with the brilliance of the Milky Way, standing out against the black vest and tie. Even Haruhi looked amazing in a suit. Her suit was black, like the others, but hers had the deepest color of green, almost the color of emeralds but with the free color of nature, just like Haruhi's personality: strong but carefree.
Fallin tsked when she got to Syaoran. "Your suit isn't quite right. Hmm," she said, rocking back on her heels and thinking. Then she lit up with inspiration. "Aha! Here, you need this." Fallin pulled out a small square of shimmering pink fabric and folded it neatly, placing it in Syaoran's breast pocket. "There! Now you and the princess match." She grinned and Syaoran turned bright red against his all-black suit with a tie the color of Sakura petals. Syaoran had chosen to wear a black turtleneck under his blazer instead of a button-down simply because he 'liked the look'. Fallin grinned and twirled her pendant, patting Syaoran's neatly arranged hair. He shot her a teasing look before rearranging his hair.
Fai's suit was the one that finally took Fallin's breath away. Fai was the only one with a white suit and it was lit up with golden pinstripes, making his golden hair sparkle like a Twilight vampire. His shirt underneath was a plain white, but it wasn't noticeable in comparison with his tie, which shone with the brilliance of the sun even in the lowlight. Fallin stepped up to him and placed a hand on his tie.
"It's so pretty, Fai. You look like the perfect match for Guardian," she said in an undertone, looking up into those clear blue eyes and raising her eyebrow at him. He turned a color of red similar to the color of steamed lobster and Fallin giggled quietly, giving him a final pat on the shoulder before turning heel and walking back to the girls.
"Come here, Mokona!" she called, and the cute white creature jumped into her waiting palm. "Here Mokona, I got this for you to wear tonight, since you're my date." Fallin teased, holding up a tiny ice-blue colored tie and clipping it to Mokona's fur. "There ya go!" she said, giving Mokona a small squeeze. "Thank you, Fallin!" it cheered, giving her face a hug. "All right, I think they all look pretty presentable now," Fallin said then grinned. "Whatcha say we get this party started?"
xXx
When the ball was just about to begin, the guests were milling about, mingling and chatting. Tamaki stepped up on the stage and cleared his throat to the mic. The guests all stopped and looked up at Tamaki. "Welcome, my princesses. Tonight, we'd like to kick things off with a solo performance by our very own host, Fallin!" he introduced, and the guests started clapping and cheering.
Fallin nervously shuffled up to the stage to perform her solo. Guardian and the other Rangers stood at the back, holding up a projection of Ed so he could see her perform. Fallin got up to the microphone and grasped it in her hand. "Good evening, everyone! Tonight I will be performing 'Bring me to Life' by Evanescence. I know it's not a dance-happy song, but it's something that I've been wanting to perform now for a while." She grinned, nodding to the DJ and pulling the mic out of the stand. The piano intro began and Fallin took a deep breath.
How can you see into my eyes, like open doors?
Leading you down into my core
Where I've become so numb.
Without a soul,
My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back…
Home.
(Wake me up.)
Wake me up inside. (I can't wake up.)
Wake me up inside. (Save me!)
Call my name and save me from the dark.
(Wake me up.)
Bid my blood to run (I can't wake up.)
Before I come undone. (Save me!)
Save me from the nothing I've become.
Now that I know what I'm without,
You can't just leave me.
Breathe into me and make me real.
Bring me… to life.
(Wake me up.)
Wake me up inside. (I can't wake up)
Wake me up inside. (Save me!)
Call my name and save me from the dark.
(Wake me up.)
Bid my blood to run (I can't wake up.)
Before I come undone. (Save me!)
Save me from the nothing I've become!
Bring me to life.
(I've been living a lie. There's nothing inside.)
Bring me to life.
Frozen in time
Without your touch,
Without your love, darling.
Only you are the life among the dead!
(All of this time, I can't believe I couldn't see. Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me!)
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems. Got to open my eyes to everything.
(Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul, don't let me die here. There must be something more!)
Bring… me… to… life!
(Wake me up.)
Wake me up inside. (I can't wake up)
Wake me up inside. (Save me!)
Call my name and save me from the dark.
(Wake me up.)
Bid my blood to run (I can't wake up.)
Before I come undone. (Save me!)
Save me from the nothing I've become!
Bring me to life.
(I've been living a lie. There's nothing inside.)
Bring me to life!
Fallin drew out the last note, holding it until the song faded away. The audience held their breath for only a second, then burst into applause. The Rangers in the back were cheering louder than anyone else, even Ed, who had pride written all over his face. Fallin placed the mic back in its stand very carefully. "Thanks, everyone. Now let the Ouran Host Club Ball begin!"
Guardian's scars from the first fic have resurfaced, but they have new meaning for her. Fallin seems to know something that made Fai blush and the Ouran Ball has begun! :)