Sorry if the last chapter was a bit…surprising. Ahahaha. Was thinking that the whole fic had been consistently venturing into melodramatic territory and I don't really want it too sappy. Ahahahaha. Anyway, I hope you like how this fic is developing. Please do drop your reviews!

XxLadyYuixX: Really? What a coincidence! But don't get me wrong, I have never been to Linz, just in Berlin. I would have loved to go there—just couldn't find the time and the money. :)

Fallenmad: Your review made me laugh out loud…seriously! But with amusement, of course. Drop a comment again, ne?

Michi: Yes, the last chapter was abrupt and it did delve into Yui's feelings. This chapter is more or less the same. Unfortunately, I won't be putting a Sai-perspective chapter to be consistent with the treatment, except on the last chapter… :)

Disclaimer: FY belongs to the great Yuu Watase.

Chapter 20: You Found Me

By Slavedriver2008

"Ja, bitte," I smiled warmly at the haircutter and he heaved a sigh. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, watching keenly, heart hammering, as the scissor cut through my long blonde hair. I almost closed my eyes as it snipped my locks, reluctant at first and then mercilessly cutting away. I somehow regretted having my hair cut but I wanted to do something dangerous or out of my character in Linz. And returning to the bob—after having a long flowing mane—was the closest I could to living in the edge.

Whoever told you that is not worthy of you…

I momentarily lost myself in the sound of snipping and I became fully aware of how worry and determination played simultaneously over my face. Wasn't this how Princess Ann lived dangerously in The Roman Holiday? Wasn't this what Gwyneth Paltrow did in Sliding Doors? I've tried to think up of numerous movie characters who decided to get a haircut as a way of living a new life, as a way of throwing away all their frustrations, failures, bitterness.

You are beautiful…

A smile swept across my face when I remembered how I grew my hair after Shin Jin Ten Sho. That was my way of moving on. And now, I think I was doing the same thing alternatively. I have donned the bob for more than three years and I let my hair grow when I entered high school. And now, now that I think I'm entering another stage in my life, I'm ready to embrace the bob again. And to think my mom thought I was a lesbian because of my hair.

Care to tell me what's running in that beautiful head…Little Yui?

A few more minutes after, I was face to face with the old me. The me of junior high, of lofty dreams, of Kutou. I was face to face with the woman I hated the most in my life: the Seiryuu no miko. I brushed my fingers through my hair and I realized how light my head had suddenly become. The haircutter muttered something in German and I just smiled at him, an assurance that I liked how my hair turned out. I paid the fee and made my way outside the parlor, sunlight filling me, inside and out.

I will hold your hand…

As I tread the boulevard for my individual wandering, my eyes met my own reflection on one of the windows of the shops. The hair was strikingly similar to the old me yet I look different, in a way I could not describe. And the feeling was different too, I do not feel the same pain I did three years ago, after the incident in the book.

Finally, I realized, I moved on.

The memories of course came back—the nights in the darkness of my room, my warriors, my war, my selfishness. Absurdly, it did not bring back the same emotions. I had memories, yes, and an unexplainable lightness but all negative emotions were gone. As if someone just took it away from me over the night. Maybe, just maybe, I was finally able to forgive myself. And because I did, I can embrace the old me again, the old Yui I loathed and hated so much.

Would you look at me if you knew I was Hotohori?

Landstraße, the main street of Linz, was not so busy today. Probably because it was the middle of the week and people have woken up early for work and school. I treaded the boulevard and reached the main square my Dad pointed out yesterday as the Blumauerplatz. At the middle, stood a plague column called Dreifaltigkeitssäule. I walked toward it and in the scorching midday sun, I looked into the sky. It was beautiful, a sacred kind of beautiful. Something like nostalgia filled me, a longing for the past of things. It called to me like a song. And I can only smile and wonder when I will hear it again.

I love you…

I continued walking along the city despite the heat of the day. The best place to see a new place was always by foot. The sun was high but the air was cold. Snow rained last night but it was not enough to blanket the whole city. I would have loved to see Linz in the snow. It would have been…romantic.

Linz's concert hall, which I couldn't remember the name, came into view and I marveled at the structure of the place. The want to watch a concierto inside nagged at me and before I knew it, I was unconsciously looking for the schedule. Maybe I could tomorrow, right? I found the schedule and listed were screenings, concerts on Polish music. Sounds interesting, I will go tomorrow. Without my parents of course. I just could not resist music.

You never looked up, Yui... You always have that faraway look in your eyes...

Some meters away stood the famous Lentos Art Museum. It was open in that time of the day so I paid the fee and went inside. Besides, even though the wind was cool, I was sweating under my trench. A museum with over 1500 collections would have me dizzy at the end but Lentos was special—it was a mix of classic and contemporary art. I indulged in erotic masterpieces by Klimt, Nolde and Kokoschka's expressionist paintings (which I must have lingered more than the others). I might have looked intently in each painting for more than 30 minutes but how can I control myself? As much as I love music, art has a very special affinity with me too.

I don't want to be Hotohori, I want to be Sai…

There are also works on Expressionism, a very popular German art movement as well as black and white photographs. Most of the images made me sad and heavy-hearted. This was Linz, Hitler's beloved city. The black and white photos of the Nazi forces broke my heart, knowing full well what transpired in those times through history books. But then, I can never feel the same emotion these photographers felt. I can only look at things from their perspectives. And as most people know, changes in the perspective diminish the emotion, the power, the empathy.

It was already five in the afternoon when I realized I have stayed too much inside the museum and yet I wanted to explore more. Maybe tomorrow, before the concert. If I were to pass university, I would definitely come back to this city. I was beginning to see the beauty my parents saw in the place. It was somehow…like me.

I just want to love you without another life holding me back…

I reached Kulturmeile, a park along the Danube. My blue river. The dusk wind was freezing and I hugged my coat tighter. I breathed in and out, relishing the coldness of the air. The sun was setting now, specks of orange, red, and yellow reflected on the surface, creating illusions of greenery in the azure waters. I let the coming evening air penetrate through every part of my body. The skin behind my neck prickled from the cold and I wanted to laugh at myself because I was stupid to stand there in such season.

"The night is cold, you might get sick," a deep voice spoke in Japanese and broke my reverie. I was surprised I found the voice familiar and for a moment, I fought with myself whether to turn or not. Turning won.

As expected, a pair of deep blue eyes greeted me, golden blonde hair flowing with the wind. The sight of him was a bit disappointing but his presence calmed me, the way it usually did three years ago, the way it did a few days ago. The calmness was always there. Even in different times, different situations, it was always there. Like it was imbued in us.

I smiled faintly at the handsome man, realizing the absurdity of the situation. Him and me, looking at each other, cold in the night, looking exactly how we did three years back. Only, we have changed. I was no longer the all-knowing priestess and he was no longer my cold-hearted shogun. At that instance, I became fully aware that he was a man of this world and he belonged here the way I am.

"You found me," I whispered, my voice breaking in the cold. He smiled, his eyes dancing like the waters of the Danube.

"I always do."

A/N: For those who are wondering, the reason why Hotohori's lines kept on appearing between Yui's thoughts is because he is appearing in her thoughts. I just tried this writing style, as you know, I don't want this fic to be too sappy. Did it work? Anyway, my apologies for those who got disappointed with the ending but please still do leave reviews! n_n