http://clampfix.fanworks.net/others/morning.txt </head><body><pre>Disclaimer: The characters,story line, and rights of Clover do not belong to me, they belong to the mangaka CLAMP, Kodansha, etc. This story is not used for marketing purposes, but for entertainment purposes to the CLAMP fan fiction community and to my friends. This is not being used for profit, nor will I make any profit from this. Author's comments, gratitude, contact information are included at the end. A bibliography of the works used are also listed at the end. Thanks for taking interest in this story! By the way, there are spoilers in this...I think. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR VOLUMES 1 - 4. NOTES: { } are chapter titles - - are symbols that surround the word "flashback", indicating end or start of. [ ] are song verses Morning Dew by Louie, Eve dew...dew on my face. Am I dead, doomed never to see life at its fullest? The short life I knew before the militia passes through my eyes as my breath escapes me. More dew accumulates on my face, yet it is strangely warm. What is that? The blood drains from the multiple wounds I suffered from protecting Suu, the impossible and infinate four-leaved clover. It hurts to open my eyes. I just want to submerge into this deep sleep I feel hovering over me, sweet release... ....kazuhiko, I hear, shrugging me from my dark sleep. Faint choked sounds drift into my daydream. I open my eyes. "suu," I mutter. She stops her choked sobs to look at me, amazed to see that I am still with her in spirit. Glistening half formed tears hang at the corners of her large eyes, "Kazuhiko," she smiles. I remember, the assignment given to me. She clutches my hand as more tears continue to drop. "are you happy?" I asked, hoping that even if I leave, my inner conscience will be at rest. Bittersweet tears fall from her wide eyes as she closes them, my hand to her cheek, "yes, I am happy," she answers with melancholy in her voice. The deep sleep comes again, tugging at my soul. With the last of my wakefulness, I say, "I'm glad to know that." {Himitsu} It seemed like seconds later would I only wake. Gingetsu was at my side, standing over my hospital bed and informed me that it was days later. My dry mouth will not privledge me to speak, but I must, I must know. Curiousity killed the cat. "What happened to Suu after I passed out? Is she okay? Is my duty over?" The damned visor of his would not permit me to see his eyes. His monotone voice only said to me, "you should know. The answers lie in your hand." A swoop of his black trenchcoat and the sound of his boots ended the conversation. I lifted my hand to see the green imprint Grandmother Kou had given me, then closing it with a tight fist. Damn you, Gingetsu. Damn you. Why won't you tell me what you know, what Suu knows about you? No one will tell me anything, no, not even you, my comrade in the military. {Under Glass} The first thing I did since my departure from the hospital was to revisit the glass sanctuary many called "The Glass Prison." At first, I didn't understand as to why anyone would call this ancient and lovely piece or architecture a glass prison. At least Oruha would have thought this was lovely, in my honest opinion. Vines of green ivy, pillars of grey marble and tiled floors of a soft rose marble composed the sanctuary's main forthold. Lovely to say the least, Oruha's voice echoed in my head. Now, why would she say that? {Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole} Passing through the sanctuary a second time without the residents taking notice of the unusual man in black garb was not easy. Anyone, no, most everyone was confined within this space, deemed never to see the outside nor aspects of the outside except within their nightly dreams of fantasy. This I finally understood on my first misson - Suu related her story and the story of other confinements within the glass. The hopeful looks on the multitude of faces asked the one question Suu had asked upon our first meeting - "Are you the one who will take me?" I looked at the furry head of my guide as I walked behind this strange, talking creature. Beautiful, intelligent creatures in an equally beautiful, gilded cage of the Wizards' makings. The ramblings and silently mouthed words passed on from one creature to another grew in volume as we walked closer towards the atrium. I could feel the fresh scent of the artificial troposphere seep out from beneath the frosted glass door, gilded with rusted copper. Its white fur ruffled in response to the cool breeze sifting from below the intrically carved door. Its red eyes looked at me with no more passion nor hatred of any sort, other than that of a subordinate. "I leave you here, Kazuhiko. What awaits you is not as what it has been. As a warning," the rabbit said, its eyes intent, "no one can leave from under this glass. Do not seek anything in here. The Outside is far too precious a thing to sacrifice one's livlihood for the confines of this exquisite prision." With a turn of his coat tails, the rabbit bid me goodbye, and as a final word of caution, "I pray you good day, and never to see you again. This I can only hope." My ungloved hand gripped the cold metal door knob, opening the door with a swift twist of my wrist. The hinges creaked as I slowly pushed the door open, revealing the delicate scent of air conditioning in the so called natural effects of the "Outside." {Buried Alive} Great green boughs hung overhead, scattering its loose leaves whenever an airborn creature would depart. Floors carpeted with green grass, patches of clover and scattered patches of small flowers encompassed the large, airy sanctuary in which the impossible thrived. Flat mounds of slate formed the stone pathways leading to what only one could dream of - a four leaf clover. Cascades of shimmering, white, crepe material draped over the large bed, obstructing the view of a truly wonderous being. Lifting the curtains, I saw the small girl whose wish for happiness was short lived. The head of fine, snowy hair spread itself across her pillow as she slept soundly. Dreaming of the outside, perhaps? This was our second time of meeting. The first, she was happily...perched upon one of the many tree boughs, singing a song titled, "Clover." It was appropriate enough for its two song composers - Oruha herself was a Clover, as is Suu. I could only remember then... -flashback begin- "Isn't this what Oruha looked like?" Suu asked, touching the gold base of the holographic orugoru. A translucent image of a miniature fairy clothed in a cream colored bodice lined with red ribbon, full satin skirt of champagne and gloves to match, materialized onto the pedestal. Delicate wings perched on her back, golden curls fell over its shoulders and slid down the bell shaped skirt. The only thing that remotely resembled Oruha was the hair style. "We composed this song together. It is the mixture of our voices, this voice you hear in the song," she contemplated, outlining the hologram with her gloved hands, ending, "It is a song I cherish, the memory of my friend Oruha." -flashback end- {Comatose is the Way of My World} The same gold base lay at her nightstand, enveloped by the ivy that grew natively in this glass dome. I was drawn to push the black button, worn by use. As time changed everything, it certainly did not change this hologram nor its song. The image was crisp. The voice as clear as the first production day of this orugoru. I turned my head to watch Suu sleep. She was not disturbed by the haunting melody. In fact, it seemed to draw her into a deeper sleep - her breathing gradually grew shallow as the sprite sang its melancholy, her eyes closed in sorrow. So small and fragile, this girl, I thought, clutching her hand lightly. To my surprise, her pale hand squeezed my hand. Even deep in sleep, she knew my presence. -flashback begin- Our hotel room was elegant and simple. Queen sized beds covered in off white bedsheets, burgundy duvets and a matching comforter. Large downly pillows lay at the head rest. Everything else in the room was either off white, burgundy or a soft gold. A large window gave us an unobstructed view of the city and its night stars, alhtough, there weren't any stars tonight, only clouds full of snow. Across from our hotel room, stood a statue of the cyber idol, Clover. It wasn't a coincidence in which we would have a room by the statue - it was something else that was inexplicable, possibly the magic Suu wove around my unconscious. I could sense her curious eyes stare at me as I stood, looking out the picture window. Turning around to meet the intense evergreen eyes, I asked her to sleep. "But if someone comes, I want to see," she insisted, her eyebrows furrowed, "and you need to sleep, too." "It's okay. As long as I take this drug, I can protect the both of us," I answered, pointing at the golden rod that delved deep within my neck. Persistance stood still on her mind. I could see the mingling stubbornness and the urge to rest combat against each other in her eyes. "Look here," I said, reassuring her, "if I want to sleep, I'll wake you up and then it's your turn to keep watch, okay?" Such a young girl, living in that atrium by herself, I noted, watching her snuggle beneath the covers, rising to look at me once more before retiring to sleep. I clutched her hand, trying to urge her to sleep right away. "You really like to sleep, don't you?" A simple, solemn answer came from within the fourteen year's heart, "I sleep so I can forget...that I am alone." Shock surpassed my apathy. That was not an answer I was expecting. Rather, I expected her not to answer at all, or lightly answer with a positive or a negative, not an explaination. I could feel the disapproval surface on my face like the dead in a placid ocean. The heavy footfalls of my boots did nothing to ease the silence in the room. Grasping the rod and gently tugging it out as I leaned heavy on the chair's back, I opened my left hand to scruitinize the single leaf imprinted onto my hand. "Alone..." -flashback end- The cascade of leaves startled me from from reverie. Mechanical birds of blue flew from the tree next to the bed to another tree near the gilded windows. Suu and Oruha's song repeated itself for what seemed the past half hour. Suu remained in her deep sleep of amnesia. I swear, this kid could sleep through a war, I smiled to myself, watching her peaceful rest. Maybe I should leave and come back at a later time, when she is awake. Gingerly prying my hand from hers, I shifted off the bed and ran my hands down my clothing, removing any snatches of grass or leaves. "Kazuhiko?" I turned around to find Suu awake and alive as ever, rubbing the last traces of sleep from her eyes. "Morning," I said, retrieving a Victorian styled chair and placing it next to the side of her bed. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes intensely looking into my dark ones. "Just wanted to visit my favorite little girl," drew itself out from my mouth. That must have sounded condescending to her, I mentally said to myself. "Honto?" {Crushed Grass} A silver service tray was presented to us by my guide, the white haired rabbit. "Arigato gozaimasu," I bowed, taking the tray. We were sitting under the very same tree on which I had found Suu. Sandwiches, crisp madeleines and a light tea in a quaint pot composed our lunch in this natural light. Awkward as it may be for many a grown man to be playing or taking part in tea, including myself, it had the strange effects of soothing the awkwardness away, especially when in the company of a curious girl like Suu herself. Dunking the madeleine into the tea was not half as bad as I thought it would be. The tea soaked madeleine made its way into my mouth, lingering a few seconds on my tongue before making its way down my esophagus. Pleasantly warm and bittersweet. What a startling difference between the two. "You know," Suu began as she, too, drenched her madeleine in tea, "I'm not sure how long it has been since we've seen each other. Can you tell me?" she asked, staring at her tea colored reflection in the cup. "It has been one month and five days," I answered casually, biting into the moist turkey sandwich, dangling my hand over my propped knee as my heel dug into the rich soil. A nagging feeling tugged at my brain. Glancing tacticfully without her noticing, I could see she was preoccupied with something. The mechanical motions of feeding and drinking were unrealistic of her. Her silence was artifical in comparison to the curiousity she ahbored. "So, would you like to tell me what happened after I lost consciousness during Fairy Park? Or why you didn't tell me you were the Clover destined to be alone?" Shame was written on her face. The fair head of hair fell forward, partially covering her placid eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced away, deliberatly avoiding my insistent gaze. Slowly, but surely, she began to tell the story of where my own accounts ended and where hers continued. As the story began to take shape, Suu's own unconscious utilizing her ingrained magic to depict the scene in a minature moving scene. {Theatre} I could see my own listless body and Suu's, clutching to me for protection. Chaos reigned everywhere after the encounter with the Wizards - Fairy Park was inconceivably mangled beyond one's imagination. The roller coaster, which was pulled from its foundation in the Wizards' attempts to capture us and to return Suu, lay coiled at the base of the ferris wheel. The one we had been running from for so long, Baras, had appeared in front of us, holding out his hand to take Suu for whatever purposes he had in mind. The cut on his cheek, from our last battle, appeared fresh and brimming with blood. "Come now, Princess, we don't want to linger for too long, do we?" His tone bit into me, inciting the anger that had laid dormant for so long, ever since he took my hand as his trophy. I bared my teeth, wanting to crush the holographic figurine, wanting to do the same to the real one, too. A silver blade laid itself on Barus' shoulder. Gingetsu, in his commanding air, had placed Barus under arrest. "You've always had the best timing, you know that?" Barus had said, smiling as he held his arms up. Gingestsu had said nothing and had led Barus away onto the winged float with my weight over his shoulder. Suu's reflection glimmered on his visor as she asked him to thank Lan for his help. Cables began to wind, encircle themselves, around her stationary form. {Present time} A bright flash of light obscured my vision as I gazed into Suu's holographic theatre. There, encased by the licking flames, was Fairy Park in its ruins, succumbing to its final state as the fire embraced the structures. Like the finest legendary cities, Fairy Park crumbled to the earth, its beauty to become an artifact, the subject of excavation and historical usage...if ever. But what of Suu, I wondered, glancing at her as she silently drank from the white cup. Surely, anyone would die in a fire such as that, but Suu, the four leaf clover, held infinite powers...possibly beyond death. That was the only reason I could see as to her well being today. The delicate fingers grasped the tea cup lightly as she continued to sip the bitter tea, her bright evergreen eyes opening to glance every once in a while at me and to close them as her fingers tipped the cup to her waiting mouth. My impression of her never faded from my memory. I remember my shock as I saw her fly down to me in a flurry of white, clothed in a light cotton dress - The crown of fair white hair swaying around her head, caressing her cheeks and obscuring her eyes as she descended from the large tree. The dress, sparse of gaudy jewels or elaborate embroderies with intricate white lace trimming the hem of her skirt and the hem of the white shawl she draped across her pale arms. The soft, yet chilly hands clutching my hand to her inspection, "are you the one who will take me?" So perfectly pretty, yet hollow inside. As perfect and as fragile as a porcelain doll on display, never to be touched...a beautiful living doll was what I conversed with, sat across from, gazed at. "I didn't want to tell you that I was the Clover...even if I had wished to, the right never belonged to me. Only the Wizards can choose to release that information..." Suu murmured, her face placid, her eyes, again, gazing into the dark liquid, "I did not want to tell you..." she drifted off, melancholy piercing through the mask she wore, her brows furrowing as the large eyes glanced to the side, hesitant to meet my eyes. "I see..." I spoke clearly, my eyes laid firmly on her. "I'm alone because everyone loves me. Everyone loves me because I'm special. I'm special because I'm the four leaf Clover...." She frowned, the white bangs covering her eyes, as she leaned forward to place the cup down, "and I wouldn't tell you I'm that Clover because I would be alone." "Suu...." I spoke in quiet awe, reaching over the madeleines and the tea, to grasp her small hand. Sorrow crept into my heart as I saw her bittersweet expression, her tears fall from her large eyes, her need for happiness. My hand strayed from her own, reaching to I gently rub away the tears that fell, trying to erase her grief, but in the midst of doing so, she had stopped me and clutched my hand, bringing it to hold against her cheek. "I'm happy," she said, smiling sweetly, "because I'm with you Kazuhiko," she said, hesitantly raising her tearful gaze to look into my storm coloured eyes. Hearing what was so hard for this deprived one to confess and meeting the striking openness of her honesty had paralized me from speaking or uttering the few words I knew I should have said. And because of my paralysis, I was vulnerable, powerless to impede upon her disappearance. Subtly, her form began to detoriorate before my presence, uncoiling into ribbons - those ribbons gradually fading, disappearing into the crisp, cool atmosphere which encircled the room. As the last portion of Suu began to uncoil, her faint voice echoed, "thank you." It was then, and only then, when Suu had left the world, that I had felt the void within me which I had never known to exist. She had been the happiness Oruha had filled...and now, both were gone from this earth. {false pretenses} "It was all the fine, delicate work of the Wizards that had destroyed Suu, taking her from this world, from all she loved," I yelled in outrage, rising from the patch of grass and upsetting the tea, "Was it not?" "No, it was not." My long trench coat flared about me as I turned around to glare at the stranger, who, could have been watching this whole tirade. It was my guide, the white haired rabbit whom emerged from the doorway. "Did you know this would happen?" I demanded of him, wanting the answers that I could never attain, no matter how far I reached. His furry head drooped in assention. My blood nearly boiled, angry that this messenger of the Wizards had known all along. I had to ignore the urge to grab the frilled collar of this Victorian styled rabbit, to ignore the image of shaking him into submission. "Then why? Why destroy Suu?" I seethed, my voice resonating in the false environment, frightening and sending the mechanical birds in flight from their tree boughs. Red eyes glared unwearily at me, unafraid of this tall, statuesque man who could very well harm the small rabbit in anger. The messenger stood its ground, invading my mind with the red of his eyes, speaking calmly, "They did not terminate her. Your pretenses of her being are wrong...neither was it her death you had just experienced. Her death had occured long ago - the day in which you and Suu had sparred with the Wizards and Barus," he paused, noting the grave expression I had, "Beyond all of us, Suu had known you best in those short days. She saw into your heart and found, her happiness." I followed the white rabbit as he walked across the grass and up the stairs that led to Suu's open air sleeping quarters. He grasped the gold base that lay on her nightstand and bade me to open my palm, in which he promptly placed the heavy piece of machinery. "I was Suu's caretaker for the years she had been here. This was the only song she would play, as you are very well aware of, I'm sure," he paused again, stopping to catch his breath and to look at me, "the apparition you were conversing with, well, it was her last request and Grandmother Kou had granted it. That much is all I know. Its purpose is uncertain. Perhaps, she knew something about you that you did not know yourself." {verite} The iron gate swung closed behind me as I stepped out into the sidewalk. The sunlight streamed down, caressing the faces of the many people of this city. I lifted the small base to my inspection and pressed the button, waiting for the familiar fairy to lament in her song. She materialized as I had expected, the flowing spiral curls spilling across her shoulders as she sang with half closed eyes... [I want happiness I seek happiness to cause your happiness to be your happiness] so take me someplace far away to a true Elsewhere please take me there magic that lasts never-ending kiss revery without break unperishable bliss take me I want happiness birds sing song of uknown tongue though winged, they still fail to rech the sky a place not to be treaded alone so take me to a true Elsewhere wet feathers, locked fingers, melting flesh, fusing minds take me I want happiness Not your past but your present is what I seek, carefully winding back its fragile thread please take me there I want happiness.] The cigarette hung listless on my lip as the last words had been sung. Its power prevailed over me as I stood at the iron gate. Contact info: This is my first widespread fan fiction piece, so, it's likely to bite. Send comments and constructive criticisms to ColdAgent@members.student.com Rants: I dislike my writing...but I worked on this until I nearly passed out from fatigue this morning (1 am,) so why not send it in? This is very first draft, so there's lack of vocabulary (like I had any to begin with... ^^;), transition (I bite at that) and grammar (trust me...all the english you need is in high school. There's nothing to learn beyond that.) But like the majority of unhappy people in this world, I dislike myself and my writing. It's a miracle I actually had the gall to send this in to people other than my close friends. Thanks: to CLAMP for creating such interesting stories and depicting/drawing/penning/coloring beautiful scenery and characters. And for allowing us to do this without suing our butts off. ^_^; to my friends for putting up with my barrage of fiction. be aware...they all read the same. to the people who translated the volumes of Clover, Fuu and Kristin, because I would never be able to get the future and present tenses right if it weren't for your translations...and to continue reading Clover if I had not understood from the first book. to the CLAMP fan fiction authors. everything you guys write, wow. I can't even hold a match to you guys. ^-^ and to the last, but not the least, to all that took the time to read this piece. I admit, although I love this piece for all its worth, it is still not satisfactory, really. It lacks emotion and detail. In order for one to appreciate this fiction, even minutely appreciate this, mellow or melancholy music is needed. Well, that's how I worked this fiction. ^^; oh, and to JPOP artists Da Pump, Do As Infinity, every little thing, Glay, Namie Amuro, Judy and Mary, Hysteric Blue, Kuraki Mai and Ayumi Hamasaki for your songs that have kept me company throughout the long duration in which I wrote this fiction. Bibliography: Author. Title,Volume. Editor. Translator. Location:Publisher, Publication date. ISBN # CLAMP. Clover, Vol.1. Ed. Hideki Yamanouchi. Trans. Tetsuto Sokura. Japan: Kodansha, 1997. ISBN 4-06-340001-8 CLAMP. Clover, Vol.2. Ed. Hideki Yamanouchi. Trans. Tetsuto Sokura. Japan: Kodansha, 1997. ISBN4-06-340002-6 CLAMP. Clover, Vol.3. Ed. Hideki Yamanouchi. Trans. Tetsuto Sokura. Japan: Kodansha, 1998. ISBN 4-06-340018-2 CLAMP. Clover, Vol.4. Ed. Hideki Yamanouchi. Trans. Tetsuto Sokura. Japan: Kodansha, 1999. ISBN 4-06-340034-4</pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>