http://clampfix.fanworks.net/tb-fix/dreams3.txt </head><body><pre> Caught by the moonlight, A silent mist, a shimmer in the trees. Oh, what a night for dreams, A night of Destiny. Others are sleeping, So unaware of magic in the air, Magic you weave, just for me... Dreams of a Blue Sky by: Jennifer L. Mondazzi 09/24/96 Part 3: Innocence At that moment, when their hands had touched, she had felt her soul open to him, her mind caressed by his, her heart laid bare before his guilelessly probing, emerald eyes. It remained Aoi's first, still untainted memory in this life. Then suddenly, the innocence was all gone. Her mother had taken her and quietly slipped away in the darkness, never giving her a chance to say goodbye. On the road that night, tearfully gazing upon the brightest star in the sky, Aoi had silently promised to someday return to Subaru's side, and once there, to stay with him always. And now, here they were. Together again. And he was completely a different person. Aoi looked out of the corner of her eye to glance upon her silent companion, her fingers unconsciously twisting the golden band on her right hand around and around. Often, she found herself using the ring as a focus when considering a problem. As she looked up at Subaru now, her fingers moved unconsciously, turning it over and over again. His eyes were locked upon the strange old, spiritualist, who was now walking quickly through the crowd away from them. His piercing gaze had targeted his prey, and he moved swiftly to catch up, leaving Aoi behind, as if unaware of her presence. She struggled to keep up with his longer stride. As they moved silently through the crowd, she considered her partner. She found the new Subaru to be strange, and yet, strangely compelling. Obsessed with the task of hunting down and destroying his enemy, Sakurazukamori, he left little room in his life for feelings other than anger and vengeance. A few weeks before, when at the mountain resort, Aoi had thought she had begun to break through his barriers, but the recent string of grisly murders had hardened him again. There were no more jokes, no more teasing words between them. He spent time each day, teaching her about her powers, but each session was short, and talk between them strained. If she asked him questions outside of the lesson, he would simply shrug, as if to imply his noncommittal to her needs and requests. Subaru had reaffirmed his cause in his heart, and Aoi was shut out once more. Yet, there were times, like yesterday, for instance, when his eyes would burn into her soul as he gazed upon her. He'd appear indecisive, considering something which he alone knew, never sharing his thoughts. At those times, when he caught himself, he would simply turn away from her, and focus his energies on finding his enemy once more. Subaru was in a state of constant struggle, and Aoi felt helpless against it. She longed to help him to overcome his "demons," but each time she got close, he'd become defensive, closing himself off again. She was frustrated with him, and each time he ignored her, she swore she would walk away from the entire situation, leave him to chase his dammed revenge by himself. Yet, each time she would resolve herself to that action, she found that she could not go. This angered her more than anything. She knew that she was tied to Subaru, her recent foretelling had confirmed that, yet part of her longed to be away from the hate, to be free once more. She knew that was impossible, however. Her destiny was already decided for her. "You will protect the last of the Sumeragi, and together, you will defeat your enemy." Her mother had spoken those words to her when she was barely ten years old. She remembered that night clearly. She had just been tucked into bed, and a breeze from the open window blew the warm summer's wind into the room, causing her curtains to billow and blow gently. "Okaasan, can you really see the future?" "Of course, dear." "Can you tell my future?" "If you'd like to know, I can." "Oh, yes! Please tell my future." Aoi silently berated herself. Her selfish need to know what lie ahead had cost her the life of her mother. They turned down a set of twisting side streets, into crowds of people, moving swiftly past them without care for their personal space. The whole chase seemed wrong somehow to Aoi, but she kept silent about it, thinking. Subaru's white robes and her own black, leather punker jacket made them easily noticeable, yet, it appeared, the old priest had not yet perceived that he was being followed. When he turned down another alley, into an area where less people walked, they followed at a discreet distance. As they rounded the corner into the alley, they stopped. Subaru began swearing under his breath. The alley was deserted. "Well, he can't have gotten far," she said quietly, standing shoulder to shoulder with her friend. "Want me to take a look from topside?" Aoi pointed skyward, and turned to him for an answer. He seemed to consider for a second, then nodded once. Taking a few steps forward, Aoi sought an area big enough to accommodate the spell range. Having decided upon a place approximately five feet away from Subaru, she kicked an empty can out of the way, and stood calmly, preparing her mind. She cleared her mind of the outside noise and bustle of the city streets, shutting out everything except a focus -- her ring. She removed it from her ring finger and placed it between her palms, bringing them together. The gold vibrated, gave off a warmth that tingled. She concentrated hard on it's perfect curve, it's heat. Weeks of training had made it easy to attain the peace she needed, and when she was ready, she pushed her hands away from each other, only fingertips touching, until she formed a tent-shape with her fingers. The ring suspended in the air between her fingers, held against gravity by her magic. The large baguette-cut sapphire, which was embedded within the gold, twinkled at her in the light, capturing her concentration. Turning her hands, so only her index fingertips and thumbs touched, palms away from her, she formed the Triangle Pattern. Her chi flowed around her and through her, and she was vibrantly aware of all of the life in all of the things around her, from the bricks and concrete to Subaru, who stood mere feet away. The force of life penetrated her awareness, rushed through her blood. Focusing this power, she called forth the shape of her shikigami, the blue hawk, speaking aloud the words of summoning. "Kudatte, Shikigami Taka-sama!" It appeared above her in a flash of brilliance, flapping it's large, graceful wings, the blue aura surrounding it blinding, yet hauntingly beautiful. The shikigami perched on Aoi's right shoulder, weightless, as spirits were, and awaited it's mistress' command. Subaru had told her that thoughts were shared between a shikigami and it's Master, and so, when Aoi explained her need telepathically, the hawk leapt into the air, powerful and majestic in it's flight, it's aura streaking behind it. For several seconds, Aoi seemed to be staring off into space, but then, the blackness within her mind formed a picture. She could clearly see the small, dirty alley through the eyes of her shikigami, could see herself and Subaru clearly, for the eyes of the hawk were sharp. It flew higher, seeking out it's prey. Circling over and around the tall buildings, the hawk could spot no sign of the old man within the general vicinity. Something didn't feel right about all of this. Something was wrong. Aoi mentally recalled the bird, and it immediately changed it's course to obey. "Nothing," she said, disappointed. "He's gone." Subaru remained silent, but she could feel the frustration radiating from him. She focused her attention once more on seeing through the bird's eyes. As Taka-sama came into view, something blurred past it's vision, catching it's attention. Aoi gasped aloud, as she realized what it was. "Subaru!" she called out, suddenly frightened to the core of her being. "It's Seishirou, he's here!" She turned to him, her face pale and her eyes wide with fear. "You're sure?" he asked, suddenly alert. She felt him build his power up, having it surround them both quickly. Aoi nodded once. "It's a sakura blossom." A tremendous urgency filled her, causing her to shake all over. She telepathically called her shikigami to return as quickly as possible. Aoi knew something terrible was about to happen. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain tear through her left arm. Crying out in pain, she grabbed onto it, dropping the ring accidentally. It struck the ground, and rolled away from her before she could reach for it. She felt the warm trickle of blood meander down her arm, through her fingers. As she bent to retrieve the ring, again she was struck, and this time, the pain shot up her right leg, knocking her to her knees. "Subaru, help Taka-sama, please!" she cried out, as she felt her shikigami taking hit after hit from an unseen source. The pain pierced her back, her face, her stomach. In each spot, her blood flowed freely, pooling at her feet. She tried again and again to stand up, to reach the ring, but the attacks were relentless. She coughed up blood, as she was hit brutally once more, causing vomit to rise in her throat. The world spun, and she collapsed onto the ground, her lungs burning, her vision swirling around her. One thought kept going through her head: Sakurazukamori was trying to destroy Taka-sama. If he succeeded, she would die also. I must get the ring! She stretched for it, but there was no strength left, no energy to move beyond where she lay. Still she tried, the tears flowing down her cheeks in frustration. Suddenly, she felt a prickling on the back of her neck as Subaru released his own shikigami into the sky. Within moments, the attacks had stopped, and the cries of her wounded hawk and Subaru's doves were the only sounds she could hear. It was so hard not to close her eyes. Everything hurt. "Aoi-chan!" Subaru cried out, kneeling beside her, gently lifting her to his chest and cradling her head against him. She could barely see him, the tears blurred her vision. His eyes showed concern for her. "Aoi-chan, hang on." "Su...ba...ru.." The world went black. TO BE CONTINUED... -------------------------------------------------------------------- Author's Notes: ALL FOREIGN WORDS ARE IN JAPANESE, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED BELOW. 1. "Okaasan" means "mother." 2. A "shikigami" is a spirit companion. It usually takes the form of an animal, and is said to be a reflection of it's master's true nature. 3. "Kudatte" means "come down," and, in this case, is a command for the shikigami Taka-sama to appear in the realm of the living, by coming / stepping down from the spirit realm. 4. The term "-sama" after a name usually refers to one who is greater, older, wiser, or bigger than the speaker. In this case, the term "Taka-sama" means "Great Hawk". 5. "Sakura" means "cherry" in Japanese. Sakurazukamori often uses Sakura blossoms to destroy his enemies, and it is a symbol of his power. The song, "Adesso e Fortuna" was written for "Record of Lodoss War", copyright Kadokawa Music, 1993-4. The characters Subaru and Seishirou Sakurazuka (Sakurazukamori) are the property of CLAMP, 1990-96. All other characters and situations are the property of this writer, 1996. </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>