Hi there, minna-san! I'm back, alive, and rejoicing… our quarterly exams are finally done and over with! Thanks to kazuwe_katana1 who generously provided me with killer world history reviewers. I was able to survive the history exam, thank you very much.
Notes and Disclaimers:
* First and foremost, due to too much (annoying) persistence, threats, blackmails, and sweet smiles, I would like to promote my best friend ([email protected])'s oh-too-wonderful-website, www.angelfire.com/realm/banished. Don't mind the "under construction" banner there; just click on the picture and you'll be able to get in. It's a blast – take my word for it.
* Greetings and salutations to my "other" best friends – cyanide, savvy_angel, azsudra, and cicely3is. Love you guys so much! MWAH!
* Lastly, Rayearth belongs to the women of CLAMP. Furthermore this story is entirely fictional and dares not to mock anyone who may bear similarities with the depicted characters (my sincerest apologies to mayonaka_survivor and miyu-hime). That's all!
Rendezvous 1: THE SUN THAT WILL NEVER RISEBy: neko-chan
Umi decided to stay at Tokyo Tower a bit longer. Hikaru and Fuu's efforts to coax Umi out of her newfound misery were futile. They had just returned from their journey to Cephiro and had wanted to rest. But Umi declined. She didn't feel tired at all. In fact, she felt her body brimming of energy, yet… still miserable.
Why didn't I tell him? And why didn't he say anything? Umi asked herself as she leaned on the handrail. He simply said, "Thank you." That's all… The setting sun caused a faint silhouette of the light spectrum to shine brightly on Umi's face. But yet, the rays of hope were no match for Umi's gloomy mood.
Tourists started to file out of the observation deck, except for the tall girl in blue… whose eyes were still glued to the setting sun, and whose tears are just starting to fall in a disheartening trickle.
"And there's nothing for me but you, every sight that I see is you Always you, every thought I'll ever know, everywhere I go you'll be…"It has already been a month since the Magic Knights left for their home, Tokyo, yet all memories of battle and victory were still alive and burning in the hearts of the people. Especially for a certain master mage, whose days were spent in listless thoughts and daydreams centered on a certain Magic Knight, particularly… Umi…
Clef tugged on his new dark-blue robe that he has been sporting ever since the day he decided to revert to his real, mature-looking (and incredibly handsome) form. Since the day the Magic Knights left; since the day the one true girl he loves had left them.
He dropped his head, trying to suppress the rising fury threatening to overwhelm him. He was furious… no, livid, at himself. It was his stupidity and fear that brought him to feel such loneliness. And now, she's still gone. She has gone away without knowing my true feelings for her. And… it's my entire fault.
Suddenly he didn't feel so angry anymore… he felt his heart grew heavy in sadness. The cruel silence of the oblivious surroundings made his thoughts run amok in millions of directions. He started towards his bed, which was just a few feet behind him. Never had he felt this much… emptiness. The emptiness that possesses the power to crush his heart and void his mind. The feeling was so insane and tempestuous.
Umi! His heart cried out in anguish.
"All the world is only you and I
Tonight, tonight, it all began tonight, I saw you and
the world went away
Tonight, tonight, there's only you tonight, what you are, what you do, what you
say
Today, all day I had the feeling a miracle would happen, I know now I was right…"
It was late into the night, but sleep doesn't seem to dawn on her. Umi kept on tossing and turning into the night, crumpling her bed sheets. Deciding to keep still, she turned and looked at the night sky on her right, which is clearly seen from her balcony. I need to forget…
Umi let out a pained, silent breath.
As cruel irony would have it, the stars and the night sky reminded her of those nights spent with Clef… those nights when they would just talk abut nothing of significance… those nights when being with each other was the only thing that mattered. Aki's right… I shouldn't have anything to regret…
Suddenly the world didn't seem so bleak any longer. Earlier that evening at Tokyo Tower, the night guard had approached her, wondering why she hasn't gone ahead.
Umi had winced in shame; she hadn't intended to stay that long, or to catch the attention of others – much more a stranger's. But out of temporary insanity and desperation, she still spilled out the entire story (of course not the real story…) about her and Clef. Much to her surprise, she found enlightenment in the simple words Aki, the night guard told her:
"You shouldn't drown yourself in despair or regret because you love. You should feel joy and contentment knowing alone that you love someone, even if he doesn't return it."
Aki smiled gently at her, pleased that his words seemed to take impinge on her, for her tears had stopped gathering in her eyes.
Umi's heart warmed at the sincerity of Aki, in his eyes and words; she felt his heart pouring out with what he had spoken. "You're right, Aki. You're right," she said with a hint of sentiment.
His smile didn't leave his face. "Then I think you should be going on home, don't you think, Ryuuzaki-san?"
She got up to her feet and noticed that her heart didn't feel that heavy anymore. In fact, she felt so light… like she was reborn. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Aki. Ki wo tsukete," she bid him.
"Good luck to you and Clef…" he added.
Umi turned to her side, a soft smile playing on her lips. She subconsciously let out a peaceful snore, her mind now wandering in pleasant dreams.
"Clef… I love you…"
"For here you are and what was just a world is a star tonight…"
Clef had calmed down a bit, his peaceful, rhythmic breathing in beat to his heart. Such sweet sorrow it is to once again remember his beautiful knight… "Umi," he whispered hoarsely.
The long, shiny mane of blue… her mesmerizing eyes, as deep as pools of blue… the enchanting music of laughter… her kind nature, warm heart, and strong personality… the elegance that is exclusively hers alone… he could go on and on…
He sighed. "Umi… I love you…"
Suddenly, a blinding flash of blue light engulfed him and within moments, the light mysteriously vanished bringing Clef along with it.
Author's Notes:
* Ooh… a cliffhanger! Wonder what will happen next? ;D
* Omedetou gozaimasu to me! This is the first "I love you" fic I made, with uttermost conviction and absolutely no regrets!
* I love the Umi-Aki dialogue! I guess that this is a side effect of too much Ayashi no Ceres. Maybe later on, I will suddenly introduce a character named Touya, which is still Ayashi no Ceres-esque. ^^;;
* To all those who still are clueless on the bold and italicized lines in quotation marks, they are the lyrics from West Side Story's "Tonight". Yes, this is a song-fic based on one of my most favorite songs, and yes, I am extremely comfortable in writing song-fics. Don't hate people for what they love to do (am I right, azsudra-chan?! o_o;;)!
* Lastly, review!!! Thank you, thank you! *throws kisses and hugs to everyone* ^^;;
e-mail me at: [email protected]