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Don't Forgive - 6 : Over the Edge.

An X fanfiction by Ariane Kovacevic, AKA Fuu-chan.





Here... There... Beyond this wall, on the other side of the ocean, over the sky... Everywhere... Satsuki Yatouji laughed silently, one with the magnificient machine she and the others called Beast. Linked to it, bound to it as a soul bound to its body. She allowed her mind to glide over the optical fibers, flying as fast as the light, reaching out to embrace the world.

Alone, and yet never lonely.

In the deepest of silences.

Free.

Alive.

She felt contempt as she passed beside the UNO's central system and its so-called invulnerable barriers, not bothering to waste the split second it'd have taken her to unravel the gross web that didn't deserve the name of shield. A shield was an intricate tapestry of wires and codes, of flashes, electrons and impulses, waves and vibrations that merged together to yield a music only she could hear, a beauty only she could see. And there was only one she knew of : her own. Her mind once more turning towards humanity, Yatouji Satsuki wavered for a while between pity for its smallness, its limited abilities to *feel* the world around it, and hatred for the ugly, revolting nature of it. Then, as she often did these days, she settled for indifference, discarding anger since the object of that wasn't worthy of the feeling, and let her mind wander further, watching Kigai Yuuto standing in the room where her body was resting, watching the sun rise over the city of Inverness in faraway Scotland and listening to the mad music of an underground night-club in New York City.

What would happen would happen, she'd accomplish her share of it efficiently, she wouldn't feel the slightest remorse for participating in the destruction of myriads of parasites, but she wouldn't take any particular pleasure in it either. Only one thing mattered, existed : this feeling she was experiencing now, the magic of her very own gift of ubiquity...

Glitch in the electron flow.

Flash over the network.

Discontinuity.

Time...

Slowed...

Stopped.

Night. Moonless. Starless.

Utterly black.

Infinite.

Russet-gold eyes, so beautiful. So deep. So full of...

Blue and white sphere, floating in the endless ocean of night.

So bright.

Shimmering and...

Fading...

Sinking in the utter darkness...

A sound, inaudible.

Crystal shattering.

Echoing in the night.

Black.

As suddenly as it had crashed, the network went back on line, and Yatouji Stasuki mentally grasped Beast's glittering shield, holding on to it for fear of losing herself among the infinite number of electronic impulses madly colliding all over the global network.

Feeling her heart beating much too fast.

Her body staggering under the shock that what had just assaulted her soul had left in its wake.

What had it been ? A vision, in her realm of electronics and optical fibers ? A dream in the domain of machines ? Was this what Kanoe felt when she entered a Dream ? Was this what she had seen that other night ? What had sent her away to a locked room, refusing to see anyone... What had terrified her so..

No. Illogical.

Impossible.

A glitch in the system, an unnamed bug, certainly...

Suddenly, the russet-gold eyes once again filled her vision and...

No !

Activating her primary safeguard defence, Yatouji Satsuki left the bright land that had become a part of herself and shed her machine skin, slamming down all of Beast's powerful shields behind her.

"Satsuki-chan ! What ?..."

She let Yuuto's arms close around her, glad to feel his strength, his solidity around her. A part of her laughing at herself, mocking what was nothing but weakness. Eventually, she stepped back from him, and he let her go, silent. Turning away from him, she said :

"I don't know. Something happened, while I was wan..."

She froze suddenly, the rest of her sentence forgotten. All of Beast's screens had gone black, except for a name that kept flashing over them, in blood red letters, all over the room down below the Government Building.

Kuroki Gai.




I lifted a hand, gently parting the curtain of leaves of the weeping willows guarding the entry into a small clearing on the far end of the huge garden of the house the Dragons of Heaven called home. The sun was shining through the canopy of leaves and branches, beautiful, but blinding if one was careless enough to stare at it directly. I wasn't so foolish, but still I was tempted.

Like a butterfly irresistibly attracted by the light.

Uncaring that the very fact of reaching it would burn my wings...

Kill me...

If only... I chased the futile thought away, and shook my head, feeling my mind trapped into an endless loop, thinking about the same things over and over again, unable to win through to determine any answer to questions that kept taunting it... Or unable to truly accept the only answers I knew as the last say on the matter.

Damnit...

I sighed heavily, and suddenly looked fixedly at a maple tree on the other side of the clearing, distantly admiring the fiery colours of its leaves, perfect mix of green, gold and chestnut brown. Autumn could be a beautiful season, so much richer than the others... On impulse, I went to the tree and started climbing it. I didn't go high, content to sit on a branch some two and a half meters from the ground, leaning my back against the trunk and closing my eyes.

Focusing on the warm feeling of the sunlight on my face.

Drinking in an abrupt sensation of peace and loneliness, of freedom, breathing the tree's perfume all around me. It was a strange place, this garden. This house... These people... I had been watching them live for eight days now, and I hadn't yet managed to understand them. Defenders of the human race, Dragons... Destined to fight the other half of themselves in a ritual combat I couldn't help finding barbaric and stupid. Unfair. They knew their enemy, they knew who they were, and yet they lived on, teenagers going to school, busninessman going to the office everyday, monk meditating, exorcist chasing angry spirits and freeing people from curses...

Why ?

Why were they waiting ? What goal could it serve ? I'd have understood if I had seen them trying to find a way around their Fate, but no... They just... lived on... And I...

I was doing exactly the same.

My fingers closed around the branch and squeezed, closing my eyes. I too knew which path was laid before me, and yet I had stopped along the way. As if somehow that could be enough to prevent the future from happening. I had let myself stay in this house, walk this garden, sleep, eat... I had tried to shut myself out of the flow of life all around us. Like them... I had closed a door, secretely hoping it would prove enough.

Fool that I was.

Poor crazy fool...

A door could be closed, yes, it could even be locked... But it could also be forced open, and I *knew* no lock could prevent mine from being forced. I knew... Breathing slowly, painfully, I opened my eyes and faced the truth.

Faced my fear, my terror.

My refusal.

And buried them.

It was high time I gathered what strength and courage I had, and moved on, before I let my soul be caught and lulled by the feeling of peace of this place, before...

The Dark rose within me.

"Damn the fool..."

I started as I heard the faint whisper, and the anger accompanying it. Looking down, I saw Kishuu Arashi coming through the curtain of the weeping willows and pacing restlessly in the clearing before me. I watched her for a while, and felt a sad smile on my lips as I took in the anger, frustration, strain and fear radiating from her. It wasn't hard to guess whom her sentence had been directed to. Unwilling to spy on her like this, I jumped down the maple tree, and she abrutply turned towards me, asking sharply :

"Who ?..."

The dangerous light faded from her eyes as she recognized me, and I bowed my head slightly, saying quietly :

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to intrude, so I think it's better for me to leave this place now..."

I made to walk away, but stopped in the middle of the first step. Perhaps, just perhaps I could try to apply my promise to them all and... I turned to face her, and asked her gently :

"Why are you so angry, Kishuu-san ?"

She snorted .

"I'm not angry, just annoyed..."

She smiled bitterly.

"And I think you know very well why."

I shook my head, locking my eyes to hers and replying :

"No, I don't, I don't understand or know the true reason of the pain that keeps rising in your heart."

She looked away, silent for a long while, and finally faced me again. She said in a tight voice :

"We're destined to fight, and lose our lives. There can be no place for anything else, I have no right to let anything else stand in the way, if emotions fog my mind or make me hesitate, even during the briefest of instants, when the time comes I'll fail..."

She bowed her head and whispered softly, sadly :

"And the fool is decided to give his life for mine, to sacrifice himself... Nothing I do or say seems to have bearing on this decision of his, it's..."

So... I walked away form her, and stopped on the edge of the clearing, saying without facing her :

"Kishuu-san, no matter what you think, your mind as it is is fogged, even I can see it. There is no sense in denying the truth of your heart, it won't change anything, but to lock it in, it means you hurt both yourself and him, you impair two persons... Admitting you could truly do it, locking your love away won't make his love for you disappear. Love isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength, it can only fuel your resolve, it can only give you a true goal, a true reason to fight, and survive..."

Oh damnit, this was so hard... So absurd, my words... I desperately tried to close my heart to emotions and pain as I went on :

"It won't change you, or make you forget what you believe in, what you're fighting for... It'll only enrich you, and give you hope along determination and resolve to fight until death. What makes people win in the end, Kishuu-san, is hope. Not willingness to die. It's hope..."

I fought down the tears burning my eyes, willing my voice to remain steady.

"Always hope..."

I left the clearing, allowing the tears to run down my cheeks, unable to restrain them any longer.

Shame engulfing my soul. Self-contempt, self-hatred...

Pain...

Liar...

No...

Despicable liar...

No ! I denied the hissing voice within and its fury, its black hatred reaching out, I denied the darkness clawing at my heart, I denied despair and the cry in my throat.

I had lied to her, I had lied to Kishuu Arashi, I had done all I could to spark hope in her heart, hope that was a mockery, hope *I* would shatter with my own hands, but it was the only thing I could do. The only way I could perhaps keep a promise that anyone would have found laughable. Her Fate was sealed, like everyone's, but this way, she might gather enough trust in herself to open her heart...

"Why did you tell me this, Kuroki-san ?"

I froze, hearing her voice. She had followed me beyond the weeping willow, she... I couldn't confront her, I couldn't let her see the grief and shame clearly marked on my face. I whispered, lifting my head to watch the sunlight directly :

"It was just a whim, Kishuu-san, a senseless whim... For a fraction of a second, I wished to see the sun shine as brightly in all your hearts as it's shining on us now... For the briefest of instants, I wished to see all of you truly happy..."

I smiled through the tears, thinking I had been right.

Staring right at the sun hurt.

It hurt like hell.




I slid the kitchen door open silently, head bowed, my heart still heavy after my discussion with Kishuu Arashi. Damnit, why couldn't I detach myself from all this ? Why couldn't I help tasting iron in my mouth each time I pretended hope existed, each time I lied to them, each time I deceived them ? It wasn't my fault if they stubbornly refused to believe what I had told them on the first day. They had known, from that moment on, and they hadn't acted on the knowledge. It was their decision, not mine.

Not mine !

I bit my lower lip, shaking my head. Excuses, pale excuses... The truth was that I couldn't bear being a fraud, that I wasn't strong enough to bear all the consequences of my decision. And my inner contradictions were opening cracks in the shields around my soul, cracks from where the laughing darkness could reach out more easily... I took a glass on the side of the sink, filled it with water and drank slowly.

I had to leave this place.

Now.

It was far too late to walk back on my decision, and crazy to stay here. They were a danger to my control, at least as much as time was. I set the glass down, and went out of the kitchen, not daring to wait a moment longer, for fear I'd manage to lie to myself again and convince myself not to go.

I had a destiny to fulfill, hadn't I ?

I stopped on the threshold of the living-room, seeing Kasumi Karen and Aoki Seiichirou quietly talking, their faces turned towards the garden.

The luminous smile on Kasumi Karen's face...

This mixture of pure happiness and pain...

Aoki Seiichirou half-turned towards me, bowing his head and smiling.

"Kuroki-san..."

I bowed as well, saying apologetically :

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to distrub you, I had no idea there was anyone in this room..."

He waved the apology aside.

"You certainly don't disturb us, Kuroki-san, and besides I have to go now, I'm already late, my family will be worried about me..."

With that, he bowed to both me and Kasumi Karen, and left the living-room. She watched him go, her gaze fixed on his back, her eyes deep pools of gold troubled by a cruel wind. I looked at her, allowing silence to claim the air around us, and wondered how many persons would have seen her as I was seeing her now.

Lonely figure, standing absolutely still.

Tense, like a bow bent so harshly it was about to break.

Longing and sorrow carved on her stance and expression, her eyes sparkling with tears that would never be shed, couldn't be shed...

Held no meaning.

No sense.

It lasted only for a few seconds, and then she broke the spell, turning back towards me and smiling. Once more a beautiful, seducing young woman, at ease in any kind of environment, with everyone.

In control...

I shook my head, repeating :

"I'm sorry, really, I didn't mean to intrude."

She chukled softly.

"As Aoki-san, told you, you have no reason to be sorry..."

She looked out at the blue sky.

"You didn't disturb anything, anything at all..."

I should have left the room at that moment, I knew I was intruding, if only on her pain. But instead, I told her gently :

"Oh yes I did, and I regret it..."

She looked at me, and sighed slightly.

"There's not much that can be hidden from those eyes of yours, is there ?"

I smiled at her, then looked out the window, replying :

"No, there isn't."

There was a long silence, and eventually she went to sit in one of the sofas. She stared off into space, whispering :

"I don't smoke, but still I'd give much to have a cigarette right now... Holding it and smoking it would occupy my mind, focus it on something else..."

She smiled sadly, adding :

"It's always been too late, everything's always been too late... Have you ever had this feeling, Kuroki-san, that your life somehow flows with a different rythm from everyone else's, and that because of this you always come too late to events, encounters, moments that should have mattered... When you get there the choice you should have had has suddenly stopped existing, the chance that should have been has been replaced by a single path you can't do anything but follow..."

I turned to face her in a deliberately slow movement, busy fighting the echoes her words had reawakened within me. I looked at her, and felt strangely close to her, felt an odd kinship with this young woman sitting in front of me. We faced each other for a few seconds, and then I sighed, bowing my head and saying in a carefully controlled voice :

"You can't imagine how often I've had this feeling, Kasumi-san..."

I started as a hand touched my right forearm, and wondered how she had managed to stand and walk up to me without my being aware of it. I lifted my head to confront her, and lost myself in the golden eyes.

"No, I can't, but I can imagine how it's left you each time..."

She smiled self deprecatingly.

"It's so easy to let it convince you there's nothing you can do, it's an insidious enemy, but there's one thing that must never be forgotten, even if it fades in the back of your mind when despair engulfs you..."

Her fingers squeezed my right wrist.

"This feeling is nothing but an excuse, a lie we make up to justify our leaving the battlefield, a convenient reason we come up with to justify ourselves when we stop fighting because we hurt too much or are too exhausted to go on..."

I stared at her, saw the light in her eyes, the determination beside the pain, and wondered.

How could she be so strong ?

Where did she find the strength it took to face her despair and fight on ?

What kind of courage and generosity did it take to look beyond herself when she was hurting so, and care, share her strength with me ?

I...

I nodded, smiling softly at her and replying :

"You're right Kasumi-san, I know you are. And I promise you I'll never forget this, I'll never let myself bury it again..."

I owed her, I owed people as wonderful as she was to make myself face the truth, and endure, carry it to its end. Yes. I gently freed myself from her, concluding :

"Now, excuse me but I have to go."

I turned my back on her, and walked towards the other end of the living room.

Her reflection in the bay window was watching me.

Her eyes knowing.

Full of sadness.

She...

I didn't stop, I couldn't stop anymore, but still the question echoed within me.

Why ?

Why not use this moment ?

She could do it, she could try to...

Kill me.




Kasumi Karen watched silently as Kuroki Gai walked away from her. He was leaving, and nothing she or anyone could say would change that. Oh none of his words had betrayed his intention, his attitude hadn't been different, but she knew. He and she, they were much more alike than the young man thought...

Or was he aware of the strange kinship uniting them ?

It didn't matter. Once he'd have gone through the living room's door, she would have lost any chance to stop him from...

From what ?

Yielding to his Fate ?

Destroying this world and every living being on it ?

She could call Fire now, and kill him. She could feel power within her, the bright, burning flames ready to answer her call in a moment's notice. Kuroki Gai wouldn't have time to react or feel anything. It would come so fast there wouldn't be fear or pain.

A good way to go.

Merciful...

One she knew he'd have accepted.

She stared at his back, and felt tears welling in her eyes. He was defenceless, he hadn't set up any shields against her, no barrier that would save him if she chose to use the opportunity he was deliberately giving her. A distant part of her coldly wondered if this wasn't a clever trap, convinced the thing waiting within his soul would never let him die.

Wondered if this wasn't a smart way for Kuroki Gai to discharge himself of reponsability in the slaughter he'd bring about.

No... She shut down her inner voice, hating herself for thinking this way. She had no right to look for such excuses. She was faced with a choice, and it was her responsability to reach a decision.

Her responsability alone.

She smiled softly, knowing her answer.

Having always known it.

If there was no chance for Kuroki Gai...

If it was all decided for him...

If he was indeed bereft of choices, if the only way of saving this world was to strike at him in the back, to strike at a defenceless young man whose heart was one of the gentlest she had ever known, then...

Let this world die.

If to win their battle the Dragons of Heaven had to become the enemy, if this was nothing but a holy war only fanatics could win, if this world could be allowed to live only at the price of having them become the same as what they fought...

It wasn't worth it.

Perhaps she was damning her soul at this very moment, yes perhaps... Kasumi Karen felt bitter laughter in her throat but kept it locked within. Let her be damned, better that than saving a world that would as a result become nothing else than hell. The gods who placed such choices in the hands of human beings were the ones who should have been cursed and damned, them and Fate. She wouldn't play along. She knew herself, she knew who she was, and she'd remain true to that.

So, instead of summoning Fire, she reached within herself, deep, found hope, and shared it.




As I was walking through the living room's door, Kasumi Karen's voice broke the heavy silence.

"Around us the night is vast. From our small viewpoint, it's infinite and timeless, but still... There have always been stars shining in it, illuminating it... We just have to look at them, and remember they're there. Always..."

I nodded silently, unable to look back, unable to bear the sight of the hope shining in her eyes against all odds. She knew, and yet she refused to give it up... Within me, mad laughter resounded, accompanied by a howl of pain I wouldn't be able to hold back for much longer. Quickly, I left the room and walked up the stairs.




I looked at the room which had been my own during eight days and smiled, saying good-bye to what had become so quickly familiar surroundings. There was nothing for me to take away from it. I owned nothing, not even the shirt on my back. I checked the light outside and sighed, judging the afternoon was almost over. The sun would soon set, and it was time for me to go. I went out of the room, and quickly walked to a door on the other end of the corridor. There was one last thing I had to do before leaving.

One...

I looked at myself, hand stopped halfway from the door knob, afraid, reluctant to do this, and yet determined to. I suddenly wished to feel arms wrapping around me and holding me close, giving me strength I lacked...

No.

I chased the wish away, and knocked on the door before opening it.

"No, that's not the way, see, this first degree derivative board should..."

Sumeragi Subaru interrupted himself abruptly, both he and Shirou Kamui lifting their heads from what had to be a book of mathematics exercises. I bowed my head.

"Sorry to disturb you, I'd like to talk with Kamui-san..."

Sumeragi Subaru stared at me steadily for a while, as if he wanted to guess at my thoughts, and eventually nodded.

"Of course."

He quickly stood up and left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving both me and Shirou Kamui alone. I walked up to him and threw a glance at the book, smiling.

"Homework ?"

He shrugged.

"Yes, I'm not so fond of mathematics, so Subaru-san gives me a hand when he has a bit of time to spare..."

He looked up at me, his expression a mixture of happiness at my presence, expectation and fear. He let the silence stretch for about a half minute, and then asked me :

"But you're not here because of that. What made you come to me, Gai-san ?"

I took a deep breath, and then sat down on the chair Sumeragi Subaru had left empty beside him. On the desk before me, the exercise book was open, its numbers and figures dancing on the white sheets of paper, meaningless. With difficulty, I managed to tear my eyes from it, and faced Shirou Kamui. I told him gently :

"I had to come, to say good-bye..."

I ignored the shock in his eyes.

"I have to go, now, but I refused to leave without talking to you, I didn't want you to think I'm fleeing you or anything of the sort..."

Suddenly, he turned away from me, saying in a carefully neutral voice :

"Every single day since you've come into this house, I've dreaded to hear this. I don't want you to go, but then I know nothing I could say would make you change your mind... Right ?"

I nodded silently, and he went on :

"You're free Kuroki-san, you know that. I have no right to hold you back, but..."

His voice reduced to an almost inaudible whisper.

"I need you... I..."

He stood up and turned his back on me, unable to go on.

Radiating anguish.

Before I could think clearly and master my own emotions, I stood up as well and gently laid my hands on his shoulders, replying :

"No, you don't need me. You have wonderful friends, they're here for you. Me... You know what I'm not. We were both torn from our other half, but that's it..."

He didn't leave me the opportunity to go on. Abruptly, he faced me and threw himself in my arms, hugging me so tight my ribs hurt, whispering :

"No... No... I don't know why, but I..."

I felt him trembling against me, and gently held him close, unable to help myself. Unable to deny him this small gesture. Understanding him so well...

No, he couldn't lose me, he couldn't bear losing anyone. He had told me so himself, I knew how true this was. I knew his sanity was hanging in the balance, so I told him :

"I have to go, but I'll be back. There's something I have to do, I'll try to finish it as quickly as I can, and then I'll come back. I promise you."

He looked up at me, the deep purple eyes wavering between the desperate wish to believe me, and the fear I was only saying that to win free of him. I harshly closed my heart to shame and remorse, it was far too late for that. There was only one thing to do now : to drink this cup to the dregs since I had taken my decision. So I added, smiling gently :

"Trust me, I give you my word."

He stepped back from my embrace, nodding.

"Yes..."

He smiled suddenly, a beautiful smile that seemed to illuminate the room.

"Yes, I trust you Gai-san."

Trust...

A half truth that hid a lie more horrible than anything he could ever have imagined...

Somehow, I managed not to betray the dark emotions storming within me, and turned away from him, forcing myself to walk slowly. It was all I could do not to flee his room screaming.

In the corridor, I found Sumeragi Subaru leaning against a wall and staring blankly at the sun setting outside. I stopped beside him, unable to ignore his presence for some reason, and asked him :

"You heard ?"

He smiled distantly.

"No, but I knew. As everyone who saw you today knew..."

The emerald eyes suddenly locked on me.

"Beware, Kuroki-san, you won't find the Dragons of Earth to be patient or kind hosts..."

I tried to look away, but found I couldn't. For once, those eyes were focused, truly, laying my soul bare, understanding, knowing... And strangely enough, not judging.

"Whatever it is you're after, whatever it is you're hoping to find that they have, beware of them."

He sighed wearily.

"I just hope you've tried to soften the shock for Kamui, he may look strong, but he's been through too much recently..."

I replied quietly :

"It was never my intention to hurt him, or any of you. I told him I was leaving, and that I'd be back. It seemed to be enough for him."

He nodded.

"Good..."

He smiled strangely.

"Good luck, Kuorki-san. You can't imagine how much I'd give to be in your place. I envy you..."




Sakurazuka Seishirou watched with a smile as he saw Kuroki Gai exit the house the Dragons of Heaven called home. He knew where the young man was going, likely far better than he himself knew it. Chuckling softly in the faint light of dusk, Sakurazuka Seishirou wondered if Kuroki Gai had enough money to take the subway to reach his destination.

Admitting of course he knew where his destination was...

Sakurazuka Seishirou's smile widened to reveal his teeth as he remembered the young man talking with Subaru, and the light in the emerald eyes. As he had thought, the more he allowed time to pass without intervention, the more his prey trapped himself in the web he had weaved.

Perhaps now would have been the right time to bring it all to an end, but he was reluctant to do this before the Dragons of Heaven were faced with the truth of what they had allowed to happen. Then, and only then would the moment be perfect. Still, he was very much tempted to let his presence be felt and draw Subaru out for a bit of a hunt...




Night had fallen over Tokyo. A night like every other, quiet, boring... Yatouji Stasuki watched the city from the top of Tokyo Tower, from the top of the Sunshine 60 Building, and hundreds of other places at the same time, and saw nothing.

Since the moment she had seen this strange vision, she had sought understanding, she had searched through Beast's systems a reason to the crash of the network, and the name flashing on the screens...

And had found nothing.

She had even tried to reach Kanoe and talk to her, but the Seeress had removed herself from view, and apparently refused to communicate with anyone.

Ah well...

An alarm flashed, and her attention was drawn to the network of surveillance cameras of a wealthy jewelry.

There, at the edge of the cameras' range, a young man.

Delicately built, fragile even.

Long grey hair falling down his back.

Damnit, lift your head so I can see you...

As if he had heard her, the young man looked up.

Russet-gold eyes.

Behind which...

Yatouji Satsuki instantaneously left the jewelry's surveillance system, and focused on Kigai Yuuto, who was watching over her as he had taken up the habit of doing.




Stupid.

I sighed in the slience of the night.

Silence... Well, if one could still call this silence. The relentless sound of cars passing by in the avenue was almost deafening to my ears, and the flashing white and red lights kept hurting my eyes. I couldn't even see the stars in the night sky.

I couldn't even see the stars...

I laughed silently, remembering Kasumi Karen.

Wondering where I was supposed to go.

Where to find those I was looking for.... Damnit, why had I left the house without even trying to ask Sumeragi Subaru where the Dragons of Earth might be found ? He at least had an idea, he knew one of them... But then I had been too afraid of staying a moment longer, of losing my resolve.

And I had fled. Like the fool I was.

"Excuse me..."

I started at the voice, and looked on my right to see a tall man a few steps away from me. I hadn't even heard him coming. Certainly, he had to wonder what I was doing there, standing still like a statue...

"The question may sound silly, but... Are you Kuroki Gai ?"

I focused on him, and saw he was young. His hair was cut short, their colour a bright blonde, and his eyes were a blue purer than I had ever seen. He was lean, but like for Sakurazuka Seishirou, there was nothing fragile about him. On the contrary... I smiled, bowing my head slightly.

"Yes... And you are ?"

He nodded satisfyingly, replying :

"My name is Kigai Yuuto..."

Before he could add anything else, I told him softly :

"It's very powerful shields you have set around yourself, Kigai-san. Am I so frightening ?"

He laughed at that, not in the least vexed or upset by my words.

"No..."

He came towards me, stopping within arm's reach and whispering :

"Frightening you aren't. But dangerous... Oh that, yes, and I have no wish to be trapped by what lurks behind those beautiful eyes."

I looked at him, and wondered how they had known, how they had managed to find me so quickly. Not that I minded, I didn't feel like spending a night outside in the least, but... He held out a hand to me.

"Will you come with me, Kuroki-san ?"

Ignoring the proffered hand, I smiled at him. A smile that never reached my eyes.

"Sure."

End of Part 6.


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