.hack//SIGN Fan Fiction ❯ Yasashii Yoake (Gentle Dawn) ❯ Waiting for Godot ( Chapter 8 )

Yasashii Yoake (Gentle Dawn) By Sakura (aka L-sama no Miko)    8: Waiting for Godot   There was another new message on the boards, this wasn’t anything earth shattering since almost everyone from simple civilians to the growing numbers of adventurers and mercenaries used each city’s bulletin boards to communicate with each other. Messenger birds weren’t exactly cheap. However what was special about this message was that it was meant for a certain wayward demon cleric. The somewhat sloppy handwriting read:   To the annoying jerk demon priest— It’s me Mimiru.             So how are things? I’m asking ‘cause I haven’t seen you for a while. If want, you can come see me at the courtyards of Dun Loireag. I’d really like to see you again so please come. Jya ne!   ************************************************************** & nbsp;             “So why the sudden change of heart?” the blonde angel asked coming over to the human merc sitting on one of Dun Loireag’s air docks. “I had a lot of stuff going on,” Mimiru replied. “A lot of stuff, huh? That’s convenient.” “Yeah, I know, but I decided to just play along with Tsukasa until I can’t take it anymore.” “You say that now, but…” “I know what you’re thinking B.T., but I’m not going to back out on this. I’m just trying to be more open with myself by talking about my ideas to others.” “You sound like one of my old school books. So how are you going to ‘play along’ if our little demon friend is nowhere to be found?” “That’s not a problem really. I can still leave messages for him to find.” “As good as that may be, you should know by now that Tsukasa’s not the type to come running when called.” The human merc nodded in agreement, looking down at the grass below her feet. “I just don’t get you,” B.T. said after a few moments of silence. “How can you possibly think this’ll work?” “To tell the truth, I’m not much of a thinker,” the tanned girl said, giggling. “Or a planner. I can never stick to any of the schedules or ‘To Do’ lists I make for myself. So now that I’ve left him a message, all I can do is hope.” “So you’re just going to sit here and wait?” The angel couldn’t believe what she heard. “You think that’s stupid don’t you?” “It’s no better than doing nothing.” “Well, I still say it’s good enough for him if I say I’m waiting. Besides, it’s really up to him anyway. So what else can I do, right?” B.T remained silent, staring intently at the younger girl. “What? What’s wrong?” she asked, not liking to be stared at for so long. “I hope your feelings reach him,” the angel replied, giving her a tiny smile. “You’re up to something aren’t you?” Mimiru demanded. “Not yet,” came the angel’s rather mischievous answer. “NANDA YO?!” “I’m kidding,” B.T. said chuckling. “B.T.!!!!” she whined. “You sure you want to do this, just sit and wait? It won’t be easy you know.” “Oh? Are we speaking from experience, oh wise angel?” “Mmm… maybe.”   ****************************************************** *******   Meanwhile, Tsukasa was still sitting by the sleeping cherub’s bed, his hands wrapped around his knees. He had had another flashback and it was weighing heavily on his mind.   A lone silver haired boy sat in one of the fields outside the tiny village. Many of the village children where running about or sitting having little picnics with their friends. He stared at them, wishing that they would ask him to play too. But none of the other demons and humans did. They never had nor would they ever pay any attention to one small halfbreed child.         ;       “It’s so late,” he said sighing.             Suddenly, a familiar cat demon appeared in front of him, hanging upside down in mid air. She smiled as the silver haired boy chuckled at his mysterious friend’s antics. <<You aren’t going to meet with that girl are you Tsukasa-sama?>> she asked, not liking to see her charge being so gloomy.             “No.”          &nb sp;  <<I think it’s best you shouldn’t.>>         &n bsp;   “Why?” he asked, perplexed at this sudden turn of events, “Okasan (Mother) told me to meet with her in the first place, why change her mind now?” Macha said nothing, just stared at him sadly for a few moments then vanished as quickly as she had appeared. “Who cares,” he muttered gloomily, “I don’t want to go anyway.”              ******************************************************************** ****   “So you’re just going to wait?” Bear asked, having joined the two women in Dun Loireag. “That’s all this genius brain of mine could come up with,” Mimiru answered sarcastically. “Don’t sell yourself short, Mimiru,” chided the older merc. “You’re a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for.” “Oh stop it Bear! I really am just a complete idiot,” she said, blushing. “When they were looking for Tsukasa, the Crimson Knights couldn’t find him, right?” The tanned merc nodded, showing that she was listening. “Well maybe he’s found a special place, a place where no one can get to.” “Well he does have powers no one’s ever seen before,” added B.T. “So having a place to hide away in won’t be so unusual for someone like him.” “Which would make it virtually impossible for him to be found,” continued the blue and white merc. It would seem that Mimiru’s idea may be our best if not only option right now.” “Yeah, but I still don’t think it’s all that great, what if…” “What about going to Helba?” interrupted the angel. “I… had a lot of stuff going on.” “How convenient,” both females said simultaneously. “So you’re speaking in unison now?” teased Bear. “What you’re saying is that your leads were duds then?” asked the blonde. “You form a line by connecting points,” the taller merc began, “When the lines close a picture forms. The more lines you connect the easier it gets to see the picture. However, right now, we have no connecting points.” “Well, I guess I leave all the stuff in Helba for you Bear,” said Mimiru. “I’ll just wait here for Tsukasa to show up.” She then excused herself saying that she wanted to go fetch a quick cup of tea. “B.T.,” Bear said once the smaller merc was out of ear shot. “I feel that Tsukasa may be the key to solving what’s been going on recently. But I fear that if we do find out the truth, it may be too much for Mimiru.” “So you want me to do your dirty work for you?” she asked. “You’ll probably be doing your searching in a different direction. One that’s not pointing toward him.” “You’re pretty good at manipulating people, Mister Bear.” “Could you not call me that?” he asked, obviously embarrassed. “As I see it, I think that your friend Sora may also be useful. “He is NOT my friend,” the blonde denied emphatically, “Besides, I really wouldn’t count on him.”   ******************************************************** ************   The green haired, black clad demon ran through the snow filled forest. Upon coming to a cliff, he nimbly leapt off the edge to land behind a group of adventurers below. Snatching the human priest who had been lagging behind, he pressed one of his twin blades to the man’s throat. “Have you seen Tsukasa?” he asked. “We don’t know anyone named Tsukasa,” the priest spat defiantly. His teammates turned and glared at the impertinent demon. “Is that so?” He promptly slashed the priest’s throat, killing him instantly. Before the either two could retaliate, he warped away to another field. He was in a mushroom and toadstool littered field now. Another group of adventurers similar to the one he had just left were fighting a large caterpillar like monster. Grinning and chuckling to himself, Sora boldly strode over to the black and yellow clad, purple haired mage. “Pardon me,” he said tapping his shoulder before grabbing him and pulling him away from the battle. “Do you know Tsukasa?” he asked threatening him with his blade. “C-Chotto matte! (Wait a sec)” the startled human spat. “Let’s not be rude now,” warned Sora, pressing the blade just a tiny bit deeper against the skin. “Answer the question properly.” “I know of him,” he replied, glaring at the demon assassin. “Good, now where did you see him?” “I didn’t. I heard about him from one of the boards back at Mac Anu.” “Wrong answer,” the demon snarled then slit the mage’s throat. “Dumb and worthless,” he spat as he once again warped away.   ************************************************************ & nbsp; Back at Mac Anu “You’re right, we do have a problem,” the cobalt haired angel said after listening to her second in command’s report. “However, I am loathe to force the knights to do something about this demon assassin.” “My lady, even if it was a short time, that assassin worked with us. If we allow him to continue to run amok, our pride as the Crimson Knights…” “Pride you say?” she interrupted. “Anything else to report Silver Knight?” “About those monsters…” “You needn’t concern yourself. It appears that the sightings have begun to calm down.” “Then if that is the current situation, we may avoid creating further panic by saying it was just some sort of mass hallucination caused by rogue demons.” “I am also relieved that there has been no further panic on the public message boards either.” “Lady Subaru, now that the monster sightings has calmed down, does that mean that the mess caused by that demon priest is also dying down?” Subaru remained silent for several moments, making her much devoted follower grunt with concern and anger. She started to say something when she caught sight of a green and white clad angel waving at her. She promptly excused herself, saying that she had just spotted an old friend and wished to see them. The horned man was about to protest, but knew better than to try and force his commander to change her mind. After having successfully ditching her overprotective second, the cobalt haired angel met with B.T. in one of Mac Anu’s more secluded nooks. “You have information for me I take it,” she said. “Actually I wish to ask you for a favor Subaru.” “What is it?” “You may officially say you’re no longer pursuing him, but you still feel the need to see him again. There is still the need to look into this ‘bigger flow’ of things that has seemed to swallow up little Tsukasa, which may yet devour our entire world. Am I right about any of this?” “Why the sudden interest in how we operate?” “Oh I’m not interested in your little fan club Subaru. Just this ‘bigger flow’ of yours. Of all your knights, you are the only one who actually has any idea how grave this may be.” “And you’re point is?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at the scheming angel. “We both know you’re bright, but you do have a nasty habit of jumping to conclusions.” “Just get to the point, B.T.” “Oh I am. I was asking these things with that in mind.”   ******************************************************* *********************   The scantily clad merc sat on the grass, waiting patiently for a certain silver haired demon cleric to show. She had been sitting there all day and all night, only moving to deal with the barest of necessities. She jerked herself awake when she felt her head droop. “Whoa!” she cried seeing the silvery beginnings of a new day. “If I keep this up, I’ll definitely pass out from sheer exhaustion. Deciding to go look around Dun Loireag, she got up and began searching the various secluded areas where she knew someone like Tsukasa was liable to hang around. However, she spotted a familiar head of silver hair over by the Chaos Gate and a smile lit upon her tanned face. “He came!” she whispered gleefully. “Wait!” she called as the person was about to warp out. The cleric turned and her face fell. Even though, this priest was very similarly dressed and had the same shade of silver hair, it wasn’t Tsukasa. Tsukasa had amethyst eyes and red markings while this person had green markings and brown eyes. “Is something the matter miss? Are you alright?” he asked in a voice that definitely wasn’t Tsukasa’s. “Sorry for bothering you,” she replied, ashamed, “I mistook you for a friend of mine.” She then walked away, embarrassed and disappointed. Shrugging his shoulders, the mistaken cleric warped out. Sighing, Mimiru plopped down onto the side of the path in defeat.   ************************************************************ **********   “Hey toots!” a purple haired merc said approaching the scantily clad girl sitting on the air dock. “You look bored, how about you and me teaming up?” “I’m not bored,” she answered, annoyed. The silver haired demon priest still hadn’t shown and it’s been two days. “You sure look it,” the merc pressed. “Forget it. I’m meeting someone.” “Wait a sec. I remember you,” he said remembering how the tanned merc had brushed him off. “Eh?” Mimiru turned around and saw the oafish merc who had tried to hit on her what seemed ages ago. “You used that same line with me before. Maybe you’re waiting for Godot,”
he shot, slightly irritated, “Well, I’ve gotta go anyway so I’ll see you around.” The merc then waved and left. “So this is where you’ve been,” a blue and white painted man said coming over to her. “Where else would I be?” she shot back good-naturedly. “You look like you haven’t slept at all,” he scolded sitting down next to her. “I’m afraid I’d miss him if I’d fall asleep.” “I understand how you feel, Mimiru. But you need to rest. How about if I sit and wait here for you? Go take a nap.” “As much as I appreciate that, I can’t. If Tsukasa sees I’m not here, he’ll just run and hide again and I don’t want that.” “Are you sure you want this Mimiru? He’s taking an awfully long time to show.” “I’ll be fine old man,” she teased. “You sure are strong willed,” he said in admiration. There weren’t too many people younger than him who were as determined as his shorter partner. “By the way Bear, what’s Godot?” “Hmm? Did B.T. mention that?” “Naw, some guy did. So what is it?” “It’s a play from Lios. A rather famous one.” “Oh. What’s it about?” “Two men wait for someone named Godot to show up. That’s about it, there’s not much to it I’m afraid.” “So this Godot never shows up does he?” she asked, fearing that the demon priest had chosen to ignore her request. “Yes. He doesn’t.” “Tsukasa’s not like that. I just know he’ll come so I’ll just wait here until he does.” Bear chuckled and patted her on the head. “Oh come on!” she protested, shoving the hand away, “I’m not a little kid!” “My mistake,” he teased.   ************************************************************ ***************   “You’re B.T.?” the red clad angel asked approaching the blonde angel standing near the dungeon’s throne. “Yes, and you are?” “You can call me Crim if you like. So why is it that Lady Subaru arranged for us to meet here? What is it you want?” “I want to discuss this demon priest, Tsukasa. And the possible threat to the entire world surrounding him.” “My kind of discussions, so let’s talk.”   ******************************************************* *****   Mimiru cringed when she heard a familiar voice humming tunelessly from behind her. She had heard the stories about the demon assassin and she definitely didn’t want to wind up like those who were unfortunate enough to come across him. She leapt up and dashed under the dock as a green haired demon came walking by. He continued to hum and sat down in the very spot she had vacated. “I know you’re there,” he called in a sing-song voice. “You might as well come out, little girl. Or perhaps, I can,” He stabbed the wood with one lightning quick stroke. The hidden merc below scooted back several inches as the blade came shooting through the planks. “I can come on down.” Mimiru cringed again and obeyed the demon, wanting to keep her one and only life. Sora chuckled then patted the planks beside him. “Good girl,” he said “Now let’s talk.” “I have nothing to say to you!” she spat back. “Oh I’m sure you do. Don’t you want to know how I knew you were here in this very spot?” “B.T. told you didn’t she?” the tanned girl grumbled. “You’re wrong,” he said again in a sing song voice. “You’re all over the gossip channels my dear.” “I am?!” “They’re all taking about a Heavy Blade girl who’s just sitting and waiting for someone. Now, who could that be, hmm?” “That… can’t be good.” “Bingo!” he crowed. “You’ve made it impossible for little Tsukasa to come here by doing what you’ve been doing. Of all the places in the world, you just had to pick this one.” “That’s because he used to come here a lot.” “You really didn’t think about this did you?” he sneered. “You really should have picked a more secluded place like a dungeon somewhere. What a baka (idiot)!” “I know, I know,” she retorted. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just wait for him here with you.” “Hey just wait a sec!” “I do believe I have the right. After all who was it that got him away from the Crimson Knights? He only got a way from us because you were completely useless. You do remember don’t you?” Mimiru hung her head, he was absolutely right about one thing. It was her ineptitude that allowed Tsukasa to go into hiding in the first place.   ********************************************************** &n bsp; “So that’s what’s been bothering her,” Crim said after being filled in on current events. “So if I understand this correctly, this priest from Helba, Tsukasa is at the heart of it all.” “Yes, but if we’re to get to the bottom of this, the Crimson Knights, especially Silver Knight, are of no use to us.” “If you’re planning some sort of coup d’etat, then please leave me out of it.” “Don’t worry,” assured his blonde companion, “I was never found of political intrigue either.” “So what do you suggest we do if we don’t have anyone to fall back on?” “Well, there are some advantages with having just the two of us,” she said leaning her hand on her cheek as she lounged in the throne. “I hate cryptic answers, B.T. so just get to the point.” “You’ll act and I’ll analyze,” she answered. “We’ll be able to gather information much more quickly if we combine our skills like that. What’s best about that is we’d be able to do so without being noticed.” “What did you mean by information?” “Tsukasa is just the tip of our iceberg here. Unless we find out what the other nine-tenths of the iceberg is, this delicate balance we now enjoy would be thrown out of whack completely. That is why Subaru is so desperate to find this out.” “Any leads?” “Tsukasa is an enigma since his powers are beyond the laws of nature. There is also a legend of an item that has powers beyond the laws of nature as well.” “It’s just a legend, B.T. It doesn’t exist,” the blue haired angel said, frowning. Crim didn’t like the sound of that one bit. “Are you really sure about that? Can you say that and mean it?” “I went on a quest for it once. I’ve been all over this world, and I can tell you that I never once found anything like that.” “You of all people should know that something doesn’t need to be visible to exist, Crim. You shouldn’t be using such closed minded thinking.” She rose from her seat and started for the exit. “Let me know if you’re willing to try again.” “The Key of the Twilight…” he mused as she warped away. “This has to be fate. So what are you going to do my friend?” he asked himself, feeling more energized than he’d been in a long time.   ************************************************************** ************   “So what time?” the black clad demon asked. “Eh?” Mimiru replied. “What time did you tell him to meet you? “Um…” “You didn’t set a time did you? What a baka,” he spat irritatedly. “Why is that stupid?!” she shot back. “Where’s your motivation girl?!” “Hey! That’s why I’ve been sitting here for two days!” “Look, girlie, you’ve got to set a time first. Then you’ll be able to last a lot longer. That’s how it’s done. Got it?!” “Yeah, I got you.” “Start thinking more. You’re problem is that you don’t think enough. Well, I’m calling it a day,” he said rising to his feet and stretching his tired muscles – he’d been sitting for over two hours after all. Mimiru couldn’t help the chuckle escaping her lips. “Oh? Happy are we?” the demon assassin queried, glaring at her slightly. The human merc quickly held her hands up in a placating manner. “N-No!” she stammered, “I was just thinking about how bored I’d be. That’s all.” “I guess I stay then.” His human companion frowned. “Just kidding. It’s getting pretty late,” he said noticing the rapidly darkening sky. “Just don’t forget you owe me a favor for helping you with Tsukasa.” He then jumped off the dock then ran off into the highland town.   ************************************************************** *   Meanwhile, Tsukasa was still thinking about the flashback he’d gotten earlier.   A lone silver haired boy sat in one of the fields outside the tiny village. Many of the village children where running about or sitting having little picnics with their friends. He stared at them, wishing that they would ask him to play too. But none of the other demons and humans did. They never had nor would they ever pay any attention to one small halfbreed child. Not even his own father bothered to spend anytime with him unless it was to yell at him or beat him. He glanced over to a mother and child as they began to hang their laundry, the little boy was about his age and the human child smiled as his mother lifted him up and he placed a pin on the clothesline. Sighing glumly, the silver haired demon child placed his head back onto his knees. “Hello there,” said a young demon male coming over to him. “Why so glum? Are you lost little one?” “You poor dear,” his wife said joining him, their daughter in tow. “Where do you live? Would you like us to help you home.” The silver haired boy just sat there, ignoring them. Couldn’t they see he just wanted to be alone?! That he wasn’t worth their time or effort. “Oi!” called another demon couple. “I wouldn’t bother with that brat,” the male said. “He’s that halfbreed of his lordship’s.” “Oh?!” the demon mother replied. She quickly pulled their child away as she began to inch closer to him. “Let’s not waste anymore time, dear,” she said in disgust. Nodding the man walked away from the boy, his wife and daughter following quickly behind. “I hate you!” the boy mumbled as the villagers continued to go about their merry ways. “I hate all of you!”   “She’s not there,” he murmured, remembering the human merc’s message. “There’s no way she could’ve waited for two days!”   ******************************************************* *******   “I know Sora’s right,” Mimiru saidj to herself, still sitting at the air dock. “but I’d never tell him I said that. Anyway, as long as it’s possible that he’s out there, I’ll have to stay here. Tsukasa’ll probably get bored staying in one place, right?” She sighed. “I should have told him to meet me in dungeon.” Sensing someone was watching her, she gasped and shot up. “I can’t believe you were waiting all this time,” a silver haired priest said, in complete surprise. Mimiru smiled at him. “What an idiot.” Tsukasa then turned to leave. “Chotto matte!” the human girl called. “I’ll protect you!” “From what?” “Anything!” “That’s pretty boastful of you. What makes you so sure?” “Ok, I admit it, I’m not sure, but I don’t care. My mind’s made up. I’m going to protect you and that’s that!” The demon cleric sighed. “Whatever. Do want you want.” He then walked away, leaving the now smiling, and much more relieved merc behind.   ************************************************************ *****   Macha sat on the grass, pulling out several handfuls. Even though the surroundings had turned into a now beautiful and serene forest, it appeared that the silver haired cleric was feeling much happier. The little cat demon couldn’t help but worry though. She knew Tsukasa had gone to see that human girl. {Macha}, came the goddess’ voice. {It is best he knows nothing. The higher it falls from, the worse the crash. Hope is the best spice to bring out despair.}     ~TBC!!!~   Sakura: Oo spooky. This can’t be good for our dear Tsu-chan.   Haseo: When you’re involved nothing is.   Sakura: I’d watch that pretty little mouth of yours if I were you. I could still hand you over to Ovan, you know. (veg)   Haseo: Y-You wouldn’t dare!   Sakura: Wanna try me? Didn’t think so. Anyhoo, you know what to do minna. Jya ne!