Full Moon Wo Sagashite Fan Fiction ❯ Finding the Gateway to Heaven ❯ Bitter Sweet reunions ( Chapter 1 )

Please do not read this if you have not seen the anime "Full Moon wo Sagashite" to the end. This story takes place immediately after the final episode.

And will thus *SPOIL* everything if you haven't seen this amazing show.

Do I really need a copyright type statement? Well, I, aka Fluence, wrote this little story, but Arina Tanemura, Myco, and lots of other people came up with Full Moon wo Sagashite, so this is theirs, I guess? If a legal issue really comes up, well, I wrote this for my own enjoyment, I'll remove it from public view if asked.

That being taken care of…

Finding the Gateway to Heaven

...Chapter 1 - Bitter sweet reunions...

"Takuto," said Mitsuki again, the tears overflowing from her heart and spilling softly onto the concrete below.

Takuto merely glanced at her for a moment, his shocked expression becoming one of puzzlement, then a feint of disinterest as he looked away. The feather in his hands slowly fluttered to the ground as his brief flash of recognition faded, "Are you a fan of Route L? You seem a bit," Takuto paused and returned his gaze to Mitsuki, "young."

Mitsuki was shocked at first, evidenced by the widening of her eyes and the stopping of her breath. Comprehension soon dawned on her, and she hugged Takuto tightly, exclaiming loudly, "Takuto! You said you would never forget me!"

Surprised, Takuto pulled away, or rather tried to, as for some reason her scent, her eyes, and most of all, her voice, dredged up strong emotions within him, and he ended up flailing his arms about wildly as she held on tightly to his torso. A minute passed, and finally Mitsuki pulled back, her blushed face turned towards the ground where her right shoe was gently scraping.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Mitsuki spoke softly, almost to herself, "I thought I would never see you again, Takuto."

Suddenly on the verge of anger, Takuto shouted in her direction, "And who are you anyway? Stupid kid, do you think you can just go up to any person and grab them like that?! I gave up singing," his angst was audible here, as he emphasized this last sentence, "and now you just hug me as if you've known me all your life!" and with these final words he began storming past Mitsuki, only to find that her body was blocking his path.

"Takuto," she said softly, slowing the tears of hurt from flowing down her face, though a few slipped by to run down her pale cheeks, and hugged Takuto again, holding him in a gentle contrast to her earlier bear hug.

Takuto stood stiffly as she held him, staring down at this pathetic fan girl as she clung desperately to him, and muttered under his breath, "Stupid kid." His hands finally grasped her shoulders and pushed her away from him. "How do you even know me, anyway? You look like you're ten years old…"

At this, Mitsuki puffed her cheeks as so traditional of her being upset, and finally raised her voice in return, though the recent surgery left her squeaking hoarsely more than actually shouting, "Well, I'm 13, and you saved my life, and you can just go on being like you are, because… I love you and …" at this, she faltered for words and turned away, until her emotions finally brought coherence to her thoughts and returned softness to her voice, "you made me Full Moon, and gave me Eternal Snow and . . . my life, Takuto. You don't remember being a Shinigami at all, I guess."

"Shini-GAMI?!" asked Takuto, bristling.

Mitsuki's eyes widened, and she crossed her hands in front of her mouth to cover it as she exclaimed, "Oh! Maybe you're not supposed to remember!" and with the realization that she may again be attempting to defy fate, she determinedly turned back to face Takuto, searching his averted eyes for some hint of recollection. "But I want to tell you, and I want you to remember. You can't forget Meroko, and Full Moon, or even Izumi, or Ooshige-san, and Wakaoji-sensei, and…" so softly she spoke the final word that she could barely even hear herself "me."

Finally Takuto was able to gather the bits of impatience which had been building up since his sudden reemergence, primarily internal frustration at the huge void in his memory, and focused his anger on Mitsuki with the force of a tidal wave, "You're just a crazy little girl, what are you talking about! I don't know you, I don't know any of those names," though Wakaoji's seemed familiar, "and I don't… really… care! I came here to get away and start a new life, now… Leave … me… alone!!!" and turning back towards the shop where he was staying, Takuto left Mitsuki standing bewildered, clutching her hands to her chest.

Not three steps apart, Takuto was suddenly overcome by a coughing fit as pain wracked his throat. Shocked and hurt as she was, Mitsuki's hushed sobs of pain quickly became a cry of concern as she watched Takuto fall before her. Rushing up to him, she held him as his spasms abated, only to have him roughly shove her aside as he attempted to regain his composure. He stood up weakly, and only glared at her meekly before walking off towards the flower shop. Mitsuki stood frozen in place watching him walk off, confused and hurt and too undermined to be able to take even the simplest action.

Soon, however, she quietly walked over to and sat down on the bench where Takuto had been, gazing towards the sun as it sank to the beach below, gently enveloping herself in its warmth and allowing her emotions to be calmed by the soothing waves as they slid ashore. The lapping rhythm as each crest struck slowly eased her pain, and not long passed before she began singing as softly as her voice would allow.

Doushite doushite suki nan darou konna ni namida afureteru… emanated from her, true emotions mixing with tears as each verse comforted her excitement and mixed agony over her first reencounter with her beloved.

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Feathers fluttering behind her, wings acting as sails pushing her ever higher into the realms where she had not gone in her previous incarnation, Negi Ramen's Meroko now floated hazily through her old home in the netherworld, seemingly invisible to everyone, and unable to interact with the props which surrounded her, as if she were a ghost in this world. Confused, but not surprised or alarmed as she might have been, Meroko gently followed the guiding pulse in her heart, approaching a destination which she neither knew nor truly wondered about, but could only feel as the proper direction.

Peaceful, she thought to herself, I feel so . . . peaceful.

Gliding along past friends, rather, acquaintances of old, she stopped as if to speak to a few before she noticed the haste and inwardness which seemed so common amongst them, and instead spun past them as she sailed further along, a sensation overtaking her as if her being were expanding.

Bakeries, small malls, old avenues all swiftly fled past her, around her, until finally Meroko began to feel saddened by the eminent leave of her old home for the new realm to which she was destined, and chose a familiar storefront at which to stop. Though on its face it seemed like all the others, she sat down at one of the tables flung hastily outside, and allowed herself to reminisce over the smell of noodles wafting from inside.

Patrons came and went, some even sat on top of her without so much as the slightest twitch. At first she noticed an accompanying tingling sensation, but it was soon dulled by experience and became a numbness which was easily ignored. Meroko sighed heavily, startling and startled by her startling of a nearby minion of the underrealm. Soon enough she was certain that he was staring at her in amazement, and she turned to him and reached out with her hand…

"Hello?" she said, but he was gone before she had even risen from her false chair. For everything was fake here to her, and she passed her hands in wonderment through the umbrella outside the noodle shop, and finally stood and danced right through a large man carrying a bag of useless items in one of a million meaningless tasks.

In spite of a sense of loneliness, Meroko's cheer did not diminish, and she closed her eyes and thought dreamily of Takuto and Mitsuki, wondering at their probable talking and kissing since their incredible reunion, joy bubbling in her heart as she thought contentedly of her role in its arrangement.

Sighing softly, she opened her eyes to find herself in a strange alley, filled with a white light suffused with brilliant colors which seemed to emanate from all around and within her. Startled, her gaze soaked in the light, and she was awed by its sheer brilliance and her quick adjustment. Confused as she was, Meroko hardly noticed as she entered the main path and proceeded to bump into and knock over a dusty blonde haired boy just about her height.

Recognition dawned momentarily in her mind, but was quickly clouded by a gentle outside pressure, and the boy stood and offered his hand to her amidst a sea of her apologies and bows. He bowed back to her with a grace and ease of manner which caught her off guard for a moment before she regained enough composure to truly take in her surroundings and gasp with sheer amazement.

His "Have you just arrived here?" and still proffered hand went unnoticed by Meroko as she gasped at the endless hazy white towers which stretched through the sky far past the limit of her vision, absolute masses of angels roaming about on innumerous duties hither and yon, and beautifully carved stone buildings lining the immense marble walkway on which she now lay. Yet, massive though the crowds were, nobody seemed uncomfortable, rushed, or lacking for space, a few of the passers-by even seemed surprised to see two people having just collided into each other, as if it were something new to their world.

Meroko was brought back to the present by the soft laughter of her victim, who seemed to be greatly enjoying himself at her expense, and had even retaken his fallen position next to her. Meroko's face swiftly shaded to the color of her accoutrements, giving her sliced hair a light red glow which further warmed her cheeks and face. The boy's hazel eyes widened with this impression upon them and soon it was his turn to blush a light red.

The two seemed separated for a time from their surroundings, alone on the distant plane of themselves, though the brief pang of familiarity tugged uncomfortably at Meroko's heart before the budding love she felt bubbled over, and she pounced on top of him with a hearty hug, leaving him breathless and the both of them struggling to rise amidst a renewed fit of laughter. The tide of people seemed to swell as attention was slowly focused towards the two, causing their peals of laughter to again turn crimson scarlet as they hovered into the air and down the street. "You're quite a beautiful lovely rabbit," said the boy to her, and Meroko's only response was the swelling love in her heart as she giddily smiled at him. They floated along for some time, hand in hand now, before Meroko finally had compulsion enough to speak.

"What is your name?" she asked of him.

His response was drowned by a gentle voice in her mind, however, and so she did not get to know the identity of her first heavenly friend.

"Meroko, it is time for you to complete your first assignment. Just follow your heart to find the way."