Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Will You Still Love Me? ❯ Will You Still Love Me? ( Chapter 1 )
[ A - All Readers ]
By: deathbyanime 
Anubis returns from his death and goes in search of Mia.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Angst | Type: One Shot | Uploaded On: 09.16.2004 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.1K | Visits: 943 | Status: Completed
Anubis returns from his death and goes in search of Mia.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Angst | Type: One Shot | Uploaded On: 09.16.2004 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.1K | Visits: 943 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: Not mine, no copyright infringment intended, no money being made, no suing necessary.
Anubis walked through the woods towards the Koji mansion. No detail, no matter how minute, escaped him. The feel of the ground under his feet, the light breeze against his cheeks. The brilliant sun and the soft song of the birds. Being alive again was a joy. He knew for certain he wanted to share it with Mia.
The time that had passed hadn't been spent in idleness. When he arrived at her house, the first thing he noticed was the new coat of paint, a more vibrant shade. At some point, she'd had some landscaping done. Looking at the changes just reinforced the fact- it had been far too long.
After knocking on the door, he stepped back and waited. Though it wasn't his Mia, the girl who answered the door could only be a Koji. The long hair and the fine facial features were a dead give away.
"Can I help you?" The girl stood in the doorway, looking skeptically at him. He realized he'd been staring, lost in thought, and mentally kicked himself.
"Yes. You see, I'm looking for Mia," he answered.
"Didn't you know? Mia moved a while ago. I'm just taking care of the place for her." The girl still seemed impatient, holding a book she'd apparently been reading.
He felt a vague disappointment. "Please, tell me her address."
"I'm not sure if she'd want me to.. Do you know her?"
"We're old friends. I've been away a very long time. I assure you, she won't mind you telling me."
The girl shrugged. "Why not. Hold on a minute, and I'll write it down for you." She went inside the house for a moment, then came back with a scrap of paper containing a few lines of sloppy handwriting.
"Thank you," Anubis threw over his shoulder as he hurried away, his mind far ahead of him, at an apartment complex in Tokyo.
<*>
Anubis walked swiftly towards the apartment building, ignoring the occasional strange looks he got. He'd hitchhiked here, and during the ride he'd took notice of the many advancements since he'd died, but now he was once again focused on his mission.
He paused on the doorstep. Gods, how long had it been? He couldn't be sure. In the afterlife, time lost all meaning, a day indistinguisable from a century.
'Too long,' answered a nagging inner voice. 'Press the buzzer already, idiot.' So he did.
Bare moments later, a voice answered. A voice he knew so well. Different, matured with the years, but still much the same. "Yes?"
He had to swallow a few times to get his voice to work, and even then it was hoarse. "Mia. It's me.."
A sudden intake of breath. "Anubis?" Then, almost a sob, "Anubis!" He could almost see her struggling to compose herself. "I knew you'd come back to me."
"How could I do anything else? Mia.." He was unsure of what to say. Pouring one's heart out through a call box wasn't the most romantic of reunions. "May I come in?"
The was a long, unexpected silence. When she next spoke, the change in her voice drove icy fear into his heart. "Oh, Anubis.. I'm sorry.. I just don't think it would be wise."
"Mia? What is it? What's wrong?" Even to his own ears, his voice was too sharp, desperate.
"It's nothing. Nothing. It's just that- never mind, it's nothing."
"Mia, for gods' sakes, what is it? Whatever it is I've done, I'm sorry. I'll fix it, I'll make it up to you. I love you." He was pleading with her, pride thrown out the window, and he couldn't care less.
She was talking before he was finished, speaking over him. "It's not you. It could never be you, you haven't done anything. I love you too. I've always loved you. You know that."
"You're not doing much in the way of showing it!" He regretted the words the instant they were out of his mouth.
"Anubis.." Mia was stung. A babbling apology was on his lips, but she continued, her voice taking on a resigned quality with- could it be? The faintest undertone of fear? "It's not about physical looks between us, is it? It never has been. If I'm not quite the same woman as when you left, will you still love me?"
"Of course I will. Death itself couldn't stop my love for you. Nothing in this world can."
There was silence, until with a slight buzz the front door unlocked. He entered, then took the stairs two at a time. She was close, so close. He quickly glanced at the scrap of paper to make sure it was the correct apartment number, then threw open the door.
"Anubis.." Standing there with love shining from her eyes was Mia. From the way she'd talked, he'd feared injury or sickness. He was unprepared for what he saw.
What he saw, simply, was age. Five decades worth of aging since he'd gone. Long gray hair, without a trace of auburn left. Wrinkled skin instead of her once peaches and cream perfection. A woman who'd known far too many lonely nights, far too many tears cried into her pillow.
"It's been a long time, Anubis." Sadness and a fear of rejection mixed in her eyes.
His initial shock wore off, and he was hit with the realization that it didn't matter. He moved toward her, and gently pulled the woman who was his soul into a gentle embrace. "Indeed it has, my love."
Anubis walked through the woods towards the Koji mansion. No detail, no matter how minute, escaped him. The feel of the ground under his feet, the light breeze against his cheeks. The brilliant sun and the soft song of the birds. Being alive again was a joy. He knew for certain he wanted to share it with Mia.
The time that had passed hadn't been spent in idleness. When he arrived at her house, the first thing he noticed was the new coat of paint, a more vibrant shade. At some point, she'd had some landscaping done. Looking at the changes just reinforced the fact- it had been far too long.
After knocking on the door, he stepped back and waited. Though it wasn't his Mia, the girl who answered the door could only be a Koji. The long hair and the fine facial features were a dead give away.
"Can I help you?" The girl stood in the doorway, looking skeptically at him. He realized he'd been staring, lost in thought, and mentally kicked himself.
"Yes. You see, I'm looking for Mia," he answered.
"Didn't you know? Mia moved a while ago. I'm just taking care of the place for her." The girl still seemed impatient, holding a book she'd apparently been reading.
He felt a vague disappointment. "Please, tell me her address."
"I'm not sure if she'd want me to.. Do you know her?"
"We're old friends. I've been away a very long time. I assure you, she won't mind you telling me."
The girl shrugged. "Why not. Hold on a minute, and I'll write it down for you." She went inside the house for a moment, then came back with a scrap of paper containing a few lines of sloppy handwriting.
"Thank you," Anubis threw over his shoulder as he hurried away, his mind far ahead of him, at an apartment complex in Tokyo.
<*>
Anubis walked swiftly towards the apartment building, ignoring the occasional strange looks he got. He'd hitchhiked here, and during the ride he'd took notice of the many advancements since he'd died, but now he was once again focused on his mission.
He paused on the doorstep. Gods, how long had it been? He couldn't be sure. In the afterlife, time lost all meaning, a day indistinguisable from a century.
'Too long,' answered a nagging inner voice. 'Press the buzzer already, idiot.' So he did.
Bare moments later, a voice answered. A voice he knew so well. Different, matured with the years, but still much the same. "Yes?"
He had to swallow a few times to get his voice to work, and even then it was hoarse. "Mia. It's me.."
A sudden intake of breath. "Anubis?" Then, almost a sob, "Anubis!" He could almost see her struggling to compose herself. "I knew you'd come back to me."
"How could I do anything else? Mia.." He was unsure of what to say. Pouring one's heart out through a call box wasn't the most romantic of reunions. "May I come in?"
The was a long, unexpected silence. When she next spoke, the change in her voice drove icy fear into his heart. "Oh, Anubis.. I'm sorry.. I just don't think it would be wise."
"Mia? What is it? What's wrong?" Even to his own ears, his voice was too sharp, desperate.
"It's nothing. Nothing. It's just that- never mind, it's nothing."
"Mia, for gods' sakes, what is it? Whatever it is I've done, I'm sorry. I'll fix it, I'll make it up to you. I love you." He was pleading with her, pride thrown out the window, and he couldn't care less.
She was talking before he was finished, speaking over him. "It's not you. It could never be you, you haven't done anything. I love you too. I've always loved you. You know that."
"You're not doing much in the way of showing it!" He regretted the words the instant they were out of his mouth.
"Anubis.." Mia was stung. A babbling apology was on his lips, but she continued, her voice taking on a resigned quality with- could it be? The faintest undertone of fear? "It's not about physical looks between us, is it? It never has been. If I'm not quite the same woman as when you left, will you still love me?"
"Of course I will. Death itself couldn't stop my love for you. Nothing in this world can."
There was silence, until with a slight buzz the front door unlocked. He entered, then took the stairs two at a time. She was close, so close. He quickly glanced at the scrap of paper to make sure it was the correct apartment number, then threw open the door.
"Anubis.." Standing there with love shining from her eyes was Mia. From the way she'd talked, he'd feared injury or sickness. He was unprepared for what he saw.
What he saw, simply, was age. Five decades worth of aging since he'd gone. Long gray hair, without a trace of auburn left. Wrinkled skin instead of her once peaches and cream perfection. A woman who'd known far too many lonely nights, far too many tears cried into her pillow.
"It's been a long time, Anubis." Sadness and a fear of rejection mixed in her eyes.
His initial shock wore off, and he was hit with the realization that it didn't matter. He moved toward her, and gently pulled the woman who was his soul into a gentle embrace. "Indeed it has, my love."