Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Azumanga Daioh Fan Fiction ❯ Love Reincarnate ❯ Only A Memory Away ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Love Reincarnate
A Rurouni Kenshin Alternate Universe Fic
By: Serenity-chan

Chapter 8:
Only A Memory Away

Midori was frantically fishing through all her bags, trying to find her sketchbook. It was then that she noticed one of the bags on her floor was one she didn't recognize. All of her bags were in good condition and fairly clean. This one looked like it had been carried to Hell and back.

The worn messenger bag looked like it had once been red, but it was so grimy and covered in patches and peeling stickers that it was hard to tell. There were straps on the back of it so that it could be carried like a backpack as well. One of them was broken and the other was so badly frayed that it looked like it could snap at the merest touch. The shoulder strap wasn't in much better condition, having been mended with what looked like parts of a dog's leash sewn in. The bag itself had been patched with duct tape so often that it was hard to tell what had been part of the original bag.

Midori wondered where she had picked up this piece of junk at and how it had survived just the trip up to her dorm. With feelings of repulsion and the itching desire to just throw it away out of her mind, she supposed she had better figure out who it belonged to. THEN she could ask how anyone could continue living with a piece of garbage like this. A slight twinge in her heart made a look of sadness cross her face.

'Things like this never used to put me off,' she thought. 'I was such a tomboy... To me, the appearance of something only mattered if it had to do with drawing or building...'

She remembered acting more masculine than some of the boys she knew when she was young. Her mother used to say it was embarrassing to have a daughter who looked like a lady, with long hair and a pretty face, but couldn't even act like a little girl. Her father had been perfectly alright with it and encouraged her in every way.

'What happened to me?' she thought again. 'Acting like I did for all those years and I still became my mother...'

Midori shook her head to force back her tears. She didn't understand why she was reacting like this just to a beat-up old messenger bag. Pushing her thoughts away, she reached down and tried to undo the clasp. It had been scotch-taped and hot-glued back together several times. Whoever owned this thing had to have some kind of attachment to it. When she finally got the clasp open, she was surprised at what she saw.

The outside might be a disaster, but inside it was organized and clean, like a library. The books were all fairly advanced too. Advanced Theory took up a fair amount of space and there were a few CD's that said "Warm-up Drills" on them in permanent marker. There were a few course books on zoology and one on animal psychology. Whoever owned this bag had two very definite interests - music and animals. Then she came across a small, battered notebook in between two books about animal behavior. It wasn't labeled and even if it was, it would have been totally illegible due to the stains and fading of the cover. Trying to find a name, Midori opened the little notebook.

Her hand flew to her heart. It was a collection of songs, apparently written by whoever owned this bag. All of them were sad, telling of love lost to death, the struggle to carry on after such a loss and the love that lives on inside the one who grieves. Midori flipped through a few more pages and found some blank pages. But the whole notebook appeared to be filled... Curiosity got the better of her and she turned past the blank pages. Her eyes widened at what she found.

It looked like the owner of all this had started writing a story of some kind. From the first paragraph, Midori was hooked. It looked like it was a fantasy romance, unlike anything she had ever seen or read before. It was the story of three sisters who belonged to a race of water-people. The two older ones were wrongly convicted of murder and executed. The young one was bound to the village that killed her sisters, forced to keep them alive with her incomparable water powers.

Midori's head was spinning. Who came up with all this and where were they? They had to be looking for all this! All those songs... That story... All of them clutched at her heart, as if she had been like that once, grieving for love parted by death. She wondered why Souzou's face would not leave her mind. What did he have to do with this? She shook her head and stuffed everything back in the bag.

"Oh well. I'll find whoever it is tomorrow," she said through a yawn, rubbing at her eyes.

She didn't have the energy to drag herself down the short hallway to her bedroom, so she just pushed everything off the couch and stretched out. She kept a Polarfleece blanket on the back of the couch for just such an occasion. It had come in handy, considering the all-nighters she had to pull off for a lot of her tests. She yawned and turned towards the upright part of the couch, laying on her side.

She was asleep almost instantly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Souzou was not the only one to dream that night.

Midori also found herself in the same house - again, the bedroom - that she had dreamed so many times before. Also, she quickly discovered that she was not alone. She had known he was there, but a gasp still escaped her throat as she looked up at Souzou's handsome face. He smiled gently at her, his cocoa-brown eyes half-closed. Without a word, he slid his hand under her chin, steadying her as he leaned down to caress her lips with his.

"Midori..." he sighed into her mouth. "It's been so long..."

He wrapped one arm around her, pressing her close to his body. Midori could feel him shaking in her arms as she buried her face in his chest. She took a deep breath, wanting to inhale his pleasant, spicy scent. Instead, the smell of blood and gunpowder hit her senses full force and she reeled back. It was a changed man she saw staring back at her with hollow, frightened eyes.

"Souzou?" she asked, fear gripping her heart in an iron fist.

"Midori, please understand," he whispered, his voice hoarse and rasping.

She looked him over, taking in all the cuts and bruises - the sword slashes on his arms, the short cuts on his face, blood drying on his skin and the bullet wound in his shoulder. Fine tremors hummed through his body, making his lips quiver as he tried to speak.

"I can't stay here for long," he told her, sounding as if he were in mortal pain. "We can't keep living in the past..."

"What past!?" shrieked Midori, taking a step back. "This is a dream!"

Souzou bowed his head.

"Like I said, what happened in the past can't control what happens now," he said sadly. "If I am not welcome here, tell me and I'll leave."

"What's going on!?" begged Midori, falling on her knees. "What are you talking about!?"

Souzou dropped down on one knee in front of Midori, reaching out to cup her cheek in the palm of his hand.

"I was never a dream," he told her. "I am a part of your past."

"What?" Midori asked incredulously.

"Souzou and I are one and the same," he said bluntly. "He is indeed the man you have been waiting for. That is, if you choose to accept him."

"How is this happening!?" screamed Midori. "This is a dream! It's not real!"

Souzou eased his arms around her and pulled her close to his body, letting her fit herself against him and feel his warmth. She allowed herself to lean into him, unable to deny his solid strength and living warmth. He was real as day.

"I exist inside of you," he whispered. "I live because memories you aren't even aware of give me life."

"What does this have to do with anything!?" demanded Midori.

"As you get closer to Souzou, I will fade away," he said softly. "The same soul cannot exist in two places."

"You mean, like reincarnation or something?" asked Midori, still skeptical and scared out of her mind.

Souzou nodded.

"But why are you... so hurt?" whispered Midori, gently tracing the cuts on his face. "What happened to you?"

"This is how I looked the last day you saw me," he responded, shivering at the memory.

"I... watched you die?" Midori asked, her voice hollow.

Souzou couldn't respond at all. He held her tighter and guided both of them toward the futon that lay abandoned behind them. Midori knew his answer anyway and she started to sway a little, hovering in and out of consciousness. Souzou laid her down and stretched out by her side.

"Don't think about that," he told her. "Just think about the choice you have. I can stay and fade with your memories or you can accept Souzou and let time take its course."

"Just let me keep my old dreams," begged Midori, her voice soft. "The ones where you love me... Everything was so... right..."

"Midori, you have been reincarnated too," Souzou said bluntly.

"What does that matter if you two are the same?" asked Midori, snuggling up to him.

Souzou smiled.

"Would you rather dream of me and forever wake up alone?" he asked gently. "Or would you rather have the real thing to wake up beside you?"

"Do I have to choose now?" Midori asked, her violet eyes wide and filled with tears.

"Take your time," Souzou said quietly. "But just think about it. And consider this: I am part of the past. Souzou is here now."

"And?" asked Midori.

"I'm in your mind, but I can't make choices for you," he said. "It has to be something you decide on your own. Do you want to get close to him?"

Midori couldn't answer. She didn't know what to do... Either way, one man would be permanently out of her life. And if she made the wrong choice, she might destroy herself too. Up until now, she had apparently been living in the past. But could she choose? She broke down crying.

"What should I do!?" she screamed. "I don't even know him! I know YOU!"