PROMISES
========
By Kim Lim

copyright info: The characters in this fic are copyrighted to the
almighty CLAMP.  However, the story is copyrighted to _ME_ as I 
thought it up all by my little self and CLAMP stopped the story 
_way_ before it ever got to this point.

SPOILER WARNING: For those of you who have never read/seen/heard
RG Veda---WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING ALL THIS TIME?!?!? ^_^ For 
those of you who have heard of RG Veda but have not yet gotten 
to the end of it, this is the obligatory spoiler warning.  This fic
is based far in the future but it does refer to the ending of RG Veda
and will thus reveal the end of the story.

Additional note: This story probably won't make sense unless you 
already know the basic plot.  There are some really cool pages out 
there that have synopses.  Check them out. Here are two pages. ^_^

http://www.cen.uiuc.edu/~w-ip/RG/rg.html
http://www.cen.uiuc.edu/~a-zhou2/rg.html

(With all that said, on with the story.  Oh, and you can thank
Misa-chan for pestering me into writing this. ^_^  And thanks to all my
beta readers! Sapphy, Misa-chan, Jamie, and Iboshi. ^_^)

(Oh, and one last note: I used the pronoun "she" for Ashura because 
English does not have a pronoun for a neuter and I think Ashura's a
"she" so there =P)
=====================================================================

	Here, in the halls of Ashura-zhou, I keep watch over the only 
one who has been able to bring joy to my life.  Even though her eyes 
are closed, I can see their golden brilliance looking up at me with a 
love I never thought possible.  As I gaze at the elfin lines of her 
face, I see both the child and the adult in her.  As I have done a 
thousand times before, I reach out to stroke the smooth skin of her face. 
	"Yasha."
	Those beautiful tawny eyes open and look at me with a sadness
that tears at my soul.  
	"Good morning, Ashura."   
	"I'm sorry, Yasha."  Her beautiful eyes fill with tears.  "I'm
sorry I can't keep our promise....I just..."  
	As she says these words I remember when she first woke up after
that terrible battle, thousands of years ago...

		*	*	*	*	*

	Kujaku, through his kindness, woke Ashura, thinking to 
give us... give Ashura... another chance at life.  What he didn't consider
was that Ashura might remember all her actions during that final battle.  

	That is what happened.

	When Ashura opened her eyes, her first sight was that of Kujaku---
disappearing.  When I pulled her from the branches, she began to remember
what she had done, who she had hurt, and who she had killed. 
"...everyone...they're all dead! ...it's all because of me!" she cried. 
	The only thing that kept her alive was our promise to be together...
forever... and me.  I told her that I wanted her to live; I still want her
to live.  I want her to be with me forever. 
	For me, Ashura lived.  When we left the remains of Zenmi-zhou and
came across the humans who scorned Ashura for her differences, she
withstood the jeers of the townsfolk for me.  When we travelled across
Tenkai looking for a home away from the people, she did it for me.  And
when we finally returned to Zenmi-zhou so we could live in Ashura-zhou,
Ashura used her powers to let me into her ancestral home... her reminder
of the past. 

		*	*	*	*	*

	All this she did out of love for me.  She never asked me for
anything. But now...all she asks for is peace.  How can I do anything but
let her finally go to her rest? 
	"Shh... I know.  I understand.  I won't ask you to stay here any
longer."
	Ashura reached out to hold my hand.  "I love you, Yasha.  I'm 
sorry I caused you so much pain."
	"I love you, Ashura.  I have _never_ regretted waking you, nor
have I _ever_ regretted having you with me...." 
	You have been my life ever since I released you from your sleep.  
You kept me going after my clan died; you brought joy back into my life.  
Watching you discover life... the joy... the pain... you gave me a new
reason to live.  Every time you met someone new... Gigei...Shara... you
would overflow with joy and you shared that joy with me.  My only regret
in all the time that we've been together is that I couldn't prevent all
the pain you have suffered.
	Ashura drew my hand up to her face and whispered, for the last
time, "I love you, Yasha."
	She is gone.  I look down at the face I have watched a thousand
times. The pale, marble smoothness of her skin... the elegant lines that
reflect her noble heritage. 
	"I know you tried to keep our promise, Ashura.  But since you 
couldn't, it is now my turn."
	As I reach down to kiss her lips, I draw Yama-tou from his
sheath.  

	"I will be with you soon, my love."