>From The Ashes

Ch.6: Reconciliation

	Ryouko Takeuchi watched in amusement from the kitchen as Kusanagi and
Momiji tended to Mrs Tanaka.  <I guess finding out that your
daughter-in-law has a mysterious brother showing up after all these years
is a bit of a shock to the system,> she thought sardonically.  <At least it
gives the two of them a chance to be together.>  She'd been worried about
Momiji's depression when it had become clear that Kusanagi had been
avoiding her, and had been extremely relieved when they had come into her
office this morning together.  She'd offered to drive them out to the
address that Yaegashi had come up with readily, happy that the two of them
had finally admitted their feelings.
	Ryouko picked up the bowl of cool water and set it and a cloth down on the
table in front of Momiji before retreating to the kitchen to make some tea.
 This had definitely been a day full of shocks and surprises for everyone.
Kusanagi discovering a long lost family and his sudden closeness with
Momiji had a profound but mixed effect on him.  Ryouko had never seen him
happier than he was now as he sat at Mrs. Tanaka's side with his arm around
Momiji, but she could almost feel tension radiating from him.  <It must be
concern for his sister,> Ryouko thought sadly.  <He was looking forward to
meeting her so much and dreading it at the same time, and now he finds out
that she disappeared mysteriously.  It's almost enough to make me wonder if
there's some kind of curse on his family to attract strange events.>
		*			*			*			*
	Yaegashi knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably
as he cradled the head of Koume Sawaguchi in his lap.  The position
reminded him of one night at her apartment when she had gotten him drunk
and they had both passed out on the couch.  He had awoke to find her head
resting in his lap, a smile gracing her lips.  He had sat there for two
hours until she had woken up, very embarrassed.  Yaegashi had enjoyed that
immensely.  It was the first time a woman had trusted him like that, even
if she had been in a drunken slumber at the time and it had meant a great
deal to him.
	"Please, Koume," he said hoarsely.  "Don't leave me.  Give me a chance to
make everything right between us.  I was such an idiot to drive you away
like that.  You were the best thing that ever happened to me.  I can't lose
you now.  I just can't."
	Kunikida stood a short distance away, carefully ignoring Yaegashi's
plaintive pleas.  He knew that Yaegashi had been ripping himself apart for
weeks over his breakup with Sawaguchi.  From what he had seen, Sawaguchi
hadn't been in much better shape herself, she just hid it better.  <I hope
that the two of them are able to work things out,> Kunikida thought.  <Even
if they don't get back together, I hope they can get along well enough to
work together again.  I have a feeling that something strange is going on.>
	The sounds of sirens approaching drew Kunikida out of his reverie.  An
ambulance was fast approaching, so he turned back to Yaegashi.  What he saw
made him gasp in surprise.
		*			*			*			*
	It moved silently along the streets, eyes darting back and forth as it
went.  It was close.  It had awoke days before with an imperative burned
into it to search and find Him.  It did not know what it was or why it had
to find him, it just knew that it had to.  Vague notions of unpleasant
things happening if it were unsuccessful flashed through its mind, causing
it to shudder and renew its pace.  <Yes, He is much closer,> it thought.
		*			*			*			*
	Koume found herself in a dark place.  She wasn't sure how she had gotten
there, but she instinctively knew that it wasn't somewhere that she wanted
to be.  She could vaguely remember something about flying and then a lot of
pain and heat, but everything seemed so hazy.  She couldn't move her body
and there was this persistent buzz that filled her head.
	<What's happening,> Koume asked herself.  <Where am I?  Last I remember, I
was headed back to base...and then...something happened.>  Frustration
overwhelmed her as she desperately tried to remember what happened.  <I
feel pain,> she thought amazed as the sensations slowly began to filter
back into her mind.  <But I also feel safe and secure for some reason.>
	Slowly the darkness began to fade and feeling came back in a sudden,
painful moment.  Koume wanted to scream from the sensations that she was
feeling, but nothing came out.  Slowly the feelings came back under control
and her awareness of the world around her began to clear.  She no longer
felt as if she was trapped under something and her head was resting on
something soft.  She cracked open her eyes, wincing in pain at the sharp
stabbing pains the light caused her.  Hovering above her was a face.  <I
should know this face,> she thought.  <It means something to me.  It is
important.>
	Gradually sound began to filter through her haze and she could hear
weeping.  <Is the person above me crying,> she asked herself.  <Why would
he be crying?>  She heard him apologizing for something and in that moment,
she realized who was holding her.  <Yaegashi?  What the hell is he doing
here,> she asked herself.  Koume cringed internally as she thought of her
past with him.  The first time in years she had opened her heart to
someone, only to have it broken.  Never again, she had sworn.  But looking
up into Yaegashi's tear-covered face, her heart melted all over again.  
	"Yoshiki," Koume croaked, her parched throat barely able to produce that
much sound.  "Please don't cry.  It's alright."  Her voice cracked on every
syllable, but it was loud enough to be heard.  She could see in his eyes
that he had heard her, but there was disbelief there.  <He doesn't believe
me,> she thought sadly.  <And after how I've been avoiding him lately, I'm
not surprised.  He may have hurt me by leaving like that, but I could have
at least listened to what he had to say when he called all of those times.
I hurt him too.>  She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she thought of
all the pain that they had caused each other.  <Even if he doesn't love me
anymore,> she thought, <we can still be friends at least.>  She licked her
lips and swallowed painfully.
	"Yoshiki, it's okay," she croaked out again, her breath rasping in her
throat as she struggled to tell him what she felt.  "We both made
some....*cough*....mistakes.  I just hope that....*cough*....we can still
be friends.  Even if you don't....*cough*....love me anymore."  Koume was
unable to speak anymore as a coughing fit racked her body, causing her to
lean forward as her chest compressed.
		*			*			*			*
	Yaegashi was shocked.  He had never expected to hear words of forgiveness
for Koume.  Hell, he had never expected to hear anything from her again,
the way she had completely avoided even talking to him since the breakup.
<Does that mean she still loves me,> he asked himself, his hopes starting
to rise out of the barren spot that had once been his heart.  <I have to
know.>
	"Koume, please listen to me.  I do love you.  I love you more than
anything; I know that now.  I never should have said those horrible things
to you.  I'm so sorry...I didn't want to hurt you...I wasn't thinking about
what would happen...I was just caving in to my mother's demands like I
always have.  But never again.  Please, I want to be with you," he sobbed.
"I need you, Koume."
	He bowed his head over her, afraid of her response, of the rejection he
felt he deserved, and looked into her eyes.  <Please, Koume,> he begged
silently.  <I need you so much.  Please say you'll give me another chance.>
	Koume's eyes seemed to focus in on him, looking unnaturally bright.  When
a tear broke free and started his journey down her cheek, Yaegashi felt a
tremor wash through his body.  She worked her mouth a couple of times
managing nothing more than a few croaking noises.  Finally he heard something.
	"Don't...let me down, Yoshiki.  I don't want to get...*cough*...hurt
again," Koume finally managed to say before she closed her eyes.
		*			*			*			*
	The planes roared overhead as the young woman walked through the airport
terminal.  Other travelers moved out of her way as she made her way towards
the exit.  All of the men stared as she sauntered past them, her short red
dress accented by her excellent figure.  She stopped outside the exit,
taking the sunglasses off and brushing the blond hair back from her face.
	"Something is dangerously wrong here," Sakura Yamazaki said softly.
		*			*			*			*
	"Mamoru, she's waking up," Momiji said softly, pulling Kusanagi away from
his thoughts.
Kusanagi leaned forward eagerly, but was restrained by Momiji's grip on his
arm.  "Let her come to her senses first, Mamoru.  We don't need her
fainting again."  <Besides, if you think I'm letting go of your arm, you're
crazy,> she added silently.
	"You're right," he said with a sigh, falling back into a sitting position.
 He watched Mrs. Tanaka intently as she stirred and her eyes fluttered
open.  She groaned and put her hand to her forehead.
	"What happened," she asked as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
	"You fainted," Momiji said quickly, placing her hand over Kusanagi's mouth
to keep him from speaking.  "You've been unconscious for nearly two hours."
 Kusanagi gave Momiji a strange look, but didn't try and say anything.
<Momiji must have something planned,> he thought.
	"Why would I faint," Mrs. Tanaka asked.  "We were having a perfectly
lovely conversation.  And then that young man over there said... he...
was... Keiko's brother...."  She looked very strange when she said that, as
if she were debating whether or not to faint again.
	Kusanagi was tired of Momiji preventing him from speaking.  A wicked
thought sprung into his mind and he licked the palm of the hand that Momiji
was holding across his mouth.  She jerked her hand back in surprise and
looked at him with a shocked expression.  He just stuck his tongue out at
her, then turned to Mrs. Tanaka and said, "Yes, Keiko is my older sister."
	"But...How?  She's never said anything about having a brother..."Mrs.
Tanaka trailed off into a stunned silence.
	"She hasn't seen me since I was a baby," Kusanagi said.  Noting the
confused look she continued to give him, he sighed and continued.  "I was
taken from my family when I was less than a year old.  I've lived most of
my life by myself in the shadows.  When I found out that I still had living
family...well, you can understand that I would be eager to meet them."
	"I...see," Mrs Tanaka said.  She sat there staring at him as if trying to
understand how her life had been turned upside down so quickly.  First
Keiko had disappeared and now there was a strange man who claimed to be her
long lost brother.  <Can this get any stranger,> she asked herself.
		*			*			*			*
	The trees rustled in agitation.  The corruption was moving uncontested.
Their master had the power to halt its freedom, yet he remained oblivious
to its nearness.  Odd, the trees sensed the corruption suddenly moving away
from them.  The trees did not know where the corruption was heading, but it
moved away from their master now.  An ancient oak pondered the occurrence
and consulted the others in its vicinity.  Something had to be done.  This
was not the first time they had sensed this corruption moving.  It had to
be stopped and they were incapable of moving.  The master, however, was
free to move as he pleased.  The need to contact him was great.  The trees
gathered their power and channeled it in an effort to catch the attention
of their unwitting master.
		*			*			*			*
	It moved faster now.  The scent was fresh.  He had passed this way a very
short time before.  It could scent others with it, but they shouldn't be a
problem.  They couldn't be a problem for it, otherwise the consequences
would be severe for it.  It turned a corner and it could hear His voice
ahead. It slowed down, skulking along in order to avoid notice until the
last possible moment.
		*			*			*			*
	Yaegashi looked down at Koume's face as he held it in her lap.  Her eyes
had closed for a few minutes but she was looking at him again.  She slowly
smiled at him with the look that had always made his heart melt and his
knees tremble.  He brushed some stray hairs off her forehead as he gazed
down at her.  <I never want to see anything but that smile ever again,> he
thought staring down at her.  
	"The ambulance will be here soon," Yaegashi said.  "I'll be with you all
the way to the hospital and I'll be in to see you as soon as they let
visitors in to see you."
	"Thanks," she croaked out.  "I'm glad we finally...*cough*...made up."
	"So am I, Koume," Yaegashi replied stroking her cheek gently.  "I felt
like if I hadn't made up with you then something horrible would have
happened."
	A flicker at the corner of his eye and a loud thump drew Yaegashi's
attention.  He turned his head in time to see Kunikida falling to the
ground and a dark form flying at him and then everything went black.
		*			*			*			*
	Koume smiled up at Yaegashi.  <I'm so happy,> she thought.  <I never
thought I'd feel this way about him again, but Yoshiki was so broken up
about what happened that I couldn't help it.  My heart just melted.>  She
noticed a black blur fly over her at Yaegashi, shocked by how familiar it
seemed.  It impacted into Yaegashi, knocking him back and away from Koume.
She turned to see what had happened and was shocked.  A woman dressed in
rags was crouching over Yaegashi's body.  He had apparently been stunned by
the impact.  Koume watched in horror as the woman hit Yaegashi in the head,
knocking him out cold.  She picked him up and hoisted him over her
shoulder, not even looking at where Koume lay on the ground struggling to
move.  She ran around the corner, Yaegashi's limp form not seeming to
burden her at all.
	"No," Koume whispered hoarsely, the tears fighting free off her hold and
streaming down her face.  "Give him back.  Give him back!"

End of Ch.6

Next Time:
Contact


Author's Notes:
Well, I've been working at this off and on for the past month and here it
is.  I took a suggestion and made this piece a little longer so that it
wouldn't seem as choppy.  This will be the last chapter up for a while as
I've got exams coming and I'm going to Japan for six weeks after that.
When I get back I'll get back to the story.
As always C&C is appreciated.

Tim Walsh
Walshtt@muohio.edu