³æ¤Èç JGf (Farewell Kaede)
A fanfic of u@V[h
by ÷ (Yusura)
For Miaka. ^_^ You know
who you are!
Author's
Blurb: Yes, I do like Blue Seed. Far from one of my favorites, but
it was still neat. (Personally, I don't think Megumi H. made a good Momiji,
but that's just my humble opinion.). Kaede being without a single
doubt my favorite Blue Seed character, I thought I'd write a humble little
fic that kind of centered on her and Kusanagi's relationship before the
TV series. Comments, suggestions, corrections, monetary donations,
and sacrificial UFO catcher dolls may be sent to ibuki@jps.net. This
is a lot more serious than my usual fics, just so you know. I decided
I'd had way too much fun with Evaflowne, so I went for serious this time.
You can tell when I was listening to sad music...
Hope you like it!
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A
slight wind...
The
red collar of his coat whipped in the breeze, and he shivered slightly.
He sat on the edge of the T.A.C. headquarters rooftop, in a fetal position
with his knees tucked up under his chin and his arms wrapped around his
knees. He smirked a bit at the fact that he, a creature that the
T.A.C. would not hesitate to blow away (especially Kome, that psychotic
trigger-happy girl in the pink suit...), was sitting right on top of them.
He lost the humor quickly, though. He didn't have much time.
He had to eliminate the current Kushinada, and he had to do it quickly.
But...
She
looked so much like Kaede.
The
same guileless smile, the same slightly chubby figure he had found so endearing...
He
shook his head and stood wearily, the folds of his trenchcoat cascading
over his muscular frame. He had been stalking Momiji Fujimiya for
weeks, wondering if he could kill the sister of the one human he had loved.
He had nearly done it, once, when the child had been sleeping. Her
brown hair disarrayed, one arm thrown over her shoulder; she had made such
an easy target then. He had entered her room through the fluttering
sheets over her window. He had allowed the lethal blade hidden in
his arm to unfold, and had been poised to deliver the blow that would seal
mankind's fate. Then, she had turned and murmured something unintelligible
and smiled... and that smile made him think of one person.
Kaede.
He
had fled immediately.
Damn
the girl. She had to die!
He clenched black-gloved fists, staring at the 9-shaped seeds that had
been entrusted
no, forced onto him. They glistened wetly
in the moonlight, and again memories of the young priestess that had befriended
him swept over him... the way she had run her hands over them admiringly
and with such curiosity, those soft fingers that only one so young could
have.
Now,
Momiji trusted him. She shouldn't, but she did, for reasons he didn't
understand. He had been given countless opportunities to destroy
the link that would allow the Aragami to enter this dimension unimpeded.
One quick blow, and it would be over, but he couldn't do it. Not
now.
He
slumped, and let himself stagger against the small shack on the rooftop.
He dragged down against it, and slowly he reached into a pocket next to
his heart to withdraw a small photo no one knew existed but himself and
Kaede. She had turned eleven that day, and she'd been given a camera.
Her mysterious friend, of course, made an appearance, and she insisted
on taking a picture of the two of them together under the oak tree where
they played together.
The
fingers of his left hand, the one she'd been holding in the picture, began
to tremble, and his right hand raised itself to wipe tears that had somehow
begun to form in his eyes. He continued to swipe at them angrily,
but they continued to fall...
He
did not remain long, and later, the Tokyo police were busy with reports
from citizens that there was a dark, shadowy figure flying amongst the
roofs. A vampire-aragami, they claimed it was. The police ignored
the calls.
Several
days later, Kusanagi paid an unexpected visit to Momiji. Lurking
near her as usual, he had caught a flash of white, and his curiosity was
killing him, so he quickly darted in through the window for a quick peek.
She
was wearing a panda today. He had been correct, and took a moment
to congratulate himself on his excellent sense of vision and memory.
"KUSANAGIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!
Oops.
Damn, he'd been caught. He immediately launched himself to the window
for a quick escape, but found himself held back by the hem of his coat.
One could almost imagine a large sweatdrop falling from his forehead.
"Kusanagiiii..."
she ground out, "You... you..."
The
odds were not good for our panty-obsessed hero. He immediately tried
a mulish/sheepish/I-shouldn't-have-done-it-I'm-sorry look, but it wasn't
taking. Momiji was definitely turning a shade of red she normally
wasn't. It was time for...
The
Crouch of the Wild Tiger.
He
immediately assumed the stance and defended himself.
"I'm
sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he yelped, flapping his arms up and down.
Unfortunately
for Kusanagi, Momiji was still mad. Mad enough, in fact, that she
reached for her lamp and swung at him with it. Fortunately for Kusanagi,
Momiji was not the TAC's greatest marksman. She missed, but managed
to tangle Kusanagi's feet with the cord, and they both fell down in a tangle.
It
took a few moments for Kusanagi to realize the position they were in;
Momiji's legs were around his waist, while he had managed to stumble forwards.
Her arms were in mid-clawing action somewhere over his back. Gulping,
he couldn't help but notice that she had a rather shapely waist, and he
realized her skirt had been blown upwards, and he could see just the slightest
hint of white peeking out from under.
Unfortunately
for the both of them, Mr. Sugishita, the TAC's biggest flirt, came to investigate
the noise, accompanied by Azusa Matsudaira, the motherly one, and Daitetsu
Kunikida, the fatherly one.
Daitetsu
fainted, while Mr. Sugishita let out a steady stream of incoherent noises.
"Oh,
my." stated Azusa. "Aren't you a little young for this sort of thing?"
"Young
for what?" asked Yoshiki Yaegashi. The TAC's computer nerd, he was
Kusanagi's brother in the sense that they were both were obsessed with
Momiji's panties. Then, he saw what Azusa was talking about.
"OH
MY GOD! OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD!!!" he screamed, and ran back downstairs.
Ryoko Takeuchi and Sakura Yamaziki, the resident spellcaster, passed him
on the way up. When they finally reached Momiji's room, they were
somewhat stunned.
"G-goodness..."
stuttered Ryoko.
"Oh
my gawd." said Sakura.
Kusanagi
had by this time had come to the brilliant conclusion that it was no longer
safe for him to be in the immediate vicinity, and untangled himself from
Momiji's (accidental) embrace. He made a hasty exit, red trenchcoat
fluttering in his wake.
"Now,
Momiji... I'm sure you like Kusanagi, but... well... come into my office,
will you?" asked Azusa calmly.
Momiji
sighed and hung her head, then left, passing the still blubbering Sugishita
and the rest of the TAC crew. As Momiji stepped past her, Ryoko reached
out and gently put a hand on Momiji's shoulder.
"Don't
worry... I know what you're going through..." she said, and then winked.
"Oh,
no..." mumbled Momiji. They had it all wrong...
And
yet...
Several
miles away, Kusanagi reflected on the day's occurences while he sat on
the edge of another rooftop and watched the moon rise. He hadn't
felt such warmth inside and a sense of being happy since Kaede had been
with him. Happiness was not something he was used to, he reasoned.
There
had been very few instances when he had felt happiness before, and they
had always been with Kaede. His normal feelings were hate, anger,
and aggressiveness, thanks to the Aragami that had destroyed his life.
He
realized he had been swinging his legs back and forth like a child, and
he leaned back on his hands to gaze up at the soft light from the moon...
and he remembered...
They
had both been sitting on the edge of a rooftop that day. Kaede had
been afraid at first, but with Kusanagi's gentle coaxing, she finally came
forward and plopped down next to him on the cold asphalt.
"Aren't
you scared, Kusanagi?" she had asked plaintively, tossing her head and
the blue mop of hair on her it. Usually well-groomed, the wind had
plastered it to her face, making her seem even more childish and innocent
as she swung her legs back and forth over the abyss that stretched from
the corner of the roof they sat on to the next.
"I
don't really get scared," he replied. "Just sometimes." Which
was true.
"What
are you scared of?" she had asked innocently.
He
thought for a moment in silence. There wasn't really anything he
was scared of...
Just
someone he was scared of losing.
"Nothing,
really." he said quietly. "Nothing..."
She
had wrapped small arms around his waist and buried her face against his
shoulder. After a few moments of clinging to him, she had turned
her young face up to look at him.
"So
when the bad things come... you'll protect me?" she had asked hopefully.
He
hadn't been able to answer.