Subject: [KFFDISC] [Fic] A Starry Night's Deja Vu: Chapter 1 Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2001 03:16:34 -0700 (PDT) From: Honjou Mizu Reply-To: kffdisc@nabiki.com To: kffdisc@nabiki.com "A Starry Night's Deja Vu: Chapter 1" By Mizu_Onna Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin! Please don't sue! Author's Pre-Fic Note: Thanks for the comments, minnasan! They were very encouraging. Maybe more wouldn't hurt? ^_^ I hope I can try to make the plot visible by now... ~*~*~ "Misao." A faint, incredibly familiar voice filtered from beyond the essence of dreams, from behind the barrier separating fantasy and reality, below conscious thought. "Misao." It repeated. Midori turned over in her bed, pulling the pillow over her head as if to shut out the noise. "Misao." The voice whispered more persistently. *What in the world?* Midori thought irritably, closing her eyes firmly, reluctant to relinquish the comfort of sleep. *Did I leave the TV on last night or something?* "Hai, Aoshi-sama?" To her surprise, someone responded. And the person sounded almost exactly like her! Midori's curiosity was piqued, and she strained to listen, for the voice of the woman she heard in her head was strikingly similar to her own. "Aoshi-sama, doko wa anata?" The girl asked softly, her voice echoing across the vast plains of time and space and even perhaps dimensions. "I'm right here. Misao." Midori's eyes snapped open. The reason for her sudden waking was the fact that the response of the man beckoning seemed to be right beside her. She glanced to her right, then to her left, then up the ceiling. Everything was in order. Grumbing that she was woken by a stupid dream, Midori pulled herself upright, wincing as sunlight greeted her vision. Grumpily she hopped out of bed and proceeded to do her morning rituals pertaining to hygiene. With a groan she prepared for school, already donning her uniform once she realized that today was the first day of her junior year. Once everything was set, she went on her way to class, with much whining and reluctance on her part. "Midori-chan!" Midori glanced up from the slip of paper in her fist. She saw a girl about as old as her rushing in her direction, waving her arms frantically and elbowing her way across the thick crowd of people that separated them. "Yukiko-chan," Midori breathed in relief. "I thought I'd never see anyone I knew in this." She gestured frustratedly around and crumpled the schedule she held in her tight grip. "Maa, maa, Midori, relax." Yukiko smiled soothingly and patted Midori's shoulder lightly. Her hazel eyes sparkled in amusement at her friend's antics. "You worry too much." She scoffed, shaking her head. Her lustruous auburn tresses rippled softly against her shoulders as she moved, drawing the attention of boys around, much to Midori's aggravation. "And apparently you don't worry at all." She countered. "Come on. Since our school decided to combine the college with the high school, its been a mess. Admit it, in the several years we've been together here, it was never this crowded." She snorted. "It's not their fault they're on budget." Yukiko laughed. "Come on, we might as well go to class." Jokingly she plucked Midori's hand and placed it on the arm. Midori scowled for a second, then upon hearing Yukiko's laughs, allowed herself a small chuckle or two. As they prowled the hallways, the two best friends were so occupied with catching up on times that they barely saw a boy approaching them until they slammed into him. They were thrown back with the force of the collision. Midori launched into a string of curses, while Yukiko watched her friend in anxiety before apologizing to the person she had bumped into. "Don't apologize!" Midori retorted. She craned her neck to perhaps give the man a piece of her mind, when she saw that the very same eyes that had followed her in her dreams were now gazing upon her, fixed in an almost steely glare. Midori felt the blood rush from her face. "A-ano...Sumimasen, Kodama..." The older boy just stared at her impassively, his eyes holding none of the warmth they had possessed before. It was no doubt that he was in college, for he looked far too mature to be just one year older than her. They just stood in the hallway, staring at each other, until another woman walked up to the man and wrapped her arm around his and glanced at Midori. "Kodama, who's your friend?" She asked, not really maliciously, but not kindly enough. Perhaps she tempered it just enough to sound cordial. "Care to introduce us?" Midori felt a sinking sensation at the pit of her stomach as she regarded this new lady. She and Kodama were obviously more than friends, by the way she latched her grip on his shirt. She wasn't entirely a beauty, but her appearance had an understated elegance to it. Her tresses were held back into a soft bun at her nape, and her clear brown eyes watched Midori thoughtfully. "I don't know her name." Kodama was telling the girl. "I've just helped her open and close the gate to her house a few times, whenever I would see her slam her fingers on them." He stated dryly, eliciting a chuckle from his partner. "Ah." The girl nodded. "Ohayou gozaimasu. Watashima Yasashi Miryoku." She smiled. "I'm a senior in college." Midori eyed Miryoku with a sick sense of envy. She was mature, she looked lovely, and she had the affection of Kodama. Why it upset her so much she didn't know; she and Kodama had no reason to be just as intimate. But the sight of his hand curving gently upon Miryoku's hip was enough to send her emotions crashing into the wall. "This is my classmate, Tanoshi Midori." Yukiko piped up, when she saw that Midori wasn't going to say anything at all. "And watashima Shirokawa Yukiko.. We're in...uh...junior year, high school." Midori just stood there, awkwardly glancing at Yukiko, then at Miryoku, then finally at Kodama. He looked incredibly uninterested, and the more she found herself focusing on him, the more uneasy she became. Finally Yukiko cleared her throat and elbowed Midori. "Ow!" Midori hissed, then coughed in embarassment. "Yare...We have to get going to our classes now. Sumimasen." Hastily she excused herself and Yukiko, then with a little wave, briskly walked off in the opposite direction. "Who in the world were those two?" Yukiko demanded wonderingly, keeping fast pace beside Midori, who was almost running. "Why were you so uncomfortable around them? And how in the world did you know that guy's name?" When her friend refused to answer, Yukiko grasped her shoulder and whirled her around sharply. Her eyes widened when she saw the trembling in Midori's chin and the uncertainty in the depths of her azure eyes. "Midori-chan..." She trailed off. "Don't ask." Midori muttered, her tone resembling one of disgust. She shrugged Yukiko's hand off and continued her rush. "Why I should be unnerved by that Kodama I don't know..." She kept talking to herself, and Yukiko had to strain her ears to listen to Midori's ramblings. "Am I mistaken, or do you happen to like this Kodama person?" Yukiko suddenly asked knowingly, crossing her arms across her chest. Midori stopped promptly in her tracks, then glared at Yukiko so sternly that the girl was slightly taken aback. "I don't know!" Midori just shrieked, burying her face in her hands. "I wish I did. It's like he's so familiar, but so far away." She swore softly under her breath and returned to pacing the corridor. "I don't care. I really don't." But deep inside she was wondering why he was so cold to her, and why his icyness she couldn't condone. *Not that he was ever that nice to me in the first place,* Midori acknowledged grudgingly. *But when he talked to me outside the garden, he was definitely much warmer.* Kodama yawned. He was only half an hour into his first period, and already he was bored. Tapping his pencil on his desk, he stared out the window, his thoughts drawn to the clear blue skies of early morning. Somehow dawn held so much promise, and there was an unsaid cheerfulness in its coming. Cheerfulness made him think of good things. Unwittingly he found his train of thought proceeding to the girl he had seen in the corridors earlier. She was radiating that cheery demeanor in waves. Why he was so distant to her, he couldn't really tell himself. Was it because his girlfriend was there? He snuck a look at Miryoku, who was leaning forward in her chair as she listened to the teacher intently, her bottom lip caught in between her teeth. She was just so endearing. He smiled faintly and turned back to the window. Whatever the reason was why he veered away from this Midori, he didn't know. It was almost instinct, as if routine. Waiting for their paths to cross again before doing anything about it. And its not like he hated the girl. It's just that odd sort of feeling he perceived whenever around her. Shrugging, he bowed his head and closed his eyes. ~*~*~ Author's Note: Okay, here's an attempt on the plot. Midori and Kodama are both haunted by dreams that are of their past lives. First of all, Midori's dream of the voices. Kodama'll have a dream similar to it in the next chapter. ^_^ Afterwards, they meet again, have the usual monotonous conversation, then the day passes without them being able to take their thoughts off each other. At night, they both have simultaneous dreams almost identical to each other, about life in the Aoiya. Omasu and Okon will finally make their appearances, Miryoku as Omasu and Yukiko as Okon. ^_^ As for Kodama being distant to Midori, that'll clarify itself in the next few chapters. ^_^ A few notes on the names: Tanoshi Midori (Misao) = pleasant green Shirokawa Yukiko (Okon) = White river, girl of snow Yasashi Miryoku (Omasu) = gentle charm More names to come in the next chapter! ===== "...it seemed as if we were the only people alive between the silky water and the silvery, moonlit sky." --Da Chen in "Colors of the Mountain"