Prompt 3:
Wham – Last Christmas
I
Once bitten and twice shy.
I keep my distance,
But you still catch my eye.
Tell me baby,
Do you recognize me?
Noboru knew it was all crazy, but no matter how much his mind argued, there was not one part of his heart that was not in this. Still, it was not easy to give all the faith that Katsumi – no, Kunzite – asked for, especially with the last piece of advice given. He recommended that Noboru search the stars for certainty, and that if he did so, it’d surely come to him. The idea was strange enough to haunt him for the rest of the day, but when the sun finally set, Noboru finally figured out how to do it.
In a city like Tokyo, stars were hard to come by. He’d have to find a tall building on the edge of the park, where there wouldn’t be too many neon lights from downtown or even from apartments. It was coming up on midnight as Noboru pushed his way down the empty streets that lined the park, his eyes gazing up towards the blackened night sky. He’d have to find one that he could gain roof access, though with his job as a security guard, it shouldn’t be too hard.
At long last, one seemed perfect. It towered above the rest of them, and looked to be solely residential. Noboru glanced both ways along the street before he went to cross, but as he looked towards the building’s door, he froze.
A tall, curving woman battled with three bags of groceries and the door. He’d never remember that she was wearing a black coat with a green scarf, or that her long legs were covered in pink sweats tucked into knee-high black boots. He’d recall the more important things. The way her bright green eyes, bold and vibrant, looked warmly towards the doorman that helped her, despite the fact that he was significantly shorter than her. Her hair was a bright, warm auburn, and fell from a high ponytail in big, loose waves. He was very glad her hair was up, revealing the smooth curve of her neck against her defined jaw line. Her skin was a pale porcelain, but not perfectly white. There was a flush of pink color across her flesh that made her glow. All of this enticed him as a man, but the moment he saw the earrings she wore, shaped like pink carnations, Noboru’s breath stopped for a moment.
Noboru was sucked into the past.
II
Now I know what a fool I’ve been,
But if you kissed me now,
I know you’d fool me again.
Katsumi aimlessly walked past the very intersection in which he first spotted her. It had been that very sight that triggered the memories and everything that cascaded afterwards. Now, it felt like an appropriate time to revisit the same spot, when the men had finally been confronted. It was a large step in itself but a small one in the larger scheme of things. First, they all had to believe.
The stoic man stood still on the corner and realized, for him, it really was simple to do so. Once he had seen her, there was no question in his heart. He pictured her as he first saw her on that day, dashing across the far corners hastily as the light changed. Despite the danger of oncoming cars, she took the risk with good-natured care. A bright smile spread across her face, and only a bit of nerves were visible in her bright blue eyes. The curtain of golden locks spread out behind her athletic build from a bright red bow, which was the only thing that had changed since the past. It used to be a thinner, more discreet black ribbon. The detail was so minute that it almost hurt him to remember.
He hadn’t expected to see her that day and did not expect it again today. Yet there she was. This time, she waited on the corner but was quite impatient about it as she glanced up and down the street at the traffic. A slight worry marred her beautiful face, though it did not rid her of the bubbly optimism that had always been there. She wore a beautiful orange coat, with a loose collar that folded over itself in a fashionable way. Her hands were covered in shimmering white gloves that matched her white boots, so high that only a glimpse of her tight jeans could be seen. A small white clutch was grasped in her left hand as her right drew up her sleeve to check her watch. She was late for something, and Katsumi found himself smiling at this. Even a thousand millennia could not change her.
Katsumi took at step back, pressing against the corner building behind him, as if willing himself invisible from her. He let crowds pass in front of him and rob him of the sight of her for brief moments. Still, he drank her in. Inside, he knew that they could never be. They were never meant to back then, and she decided she didn’t care about rules of old. He let her convince her that it was for the best to follow one’s heart, and it had led to their demise. Never again, he had sworn since the first time he saw her. Yet now, as he watched her cross the street through flashes of people, he couldn’t lie to himself.
If she wanted to again, he could never deny her.
III
I’m hiding from you
And your soul of ice.
My god, I thought you were
Someone to rely on.
Yuuto didn’t know what to think of all of it. A past life? A Prince of Earth? Elysian? None of it rang a bell, but he felt as if it should and that was what saved him from writing all of this off as a bad dream. However, his methodical mind wanted more proof than feelings or emotions. Katsumi had given them until the end of the week to decide, and that was enough time for some poking around into these allegations. It was his third trip to the library in three days, and though he’d found plenty of information on all three of the other men, he hadn’t found anything about this supposed Kingdom of Elysian.
Why would he? It was more than several lifetimes ago, and supposedly had been destroyed even before than that. The only lead he had found was the source of the word itself, but even that just fell back to its Greek roots and no further. He slammed the book shut, releasing years’ worth of dust into the air, before quickly re-shelving it and leaving the aisle in annoyed haste. Turning the corner, he stopped abruptly with his lip curling up in disgust.
Blue hair? What in the world do young girls think these days is fashionable? He scoffed, ready to dismiss the tiny thing, but could not remove himself completely as he watched her struggle to replace a book on a higher shelf. Rolling his eyes with the wonder why he was the only man refusing to let chivalry die, he approached her from behind and took the book from her slender fingers. He replaced it with ease upon the shelf.
“Oh,” her small voice echoed. “Thank you.”
She turned around, and he fought to put on his most earnest smile. However, it was quickly erased by a complete shock as he gazed upon her face. It was not who he had expected to be sporting blue hair, but now seeing her brows, he realized it was natural. Behind her simple silver framed glasses, her eyes were deep pools of blue full of sparkles, like gazing into a frozen lake. The sight itself gave him chills. Her skin was a pale ivory, immaculate save for a flood of color on her cheeks. Her lips were nothing more than simple and pink, not embellished by gloss or lipstick at all. She was stunning without any help. He felt his face soften as her hardened with fear.
“You’re welcome,” he whispered, his voice lower than he ever remembered it being. “Forgive me, miss, but I can’t help feeling I know you. Have we met before?”
Hastily, her head shook, sending her short locks bouncing around her face. “No. No, sir. I must be going. Thank you for your help.” With a tiny bow, she raced off down the corridor and vanished down the first aisle out of sight.
Yuuto watched her disappear with confusion. That was not the normal reaction he had from women, though some acted a bit surprised at the length of his hair. Surely, that would not have upset her, a girl with blue hair. More than that, he recalled her eyes and the whimsical sound of her voice. Like a stabbing pain through his chest, Yuuto suddenly was overwhelmed with feeling incomparably lost and braced himself against the shelves in order to fight it. He was not sure why he felt like this or if it had anything to do with Katsumi, but he was sure of one thing: that girl could help him. The only question was if she would.
IV
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart.
A man under cover but you tore him apart.
Maybe next year, I’ll give it to someone special.
Jun was not a religious man by any means, so there was no reason why the peace of temples should soothe him so much. It was an urge he had stopped fighting a long time ago, content with the fact that maybe he wasn’t as soulless as he felt, but now his world had been up heaved by three strangers. For three days he tried to wrestle with the idea that he was someone else, lived another life, and everything he was content to dismiss as quirks actually meant something to him. It was this reason that he had avoided temples all together since their meeting. If he could forget his inexplicable behavior, he could forget the three strangers.
But he couldn’t. No matter what he did or where he went, he yearned for some peace and quiet found in temples. He felt like he could sort out his thoughts if only he had no distractions and decipher if this Katsumi had any credit to this story of Elysian. Instinct drove him to a temple, which he kept avoiding. He never went to the same temple consecutively to avoid being drawn into religious sects, and because of this, had knowledge of many locations around the city. He walked aimlessly to only find himself wandering towards one of them and had to press past it in conscious rebellion. It made him angry that he could not escape himself because it only meant that this strange man’s story held some weight.
Too angry to return home and too tired to continue walking, Jun ran a hand through his hair. Why could he find no peace without some source of religion? It drove him mad, especially for the fact that he had no interest in Buddha or karma at all. Everything happened in its due course, no matter how good or bad one was. His pace was quick and he’d have walked past it completely, except that all noise seemed to be drowned out as he did so. The sudden absence of city noise made him stop in his tracks. Looking up the great staircase, he knew that the shrine would be waiting, quiet and solemn, at the top of them. With a look around the street to see that none saw him and his hands balled into fists in the pockets of his leather jacket, Jun began to ascend the steps.
He didn’t have to enter far. Just beyond the gate, he let himself stand in the courtyard and breathe. His anger melted away and, though the tie to religion was still there, he reconciled it with the knowledge that it wasn’t a temple. Jun’s mind wandered to the meeting the other night and began to sort through every detail looking for answers of truth or fiction.
“Get out.”
The voice smoldered behind a forced composure, but threatened to explode. Jun’s eyes opened to find a miko standing a short distance from him. Her beauty was very obvious; he’d need to be blind not to notice her bold violet eyes or the shining of her raven hair in the light of the setting sun. Her features were exotic: a curved nose and soft jaw line upon an elongated neck. Pale skin with dark features stood without movement, barely breathing, like goddesses from old paintings. However, what his eyes were drawn to was her grip on the handle of the straw broom at her side, so forceful her knuckles whitened. She spoke again through dark lips. “Get out.”
“Pardon me,” he said with an amicable bow. She was too lovely to be so rude, but he did love a challenge. “Are you closing? I wasn’t aware. This is my first time at this shrine.”
“And it will be your last.” Her voice was full of hatred as she hissed the words through clenched teeth. “Never come here again.”
“Excuse me?” Jun turned fully towards her, a bit annoyed at her attitude. “I hardly think that’s how a shrine’s maiden is supposed to treat guests.”
“Get out!” The girl yelled it out, her eyes squeezing shut as she did so. When she opened them again, Jun was startled to find tears in her eyes. “If you do not leave now, I swear I will do worse than last time. I don’t know how you came back again, or what you expect to gain by coming here, but I don’t care. Get out. Now, Jadeite, or you’ll be sorry.”
“How do you know that name?” he rasped, his blue eyes searching around for any others that might’ve heard. They were alone, but he wasn’t comfortable with being called that yet. He eyed the rage in her face with her words echoing in his ears. He felt his stomach churn. What had Jadeite done to this girl?
“Leave,” she began but her voice cracked. He realized that there was something else than anger in her reasons for wanting him gone. She held back a sob, swallowed hard, and started again with a renewed anger. “I will ask you once more to leave.”
Jun held her gaze for a brief moment. Her violet eyes were bright with madness, but the tears that swirled in them proved to him that his presence hurt her more than scared her. His own eyes narrowed at this realization and offered a polite but short bow. “As you wish.”
Just before he took the first step down the staircase, he stopped and turned. She was still there, watching him, ensuring he left. He fought against his instinct to stay, to figure out what he had done to her, but decided it could be dealt with when he knew more about Jadeite’s past. For now, there was only one thing to say before he was gone. “For whatever I have done, miss, I am so sorry.”
