DARK ANGEL RISING
© February 1, 2003 By Rory V. Pascual
CHAPTER TWO:
Touya stood under the peach tree in the small woods behind the Seijyo campus, waiting nervously for the Moon Angel to arrive. He was oblivious to the fact that peach blossom petals were falling on his head, becoming entangled in his ebony tresses.
Closing his eyes, Touya heaved a deep sigh to calm his taut nerves. Onegai! Let him approve of me.
He became aware of the Moon Angel's arrival by the sudden rustling of the leaves in the trees around him. As he lifted his head, he saw Yue flutter down before him in a spray of twinkling silver lights.
Seeing the stern countenance of his best friend's main form, Touya instinctively took a step back, suddenly feeling intimidated, his back hitting the tree behind him. It wasn't like that time when they first met. To prevent Yukito from disappearing from his life forever, not only did he reveal his knowledge of the Moon Angel's existence, he also offered his Gift of Foresight and Spirit Vision to Yue. Now, here he was, the lesser being, desiring a boon from the powerful Guardian of the Moon.
He watched as Yue tilted his head to the side, staring curiously at him. Floating towards him, the Moon Angel plucked the flower petals from Touya's hair one by one, in the hope of soothing his fear with that simple touch.
Touya found himself relaxing at the feel of those graceful fingers through his hair. His gestures, his touch, even his scent...just like Yuki.
"You wish to speak to me." That cool, serious voice... Not a trace of the warmth that Yukito possessed. The one thing that made the Snow Bunny more human than his magical counterpart.
"Hai." Touya fidgeted where he stood, unsure of where and how to begin.
Yue simply stared back at him, arms crossed over his chest, waiting for him to speak.
"Yue...."
"Hai?"
Touya took a deep breath and said, "I want to know how you feel about me."
A frown formed on the handsome Moon Angel's face. In all the years that he had known him, Touya had never seen Yukito look this grave. "What do you mean?" Yue inquired back.
Although he had rehearsed his speech in front of the mirror all week, Touya's heart pounded in his chest like a jackhammer.
"I know that Yukito is but an aspect of you," he slowly measured his words. "A different form you had...created, so you could live among humans." Deep inside, he just couldn't accept that his dear friend was just a construct of Magick, a merely convenient disguise. "So there is the likelihood that you may not share the same feelings as Yuki."
"That is correct," was the Moon Angel's bland reply. "I must admit that there was a time that I did not share Yukito's fondness for my present Mistress, who is your sister."
"But what about me, Yue? Do you...I mean..."
"Is there a point to this discussion?" Yue asked with a touch of impatience.
Despite knowing the aura of ice that the Moon Angel always surrounded himself with, Touya was unprepared for the pain and embarrassment that question caused in him. Shaking his head, he mumbled, "Gomen nasai. I didn't mean to bother you with this."
He was about to flee lest Yue see the tears filling his eyes, but cold fingers closed around his wrist. Still, Touya couldn't dare look back at the angelic being behind him.
Yue then said, "I appreciate your consideration of my feelings, but they are not important."
Touya whirled around and cried, "But they are important...to me!"
"I am your sister's Guardian. That is what I am, that is all I will ever be. That is the reason for my creation, my very existence. I served that purpose for Clow Reed, and I shall do the same for Sakura."
"You know that's not true! You're not just a mere Guardian." Touya thought in despair, A seemingly cold-hearted Guardian like you could never have created such a warm and loving human being that Yukito is.
"Why is this so important to you?"
"Because...because..." A deep blush rose on Touya's cheeks. "I am in love with Yukito, and I promised myself that, this time, I will not hold back my feelings for him any longer. I will tell him the truth." He gazed firmly into Yue's stern eyes. "But I don't want this to be an unfair situation for you. I...I was hoping that if you share similar feelings towards me, we...I mean you, Yukito and I could...."
"As I told you, my feelings are of no importance."
Touya was crestfallen by that answer. "Then, this means that you don't approve of me."
"If it's only my approval that you require from me, then you shall have it," Yue declared in finality. "I will not stand in the way of your and Yukito's happiness."
But then, Touya flung his arms around the Moon Angel's neck, drawing him down so that they were face to face. Leaning forward, he gave Yue a heartfelt kiss on the lips.
Please, Yue! he thought in desperation, as he deepened the kiss. Please say that you care for me as well. You may say that you and Yukito are different, but in my heart, I know that you are one and the same person. Yue, onegai! Please tell me that you love me.
Lost in the pressure of their lips, Touya did not see the shadows that flickered across Yue's shining eyes. Hands were then laid on his shoulders, and to his dismay, Yue gently pushed him away.
Touya stared dumbly at his sister's Guardian, the disappointment filling his heart at this rejection.
Then, the Moon Angel reached out and cupped Touya's face tenderly in his hand, a small and rare smile forming on his lips. "Thank you for that kiss, Touya, and I am touched by your thoughtful consideration for my feelings. But I assure you, I am fine with this arrangement. At least, this way, I could get close to your sister and truly be able to fulfill my duty as her Guardian."
"How could you say that this is just 'fine' with you? How could you exist inside a body of a boy whom you know is loved by me?" insisted Touya. He then said with all sincerity, "Yue, my love for you is the same as my love for Yukito. You may say it all you want, but I consider you and Yuki only one person. If you could reciprocate even in some small measure the love that I intend to give to Yukito, you'll see that your heart beats the same as Yuki's and we...we could all be a lot happier."
"You said it earlier -- that Yukito and I are two different beings, and that is what we are. We do not share the same feelings." Yue breathed in deeply. "Touya, we could argue about this all day and my answer to you still wouldn't change. Don't let this stop you from revealing the depths of your heart to Yukito. Between him and I, it is only Yukito who should matter to you."
"But, Yue...."
"I suppose you would like to speak to Yukito now," Yue cut him off before he could broach anymore arguments.
In truth, Touya wanted to talk to the Moon Angel awhile longer. Something inside his heart was telling him that Yue was not being completely honest with him.
He gently cupped his hand over Yue's, that was still, surprisingly, laid on his cheek. "Yue, if you should need anything from me, and I do mean anything, I'm here for you."
"It's a generous offer, but..." The Moon Angel pulled his hand back. "I think I've taken enough from you."
Yue unfurled his wings and curled around him in a cocoon of white feathers, willing the transformation into Yukito. From within that glowing mass, Yue's voice echoed in reassurance, "Don't be afraid, Touya. Just be honest with Yukito. Tell him what is inside your heart. I'm sure you'll be very pleased with the answer that he will give you."
The Moon Angel vanished in a flurry of feathers and sparkling lights. When the wings opened once more and disappeared into the ether, Yukito stood in his place, slowly floating to the ground.
Opening his eyes, the silver-haired boy smiled at his best friend. "Did you have that talk with Yue, To-ya?"
"Hai," nodded Touya, as dread filled his heart once more. "At least I think we did."
"I see that you're not satisfied with the answers you got from him." Smiling sweetly, Yukito inquired, "What about me, To-ya? Don't you have something to say to me as well?"
"Actually, there is. Uh...Yuki...." Touya was dismayed to find his voice locked in his throat, his confidence vanished into thin air. Of all the times to lose his courage. Talking to Yue was easier than this. In his frustration, he was on the verge of tears.
Noticing the taller boy's distress, it was Yukito who took the initiative, closing the distance between them in languid strides.
"There is something that I wanted to tell you as well, but first..." Reaching into his blazer pocket, Yukito pulled out a small, black velvet box and laid it on his open palm.
Touya stared at the box. "What is that?"
"It's a gift, of course."
Remembering how much his best friend doted on his sister, he asked, "Do you want me to give it to Sakura?"
Hearing that query, Yukito burst into laughter, the sound of his mirth like tinkling bells. "Now why would you do that? This is not for Sakura, you know!"
Before Touya could utter a retort, Yukito flipped the lid open and raised the box to his friend.
Touya's wide blue eyes blinked at the beautiful silver ring lying on its velvet cushion. Set into the band were two moonstones carved in the shape of wings. The ring was obviously much too large to fit Sakura's little finger. But it could fit....
Then, Yukito took Touya's suddenly icy hand in his grasp. As the taller boy watched, dumbstruck, Yukito slipped the ring onto his finger.
"I love you, Kinomoto Touya," Yukito murmured huskily, his eyes reflecting the emotions inside his heart.
Gripping the Snow Bunny's hands in his own, Touya whispered in joy and relief, "Aishitteru, Tsukishiro Yukito."
Fujitaka was cooking dinner in the kitchen when Touya breezed through the front door with an exuberant cry of "Tadaima!" Sakura, who had been waiting for her brother impatiently at the stairway, ran excitedly towards him in the living room.
As Fujitaka went to check on his children, wiping his hand on a towel, he heard his youngest exclaim, "Okaeri, Oniichan! Well? What happened? How did it go? Tell me! TELL ME!"
The elder Kinomoto didn't hear his son's reply, but whatever it was, it elicited a squeal of delight from Sakura.
Going into the living room, Fujitaka saw Touya swiftly hide his hand behind his back at his father's appearance. He could see that his son was practically blooming with undisguised happiness, his dark blue eyes sparkling. At the sight of his firstborn's unbridled joy, he was suddenly gripped by a sense of foreboding. There wasn't any doubt in his mind that Touya was deeply in love.
Noticing his father's intense scrutiny, Touya greeted, "Kombanwa, Otousan! I'm so sorry I'm late. We had soccer practice at school today."
Fujitaka did not say anything, hearing that lie. He knew that his son didn't have soccer practice scheduled for this week. Touya was hiding something from him.
Troubled by his father's silence, the boy said sincerely, "Gomen, Tousan. It won't happen again. Let me just get dressed and I'll start cooking dinner."
It was difficult for Fujitaka to give Touya a reassuring smile, knowing that his son had lied to him for the first time. "It's all right, son. Go and freshen up. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."
"Hai." Touya nodded, but still visibly distressed by his father's reaction. "I...I'll just take a quick shower and I'll be right down." Before he ran up the stairs, he repeated, " I'm sorry, Otousan. I promise I won't be late again."
Saying this, Touya went upstairs, going to his bedroom. But Fujitaka had caught the glint of...something...on his son's finger.
Sakura stared quizzically at her father. She had never seen him this disturbed before. Tugging on his apron, she asked, "Is something wrong, Tousan?"
Seeing the worry on his daughter's pretty face, Fujitaka gave her one of his dazzling smiles. "It's nothing, Sakura. Nothing at all." Gazing meaningfully at Sakura, he asked, "You won't keep secrets from me, would you, Sakura? Especially if it's something very important about your brother."
As he expected, Sakura blanched in her startlement. As surprise gave way to embarrassment, her cheeks became dotted with pink.
"Of course not, Tousan!" she said rather defensively. "Why would I do something like that? But I swear, Oniisan is not doing anything wrong."
Again, that was an answer he expected, confirming his fears that there was something going on with his firstborn, and his little sister knew about it. Shrugging, Fujitaka stated casually, "For his sake, I hope he isn't."
When Touya came down again for dinner after a half hour, Fujitaka observed that the glinting object on his son's finger was gone.
He lay amidst the tattered remains of his robes. The night air and the dew on the grass beneath his battered form chilled his bare skin. He found it curious that the crystal drops of moisture against his face and between his thighs, around the region of his abused posterior, felt very warm. Still in a state of shock, he did not realize that the heated wetness he felt was not the moisture of dew, but the stream of blood that poured from his brutally torn insides and the bitter tears that persisted in trickling from his eyes.
He gazed up warily at his abuser. He had dreamed of this particular scene so many times that he knew that this small movement would cause his creation to look down upon him and erupt in a frenzy of rapine.
But no attack came this time. His creation's attention was riveted to something in the distance, something that distracted him from what he was intending to do.
Gingerly sitting up, wincing in pain as he pulled his robes around him, he asked his creation the obvious question. "Why...why aren't you...."
"I thought you didn't want my love," was the cold answer he received.
"You know I love you, but not in this way. You're more like a son to me. I cannot give you more. What you have done to me...this is not love!"
"Are you saying that it's rape? Then why did you respond to my kisses, to my touch?"
He lowered his gaze in shame as he said with a choked sob, "That's the only way I could get you to stop hurting me."
"It doesn't matter now."
Hearing that statement, he was filled with sudden apprehension. "What do you mean?"
"Although I still love you, I have found someone else who does love me. Someone whom I could love in return."
"You know nothing about love! Tell me who it is! Tell me who will fall victim this time to your lust!"
It was then that he heard laughter. Training his eyes to the peach blossom tree in the distance, he gasped at the sight of the handsome young boy picking sunflowers out of the bushes. The boy was singing a beautiful song, a song his mother had taught him to play on the piano.
"No," he whispered in shock. "Touya."
Looking down at himself, he saw that he was now dressed in ruined modern clothes. In his hands, he held to his naked body a torn apron with a smiling winged stuffed toy embroidered on it.
Fujitaka's blood ran cold as his creation unfurled his mighty black wings. "No! Don't you dare! Don't you dare touch my son!"
"But we love each other, Clow," his creation argued one last time as he flapped his wings. "There is nothing you could do to tear us apart."
At these words, his creation flew off at lightning speed, heading straight for Touya. With each flap, those wings emitted an incessant ringing sound. Touya was smiling at the approaching magical being, his arms raised in eager welcome to him.
"Stay away from my son!" Fujitaka screamed. "Touya!"
"TOUYA!"
Fujitaka roused from his sleep, panting for breath, his whole body drenched with sweat. Although he was back in the present, that annoying ringing still persisted. It was then that he realized that the noise was coming from the phone on his night table.
With hand trembling, he picked up the handset and answered, "Kinomoto residence. Moshi moshi?"
"Fujitaka-san..." The voice on the other end was that of a very young boy, around Sakura's age.
At first, Fujitaka didn't recognize whom he was speaking to, but then, the name just popped into his head. Eriol Hanagisawa. Sakura's former classmate who now resided in England with his daughter's teacher, Mizuki Kaho. Eriol who, like he and Touya, were reincarnated aspects of the great sorcerer Clow Reed.
"Eriol..." he answered fearfully. "You know, don't you."
"Hai, Fujitaka-san," said Eriol simply, confirming his worst fears. "He has returned, and you must do something to stop him before he destroys your son."
"What shall I do? I know that Touya is in love with someone, but I don't know who it is. I don't know whose form he has chosen to take. It could be anyone." Fujitaka asked hopefully, "Do you know who it is?"
There was silence on the other end, raising his suspicion that Eriol knew more than he was letting on.
"It's different this time, Fujitaka-san," Eriol spoke at last. "As he told you in your dream, Touya does love him and your son had admitted that he would do anything for him. But what I am afraid of is that this love may not be reciprocated the way Touya wants it to be. Like what he did to Clow. To us."
"If you think I'm going to let him harm my son, you're wrong. I'll kill him if he should hurt Touya."
"Killing him would break your son's heart. If you want to stop him, then you must remember that which you have forgotten. You have to learn how to perform Magick once more."
Fujitaka started at that last. "But I don't know anything about Magick. It's Sakura who is now the Keeper of the Cards."
"But the Cards still remember their creator. They will help you, even if Sakura is their Mistress. You must reclaim the ability to wield the power of Magick. While you are doing so, find him and, if possible, convince Touya to stay away from him. When you discover where he is hiding, what guise he has chosen to take, use your Magick to chain him, to bind him to the darkness for all eternity. If you cannot accomplish this, then your son will be lost to you forever."
"Eriol, but how can I..." There was a soft click, followed by the drone of the dial tone.
Laying the phone on its cradle, Fujitaka's hands tightened into fists on his lap.
"I'll find you, I swear it," he murmured in firm determination. "If Magick is what it's going to take to save my son, then so be it."
TO BE CONTINUED...
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