[Fanfic] Remember [Chapter 12]
Title: Remember [Chapter 12]
Rating: T
Fandom: Eyeshield 21/CLAMP (Crossover)
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters used here. They belong to their respective owners, namely Riichiro Inagaki and Yuusuke Murata for Eyeshield 21 and CLAMP.
Summary: In a volatile world where even his black book holds no power, Hiruma must help Mamori fight and recover her lost memories before he loses her forever. AU. Crossover. HiruMamo.
Notes: Gah, my planning skills are awful once again. I thought I could finish this fic in 14 chapters. Nope, whether this is good or bad, this is ending in 15 chapters. I hope. Sometimes in the midst of writing a chapter my mind decides to make a cut off point and refuses to write more, which is what happened here, and that's why there's an additional chapter. I always tell myself I could write more, but I feel a lot more content ending it this way.
Which means an awful cliffhanger for you all, I apologise. -___- I'll do my best to post the next chapter soon! Hopefully it'll be a lot longer than this.
Until then, enjoy! Here's the first part of the finale!
~*~
Mamori could barely see where she was as darkness surrounded her, threatening to overwhelm her and merely biding its time. She stood still, wondering what was going on. Was this a dream? Or had she woken up? Where was Hiruma then?
The sound of weeping echoed somewhere in the distance before her, it sounded like a small child crying. Then she heard something else behind her. A variety of voices, screaming, pleading, crying out to her.
Come back!
She could feel light, invisible hands on her back and on her shoulders holding on to her, pulling her backwards. That was when she realised she was in the middle of a flight of stairs as the sole of her foot struck the edge of the step she was on. The pull to go down grew stronger...
Yet she found herself taking one step up.
Her heart was beating frantically, the air felt heavy, making it harder to breathe. The invisible hands had now disappeared with every step she took forward, filling her heart with sadness and dread. What am I doing? Why am I doing this?
The cries pleading for her return grew distant as the sound of weeping grew stronger. There was nothing pulling her there, yet her legs continued to move forward... until she saw a door at the top of the stairs. A faint light shining behind the door, where the weeping child must be.
It was such an ominous sign yet she could not stop herself from going closer. Suddenly it occurred to her. The child could be calling for her! But why were her legs still so heavy? Why did her heart hurt with each step forward?
As she got closer to the door, she heard another sound join the sobbing behind it. Crackling, hissing, snapping... There was also a familiar smell, one that made her gasp and panic. She was terrified but rather than running away, it prompted her to open the door as quickly as possible...
A scream greeted her before she saw the flames envelope around her, the smoke filled her lungs, choking her as she coughed and spluttered to breathe. She was in so much pain, but her eyes looked around, desperately seeking something... until she saw the silhouette of a young girl burning in the fire, arms outstretched, far from Mamori's reach. Her scream echoed through the room as the fire ate them both, but Mamori held her hands out, the fire now consuming her arm that was turning black. The pain finally took over, causing her to black out and fall...
Her eyes shot wide open as she took in a deep breath of cold air. Cold sweat clung to her body as she scrambled to sit up and look around her. She was in a zoo themed playground, a slide that looked like an elephant, a swing with butterfly shapes around it, a see-saw shaped like a bunny... that was all she could make out it in the darkness.
That's when it hit her. It was still dark. "No, no, please tell me I'm awake!" her voice shook as she stood up.
"Oi, what's wrong?"
Mamori turned behind her to see Hiruma, who was just standing up from where he had obviously been sleeping. Without even thinking, Mamori ran towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. "Did you fucking hurt yourself? What's wrong with you?" Hiruma asked her as he tried to pull her away so he could take a better look at her, but Mamori tightened her grip.
"I'm fine," he heard her muffled voice against his shoulder. "No, I don't know... Just let me hold you for a while..."
Wordlessly, Hiruma wrapped an arm around Mamori's waist. She wasn't crying, he was sure. But she was definitely shaking, and could barely stand. "Was it a nightmare this round? Do you remember it?"
She nodded as she slowly pulled her head away from his shoulder, though her arms were still wrapped around his neck. "I remember... walking up this flight of stairs, even though I should have gone down. And there was fire all around me when I reached up... It was painful! I felt like my skin was melting... I couldn't breathe. I saw someone else burning in the fire, but I couldn't do anything... I just stood there and... and..."
Hiruma bent down and leaned his forehead against hers. "It's fine... you're awake."
"But it's still dark!" she cried as her eyes were filled with terror. "I thought... I just couldn't..."
"You woke up too fucking early," Hiruma cocked his head to the right. "Look."
Mamori looked at the direction he was looking in and saw the tinge of yellow in the distant sky. The sight caught her breath for a moment, and her grip on Hiruma loosened. She had always woken up deep in the night or in the middle of the day and she couldn't comprehend what she was seeing initially.
For what had seemed like a long time, she was actually seeing the sun rise.
Hiruma tried to pull away from her at this point, taking a step back. But unconsciously Mamori grabbed the front of his shirt and looked at him. There was a deep look of pain on Hiruma's face, another sight that baffled her. She had never seen him this pained just to be with her... Was he leaving her?
Her heart ached, causing her to say, "Stay with me."
Hiruma clenched his teeth as he looked away, gathering whatever determination he could to finally raise a hand to Mamori's that was still gripping his shirt, and entangled it in his. "Come on," he finally said with a familiar grin. "We might as well get a damned better view."
Hands still linked, Hiruma led her away from the playground and walked down another path that seemed familiar to Mamori. Then they walked up some steps by the path and she found herself on a road, but it was by the riverbank this time. She’d been here before, a memory which, from what she could recall, was comforting despite still being incomplete. And there in the distance, a part of the sun winked before her as more colours began to appear in the sky. From the darkness behind her, to a dark blue, coupled with purple and light blue, and near the sun, shades of yellow and orange grew stronger with each second passing.
Hiruma led her down towards the riverbank and made her sit next to him on the grass, his hand still holding hers, not letting go. Finally seated, Mamori was entranced by the sight before her, engrossed as the sun continued to reveal more of itself to her. She wasn't sure why the sight of the sun rising fascinated her so much, but the longer she watched it, the more she felt its warmth reach out to her.
"It'll be all right..." whispered Mamori, as she leaned her head on the side of Hiruma's shoulder, taking in the sight and sounds of her surroundings.
"Huh?"
"That's what I feel like the sun is telling me," she explained. "The fact that it could still rise after what I saw, after the complete hopelessness and fear that consumed me... it feels like it's telling me, despite being in this crazy world that I'm in, that everything will be all right. I'll pull through... it's okay."
Hiruma didn't say anything, though he leaned against Mamori a little more as well, watching the sun fully rise in the east and slowly making its way to the middle of the sky. The days passed too quickly in this world...
"I think this is the courage that I'll need to face whatever's happening today, isn't it?" Mamori took a deep, shaky breath. "Somehow, after today's dream, I just know I'm finally going to face the root of why I'm in this state and finally remem..." An image flashed before Mamori... a bed, a velveteen box... but it quickly disappeared. "... ber..."
"Oi," Hiruma looked at her dazed expression with concern.
Shaking her head, Mamori smiled and said, "Another memory I can't recall. I'll remember it eventually. We'll win this soon enough, right, Hiruma?"
One hand still holding hers, Hiruma placed his other hand on Mamori's cheek and made her look at him. "Listen to me fucking carefully... and out of everything, I want you to remember this. YOU have to be the one to win this. No matter what happens to me, just keep fighting. The people you love are waiting for you."
The seriousness in Hiruma's eyes and tone scared her for a moment. "What are you saying? You'll fight alongside with me until the end... right?"
Hiruma had his mask on, she could tell. With his grin and confidence back in place, he said, "Are you forgetting that I'm just something your mind created to help you out of here? At some point, I will disappear, mostly cause you won't need a fucking imaginary friend like me and you can fight on your own. When that happens, remember my words."
Mamori pressed her lips together, fighting off the urge to shout at him, telling him he wasn't just some creation. But she just couldn't justify that feeling, for he really was a creation of her mind in this setting, like the river and even the sunset before them. Despite how much his existence fascinated her, his existence was just that.
Yet she couldn't shake off the fear of losing him.
Swallowing hard, she nodded and then continued to watch the sun climb higher into the sky, holding Hiruma's hand tightly in his.
They soon decided it was time to move on and face today's obstacle. They walked back to the playground to pick up their weapons, and then Mamori looked around and decided to go in a different direction than the one they were on earlier. This time, they walked deeper into the neighbourhood.
They were silent the whole way, though they marched side by side so they could at least walk together at the same pace. It wasn’t much, but it was comforting for Mamori to have him beside her. Then Mamori saw a low yet wide building before them, with enough space for a playground within its compounds and a garden on the other side. There was a sign in front of the building and Mamori read it aloud, "Yomogi Kindergarten."
"It's here..." said Hiruma. It was a statement, not a question, which made Mamori curious. Did he know they would eventually reach this place?
Mamori was about to take a step into the compound when she found her feet frozen on the spot. Her body was terrified. "W-what?" she murmured as she looked at her shaking knees. "I can't..."
Hiruma walked past the entrance of the kindergarten easily and then looked at her. "I guess a part of you is still fucking scared of this place," he said to her with a cold expression.
"H-huh? N-no! It can't be! I don't even remember much of this place!" Mamori tried to urge her trembling legs forward but could only barely move an inch. "Hiruma, help me!"
"No, stay there," he replied as he pulled out his guns and marched purposefully into the kindergarten. "If you're still afraid then there's something you need to face right here."
"I don't get it..." Mamori couldn't stop shaking. "W-why are you doing this, Hiru-"
A burst of flames suddenly swept around the gates of the kindergarten, high pitched screams could be heard mingling in with the crackling flames. At first it was one large ring of fire circling the kindergarten like a barrier, but soon it grew taller, separated and each flame took its shape...
As young children.
Hiruma stood on the opposite side of the fire, and without saying any words of comfort or orders on what to do, he turned his back on her and proceeded to walk into the building. "HIRUMA!" Mamori called after him. "HIRUMA, WAIT!"
But the more she tried to move forward even by an inch, the closer the fires came, arms outstretched, screaming at her. The memory of her skin melting and the fire eating at her kept Mamori rooted to the spot, a part of her screaming silently in fear, unable to even grab her sword.
All she could do was stare at the fire that terrified her, and wonder why Hiruma had abandoned her.
Hiruma heard her calling out to him, but he steeled his resolve and marched on inside the building. She's going to be all right, he told himself despite a part of him screaming in anger, body slowly throbbing in pain. She'll pull through...
For now, there was something more important to face and he was running out of time. He looked at the few rooms around him, recognising them and knowing which room to go into. He approached the one at the deeper end of the hallway and opened the door.
It seemed normal enough for a classroom. The blackboard, the chairs and mats, the organ and drawings on the wall... everything was where it should be. Until he looked at the end of the room and found what he was looking for.
"I knew you'd be here," he grinned as he walked into the classroom.
Sitting on the tiny locker cabinets at the end of the room was a girl, dressed in a black jacket, black skirt and black boots, a sword lying next to her on those cabinets. She was looking down so that all Hiruma could see was the light brown hair that was cut in a layer around her neck. But the moment she heard Hiruma's voice, she raised her head and smiled...
With Mamori's face.
"You're not supposed to be here," she said in Mamori's voice, though Hiruma thought the expression of glee did not suit such a face. "Where are you keeping the girl? I must have her."
"You won't see her yet..." said Hiruma as he held his guns out at her. "Not until you fucking answer my questions first and go through me."
"That means I'll have to kill you, right?" Then she threw her head back and laughed, using her true voice now that was deep and murky. "Easy! I'll claim you soon enough when I'm done with you and that girl!"
Hiruma cocked his gun, grin in place, "You can fucking try."
Barely a second later, the girl grabbed her sword and rushed towards Hiruma.
BANG!
Chapter 11 | Chapter 13
Rating: T
Fandom: Eyeshield 21/CLAMP (Crossover)
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters used here. They belong to their respective owners, namely Riichiro Inagaki and Yuusuke Murata for Eyeshield 21 and CLAMP.
Summary: In a volatile world where even his black book holds no power, Hiruma must help Mamori fight and recover her lost memories before he loses her forever. AU. Crossover. HiruMamo.
Notes: Gah, my planning skills are awful once again. I thought I could finish this fic in 14 chapters. Nope, whether this is good or bad, this is ending in 15 chapters. I hope. Sometimes in the midst of writing a chapter my mind decides to make a cut off point and refuses to write more, which is what happened here, and that's why there's an additional chapter. I always tell myself I could write more, but I feel a lot more content ending it this way.
Which means an awful cliffhanger for you all, I apologise. -___- I'll do my best to post the next chapter soon! Hopefully it'll be a lot longer than this.
Until then, enjoy! Here's the first part of the finale!
~*~
Mamori could barely see where she was as darkness surrounded her, threatening to overwhelm her and merely biding its time. She stood still, wondering what was going on. Was this a dream? Or had she woken up? Where was Hiruma then?
The sound of weeping echoed somewhere in the distance before her, it sounded like a small child crying. Then she heard something else behind her. A variety of voices, screaming, pleading, crying out to her.
Come back!
She could feel light, invisible hands on her back and on her shoulders holding on to her, pulling her backwards. That was when she realised she was in the middle of a flight of stairs as the sole of her foot struck the edge of the step she was on. The pull to go down grew stronger...
Yet she found herself taking one step up.
Her heart was beating frantically, the air felt heavy, making it harder to breathe. The invisible hands had now disappeared with every step she took forward, filling her heart with sadness and dread. What am I doing? Why am I doing this?
The cries pleading for her return grew distant as the sound of weeping grew stronger. There was nothing pulling her there, yet her legs continued to move forward... until she saw a door at the top of the stairs. A faint light shining behind the door, where the weeping child must be.
It was such an ominous sign yet she could not stop herself from going closer. Suddenly it occurred to her. The child could be calling for her! But why were her legs still so heavy? Why did her heart hurt with each step forward?
As she got closer to the door, she heard another sound join the sobbing behind it. Crackling, hissing, snapping... There was also a familiar smell, one that made her gasp and panic. She was terrified but rather than running away, it prompted her to open the door as quickly as possible...
A scream greeted her before she saw the flames envelope around her, the smoke filled her lungs, choking her as she coughed and spluttered to breathe. She was in so much pain, but her eyes looked around, desperately seeking something... until she saw the silhouette of a young girl burning in the fire, arms outstretched, far from Mamori's reach. Her scream echoed through the room as the fire ate them both, but Mamori held her hands out, the fire now consuming her arm that was turning black. The pain finally took over, causing her to black out and fall...
Her eyes shot wide open as she took in a deep breath of cold air. Cold sweat clung to her body as she scrambled to sit up and look around her. She was in a zoo themed playground, a slide that looked like an elephant, a swing with butterfly shapes around it, a see-saw shaped like a bunny... that was all she could make out it in the darkness.
That's when it hit her. It was still dark. "No, no, please tell me I'm awake!" her voice shook as she stood up.
"Oi, what's wrong?"
Mamori turned behind her to see Hiruma, who was just standing up from where he had obviously been sleeping. Without even thinking, Mamori ran towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. "Did you fucking hurt yourself? What's wrong with you?" Hiruma asked her as he tried to pull her away so he could take a better look at her, but Mamori tightened her grip.
"I'm fine," he heard her muffled voice against his shoulder. "No, I don't know... Just let me hold you for a while..."
Wordlessly, Hiruma wrapped an arm around Mamori's waist. She wasn't crying, he was sure. But she was definitely shaking, and could barely stand. "Was it a nightmare this round? Do you remember it?"
She nodded as she slowly pulled her head away from his shoulder, though her arms were still wrapped around his neck. "I remember... walking up this flight of stairs, even though I should have gone down. And there was fire all around me when I reached up... It was painful! I felt like my skin was melting... I couldn't breathe. I saw someone else burning in the fire, but I couldn't do anything... I just stood there and... and..."
Hiruma bent down and leaned his forehead against hers. "It's fine... you're awake."
"But it's still dark!" she cried as her eyes were filled with terror. "I thought... I just couldn't..."
"You woke up too fucking early," Hiruma cocked his head to the right. "Look."
Mamori looked at the direction he was looking in and saw the tinge of yellow in the distant sky. The sight caught her breath for a moment, and her grip on Hiruma loosened. She had always woken up deep in the night or in the middle of the day and she couldn't comprehend what she was seeing initially.
For what had seemed like a long time, she was actually seeing the sun rise.
Hiruma tried to pull away from her at this point, taking a step back. But unconsciously Mamori grabbed the front of his shirt and looked at him. There was a deep look of pain on Hiruma's face, another sight that baffled her. She had never seen him this pained just to be with her... Was he leaving her?
Her heart ached, causing her to say, "Stay with me."
Hiruma clenched his teeth as he looked away, gathering whatever determination he could to finally raise a hand to Mamori's that was still gripping his shirt, and entangled it in his. "Come on," he finally said with a familiar grin. "We might as well get a damned better view."
Hands still linked, Hiruma led her away from the playground and walked down another path that seemed familiar to Mamori. Then they walked up some steps by the path and she found herself on a road, but it was by the riverbank this time. She’d been here before, a memory which, from what she could recall, was comforting despite still being incomplete. And there in the distance, a part of the sun winked before her as more colours began to appear in the sky. From the darkness behind her, to a dark blue, coupled with purple and light blue, and near the sun, shades of yellow and orange grew stronger with each second passing.
Hiruma led her down towards the riverbank and made her sit next to him on the grass, his hand still holding hers, not letting go. Finally seated, Mamori was entranced by the sight before her, engrossed as the sun continued to reveal more of itself to her. She wasn't sure why the sight of the sun rising fascinated her so much, but the longer she watched it, the more she felt its warmth reach out to her.
"It'll be all right..." whispered Mamori, as she leaned her head on the side of Hiruma's shoulder, taking in the sight and sounds of her surroundings.
"Huh?"
"That's what I feel like the sun is telling me," she explained. "The fact that it could still rise after what I saw, after the complete hopelessness and fear that consumed me... it feels like it's telling me, despite being in this crazy world that I'm in, that everything will be all right. I'll pull through... it's okay."
Hiruma didn't say anything, though he leaned against Mamori a little more as well, watching the sun fully rise in the east and slowly making its way to the middle of the sky. The days passed too quickly in this world...
"I think this is the courage that I'll need to face whatever's happening today, isn't it?" Mamori took a deep, shaky breath. "Somehow, after today's dream, I just know I'm finally going to face the root of why I'm in this state and finally remem..." An image flashed before Mamori... a bed, a velveteen box... but it quickly disappeared. "... ber..."
"Oi," Hiruma looked at her dazed expression with concern.
Shaking her head, Mamori smiled and said, "Another memory I can't recall. I'll remember it eventually. We'll win this soon enough, right, Hiruma?"
One hand still holding hers, Hiruma placed his other hand on Mamori's cheek and made her look at him. "Listen to me fucking carefully... and out of everything, I want you to remember this. YOU have to be the one to win this. No matter what happens to me, just keep fighting. The people you love are waiting for you."
The seriousness in Hiruma's eyes and tone scared her for a moment. "What are you saying? You'll fight alongside with me until the end... right?"
Hiruma had his mask on, she could tell. With his grin and confidence back in place, he said, "Are you forgetting that I'm just something your mind created to help you out of here? At some point, I will disappear, mostly cause you won't need a fucking imaginary friend like me and you can fight on your own. When that happens, remember my words."
Mamori pressed her lips together, fighting off the urge to shout at him, telling him he wasn't just some creation. But she just couldn't justify that feeling, for he really was a creation of her mind in this setting, like the river and even the sunset before them. Despite how much his existence fascinated her, his existence was just that.
Yet she couldn't shake off the fear of losing him.
Swallowing hard, she nodded and then continued to watch the sun climb higher into the sky, holding Hiruma's hand tightly in his.
They soon decided it was time to move on and face today's obstacle. They walked back to the playground to pick up their weapons, and then Mamori looked around and decided to go in a different direction than the one they were on earlier. This time, they walked deeper into the neighbourhood.
They were silent the whole way, though they marched side by side so they could at least walk together at the same pace. It wasn’t much, but it was comforting for Mamori to have him beside her. Then Mamori saw a low yet wide building before them, with enough space for a playground within its compounds and a garden on the other side. There was a sign in front of the building and Mamori read it aloud, "Yomogi Kindergarten."
"It's here..." said Hiruma. It was a statement, not a question, which made Mamori curious. Did he know they would eventually reach this place?
Mamori was about to take a step into the compound when she found her feet frozen on the spot. Her body was terrified. "W-what?" she murmured as she looked at her shaking knees. "I can't..."
Hiruma walked past the entrance of the kindergarten easily and then looked at her. "I guess a part of you is still fucking scared of this place," he said to her with a cold expression.
"H-huh? N-no! It can't be! I don't even remember much of this place!" Mamori tried to urge her trembling legs forward but could only barely move an inch. "Hiruma, help me!"
"No, stay there," he replied as he pulled out his guns and marched purposefully into the kindergarten. "If you're still afraid then there's something you need to face right here."
"I don't get it..." Mamori couldn't stop shaking. "W-why are you doing this, Hiru-"
A burst of flames suddenly swept around the gates of the kindergarten, high pitched screams could be heard mingling in with the crackling flames. At first it was one large ring of fire circling the kindergarten like a barrier, but soon it grew taller, separated and each flame took its shape...
As young children.
Hiruma stood on the opposite side of the fire, and without saying any words of comfort or orders on what to do, he turned his back on her and proceeded to walk into the building. "HIRUMA!" Mamori called after him. "HIRUMA, WAIT!"
But the more she tried to move forward even by an inch, the closer the fires came, arms outstretched, screaming at her. The memory of her skin melting and the fire eating at her kept Mamori rooted to the spot, a part of her screaming silently in fear, unable to even grab her sword.
All she could do was stare at the fire that terrified her, and wonder why Hiruma had abandoned her.
Hiruma heard her calling out to him, but he steeled his resolve and marched on inside the building. She's going to be all right, he told himself despite a part of him screaming in anger, body slowly throbbing in pain. She'll pull through...
For now, there was something more important to face and he was running out of time. He looked at the few rooms around him, recognising them and knowing which room to go into. He approached the one at the deeper end of the hallway and opened the door.
It seemed normal enough for a classroom. The blackboard, the chairs and mats, the organ and drawings on the wall... everything was where it should be. Until he looked at the end of the room and found what he was looking for.
"I knew you'd be here," he grinned as he walked into the classroom.
Sitting on the tiny locker cabinets at the end of the room was a girl, dressed in a black jacket, black skirt and black boots, a sword lying next to her on those cabinets. She was looking down so that all Hiruma could see was the light brown hair that was cut in a layer around her neck. But the moment she heard Hiruma's voice, she raised her head and smiled...
With Mamori's face.
"You're not supposed to be here," she said in Mamori's voice, though Hiruma thought the expression of glee did not suit such a face. "Where are you keeping the girl? I must have her."
"You won't see her yet..." said Hiruma as he held his guns out at her. "Not until you fucking answer my questions first and go through me."
"That means I'll have to kill you, right?" Then she threw her head back and laughed, using her true voice now that was deep and murky. "Easy! I'll claim you soon enough when I'm done with you and that girl!"
Hiruma cocked his gun, grin in place, "You can fucking try."
Barely a second later, the girl grabbed her sword and rushed towards Hiruma.
BANG!
Chapter 11 | Chapter 13