Dreams Part 1 By Amazoness Duo Amazonessduo@hotmail.com She smiled gently as she ran a hand through the other girl’s long blonde hair. Bright aquamarine eyes looked deeply into beautiful violet ones as if they were in a world all their own. She felt the other girl push a lock of her dark brown hair away from her eyes. She felt as if the other girl could see right through her, as if she could see into the depths of her soul. That feeling sent shivers through her, the feeling that the other girl truly knew her better than she knew herself. They didn’t need to say anything. They both knew the other far too well to need any words right now. She let out a contented sigh as those soft, sweet lips brushed gently, almost cautiously against her own. How she longed to kiss her lover deeply, passionately. But she could wait, and that was part of the joy in this moment. The leisure of spending this time with her one true love. It felt boundless, as if they weren’t confined to this world or to any other, a feeling that they could just bask in the glow of the others warmth. Bringing a hand up gingerly to the other girl’s warm cheek, she tilted her head to the side as if to ask ‘You or I?’ Who was it to be this time? Who would be the one to begin their endless dance again. Before she knew who had begun this time, she felt the other girl’s lush lips push against her own. This time the kiss was longer, more drawn out, evoking a gasp from her lover. She brought her hands to the sides of the other girl’s head, watching the other girl smile sweetly back at her. Her fingers slowly moving across her lover’s silky skin, she gently caressed her soft lips with her own. If her entire life had been leading up to one specific place, one specific time, this would be it. But that was not the case. ‘We’ll be together, you and I, no matter where fate leads. No matter what path we take, we take it together.’ Pouring her entire being into one kiss, she tried to convey every feeling she was having to the blonde girl. The other girl matched her point for point as they stood together, both needing the other to be whole. Kumiko stretched luxuriously, basking in the warm sunlight that filtered through her bedroom window. She opened her blinds wide to let in the coming day. She smiled at the sounds of the birds chirping outside her window. She froze when she heard a groan coming from her bed. Turning quickly, she caught sight of long blonde hair peeking out from beneath one of Kumiko’s pillows. “Turn off the light, okay?” Megumi’s tired voice sounded muffled from underneath the pillow. “Megumi-chan? What are you doing here?” Kumiko asked surprised. “You don’t remember last night? I came over here late last night because I wanted to see you and you told me not to go after that. I didn’t.” Kumiko laughed. “I thought it was a dream.” “I never have dreams that nice.” Megumi smiled sweetly over at the brown haired girl, watching her try to adjust her pony tail. “Megumi-chan…” Kumiko said quietly, crossing the few feet between them with a couple steps. Leaning down, she kissed the blonde girl for a few blissful moments. “You really better go before my parents catch you.” “Kumi, what would be wrong with that? I like your parents. They’re very nice. I’m sure they would be happy for you,” Megumi said. “Yeah, maybe, but I still don’t want them catching you in here,” Kumiko gestured to the bedroom around them. A knock at the door startled both girls. “Kumiko-chan, breakfast is ready, dear. Hurry up before it gets cold,” Kumiko’s mother yelled. “Hai, mom. I’ll be right there.” Turning to Megumi, Kumiko pointed to her closet. “You can borrow one of my uniforms and I’ll pack a lunch for you.” Megumi nodded. “Thanks. Today’s cheerleading practice, though.” Kumiko thought for a moment. “You should have thought of that before you came over,” she said, sticking out her tongue at the other girl. More seriously, she began to think again. “Could we stop off at your house on the way to school to pick up your cheerleading uniform? You live close enough that if we get going soon we should be able to make it in time.” Walking to her closet, Kumiko put her own cheerleading uniform in her backpack. Megumi smiled happily. “Thanks, Kumi. I’ll try to get ready quickly then.” “Okay. See you in a minute.” Giving the blonde girl a soft kiss on the lips, Kumiko picked up her backpack and hurried out of the room. “There you are, Kumiko-chan,” her father said as she walked into the kitchen. “We thought you’d slept in.” “No, I’m up. I just had to finish some things before I was ready,” Kumiko explained, taking a bite of the fresh pancakes. They tasted marvelous, but she didn’t have the time to savor them. She made her way to the refrigerator. Taking a brief look inside, she started grabbing food for two lunches. Her mother laughed when she looked over at her rushed daughter. “You must be hungry today.” “I’m making lunch for Megumi-chan, too. Sometimes she forgets,” Kumiko said, wrapping some leftovers. “That girl’s sweet. You’re lucky to have a friend like that,” her father said. “Yeah. She’s the best.” Kumiko smiled. She almost dropped the lunch she was making when she saw Megumi standing next to her mother in the kitchen. “Megumi-chan?” “She was right outside. It looks like some people can wake up early,” her mother laughed while she ushered Megumi inside. Megumi just smiled and waved to Kumiko. “Would you like to stay for breakfast, Megumi?” “She’d love to, mom, but we’ve got to get going. Thanks anyway!” Taking a hold of Megumi’s arm, Kumiko headed for the door. Her parents sweatdropped as they watched their daughter hurrying off. “Goodbye!! Arigato!” Megumi said to Kumiko’s parents before heading out the door. “How’d you get there?” Kumiko asked as they started off towards Megumi’s house. “I climbed out your window and knocked on the front door. Your mother let me in after that,” Megumi smiled. “I know what you’re thinking.” “I like your parents. They’re really nice,” Megumi said. “So are yours.” Kumiko smiled. “When they’re home.” Letting out a sigh, Megumi looked over at Kumiko. “Besides, I thought you said your parents liked me, too.” Kumiko laughed, brushing some hair out of her eyes. “As another daughter, yeah. You are over at our house enough to be.” “See? Your parents should have started guessing with that. And I’m always going places with you. When you and I are going places Friday nights, you dress up for it. Last time there was a dance, your parents asked you for over a week who you were going to go with but you kept saying you didn’t know until you wound up going with me as ‘friends’.” Turning to Kumiko, she grinned. “So maybe they already know. Or they have to have guessed a few times.” “Oh, stop it. That’s not funny,” Kumiko said. “Anyway, we better hurry if we want to get to your house and school on time.” “Thanks.” Starting to walk faster, Kumiko blinked as her eyes adjusted to the bright day. “For what?” “For lunch. That was sweet of you,” Megumi said happily. “That? Oh, that’s alright.” Kumiko winked at the blonde girl. “Just make sure you eat all of it.” Megumi giggled. “Of course I will. You made it.” Stopping in front of her house, Megumi pulled out a house key and unlocked the door. “Would you like to come in, Kumi?” Kumiko looked at her watch nervously. “No, that’s okay. Just be quick.” Megumi nodded and headed swiftly into her house. A few moments later, she came out the door, putting her cheerleader uniform in her backpack. “Is that everything?” Kumiko asked worriedly as she took another glance at her watch. “That should be.” Grabbing Kumiko’s arm just above the shoulder, Megumi looked into her eyes. “Kumi, don’t worry about it. If anything happens, we’ll tell your parents that it was my fault because I forgot something at home.” Kumiko shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t say anything like that. Let’s just try to get there on time.” “Hai.” Megumi made sure the door was locked before she and Kumiko started running to school. “So why did you both show up so late?” Asahi asked, pulling on her shoes. She was eager to get to cheerleading practice so she had dressed hurriedly. “Oh… We…” Kumiko started. She turned to Megumi and shrugged helplessly. She busied herself with fixing her pony tail. “I was waiting to walk to school with Kumi, but by the time we were on our way, I remembered I left my uniform at home.” Megumi gestured to the cheerleading uniform she was now wearing. “No wonder. Well, at least you got here. Chisa was betting you wouldn’t and Akari thought one of you was sick.” Picking up her baton, Asahi checked to make sure everything was perfect. “But I thought Kumiko-chan just wound up sleeping in again.” Megumi nodded. “Kumi must have been tired after last night. I did want to get up myself.” She smiled mischievously at the brown haired girl. Kumiko blushed and nudged the blonde none too gently. “Megumi-chan…” Megumi merely giggled and stepped to the side. “Your cranky, Kumi. You didn’t sleep much last night, did you?” She winked at Kumiko while their friend looked on in confusion. Before anyone could say another word, a woman in her early twenties entered the room, her dark, shoulder length hair offsetting calm blue eyes. “You girls almost ready?” She asked. A faint blush spread over Asahi’s cheeks. She clutched her baton tightly and nodded. “Yes, Coachie.” The older woman smiled gently at Asahi. “Good. I’ll be waiting for you.” She paused for a moment before she turned to leave the room. Asahi slowly let out a sigh. “Coachie…” she said dreamily. Without looking back, she hurried after the other woman. Kumiko turned to Megumi. “That still frightens me.” Megumi shrugged, looking after their friend. “Coach is really nice, and Asahi’s seemed to like her since the first day she showed up for gym class. I’m just wondering if they’re going out or if Asahi-chan’s still pining away,” the blonde girl said thoughtfully. Kumiko eyes widened. “Going out? But the coach is so much older than Asahi-chan. Do you think they might be?” “Maybe, I’m not sure yet. And age doesn’t matter, anyway, so that’s not important.” “Well, if they’re not together, I wish Asahi-chan luck,” Kumiko said, taking Megumi’s hand in her own. Megumi smiled. “Me too. For now, we better get out there before they start worrying about us.” Kumiko nodded agreement and the two girls headed outside. “How did you do on the test, Kumi?” Megumi asked as they walked vaguely towards Kumiko’s house. It was a beautiful cloudless day and they had the whole weekend in front of them. Kumiko slung her backpack on one shoulder. “I did okay, I guess. It helps that we studied for it. I wouldn’t have been ready at all otherwise.” She rolled her aquamarine eyes. “They could have at least tested us on something we already knew.” “We could try to study more next time,” Megumi suggested. Kumiko thought for a moment. “No, that’s alright. I did pretty well and we’d probably just get off track next time we study anyway, like we usually do.” Megumi smiled at the other girl. “That’s true.” The two girls walked along for a few minutes, talking about this and that. Megumi came to a halt when she spotted something. “Hey, looks like they’re selling some antics over there.” Kumiko turned to where Megumi’s gaze led. “See anything you want?” “Maybe…” The blonde said before walking over to the items spread before them. The items were all set up in front of a large metal gate. Behind the gate lay a rather impressive mansion. The sight of the mansion sent a chill through both girls. Kumiko rubbed her arms, the feeling she got from the house almost physical. “Can we go, Megumi-chan?” She felt odd seeing that place. “In just a minute,” Megumi said quietly. Many of these items, these personal belongings of someone long gone, seemed familiar to her. Some she could nearly remember. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop the familiarity she felt. “Cool! Megumi, look at this,” Kumiko said, her gaze settling on a small video camera. “Wow! It looks pretty old.” Megumi walked over to the desk on which it lay, side by side with Kumiko. “It would be great to have it, wouldn’t it? I’d love to record you with it.” Kumiko laughed as she picked it up, pretending to video tape Megumi. The other girl giggled and posed for the video camera. “You girls find something you want?” A girl around their age walked up to them, seeming to come from nowhere. They had been so caught up in the house and the items that they were both startled by her arrival. Regaining her composure first, Kumiko turned. “Yeah, we’re interested in this video camera. How much is it?” “You are? No one else has even looked its way yet.” The girl stood in thought for a moment. “If you want it, you can have it.” “Really?” Megumi asked excitedly. “Yeah, sure,” the other girl smiled. “My mom and I just moved in. We need to get rid of some of the stuff that was already here.” “Thanks!” Kumiko said happily. “Don’t mention it.” The girl nodded to them before returning to watch over the sale. Kumiko grinned as she held up the video camera again. “This should be fun.” “We have to see if it works first, though,” Megumi pointed out. “Yeah, you’re right. I hope it does.” Kumiko gave the video camera a quick glance to make sure it looked like it was in working order. “It looks like whoever owned it took really good care of it.” “We can check it out at my house.” Megumi smiled at Kumiko and brushed some of the other girl’s dark brown hair away from her eyes. “Looks like there’s still a video in it, too,” Kumiko said, still toying with the video camera. “Good. Now, let’s go back to my house. This place is giving me the creeps.” Megumi took Kumiko’s free hand with her own. Kumiko waved to the girl who had given them the camera before they left. Neither Kumiko nor Megumi understood the significance of the video camera they held or the history it possessed. Both tried to push off the strange feelings they’d had while near the house as they got further and further away from it. As they approached Megumi’s house, Kumiko broke the silence that had been following them ever since they left that scary mansion that had given them such odd feelings of déjà vu. “This really is a cool camera, isn’t it?” Kumiko smiled excitedly, trying to be patient and wait till they could see what was on the video tape. “I guess so, Kumi, but I don’t see why you’re so amazed with it. It’s so old. They probably don’t even make tapes that are compatible with such an old model video camera.” Megumi sighed, trying to brush that scary feeling she got from the mansion away. “Aww..” Kumiko frowned. “I’m sure that they’re sold somewhere.” Megumi giggled and leaned forward, lightly kissing Kumiko’s lower lip. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little shaken by the old building.” When they stepped inside, Kumiko noticed that Megumi’s parents weren’t there. “Where are your parents, Megumi?” “They’re gone. Like usual. I don’t see why you’re surprised. They’re hardly ever here.” Megumi sighed, angrily. “Don’t worry about it, Megumi-chan. At least we have the place to ourselves. And we can check out this video in peace,” Kumiko smiled, trying to cheer up her best friend, schoolmate, and girlfriend. “You know that the video’s probably just an old empty tape left in by the owner a long time ago and they never used it, right?” Megumi tried to let her down gently, noticing that Kumiko had such high hopes for the camera and didn’t want to crush them. “For some odd reason, I just know that there’s something on that tape. Like destiny’s calling for me to watch it. Like there’s something or someone very important on it.” Kumiko shook her head trying to clear away all of the overwhelming thoughts that rushed through her as she connected the video camera to the television so they could view the contents of the tape. Megumi laughed, hugging Kumiko from behind. “Kumi, its just an old tape. Probably of someone’s birthday or family.” “What if its for us?” Kumiko asked half seriously. She blushed when she thought about how foolish that sounded. “Well, I still want to see what its about.” “Want me to get some popcorn?” Megumi asked, still smiling. Kumiko sat down beside Megumi, pulling her legs up to her chest. She felt the warmth of the other girl sitting next to her. She could smell the sweet scent of Megumi’s long, soft blonde hair as it brushed her cheek. Smiling to Megumi, she received a brief kiss from the blonde before returning her attention to the television. Her heartbeat quickened as the video started. Megumi sighed. She had an odd feeling about this. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see what was on the video. She felt that maybe, just maybe, Kumiko had been right about the video being for them. That thought scared her. What if it changed things? Maybe there were certain things they weren’t meant to know about. The faint outline of a girl could be seen amidst the static as someone tried to fix the camera so many years ago. After a short time, the silhouette started to come into view. She was a girl about their age with long dark hair and dark stormy blue eyes. Her skin was very pale, as if made of alabaster. She seemed to have a perpetual smile that followed her as she continued to check the camcorder. Both Megumi and Kumiko caught their breath as they watched the dark haired girl on the video. A strange sense of nostalgia filled the room. The dark haired girl winked at the camcorder after she seemed fairly certain that it was working. “Tomoyo-chan,” another girl called from offscreen. “You don’t have to worry about that.” “It’s okay, Sakura-chan. Its working now,” Tomoyo said happily. The camcorder turned suddenly, now being held by the dark haired girl. A girl with short brown hair and large green eyes stood in view of the camcorder. She was wearing the same school fuku Tomoyo was wearing. Sakura sweatdropped and put a hand behind her head nervously. “I just meant that you don’t have to videotape me right now, Tomoyo-chan. I’m not even doing anything interesting like card captoring right now.” Tomoyo’s quiet voice spoke up warmly. “Sakura-chan’s always interesting. You know there’s nothing else I’d rather videotape.” Sakura sighed in defeat. “Okay. I just thought that we were going to go for a walk.” “We are,” Tomoyo replied. “I wanted a video to remember it by.” Megumi’s hand absentmindedly went to her left cheek as she watched the events unfold. This whole things seemed so familiar. She knew these girls. She was sure she knew them. Kumiko felt her breath catch in her chest. She felt like she was actually there, watching everything as if it were through her own eyes rather than the camcorder. As the two girls onscreen talked, Kumiko tried desperately to remember what happened next. Remember? How could she remember something she’d never seen? The dark haired girl behind the camcorder giggled as she ran to catch up with Sakura. Sakura smiled brightly at her as she caught up. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand why you do that, Tomoyo-chan.” “Because you are the most beautiful thing for me to record. Because you are the most interesting thing for me to record. Because I love you,” Tomoyo explained. Sakura smiled brighter and looked over at Tomoyo. “I love you, too, Tomoyo-chan.” “Watch out…” Megumi whispered. Tomoyo was too busy following Sakura with the video camera to notice the tangled root in front of her. Her foot got caught, throwing her off balance. The camcorder tumbled from her grasp, but by now the images weren’t needed. They both knew what happened. Sakura looked on in alarm when she heard Tomoyo’s gasp. She quickly lunged forward, catching the dark haired girl around the waist and under an arm. They both stumbled the rest of the way to the grass. The camcorder was on its side, pointing at the two girls holding each other. Both were breathing heavily from the shock. They looked at each other for a long moment, passing a silent thank you between them. Ever so slowly they leaned towards each other, their lips meeting passionately. Kumiko gasped as the television turned off. For a moment she thought the video was over, but looking up she could see Megumi had pressed the power button on the television. Megumi stood there silently, looking off into the distance. She seemed to be thinking. Or maybe she didn’t want to think. “Tomoyo…” Kumiko pleaded. Megumi turned to the other girl, her eyes wide. “Why did you call me thatt?” “Call you what?” Kumiko asked nervously. “Tomoyo.” “I meant… I didn’t mean you, Megumi-chan. I was caught up in the video.” Kumiko tried to explain it away. Megumi shook her head. “You can’t lie to me, Kumi. I know you too well. Why did you call me that?” She swallowed nervously. ‘Please just say I reminded you of her, or that you were daydreaming that was us. Anything. I’ll believe you, Kumi,’ Megumi thought to herself. “I… I don’t know, Megumi-chan,” Kumiko said softly. End part 1