Dreams Part 2

	Megumi shivered as the cold night wind lightly blew against her and
Kumiko. “I can’t believe we’re doing this, Kumi-chan. It’s late, it’s
cold, and I’m tired. My parents are going to expect to see me in bed
in..”, as she looked at her wrist, Megumi remembered that she
actually didn’t wear a watch. She could hear Kumiko giggle slightly
as if she knew that would happen. “Well, I need to be there in a few
hours.” Not like they’d actually be home, but she wasn’t feeling very
well and that pain in her chest was getting stronger again. It was a
good enough excuse at any rate. At least, she hoped it was.
	Kumiko sighed. “I know. I really don’t want to be here either, but
I just have to learn something about those people in the tape.
Remember, in the tape? That Sakura girl said that she always was
recording her. So, if there was a tape in the camera, maybe there was
another tape? Maybe there are a lot of other tapes. Maybe that could
explain why I felt so..” she shook a bit, not wanting to think about
it. “Maybe that could explain why I felt so attached to those girls
in the video. That wasn’t just some normal deja vu. That was
something.. special. What do you think, Megumi-chan?”
	“Hmm?” Megumi looked up from the lamp she was toying with. “Well, I
think that we shouldn’t be digging through some rich person’s trash
can. That’s what I think.”
	Kumiko stuck her tongue out at her. “Oh sure. I’m having lots of
fun digging through the trash. Luckily, they’ve only seem to have
thrown away most of the yard sale stuff so far. Seriously, what do
you think? About the tape?”
	“I.. I don’t know. I feel so many things about the tape. I feel the
pain from falling, I feel the happiness from being with her, and so
much more. It seems so sad when I think about it, though. Like
something tragic happened to those people. Even though I don’t know
them, and don’t even know what happened, it hurts. Like I lost
something dear to me, but found it again. Like if you moved away and
then came back, I guess.” Megumi ran her arm under across her eyes
and was surprised to find that her eyes were wet.
	Kumiko looked concerned and pulled her into a tight embrace. “It’s
okay, Megumi. I feel pretty much the same way.  It’s really confusing
to feel that way about someone you don’t know. I wish I had the
answers, but I don’t. So, I’m looking for them. Do you think we’ll
find anything? If we do, should we even look at it? With how one tape
was, I couldn’t  imagine how a collection of them would be.” Kumiko
slowly pulled away from Megumi. With a deep dramatic sigh, she threw
her arms down in defeat. “Well, I give up. I’m not going to find
anything digging around in the trash in the dark.” Kumiko started
forward, but tripped and fell into Megumi’s arms, knocking them both
off balance and sending them into the cold hard ground.
	Both girls just looked into each other’s eyes, curious if the other
was thinking the same thing they were. Kumiko opened her mouth in an
attempt to say something, but stopped herself. After a few seemingly
everlasting moments of silence, Megumi spoke up. “Are you okay Kumi?
Aww.. you scraped your knee. Should I kiss it and make it better?”
Kumiko blushed and nodded weakly. Megumi ever-so-slowly leaned
forward and kissed the slightly injured knee. “There. All better? I
really can’t stand to see you hurt, you know, Kumi-chan.” Megumi
smiled proudly at the dark blush on Kumiko’s face. Quickly, she stood
up and offered out her hand. Kumiko grasped her hand and squeezed
reassuringly and let Megumi help her to her feet.
	“I’ll come over to your house early tomorrow, okay, Kumi? Do you
think the library will be open on the weekend?” Megumi asked
curiously. She regretted saying the words shortly after they were out
of her mouth. She -really- wasn’t feeling good. She needed to get
home soon. And she really didn’t know if she’d be up to checking out
a library the next day. The blonde was thankful for the darkness in
masking her increasingly pale features. 
	Kumiko nodded thoughtfully, brushing back a lock of brown hair
behind an ear. “Yeah, it should be. We’ll head there in the morning
and see what we can find. There has to be something on the girls in
that video. Or at least I hope so.” Sighing, the teenager yawned
exaggeratedly. “For now I’m gonna get some sleep. Do you think you
could stay for a bit? I need to sneak back in anyway. Mom and dad
still think I’m sleeping.” She smiled over at the blonde girl
hopefully. “I always sleep better after I talk to you.”
	Megumi returned the smile weakly and shook her head. “I’d love to,
Kumi, but I’m not sure how appreciative your mother would be of me
teaching her daughter all sorts of strange things this late at night.
And I already know she likes me, so I can’t jeopardize that.” A laugh
accompanied the hug she gave Kumiko. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kumi-
chan. You have beautiful dreams in the meantime. I know you’ll be in
mine.”
	The wind picked up slightly, blowing Kumiko’s hair around as she
returned the hug. “Okay. Maybe some other time then. I’ll be thinking
about you, Megumi-chan. Sleep we...” Before she could finish that
thought, Megumi’s lips pressed tightly against her own. Her cheeks
darkened as her eyes fell closed and she kissed back. 
	“Goodnight, Kumi.” And with that, Megumi was off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

	Wet tears spilt down Megumi’s cheek to the bathroom tile beneath
her. The tile was cold against the bare skin of her legs peeking out
beneath her jumbled nightgown, but she’d long since given up on
caring about such trivial discomforts. Her whole body was screaming
at her, fire burning maliciously at all of her senses. Even taking
her medicine hadn’t helped in the least. She should be in bed, but
she couldn’t make it the short distance back to her bedroom. So she
knelt on the floor in the bathroom, her head leaning against the
cabinets under the sink. Her skin was deathly pale, nearly as white
as the tiles underneath her.
	“Daddy... Mommy... Somebody... please...” Her voice barely reached
her own ears, seeming no more than a whisper. More cold tears fell
down her face. Her parents weren’t there. Again. They were always
working these days. To get away from her. No, that wasn’t true. That
couldn’t be. They were both working to afford all of the medicine and
the treatments and the doctors. Megumi shuddered violently at the
memories. It always hurt so much. And the doctors had been pretty
grim whenever they talked to her parents. She didn’t need to be a lip
reader to know that she was dying. A cold hand was gripping her soul,
frightening the poor girl even more. She didn’t want to die. She
didn’t want to leave Kumiko. Kumiko... Of course she hadn’t told the
other girl about any of this. It would only make her worry. And
Megumi had long ago found out that there was nothing that she could
do about it. So why worry Kumiko when it was so much nicer to see her
smiling, happy face? 
	A sudden fit of coughing shook the blonde girl’s small body as she
reached up to her trembling lips. When she pulled them away, they
were wet with fresh blood. The sight sent her into more tears. She
was so scared but there was no one who would come comfort her. If
Kumiko found out, she would be right over, but then she’d worry
herself to death. Her parents were nowhere to be seen, so she was all
on her own. Be a big girl, her mother had told her, several years
before. Be a big girl and you’ll make it through this. Megumi didn’t
want to be a big girl. It hurt too much. 

	Kumiko yawned tiredly, rubbing the sleep from her violet eyes. Her
long, dark brown hair was done up in braids today. Sleep had not been
easy in coming to her the night before. Her mind kept going back to
the girls on the tape and why it had seemed so familiar. Had
something similar happened with her and Megumi, explaining the shared
sense of deja vu? Or was there something deeper behind all of it? “I
really hope we can find something here. And soon. I’m hungry. I
didn’t get any breakfast before we left.” Megumi winced at the
mention of food. The blonde girl really didn’t look very good this
morning. Her skin was paper white and her lips were drawn tight. The
sunglasses she wore looked cute on her and they hid her bloodshot
aquamarine eyes well, but Kumiko could see them occasionally as the
sunglasses almost slipped off. She sighed as they entered the
library. Megumi looked like she was getting sick, but she looked like
that so often these days. Her lover would always deny that anything
was wrong besides a slight cold when Kumiko would ask her about it. 
	Megumi shivered in the air conditioned building, rubbing her arms
as she tried to keep warm. “It’s freezing in here. Let’s just try to
get the information and get out of here. Mom wants me home early
today so I can’t be out long.” It always pained her to lie to Kumiko,
but she really didn’t feel like being out of bed at all today. She
kind of doubted her mother would be home at any rate.
	“Well, if you’re tired, you can always take a nap at my place when
we’re done with all this, Megumi-chan.” Kumiko smiled brightly as she
took her best friend’s cold hand.  A sigh escaped her lips as she
looked for a good place to begin their search. “Something tells me I
should have just tried to look up all this stuff on my computer
anyway.  At least then I could go make some lunch.” Another uneasy
look on Megumi’s face told her to drop the subject of eating. But she
was sooooo hungry. “Here we go.” Finding a free terminal, she began
searching for relevant information.
	Pulling up a chair, Megumi relished the feeling of being off her
feet. The entire way there, she had felt ready to collapse. Her body
was still aching from the night before, but she couldn’t let it show
through. She didn’t want Kumiko to start worrying about  this,
especially when her heart was so set on finding out who the people on
the videotape were. The sick girl wasn’t really sure she wanted to
know, herself. It was all just too freaky. Who cared who some people
on an old, dated video were? All she needed was Kumiko. As long as
she had the other girl nearby, everything would always be all right.
“Find anything?” she asked after realizing she had nodded off for a
bit. She tried to suppress a yawn, but to no avail.
	Giggling at her friend, the brown haired girl nodded. “Yeah, I
think so. Apparently the mansion had been owned by the Daidouji
family previously.”
	Megumi gasped. “Daidouji? The Daidouji Company kind of Daidouji”
	Nodding again, Kumiko grew more serious. “Yeah, it looks like the
place belonged to the Daidouji family for quite a while, but recently
it had been sold by Daidouji Maya, the current head of the company.
She went there to move out some of the things that were important,
but it looks like some of it got left behind and the new occupants
are getting rid of it.”
	“So does that mean that one of the girls on the videotape was from
that family line? Is there any information on them? Maybe we could
find some pictures.” Megumi’s heart was pounding in her chest. Part
of her wanted to reach over and turn off the power on the computer,
to tell Kumiko it didn’t matter who was on some stupid videotape and
that she was the only one that mattered to her, but she was
paralyzed. She didn’t want to know. She was too afraid to find out.
But she couldn’t get herself to keep from hearing more.
	“Yeah, that’s what I’m checking right now. They’re a pretty
powerful family, so there should be a fair amount about them. I think
one of them is in our class. That Sumire girl? The one with the
glasses and the scary looking dark haired girl that’s always
following her?” Glancing back at Megumi, she saw the blonde nod in
response.  “Come to think of it, she does look a bit like the girls
in the video. Though I can’t tell which she looks more like, so I
don’t know who she’s related to. And I don’t know how she could
possibly be related to both.” Oddly enough, the idea sounded right.
She shook her head and kept looking at the screen. “Here it is.” A
list was on the screen, showing the family line back for quite some
time. “Yep, there’s Sumire. It looks like the first Daidouji on
record is Daidouji Sonomi and she founded the company. She had a
daughter, Daidouji Tomoyo. Apparently she had a daughter named Bara.
And she had a daughter named Maya, the current head of the Daidouji
Company. And she has a daughter named Sumire. Yeah, she’s in our
class. There’s her picture.” Kumiko pointed at the picture of a
frustrated looking girl in big glasses with dark hair done up in
pigtails. 
	Megumi nodded slowly, not sure if she could take much more of this.
The anticipation was maddening. The sunglasses had slipped off her
nose, but she hardly noticed. “Can you find any other pictures? What
about the rest of them?”
	Typing in another command, Kumiko looked back up at the screen.
Pictures began appearing by the names, as well as links for more
information on each member of the family. First a determined looking
businesswoman with a slant style hair cut and then a beautiful pale
woman with long dark hair that ended in curls with the same stormy
blue eyes as her mother. The braided girl stopped there. “That’s
her!! That’s the one from the videotape!” Her violet eyes went wide
in shock as she stared at the screen. She was much older in the
picture, a full grown woman as opposed to the teenager in the video,
but it was obviously the same person. 
	Feeling sick to her stomach, Megumi heard her ask a question she
was dreading. “Does it have any information on her? Or who that
brunette might have been?”
	“Let me see...” Biting her lower lip, Kumiko continued looking
through the information. A summary of the woman’s entire life up on
the next page was briefly skimmed through as her whole body
threatened to shake. Being so close to all of this was exciting. She
knew that what she was looking for was near, an answer to the
question posed by the videotape. “Kinomoto Sakura! Right here. It
says that she got married to Daidouji Tomoyo. Wait, that can’t be
right. Yeah, it says that they got married and had a daughter. That’s
bizarre. But here she is.” The slightly shorter girl moved to the
side to give her lover a better look. On screen was a woman with
fairly short brunette hair and a happy smile, looking out with
emerald green eyes. It had to be the other girl from the videotape. 
	“How’d they die?” Megumi blurted out. “Maybe it was really tragic
and they possessed the videotape or something. I thought they
wouldn’t have lasted much longer past the videotape if it seemed so
important.”
	Skimming the information, Kumiko shook her head. “It looks like
they lived long, happy lives by all accounts. Daidouji Sakura... Oh,
she must’ve changed her name when they got married. Anyway, she fell
down the stairs when she was a grandmother. Daidouji Tomoyo died a
few days later of no explained cause. Her daughter seems to have
thought it was heartache over the loss of Sakura.”
	Megumi shook her head, running hands through her curly blonde hair.
“None of this makes any sense. We know who these people are now, but
that still doesn’t explain anything. Why do we know them at all?
Maybe it was the camera angle. Maybe we just got so caught up in
watching the old thing that we started thinking there was more to
it.” She was shaking now, afraid. This was all too strange for her.
	Kumiko took Megumi’s soft hand, trying to comfort her. “Megumi...
There has to be something to all of this. I know there is. It’s just
too much to be a coincidence.”
	“How do you know, Kumi? Maybe that’s all it is...” Megumi’s voice
was unsteady and she couldn’t meet the braided girl’s gaze. She
squeezed Kumiko’s hand. 
	“Then why do I know things about them that I shouldn’t? Things that
video couldn’t have told me. That they came up with the baby’s name
while strolling through a rose garden. That Tomoyo loved to sing to
Sakura. That Sakura liked to cook for Tomoyo even though they had
people who could do that for them. That the world looked all tumbly
when she fell down the stairs.” Kumiko shuddered at the unbidden
images in her mind. It all looked so real. Like she was reliving old
memories. Even slipping down the stairs...
	“Stop it!!” Megumi stood up suddenly, tears starting to form in her
eyes. “Just stop it, Kumi! You’re scaring me...” Her voice went from
a scream to a barely audible whisper in seconds. Shaking hands wiped
at her eyes as she took a few weak steps back. Kumiko reached for her
seconds before she collapsed. 

	
	“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” Kumiko demanded of the
prone girl in her room.
	“I didn’t remember..?” Megumi ventured after a moment’s hesitation,
trying to smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.
	“Hmph...” Turning away from her, the slightly shorter girl crossed
her arms. Megumi could tell that she was fuming.
	“How did you find out?” the blonde asked quietly, almost ashamed.
	“Your mother told me when I called and told her that you had
collapsed at the library. I thought you’d just fainted from too much
shock. But she said you’ve been sick off and on for the past three
years. And that you’re getting worse.”
	“That’s technically inaccurate. I’ve been sick since I was a little
girl. It’s just been getting progressively worse for the past three
years.” Megumi tried another smile, but it seemed to have no affect
on Kumiko’s back. Sighing, she shook her head. She felt defeated. “I
didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to worry about all
this. I know how hard it is to know that you’re dying and that no one
can help. I know how bad that feeling of helplessness is. And I would
never want you to have to experience it. It makes you feel all sick
and twisted up inside. Besides, your smiles have always been the best
therapy for me. I don’t want them to be tainted with worry whenever
you look at me.” Closing her eyes, the wind from the fan rustled the
blankets over her. “It’s not like I could have hid it from you much
longer anyway. It’s starting to get to the point where I can barely
hide the pain sometimes. You would have found out sooner or later.”
	“But you’re supposed to tell me everything! I’m your girlfriend! I
love you! I can’t...” The anger in Kumiko’s voice drained away as she
released a choked sob. “I don’t want to lose you... I... I need
you... Megumi...” She collapsed to her knees, burying her face
against Megumi’s side as she clung to her raggedly. “I love you... I
love you too much to let you go..”
	Megumi couldn’t hold back her own tears as she gently stroked
Kumiko’s back. “Kumi...” she whispered softly. This was exactly what
she’d feared would happen if Kumiko found out, but she found herself
oddly relieved to know that her love finally knew of her personal
pain. It felt so much freer. Like it was finally all right to cry. To
stop being a big girl.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

	Sitting in the tree adjacent to the window, a woman watched the two
girls in silence. She had been there for some time, but no one seemed
to notice her presence. Her eyes sparkled from behind her glasses as
she continued her silent vigil. She had a keen interest in the
futures of the two girls inside the small room. But revealing herself
would be troublesome. They weren’t supposed to know about her.
Especially not yet. 
	Lavender eyes fell upon the sleeping form of Megumi. “Tomoyo-
chan...” the mysterious girl whispered softly. She had this all
planned out, but now it was almost impossible to continue on. Her
heart ached too much to continue on this way. But it was because of
her that this was happening. Well, most of it. She had never planned
on Megumi getting sick. Or the girls finding out about their pasts.
They were supposed to be oblivious to what was really going on. That
was their single goal in life that she had set out for them. To eke
out lives for themselves, together. They weren’t supposed to get
involved. But seeing her lying there, being held by the brunette was
almost too much for her. How she longed to go inside there and take
Kumiko’s place. She had been so sure of her plans when she’d set
everything in motion years before. But now after all that she had
endured, she was having second thoughts. It wasn’t fair that she was
supposed to be alone. That she was only here for a very specific
purpose. And the most painful part of it all was that she had brought
it all upon herself. 
	“Tomoyo-chan... I miss you.” Long fingers wiped at the tears
building in her eyes behind the glasses. It was a bad idea to come
back. She should have known she wouldn’t be able to handle it. Why
had she come after all? Because she had to see her again. But
watching her in the arms of the other girl, dying, was just too much
to bear. A mournful sigh escaped her lips. This was stupid. She never
should have come. Standing on the branch she had been sitting on,
long wings unfurled from her back. “Sleep well, Tomoyo. I’m sorry for
hurting you.” Blowing a kiss through the window, she got ready to
push off when Kumiko turned around. Her heart skipped a beat. No, she
hadn’t noticed her. Her magic was still shrouding her. There was
nothing to worry about. Then their eyes locked.
	
	Kumiko stared wide eyed at the red haired angel floating outside
the window. An uneasy feeling had been building in her chest for the
past few minutes and it had just reached a deafening crescendo. Her
instincts had finally taken over at the feeling of being watched. But
she certainly hadn’t been expecting that. Kumiko had led a rather
normal life for the short time she had been alive. Nothing stranger
than a slightly eccentric girlfriend. But now there were videotapes
of long dead girls and deja vu from some past life and strange
feelings she couldn’t pinpoint. And now this. Her heart seized up at
the sight, as if her mind wanted to deny the very existence of this
girl. ‘No, she’s not there! Ignore her! Pretend that you’ve never
seen her and everything will go back to normal,’ her mind screamed to
her. And part of her knew that it was true. Everything could be the
way it used to be. All of this craziness could be forgotten. But as
she watched the girl outside her window, she found herself being
drawn closer. The angel knew. She knew all about what was going on.
And Kumiko needed answers. She bolted to the window. 
	The angel could easily have flown away by now, but she stayed where
she was, perched atop the branch and peering in. Her eyes followed
Kumiko’s every movement. The large, white wings moved ever so
slightly behind her as she shifted her balance. “You weren’t supposed
to see me, Kumiko. You weren’t supposed to see any of this. I should
make you forget about all of it.” Her voice was calm, even. Her eyes
narrowed through the glasses, giving her a slightly menacing look. 
	The whole thing sent a shiver through Kumiko. She knew that the
angel in the tree could very well back up her claim. “Who are you?
What’s going on? Why is all of this happening?” she asked, heedless
of whatever danger she was putting herself in. It didn’t matter. She
couldn’t sit back while all of this washed over her. The only girl
she had ever loved lay dying in her bed and she was still so confused
about everything. And the firey haired angel was the key to it all. 
	The angel looked back at Kumiko through her glasses, lavender eyes
meeting violet in an intense stare that neither was willing to back
down from. The angel finally sighed, shifting to the side as her
wings stretched out behind her. “Kumiko-chan, you really aren’t ready
for any of this. Just go back inside and hold onto Megumi tightly.
Love her. Hold her. Comfort her. That is why you exist.” 
	“So I can watch her die?!” Kumiko shouted, rage burning in her
heart. Her hands shook as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
Her violet eyes were ablaze with the pain and anger that clung to her
heart like needles. “I exist so that I can watch my only love slip
away from me?! So that I can be there for her while she dies so
young?” Hot tears fell past her chin as she shook her head intensely.
“No!! That’s not it!! That’s not how things are supposed to work!”
	The angel’s beautiful face turned cross as she flew up next to the
window in one long, graceful movement. The wings beat slowly,
luxioriously as she remained aloft in front of the startled brunette.
“Will you please be quiet? You’re going to worry Tomoyo-chan. She
needs her sleep right now.“ Closing her eyes, she chanted something
under her breath before motioning with her hand. 
	Kumiko watched in shock as a gentle blue wave surrounded Megumi
before fading away. “What the hell did you do to Megumi-chan!?!” she
demanded furiously. She reached out and grabbed hold of the angel’s
blouse, holding on tightly.  “You leave her alone!!”
	The angel just watched Kumiko for a silent moment, her lavender
eyes betraying a deep loneliness in her heart. “I was simply putting
her to sleep. She’s in enough pain as it is. Now she’s dreaming, far
away from the pain. She doesn’t need you waking her up and
frightening her about all of this. All she wants is to be with you.
Don’t you understand? That’s all she ever wanted. And that‘s what I
gave her.”
	Kumiko’s hands fell uselessly to her sides as she took a half step
backwards. “You... You planned all of this... You know what’s going
on, don’t you..? So, you know all about the videotape and the
memories and everything... Right?” The angel nodded slowly,
thoughtfully. “Then... Then you have to tell me! I need to know
what’s happening!! I have to!” She asked anxiously, her eyes welling
up as she collapsed against the window sill, barely supporting her
weight on her hands. “Please...?” she asked pathetically, her eyes
begging the silent angel. “You have to...”
	Closing her lavender eyes, the angel sighed, shaking her head. “It
wasn’t supposed to be this way. You weren’t meant to find out. You
were simply supposed to live your lives, to be happy.” Her eyes
fluttered open, looking directly into Kumiko’s soul. She could see
every nuance of the girl before her, everything that made her what
she was. In a way, it was like looking into a mirror. Of course, her
life had changed certain things, forcing her to grow up very
differently than the girl before her.
	Kumiko waited nervously through the scrutiny she was receiving from
the angel. It was with some surprise that she realized the angel was
younger than her. She looked no more than fourteen years old. But
even then, it still frightened her to see those piercing lavender
eyes focused so intently on herself. “You said... You said that it’s
why I exist... What do you mean?” she ventured, hoping that  her
pleas wouldn’t go unheard this time.
	Sighing, the angel pushed up her glasses, her red hair moving
slowly as the wind caressed it. In the blink of an eye, she
disappeared, Sakura blossoms floating gently to the grass below.
	“No! No! Come back!! Please come back!!! There’s so much I need to
know!” Verging on panic, Kumiko leaned out the window and called
again and again for the firey haired angel. A tap on her back
startled her, almost to the point of falling out the window. Her
heart pounded in her chest in shock as she finally turned around. The
angel stood before her without a trace of her beautiful wings. Kumiko
blushed in embarrassment, staring at the floor. “I thought that you’d
left...” she admitted sheepishly. 
	To the brunette’s amazement, the angel smiled softly. “Don’t worry.
I probably would have done the same. Which is why I know that I can’t
leave. You can’t hide from the truth, even if it is safer that way.
You would continue relentlessly pursuing it until it finally consumed
you.”
	“You make that sound like a bad thing to be a little determined now
and then,” Kumiko said, frowning as she crossed her arms. This girl
knew all the right buttons to push.
	“It can be. Especially when others are trying to protect you from
the truth. You don’t understand how brutal it can be.” The angel
looked over at the blonde asleep in the bed. “But you’re beginning to
get a taste.” Her glasses glinted in the sunlight as she turned
around. “My name is Meishi. I am the reincarnation of the sorceress
Sakura Daidouji.” She smiled again, gesturing to the mirror. 
	Kumiko’s eyes traveled quickly to it. Rather than the firey haired
angel, the girl Kumiko had seen on the computer earlier that day took
her place. She looked to be about the same fourteen years as the
angel. Confusion gripped her heart as she tried to make sense out of
what was going on. “But I thought... I thought that I was Sakura,”
she said quietly, her voice no more than a ghost. Wasn’t that what
her memories were telling her? What she had seen in the video? Wasn’t
she that girl?
	“You are a dream. Born from my love for the girl that you know as
Megumi. You are here to love her always, to be with her throughout
all her life. That is your lot in life. And I would give anything to
trade places with you.” Her small body shuddered almost imperceptibly
as she closed her eyes. When they opened, her lavender eyes shimmered
with unshed tears. Kumiko couldn‘t utter a word in response. A dream?
She was only a dream? Some sort of puppet? “I knew that one day I
would have to set things in motion, that I would need to return to
finish what started with the Cards. But I also knew how difficult
that would be. I knew that I couldn’t leave Tomoyo behind. She means
everything to me. But I didn’t want to get her caught up in what I
needed to do. Too often she was nearly hurt because of my
carelessness. Her heart suffered the worst because of me. I wasn’t
going to let that happen again.” She took the brunette’s hands and
pulled her gently closer until they were both in front of the mirror.
To Kumiko’s surprise, neither were present in the mirror. There were
instead two Sakura’s standing there, in the same positions that she
was in with Meishi. “So I created you to take care of her, to love
her, to be with her while I handled the magical side of things. It’s
something that I’ve come to regret now.” Her eyes once again settled
on the peacefully sleeping form of the blonde girl. “I never expected
her to get sick. I didn’t think she would die like this.”
	As if snapping out of a trance, Kumiko took a step forward. She
couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “So even though she’s your
Tomoyo, you’re still going to let her die? With all the magic at your
command, your not even going to try and save her life?” All the fear
and worry that had entered her heart at the mention that she was
created of a dream for Sakura’s purposes dissipated in an instant as
fury returned. “How could you say you love her if you aren’t willing
to do anything for her? How could you stick her with a dream and then
leave her to die?” Her voice was frantic, pained, but she forced out
the words.
	Meishi slumped to her knees at Megumi’s bedside, holding her pale
hand tightly. Kumiko’s brazen words had cut her deeper than any knife
could. “You don’t understand. I’m the one who brought her back. My
magic is too strong. I can’t die. Not completely. But Tomoyo-chan...
She can die. She did die. So I brought her back. I reincarnated her.
Because I got scared. I couldn’t bear to be without her. She’s always
been there for me. Without her love and support, I’m nothing. I
couldn’t go on if she wasn’t there. So when I died and was
reincarnated, I brought her with me. I didn’t let her move on. I took
her with me. It was selfish. I came back in two bodies. This one,”
her free hand indicated herself before motioning towards Kumiko. “And
that one. You were supposed to find Tomoyo-chan’s soul in whichever
body it wound up in so that we could be together once more. I was
supposed to put everything in order with the Cards. But Tomoyo... She
came back in this body, but now it’s dying. I have to wonder if it’s
my fault. If she wasn’t meant to come back like this. I used my magic
to bind her here, to bring her back to life. She wasn’t allowed to
move on. Because I couldn’t go on without Tomoyo-chan...” Tears fell
down from under her glasses as she watched the sleeping girl
intently. “So now she’s hurting because of me. Now she’s dying all
over again because of my selfishness. So I can’t try and make her
better. Part of me wonders if I should let her live in such pain.”
	“No!!” Kumiko shouted, reaching Megumi’s side in seconds. “I won’t
let you take her away form me! I know she’s in pain, but I...” Her
voice trailed off as it hit her. She was saying the exact same thing.
“I... need her...” she whispered, her eyes still wide. “I’m... I’m
doing the same thing... I’m hurting her, too...”
	“Because we’re the same,” the red haired girl finished.  “You can’t
live without her anymore than I could. The thought of going on
without Tomoyo-chan by your side doesn’t make any sense. It’s like a
world without love or without air. It would be completely desolate.
Her heart warms you up that way, brightening everything in your life
to the point that you take her wonderful light for granted, not
seeing just how wonderful she makes it. Her love and support keep you
going when you would rather give up in defeat. It’s just the way she
is. Just as it’s the way we are to need her.” She sighed, looking
infinitely older than the young girl that rested against the side of
the bed. “If I end her pain, I would send you along with her.” She
shook her head quickly at the look Kumiko gave her. “You wouldn’t
want to live without her. Trust me. The last fourteen years have been
like a nightmare. My only happiness was knowing that the two of you
were out here. Besides, I wouldn’t want Tomoyo-chan to be lonely on
the other side.”
	A cold chill traveled up Kumiko’s spine at Meishi’s words. Despite
her confusion and her own fear of seeing Megumi in any more pain, she
steeled her resolve. “I don’t care. I don’t care if you did make me
for this reason or if you screwed up when you brought Megumi back. I
won’t let you take her from me. She’s here now. That’s what matters.
I won’t let you or anyone else take her away from me. I love her too
much.” Determination glittered in her violet eyes, her gaze never
wavering as the sorceress looked back at her.
	Giggling softly, Meishi stood up. “I’d almost forgotten what that
looked like. You really do have all of her love and support, don’t
you? I remember that determination from long ago. It took me a long
time to understand that she was the cause.” Her fingers trailed
gently along Megumi’s pale cheek before brushing back some of her
curly blonde hair. Her heart seized up as she looked down at the
sleeping girl. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan... I miss you so much...” A half sob,
half sigh escaped her lips. Her head nodded weakly. “All right. I’ll
leave her with you. But you better make sure that she’s happy. She’s
already in enough pain. I want her to die happily.”
	“But... I don’t want her to die...” Kumiko whispered. She silently
berated herself. Her vision blurred as burning tears stung her eyes.
She clenched her fingernails into her palms in an effort to focus
past the tears. Meishi was right, the thought of living a life
without Megumi was a bleak as walking through an endless desert.
Megumi was her best friend, the girl that she loved. They were
partners. Neither was complete without the other. 
	“I don’t want her to, either. Please take good care of her for me.”
Hesitating for only a second, Meishi leaned down and kissed the
sleeping beauty, her firey red hair kissing Megumi’s beautiful blonde
hair. Her heart surged as she felt Tomoyo in the all too brief kiss.
She smiled sadly down at her love, her fingers trailing gently over 
the blonde’s cheek as aquamarine eyes slowly blinked open. 
	Megumi strained to make out the blur in front of her as she finally
woke up. “Kumi?” her groggy voice asked. As her vision slowly
cleared, the figure that had been above her faded away. If she didn’t
feel so sick, she may have thought there had been someone over her a
moment before. “Kumi-chan?” she asked tiredly, trying to keep the
panic out of her voice as she searched desperately for the brunette.
	“I’m right here!” Kumiko said quickly, taking Megumi’s cold hand as
she sat next to her on the bed. The jealousy she had felt when the
sorceress had kissed her best friend quickly faded away, replaced
with concern for her slowly awakening friend. “I’m right here, Megumi-
chan. I’ll always be right here for you.” She still didn’t know quite
what was going on with Meishi or what she had in mind, but that
hardly mattered at the moment. It didn’t even matter if she was
Sakura or just a dream. All that mattered was her best friend and
what lay before her.
	Megumi offered a weak smile before coughing  for a few moments. “I
know, Kumi. It’s part of why I love you so much.” She didn’t know
what had happened, but at least Kumiko wasn’t mad at her anymore. She
didn’t know how much more of that she could have taken before just
dying of a broken heart. Wet, cold tears splattered against her
cheeks from up above. Her arms wrapped around the brunette’s waist,
even though they felt like overcooked noodles. 
	Leaning down on top of her best friend, Kumiko kissed Megumi softly
again and again, sobbing quietly as she did. “I love you so much...
I’ll always love you... I promise... I promise we’ll always be
together... No matter where we are...” she whispered, giving Megumi’s
lips more feathery kisses.
	“I know... I know, Kumi. Always.”