/me goes to fridge, gets out tea, various rabbit foods and some cottage 
cheese... bids kawaii chisai neko "oyasumi nasai"... climbs stairs, sits 
down in front of computer, evil ideas about Fushigi Yuugi, anime in 
general, and Shakespeare percolating slowly in back of head... proceeds to 
type half-finished file....


Lyric: Hell Is For Children


        Subaru curled into a small ball under his blankets.  This was the 
worst part, the nights.
        The apartment which had seemed so warm and full of laughter when he 
had shared it was cold and silent now that he was alone.
        <Hokuto-chan....>
        Subaru curled even more tightly in on himself, holding the stuffed 
brown bear that Hokuto had given him for their fifth birthday.
        It had only been a month.
        One month of being alone.
        Alone for the first time in his life.
        Subaru felt the tears break from his eyes and run wetly across his 
face, soaking into his pillow.
        He was unhappy, desperately so.  He had never known that this 
degree of misery could exist.  His sister, his twin, his neechan, was gone.
        And if it hadn't been so late at night he wouldn't have even let 
himself admit that.  He wouldn't have admitted it.  His days were dedicated 
to Seishirou-san, to training, to tracking, to fighting.
        Only at night did he let himself think of his sister and cry.  It 
was only at night that he let himself hurt and feel real.  During the days 
Subaru didn't feel real anymore.  He had never been as much himself during 
the day as he was at night, anyway.  Hokuto had been the sunlight and he 
the starlight.  Without his sister, Subaru withdrew completely into the 
night.
        The sunshine was too bright to touch, and the warmth never reached 
him in any case.
        Subaru brought his knees to his chest and let his tears wet the 
dark blue fabric of the pyjamas.

        "Damn you!" Hokuto shouted at the figure next to her.  "Why are you 
showing me this?!  I can't touch him, can't help him... I can't do anything 
for Subaru!!  Either let me help him or stop making me watch him!"
        :It is interesting that your twin has not thought to summon your 
spirit,: the Watcher observed.  He or she... <It,> Hokuto thought... smiled 
softly, green hair floating around its beautiful face like a halo.  Silver 
lashes surrounded the amethyst eyes as it looked at Hokuto.
        :And did I say that you could not do anything for your brother?: it 
asked.  :Ease him to sleep.:
        Hokuto looked at it, then back down at her brother.  His thin frame 
was curled into a small ball, short black hair mussed, the emerald eyes 
they shared wet with tears.  It was like looking at herself, but she had 
never been as depressed in her life as her twin was now.  "Subaru," she 
murmured, feeling his pain, moving through the space between them until she 
sat on his bed.  Her hand moved over his intangible hair, stroking it 
softly.  He continued to weep without noise.
        She closed her eyes, feeling her regrets tear at her heart.  She 
had done this to her little brother.  It was her he was crying for now.  
Before, it had been Seishirou-chan.  Now....
        "I'm sorry, Subaru," she whispered.  "Forgive me."
        A single tear of her own broke from her eye, falling through the 
empty space to her hand, and through her hand.

        A cool drop of water landed on Subaru's cheek, cold in comparison 
to his hot tears.  A gentle hand brushed through his hair.  Startled, he 
turned to look.
        "Hokuto...chan?" he whispered, scarcely daring to believe what his 
eyes saw.  The apparition froze, staring back at him for a long second, 
then turned to look at another figure in a corner of the room; a tall 
biseinen with flowing white robes and elven ears.
        The biseinen nodded once, slowly, then faded from sight.  Hokuto 
turned back to Subaru, eyes still wide, then pulled him into a fierce hug 
which Subaru awkwardly returned, his arms being pinned by hers.
        "Hokuto-chan!" he cried, feeling relief.  All the tears and misery 
of a few moments before were vanishing.  She hadn't gone completely.  He 
could feel her, and though she was truly not alive, her body was warm and 
solid to his touch.  "Hokuto...chan...."

        Hokuto smiled and ran her fingers through Subaru's hair, letting 
him hold her tightly, his head resting on her chest like a baby on its 
mother's.  He was as close as she would ever have to having a son, she 
realized.  Sei-chan had stolen that from her when he killed her.  She would 
never grow up now, never get married, never have children and 
grandchildren.  All she had was Subaru, and they were on opposite sides of 
the spiritual barrier....
        <I guess I was your mother sometimes... since we never had one, and 
you needed it,> she thought.  <I guess that's what an older sister is 
supposed to do....>
        "You didn't deserve to die, Hokuto-chan," Subaru murmured.  "You 
shouldn't have substituted yourself for me.  I should be the one dead, not 
you...."
        "You were always my best playmate," Hokuto answered quietly, laying 
her head gently on top of Subaru's, so that her cheek rested on his soft 
hair.  "It's all right.  Go to sleep, Subaru.  Go to sleep...."
        "I love you, neechan," Subaru murmured.
        "I love you too, otouto," Hokuto replied.
        She remained like that for a long time, listening to her brother's 
breath and heartbeat as he fell asleep.  It made her feel slightly sad that 
she no longer had either of those things, but the knowledge that he still 
did made it worth her loss.
        :Child.:
        Hokuto looked up, startled at the voice, and saw the Watcher 
watching her.
        :He rests easily, thanks to you.  Now let him go, and come with 
me,: the tall, pale person said.  :We have much work to do.:
        "What do you mean?" Hokuto asked, gently easing Subaru down onto 
his pillows.  She tugged the blankets up around him carefully, as she had 
done a thousand times while alive, tucking them under his chin to keep him 
from getting a chill.
        The person shrugged.  :Those who are greater than I feel that you 
have earned the right to proceed to the next level of incarnations.  This 
will take some part of work on your part for the next hundred years or so, 
but....:
        "I understand," Hokuto said, straightening and looking down upon 
her sleeping brother.  "I am not... was not... a Sumeragi for nothing."
        The biseinen smiled and held out an arm, the underside of the white 
cloak showing only an inky blackness that was the whirl of space.  :Come 
then.  I am to prepare you for your trial and rigors.:
        Hokuto stepped into the void, looking back at her brother.  She 
would watch after him, she vowed.  She would let nothing harm him, even if 
it cost her chance at advancement in the cycle of reincarnations.
        "So what is your name?" she asked, looking back at her companion.
        A throaty laugh tickled her mind.  "How interesting that you ask.  
It is...."

*****
 End
*****
One paper left, and I can go back to writing lots and lots... does anybody 
know if there are translations of Fushigi Yuugi or a FAQ for it available 
on the 'Net?

Evil Thought <tm>: Tokyo Babylon 1/2 (no, I will *not* write it... I have 
too many other projects)