Tokyo Babylon: Song Ending 3: Stand By Me / Walkin' On Sunshine Midori tuned across the stations until she found a song that she could sing along with. She checked her watch briefly, and smiled at her worry. She was going to make it to the train station in plenty of time. Today was one of the best days of her life. Finally, it was all going to be behind her. She had a job lined up in Tokyo after her graduation, and they were planning a small wedding around Christmas. Small, but romantic. Hopefully, the marriage would be blessed and peaceful. But that was for the Gods to ordain, and the two of them to work through. Relaxing her shoulders, Midori reminded herself that the troubles of the past were over. It had been a year and a half since she had made her choice, blocking Subaru's attack of her brother. She had been unbelievably fortunate; there had been no lasting effects from the blow, save for a scar on her belly and occasional twinges of pain. And though the doctors had warned her that it might be difficult, she could still have children.... Midori smiled as she snagged a good parking spot and exited the car. It was a hot, sunny day, and it was good. If only the weather would stay good for the graduation ceremony, she prayed silently. It was too nice weather to break so soon. She spotted her prey, and silently snuck up behind him. Then she pounced. Subaru sensed Midori at the last second and turned to catch her in his arms. She kissed him resoundly first, then teasingly complained "You don't let me have any fun!" "We'll see if you're saying that in a few hours," Subaru teased back. Midori smiled back happily at him as she took his hand and led him towards the parking lot. Subaru shouldered his bag and willingly followed. "I'm assuming I'm staying with you at your apartment again?" he asked. "Why do you think I rented it last year?" Midori replied, pressing the small black square that hung from her keychain. Her car cheeped cheerfully in reply. "And we _are_ engaged, Subaru." "I'm marrying a woman of means," Subaru teased as he opened the door for her. Midori waited until he was in the car too before responding "And I'm marrying a man who doesn't mind it." "We still haven't decided on if we're going to live in my apartment or find a new place to live after the wedding, Mi-chan," Subaru reminded her, using the nickname that he had fought his own instincts of politeness so hard to use. "Well, since I'm going to be living with you until then, let's just see how well it works out and how much I change your bachelor's existance," Midori replied, with a sidelong glance at him as she carefully backed out of the parking spot. "See if you can really stand living with me for the rest of your life." "Somehow I doubt it'll be that easy to get rid of you, Midori," Subaru responded dryly, keeping his eyes opened. He had never gotten used to Midori's psychotic style of driving, and the concept of relaxing while sitting in a car she was driving was utterly foreign. "Relax, Subaru," Midori said softly. "I won't kill you before our wedding day." "And after?" Midori smiled. "That's up to you," she said, too-sweetly. ********* Midori sat nervously on her chair, up on the stage, wishing that the dean would finish his speech so she could stand up, rush through hers, and sit back down. she thought to herself. She sighed and let her eyes wander the crowd until she found Subaru again. She smiled at him, almost unable to wait until she could get off the stage and hide from everyone's eyes. Subaru smiled back at Midori, sending a touch of his own emotions back at her, hoping his own happiness for her accomplishment would quell her fear. She had never seemed shy around him, but she definitely did not like the idea of speaking in front of these people. She had worried about it both last night and this morning, though she had refused his half-serious offer of an emotional block on her phobia. Slowly the hairs on the back of Subaru's neck began to prickle. A feeling of cold flushed through his body from the inside out. he thought, immediately casting out his magical senses, confirming what he already knew. He turned his head and looked at the back of the seating area, where he easily found a tall figure dressed in a suit, wearing a dark trenchcoat. "Seishirou-san...." he breathed. Midori thought, feeling the variation of living energy that was very uniquely Sakurazuka Seishirou. She looked up, away from the dean's back, her eyes finding her brother's figure at once. "... Toyuuki Midori," she suddenly heard her name. She blinked dumbly for half a second, then stood and walked over to the podium, blinking at the bright sunlight as her thoughts ran like quicksilver. She hadn't expected her brother to come to her graduation ceremony, even though she had written to him and sent him a ticket. He hadn't replied to any of her letters, so she had thought he wouldn't come.... She cleared her throat softly and looked at the million blurs of the faces in the crowd. she thought, her fear suddenly taking precedence over even her brother's presence. "... I had an entire speech memorized," she started, not knowing where to go, "but I have a secret fear of speaking, and now that I'm in front of a crowd, I suddenly find that I can't remember a word of it." She smiled and laughed softly, her stomach churning. "I guess that that's every speaker's secret fear, isn't it? But now that it's happened, I certainly don't have to worry about it any more. Besides... I think I would have changed my speech anyway. "I see someone in the crowd here who I certainly did not expect to come to my graduation... to approve my life, to say that I am forgiven. He and I understand the subtleties of our relationship, and we both know that his simply being here is enough. I owe my older brother quite a lot of my life, you see. When I was very young, some very bad things happened to me, and as soon as he was able to, he made sure they stopped, and made sure I got help in dealing with it. He is one of the three people I can quite safely say made me who I am today. "In the way of brother and sister, however, we inevitably had a falling-out, and we haven't spoken in a year and a half. But the future is uncertain, and anything may happen. I think it would be good for all of us to take a look at those people who enabled us to get here... siblings, parents, grandparents, friends, and lovers. It is never due to only one person that their success is acheived, and it is wise to remember that, and perhaps to pass the aid and inspiration on to others. I know this speech is short, and very wandering and unrelated, but it is something that I feel at heart. May the Gods smile upon all of our destinies." Managing to keep her blush to a minimum red, Midori turned and sat back down. Some of the faculty were smiling kindly at her, others frowning, and some others looking ambivalent about her entire impromptu speech. But at least it was over, and she didn't have to stand up in front of a million billion people anymore. Seishirou frowned slightly, considering whether or not he should simply go now that he had appeared at the ceremony. If he stayed, Midori and Subaru would inevitably wish to confront him, and that might result in unpleasantness. On the other hand, surely he had had a reason for coming to this ceremony, which was so far out of his way, when he had had no inclination to answer any of her letters.... "Oniisan." "Congratulations, Midori," Seishirou said smoothly. "Thank you for coming," she responded carefully, her face controlled and calm. "I did not expect for you to come to my graduation." "It's the proper thing for a brother to do, isn't it?" Seishirou said, smiling casually. "Hello, Subaru-kun." "Seishirou-san," his one-time enemy responded, his face even more carefully neutral than Midori's. "It's... nice to see you again." "Am I invited to the wedding?" Seishirou asked, smiling still. "Midori has written me of your engagement." "Midori?" Subaru asked, looking at her. Midori shrugged. "He's my brother, regardless of all that has happened," she explained. "Be angry with me if you like, Subaru, but it won't change that. You're marrying the Balancer, and Sakurazukamori will be your brother-in-law. Back out now if you want." Subaru's intense eyes met hers as Seishirou looked on, feeling very much outside of the transaction. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Mi-chan," Subaru said softly. Then he smiled at the both of them. "In the meantime, I reserved a table at a nearby restaurant. Shall we go celebrate?" "Midori's graduation and your engagement both," Seishirou proposed. "And I pay." "Seishirou-san..." Subaru protested. "I insist," Seishirou replied. "Oniisan," Midori interrupted softly. Seishirou looked at her. "Thank you for coming. What you do will be repayed in the future. One day Sakurazukamori will end, and all of us here know that to be true. Kamui's choice made the world turn to the day rather than the night, and even now the darkness dispels, spinning away into the heavens." Her hand lightly brushed against his cheek. "Thy weaknesses will become thy strengths, and what has been denied true." "Becoming a prophetess?" Seishirou asked. "Always been one," she replied, cocking her head to one side. "My 'gift' is highly sporadic, but it's never wrong." "Welcome to our family," Subaru said softly. ********* A small, interesting note: in Japan, Christmas is considered more of a lover's holiday than anything else... like Valentine's Day in America, but more.