Trades Chapter 2

Dreams and Reality

By Minmei

A night in heaven...

It was something magical, and he didn't want it to end.

The woman in his arms, elation in his soul...

Oh God, finally...after the longest time, here she was...the one who at last spared him the fate of eternal solitude. He knew he had always cared for her; why did he only realize that now? But...

So...dark...

How did it even begin? He could barely remember. She was the first to come to him, he knew. But she had been cloaked in darkness...

The woman pulled free from his embrace, then turned around to face him. With a sigh, she brought a hand to his brow, weaving her fingers through his hair. Though a simple gesture, the way she went about it...it left him with a sense of peace he had never before felt...

It was now he knew he always wanted her in his life...

***

Shu rolled over in his bed...only to greet the blazing rays of the morning sun.

"Argh...!" Promptly placing a hand over his eyes, he braced himself with the other hand and slowly moved himself to a sitting position. Then slowly, he lowered his arm, as his eyesight adjusted to the bright light. A dream, he thought vaguely. What was I...

Her? I...

He shook his head, remembering it to be an amazing dream...well, within it. How it awakened things within him he had never felt...

But, the woman...I never saw her face...

The man frowned, still somewhat drowsy. "Who is she? I don't..."

Calm down, Shu. It was only a dream. Let's not get carried away...

Yet how exciting it would have been had she been present...at least, a small part of him felt. Especially last night when he had been feeling down. Though walking into his house did provide him with a short-lived sense of disorder.

When he first walked in the door, not only did he discover that no one had plundered the place, but it was virtually spotless. Of course, one did expect that after a year or so with no activity, the rooms would remain the way they had been, with not a thing out of place. But it wasn't just untouched; it was almost as though someone had been maintaining the place. The dust was not thick at all, nor was the musty odor that resulted from closing the place up for a long time. In fact, it was almost nonexistent. Yes, something was definitely off...

But before he would proceed to solve the little mystery...

He was starving, and it was time to get up...

To do what? he silently asked himself. This has got to be the most boring time of my life. Well, except for the time Master Mathiu punished me by having me clean floors and rearrange textbooks on the shelves while he told me the tales of his life with the Imperials. Now that was boring!

But at least I had something to do, even if it wasn't exactly my idea of fun. But being here...perhaps I've been gone too long, and I've outgrown this place. Anything I did for recreation then, I probably would not do now. My duties to this new country have made me realize...I'm worth much more than such small selfish desires, or decisions fueled by shame and cowardice. I can truly help by utilizing my power instead of just letting it waste away because I refuse to admit where that power could have been applied--

That...sounded just like Master Mathiu, didn't it, he suddenly realized, and hung his head, mortified. I have been gone too long.

The man finally arose, and slowly walked over to his window. I have been gone too long, he thought again as he gazed upon all of the people passing by on the street. In fact, the last time I was here would had to have been when Apple came to recruit...me...

"Apple..." he murmured aloud. "I haven't seen her in a long time." He looked off to his left, to the dirt path leading about a mile or so to the bridge, recalling the night he had joined her cause.

I wonder what she's doing now...

***

Heh, I bet Shu would laugh if he knew what I was doing now...

Apple stood on the deck of the passenger boat, the breeze whipping through her light brown hair. It had only been an hour since they left the port of Coronet, but it felt like forever...and it was still a few hours before they would dock in Kuskus...

Hell, even I'm laughing at what I'm doing now...

Oh well. I hope I can get to Radat before the sun goes down, at least. If that'll save time...at least I can get this over with as fast as I can...

She closed her eyes. Forget about the past...and get on with the rest of my life...the sooner the better. Open the door to a new dawn, and...

Apple paused in her musing to lift her face to the brightness. Less daylight, the young woman thought, squinting at the burning, golden orb adorning the deep blue sky. Just one more reason to hate the fall. But hopefully it'll be warmer when I finally cross the border...

Bringing her head back down, she brought her gaze back to the horizon, in the direction of Kuskus, and then...down the coast leading to--

Yes...Radat...

I shouldn't have any trouble.


Chapter 3

Suikoden Fanfic