********* (I Love You) Aki L: Nagareboshi-An FFXI Love StoryFollow

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Okay, after writing this, I went and changed a small detail in the previous Interlude to make this work abit better. Just letting ya’ll know.

Also, this is the end of Part VII! /cheer^^

Previous chapters, aki, and Interludes

Part I - Connection (Enishi)

Kasho II - Kodoku (Solitude)

Part III - Reunion (Saikai)

Kasho IV- Suriyoru (Closer)

Part V- Secrets (Hiou)

Kasho VI- Hanarebanare (Apart)
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(Chapter XLV)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=1131636452150807743;num=4;page=1

(Interlude IX)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=1133800951265217703;num=2;page=1

(Aki XLVI)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=113501144625653958#1135182494202893613

(Chapter XLVII)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=1138039094120547425

(Aki XLVIII)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=114115196869295116;num=2;page=1

(Interlude X)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=1141306825158258628

(Chapter XLIX)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=114679612984309647#1146852071109322421

(Interlude XI)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=1148994161214449722;num=0;page=1

(Interlude XII)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=114925749640592810;page=#114925749640592810
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Bonus Story: Rainfall Memories

Dedicated to anyone who wishes they had someone they lost.
*****
If you make a wish upon a shooting star, it will come true.

At least, that is what I once believed when I was just a child growing up.

Funny how little things like that are so easy to forget until they come true…
***
Aki L: Nagareboshi
***
Some girl that was... I thought to myself as I watched her stumble away towards the party after I had just saved her from that perverted elvaan.

She could at least have said "Thank you"...

Turning away I headed towards another chariot which my date told me that she would be arriving in. Two days ago, I had asked her if she wanted me to pick her up at her place when I sent her a letter via moogle-mail, but she just replied in another message written in rather flourished handwriting that she would rather 'arrive in style without me'. I was a little bit offended, considering that she didn’t even want to bother meeting each other until we had to at the ball.

As I drew closer towards where she had told me to meet her, I could see that the carriage was an elaborately painted affair, with stain glass windows and a rather gaudy gold and silver trim upon it’s surface. I could make out a single chocobo that was being reined in by the driver, and even in the darkness it was quite obvious that the bird was wheezing heavily from the cargo that it had been forced to pull over some unknown distance to get here. After a couple of moments, I saw a shadow peer out from one of the glass windows at me for an instant and heard an unintelligible command spoken out towards the chocobo driver.

Instantly I saw the driver spring out of his seat, walk briskly towards the side door that I was facing, and then open the door handle with a single gloved hand. After a moment I saw a figure start to gracefully float down the stairs, her face shadowed by the light from inside the carriage. Once her feet finally touched the bare ground, there was enough illumination from various lampposts placed around the grounds that I could see her face.

Glancing at her quickly, I could tell that she had moderately pale skin, and long blonde hair which was curled up at the ends. Her bust was rather well pronounced in the extremely low cut dress that she was wearing, and I couldn’t help but wonder how in Altana’s name that outfit wasn’t sliding off of her body. Her beauty seemed incredibly clinical, manufactured as if it served to only draw men’s affections towards her.

"Sir, you are here and only here to escort me to this dance. You will not try to dance with me, touch me, or goddessforbid kiss me when we are together at any point tonight. When we enter inside the ballroom, you will immediately leave me alone, and sit alongside the wall until the night is over. If you understand, then kindly extend your elbow so that you may properly escort me inside."

Tearing my eyes away from her body finally, I gazed into her eyes for a brief moment and saw twin chilled sapphires lying there.

Sighing inwards at what I knew would be a rather bad night, I held out my armored right elbow for her to lay her fingertips upon. As soon as we did so, we walked with a rather brisk pace to where I could see that the party was already in full swing inside the building. As soon as we passed through the arched doorway, I saw rather than felt my "date" float away from me towards a gaggle of other strikingly dressed ladies who were chatting it up in a small circle slightly off from the center of the dance floor.

After taking a moment to get my bearings, I wondered over towards a white sheet covered table in the corner. Laid out upon it’s surface I saw a fair amount of food upon silver trays that ranged from the Marquis’ favorite leremieu tacos to some type of red curry that appeared to be made from dragon meat.

Helping myself to various dishes, I eventually found an empty table to sit at, upon which I could see a sliver of an outdoor balcony overlooking the neighboring salty sea as I allowed my mind to drift to the sounds being played by some band that the Marquis hired for tonight. Gradually as the hours began to wax upon each other in ever-increasing numbers, the partygoers began to wane and I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy as they left laughing and smiling at a night well spent together in each other’s company.

Feeling a sudden urge for some fresh air as I watched a mixed hume/elvaan couple exchange kisses before exiting out of the front door into the nighttime sky, I got up from my seat and weaved my way around various people and dignities towards the balcony that I had been catching a glimpse of for the better part of the night. Breaching the arched vermillion doorway, I saw a figure standing in the middle of the balcony, her dress illuminated by the crescent moon’s glow as she leaned against the antiqued railing.

Her hair was put up in a rather elaborate style, only serving to accent her dark blue dress that extended down to and slightly beyond her ankles. My eyes traced unwittingly along the graceful lines of her body, and I couldn’t help but noticed that the back of her dress was split open in a slanted v-shape, held up by twin spaghetti straps that crossed over her shoulders.

As her mask-covered face suddenly turned towards me, I instantly realized that it was the woman who I had saved earlier that night. She tilted her head to the side slightly as she gave me a quick lookover, then went back to her post gazing out over the horizon. Strolling over next to her, I leaned my armored covered forearms over the edge, loosely locking my fingers together in a clasp.

"Beautiful night, isn’t it?" I said idly out of boredom.

No response.

I turned my helmeted head over in her direction, and I saw her draw a couple fingers to her throat and tap it lightly to indicate that she couldn’t speak. Sighing slightly in frustration, I started to speak suddenly again after a moment.

"Hey...have you ever fallen in love with someone, but he then made a mistake and thrown everything you two had away in a fit of anger?"

She touched a finger to the edge of her mask in thought, and then shook her head slowly up and down in a careful nod.

"Did he ever apologize for it?..."

She then shook her head sideways, and I could almost swear that I saw a small droplet of a tear slide down into the folds of her scarlet mask. Looking back over the waters, I could just barely hear her blink away tears as I watched a shooting star arc across the sky before burning up completely against the moon. Gradually I became aware of a soft piano piece drifting outside from where the band seemed to be winding down into the final number of the evening.

"One dance..." I murmured gently to myself, wishing wistfully. Looking over at the girl who had turned her head back to it’s original position when I first saw her tonight, I felt my throat begin to dry up as I began to speak once more.

"...We may not be here with the one we want to be tonight...but would you like to share the last dance, to try to forget about that person, if only for a few minutes?"

To my surprise...

She nodded.

Moving close together, she slipped her right hand against the inner piece of my body armor, and as she then looped her fingers of her other hand between the digits of my own, our bodies began to glide in time to the music in harmony.

-fin Aki L: Nagareboshi

-fin Part VII: Longing (Akogare)


Edited, Jun 16th 2006 at 12:18pm EDT by Nightsintdreams

The focus of this story is the relationship between two people :P

But there IS a subplot, something about an Eruntalon Code...there -has- to be something about that, doesn't there? ;)