Second to last chapter! Sorry for the delay on this one. .o.o.o.o.o.o.o. The Truth in Balance "Balance can be achieved many ways." unknown source .o.o.o.o.o.o.o. Shuuko stared at the girl in front of her. Her cascading blue hair blew in the warm breeze and her eyes were alive with life at last. A faint glow could be seen around her, and her soft skin was illuminated with its beauty. "Misaki, is that you?" Shuuko asked in a near whisper. "Yes, Mother." Misaki replied. "It appears that time has changed me a bit." Shuuko catapulted up and embraced Misaki warmly, only to embrace Hatoko soon after. "You are amazing girls," Shuuko commented. "I love you both very much, you know." Icchan could be heard whining from under the deck. Shuuko looked back to Misaki, and Misaki nodded. She willed a robe similar to one she and the Misaki-chan angel wore onto Hatoko. Of course, this was a treat in itself for everyone on the deck. "You can come out now, Icchan, Trent-san! Misaki has returned!" Shuuko exclaimed, and she hugged the girls again. The hatch opened and a sweaty Icchan appeared, followed by Trent who was a bit anxious to see what was happening, even though he understood precisely nothing about anything that had happened. Icchan went to look at the new Misaki, but Trent stopped in his tracks as soon as he say her. "Misaki?" Icchan asked, "Is that really you?" Misaki nodded and Icchan put his hand to his head in half-amazement, half-surprise. He turned around to see Trent staring at Misaki. "What are you doing Trent?" he said in English. "Mia... Bless my eyes... The Mistress of the Sea. Hatoko... Must be... Miu... In... Disguise..." Trent babbled. "Mia who?" Icchan asked. "Mia and Miu were washed into sea thousands of years ago." "Icchan-san, Mia was my old self. Miu is Hatoko-chan's old self." Misaki explained, and Icchan nodded in understanding. "Ah... I see now..." Icchan scratched his head in half-understanding. "If you are Mia... That means... Atlantis..." Trent began. Everyone looked at the strange old captain. "It can't be... and Umiki? Is she down there?" Icchan translated the message, but Misaki already knew what he was saying. Yano must have learned English, because she understood every single world. "Correct." Misaki replied in English, and now everyone was looking at her, save for Hatoko who was willing the boat to travel back to the Azores, where they had departed from. "I..." Trent began, but Misaki interrupted him. "You can know no more, and what you do know is not to be said to any other living being. Trent, should you speak, the sea will swallow you." Misaki stated, and Trent removed his captain's hat and nodded. "Yes miss. I will speak nothing of it outside of your presence. I know you could easily wipe my memory of this incident clean." "I am glad." Misaki turned to the rest of the group and spoke in Japanese. "We discovered that me and Hatoko-chan have been immortal since the day we were born. Just because the body dies doesn't mean we can't live. We merely create a new body." "So, you both are truly Immortal then?" Kaede asked. Misaki and Hatoko nodded. "And, it also seems, you have acquired the means to perform some miracles as well..." "We were given authority over all water on this Earth, and charged with protecting Atlantis. The sea spirit, Umiki-san, serves us now." Misaki explained. "And, what about the 'Great Balance'?" Shuuko asked. "I do not know, but, so many good things have happened to us, and so many bad things have happened to us, I have a feeling the effects of the Balance will be minimal. Actually... Now that you mention it, I am feeling a little warm..." Misaki felt Hatoko's forehead, only to find that she had a fever as well. "We seem to be unexplainably sick. I guess good had over-run bad, and we must take the rest of the negative energy in the form of a cold." "You can heal yourselves, can't you?" Icchan asked, but Misaki shook her head. "Healing will then cancel out the negative energy, and something else will happen. We must cope with the cold, and everything will balance then." Misaki replied. "I love you all, but I think we should be getting home now so me and Hatoko-chan can take care of each other and get some rest." "We are going home, Misaki-sama." Sai said, noticing the catamaran was moving swiftly through the water. "I mean, home now. We can move very quickly now, Yano has given us the knowledge to do so." "Oh, I see." Sai replied. She looked toward to Shuuko. "I trust you will take care of Hatoko and fix her meals, Misaki." Shuuko said at last, and Misaki nodded dutifully. "Goodbye everyone, for now." Misaki said, smiling, and she disappeared in a splash of water that flew into the air. Hatoko did the same, and she followed close behind. And then, they were gone, speeding home. Great expanses zipped underneath them in seconds, and before they even had the time to think about what they were going to do, they had arrived. A few lone rain clouds had flown in to greet them, and they procured a light shower in the general area of Shuuko's residence. "The clouds seem to have beat us," smiled Misaki. She put her hand to her mouth and coughed. "We should get inside though and get this over with." "I'd be glad to," Hatoko replied, and she took Misaki's hand, and they went inside after willing the lock to release. The small Misaki-chan doll followed at Misaki's direction, closing the door behind them. They made their way quietly to Misaki's room. "Umm... Misaki..." Hatoko began softly. Misaki turned to look at her, willing her robe to disappear. A sleeping gown appeared in its place. "Yes, Hatoko-chan?" Misaki replied, doing the same to herself. "Remember that promise I made to you after Sayoko-san was killed?" Hatoko asked, and Misaki nodded. "Well, I plan on keeping it." Hatoko dragged Misaki to the bed and pushed her in, sliding her own body in after. "First on the list: I'm going to snuggle you and kiss you and bathe you... Bathing can wait for a bit though. It is time for rest... You haven't slept for some time..." "I guess I haven't..." Misaki answered, but Hatoko had pounced on her, wrapping her arms tightly around Misaki, looking into her eyes. Even has her temperature dramatically increased, she smiled sweetly, and kissed Misaki with the same passion. "This cold is quite bearable with you around, Hatoko-chan..." Misaki commented, sniffling, and she smiled back after Hatoko released her lips from Misaki's. "I learned something when fighting Yano-san. I learned that Love is greater then any pain. Even as he sliced me like a carrot, I found I felt no pain as long as I thought of you." "Either way, it was a horrific fight. You were like some enraged demoness, destroying everything in your way to rescue me." Misaki replied easily, staring into Hatoko's eyes. Hatoko returned the stare, still fascinated by Misaki's new eye color. "Was I really? Hmm..." "We have been given great power, and great knowledge and wisdom. We must now protect most of the Earth, and keep an ancient city safe. We must be very careful about who knows about our abilities." Misaki continued, and Hatoko nodded. "We also have to get everyone used to Misaki being different when you play Angelic Layer." Hatoko pointed out. It was true, Misaki now had long, blue hair. Convincing everyone that she was Misaki would only be accomplished by using Hikaru on the Layer. "Umm... Misaki... Do you like the way you look now?" "Since I look like the doll you made for my spirit to control, and you made that doll with all of your heart, I love the way I am. This is truly who I am now. I probably could change back to look like the old me... But the old me is no longer the true me. I do not want to lie about my appearance. I look like the sea anyways..." A small ball of water floated in between the two, courtesy of Misaki. It glimmered at the light from the window passed through it. "We really have come a long way," Hatoko replied, coughing. She slurped up the water. "Silly Hatoko-chan..." Misaki said, her temperature coninuing to rise. "I think it's time we get some sleep..." "Alright, Misaki..." Hatoko replied, resting her head on Misaki's chest. Misaki willed a quick sleep onto both of them as a light rain showered the city. .o.o.o.o.o.o.o. "Mmm... Hatoko-chan..." Misaki nudged the smaller girl affectionately. She was quite hot, and Misaki pulled the top cover off of her. "Hmm, quite a bad cold we have..." Misaki felt her own forehead as Hatoko stirred about and sat up. "We would probably have to go the hospital if we were still mortal..." Misaki added as she sat up next to Hatoko, wrapping her arms around her. She sniffled a bit. "Probably..." Hatoko replied, and memories of their recent trip flooded her mind. She turned to Misaki, and stared quietly. Her sapphire eyes sparkled with inner magic, and her flowing sea blue hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her sleeping gown, a thin blue garment with a silver lining, fell to her ankles. The smooth fabric rubbed against Hatoko's cheek, and she buried her head among it. A soft luminance surrounded them both. "Misaki... I am happy. Truly happy. I want to be with you forever... I do not want to leave your side, not for anything." "What about school?" Misaki asked softly. "I don't want to go." Hatoko replied. "We don't have to then..." Hatoko looked up. "We have the knowledge inside of us already, thanks to Yano. There is no reason why we should waste our time at school." Hatoko continued to look at Misaki's soft facial features. "I wonder, Misaki... Since we live forever... People are going to realize that we are immortal." "They will also realize that we won't age... In a few years, the world will have to know, or we will have to go into hiding. While we could will our appearance to change, that is the same as lying." Misaki whispered back softly. "I do not want to hide." Hatoko replied, "No one can stop us from being who we want to be. No one can capture us, and no doubt, people will try to. They might go so far as to think we are aliens..." A smile spread on Hatoko's face, and she coughed. A drop of blood fell from her lips. "Neither do I..." Misaki gazed down, and saw the scarlet droplet on Hatoko's gown, staining it. "Hatoko-chan, your bleeding from your mouth." "Am I?" Hatoko replied, noticing that her body was telling her it wanted to shut down. "This illness is pretty bad, Misaki... I'm worried. Not about myself or you... but... What if someone catches what we have? They won't have a chance." Misaki nodded in agreement. "When it's over, this room needs to be sterilized. Hmm... We could leave these bodies and reform. A reformed body won't carry it, and we can sterilize the room without a body." "Won't that cancel out the negative energy?" Hatoko asked, but Misaki shook her head. "The worst any illness can do is kill someone. Let it do it's worst. Besides... I have a theory. After of course." Misaki and Hatoko took each other's hands and floated above their bodies, which fell limp and disappeared in an instant. Misaki willed the destruction of every last germ and small organism in the room, and a flash of light later the room was more germ-free then the insides of a bottle of anti-bacterial soap. Moments later, Misaki and Hatoko stood embracing on the soft carpet, unclothed. "No clothes? Misaki... really... The curtains are open." Hatoko commented, an air of childishness about her. "Same goes for you, Hatoko-chan." Misaki replied softly. They giggled at the thought of being seen, blushing pink. Misaki willed a matching pair of gowns on the both of them. The room became quiet, and Hatoko looked up at Misaki once more. "You were saying something earlier... A theory?" Hatoko started. "Yes... I believe there is way to sidestep the natural tendency for things to balance out... There is good energy and bad energy in our world. Good energy is naturally made when good things happen, and bad is made when bad things happen. But, energy is energy, even if it is bad energy, it can still do work to make good things happen." Misaki started. "Are you suggesting that when we want to make something good happen, we artificially create bad energy to do the work?" Hatoko replied, she smiled a bit, knowing her thoughts were unusual for a 'normal' child her age. "I am... The difference between good and bad is like hot and cold chocolate milk. They are the same thing in essence. If you combined them, you would have chocolate milk at around room temperature, right? They balance each other out to achieve normal, in this case, room temperature. Why not use the cold chocolate milk to do something good?" Hatoko nodded in understanding. "Yano was smart... I'm glad he shared what he knew with us... But Misaki, you're so smart too!" Hatoko complimented enthusiastically. Misaki looked away, gazing across her room, her mind beginning to see new possibilities. "Hatoko-chan... After we let Tamayo-chan and Kotarou-kun know about what happened... And we take care of our records at school..." Misaki started, but Hatoko already knew what she was going to ask. "Yes, Misaki. Let's go find a place to live. By the sea, a private beach, a private island even... Hidden from view where people can't even go without permission... Or something magical like that. That would be nice." Hatoko smiled sweetly, and Misaki placed a hand on her head, stroking her soft hair to her neck. Hatoko waited for a reply as a red hue filled her cheeks in place of pink. "Create an island that no one can see nor touch? We can do that. I don't see how it will affect anyone. What doesn't exist for them can't bother them. Definitely has to be hidden though." Hatoko, knowing Misaki's next intentions, had already changed their clothing to something more fitting for an afternoon outing, and they disappeared in an instant, arriving at Misaki's school grounds. School would be out soon, and Kotarou and Tamayo would finally get to know what had happened. Misaki also had plans to erase her name from the student registry. "Misaki... Do you want to end your school life? I don't want you doing it just for me..." Hatoko started, but Misaki looked at her, a soft expression in her eyes. "I am doing this because we have decided too. We is I. I is We. We are One. I am doing this for the both of us. I never want to leave your side. School is not a good enough reason to leave the side of the person I love most." Misaki replied, "If we cannot share love, there is no point to life. We must remove the obstacles, or it will hurt us." Hatoko nodded in understanding as the bell rang for school to be over. Misaki was right, of course. They must take precautions to safeguard their ability to be together. Students began to pour out of the front doors of the school, and Kotarou spotted Hatoko within a few minutes. He dragged Tamayo over to the small girl and Misaki, who he didn't recognize yet. "Hatoko, what have I told you about hanging around strangers? And where have you been all this time? Mom and Dad are worried." Kotarou asked, sternly. Tamayo was gazing at Misaki, and before Hatoko could reply, she jumped. "Misakachi!" Tamayo exclaimed, hugging Misaki, practically hurting her. Kotarou turned to face the blue-haired girl. Misaki nodded as Tamayo let go. "It is me. I'm sorry you had to be kept in the dark, but things are well now." Misaki glanced to the side, looking at her school. A couple of the school's usual bullies were picking on a young girl off in the distance. Misaki pointed to them. "Kotarou-kun, Tamayo-chan, do you see those people?" Kotarou and Tamayo turned, and they nodded. "I wanna beat one up..." Tamayo said in a slow, low voice. The hands and feet of the boys in the distance froze into ice cubes, and they dropped to the ground. The girl appeared next to Misaki. Kotarou and Tamayo were speechless. "Are you okay?" Misaki asked softly, and the girl, not knowing what to think, nodded slowly. "Umm... what happened?" she asked, her voice trembling. "You're safe. That's all that matters, Yumi-chan." Misaki replied, and the girl's eyes shot wide open. She bowed slightly and went on her way, tettering a bit from side to side. Misaki willed her soon-to-be old classmate to forget the incident. "Kotarou-kun, Tamayo-chan... Do you want to know?" Misaki asked. Kotarou and Tamayo nodded after few moments of consideration. "Alright, let's go to your house. Hatoko-chan needs to speak with her Mother and Father as well." Misaki added, smiling big. .o.o.o.o.o.o.o. Author's Notes: Enjoy . Revised October 16th, 2004. .o. Munkii
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