( The Sunflower )

After a lengthy talk with his mother and Mari, Sho was somehow able to manage a peaceful acceptance of his situation.

After all their speculations, all he knew was that his dreams and visions were linked to the shop. Whether it was an idyllic scene of an outdoor picnic in the summer sun, or a terrifying nightmare of a death by fire, Nino and the ( Read more... )

After a gargantuan effort on his part, Nino, sleep deprived and barely recovered from an exhausting out-of-body journey, finally managed to drag an unconscious Yuki out of the Dimensional Sanctuary. Much to his relief, the door needed no special spells or incantations to let them out; if his suspicions were correct, Yuki's earlier chanting had more ( Read more... )

Mari had spent the better part of 30 minutes rapping her knuckles raw on Sho's front door, yelling his name at the top of her lungs, every 5 minutes or so, for good measure.  Her brother usually slept like a log after a long and tiring day; otherwise the slightest noise would be enough to rouse him from sleep.

From what Sho told her over the phone, ( Read more... )

Nino and Sho trudged wearily along the cobbled path leading out of the palace, each step weighing heavily on their hearts as they tried not to run back while Yuki's panicked screams echoed throughout the long and dark hallway.

Fighting to hold back the tears, they bravely walked out into the open fields where the overpowering stench of blood ( Read more... )

Despite their best intentions, nobody could completely hide the truth from the public. It was no secret to Nino, and certainly not to the rest of the palace, that the end was fast approaching. Each day that passed drew them a step closer to their final goodbyes and each nurtured their own melancholy sentiments as they gazed at the meteor; looming ( Read more... )

With its protective spells banished, another obstacle had been removed. Nino would now be able to touch the book without fearing the consequences. The problem now, had to do with how much he knew Eriol, and if he could fool him long enough to take the book without arousing suspicion. Never one to back down from a challenge, Nino formulated his ( Read more... )

Both boys arrived at the castle quiet and completely sober with Nino already formulating strategies in his mind, creating a mental bullet list of the things he needed, the things he knew, and the things he should consider. Right after Ohno's drunken confession of a stray yet persistent vision that haunted him, an afternoon that was supposed to be ( Read more... )

Nino's ghostly form held on to Yuki's as they traveled further away from their bodies. They crossed over to a different plane that served as a bridge, where the paths of those about to enter a new life, and the recently departed, intersect...

The absence of his body felt liberating. For the first time in his life, Nino finally had an idea of what it ( Read more... )

Nino's incessant questioning came to an abrupt halt the moment they approached the door. Unaware, he held his breath, mesmerized by the blood red glyphs carving themselves deeply upon the pine finished wood. The foreign alphabet looped and chained words in an elaborate script; not much different from the glyphs that warded the journal away from ( Read more... )