Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Life Through a Dragon's Eyes ❯ Chapter Eleven: Forget Me Not, or Always? ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter Eleven: Forget Me Not, or Always?

 

 

“What did you want to speak to me about Armatage?” Koenma asks quietly, obviously surprised that I've even survived my visit to Kushin.

 

“I need…to ask a favor of you. I know up until now I've done nothing to earn it, but…considering I helped destroy a demon that could've killed all humans by sending a deadly plague into Human World with hardly any effort at all, I think that grants me at least one thing from you,” I reply, keeping my voice low in case the others are listening at the door, which I have no doubt they are.

 

“Well…I suppose that's true enough. What is it?”

 

“Give Sasuke another body and let him go back to Human World.”

 

“What?! That's impossible Armatage, and you know it! Besides, why would you even care about what's happened to him? It's your fault he's dead in the first place!” Koenma yells much too loudly for my taste.

 

I sigh softly, staring down at the floor to avoid looking back at him. He's right…it was all my fault. Some people like Botan and Sasuke would probably disagree, but I know the truth. If he hadn't met me…if I had just kept to myself and ran away when he saw me…he'd still be alive today.

 

“It's not impossible. I've heard about those temporary replacement bodies Spirit World has been trying to use in case a Spirit Detective dies and you still need him. All you have to do is figure out how to transfer the soul into it and keep it there for a certain amount of time, correct?” I reply, glancing back up at him as I await his answer.

 

“How could you possibly…? Oh never mind that. The point is, that one, they're experimental and were supposed to be top secret. Two, we don't know if there's anything that could bind the soul to the body even temporarily, and for what you're asking, we'd need to find something to make it permanent, or at least until he dies of old age.”

 

“Dragon fire has been used for many things throughout history. I may still hate Kushin, but I am thankful to him for something. Since he took my fire, I now have complete control over it, even better than I did before. I separate some of my fire from the rest and put it into the new body. That should be sufficient to bind Sasuke's soul, and I can even make sure his body will age like it normally would. It'll be as if he never died at all,” I say, smirking lightly at the look of bewilderment on his face.

 

“How could this possibly have any benefit to you? It doesn't make sense. I've read through your criminal record. This…this request…it doesn't fit your personality in the slightest,” he said slowly as he stared at me.

 

Of course it doesn't make sense to him. Koenma doesn't know about all of my past, just the crimes I've committed. Sasuke…I owe you so much. I now know that…had it not been for you, I would've become a criminal much earlier than I did. You saved me from the loneliness, hatred, and rage that threatened to consume me body and soul.

 

“Never mind why I ask this of you. I need you to do something along with that…”

 

::Sasuke's POV::

 

I feel so happy. The last time I felt this good was…when I was still alive I guess. Tage is alive and well, and she won't be bothered by that stupid disease anymore. But…even though I'm fairly positive that everything's going to be alright from now on…there's just something nagging at the back of my mind that I can't get to. Tage had such a solemn look on her face when she sent the Detectives and me out of the room so she could talk to Koenma privately. What was so important to her that she couldn't allow us to know as well?

 

I smile cheerfully when I see Armatage walk out of Koenma's office, but she continues to walk right past me and stops in front of Botan. I only hear her ask Botan to open up a portal back to Human World, and that Koenma gave her permission to go back for a small amount of time.

 

Strange…she didn't say anything to the Detectives, and she avoided me completely.. I wonder if something's troubling her…I think worriedly.

 

I make no comment on it to anyone else, or ask Tage anything about it. She'll tell me eventually. We're best friends after all…at least, I hope we still are.

 

Armatage slowly retracts her wings, her pointed ears rounding again and her claws dulling until they looked like normal fingernails again. She then steps through the portal and the rest of us follow. We say our goodbyes to the Detectives. It seems that they trust Tage much more now. That's good. Armatage never was very good at trusting people, or getting people to trust her for that matter. It'll be good for her to have someone besides a ghost to talk to now and then.

 

“Sasuke…I need to talk to you about something,” I hear her say. I turn from waving to the others, seeing the serious look on her face, and also that her hands are shaking.

 

“Tage, are you okay?” I ask, concerned for her. The only times I've ever seen her like this is when something was really bothering her. As in, the last time she looked this shaken up was when I got shot.

 

“Yeah…I'm fine. Just come with me alright? I don't want to talk here, people will just see me speaking to air,” she said with a small smile as she began to walk forward. I follow her, not recognizing her path for a moment until I see the cemetery up ahead. She used to visit this place a lot during the first year after my death. Since she couldn't see me, I assume it was the closest thing to talking to me that she could do.

 

Armatage stops in front of a tombstone with my name carved into it, and sits down a few feet away. I was buried here…it seems like this place would be too sad for her to talk in, but maybe there's a reason behind it that I don't understand yet.

 

“Sasuke…for a while after you died, all I could do was think about finding a way to bring you back to life somehow. It took me about two years to find someone with inside information about some of Spirit World's latest top secret projects. So…since I helped kill Kushin, Koenma agreed to do me a few favors. One was that they use one of the temporary bodies they'd been working on to bring you back to life. It hadn't been possible before, even temporarily, but with my fire, they can bind your soul to the body, and you'll still age like a normal person,” she said with a small smile, glancing at me, but never looking into my eyes.

 

“If that was the only thing you wanted to tell me, then you wouldn't be acting like this. I've known you for years Tage, you can tell me anything. You should know that by now,” I reply as calmly as I can, though inside I'm practically burning up with anticipation, wanting to know what could possibly be scaring Armatage so badly.

 

“Before, when I'd first started trying to find a way to do this, I wanted to bring you back for selfish reasons. I realize that now. I wanted you to come back because then it wouldn't matter that it was my fault you died, though I convinced myself it was because I missed you so badly. That may be true as well but…it was killing me that…the only friend I ever had in Human World…had died because of me. I don't want that anymore. I want you to be safe, whether a safe life for you includes me or not…”

 

“Tage, tell me. What did you do?” I ask. Her words don't make any sense to me. And as I continue to watch her, I see a tear slide down her cheek, and almost as if in sympathy for her, the already darkening clouds begin to pour rain down on us gently.

 

“I wanted you to be safe, and I realized that as long as you know me…as long as we stay friends…that'll completely impossible. So…once your soul is bound to your new body…your memories will be erased, along with those of your parents and friends. They'll be replaced with new, fabricated memories so that you'll all think nothing ever happened to you. And then…you'll just go on living as a normal person. You won't ever remember meeting me,” she said quietly, her body trembling slightly the whole time she spoke.

 

I stare at her for a few moments, my mind so numb from her words that I'm having trouble registering what she's told me.

 

“Armatage, I know you feel guilty but…it really wasn't your fault. I don't want to forget you. I'd rather stay dead if given the choice between remembering you and staying alive without knowing you. Please, don't do this. I love-”

“Don't say it!” she yells, a strangled sob escaping her throat as she turns away from me.

 

“I want you to be happy Sasuke. I can't let you get hurt like that again. I wouldn't be able to take it. Please don't make this any harder on me than it already is.”

 

“But you know Itachi won't come back anytime soon, so there's no point in erasing my memories! We can be together again…isn't that what you want?” I ask desperately, not believing that she really wanted me not to remember her.

 

“Sasuke…I'm your friend, and I always will be. And…I've learned that friends are supposed to put what's best for their friend before what's best for them. I want you to be happy, and if this is what has to be done to achieve that…then so be it,” she whispered softly.

 

I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn my head slightly, seeing Botan there behind us. She mumbles something about it being time to go, but I shake my head furiously, refusing to leave Armatage alone like this.

 

“I can only wish you good luck with your new life Sasuke. I hope it turns out much better than the first,” I hear Tage say, smiling weakly at me as she stands and lets her wings out of her back slowly before taking off without another word, not even looking back at me.

 

“Sasuke, come on now. This is really what she wants, and she knows it's the best chance of keeping you safe. Armatage is doing this because she cares for you, not to make you unhappy. Don't try to go after her…” Botan says quietly, tugging on my arm gently.

 

“I…I won't. I understand…” I murmur softly, following her back to Spirit World without a fight. Botan leads me to where my new body resides. It looks just like my previous one, school uniform and everything, except it looks sixteen rather than thirteen when I died. That and it's extremely pale without a soul or anything to keep it alive.

 

“Alright, just possess it like you would a normal person, and I'll take care of the rest,” Koenma says as he walks in, a solemn look on his face.

 

Am I really better off this way? I mean, the time I spent with Tage…was the happiest time of my life. Well…if she really thinks this is best… She is using part of her fire to bind me to the body after all, so she really must think so. Well…this is goodbye I guess. I only wish Tage were here to actually say that…I think sadly as I possess the body and wait silently.

 

Koenma takes out a small container and holds it up over my new body. I can see what's inside: Armatage's fire. Dragon fire has always been amazing to me, especially hers since I've nothing else to compare it to except for normal fire. It's only a small bit, the flame a sapphire that matches the color of her wings. It seems just like her when I think about it. The very color matches her personality exactly. It's not a normal blue, but a deeper one. Just like how Tage is. She may be harsh and cold on the outside now, but I know the Armatage I fell in love with is deeper inside, being hidden for fear of being hurt again. In all honestly, I feel responsible for making her that way sometimes. Ironically, she feels responsible for my death as well.

 

I say anything as I watch Koenma carefully take the top off of the container and let the flame jump out almost immediately. It doesn't burn me as it leaves the container and enters my new body, disappearing through the skin without causing me any pain.

 

My eyes widen slightly as I suddenly feel much heavier, having to follow the laws of gravity after so long hitting me like a brick. I gasp, taking my first needed breath of air in three years. I no longer have to worry about keeping a possession on the body; my soul's been bound to it like a normal person's would be. Well…sort of.

 

“It's almost over Sasuke. Now get some rest and you'll wake up back at home like none of this ever happened,” Botan said, trying to smile at me comfortingly, but I could see that she didn't like this either.

 

I only nod silently, the action a little difficult because I feel entirely too heavy now that I have to get used to being weighted down to the ground like I used to be. I close my eyes slowly, wishing that it would just stop here, that I could keep my memories and stay with Armatage. But…in the end, I know she's right. I fall into unconsciousness, my very last thoughts of her.

 

Tage…

 

::Armatage's POV::

 

I smile weakly as I walk in, seeing Sasuke laying there on the table unconscious. I'm not happy about this, just that I know he'll be safe and have a normal life again. That's all that matters to me now.

 

“You've sent Hiei to wipe his parents' minds too right; along with his friends?” I ask softly, brushing a few strands of hair away from his face.

 

“Yes, and he promises not to tell anyone. Though, just to warn you, he'll probably give you a hard time about all this for a while,” Botan replies, having sent Koenma out of the room sometime ago.

 

“Good, and don't worry about that. I really couldn't care less at this point.”

 

“Armatage…what do you plan on doing now? Go back to Demon World maybe? You have no other place to go…”

 

“I'll watch him for a while, just to make sure everything's alright. After that…my plans are my own business.”

 

“Listen, I know you're angry at Itachi for all of this but…you're not going to try and find him are you? He was trying to kill you after all; killing Sasuke instead of pure accident.

 

“I know that. I never said I was going after him,” I say sternly.

 

“True, and though I don't know you nearly as well as Sasuke does, I do know that look on your face means you have something dangerous in mind. You know as well as I do that even he can kill you easily, especially in the state you're in now. You haven't even regained half of your strength yet,” she says worriedly.

 

“It doesn't matter because I'm not going to try and find him Botan. I don't care anymore. He wouldn't dare show his face after murdering his own brother,” I reply, sighing softly as I pick Sasuke up carefully, trying not to wake him up.

 

“I'm bringing him back home. If he remembers anything when he wakes up, he'll most likely think it was all a dream.”

 

I walk out and Botan follows me, summoning another portal and letting me leave without another word on the matter. I fly high above the rooftops of Human World, making sure not to go too fast so he doesn't wake up. Finally, I descend, landing on the roof of his house and then jumping off quickly, flapping my wings only once to keep me up long enough to get into the window of his room.

 

I lay him down on the bed and put a blanket over him, trying to make it look like he'd been sleeping fitfully the entire night. I sigh softly, hugging him gently before standing up and walking towards the window again.

 

“Be safe…” I say before jumping out and landing on the ground beside his house, retracting my wings and walking off silently into the night.