Saiyuki - one shot.

[aquabean]

For tj_dragonblade, who's promised to give them a chance...

[Edit: Because I was cruel to chaosd. *hopeful* but I think that she'll forgive me.]

Title: Promise
Author: rune
Summary: "One day you'll find someone..."


She used to tease him, laughing and dancing out of his reach.

“One day you'll find someone, a beauty with violet eyes and — what do they say in the stories?— ‘hair like spun gold,’” her voice would rise in a sing-song laugh, “They’ll be kind and gentle and when you fall in love, you’ll be happy forever.”

She would stop, then, and wait for him, dark hair gleaming in the sun, laughter making her green eyes crinkle. She would laugh again, softly, when he wrapped his hand around the end of the dark braid hanging over her shoulder, giving it a gentle tug.

“And if they aren’t?” He would ask, “What if they’re hard, and cold and impatient?”

“Oh, but you won’t care.” She would nod, once, sure, “Love doesn’t care about those kinds of things.”

His grip on her braid would tighten for a second, and then he would laugh, “But I love you!” and he’d smile through the strange tightness in his chest.

“Well, if you ever don’t,” her voice was always solemn, though her eyes still sparkled, “I think, you should find someone just like this. They sound very nice.”

“Very well,” he’d concede, and bow, despite the groceries in his arms, “If it will make you happy; I promise to fall in love with this golden haired beauty.”

She would nod, still teasingly solemn, “A promise like this can’t be broken, you know.”

“Oh, I know.” And she would laugh again, as he took her hand and pulled back toward home.

Comments

[chaosd.livejournal.com]

*meditatively stares at her watch for ten minutes*
*weakly* ..Excuse me, I do what?

But aside from taking my name in vain:
Every time someone makes Kanan foreshadow, it strangely playfully fine blends in her character. Renders her even more of an out-worldy creature, as she was is to Hakkai, whose eyes we use to look at her.

[runefallstar.livejournal.com]

*laughs uproariously* BWAhahahahaaH!

Sometimes *still grinning* I just like to check and see if people are paying attention :-P

*snerks* *clears throat* I apologize for any residual evilness on my part. Work today is...ummm...making me crazy? Yes, that works.


Renders her even more of an out-worldly creature, as she was is to Hakkai, whose eyes we use to look at her.

Yes. Exactly. I think that's why I framed it in the context of "would." I kept wanting to change it, to make it either more firmly past tense -- a specific scene that had already happen -- or more present tense -- a scene that we got to watch unfold. But really? This isn't something that would have happened. Something like it might have, but really? This is all about Hakkai remembering a lot of somethings. A million different moments all blended together, to create the Kannan he wants to remember. Hakkai is one of those narrators you could never trust. His version of events, when it involves one of the people he loves, would always be skewed. He would always want them to be something more, something better than they were.

Makes me think...perhaps part of the reason that Kannan ended up on such a high pedestal was because he, after the fact, needed a reason for her to leave him. Maybe her being "too good for this world," or something similar, was one of the best excuses he could make himself believe.

[runefallstar.livejournal.com]

Oh! Also, I wanted it to seem almost like this was a scene that had yet to happen. As though, if it is Hakkai remembering, he's still hoping that there might be other scenes with Kannan. "Would" is one of those wonderful words that allows for either future or past, remembering or imagining -- I don't know that I'm making any sense any more, but yeah...

*wanders off to think about this some more*

[chaosd.livejournal.com]

*nods absent-mindedly* As we know, the only memories that would be recalled are those corresponding to "now". The only prophecies to be remembered are those which turned out to be true.

PS. I wouldn't say that provocation didn't cross my mind. I was even tempted to sit back and find out how much of those paying attention to your words pay attention to mine. So you need not to apologize for it or feel sorry or anything. But then, from one second to the next my temptation has been heavily outweighted by the fact there are more people who are occasionally in touch with me in this tiny space than there are my friends. And people.. they tend to be believing, and as the lie turns greater - easier.

[runefallstar.livejournal.com]

I'll take it that you've noticed the edit? *small smile* Yes? Good. And almost certainly, prior to your comment here, actually, it was done because of this,

And people.. they tend to be believing, and as the lie turns greater - easier.

Because that much is true, and while teasing *slight grin* should and shall be done with a sense of decorum, and a willingness to end said teasing when the correct note has been sounded.

p.s. I talked to the guy at the post office on Sat. about my mailing the box to you, and he got all excited. "Never had someone mail somethin' there before. You'll have to let me know quick we do our job." Hee! (He's an old guy, but new. Very nice, and really, I'm all stoked on it too.)

[chaosd.livejournal.com]

*bites on Runefall happily*

[sariyuki.livejournal.com]

His grip on her brain would tighten for a second...

Isn't there a typo there? Braid?

This is a really interesting piece of Hakkai's past, even if it's a little wistful...

[runefallstar.livejournal.com]

*blushes* I am the worst speller ever. It's fixed now though.

Though, *snerks* it would be kinda interesting to know what kind of hold Hakkai has on Kannan's brain....heh.

I like the idea of sometimes, when Hakkai isn't sure of what's going on or where he should be in life, he lets it make up things he wish had happened. Don't we all do that? And Hakkai in his more thoughtful moments might do that exact thing more than most. So, wistful, yes. :-)

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

This is just lovely. The foreshadowing-memory angle and the hypothetical-fairy-tale-type feeling it weaves--I don't know quite how to describe, but it's one of those things that makes a person sit back and feel all warm and fuzzy with a slight layer of...of fluffy sadness on top...

I'm not making sense, am I.

^_^; It's good. Wonderfully in character also, I might add.

[runefallstar.livejournal.com]

More compliments from you? *grins* Damn, I'm feelin' good about my writing today.

Wonderfully in character also

See, now this is what really sticks me, 'cause it's what I worry about the most. Especially when working with Gonou and Kannan -- Gonou and Hakkai aren't the same person, and the only way that we see Kannan is through Hakkai's eyes, so... yeah, I'm stoked you think I got it right.

Thanks, man :-)

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

It definitely sounds right to me. And indeed, that's something for which you should be commended; because as you said--there's little to go on with either of them. But it *feels* very much in keeping with those flashback-y bits we get in both anime and manga, and to me that says 'This is right'. ^_^

[akisawana.livejournal.com]

I don't like Kannan. At all.
That out of the way, I loved this. Especially the way Kannan comes off like those oddly-wise children that turn out to be fairies in disguise, and the contrast with Gonou being so mundanely human, carrying groceries.