"Healing Hands", a Modern Magic Made Simple/Tenchi Muyo! story

[Zigra]

 It was happening again. Somewhere in Japan, that feeling of anguish. She did not understand why this person's distress drew her attention so. There were innumerable humans on Earth going through the same thing, yet somehow she could feel this person's suffering as if it were her own. Yet, as she reached out to find this poor soul, suddenly the feeling vanished.......

                                                                * * *

With a tremendous gasp, Yumiko was awake. She slowly sat up in her bed, burying her face in the palms of her hands. This had been going on for a couple weeks now. On the nights when she could sleep, she always had nightmares about her.....experience. And it was only getting worse.

  * * *

"But, I'm really worried about her!" Koyomi cried.

"I have to admit, she has been acting unusual lately." Misa said, putting her finger to her chin in wonderment.

In the  past two weeks since the battle with Digitalis Flammalacia, Yumiko was becoming oddly withdrawn from everybody. Far from her usual outgoing and haughty self, she was growing more quiet and even seemed to lose a great deal of her confidence. And to top it all off, in the last three days she stopped answering her cell phone, and had not been seen by anybody in that time.

Misa didn't want to alarm Koyomi, but she thought she understood what was going on. Being "killed" and having her body possessed by Digitalis was probably having a negative effect on Yumiko's emotional health, and something needed to be done about it.

"I'll tell you what." Misa went on, trying to keep a cheerful front, "Why don't we pay Yumiko a visit? I'm sure she'd love the company!"

"Yeah, and maybe we can break apart her door for a change!" Soshiro muttered under his breath.

                                                              * * *

Koyomi's jaw dropped in amazement. In the time she had come to know Yumiko, she had yet to see where Yumiko lived. Now that she gazed at Yumiko's mansion, it was a breathtaking sight. While the structure of the mansion itself was no bigger than Misa's mansion, the garden, yard, and flower arrangements around the mansion gave it a beauty that almost matched Yumiko's.

Wasting little time, Misa pushed the button on the gate intercom. A pleasant female voice chimed in, asking who was there and what they wanted.

"We're here to see Yumiko." Misa explained, "Tell her that her friends, Misa and Koyomi, want to see her."

After a little bit of a wait, the voice returned and told them they were welcome to come inside. The gates opened, and they were greeted at the door by a female servant, the same woman who spoke to them on the intercom, who led them to Yumiko's room.

"I'm glad you two are here." the servant said, "Lady Yumiko hasn't been herself lately, and I think she could use some comfort from friends."

Misa nodded and then knocked on the door.

"Come in." a weak voice said.

Misa opened the door, and she and Koyomi came upon a sad sight. Yumiko, dressed in nothing but a robe, lay on her bed, seeming to stare off into nowhere. She didn't even react when the two of them entered the room. Koyomi sat next to her on the bed and put her hand on Yumiko's shoulder.

"Yumiko, what's wrong?" Koyomi asked the purple-haired girl, sadness swelling up in her own voice.

Yumiko slowly sat up. It took her a few seconds before she could say anything.

"I...I...." was all she could get out before tears started swelling in her eyes.

"Oh, Yumiko-chan!" Koyomi said, distraught over seeing her best friend so sad.

Koyomi reached over to give Yumiko a hug, but things didn't work out that way. Somehow, against all odds, as Koyomi reached forward, she slipped. She found her face planted right into Yumiko's left breast. Normally, Yumiko would react to such a thing with great annoyance, but this time her reaction was to give a weak smile.

It can be amazing, the sort of things that can get a person to open up about their troubles and show what they are truly feeling. While Yumiko at first responded to having a face in her bosom with a bit of humor, that quickly changed. Her smile disappeared, and the tears swelled up even more. She was soon crying out in full force, while cradling herself with her arms.

"They....they used me! She used me! I can still feel the dagger piercing my heart!" Those last words had her clutching her chest. "I can feel her taking control of me, and I couldn't do anything about it!"

With this, Koyomi started crying as well, and she gave her friend a big hug (this time without any awkwardness).

Misa was silent. It was as she feared. Yumiko was suffering from some major psychological damage, possibly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. What troubled Misa most was that she wasn't sure what could be done about it. Due to Japanese attitudes towards mental and emotional disorders, getting adequate help for these sort of problems was very hard to do. And Misa herself was certainly no psychologist. She was at a total loss in this situation............


                                                             * * *



It wasn't much, but it was the best they could do for the time being. Koyomi had the idea that the three of them could all go shopping in Akihabara, since she knew how much Yumiko enjoyed that. The three of them spent the day there, and it did seem to cheer Yumiko up quite a bit. They even managed to convince her to eat some food, despite her insistence that she wasn't feeling hungry. But, they couldn't stay there forever, and eventually it was time to go home.

"Thank you for today." Yumiko told the two of them. "I had a lot of fun, and I appreciate your concern for me. I would like to do this again sometime."

With that, she left them outside the gate.

"Oh Misa, she's really hurting, and I don't know what to do."

Koyomi began to sob, and Misa wanted to give her some reassurance. The older woman forced a smile, and patted Koyomi on the head.

"I think Yumiko will be fine in time. We just need to be there for her in this difficult time."

'And Yumiko needs to understand that we're there for her.' Misa thought quietly.

                                                      * * *

Yumiko rested on her couch. Even after allowing herself to have some fun she still felt sick. People say that letting out all your emotions during a hard time is the sure way to make yourself feel better, but she found that wasn't true for her. On the contrary, revealing her anguish to her friends in such a way only made her feel.....exposed.

And, she didn't even tell them everything. She didn't tell them about the nightmares. And, most of all, she didn't tell them how they ended. In each of them, it was as if she could feel a presence reaching out for her, trying to help. But each time it seemed like she was close to reaching that presence, she would wake up. It ate at her, because she felt like she could be healed just by touching this being, but somehow it was always denied to her.

"I found you!"

Yumiko nearly jumped out of her skin hearing the voice.

"WHO'S THERE???!!!" she yelled, suddenly realizing that she didn't have her magic staff with her to protect her from intruders.

"Oh, I'm sorry for startling you. That was rude of me."

"Where are you?!" Yumiko cried out to the voice.

"Well, I'm kinda in your mind. I'm projecting my thoughts into yours. Allow me to explain. In the past couple of weeks, I've been sensing your dreams within my own. I can tell that you need help, but your thoughts would always fade from me before I could find you. But, with some help from my family, I was able to find you while you were awake."

Yumiko was dumbfounded. If this voice was telling the truth, than it was the being who was reaching for her in her dreams.

"Now, that I've explained myself, do you mind if I come over to your house?"

"I....I...guess you can." Yumiko replied.

Suddenly, on the opposite end of the room, a blue light formed. It slowly took on a human shape, and in seconds Yumiko found herself before a young woman who's beauty not only matched her own, but was equally unusual. The girl had hair as blue as the daytime sky, and even more unusual was that her eyes were completely pink. Her delicate facial features made her pretty enough to make Yumiko blush.

"Now that I'm here, allow me to introduce myself. I am Sasami, princess of Jurai."

"Princess of where?"

Just then, all of Yumiko's servants rushed into the room.

"What's all the nois....who is that?!" one of them asked in alarm.

"Umm, nevermind that." Yumiko answered, "Just give me some time alone with our....guest."

After the servants all left the room, Sasami suggested that she and Yumiko have a seat. What came next would change Yumiko's life more than even the discovery that she could use magic.

Sasami explained that she was the princess of a distant planet called Jurai, and she even proved it by showing Yumiko a flashy weapon that reminded her of a light saber from one of those old science fiction movies she saw once.

"Umm, well, this is all amazing, but what does it have to do with me?" Yumiko asked, "Or, rather, why were we so drawn together during our dreams?"

"Well, to answer that, I'm going to need to do something with your permission. You see, I have the ability to join my thoughts with you. I already displayed some of that earlier, but in order to find what I need, I have to, umm, touch you."

Yumiko was a bit uncertain, of course, but she figured she had already come far enough with this strange girl that she might as well allow it.

After Yumiko gave Sasami permission, Sasami touched her forehead against Yumiko's, and a light resonated between them. To both their surprise, not only could Sasami see Yumiko's thoughts, but Yumiko was also somehow able to see Sasami's. Yumiko could see the memories of a little girl playing amongst an bizarre aboratorium. She couldn't understand it all, but something caused the building to violently shake, and the little girl fell. Yumiko could feel the little girl's life slipping from her body, when something amazing happened. She couldn't quite understand what it was, but some thing made of warmth and love overtook the little girl, restoring her to life. And then, it was like that little girl was part of that warmth and love.

Sasami and Yumiko then pulled away from each other. Suddenly, Sasami's face grew more serious.

"I...see." the princess said.

"I think I do, too." Yumiko replied.

"I think.....Tsunami was drawing us together because we both went through something similar. We both experienced a form of death. Although we were both able to come back from it, it....affects us still. Tsunami must think that with my own experiences, I can help you some."

They were both silent for quite a few minutes before Yumiko finally spoke up.

"How...how did you learn to deal with it? Since you came here, you seemed so happy and cheerful, so unlike anybody who has gone through what you, what we have gone through."

Sasami thought about it for a little while.

"There is one thing." she began to explain, "That is, knowing that I was loved. Knowing that my family would always be there for me. Truthfully, it didn't cure me. I still get nightmares about what happened to me to this day. But, the nightmares don't seem so bad when I know I can always wake up to the people I love the most."

This only seemed to sadden Yumiko even more, but Sasami knew how to reassure her.

"You think you're alone, but you're not. In your thoughts, I could see a group of small group of people who are very important in your life. Misa. Kaho. And especially awkward goofball Koyomi. You may not have let yourself realize it, but these girls love you dearly, and they will always be by your side if you let them. Even Misa, as much as she likes to have fun at your expense. If you reach out for them, they will be there for you."

Yumiko started to sob, and Sasami reached over to give her a hug.

"And also," the princess went on, "now that we share a link together, you can reach out for me anytime you wish. Now that I know you, I will gladly help you through any of your troubles, and so will my friends and family. Because anybody I care about, they care about too."

"Th....thank you, Sasami." Yumiko said, "I think I want to call Koyomi now."

Then, an idea hit Yumiko.
"Say, Sasami, the next time I meet with Koyomi and the others, would you like to come along with us?"
Sasami nodded with a smile.

                                                                * * *

Tsunami watched the scene from Earth's orbit. As she had forseen, everything worked out just as it should. Of course, the goddess didn't tell her other half that she had just bonded with another future wife. She then pondered something else.

"You know," she said to herself,  "that Misa girl is very pretty and I think would make a good match with Yumiko. I guess now Sasami is going to have to break the ice with her as well......."



                                                         End

[جبريل 無道]

http://www.youtube.com/v/K2Qn_LkOhGg