fanfics

Last Act

by Miki

I.

Maya Kitajima had just gone down in the history of theatre. Her name was bound to become a legend, filling with endless admiration and everlasting respect future generations. Indeed, earlier that night, before the audience's amazed eyes, she had turned into the crimsom goddess. No, she'd gone a lot more further than that: she had brought her life to a complete standstill. During her performance Maya Kitajima had disappeared from the face of the earth. And in her place had stood the most beautiful of all divinities – the crimsom goddess. She had come down among mortal people, made again of flesh and blood.

But the great premiere was over and the celestial apparition had gone back with the gods. And only Maya Kitajima was left. She was all alone in the hanging garden beneath the sky. Her dream – performing the crimsom goddess – had come true. She had fought for so many years to succeed, she had accepted to endure so many sufferings, she had made so many sacrifices and had taken up so many challenges ... and in the end she did it. But what a price she had to pay! At the beginning, she believed she was fighting for herself, for her own survival as acting was her only reason for living and her only reason for existing. Also she believed she was fighting for her mother so that she could be proud of her from heaven.

And when she understood the true nature of her character, when she discovered what was hidden in the heart of the crimsom goddess, her soul finally woke up to life. For the very first time she opened her eyes and saw the light. Then she could see what had always been right before her. Then she knew that during all those years she had been mistaken. She hadn't been fighting for her mother nor for herself. Finally she understood. All those years she had been fighting for ... him. For him and only him.

Yes, finally she understood. But when she realised, it was already too late – he was engaged to another woman. A sharp pain twisted her heart when she thought about it and she couldn't keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. Oh, why had she waited so long before listening to what her heart was shouting out? Why had she silenced it? Happiness had been within her reach and she had let it fly away... just as the sand slips easily through one's fingers, she had held it for a while before losing it forever. What had held her back? Fear... just that. She was afraid of him.

Afraid of a man like him, so attractive, so important, surrounded by success, crushed by responsabilities, prisoner of his name and his job. How could she have imagined even for a moment that he had a place for her in his heart? She... the plain Maya Kitajima. She was so afraid that he would made her suffer. Above anything else she was afraid of being rejected and humiliated by the man she loved more than anybody else! She feared that he would punish her audacity with cruelty. Cruel ... so often in the past he'd been cruel towards her. Of course she finally understood that it had been a mask behind which he was hiding. He was indeed a great actor himself. He had played the part of the distant and feelingless man over so many years . And one day his glass mask blew into pieces. And Maya discovered in his eyes a heart overflowing with love and goodness. He loved her as much as she adored him. She knew it. And no matter what he did or said afterwards, she would keep in her heart that truth – he was her soul mate, her missing half, the reason of her existence and her only hope of happiness...

Thanks to him her dream had come true. Indeed, without him, without the infinite love that she felt for him, she could never have performed the crimson goddess. Ever. And now that she was on top, it looked like as if only a bottomless pit was laying in front of her. She had no dream left and she had lost the only love of her life.

A new flash of pain went through her chest. She couldn't think anymore. She had to escape those sad thoughts which were only increasing her despair. She looked round. A slight perfume of peace and intimacy permeated the place. The small green garden had been made according the western design. Those hanging gardens were born in overcrowded cities where flowers and green lawns had become scarce. Having one of those was much in fashion hence the presence of this new garden on the roof of Daito's theatre. It was an open place and at the moment its green and tender lawn, its beds of colourful flowers and its solemn stone benches were presented as an offering to the starry sky. But Maya looked round and saw nothing ... nor anybody. She felt lonely on the theatre's roof. Terribly lonely.

Yet she had sought her solitude. In the theatre downstairs, people were celebrating the huge success of the grande premiere of the Crimson goddess. Maya had been acclaimed, praised and congratulated. She was the centre of attention. It was such a wonderful reward! But her happiness soon faded away as he was also there ... with her. The man she loved was holding his fiancee's arm. And he was going to marry her just in a few hours, on the day following the premiere. He gave notice of it weeks ago. Maya's heart had been eaten up with anxiety ever since then. She was able to forget it only when she put on the goddess' mask. More elegant than ever, entirely dressed in white, he looked gorgeous. He came to congratulate her and pay homage to her great performance. Maya's heart melt away as she faced him. She felt weak and thought for a moment that her legs would fail to support her. But she had promised herself that she would be strong. And she would show him her strength.

 Yet, she was unable to contain the trembling in her voice as she thanked him back. She tried to look into the deep blue of his beautiful eyes. But they remained emotionless, refusing to give away their secrets. And that was more than she could handle. With a feeble voice she wished him and his future wife every happiness. And how sincere she was when she pronounced those painful words! If she could never be by his side, she hoped that at least he would finally be able to enjoy life with the one he had chosen ... even if until her last breath Maya would have to live with a dark emptiness in her soul.

Then Masumi thanked her back with a disarming smile playing on his lips ... while a flash of despair ran through his eyes. But Maya didn't see that ...

Meeting him had drained her from her remaining strength. When they drunk a toast to the president's oncoming wedding, Maya discreetly slipped away. They would notice right away that she was missing but she didn't care. She needed to run away and find a shelter where she could cry peacefully. She thought of the roof garden as she knew that hardly anybody ever came there. Amongst the trees, with the grass under her feet and the starry sky above her head, she had calmed down. But the sensation didn't last. She felt lonely. Terribly lonely. And a dreadful feeling of desertion and unbearable distress was crushing her. Was she condemned to lose all those who were dear to her heart?

– Masumi ... I love you, I love you ... she repeated endlessly.

Then her tears broke out and she cried and cried and cried... all the sorrow of her torn heart was poured out into those tears. And such a great sorrow it was that she lost consciousness.

II.

The sky was overcast and the dim light of the stars was darkened by the clouds. A fine celestial rain was refreshing the haven of silence and solitude. But Masumi Hayami didn't care about it. He was sitting on a stone bench. His suit was getting soaked by the sudden shower and on top of this the fresh air gave him shivers. But Masumi Hayami didn't care about it. He didn't care either about the gossip that his absence at the party would give rise to. He didn't care either about the poor excuse he invented to get away from all those flatterers, all those selfinterested people... from his fiancée. He simply said ' An urgent call' and everybody agreed. A bitter smile appeared on his lips. The whole world would only see him as a workaholic, an untiring machine, an endless source of success ... the whole world but one person. And that person was the only one the cold Masumi would really care about – Maya Kitajima. Indeed, it was for her and only her that he deserted all his guests, failed to do his duty and left his crowning achievement behind him. For she was missing and everybody got worried. Oh but it lasted only until someone suggested that she was probably freshening up in her dressing room. Yet he wasn't fooled. He had noticed how pale was her pretty face while talking to him, how feeble her voice sounded when she thanked him and how her large eyes reflected pain when she wished him all the best. Maya was an extraordinarily gifted actress. He figured it out right from the beginning. But as soon as she was off stage and took away her glass mask, all her feelings would show on her gentle face – she was incapable of lying or hiding anything. She was old Maya again ... the woman he loved.

He had done everything he could to forget her, he had tried everything to tear her out of his heart and he had fought so hard against his growing love! Even tonight, he had sworn that he wouldn't try to approach her. But he had failed. And for the very first time in his life, Masumi Hayami accepted willingly his defeat. He knew indeed that his love was stronger than anything else. And he could never get rid of it. And he could never forget Maya – even if he had decided to keep her out of his life and even if he was getting married to another very soon. But he wouldn't care about that. Not at the moment.

Because right at this instant, the only reason for him to live was the young woman he was holding in his arms.

– Maya, he softly whispered, wake up love.

After leaving the party he had known instinctively where to find her. So he headed towards the roof garden without delay. On his way he repeated to himself a thousand times that he was making a huge mistake and that he shouldn't go after her. But he was driven by a force far stronger than reason. She was miserable and desperate. More than he guessed it, he felt it. And in the dark hours of her life, he had always been by her side. Always... whether he was hidding behind purple roses or not. And although he was the reason she was suffering, he couldn't leave her alone. She desperately needed him ... as well as he desperately needed her. That's how he had found her unconscious, lied down in the tender grass. He had delicately taken her in his arms. She had always been as light as a rose petal. He had sit on the stone bench, holding her tight against him as one holds a sleeping child. And when the first drops had caressed them, he had wrapped her in his jacket.

– Chibi-chan, he whispered, wake up.

But the truth was that he wished she would rest some more. He wanted to keep her like that, close to his heart, until his last breath of life...

He remembered the first time he saw her. That day - he didn't know it then – something was stirred up in him. He had sensed in her that little something that made her so special. And it wasn't her talent. No. It was that joy of living, that vital force and that passion in feeling which made her smile and kept her going on even during the hardest crisis. He got insterested by that hidden force. At first, he wanted to follow the evolution of such a frail-looking being out of curiosity. He wanted to know where she could draw so much energy from. Then he admired her unshakeable will and her innocent spontaneity. Ever since, he decided to become his anonymous protector no matter what happened. Because deep down they were much alike. Both of them were orphans in a way. Her happiness was also his. That was more than enough for him. As time passed by, without realising it and then refusing to believe it, he had fallen under her spell ... he had fallen in love. He was in love with a young girl apparently meaningless, ten years younger than him, the one he was used to call chibi-chan.

But she had grown up. The little girl was still hidding somewhere deep in those big clear eyes but it was a marvellous young woman that he was holding captive in his arms. The one destiny had appointed to him. The only one who could have made him happy. He knew it. How painful that thought was! She would never be his. He had gone too far, made too many mistakes and he was burdenned by the weight of guilt and remorse. How could she forgive him? He felt so guilty for her mother's death! Only thinking about his own interests he had prevented the mother and the daughter to be reunited! How could he forgive himself not only that but also all the rest? Forgive his cowardice when he hid behind roses, his lies when he showed himself contemptuous, his selfishness when jealousy devoured him anytime he saw her smiling to another man... she didn't belong to his world and because of that lame excuse he rejected her.

A lifetime mistake.

The truth was that she deserved better than him. What did he have to offer? His name? His money? She didn't care about them! He knew her too well! His love? Maybe. His only valuable possession. But would she have it? No, probably not. He would get out of her life. That was sure. He would stop making her suffer. But before the final parting, he wanted to delight in this unique moment. The last intimate encounter, the last embrace, holding her in his arms, tight against him, against his very heart...

The rain was still quietly falling. Masumi was soaked but he didn't care. As for Maya, she was well sheltered by his broad shoulders. That was all that mattered. The two of them formed an overwhelming picture. A couple caressed by the heavens, alone, in the middle of an unexpected Eden... a blond-haired giant rocking in his arms a sleeping and frail young woman. His gaze was so full of love and sorrow that we could have sworn that the sky was weeping over their thwarted union. Then, the man delicately put his cheek against his half's one. A mere gentle touch as light as the stroke of a petal. He sighed deeply. A tear escaped from his clear eye and ended up its flight at the corner of his beloved's lips. The sole tear he ever shed in many years and the sole he ever shared.

Then, the memory of another night came back haunting him. A night similar to that one... he could see the old temple, listen to the heavy rain falling down on the roof and he felt again that he was holding the world's most precious treasure in his arms... he sighed again. And with infinite tenderness, his finger caressed the cheek of the sleeping beauty. He closed his eyes and gently kissed his beloved's forehead. Then, with a hand as soft as silk, he lifted her face towards his. How long had he been embracing her for? One minute? Eternity? Even eternity wasn't long enough for him! But time was running away and soon would be lacking. However, it was slowly, very slowly that he moved his face closer to hers.

– I love you, Maya, he whispered while taking her lips in his ... one last time.

III.

Time had stopped its race so as to engrave that kiss into eternity. The veil of clouds slightly opened, thus letting a pale moonbeam shining upon those two lovers' souls. Even the rain had frozen in its course, moved by such tender devotion. When finally he found the courage to put an end to his kiss, he whispered his love to her one last time as to bid goodbye.

– My love ... Masumi, sighed a very feeble voice.

Completely taken aback and suddenly brought back to reality, a violent quivering took hold of Masumi's body.

Maya was conscious again ... and she had heard him ... and she had given him ... her answer. His eyes still wide open with astonishment, he looked hard at her as if he was afraid of having strayed into a dream; as if those words couldn't have possibly been uttered. And yet, he was wide awake. Maya was very still in his arms but her face was lifted towards him and she was staring at him intensely, her large eyes ready to read the least of his thoughts. She had returned his love. What was going to happen?

Masumi was caught in a storm of contradictory feelings. He was torn apart between incredulity, overwhelming joy, irrational fear ... and doubt. Would he have the strength to leave her now that he had heard aloud what he had always known? What he had always hoped for? What he had been waiting for? Maya did give him those words of love so longed for! Then he thought again about the duties he was bound to, the company he had to run, the name he had to honor... the battle had started. It was a merciless fight between an instinctive desire for happiness and a lifetime education.

Masumi Hayami was ... lost. Now that he was at a crossroads he didn't know which way to take. Yet, he was fully aware that his whole life depended on his choice. It certainly was the first time that he had a chance to take his destiny into his own hands. The first time he could leave the path mapped out for him by his father when he was just a boy. Wasn't that what he always envied Maya? Her amazing power to follow her own path without ever fearing about the obstacles to overcome.

Examining the worried face of her friend, Maya guessed about the raging fight underneath the quiet surface. But he loved her! She knew it! She had heard it from his very mouth, she had seen it in his gaze and his love was still showing through even though he was fighting against his old fears. So Maya's passionate soul got over her own fears. So often in the past had the violence of her feelings burst out. So often did she oppose the commanding Masumi Hayami. So often had she thrown her contempt at him believing she hated him. Back then she had never been scared of him and she never cared about what people thought. And thus it would be this very night. She simply decided to be herself and to give her love free rein. No matter what would be the consequences of what she was about to say; she wouldn't live with her regrets.

“Masumi”, she began, “I love you. Forgive me for telling you only now and in that way, but I cannot remain silent any longer. In fact, I should never have remained silent. I love you and always have. Since the beginning when I was but a child. But forgive me for ignoring it for so long. You were in my thoughts while I knew nothing and everything about you. You were my first fan, my generous benefactor, my only friend and my sole comfort. You were my purple rose fan and you were already in my heart. Oh! How I suffered when I learned the truth! Your true identity: you were my sworn ennemy, the one who kept me away from my mother! And yet, in the very heart of my soul, I never stopped loving you. With time, bitterness faded and anger flew away. I loved you. And with each passing minute my love grew, blossomed and at last I understood. I finally understood that you were my other half. And tonight, I tell you: I love you Masumi.”

There. She had said it all. The die was cast.

Slowly, those words were sinking into Masumi's confused mind. And suddenly, he grasped the meaning of what Maya just confessed. She loved him. She loved him! Yes, she loved him! That wish come true filled him with happiness. But again he was struck by hesitation and that cooled down his outburst of enthusiasm. Would he be able to make her happy? Both had already gone through so much sorrow! Were the wounds from the past really healed once and for all?

Maya saw on her friend's face traces of the doubt still haunting him. The shine of his eyes was dimmed and yet she thought she could still see in them a flickering light of hope. Then, she wavered for a heartbeat moment and the boldness of her love got over. And she obeyed to the order coming from the bottom of her soul: she put her arms round Masumi and kissed him. At first her embrace was shy. Then it grew deeper and gentler and finally became more demanding. Maya poured out in her kiss the strength of her love, the tenderness of her forgiveness, the purity of her soul and the promise of a common happiness...

And Masumi answered to that embrace with the same fire, the same passion... the same surrender. He could do nothing against the power of his feelings and he stopped resisting them. Like Maya, he was giving himself up to the one he loved, a gift that would last for eternity. The great, the unshakeable Masumi Hayami accepted to surrender his whole life between the delicate hands of a little girl. From now on, he wouldn't fight against his happiness. He would fight for it ... and Maya's first of all. His life, his future, she was everything. He hold her tighter and gave her his soul in return.

Maya was feeling feeble and strong at the same time and she thought for a moment that she would faint. When at last their lips parted, they had the impression of leaving paradise to come back on earth.

Maya's gaze dived into Masumi's blue eyes and what she saw in them filled her with a boundless joy: she could see the serenity and the appeasement of a cloudless sky. His look mirrored the happiness coming from a given, accepted and shared love. The gentle smile playing on his lips suggested the promise of a future as happy and as bright as the sun. Maya was marveling at that beautiful smile. She couldn't remember having ever seen Masumi so simply and carelessly smiling. Without knowing it, she had given him back the smile of the little boy he had so briefly been.

– I love you too, Chibi-chan. I belong to you as well as you are my Maya, mine forever! He whispered in a chuckle.

Then unable to stand, he burst out laughing. Maya was astonished. She couldn't believe her own ears. Masumi was laughing! He was roaring with laughter like a child! More than any words, his laugh of happiness meant everything. And she couldn't ask for more. His spontaneous and infectious laugh finally reached her and she began laughing like her companion.

Their laugh echoed endlessly in the clear night. It was like listening to the pure tinkling of thousands of bells. It had chased away the clouds. Drawn by such an unusual sound the moon had reappeared and, full of curiosity, she cast her beams on the reunited souls. Deeply moved, she signed the stars to kindly send their protecting light upon them. Then the broad-shouldered giant suddenly stood up. He was still holding in his arms the young woman whose face was positively radiant. And he started spinning on the tender grass of the night thus adding joy to their laughter. A bit dizzy, he laid her down and stretched out beside her. Still smiling, she climbed on his chest and stole him a kiss. Amused, he embraced her and they rolled together on the grass till he finally held captive in his arms. Tired but delighted, she rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling up to him and listening to the fast beating of his heart. She was satisfied and asked nothing more from life. Masumi tightened his embrace and he caressed her long silky hair with his free hand. He was satisfied and asked nothing more from life.

Epilogue

The moon sighed with delight after this happy fairy tale ending and went to sleep unwillingly. One after the other the stars sent their farewell to the lovers while the sun was kindly giving them his first beams. But he wouldn't dare to show up yet and the top of his rounded face was all pink with shyness: he was afraid of bothering them. But he didn't. Indeed, the two embraced figures took advantage of the dimmed veil of dawn to slip away. The dawn of that marvellous day would also be the dawn of their new life.

Later, somewhere in town, a young and elegant lady all dressed in white was coming out all by herself from a building, without looking at anything nor at anyone. We couldn't see on her expressionless face the smouldering rage which had taken hold of her since she had read the message sent by her former fiancé. On the crumpled piece of paper she still clutched in her hand, we could only read one sentence: “I will not marry you. Masumi Hayami.” Among the guests, a lady all clad in black was standing aside. She wasn't interested in all the gossip and speculations about that unexpected turn of events. On the contrary, she bore an enigmatic smile. Her long black hair covered half of her face. But we could tell by the mischievous sparkling of her eye that she was enchanted by that “coup de théâtre”. Looking relieved and satisfied, she walked away laughing aloud.

Far away from the chaos caused by his absence, Masumi was attending another ceremony. Simple and discreet, it was celebrated under the shade of a blossoming cherrytree. He was holding in his big hand Maya's. With trembling voices full of emotion and happiness, they pledged to one another an eternal and enduring love. And in the euphoric dawn of their new life, Masumi took Maya in his arms and kissed the one who was now ... his wife.

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