Groove Adventure Rave: 1 + 1

Rave is copyright of Hiro Mashima, Kodansha and Tokyopop. No infringement is intended.

I thought I'd try something a little different, inbetween trying to finish of parts of Into the Sunset. A way to stretch my skills a little, and to expand Rave fiction beyond the usual Haru x Elie stuff.

Basically, this will be a series of short stories focusing on just two characters from Rave. Some of them will be about pairings and romance, some about friendships, about rivalies, and generally just seeing how two characters from different parts of the series can react together. There may be the occasional Original Character (but it'll usually be someone's kid) but just about every character in these stories should be familiar to most Rave fans.

I hope you enjoy what I have to show you. Please review and let me know what you like or dislike

And so, let's kick things off with everyone's favourite OTP... this story is set shortly after the final chapter of the manga.

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Haru and Elie: No Change

The airship quietly drifted over the calm seas, a soft wind the only noise to be heard in the air. In the late hours of the night, it was cloaked in pitch blackness, save for one spot on the front hull, where a light had been left on for the young man sitting on the deck, staring at the starry sky in thought. He stared up unmoving, his eyes half-closed as he sat, took in the tranquility, and remembered all that had happened.

Hidden in the nearby shadows, Elie stood and watched him, breathing softly so as not to let him hear her presence. She had come out here to look for him, feeling more worried about him that she could ever remember. After all he’d gone through, she was scared he might do something drastic.

She continued staring at him, wondering what could possibly be going through his head. What would anyone in his situation think? A person who, after stopping a powerful entity from destroying the world, only to be trapped in a mythical realm composed of the memories of the entire world for a year. Stuck in limbo, missing from the world for an entire year, then coming back and finding out everything had changed. How was any person meant to cope with that?

The again, she wondered why she hadn’t gone off the deep end herself. Just a few hours ago she had been just another ordinary high school student. Then her friends had told her about how she had helped someone called the Rave Master save the world using magic within her that was so powerful, the effort of using it had blanked out all her memories of the whole event. She hadn’t believe them, until they took her to a small island called the Star Vestige, where the final battle had taken place, to pay remembrance to the Rave Master.

Then from under the Rave Master’s grave, a brilliant light burst out from the ground, and the skies were suddenly filled with stars. He had emerged from the light, and upon seeing him, the memories of her past life had burst into her head, all at once. In that one moment, she had recalled it all.

How she had joined him in his quest for the Rave stones.

How she had fought countless enemies by his side.

How he had defended her from the monstrous Lucia.

How he had help her find her lost life as Resha Valentine.

And perhaps most importantly, how she had fallen in love with him.

It was that part which scared her the most. Even though she could remember the hows and whys of why she loved him, she still couldn’t get over the fact that she was suddenly devoted to a person she hadn’t seem or even knew existed for over a year. It had been one moment, then Boom! He was the only person she needed.

But that doubt was there. Had he changed from all that time in the Star Memory? Would he find she had changed from the girl he knew from his past. Did he still even feel for her that way?

A year was a long time. Enough time to change someone’s view of a person…

“Elie?”

She jumped at the mention of her name, and realized Haru was staring at the area of darkness which shrouded her.

“How did you know it was me?” She found her voice.

Haru shrugged. “I just knew.” He patted the area of floor next to him. “Wanna join me?”

She was hesitant, thinking she would do or say something to offend him. But then refusing him would possibly do both those things at once. So she sat next to him, drawing her legs to her side.

She felt his arm reach behind her and touch her far shoulder.

“You cold?” He asked.

“A bit..” She leaned against his side, grateful for the warmth he projected. She could remember sitting close to him like in the most peaceful moments of the quest.

It had felt nice. And she was relieved it still felt the same.

She felt Haru’s eyes staring at her, looking her over with rapt attention. “Heh, I just noticed.”

“Noticed what?”

“Your hair.” He took a strand of her brunette hair, which nowadays grew past her shoulders, in his hand. “You grew it out longer.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I figured I needed a new look. Perhaps I’ll go back to the old Resha hairstyle one day.”

“It looks good on you.” He smiled.

She felt her cheeks heat up in a blush. At least he still seemed to find her attractive.

“”Yeah, but I’ve also put on weight, sitting around in class all day.” She sighed, looking over Haru. He was clad in some clothes Musica had loaned him, but still looked no different from the last time she saw him before he disappeared so long ago. The hair was still messy, he was still fairly skinny, and he still had those soulful blue eyes. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

“I still don’t know if I’m a year older or not though.” He replied. “I couldn’t really feel any passage of time in there.”

She swallowed, suddenly feeling compelled to know what had happened to him in there. She was aware she might drag up bad memories, but the urge was still strong.

“Haru….” She took a breath. “What… what was it like in there?”

He blinked. “You mean, in Star Memory?”

“Yeah. I mean… if you don’t mind…”

“Nah, I don’t.” He replied, still smiling. “I’m just not sure what I can tell you though. My memory of there is a bit fuzzy.”

“Oh..” She inched closer to him, listening intently.”

“I didn’t really see much..” He spoke as he stared up at the stars, as if they reminded him of the past. “I was in and out of conscious most of the time. I vaguely remember seeing these lights all around me. Like a starry night, only it kept going forever. And from time to time, I got these….. flashes.”

“Flashes?”

“When they happened, it felt like a dream running in my head, only I knew they were real. They were memories of what I had seen, and what was happening in the world outside.”

Her eyes were wide in awe. “Wha… what did you see?”

A wistful smile spread on his face. “Lots of things. The oldest stuff was memories of my mum, dad and sister when we were all together. Then there were all the fun times I had with you and the gang. And I think I saw things that were happening after peace had been restored to the world.”

“No way…” Elie breathed. “You could see what we were all doing down on Earth?”

“Just little snippets, but they were enough. I saw Ruby open his new casino, Let and Julia get married, Shuda take care of Sis…” He glanced behind him, at the entrance to the ship where his friends where sleeping. “It wasn’t much, but I was glad everyone was happy, even when I thought I would be stuck there forever.”

“Did you ever see me at all?”

His hand pulled her closer, his head resting against hers to offer some comfort. “Yeah, I saw you sometimes. You were the best memories I saw.”

Her eyes seemed to water as she looked at him. “Really?”

“Yeah.. they gave me a bit of hope that I might get out of there one day. They made me remember my promise to come back to you…”

He stopped abruptly when tears suddenly flowed from Elie’s eyes. Instantly, he moved so he was on his knees in front of her, and wrapped his arms around her, settling her head to his chest.

“What’s wrong? Did I say something?..”

“You remembered me.” She spoke in half sobs. “You were stuck in there for a year and you still remembered me. And I… I forgot about you.”

“You couldn’t help it. Musica told me what using all that Etherion magic did to you.”

“But I should have!” She cried. “You were.. you are the most important person in my life. You sacrificed yourself to save us all. Even if Etherion affected my mind…. I should have remembered you.”

“But you remember me now, right? And all that happened?”

“Yeah, but…”

A hand moved up to stroke her hair. “Then it doesn’t matter anymore.”

She tilted her head up to look him in the eye. “But I keep feeling so guilty. We promised ourselves we’d do all these things after it was all over… and we never got to do them. We never got to go to Garage Island, we never got to travel around the world again…”

She stifled a sob. “And worst of all… I never got to tell you how I felt about you.”

Suddenly, he leaned in and kissed her forehead. “I knew Elie. That final moment when I saw you, before the Endless blew up… I looked at you and I knew.”

They stood in silence, Elie staring at him in awe. “You really knew?”

“Yeah… it made going to fight Lucia a little easier, knowing you were waiting for me..”

A sigh escaped her mouth, one or relief and joy. He still cared. He always had.

“You know how I knew?” She asked him.

“Knew what?”

“That you loved me?” She smiled. “It was when you asked me to live with you.”

“That’s how you knew?”

“It just made sense. Why else would you want me to live with you?”

“Well… why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He asked.

She could only shrug. “Why didn’t you?”

“Well, the battle was coming up and I….” He frowned, knowing that was no excuse. “I was just an idiot.”

She chuckled. “Me too.”

Haru then settled his legs on the floor and began to lay down, gently pulling Elie down until she was resting partly on top of him.

“The offer still stands you know.” He spoke

“Living with you?”

“Yeah, if you want to… though I guess you have your own place by now..”

“Oh God no!” She looked at his with a serious expression. “Take me in, please! If I have to spend another day cleaning up after Musica, or listening to him and Melodia hump each other all night, I’ll go insane.”

“Okay, you can stay.” Haru grinned.

His arms secured themselves around her again, holding her close. She shifted further up his body, until her head was resting in the crook of his neck. She breathed in his scent, feeling content that he was here for her, just like he always had been.

They lay in that embrace, looking up at the stars and savouring the silence. All they could feel was each other. There were many times in the past when that was all they ever wanted. It was assuring to know that after everything, it was now theirs forever.

“Hey Elie..” Haru spoke quietly. “Just so I know before we reach land… has a lot changed in the world since I was gone?”

“You were in the memories of the entire world, you tell me.” She smiled.

“It was a bit hard to tell. I could only think of you and the gang.”

She sighed happily. Same old Haru.

Thank Goodness.

“No…” She murmured. “Not much has changed at all.”

END