This takes place during eps 24-26 of Bakuretsu Hunters... if you've seen it,
then you'll know what's going on. If you haven't, then this will make no
real sense to you, beyond the story. BTW, this fills in some of the gaps
that the TV sort of left to the imagination...

Reaching for a Memory: By Monica Shin

        Marron looked up from his book for a moment, distracted from his
reading by the stray sakura blossom that had landed on the page. Gazing out
at the park, he smiled and decided to stop for a moment to admire the
beautiful spring day. As he contemplated the sakura trees around the bench,
Marron stood up, hearing the sound of a basketball game nearby. Turning, he
saw that boy was there...

        Shaking his head, Marron tried to turn back to the book, but his
gaze kept wandering back to that person... that boy that somehow, he knew.
Marron wasn't usually a fanciful person. He was a scholar, and liked to have
all the facts before doing anything, feeling anything. But this feeling was
indisputable. Somehow, through all impossibilities, he knew that person.
That person whose name that he didn't even know, who he'd never met.

        "Perhaps... perhaps I should go and ask-" Ask what? Marron shook his
head ruefully, knowing full well what it would sound like if he went up to
that person and asked such a thing. What _would_ happen if he dared to go up
to the blond and ask whether or not he had known the other in a past life?
Most likely, he would be laughed at, his sanity questioned... after all, who
would believe such a story?

        But... Marron sighed and closed his book firmly. Somehow, he could
feel it. Something... as if from a far, long universe and life away, he
recognized a friend. "So." He stood up, and turned toward the game, which
was wrapping up. So, he was going to go and make a total fool of himself.
And somehow, that was all right. "I'm not acting like myself at all..."

        Marron shrugged, and tossed his long hair behind his shoulder as he
started to walk toward the court. He found himself smiling, as if this was
right- as if something good was being done. Almost as if he was on his way
to finding something that had been lost for a long, long time. Too long...

        When he reached the small basketball court, Marron saw that all the
other had left, leaving that boy sitting on the bench, with a towel over his
head and the ball at his feet. Not really knowing how to approach him- after
all, what would he say? -Hi, nice to meet you, by the way, do you happen to
know me- Marron just decided to stay silent, and watch. Maybe if he looked
long enough, Marron would remember why this person looked so familiar.

        He stared, somehow drawn in by the form of this person... as if it
was familiar, as if he had seen it, felt it before... Marron felt himself
flushing, and started to turn away. He'd never, ever felt- Resisting the
urge to run, Marron forced himself to walk away slowly, naturally. After
all, it wasn't as if there was anything to run away from. That person hadn't
even seen-

        "Leaving before asking your question?" The pleasantly low voice made
Marron start and turn to see him watching, towel in hand. Marron blinked,
and then straightened. Smiling, he held out a hand to the person sitting on
the bench, and replied, "My name is Marron Glaces. Nice to meet you." 

        The blond boy looked up at Marron for a moment, and then dropped the
towel onto the bench. Taking Marron's hand, he shook it, and replied, "My
name is Gateau Mocha. Nice to meet you too." Gateau stood up and picked up
the ball and towel, before turning to face Marron. "So, what'd you want to
talk to me about?" 

        Marron shook his head, and smiled faintly. "It was nothing... just
somehow, I had this feeling-" Marron paused, and then gave Gateau a puzzled
look. "Well, it was- it seems rather silly now." Gateau frowned, and asked
quietly, "Sorta like deja-vu?" Gateau shrugged at Marron's surprised
expression, and started walk out of the court, bouncing the ball. 

        Not looking at Marron, Gateau said in a distant voice, "It feels
like I should know you, which is strange, because I'm not usually that kind
of person, getting premonitions... I'm a straight-forward kind of guy, you
know? Don't usually daydream- I leave that kind of thing to other kinds of
people. I just go, do my thing, and let other people worry about all of that."

        Gateau shrugged, and then turned abruptly, tossing the ball at
Marron. Marron caught the basketball, and then smiled back. Gateau nodded
once, and then asked, "Does it feel like there's something missing?" Marron
replied, "As if someone's lost..." Gateau caught the ball as Marron tossed
it to him, and added, "As if we should be doing something else-"

        Marron laughed a little as he stopped. At Gateau's rather puzzled
expression, Marron noted, "Well, it is a bit odd, just meeting like this and
yet acting as if we're..." Marron trailed off, and then continued in a
wondering voice, "As if we've been friends for a long time. No, not just
friends- comrades."

        Gateau looked off into the sky, and grinned. "Feels right that we've
found each other, doesn't it?" Marron looked at him for a moment, and then
nodded. Marron whispered, almost to himself, "But we're not complete.
Somehow, it feels like there are ones missing, as if there is something left
undone..."

        As Marron frowned, looking around almost as if to try to find those
missing ones immediately, Gateau tossed the basketball at him again.
Marron's head snapped up as he barely managed to catch the ball, and he
looked at Gateau with a slightly shocked expression on his face. 

        Gateau said with some humor in his voice, "Did you know that you're
altogether too serious? Relax a little... Somehow, I think if we had to act,
we would know when. Feel it, you know?" Marron bounced the basketball for a
moment, and then tossed it back to Gateau with a grin. "I suppose..." 

---

        "Happy Birthday, Marron." Marron looked up from his book to see
Gateau standing over him, hands behind his back. He smiled and stood up,
motioning Gateau to sit beside him. Gateau shook his head and remained
standing, to which Marron shrugged, and nodded. He placed the book onto the
bench, and then asked, "How did you know?"

        Gateau smiled and answered in a mysterious tone, "I have my ways..."
At Marron's threatening expression, he grinned and added, "I asked your
mother, if you really want to know." Then, he said in a mischievous tone,
"Close your eyes and hold out your hands." Marron looked at him for a
moment, and then did so with a faint smile.

        Marron opened his eyes as he felt something soft start to move in
his hands. Looking down, he saw a pure white kitten, purring softly. Looking
up at Gateau, he nodded his thanks, before placing the kitten on his lap.
Marron smiled down at the kitten as he started to play with his long black
hair. "What should I name him?" 

        Gateau didn't answer for a moment, caught by the sight in front of
him. Marron's long, black hair was loose and covered part of his face as he
leaned over to the kitten. As the wind teased his hair, Marron's light
button-down shirt seemed to blend in with the cat's fur, making both of them
blindingly bright in the summer sun.

        Marron looked up at him questioningly, and Gateau tried to recover
his scattered thoughts. "Name? Well, this little sucker..." Gateau paused to
sit down and stick out a finger at the little kitten, who promptly latched
onto it. "I hear from his mother's owner that he loves carrots, for some
reason... odd, isn't it? You'd think vegetables would be the last thing a
cat would want to eat. So, how about Ninjin?" 

        Gateau looked up at Marron, who was looking at him strangely. "Don't
you think that's an strange name for a cat? Almost as strange as a person
being called-" Marron trailed off as he felt something tug at his mind.
Looking at Gateau, Marron asked faintly, "Do you feel that?" Gateau nodded,
his brows converging as he frowned, trying to catch the whisper of memory
that danced at the edge of his consciousness.  

        "Damn." Gateau looked up at Marron, who had said that one word with
a passion and anger beyond the normal frustration both usually felt when
trying to remember. "We were close- I could feel it... damn." Gateau could
feel the beginnings of a headache coming on, and closed his eyes. 

        "Me too. I have a feeling that if we only could remember one
thing... one person, maybe-" Gateau sighed, and raised his head toward the
sun, leaning back against the bench. "Maybe we could discover why we both
have the same dream..." That one dream, that both had had since childhood.
Not so often as to cause alarm, but enough to be remembered. 

        There were four standing strong, of which Marron and he were two.
Looking out, he could feel that there was someone missing, someone who they
needed to protect, or prevent... and there was a darkness was around them
that pushed them away, down, until it felt like he was being crushed. The
darkness was only dispelled as a sharp pain pierced his heart, making him
lose grip of the dream, to awaken...

        Gateau shook his head again, and opened his eyes to the bright sun.
He noticed Marron looking at him, to which he gave a weak smile. "I'm ok...
just-" Marron nodded, understanding. Gateau was about to drift off again,
when he felt a small, sharp sensation. Looking down, he saw that the cat had
attached herself to his hand, and was on the verge of snacking on his finger...

        Marron laughed at the expression of consternation on Gateau's face,
and gently disengaged the kitten from Gateau's person. As Gateau sucked on
his ravaged finger with a comical look of dismay on his face, Marron sighed,
and then asked quietly, "Gateau, do you remember anything at all?"

        Gateau shook his head. "Nothing... all I get is the dream, and weird
glimpses... glances, really. Nothing substantial- it's almost as if I'm
drifting in and out of someone else's thoughts... How about you?" Marron
looked out, seemingly musing, and replied, "The dream, like you... and
something else. I just remember... strange laughs. Not soft giggles or
anything, but really, really frightening female laughter, and-"

        Marron paused, and took the opportunity to disentangle the kitten
from his hair. Gateau blinked, and asked, "And what? You're the more in-tune
with this kind of spiritual stuff, you know... I'm practically useless, so
you have to tell me-" Marron looked up at him, and asked, "Do you really
want to know?"

        Gateau frowned, and shot back, "Should I know?" Marron shrugged.
"How much of this weird past-life stuff do we really need to know?" Gateau
replied fiercely, "As much as we can, because we have unfinished business-"
Gateau straightened up, his mind racing. "That's it- that's why! There's
something we have to do- I can feel it!"

        Gateau took Marron's hand, and looked at him with a kind of
desperation. "Come on! There has to be more-" Marron looked at him, then at
his hand, and blushed a bit. Marron pulled his hand away, and then focused
inward. After a moment, he said, "I can hear bits of a conversation, that's
all. Very distantly, as if from far away... but it's really not important.
Trust me." 

        Gateau looked at Marron's pinched face, and nodded slowly. "All
right, Marron. But whenever you think I should know, tell me, ok?" Marron
nodded, and then sighed. Seeing Marron about to get a bit melancholy, Gateau
placed a smile on his face, and then said in a jovial tone, "Come on, get
up. We've got to get little Ninjin home." 

        Marron's raised his head and looked at the kitten with a bit of
worry. Gateau grinned and added, "Don't worry- I asked your mom first, and
she has a little cat-box waiting at your home." At Marron's surprised look,
Gateau placed Ninjin into the basket he'd brought the kitten in, and started
to walk on ahead. He turned and shrugged. "Lucky I'm always prepared."

---

        Gateau waved to everyone after the soccer game was over, and then
jogged away from the teams to where Marron had been watching. A little
breathless, he asked, "What'd you think?" Marron replied, "Well, you all
looked like you were having fun... there was a lot of pain involved, that I
could see." Gateau grinned, and flexed his muscles. "Only for the other
guys, Marron. I'm too good to get hurt."

        Marron raised an eyebrow, and then gave him a sharp poke on his
side. At Gateau's wince, he replied, "Too good to get hurt, or just too
stubborn for your own good? Come on- my house is closer, and I have a
feeling you'll need something for that." Gateau looked like he was about to
complain, before wincing again. "All right... You didn't have to poke me
that hard."

        At Gateau's grumbling, Marron gave him a whack on the head, followed
by a strict look. "Then quit acting like you're indestructible." Gateau gave
him a woebegone look, which Marron pointedly ignored. Instead, he walked a
little quicker through the street, forcing Gateau to break into a run to
catch up. 

        Ignoring Gateau as he caught up, Marron opened the small book he had
been holding in his hand, and started to read. Gateau peered at it for a
moment, before giving up trying to decipher the decidedly esoteric
terminology on the page. Instead, he contented himself with walking through
the piles of fallen leaves that punctuated the road. 

        Marron had started to read as an excuse to supposedly disregard
Gateau's antics, but he soon found himself drawn in by the spiritual
concepts that the book presented. As he got more interested, he drew his
attention away from the world into the words and thoughts that the book
encouraged in his agile mind. Marron became so wrapped up that he failed to
see the protruding step in front of him-

        "Watch out!" Marron looked up at the warning, but tripped over the
step anyway. He stumbled, and started to fall, but Gateau managed to snake
an arm around Marron's waist fast enough to prevent any damage. "Thanks..."
Gateau grinned, and said, "Marron, maybe you shouldn't be the one telling me
to be more careful." 

        Marron pulled away quickly, and then looked up to see that they had
stopped in front of his house. Unlocking the door, he said, "Come on in. I
don't think anyone's home now, except for Ninjin, of course." As Marron held
the door open for Gateau, he looked around for his cat. "Ninjin-!" 

        Marron closed the door firmly after Gateau had entered, and sighed
as he looked at the deserted house. Marron commented in an exasperated
voice, "Did you know that present of yours is absolutely incorrigible? He
chases all the female cats to distraction, and he doesn't get it, even after
they all beat him up... I don't know how he gets out of here so easily."

        He led Gateau into the living room, sitting him down on the couch
while going to look for the first-aid kit. Finding it, he brought it back
and set it on the low coffee table. As he rummaged through the box, Marron
asked, "Would you mind taking off your shirt?" 

        Gateau sat up a little straighter, and gave Marron an indefinable,
quiet look before nodding. Realizing that Marron obviously could not see his
nod, he sighed quietly and then removed his shirt, wincing a little at the
slight pain stretching his arms over his head gave his side.

        Marron turned back toward him with iodine and bandages in hand, and
then looked away quickly. Marron realized he was blushing for some reason,
and forced himself to look back. After all, it wasn't anything he hadn't
seen before... All of that flew out of his mind as he saw the scrape that
decorated Gateau's side, as well as the multitude of other scratches and
abrasions.

        Marron gave him a quiet and serious stare. Then, an annoyed look on
his face appeared on his face. Without any warning, Marron gave Gateau a
crack on the head, before shaking his head and reaching for the cotton
balls. "He-hey! That hurt!" Gateau rubbed at the sore spot on the top of his
head, before gazing back at Marron, who just looked at him.

        "Hold still- this is probably going to sting a bit,
Mr-I'm-too-good-to-get-hurt. Honestly, what attraction do those kinds of
games offer, anyway? All it does it get you dirty and-" Marron was cut off
by Gateau's loud hiss as he touched the iodine to the large scrape. Marron
gave him an apologetic look, before he went on with the doctoring. 

        "Anyway- Gateau, don't be such a child! If you keep squirming like
that, it'll take even longer!" Marron gave him a exasperated glare, to which
Gateau sighed, and then held still. Trying to take his mind off the subject,
Gateau replied, "Why do I like that kind of thing? Because it's fun,
because- well, because I'm not like you."

        Gateau shrugged and lifted his arms as Marron started to bandage him
up. "I'm not equipped with the kind of intelligence you have, so I make do
with what I've got. I'm strong, and fast, and I'm good at sports- so I play
them." He laughed in a deprecating tone, before he sighed. "But I kinda wish
there was something I could do, beyond this. Somehow, I get the feeling that
we're not really doing all that we could, if only-"

        Marron stood up, and placed the bottle back into the kit. Closing up
the box, Marron tossed his hair back and gave Gateau a keen look. "You too?
I keep feeling that there is something unfinished..." He straightened up,
and cleared his mind, trying to keep the slight depression he felt away. The
depression both of them felt whenever they discovered something about their
connection, because it somehow was never enough.

        "Well, it's not as if we're not trying." Gateau nodded, but he still
had a pensive look on his face. Marron put a hand on his shoulder, and they
both stayed silent, comrades. Finally, Marron sat down, and asked, "Do you
remember what I wouldn't tell you before? Because it wasn't important?"
Gateau gave Marron a surprised look. "Yeah... you're going to tell me?"
Marron shrugged. "It's really not that important, but you seem to need to
know more, so..."

        Marron closed his eyes, and concentrated. Soon, he began to speak in
a low, intense whisper, as he recalled the faint bit of a dream that he'd
only had once. "It's a moonlit summer night, and two people are talking.
Very faintly, I can hear them talking about someone-"

        /Where is he?/
        \Still being... punished, I think.\
        /I can't understand that perverted idiot sometimes. Ah- sorry.../
        \I can't deny that, can I? He wouldn't be who he is, if he were any
different. A little perverted, but he's still-\
        /Just wouldn't be the same without him, would it?/
        \Without him, Tira and Chocolate would never have any fun...\
        /So, what do we do now?/
        \Wait for them to come back?\
        /I suppose... All right. I'll take first watch-/
        \Disappointed?\
        /What do you-/
        \Shh... I never said anything about sleep-\

        "That person... he's the one that we're looking for. I can feel
it..." Marron opened his eyes, to see Gateau staring at him. Suddenly a
little self-conscious, he turned his gaze away, and asked quietly, "What is
it?" Gateau shook his head, and slowly lifted a hand toward Marron's unbound
hair, putting a lock to his lips.

        "What- what are you doing..." Marron pulled away slightly, looking
at Gateau for only a moment before his gaze darted away. Gateau asked in a
rough whisper, "You and me, right?" Marron looked at him in surprise, and
then nodded. Flushing slightly, he replied in a carefully casual tone, "Not
important, right? After all, it doesn't have anything to do with finding-"

        "You knew." Marron stopped and became very still. Then, a small
smile appeared on his face as he leaned his cheek against Gateau's hand. As
Gateau let go of Marron's hair to cup Marron's cheek lightly, Marron looked
up at Gateau, and pressed his forehead against Gateau's bare shoulder. 

        "I knew... but that was in another place, another time. I didn't
know if-" Marron stopped as Gateau put one finger to Marron's lips. Then,
Gateau tipped Marron's chin up, and smiled into his eyes. "Such a silly
thing to say... I think I'd want you wherever, whenever we'd meet. I still
remember you coming up to me in that spring day, and my thinking that I knew
you from somewhere, so well that-" 

        His warm lips descended onto Marron's, and touched down lightly. As
Marron's arms went around Gateau's neck, he suddenly cried out. Gateau let
him go, and looked at him with panic in his eyes. "What- did I-" Marron
laughed at Gateau's frantic expression, and then winced. Sighing, he reached
one hand down and pulled up a rather unhappy kitten by the scruff of the neck.

        Gateau's expression was a mix of helpless annoyance as he
contemplated his renegade gift. Finally, he grinned and took the kitten into
his lap. Holding a finger out, he gave the feline a stern look, and then
gave Ninjin a gentle tap on his head. The cat gave him a look full of
disdain, and meowed. After that one acknowledgment, Ninjin started to wash
himself, totally ignoring the person who owned the lap he was sitting upon. 

        Marron snickered at Gateau's exasperated expression, and then placed
the kitten on the coffee table in front of the couch. Ninjin meowed again,
and then seemed to settle down onto the table. Then, his ears stood up as he
heard a distant meow of another cat, and he was off the table in a blur.
Marron just shook his head, and let out a long-suffering sigh. "Like I said-
totally incorrigible..."

        Marron winced again, and pulled up his foot onto the sofa to look at
the scratches that Ninjin had managed to place onto his ankle. "Well, these
aren't too bad, I guess-" Marron looked up in surprise as Gateau leaned over
to grab a cotton ball and the iodine. Gateau shrugged, and said, "I'll take
my turn as doctor now, okay?" 

---

        "Marron, how long are you going to take!" Gateau sighed as he saw
Marron through the store window, waving at him to calm down, before he
turned back to the clerk. Leaning against the wall, Gateau looked up at the
gray sky and hoped that it would be a light snow... 

        "Sorry it took so long." Gateau turned his head toward the door,
where Marron was standing, bag in hand. "I just wanted to get this for my
mom..." Gateau shrugged, and pushed himself off of the wall. "Why? You've
still got two weeks until Christmas... Actually, it's kinda weird. I also
got everyone their presents already..."

        Marron said in a tense voice, "It's time. I can feel it." Gateau
began to grin, and replied, "I knew it- come on! Drop that off at your
house, and tell me where we're going." Marron nodded, and then asked, "Are
you sure I know where to go? I- even I don't know if this is just-"

        Gateau leaned Marron's shoulders against the wall, and kissed him on
the forehead. "I trust you to lead me- so don't screw up. Okay?" Marron
smiled, "All right, you idiot. Come on- I'll take this home, and then I
think I know where we have to go. To find that person... that person who I
know we should remember..."

        "And then?" Marron raised an eyebrow, and replied, "Then we finish
what we have to do." Gateau leaned against the wall again, and turned toward
Marron. "Think we're coming back?" Marron looked up at the sky, and caught
the first gentle snowflake that had started to float down. "I don't know..."

        "But somehow, we're going to win. Because if we don't, we would have
failed that person..." Catching another snowflake, Marron started to walk
toward his house, and looked back at Gateau. "Come on. Someone's waiting for
us." 

---Finis---
-----
Monica/Akira-chan/Heero/Hayama/Naga/Kircheis no Miko- Proud TABBE! Member
monica@pipeline.com - http://www.pipeline.com/~monica/ -fics, pics, tapes!
Loves- CLAMP, LoGH, MB, RKen, Z/B, Gundam, EVA, KoDoCha, RoV, Subby, Sieg
"Tell Annerose-sama that Sieg kept his promise..." - Kircheis-sama
"Watashi no Andre?" Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes