Mercurial > moonlitnights
comparison old/stories/toujour3.txt @ 2:fc00894c1d4a moonlitnights
[svn r3] moved all the bad stuff to 'old'
author | rlm |
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date | Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500 |
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1 The night wasn't easy for the girls. Both of them squeezed on the tiny hospital | |
2 bed in the darkness of Hotaru's room; the rhythmic hissing of the respirator paired with | |
3 the beat of the heart monitor made for a symphony of restlessness. | |
4 "UGH, that beeping is driving me crazy!" Usagi said in the darkness, "I can't | |
5 sleep with it! I want to SLEEEEP!" She glared at the offending device, but was | |
6 reprimanded by an angry Chibi. | |
7 "If that thing stops beeping, you'll get a few hours of sleep…. but Hotaru will | |
8 never wake up…. now stop complaining and block it out." The tiny girl curled onto her | |
9 side and tried to do the same, but was finding it very difficult. She sighed again, | |
10 wondering what Hotaru is thinking, what she's seeing, what she's hearing, what she's | |
11 feeling. Eyes glancing to the window, to the sky that was slowly losing it's inky | |
12 blankness in favor of a mild purple as the sun was creeping up over the horizon, she | |
13 stared at the slowly brightening sky for a time, before her eyes closed she didn't reopen | |
14 them. | |
15 Chibi's sleep was tormented, torturous, and troubled. She had visions of a | |
16 happy, almost mocking future of herself, around Usagi's age. Seeing herself at her sweet | |
17 sixteen party surrounded by the other Senshi and her friends, as she was opening the | |
18 presents from a large stack on a nearby table, and the others were standing around her, | |
19 two were sitting on the sofa next to her: Hotaru to her right, and Usagi to her left. She | |
20 was flanked by Haruka and Michi who stood behind the sofa, Michi against Haruka's | |
21 chest, cradled in her arms, both of them smiling brightly. | |
22 The inners, too, were there. Ami, as always, was telling them to be sensible | |
23 about what they're eating, her voice was as clear as always, "Minako! You shouldn't be | |
24 eating so much cake!" Her lips pursed slightly as she looked at the senshi of love with a | |
25 huge piece of chocolate cake in her hands, half of it in her mouth. | |
26 "Mmh! Mm-mm mmh!" Mina mumbled over the massive piece of cake in her | |
27 mouth, narrowing her eyes at Ami, but with everyone laughing at her, she soon blushed. | |
28 "Why not just rub it on your thighs, Minako?" Makoto chimed from the | |
29 armchair where she sat with a large glass of cherry soda. "That's where it's headed | |
30 anyhow," the brown haired girl quipped to her friend before taking another drink from | |
31 her cup. | |
32 Chibi glanced over a single, black velvet box sitting on the table near her. | |
33 Blinking gently, she reached her hand out and picked it up, studying it carefully before | |
34 spotting a tag on the bottom, "To my best friend. Love always, Hotaru." She grinned | |
35 widely before opening the box, and gasping at the contents. | |
36 The other senshi all stared at her with piqued curiosity at what was in the box, | |
37 including the outers, save Hotaru, who looked away with a smile. Reflecting the light | |
38 back on Chibi's face was a small, silver locket in the shape of a heart, her name engraved | |
39 across the surface in calligraphy. "Oh my…" was her only reaction at first, before her | |
40 hand reached up and opened the locket. On one side of the locket was a picture of Hotaru, | |
41 and on the other was a picture of Chibi. "Hotaru it's beautiful…thank you." She stood up | |
42 and moved to her, "Put it on me, please?" Hotaru nodded quickly and reached her hands | |
43 up to take it; she could feel the other senshi's eyes on her as she placed her arms around | |
44 Chibi's neck. Chibi felt the warm, smooth touch of Hotaru's fingertips as she fumbled | |
45 gently with the clasp, but as the clasp closed the sensation changed. | |
46 | |
47 Trying to pull back to show the locket off, she caught some resistance, not | |
48 physically restraining Chibi, but rather like something was hung around her neck heavier | |
49 than it should be, as if Hotaru's limp hands were holding onto her. | |
50 "You ok, Hotaru?" Chibi asked, wondering if her friend had a fainting spell or | |
51 something, but Chibi received no answer. Reaching up to pull Hotaru's hands away, to | |
52 help her to a bed, Chibi stated aloud, "Someone help me here, I think Hotaru fainted…" | |
53 but, again, silence was her answer. | |
54 Fingers curling around Hotaru's wrists, Chibi jumped at the sensation. They | |
55 weren't as smooth and soft as they were before… they were dry and brittle, and as she | |
56 pulled back, the hands cracked and slumped lifelessly to the side of the couch. The thick, | |
57 tangible silence was shattered with Chibi's scream her eyes fell on Hotaru…or rather, | |
58 what Hotaru had become laying lifelessly on the couch. | |
59 What once had been a beautiful, lively young woman, remained nothing more | |
60 than a set of grayed, decaying bones dressed in the costume of the Saturn senshi. | |
61 Hollowed, dark sockets that stared blankly at Chibi's terrified form, the jaw still attached | |
62 to her face causing the skull to grin knowingly at the pink haired woman who stood | |
63 petrified in the center of the room. "What's the matter Chibi?" the former Hotaru said, | |
64 her voice floating eerily on the chill air, sounding pained and distant. The head turned | |
65 slowly, stomach-churning crack sounded before her eye sockets began glowing with a | |
66 faint purple light. | |
67 Turning quickly to face the rest of the senshi, she was greeted only with a | |
68 similar horror everywhere she looked. Each of the senshi in various states of decay and | |
69 death, rotted flesh hung from dried bones in all directions. "What's wrong, Chibi-Usa?" | |
70 Michi's voice too oozed over the still air, "Our daughter isn't good enough to be your | |
71 friend any more? Don't you know she saved all her money to buy you that locket? And | |
72 this is all you can do to repay her?!" Michi's sockets flared green a moment, then picked | |
73 up in intensity. | |
74 "N- no…" Chibi managed to choke out, her voice shaking, until it climbed in | |
75 urgency, "but…. what's going on here?!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs, but only | |
76 got a cruel chuckle from the living corpses that started to close in around her. Their bony | |
77 fingers began to grasp for her body, causing her to writhe and struggle, but this only | |
78 leading her to slam into another…they had her trapped. Tears began to stream down her | |
79 face as she tried desperately to fight her way out of the circle, only to be thrown harshly | |
80 back in by inhuman strength. | |
81 "Aw…look at the little ingrate cry," Usagi said as she picked up the knife that | |
82 was used to cut the cake, her grotesquely misshapen hands, deformed by decay, gripping | |
83 the handle tightly. Holding the weapon high, Usagi grinned; metal blade reflected the | |
84 light menacingly over the frosting covering the steel. "We'll give you a reason to cry!" | |
85 the hiss of the blade carving through the air sliced the silence, caused Chibi's eyes to | |
86 widen and cry out in vain. | |
87 The sound of the point slamming into her chest woke her with a start, causing | |
88 her to fall off the bed and onto the cold, hard tile landing with a pronounced yelp that | |
89 woke Usagi. Chibi's eyes darted around for any sign of something to prove her existence | |
90 in this reality, where the senshi were alive and spotted Usagi yawning and staring down | |
91 at her, "You ok?" | |
92 "Yes!" Chibi answered quickly, staring Usagi down hard. The blonde looked | |
93 Chibi over for injury, and caught the glare from her. Chibi stood and began to back away | |
94 from Usagi, all the way to the wall, "Just fine!" | |
95 "Uh…what's wrong with you? You look like you seen a ghost." Usagi stretched | |
96 her slender arms and placed her feet onto the floor. By now the sun had fully risen, and | |
97 shone down into the room brilliantly. Chibi checked herself over, and then quickly placed | |
98 her hand to her chest, looking for the locket. Nothing. Her sigh of relief cut short as she | |
99 noticed Hotaru's bed was gone. | |
100 "Where's Hotaru?!" Chibi immediately went to the call button and pressed it a | |
101 several times before again having her hand removed once again by Usagi. She waited | |
102 impatiently, moving to peek out the door, looking for a nurse. Just as her hand tightened | |
103 around the handle with the intent to step outside, the door opened of its own accord, | |
104 admitting a doctor… one whom Chibi recognized at a moment's glance to be different to | |
105 the one from the previous night. He was dressed the same however, green S.C.R.U.B.s | |
106 under a white coat, roughly 35 or so. | |
107 "We have some news on your friend…" the man looked directly to Usagi, as | |
108 she was older, before turning to Chibi. His eyes were a sea green; soft and delicate, | |
109 paired with slightly graying brown hair, clean cut and well shaven. He paused for a | |
110 moment glancing down at the chart with a sigh, "We've found an abnormality on the CT | |
111 scan…" | |
112 | |
113 | |
114 The sweet, rich whisper of a flute woke Hotaru from a deep slumber. Her eyes | |
115 fluttered gently as she glanced slowly around another torch-lit room. She was on a soft | |
116 mattress in a wall-less, ceiling-less black room very similar to the place she had | |
117 previously been. Rising to a sitting position, she saw a figure sitting on a chair adjacent to | |
118 the bed, the man who had wielded her glaive before. | |
119 The music stopped. | |
120 "So you're finally awake…" The man said, his voice as smooth as the flute was. | |
121 His mask was still on, though his clothing was different from, black still, but it wasn't | |
122 bloody. He was sitting close to the bed, his legs crossed, looking over her. He didn't | |
123 speak after this, only watched her motions carefully, not cautiously, but he seemed | |
124 curious about her. | |
125 "Who are you…?" Her voice was weak, it shook gently with a combination of | |
126 fear, uncertainty, and exhaustion, "...and where am I?" The youth looked thoughtful for a | |
127 moment, rubbing his chin through the thin cloth mask that shrouded his identity. He | |
128 looked a bit like Mamoru, now that Hotaru thought about it. | |
129 "No…I'm not Mamoru." His voice sounded as soon as Hotaru had the thought | |
130 manifested in her head, "My name is Seisen." He paused for a second regarding the latter | |
131 question, thinking of how to answer her, while she sat dumbstruck at the way he detected | |
132 her thoughts. "I suppose the best way to describe this place would be the astral plane." | |
133 "Astral plane…? Isn't that the out-of-body thing?" her violet eyes looked him | |
134 over, not really buying this astral plane business, but…where else could she be? This | |
135 wasn't like anywhere she's ever been before. | |
136 "Yes…something like that. However, there are some differences between the | |
137 out-of-body and our existence here. You didn't come here from your own will, like I did, | |
138 and you weren't brought here because you died in what you perceive as the 'real world.' | |
139 You came here because something else brought you here. It wasn't me, I'm sure you'd | |
140 thought that already," which, in actuality was the first thing that came to her mind as he | |
141 suggest it. It was starting to frighten her that he could so easily read her mind. "That | |
142 creature you witnessed earlier is what brought you here." | |
143 "Why would it want to… do that?" her eyes glanced away, her tone | |
144 melancholy, and frightened. "I'm just a girl…" She glanced away, careful not to think of | |
145 herself being a senshi, but instead thought of a lamp she owned at home, not wanting to | |
146 give herself away. "Why would it want me?" She recalled in detail the base of the lamp. | |
147 "Very interesting lamp." The youth chuckled lightly, "You are very clever, but | |
148 I already know who…or rather, what, you are; there is no use in trying to deceive me, but | |
149 be certain I'm not here to harm you." Her mouth dropped open, and she sputtered a | |
150 moment, trying to think of a way to explain that she wasn't something special. Her | |
151 attempts at protest were cut short when he held up his hand. "Don't… you don't have to | |
152 make excuses, or try to hide what you are." | |
153 "How do I know you're not here to hurt me…?" she edged carefully away from | |
154 him, but couldn't get too far on her weak hands. He shook his head, glancing to his side | |
155 then back to her. | |
156 "Here…" he reached down onto the floor and picked up something, then | |
157 thought better of it as Hotaru tensed. "It's nothing to hurt you…trust me." She didn't ease | |
158 any when he put his flute onto his lap and used both hands to lift the object. Her eyes | |
159 narrowed onto the flash of silver from her glaive. | |
160 "That's-- she started, but stopped when he nodded to her. | |
161 "Your glaive…very nice, actually." His eyes wandered the weapon for a | |
162 moment, before turning it in his hands, so the blade faced inwards toward himself | |
163 "Here." His left hand extended the grip of the weapon to her, carefully aiming it away | |
164 from her body due to the large spike at the end of it. "It's yours anyhow." | |
165 "Yes…" she reached her hand tentatively out to the weapon and placed it | |
166 around the grip before sliding it onto the bed next to her since she couldn't lift it with her | |
167 fatigued muscles. "Why did you have it?" | |
168 "A very good question," His eyes smiled, though his mouth couldn't be seen | |
169 from behind the mask, "Well, when you don't have it with you, it does go somewhere | |
170 you know. All the senshi's weapons reside here when not in use; this way no one can get | |
171 their hands on them. The first breech happened today with that creature, but it will not be | |
172 happening again. I have seen to that." His eyes wandered to a dark part of the room, then | |
173 back to Hotaru. | |
174 "Are you some kind of security guard or something? And why did that creature | |
175 want my weapon…?" She too, let her eyes then move to the blackness that cause his own | |
176 attention before tearing her eyes it, to focus back on his eyes. | |
177 "Yes, and no. I am not required to guard the weapons, but I don't let anything | |
178 near them. Not that it was a problem until today. "It wanted your weapon because that | |
179 was the only certain way of calling you here; it was only a matter of time, having gotten | |
180 its hands on the weapon, before you could be brought here…" His hands folded in his lap | |
181 over his flute. | |
182 "Why would it want me here…?" This was starting to make some sense, but | |
183 still a bit hard to believe, it made her head spin. She left her hand on her glaive, its | |
184 presence making her feel much better than had she been alone. | |
185 "It wanted to kill you," Seisen told her dryly. "If it killed you here, it would | |
186 have killed your spirit, thus preventing you from being reborn. When you are here, you | |
187 are physical, tangible, much like you would be back home." His hand moved to his chest, | |
188 patting it gently, "But I'm sure you saw that, anyhow." | |
189 "Why did you stop it?" Her eyes moved to his chest, where he touched. He | |
190 should have been dead; that wound wouldn't have simply closed on it's own. | |
191 "And…your wound… | |
192 "Would you rather I let it kill you?" he chuckled lightly, shaking his head. | |
193 "And my wound is healed. You're not the only one with a healing power, Firefly." | |
194 "You can heal too?" He had her attention now, and she sat up straighter against | |
195 the mass of pillows on her bed; it made her think he had gone a bit too far to make sure | |
196 she was comfortable. | |
197 "Yes…you saw what other power I have. Does it look familiar to you? Only | |
198 difference is that your power moves on the circle of life. Your revolution is meant to | |
199 show that everything lives, and then it will die." He paused a moment, adjusting his | |
200 sitting position by uncrossing his legs. "My power lies on a single side of that, either life, | |
201 or death, never both. | |
202 "Why do you have the powers I do?" Her eyes narrowed in confusion, and she | |
203 fidgeted, wanting to work out the stiffness that deadened her limbs.. Seisen studied her a | |
204 moment, his black eyes softening as he looked over her face. She was so weak, so frail, | |
205 but so completely powerful…after all Hotaru was both sides of the coin, much like her | |
206 power. | |
207 "Well…" he paused a moment, reaching his hands behind his head to untie the | |
208 mask's ribbon that held the dark mask to his face. He let the top of the mask fall to reveal | |
209 his nose and mouth, running his hand through his dark black and purple hair.. His face | |
210 was sharp, boasting well chiseled features, but still seemed very much innocent. "It's a | |
211 long story, but it would be a bit odd that you have powers when your genetic copy | |
212 doesn't." | |
213 | |
214 "What do you mean you found an abnormality?" Usagi eyed the doctor warily | |
215 as she spoke. Chibi stood looking up between two, not exactly sure how she should react. | |
216 "Well, it appears there some trauma as her head hit the ground, causing her | |
217 brain to swell a bit. This could be completely harmless, or it could lead to possible brain | |
218 damage. Amnesia, paralysis…death." He quickly looked away from them as he spoke the | |
219 word "death", not wanting to watch their reaction. Usagi decided immediately that she | |
220 didn't like this doctor. | |
221 "How can something range from nothing to death? It doesn't make sense." | |
222 Usagi cried, narrowing her eyes at the doctor. "Just do whatever you have to do to make | |
223 sure she'll be fine" Usagi narrowed her eyes at the doctor, who shifted uneasily under her | |
224 glare. | |
225 The doctor shifted uneasily under her glare, shaking his head. "We can't…until | |
226 the guardian decides what is best for the child, we simply cannot take any action, | |
227 otherw—" Usagi's jaw dropped with disbelief that they would play God to simply await | |
228 an order from the guardian. "If this was an emergency, or something of the sort, we | |
229 could…" He began to stammer, sweat forming on his brow from the steadily-increasing | |
230 heat of Usagi's glare. | |
231 "What do you mean IF this was an emergency? She could DIE! What does she | |
232 have to do for you to consider it an emergency!? I don't believe this!" Her hands curled | |
233 into fists as she began to advance on the doctor, her mind simply refusing to take what | |
234 the doctor claimed to be as the only solution. Chibi, now fully understanding the gravity | |
235 of the situation began to move on the doctor as well, on her mother's left side to block the | |
236 doorway. | |
237 "Well….what I mean to say is that it-it has to be a trauma b-before we can do | |
238 much…" the doctor's back hit the wall, and he swallowed hard as he was stared down by | |
239 Usagi, and flanked by a pink haired child. The blonde girl's left eye twitched, and she | |
240 stopped suddenly in her tracks, glancing away from the doctor to the ground, her mind | |
241 giving her a possible solution. | |
242 "Well then," Ceasing her forward motion, Usagi grew eerily calm as she smiled | |
243 knowingly up at the doctor…" Chibi stopped and looked up at her; the cool, steely | |
244 manner of her mother made her remember her dream and caused her to shudder, but she | |
245 didn't speak. "I guess I'll just have to let you have your way…I'll just go make a phone | |
246 call." Usagi said to the doctor, who was more than a bit surprised at her sudden change in | |
247 demeanor. | |
248 "If you're trying to call this Haruka person, the phone isn't being answered." | |
249 The doctor stepped from the wall and straightened his coat nervously. | |
250 "Oh no…I'm not going to call Haruka." She placed her hand on Chibi's | |
251 shoulder, but was taken slightly aback as Chibi stepped away from her. Usagi let it pass | |
252 for now, but continued, "I'm going to call a lawyer. Do the phrases 'Malpractice,' and | |
253 'wrongful death' mean anything to you, doc?" She was now very glad Ami had a big | |
254 mouth and insisted on babbling to Usagi and the others. The doctor's eyes went wide, and | |
255 he opened his mouth to speak, only finding himself quickly silenced… "Should | |
256 ANYTHING, God forbid, happen to Hotaru…you will be very, VERY sorry. And my | |
257 first task as the owner of Hotaru Tomoe memorial hospital will be to fire you." | |
258 "Well…" the nervous man began to shake visibly, and Usagi began to wonder | |
259 exactly how long he had been a doctor, and if this was the first bad news he'd delivered. | |
260 "I suppose this can be treated as a trauma…" | |
261 "Yes…and if it isn't a trauma, it can become one…not hers, of course, but I | |
262 think I can handle you." Usagi said with a smile and a tilt of her head, "Now run along | |
263 and have the nurses get a real doctor in here, 'Kay?" Usagi surprised even herself, | |
264 thinking that what she just did would be more suited for maybe Rei, or possibly Haruka, | |
265 but never herself. It made her feel good. She brushed past the doctor on her way out, and | |
266 Chibi looked up at the man a moment, before following her mother, leaving the | |
267 dumbfounded man in the white coat glancing sheepishly at his feet. | |
268 | |
269 "M…my genetic copy? A clone? You're a man, though." Hotaru looked over | |
270 the face of the man who sat before her, his black eyes closed. "I don't understand…" | |
271 "I didn't expect you to…I'll explain in a moment. Would you like something to | |
272 drink? I have some juice here if you'd like some." He said, and waited as Hotaru | |
273 considered his offer. But as she shook her head in rejection, Seisen turned his head away | |
274 from her, feeling a bit dejected. "Alright…well, I suppose I should start at the beginning, | |
275 hmm? | |
276 "When you died in the lab explosion…you were not supposed to recover. It was | |
277 no accident that the place was blown up. However, your father sold his soul to have you | |
278 reborn, and thus placed a great evil in you, and in him. Now here's where I come in…" | |
279 Pausing a moment to gather his thoughts, he allowed his rich black eyes to slowly move | |
280 over the weakened girl in front of him. "You've heard the theory 'for every action, there | |
281 is an equal and opposite reaction', right? Well, that's me. I'm your reaction. You were | |
282 reanimated as per the agreement your father made, but you became Mistress 9." | |
283 "Yes…" Hotaru didn't like discussing the time period she was Mistress 9, it | |
284 caused her to recall fuzzy memories that had no real place in her mind. It only tormented | |
285 her and caused horrid nightmares. | |
286 "Fearing you were too powerful to be stopped by the senshi, I was created by | |
287 another force to counter balance your existence." A shadow crossed his dark features as | |
288 he glanced away, looking towards the sword that leaned against the chair near him. "I | |
289 was created to kill you." | |
290 "To kill me?" Hotaru's fears returned as she increased the grip on her glaive, | |
291 thinking she was a fool to have trusted him…to sit and talk. Seisen, upon sensing her | |
292 discomfort and sudden mistrust, sighed deeply, shaking his head. | |
293 "Yes… I was created using your base DNA, but XY rather than XX…to receive | |
294 your power plus increased physical strength due to being a man. You were raised as | |
295 Mistress 9, and I was told that you were my enemy, that you were the plague of | |
296 mankind…harsh I know, but I bought into it. I was brought up in the way of the | |
297 warrior…trained daily to strengthen mind, body, and spirit so that one day I would be | |
298 able to kill you with little difficulty. However…I did all of this knowing that you were | |
299 my 'sister'. Since we are of basically the same DNA, there isn't another way to phrase | |
300 it." Hotaru let her eyes fall away; that would explain why he was defending her, and the | |
301 mass of pillows that was bigger than she was, but it still didn't make enough sense. "The | |
302 day Usagi and the others encountered 9; I was there to make sure they succeeded. If they | |
303 failed I was to finish the job. When it comes down to power, you can beat me out any | |
304 day, since I'm just a copy. But, since I wasn't biologically produced, I don't have some | |
305 of your…" thinking of the best way of phrasing it, but only finding himself able to | |
306 express himself clinically, "your physical weaknesses." | |
307 Seisen looked her directly in the eye, his dark, but enchantingly innocent | |
308 features growing even more distraught as she instantly turned away. "I'm not going to | |
309 hurt you…" His voice was small, pained. His lack of tact and instant distress proved he | |
310 wasn't used to dealing with people. | |
311 "You just said you were supposed to kill me." Hotaru frowned as she turned to | |
312 her glaive once more, her fingertips gently moving over the smooth metal of the blade. | |
313 "Now you say you won't hurt me. I don't know what to believe." | |
314 "I was created to kill Mistress 9. She doesn't exist anymore, so my existence is | |
315 pretty much useless." Seisen shrugged and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes with | |
316 his hands behind his head. Hotaru glanced from him to the glaive by her side; his | |
317 vulnerable position might let her wound him and flee to find some way to get back home. | |
318 "You can, if you like…you'd probably be doing me a favor," his eyes slowly | |
319 opened to look at her, "I won't stop you if you try." With his hands still behind his head, | |
320 he pulled the ribbon on the mask once more around his head and tied it into place, again | |
321 concealing his features, his eyes again closed.. | |
322 "What do you want from me? I don't understand all of this… You don't let it | |
323 kill me, but you were supposed to kill me…you go out of your way to make me feel | |
324 comfortable." Hotaru let her eyes move from him to the darkness of the room, looking for | |
325 any possible exit, or a portal of some kind. "I just want to go home." | |
326 "Then I'll take you home, but leave your glaive here. You can't take it with | |
327 you, but it will be safe." He stood up, flute in hand, and stretched his body. He was tall, at | |
328 least as tall as Mamoru, and his build was above average, which did fit his story to | |
329 Hotaru. Picking up his sword, he slung the sheath around his body and latched it into | |
330 place, where it was in reach of his right hand over his shoulder. "Come on," he said, | |
331 placing the flute in a slot on the sheath's strap, which crossed his chest from right to left. | |
332 "They should be happy to see you…" | |
333 Making their way along the darkness of the astral plane, Seisen guiding the way | |
334 past the torches that lined each room, and crossed the paths of others like a roadway | |
335 system. Hotaru was weak, and only shuffling along behind Seisen by will power. More | |
336 than once collapsed under her own weight, only to be caught by a blinding motion of the | |
337 ninja-dressed youth who offered he carry her, but she adamantly refused. | |
338 "We're almost there," the black-eyed man looked up at a portal that swirled in | |
339 the darkness, purple spinning in a clockwise fashion, drawing in the very light that | |
340 surrounded them. Gusts of wind began to pull at the two as they neared the portal. The | |
341 long ribbons of Seisen's mask began to flutter around his face, just as Hotaru's hair did | |
342 the same, but her weakness caused her to drop to her knees. Seisen turned to regard her | |
343 for a moment, and shadow crossed his face as he drew his sword and faced the girl fully. | |
344 The black blade of the sword shimmered with a crackle of purple electricity as Seisen flat | |
345 out charged Hotaru, enough power and speed to physically counter the portal's pull, | |
346 making the air still for a fraction of a second before his powerful sword thrust came | |
347 hailing down just above Hotaru's head. | |
348 She had long enough to think, "I'm dead," before the blade met flesh. | |
349 | |
350 On the flight from Japan to the United States, Haruka and Michiru sat restlessly | |
351 in the plane, hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. They had been in the air for what | |
352 seemed like forever; the hospital had called them the night before and they had caught the | |
353 first plane to anywhere in the US, which landed in New York in about 20 minutes. | |
354 "Sir?" the flight attendant regarded Haruka, her bright green eyes and sugary- | |
355 sweet smile shone down on the shorthaired woman. Haruka played it off, not bothering to | |
356 explain she was a woman, nor caring at the moment. "Would you like something to | |
357 drink? A soda? A glass of wine maybe?" | |
358 "No, thank you. I'm alright." Haruka answered, and the woman, undaunted, | |
359 inquired if Michi would like something. She likewise refused politely though she was | |
360 being destroyed inside. She didn't want to have to do this again; she couldn't take things | |
361 like this. Why Hotaru? kept going through her head. | |
362 "We land in 20 minutes," Michi checked her watch, "We can catch another | |
363 plane to Maine, or we can just get a bullet ca- a cab, rather." | |
364 Haruka just closed her eyes and sighed, "We'll take a cab. We don't need to | |
365 wait for another plane… I hope they can drive fast." | |
366 | |
367 Usagi now stood impatiently at the nurse's station, her tautly-crossed arms and | |
368 dangerous expression warning everyone she was not to be toyed with at the current time. | |
369 Taking a lesson from her daughter, she began the same full on assault on the bell Chibi | |
370 did only a few hours beforehand. "Hello! I need a doctor! A REAL doctor who CARES!" | |
371 She turned to glare at Hotaru's room in time to see the man slipping out of the room like | |
372 a weasel, and scurry into a lounge to avoid a confrontation with Usagi. | |
373 A nurse came to regard Usagi and looked to the pink haired girl. The whole | |
374 floor knew what room they were from; it was not very often that you find a small midget | |
375 girl with pink hair done in ondangos. "Yes? A doctor will be right with you, Doctor | |
376 White just called and said he will no longer be on the trauma case, but to have someone | |
377 look at her right away." Usagi nodded in triumph, feeling much better about herself, and | |
378 the situation, though Chibi only regarded her with a wary glance, her dream still not | |
379 shaken so easily. | |
380 "Where's Hotaru?" Usa finally managed to ask the nurse, standing on her tip | |
381 toes to see over the counter. And ensued a verbal exchange that must have broken the | |
382 sound barrier at some point. | |
383 "Radiology," | |
384 "What's she doing there?" | |
385 "Getting another cat scan." | |
386 "When will she be out," | |
387 "When it's done." | |
388 "Don't you talk to her like that!" | |
389 "I don't know when she'll be out!" | |
390 "Then find out!" | |
391 "I would ma'am, but I can't just call and ask them to hurry!" | |
392 "No, but you can call and ask them how long it's going to take!" | |
393 "I'm busy right now," | |
394 "Doing what? All I've seen you do is eat that nasty little salad." | |
395 "Maybe you should get a salad, it might improve your temper." | |
396 "Salads are not food! Vegetables are what food eat!" | |
397 "I have to go now, I'll have someone in her room shortly," | |
398 "We'll be waiting." | |
399 "Don't hold your breath," | |
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