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     1.4 +
     1.5 +Author’s Notes: This is a Saint Tail story from Seira Mimori’s
     1.6 +perspective. I’ve been wanting to deal with her thoughts on things
     1.7 +for quite a while now. This isn’t the story I’d intended to write,
     1.8 +but I’m happy with it. ^-^ Now if I can ever write a story about
     1.9 +Seira & Meimi when they’re older, I’ll be happy. ^^;;
    1.10 +
    1.11 +
    1.12 +A Thief in the Night
    1.13 +by Amazoness Duo
    1.14 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
    1.15 +
    1.16 +
    1.17 +It’s been such a long night. I should be sleeping right now, but I
    1.18 +can’t. So here I am, Lord. Your loyal servant, Seira. I know I should
    1.19 +be in bed. I have classes tomorrow and I promised Sister Abbess that
    1.20 +I would help her sweep the grounds. But for some reason, I can’t
    1.21 +sleep tonight. Whenever I close my eyes, I see her. I can’t put her
    1.22 +out of my mind long enough to fade into a blissful sleep. It’s like
    1.23 +her image has been burned into my eyelids. I toss and turn, seeing
    1.24 +her smile. I hug my pillow tightly, wishing it were her there with me
    1.25 +to qualm my waking nightmares. But I know she’s far away, having
    1.26 +entirely different thoughts before passing into a deep slumber.
    1.27 +
    1.28 +And it’s a well deserved sleep. She has done your will, my Lord.
    1.29 +She’s granted another person your protection by helping them as the
    1.30 +mysterious thief, Saint Tail. So she can sleep the sleep of the just.
    1.31 +Yet I only find myself caught in my blankets like a net, her voice
    1.32 +whispering in my ear with every breeze that brushes past my window.
    1.33 +I’m the one who convinced her to be Saint Tail. I send the hopes and
    1.34 +prayers of those who have been wronged unto her. And because she
    1.35 +trusts me, because she’s my friend, she will do anything she can to
    1.36 +fulfil those wishes. All I can do is wait here for her, praying to
    1.37 +you that she will be safe, wishing I could be there with her. But
    1.38 +that is her role. As I have my own.
    1.39 +
    1.40 +So I am praying to you tonight, the moon sailing high above as I do,
    1.41 +alone in the church. I pray not to get rid of the feelings inside of
    1.42 +me, because I can’t imagine living without the love I feel for Meimi.
    1.43 +I pray instead to help quell my chaotic thoughts, to soothe the
    1.44 +stormy sea inside of me. So that I can try to find some tranquility
    1.45 +in this endless night. 
    1.46 +
    1.47 +The rest of the nuns are already asleep. They don’t come here this
    1.48 +late at night. But I’m here almost every night. I feel safer here. I
    1.49 +don’t have to be so alone in my thoughts here because of you. Other
    1.50 +girls my age are listening to music idols or wanting to get into the
    1.51 +latest trend. I spend most of my free time at the church, whether
    1.52 +thinking or praying, speaking to you or listening to those whose
    1.53 +hearts are heavy. Most of the students already call me Sister Seira
    1.54 +even though I’m not officially a nun yet. That will have to wait
    1.55 +until after high school. But I’m glad that they trust me as one
    1.56 +already. I guess they see me around the church enough to believe I
    1.57 +am. 
    1.58 +
    1.59 +It’s so quiet here at night. So peaceful. I may not be a thief, but
    1.60 +I do love the night as much as Meimi. Enveloped in inky darkness,
    1.61 +it’s not the cacophony of confusion that daylight brings. I feel so
    1.62 +out of place, nothing like the other girls. They don’t see me as one
    1.63 +of them. I might as well already be a nun in their minds, one of the
    1.64 +many who teach at the school. I don’t understand what they’re talking
    1.65 +about half the time. I can only smile and nod and pretend I have some
    1.66 +vague idea of what’s going on. During the day, there are so many
    1.67 +distractions, so many confusing things. At night, I can finally try
    1.68 +to unravel the knots in my heart. I can sit here and think, trying to
    1.69 +make sense of my confused soul. 
    1.70 +
    1.71 +Meimi. She is what confuses me the most. Yet she is the one truth I
    1.72 +can hold onto. She’s who I understand better than anyone. She’s
    1.73 +energetic and emotional and altogether too flighty. But that’s part
    1.74 +of her charm. She gets so confused about herself sometimes. I think I
    1.75 +understand her better than she does herself. But that’s just because
    1.76 +she hasn’t taken the time to try to find out what she’s like. She’s
    1.77 +always busy with other things, her thoughts elsewhere. My thoughts
    1.78 +are always inexorably drawn to her. I want to know everything about
    1.79 +her. I want to immerse myself in all that is her. So when she likes
    1.80 +something, I’ll try to find out all I can about it. Whether it’s a
    1.81 +band or a movie star or some type of stuffed animal, I’ll spend my
    1.82 +free time digging up all the information I can on it. Maybe it’s my
    1.83 +way of being closer to her. I want to understand her heart and soul.
    1.84 +Everything that makes her who she is. 
    1.85 +
    1.86 +Meimi’s escapades as Saint Tail was another way I could be closer to
    1.87 +her. She has always been so amazing. Athletic, talented, smart. I
    1.88 +used to clap until my hands ached when she would show me magic tricks
    1.89 +as a child. The magician and the nun. What an odd pair we must have
    1.90 +made as children. What an odd pair we must still make. But I wouldn’t
    1.91 +have it any other way. So I thank you for that, for letting me find
    1.92 +Meimi. I’ve spent so long watching her, fascinated by what I saw. It
    1.93 +was only a matter of time before I found a way to put her talents to
    1.94 +use.
    1.95 +
    1.96 +Everyone suffers. You learn that in the church. But suffering is
    1.97 +part of life. All the same, I want to end that suffering. But there
    1.98 +wasn’t anything I could do on my own. People would come to me with
    1.99 +their problems and all I could do was listen and pray for them. Until
   1.100 +I finally found out how they could truly receive God’s protection. It
   1.101 +didn’t take long to talk Meimi into it. I know all the right buttons
   1.102 +to push with her, so I knew she’d do it before I even asked. I know I
   1.103 +probably shouldn’t have, but I believe some things are justified in
   1.104 +helping people. Even some deceit and trickery. Otherwise I wouldn’t
   1.105 +have teamed up with a magician and thief to grant people your
   1.106 +protection. Sometimes you have to do what you can to help people,
   1.107 +even if it is a little underhanded. 
   1.108 +
   1.109 +But I would be lying if I said those were my only reasons for
   1.110 +recruiting her as Saint Tail. I wanted something to share with her,
   1.111 +something that was ours and ours alone. A little secret we could
   1.112 +share, times we could sneak away together like lovers to whisper
   1.113 +about things no one else would ever hear. So in a way, this is my
   1.114 +love life. Standing in a church at midnight as I await my love to
   1.115 +come rushing in to pray with me and then run off to steal something
   1.116 +back from someone. Though I’m sure she doesn’t see it that way. I
   1.117 +blush faintly at all these thoughts rushing through my head, seeing
   1.118 +her once again vividly in my mind. 
   1.119 +
   1.120 +Saint Tail is our little secret. The one thing that we can share
   1.121 +away from the rest of the world. Something we can do together, just
   1.122 +the two of us. It makes me feel closer to her. It lets me have
   1.123 +something of her that no one else can have. But I don’t know how much
   1.124 +longer that can last. Her game of cat and mouse with Asuka Jr.
   1.125 +concerns me. If he finds out who she is, our little secret will be
   1.126 +out in the open. Our time together in the middle of the night will
   1.127 +end. I’ll no longer be blessed with her midnight visits. And I don’t
   1.128 +want to lose all of that. It’s too important to me. But it’s getting
   1.129 +more dangerous. I keep warning her about letting him find out, but
   1.130 +she keeps wavering. I think she loves the chase. Having him run after
   1.131 +her, spending all of his time and effort on her. But he doesn’t care
   1.132 +for her. He only cares about Saint Tail. He’s chasing Saint Tail,
   1.133 +scorning Meimi. I love Meimi, not some mystery girl that I don’t
   1.134 +know. Tuxedo or school uniform, I love her just the same. But I can’t
   1.135 +tell her that. I can’t let her know that my heart beats for her. I
   1.136 +can only warn her about letting him find out. And I know Meimi well
   1.137 +enough to know that the whole game of cat and mouse wouldn’t be fun
   1.138 +for her if there was no danger of him finding out who she is. So all
   1.139 +I can do is watch and worry. And pray.
   1.140 +
   1.141 +But pray for what? That she could somehow love me? That she won’t
   1.142 +let Asuka Jr. find out for my sake? Or for the sake of all she’s
   1.143 +helping as Saint Tail? I don’t know. So I don’t know if those prayers
   1.144 +are reaching you. Just... Please keep her safe, no matter what path
   1.145 +she chooses. I couldn’t live with myself if she got hurt as Saint
   1.146 +Tail. That would be entirely my fault because I’m the one who
   1.147 +convinced her to be Saint Tail in the first place.
   1.148 +
   1.149 +Saint Tail and Meimi are almost two different people. I don’t think
   1.150 +Meimi realizes it, but I can see. She changes when she puts on that
   1.151 +costume. She’s braver, more sure of herself as Saint Tail. She’s more
   1.152 +dedicated and focussed in a way, too. Which helps her to do what she
   1.153 +needs to, even if she does still play with Asuka Jr. chasing her. I
   1.154 +had no idea that would happen when I asked her to be Saint Tail. It
   1.155 +never crossed my mind that she would be almost a completely different
   1.156 +person as a mysterious thief. And yet, I love them both. Because they
   1.157 +are two sides of my dear Meimi. They’re both her in their own way. I
   1.158 +wish I could bring this up with Meimi, but I decided a long time ago
   1.159 +that I wouldn’t tell her how I feel. And she wouldn’t believe me if I
   1.160 +told her she acted like a different person as Saint Tail. She
   1.161 +probably doesn’t see it. If anything, it’s Saint Tail that likes
   1.162 +Asuka Jr. Meimi doesn’t get along with him at all. But I can’t
   1.163 +explain that to her. So she thinks that she might like him as well.
   1.164 +And it obviously confuses her horribly. It hurts that there’s nothing
   1.165 +I can do to help her.
   1.166 +
   1.167 +All I can do is be Meimi’s friend. All I can do is watch on while
   1.168 +she falls in love and drifts from me. All I can do is pray for her to
   1.169 +be happy in her life. I’ve always known we couldn’t be together.
   1.170 +We’re both girls. She doesn’t like me that way. My role is with the
   1.171 +church. I’ve known all of these things from the moment I fell in love
   1.172 +with her. So it was never about getting her love for myself. It’s
   1.173 +always been about simply loving her, getting closer to her and
   1.174 +finding out everything I can about this beautiful girl who wandered
   1.175 +into my life. I will one day become a nun, devoted to you. I will
   1.176 +never love another other than her. She will always be in my heart,
   1.177 +even though my path does not let me be with her. But that’s all
   1.178 +right. It hurts, sometimes. But this is how things are supposed to
   1.179 +be. I try to remind myself of that when I find myself crying, longing
   1.180 +to be held in her arms. That will always remain a dream, but one I
   1.181 +will cherish as I live my life for you. I will always love Meimi. My
   1.182 +calling to the church doesn’t change that. 
   1.183 +
   1.184 +A noise behind me scatters my thoughts to the wind. It’s her. I can
   1.185 +tell without even looking. She may be a silent thief, but I know all
   1.186 +of her tricks. And I know this church better than my own room, so
   1.187 +it’s easy enough to tell when someone enters. Especially her. I guess
   1.188 +certain habits never go away. She’s still trying to sneak up on me. I
   1.189 +don’t turn, still kneeling in prayer. What’s she doing here tonight,
   1.190 +I wonder? I didn’t call her about any missions for Saint Tail. She’s
   1.191 +never mistaken the day before. Maybe there’s something she wants to
   1.192 +talk about. My heart nearly seizes up with apprehension at that
   1.193 +thought. Whatever she would want to talk about this late would
   1.194 +probably be very important. I’ve always been her confidante, and I’ll
   1.195 +always continue to be so. But whatever is important enough to have
   1.196 +her come here in the middle of the night worries me. Is it about her
   1.197 +feelings for Asuka Jr.? Did something happen at home? Does she want
   1.198 +to quit being Saint Tail?
   1.199 +
   1.200 +Now I stand up. I can’t keep my anxiety from rising up within me. I
   1.201 +turn around, my long, white dress flowing about me. I never did
   1.202 +bother changing out of my nun’s clothes. There she is, radiantly
   1.203 +beautiful as ever. For some reason, she has come to me as Saint Tail.
   1.204 +My concern escalates. Did she go do something as Saint Tail on her
   1.205 +own tonight? Did something bad happen? Did someone find out who she
   1.206 +was? “Meimi, are you all right?” I ask worriedly, my hands clasped
   1.207 +together. She doesn’t answer me. Her eyes are cast in shadows, making
   1.208 +it impossible for me to tell what lay inside of them or whether she’s
   1.209 +been crying. 
   1.210 +
   1.211 +She starts to advance on me, her short pink skirt swishing about as
   1.212 +she does, the only noise in the empty church. I take a half-step back
   1.213 +unconsciously. She keeps coming forward. “Meimi?” I ask, more
   1.214 +nervously this time. No reply. Just the repeated swish-swish of her
   1.215 +skirt and the light clack of her heels on the floor. I take another
   1.216 +step back. And another. I smile weakly. “It’s good to see you, Meimi-
   1.217 +chan. I was just thinking about you. I hope that you’re okay.” Still
   1.218 +no answer. There’s something almost predatory in the way she’s
   1.219 +walking. I swallow, taking another few steps back. Something hits me
   1.220 +from behind, making me gasp out loud. I close my eyes, taking a deep
   1.221 +breath to try and calm myself. It’s only the altar. I must be pretty
   1.222 +worked up if I could have stumbled into it. And over Meimi at that.
   1.223 +But she’s always been the one to get me all worked up, even if she
   1.224 +doesn’t know it. 
   1.225 +
   1.226 +I open my eyes again, watching her stepping purposely towards me.
   1.227 +Her beautiful auburn ponytail swishes in time with her skirt, her
   1.228 +coattails shifting behind her as she walks ever closer. She’s simply
   1.229 +stunning. No wonder Asuka Jr. is so obsessed with finding out who
   1.230 +this beautiful Seraph is. So many boys have already been smitten with
   1.231 +her. Even her best friend, a girl dedicated to the church has fallen
   1.232 +in love with her. How could I help myself from doing just that? She’s
   1.233 +stolen a lot of hearts. She truly is a thief. But she can keep mine
   1.234 +forever. I don’t need it back. I’d rather she had it anyway.
   1.235 +
   1.236 +So captivated by her beauty am I that I barely realize how close
   1.237 +she’s getting until she’s practically upon me. I move again, but my
   1.238 +escape is blocked by the altar. I rest my hands on it, holding on
   1.239 +tightly until my knuckles go white. I smile again shakily. “Was there
   1.240 +something you wanted, Meimi?” My voice is shaking. Even I can hear
   1.241 +it. It’s never been this bad when I’ve been around her before. I’ll
   1.242 +feel warm and dizzy inside, but this has me completely lost. I don’t
   1.243 +know what to say or do. I feel trapped. She can feel it, can’t she?
   1.244 +The love I have for her must be excruciatingly obvious this close.
   1.245 +Why else would I be so weak and nervous being near her?
   1.246 +
   1.247 +Meimi is silent, standing before me. Strong, intent, focussed.
   1.248 +Everything that I can’t muster at the moment. A gloved hand reaches
   1.249 +up slowly. Her fingertips brush my burning cheeks, sending an
   1.250 +electric tingle through my skin. My cheeks darken considerably even
   1.251 +as I try to fight back my blush. “Meimi-chan, maybe we should go
   1.252 +outside. It’s awfully hot in here tonight,” I say, trying to sound
   1.253 +casual. I don’t look at her as I do. I can’t. I’d melt if I look into
   1.254 +her eyes, I just know it. I move to the left, trying to escape being
   1.255 +in such close proximity to this girl. She’s taking over all of my
   1.256 +senses. But before I can get away from her, Her arm blocks my path. I
   1.257 +turn only to find her other arm blocking the other way, boxing me in.
   1.258 +Her arms on the altar to either side of me, I find myself trapped
   1.259 +facing her. My heart beats deafeningly inside of me. She must be able
   1.260 +to hear it in the quiet of the night. I command it to be still, but
   1.261 +it’s not mine to control. It’s in her hands, after all. I can only
   1.262 +stand there, pressed tightly against the altar, looking down. Why is
   1.263 +she doing this? Why is she working her magic on me in such a way?
   1.264 +Even she can’t be naïve enough to not notice how this is affecting
   1.265 +me. Yet even then, I pray she won’t ask me about it. I didn’t want
   1.266 +her to find out. I didn’t want her to know I love her. She could
   1.267 +never love me anyway, so there’s no reason. Yet now I find myself
   1.268 +almost hoping that she knows. That she’s discovered my deepest,
   1.269 +darkest secret. That she can finally drag it out into the light.
   1.270 +
   1.271 +“Seira,” she whispers in my ear. Whether it’s her intention or not,
   1.272 +it sure sounds seductive to me. I shudder imperceptibly (I hope) at
   1.273 +the sound of her voice echoing throughout me. Her gloved fingers take
   1.274 +my chin, tilting my head up. I blush darkly but do nothing to stop
   1.275 +her. My head moves up docilely until I’m looking at her once more.
   1.276 +Even now, I can’t see her eyes. The shadows and her bangs keep them a
   1.277 +mystery to me. I feel that if I could get through that to see them,
   1.278 +that everything would make sense. I’d be able to understand what
   1.279 +Meimi was doing, what she was thinking. But they’re still hidden from
   1.280 +me. And her hand is cupping my chin. And her face is moving closer,
   1.281 +inching nearer. My eyes widen in a mixture of horror and yearning. I
   1.282 +want to stop her. But I can’t. I just can’t bring myself to stop her.
   1.283 +Not when I’ve dreamt of this for years. 
   1.284 +
   1.285 +Her lips brush mine, warm and soft and incredibly delectable. That
   1.286 +delicate touch hardly seems enough, a small glimpse of heaven that
   1.287 +leaves me longing for more. Meimi doesn’t keep me waiting long. Her
   1.288 +lips return to mine, more insistent this time. My thoughts are
   1.289 +jumbled, an incoherent mess as she kisses me. I press back further,
   1.290 +but she only moves closer. Her body presses against me now, sending
   1.291 +more shocks through my body. I’m trapped between her and the altar,
   1.292 +her kisses growing more passionate as she does what she wants in
   1.293 +response to my own pliable kissing. It’s then that I realize I’m
   1.294 +kissing back. Nervously, sure, but I’m kissing back all the same. I
   1.295 +can’t stop myself. I don’t want to stop myself. Each kiss touches my
   1.296 +soul like a gentle caress. One of her arms snakes around my back,
   1.297 +pulling me tighter against her. I make a weak gasp but otherwise
   1.298 +offer up no struggle. What am I doing? I should be telling her to
   1.299 +stop. Or... Or.. It’s hard to think past the kisses. They’re so warm
   1.300 +and they surround my mind like a fuzzy blanket, wrapping it up nice
   1.301 +and tight. 
   1.302 +
   1.303 +Why is she doing this to me? Can’t she see how weak she makes me? My
   1.304 +strength comes from the fact that I can never have her. Please don’t
   1.305 +take that away, Meimi-chan. My resolve would crumble. My plans for
   1.306 +the future would fall apart. I would be in freefall. And it’s all up
   1.307 +to you. All of my strength, whether I have it or whether it all
   1.308 +leaves me is entirely up to you.
   1.309 +
   1.310 +One of her hands caresses my cheek, the soft feel of her gloves
   1.311 +against my skin almost too much for me. But if I fall here, I know
   1.312 +that she’ll catch me, hold me tightly. But if I fall because of this,
   1.313 +who will save me? My entire life has been dedicated to repaying the
   1.314 +nuns who raised me by devoting myself to God. I knew I couldn’t be
   1.315 +with Meimi, so it wasn’t a problem. But if she could love me, then
   1.316 +what? What would I do? How could I possibly choose between her and my
   1.317 +path in life? I’m so confused again, even in the solace of the
   1.318 +church, in the night. My confusion has finally found me, no matter
   1.319 +how well I hid from it. 
   1.320 +
   1.321 +I want to tell her, to say something, to just collapse from all of
   1.322 +this madness. But she has other ideas. Her tongue presses against my
   1.323 +lips. My cheeks burning, my own lips open, accepting her. I can feel
   1.324 +her tongue brushing past mine, a thrill shooting through me at the
   1.325 +feeling. I kiss back hesitantly, but find myself responding more and
   1.326 +more to her lead. ‘Wherever you take me, I’ll follow,’ I think,
   1.327 +though whether this is more a declaration or a realization, I haven’t
   1.328 +a clue. 
   1.329 +
   1.330 +I don’t want this to ever end. I just want to be in her arms
   1.331 +forever, to feel this way for eternity. Is this what Heaven is like?
   1.332 +This delicious taste of ethereal joy? Part of me still tries to fight
   1.333 +it, telling me that I shouldn’t be doing this, that my path in life
   1.334 +forbids it. But I’m held captive by her lips, by the feel of her
   1.335 +against me. I gather all of my strength, what little is left, and
   1.336 +kiss my beautiful Saint Tail with everything I have. It leaves me
   1.337 +breathless, more confused than ever, but with a wonderful electric
   1.338 +feeling in my stomach.
   1.339 +
   1.340 +She steps away from me, her hands lingering on my sides for a moment
   1.341 +before finally pulling away. It’s only then that I realize my eyes
   1.342 +are closed. “Meimi-chan,” I whisper, blushing deeply. “I love you,” I
   1.343 +say, forcing it out before I get too scared to say it. I don’t care
   1.344 +how confusing it is anymore. I know that to be true. I know I love
   1.345 +her, no matter what trouble that causes. And I want her to know it,
   1.346 +too. I await her answer anxiously, but nothing comes. Is she still
   1.347 +playing mute? Or does she not know what to say? Is she as embarrassed
   1.348 +and unsure of everything as I am? I slowly open my eyes to see, but
   1.349 +she’s gone. I glance around frantically, but she is nowhere to be
   1.350 +seen. Disappeared like a magic trick, not even smoke left in her
   1.351 +wake. 
   1.352 +
   1.353 +My shoulders slump, her spirits dropping. Gone. Like a thief in the
   1.354 +night. But what was she here to steal? I kneel, clasping my hands in
   1.355 +prayer once more. This is my solace. But even as I begin to pray,
   1.356 +thoughts of her linger with me. God is in everything. Maybe I don’t
   1.357 +have to differentiate between my love for Him and my love for Meimi.
   1.358 +Maybe... “I love you, Meimi-chan,” I whisper again with all the
   1.359 +strength of a prayer. I love you. Even if you aren’t there when I
   1.360 +open my eyes.
   1.361 \ No newline at end of file