view old/stories/farewellfin.txt @ 2:fc00894c1d4a moonlitnights

[svn r3] moved all the bad stuff to 'old'
author rlm
date Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500
parents
children
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1 We’d like to thank Boco the Chokobo, because without his help, this story
2 would never have been finished, especially not in time for ChibiUsa’s
3 birthday. ^-^
5 Farewell
6 By the Amazoness Quartet
9 ChibiUsa sighed anxiously. It was a beautiful day outside, but that
10 was far from her mind. A certain dark haired girl was the focus of it, but
11 that wasn't anything new. She was waiting for Hotaru to finish getting
12 dressed so they could leave for Hotaru's father's beach house where they'd
13 spend the next few days together. Alone this time. ChibiUsa couldn't help
14 but smile at the idea of being alone with Hotaru. She'd already had a
15 birthday party earlier today with the others and now she'd be able to enjoy
16 the rest of it with the one person she wished to share everything with.
18 A wailing noise snapped her out of her thoughts. It took her a
19 moment to realize it was the sound of a child crying. Knowing that both of
20 their twin daughters that had come back from the future were somewhere
21 in the house, it had to be something wrong for one of them. Heading down
22 the stairs quickly, she tried to pinpoint where the sobbing was coming from.
23 Selene looked up teary eyed at ChibiUsa. The future princess kneeled down
24 worriedly next to the younger girl. “Selene, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
25 Selene just wiped at her eyes tearfully, taking a shuddering breath before
26 looking up at her the woman that would one day be her mother.
27 “ChibiUsa-mama, do you
28 really love Hotaru-mama?” she asked in almost a hushed whisper.
29 ChibiUsa was taken aback. Why did the little girl ask that? Was there any
30 question? Brushing a hand through her pink hair, she just blinked a few
31 times. “Of course
32 I do. She’s everything to me.”
33 Selene sniffled, wiping her eyes shakily with the back of her hand.
34 “Re…Really?”
35 The pink haired girl nodded quickly to dispel the younger girl’s fears,
36 wiping a
37 tear from her cheek. She smiled gently at Selene. “Really. She’s everything
38 to me. I love
39 your Hotaru-mama with all my heart.” This seemed to appease the younger
40 girl, drawing
41 forth a small smile from her. ChibiUsa smiled softly, but something still
42 concerned her.
43 Something felt wrong… “Why did you ask?”
44 The dark haired odangoed girl rubbed at her eyes with small fists before
45 looking
46 up at ChibiUsa again. “An angel told me. She was really pretty, with pink
47 hair kinda like
48 yours, but it was past her shoulders. She was all shimmery and had a white
49 dress on that
50 was really long and pretty, too. She said that it wasn’t enough.”
51 “That what wasn’t enough?” ChibiUsa asked encouragingly, wanting to know
52 what had gotten the younger girl so upset.
53 “That you didn’t love her enough…” Selene said quietly, looking down.
54 ChibiUsa shook her head emphatically. “No, that’s absurd. I love Hotaru
55 more
56 than anything. How could I not love her enough?” she demanded, her heart
57 starting to
58 ache from the very idea.
59 “I.. I don’t know…” Selene barely got out, on the verge of tears.
60 ChibiUsa closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. It was nothing, just a
61 figment of
62 Selene’s imagination. Sure it was kind of odd, but that was just not even
63 worth worrying
64 about. Of course she loved Hotaru enough. She slowly smiled again, hugging
65 the smaller
66 girl. “It’s going to be alright, Selene. Whatever it was, it was wrong. I
67 love Hotaru with
68 all my heart.” ChibiUsa’s words reassured both herself and Selene. Smiling a
69 little
70 brighter, ChibiUsa tilted her head to the side. “Want to get some ice cream?
71 We can
72 forget all about this.”
73 Selene jumped up and down excitedly. “Hai!! Thanks, ChibiUsa-mama! You’re
74 the best!” She hugged ChibiUsa tightly, already starting to forget her odd
75 vision.
77 They were finally alone. That was the first thought that ran through
78 ChibiUsa’s
79 head as she walked hand in hand with Hotaru to the beach house. In the
80 distance, the two
81 could hear Haruka’s car driving off. She’d be there to pick them up in a few
82 days. In the
83 meantime, that left the lovers alone with each other at the beach house. No
84 children, no
85 schoolwork, no responsibility. Juts the wonderful feeling of being together.
86 They had
87 come out here to be alone, a birthday present Hotaru had given her so they
88 could spend
89 the next few days together without a care in the world. ChibiUsa smiled
90 brightly at the
91 dark haired girl, squeezing her hand slightly. The pale girl’s hand
92 squeezed back as
93 Hotaru turned to her with a smile.
94 As they stood in front of the doors, ChibiUsa felt an almost overwhelming
95 sense
96 of fear and regret overtake her. As if her whole life would change by
97 walking through
98 those doors. She leaned against Hotaru, holding her arm tightly.
99 “ChibiUsa-chan?” Hotaru looked at her worriedly. Her usually cheerful
100 complexion was now deathly pale. Hotaru’s arm started to ache from the death
101 grip
102 ChibiUsa had on it. The raven haired girl started to panic, barely holding
103 herself in check
104 for ChibiUsa’s sake. This was so unlike the vibrant future princess. What
105 could be so
106 horribly wrong?
107 Taking a deep, soothing breath, ChibiUsa smiled calmly at Hotaru,
108 suppressing
109 the wave of emotions that had passed over her. “Its nothing. I just haven’t
110 been getting
111 much sleep lately because of the twins. And Kousagi’s been keeping me up
112 whenever
113 I’m at my house, so that’s it.” She giggled at the skeptical look Hotaru
114 threw her.
115 “Really, its nothing. You worry too much, Hota-chan. Let’s just enjoy
116 ourselves. You and
117 me.”
118 Beautiful crimson eyes gazed brightly at her as the future princess’s arm
119 went
120 around Hotaru’s waist. Hotaru felt herself relaxing in ChibiUsa’s grasp. If
121 ChibiUsa was
122 okay, then there really wasn’t anything for her to be worrying about. The
123 nervousness
124 slowly started to ebb away, replaced by a warm feeling her heart as her
125 violet eyes befell
126 the pink haired goddess before her. Hotaru smiled softly. “Hai, its your
127 birthday, so if
128 that’s what you want to do, I’m all for it.” Leaning forward, her lips
129 lightly brushed
130 ChibiUsa’s. “Happy birthday, Odango-chan.”
131 “I can’t think of a better way to spend my birthday,” ChibiUsa said,
132 grinning.
134 ChibiUsa rolled over for what had to be the eighth time that night.
135 No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get to sleep. And that usually
136 wasn't a problem for her whenever she had Hotaru right beside her. Their
137 clothes lay scattered on the floor, their bodies entangled under the sheets.
138 ChibiUsa held the frail girl close, the feel of her bare skin reminding her
139 of the passionate moment they'd shared not long ago. The raven haired girl,
140 who had enough trouble sleeping normally, was fast asleep next to her. She
141 was tired after what they'd done, but she couldn't get to sleep. Closing her
142 eyes just made matters worse. She sighed, her hands covering her face in
143 frustration. Why was it bothering her? She knew she loved Hotaru, that's
144 all that mattered. So why couldn't she get to sleep? All day, Hotaru had
145 been
146 pretending nothing was wrong, trying to hide her worry while ChibiUsa had
147 been dancing around the subject and trying to reassure Hotaru that
148 everything was alright. Neither had been able to enjoy themselves because
149 of how she was acting. Sitting up in bed, the pink haired girl slowly
150 disentangled herself from her sleeping lover. She knew she wouldn’t be
151 getting any sleep tonight.
152 Her thoughts in a jumble, ChibiUsa slipped off the bed, her toes
153 moving against the soft feel of the carpet. Tilting her head to the side,
154 ChibiUsa gazed at the raven haired girl alone in the bed for a what felt
155 like
156 an eternity. Her fingers gingerly followed the contours of Hotaru’s
157 beautiful
158 face, brushing past her soft lips, warm cheeks, and finally through
159 midnight black hair. She leaned down, brushing some of Hotaru’s dark hair
160 back. Her lips gently pressed against Hotaru’s as her fingers stroked down
161 to the pale girl’s neck. Something wet rolled down ChibiUsa’s cheek down
162 to Hotaru’s, startling the pink haired girl. Slowly pulling away, a hand
163 went
164 to her face. Another tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m crying? Why am I
165 crying?” she asked herself in a daze. The pink haired girl balled up her
166 fists
167 in frustration, shutting her eyes tightly as a wave of sadness swept through
168 her body. An icy pit formed in her stomach as more tears started falling.
169 ‘I’m supposed to be happy. I’ve got everything I could ever want. I have
170 you, Hota-chan. I love you.” A sob punctuated her declaration of love, her
171 hand wiping at the still forming tears in her crimson eyes.
172 Looking down at Hotaru, ChibiUsa’s fingers lightly brushed her
173 cheek again. Part of her wanted to wake the sleeping angel, to try to tell
174 her
175 the jumble of emotions going through her. But she couldn’t bring herself to
176 wake the raven haired girl up. Each time she’d try, she stopped herself just
177 before she could. What would Hotaru think? She wouldn’t think… ChibiUsa
178 pulled her hand away from Hotaru’s pale skin as if burned. Selene’s words
179 burst into her mind. ‘That you didn’t love her enough…’ She shook her head
180 violently, her hands going through her pink hair as a lonely wail escaped
181 her lips. “That
182 can’t be it. It can’t be….” She desperately wanted to shake Hotaru awake, to
183 tell her just
184 how much she loved her, to here Hotaru tell her she knows, that she’s always
185 known. But
186 ChibiUsa still couldn’t bring herself to disturb the raven haired girl’s
187 peaceful slumber.
188 So often, Hotaru would look tormented in her sleep. This would just ruin one
189 of the few
190 restful slumbers that Hotaru’s had. “I’m being selfish, Hota-chan. I’ll be
191 okay. I can
192 handle this.”
193 With that, the future princess headed out the door of their bedroom,
194 padding
195 across the plush carpet. At first she didn’t know where she was going, but
196 she quickly
197 realized the path she was taking. The Mirror. Of course! How could she have
198 been so
199 blind? Michiru had lent ChibiUsa her hand mirror for their trip to the beach
200 house, telling
201 her the talisman would keep them safe. The mirror could show the truth, no
202 matter how
203 hidden it may be. She could easily look into that to see how deep her
204 feelings for Hotaru
205 ran. After proving them to her satisfaction, she could be off to bed and
206 cuddling with her
207 firefly. She grinned happily as she made her way to the mirror, lying unused
208 on a table in
209 the living room. ChibiUsa felt almost dizzy as she picked up the mirror. It
210 was cold to the
211 touch. Something in the back of her mind told her to put it down, that how
212 dare she
213 question their love. Afterall, it didn’t matter that Hotaru’s hair wasn’t
214 pink. She wet her
215 parched lips nervously, the icy pit in her stomach returning a hundred fold.
216 Holding the
217 mirror up, she gazed into it. Rather than a direct reflection, the image in
218 the mirror was of
219 her as a princess. The truth. Taking a deep breath, ignoring the warnings in
220 the back of
221 her head, ChibiUsa concentrated on the mirror. “Show me the depths of my
222 love.”
224 She ran, ignoring the sharp pain of rocks scraping against the skin of her
225 bare
226 feet, ignoring everything as she tried to get further and further away. Her
227 hair, let down
228 from its normal odango style for the night, trailed behind her past her
229 shoulders. Tears
230 blinded her, blurring her vision, but she didn’t care. Nothing mattered
231 anymore. Nothing.
232 Her frantic thoughts swirled about in her mind like a whirlwind, jumbled
233 beyond
234 coherency other than the deep pain she felt in her heart.
235 As she ran along the rocky cliff face, barely even realizing where she was.
236 She
237 wiped at her eyes desperately, stinging tears dripping wetly down her
238 cheeks. ‘Why?!
239 Why?’ she thought, over and over again, begging for an answer, any answer to
240 the pain
241 she felt. Her heart ached deeply, as if she’d been cut open by The Senshi of
242 Death and
243 Rebirth herself. Was that how she truly felt? Was that what was to happen?
244 She didn’t
245 return Hotaru’s feelings with half the blaze, half the sheer strength that
246 Hotaru had in her
247 love for her. ChibiUsa shuddered, feeling cold inside. As if she’d been
248 drowning in a
249 freezing river for so long and had only now opened her eyes. What could she
250 say to
251 Hotaru? Anything she could say would only hurt her, ChibiUsa was sure. She
252 hugged
253 herself tightly, her small body wracked by sobs as she continued her aimless
254 running, her
255 only thoughts to escape the horror of her thoughts.
256 So intent was she upon her fleeing that she never noticed where she was
257 running. The rocky ledge started to give way beneath her bare feet, a
258 breathless scream
259 trapped forever in her lips as she fell. The princess barely felt the
260 impact, everything
261 starting to fade out as she hit the shore below. She lay there, tears still
262 running down her
263 cheeks, not even realizing she was taking her dying breath. “Taru…”
265 “ChibiUsa-chan!! ChibiUsa-chan, where are you?! Please, please come back to
266 me, ChibiUsa-chan….” Hotaru slumped to her knees in defeat, her dark skirt
267 getting
268 sullied by the wet sand on the beach. Last night, ChibiUsa had seemed so
269 upset about
270 something. She’d gone out to look for the pink haired future princess in the
271 dark, but she
272 was nowhere to be found. Hotaru had hoped that she’d gone back to the beach
273 house, but
274 no such luck. She had finally cried herself to sleep when she had gotten
275 back to their
276 empty bed. Waking up, she had the false hope that she’d be in ChibiUsa’s
277 arms and that
278 everything would be alright again. Now she had to wonder if things would
279 ever be alright
280 from then on.
281 Her black tights and dark clothes barely kept back the biting cold wind
282 that blew
283 past her. Icy knives raked her face as she stumbled forward, wiping at her
284 eyes with her
285 long sleeve. “ChibiUsa-chan…” She wanted to give up, to go back inside the
286 warm house
287 and cry herself back to sleep. She hadn’t slept much the night before, so
288 why not? What
289 could she hope to find out here? Something inside her pushed her on,
290 spurring her
291 forward. Standing up again, the raven haired girl weakly made her way along
292 the beach.
293 She nearly lost her footing in the wet sand, but kept going after steadying
294 herself. She
295 trudged on and on, the lapping of the waves and the whistling of the wind
296 the only sounds
297 around her.
298 About to collapse from exhaustion, the raven haired girl’s attention was
299 caught
300 by something up ahead. Something pink. She squinted, trying to make out what
301 it could
302 be, praying that it was the girl she sought. She’d soon come to regret that
303 as her prayers
304 were answered. As she ran to the other girl, she quickly noticed that
305 ChibiUsa wasn’t
306 moving. Her pink hair was moving back and forth as the wind played with it.
307 Her
308 normally immaculate white nightgown was stained with the brown of the wet
309 sand and
310 streaks of crimson. Her body was lying in a heap, looking like a rag doll
311 that had been
312 thrown aside.
313 Hotaru ran as fast as she could, her heart catching in her chest. In her
314 haste, her
315 foot caught on a rock, forcing her to tumble to the ground. She got up and
316 pushed on,
317 despite the intense pain in her twisted ankle. It couldn’t rival the pain in
318 her heart.
319 “ChibiUsa-chan!!!” she cried out, almost expecting the pink haired girl to
320 sit up. Hot
321 tears poured down her cheeks as she fell to her knees besides the prone
322 future princess.
323 “ChibiUsa-chan, get up. Please, get up,” the dark haired girl sobbed as her
324 arms went
325 around the cold body of her one true love. She held ChibiUsa close, a tear
326 falling onto
327 ChibiUsa’s cheek. The pink haired girl’s face looked almost the same as it
328 had the night
329 before. Her large crimson eyes were glassy and looking up at Hotaru, her
330 normally
331 vibrant cheeks now pale. Hotaru clutched onto ChibiUsa in her grief. She
332 felt as if her
333 heart had been torn from her chest. As if a piece of her, the most important
334 piece, had
335 been taken from her. “ChibiUsa-chan… Don’t leave me alone… I’m scared to be
336 alone..
337 I need you with me, ChibiUsa-chan… I need you…” she barely managed to get
338 out
339 through heart wrenching sobs. The painful realization that her lover was now
340 dead kept
341 trying to impose itself on her mind, but she clung to the hope that she’d be
342 okay, that she
343 would get up in her arms, returning the embrace.
344 Hotaru stayed that way for a long time, ignoring everything around her as
345 she
346 held the dead princess tightly against her. “Its like she’s asleep… She’s so
347 pretty when
348 she’s asleep… Its like you’re taking a nap, ChibiUsa-chan. You sleep well,
349 and I’ll be
350 here when you wake up… I’ll always be here when you awake. Because…” The
351 dark
352 haired girl looked intently at the lost love in her arms, tears still
353 streaming down her
354 cheeks. “I love you.”
356 A few hours later, a blue sports car stopped in front of the beach house.
357 A woman with sandy blonde hair stepped out of the car, holding her jacket
358 tightly
359 around her as the sea breeze came in. Smiling to herself, she reached back
360 in
361 the car and pulled out the last of ChibiUsa’s birthday presents, lovingly
362 wrapped
363 in a deep violet wrapping paper with black lace ribbons. Hotaru had
364 forgotten the
365 present she had been going to give ChibiUsa in her haste and Haruka hadn't
366 found it in the back of her car until she was well back to the city. She'd
367 decided to
368 stop by the next day and return it to her daughter to give to the ChibiUsa.
369 Cinching her jacket around her, the tall woman made her way to the door of
370 the
371 beach house and knocked on the door. “Hime-chan! Its me, Haruka-papa,” she
372 said after a few moments. There was no answer. Haruka frowned and tried the
373 door. She began to worry as the unlocked door opened. What could have
374 happened to the two girls? She commanded herself to stop worrying. They were
375 probably at the beach and left the door open for when they’d come back in.
376 Something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She
377 instantly recognized it as Michiru’s mirror. It was lying on the floor near
378 one of the
379 tables in the living room as if someone had thrown in aside in a hurry.
380 Haruka’s
381 heart started beating faster as she quickly searched the beach house. Her
382 surrogate daughter and the future princess were nowhere to be found. Rather
383 than waste time panicking, the blonde woman rushed out of the house, intent
384 on
385 finding the two girls. Trudging out towards the beach, she couldn’t help but
386 shiver
387 as the biting wind increased. It was too cold to be swimming. They couldn’t
388 be
389 out here for that. Then why… Haruka shook her head. She wouldn’t allow
390 herself
391 to assume the worst yet. First things first. She had to find them.
392 After what felt like hours of walking, but must have been considerably
393 less, Haruka thought she heard a faint voice being carried by the wind. A
394 voice
395 filled with utter despair and hopelessness. A voice that had lost any of the
396 joy
397 and wonder life had to offer. At first, she thought it was only the wind,
398 but the soft
399 voice continued. Haruka finally caught sight of a girl dressed entirely in
400 black, her
401 rave hair being whipped around by the wind as she clutched onto something
402 protectively. The blonde woman ran to her surrogate daughter, determined to
403 make sure everything was okay. He stopped dead in her tracks when she saw
404 the lifeless form of a once happy pink haired girl in Hotaru’s arms. “My
405 God….”
406 She gasped.
407 Hotaru didn’t even look up, not noticing her Haruka-papa’s arrival. “So
408 pretty when you sleep like this. And I’ll watch over you forever, my
409 sleeping
410 beauty….” Hotaru’s fingers gently brushed over ChibiUsa’s cold lips as she
411 continued rambling semi-coherently. “Forever.”
414 "It's so cold..." .
415 Ever since what had happened, Hotaru kept a nearly steady monologue.
416 The silence meant she was alone again.. always alone.. forever.. And she
417 didn't
418 want to be left alone. Not now, not ever. Everything that had happened..
419 it
420 was like a whole new person. "It's not me. Silly. I'm watching myself..
421 like
422 on a screen..."
423 All around her, the room seemed bare, stripped of everything. Her
424 normally dark room was even darker without the beautiful shining lamps to
425 soften
426 it. "But the lamps were too dangerous, ne, Michiru-mama? You wouldn't want
427 me
428 to break one and use the glass to slit my wrists. You want me to suffer.."
429 The dark-haired girl, long out of tears, looked over everything she had
430 left. The bed was bare, so she couldn't strangle herself with the sheets.
431 Her
432 beautiful lamps had been replaced by three solemn candles. She only had her
433 books.. her only escape for so many years before was her only option now.
434 Or..
435 That seemed a lifetime ago to the grief-stricken girl. "Oh, back then,
436 no-one cared if I lived or I died.. Kaori-baka would've been GLAD to see me
437 go.
438 And.. if I'd died then... she wouldn't..." Closing her eyes tight and
439 trying
440 to remove the image from her mind, she thought over her options. Ever since
441 her parents set up this suicide watch, after that first night alone, she'd
442 had
443 no privacy, not even a chance to mourn in peace. She'd just been almost
444 locked
445 in her room, from how they treated her outside it, and even then one of them
446 would check on her every few minutes, even if she was asleep.
447 All she had left were her books..
448 "They say history repeats.. I know.. I watched it.. over and over.. An
449 endless loop. I was alone then.. I'm alone now.. oh, ChibiUsa-chan.. why
450 couldn't I have died instead?"
451 The desk was gone. The shelves, the table, the chairs - all taken out.
452 All that was left were her books and her bed.. and the candles. Near a
453 corner,
454 the remains of her diary sat. She'd tried to communicate that way, writing
455 everything using the stub of a pencil Setsuna-mama had finally agreed to
456 give
457 her. After the first hundred pages or so, she'd realized she wasn't making
458 any
459 sense at all, and questioned the point of it. But, then again, what were
460 all
461 of her diaries for? All the secrets, every little thing, kept in meticulous
462 detail... "No-one could understand. I couldn't let them understnd. They'd
463 see
464 and they wouldn't understand.. the only person who could ever understand is
465 dead. Saturn! Where are you now? If you're truly the Messiah, reigning
466 over
467 Death and Rebirth, then tell me why!"
468 But, then, an idea came.. and in her broken mind, with its broken soul,
469 living a lifeless shell in a grey world without even the comfort of trust,
470 it
471 made perfect sense.
472 No-one would understand. So why let them try?
473 She stood, shakily, blinking and wiping her bloodshot eyes. It would
474 still be a few minutes at least, until someone checked on her. Praying it
475 would be long enough, she set to work, seperating her books from her diaries
476 and journals, her secrets.. Making a pile, she begin to organize it all,
477 bit
478 by bit, working slowly and carefully. It was almost time.
479 Her work was interrupted by a knock at her door. "Hime-chan? Is
480 everything okay?" It was Haruka-papa, come to make sure she hadn't died.
481 Not responding, she waited for the blonde woman to open the door and
482 check. "Hime-chan?" The door slowly creaked open, and Haruka stuck her
483 head
484 inside. "I know it's hard for you, Hime-chan. But we have to be sure."
485 When
486 Hotaru didn't even bother to look up, Haruka just sighed and shut the door
487 again.
488 Alone once more, the girl set her plan into motion. Tearing pages out,
489 shredding some, pulling some into strips, leaving some notebooks whole, she
490 prepared. All of her work, everything she had left, everything she was.. it
491 was all here. And with a touch of the candle..
492 It took a minute or so to catch. Hotaru blew on the small fire,
493 letting it grow at its own pace. She knew that the smoke alarm's batteries
494 had
495 been dead for weeks, and since everyone was asleep or downstairs, there'd be
496 no-one to stop her. Page by page, she fed the fire.. whole years of her
497 life,
498 burning away. "It's warm, ChibiUsa-chan.. can you feel it? It's not like
499 everything else.. This is how it has to be, now. If I can't die.. I'll
500 make
501 it so I was never around in the first place. Without these for people to
502 remember me by, I'll just fade away. No-one cares but you, ChibiUsa-chan..
503 no-one.... They want me to live on, forget the past. Find someone to
504 console
505 me and love me. Be happy. I've never been happy, ChibiUsa-chan. I can't
506 ever
507 remember being happy. Not without you..."
508 The flickering flames glittered, reflected in her sad, tired eyes.. so
509 tired, so old.. dead.
510 The fire spread to the floor, spread through the room. By now, it was
511 quite obvious that the room was ablaze, if not the whole house. And Haruka,
512 just now noticing the smell, was quick to run up and check on her
513 dark-haired
514 princess. Sirens could be heard, off in the distance.. a neighbor saw the
515 flame, the firefighters would arrive soon.
516 Haruka arrived just in time to pull the firefly from the heart of the
517 fire before anything more than her hair and clothes were singed. The girl
518 was
519 unconscious, passed out from the lack of sleep and the fumes of the books'
520 bindings as they caught.
522 Two figures watched from the shadows.
523 Children.
524 It almost seemed they were part of the background.. a piece that
525 doesn't quite fit, that everyone overlooks..
526 One spoke. Her voice quiet, almost detached.
527 "Shisa?"
528 "Yes, Selene?"
529 "Do you think we went too far? I mean.."
530 They watched, as their mother was revived by her Haruka-papa. As she
531 was doomed to ever live, lifeless.
532 "Yes, Selene."
533 "Oh.. look, Shisa! I can see through us. We're fading.... Shisa?"
534 "Yes, Selene?"
535 "I am the wind.. look! Whoosh!"
536 A gust of wind came, as the window was broken in by a firefighter.
537 The two figures seemed to dissipate, with the smoke..