Fanfic 100: 066 – Rain
Lemon Aftertaste: 011 – Take the plan and spin it sideways.
Soundtrack: Sounds of Nature – Velvet Rain.mp3
"Die, Tranquility!" Abbadon screamed in a hoarse shriek as she tried to bury the black blade of her kris into the indigo haired woman's breast.
"NO!" cried the woman Abbadon sat atop of as she helplessly clutched that her pale wrists.
"You'll pay for the eternity I have spent at Death's service because of you." The sounds of the two women struggling was followed by the clatter of the kris as it landed a few feet away and skidded to a stop. Lightning crashed over head as rain began to pour.
"It doesn't have to be this way…please…sister…join me—join us…"
Hoshiko stared out the window of the small bedroom she sat in, the view of the Tokyo skyline like that of a hazy dream. The lightning had ended hours ago, but the rain continued to fall with no sign of ending in the immediate future. Her slate grey eyes slightly lidded as her head rested on her bruised knees. Her arms wrapped tightly about her shins.
The gold of her sandals glistened in the light of the overhead lamp post. Bits of dried blood loosened and rolled down the side of Abbadon's face. Her eyes, blackened abysses with their bits of starlight, stared incredulously at the bound female beneath her. "…What?"
"Join Sailor Moon and her cause. Fight the good fight. Please don't let the pains of the past destroy the future." The fair skinned hand, having long lost its glove, weakly reached for the woman's face. "If you and I…are part of one entity…that makes us…sisters."
"Who would want something like me? I am everything you discarded in order to join Selenity. There is no place for me." She flinched when Amity's hand touched her cheek. She tried to look away, but could not pull her gaze from the pale violet eyes staring pleadingly into her own. She could feel this being's heart beat…beating in perfect time with her own, and a tear slipped down her cheek and was lost in the falling rain.
"What I did wasn't right to you. But it was the right thing to do. You are your own person now."
"No, I'm not."
"Listen to me. Yes you are. You have lived your own existence since that day. Together we may be one, but you are still you."
"What's the use? I cannot join you and Sailor Moon. I am evil. I am darkness made human. I am Death."
"Even evil has a right to repent. Saturn stands alongside the Messiah, even though she was meant to bring about the Deadly Silence. Anyone can change. Even you. But you have to want to change, first." Abbadon just stared; the blackness within her eyes blurred by the tears that sat welled before them, and said nothing. But the other female pressed on. "Do you want to change…Hoshiko?"
Abbadon's shoulders sudden shook with choked sobs. Her head sank into her hands as she cried harder than she ever had in her life. "Kawaritai…I want to change…please…Help me." The pain torn woman lifted her face and gazed at her other half. Amity sat forward and embraced her as Abbadon cried out. "Help me, Sara…I can't do this alone."
Steam drifted out of the small kitchen as the smells of various foods filled the apartment. From the kitchen window the light of the morning sun could be barely made out from behind the storm clouds in the sky. Makoto Kino gently hummed to herself as she cooked, something she had a habit of doing when she was by herself as she was now. Her body moved with a sort of fluid efficiency as she switched from pot, to skillet, to steamer and back again. A variety of sliced fruits made up the colourful contents of a clear bowl on the counter. She pulled a small hand towel from the pocket of her pink, floral apron and wiped the water from her hands after checking the rice in the steamer one last time before cutting off the power.
"How do you do it?"
Makoto jumped, alarmed, at the voice that cut into the gentle silence of the room. Defensively, she spun around, spatula in hand, and prepared to meet her would-be attacker. Only, what she found was a worn out, battered woman of silver hair and grey eyes. She was leaning against the counter edge, most of her body lost to the shadow cast by the beige kitchen surface. She resembled a ghost, with only her top half visible to the naked eye, and her grey sweater. Hoshiko's eyes turned away immediately, ashamed of being seen in such a condition.
"How do I do what?" The brunette replied as she relaxed and retrieved a first aid kit from a wooden drawer. She popped it open and took out antibiotic ointments, rubbing alcohol and a cloth as Hoshiko's body shifted from the ethereal to the physical and sat on the counter top.
"Do this," Hoshiko started but flinched at the sting of the alcohol as it was applied to the scratches and other abrasions on her face and neck. "How did you manage to survive for so long without your family? How did you stay so…peaceful in the face of abandonment?"
"Well, I hurt for a long time after the plane crash. I hated the world for taking my parents away. But…after a while, I began to understand that I could have done nothing to prevent it." She trailed off; her green eyes unfocused as she thought back on her childhood. "After that, I taught myself how to be the sort of strong, independent person that would have made them proud." Her lips curved slightly in a small smile. She looked back up at Hoshiko, now dabbing the woman's wounds with the ointments.
"What are you doing, Makoto?"
"Tending to you. What does it look like I'm doing?"
"No, I mean…with those containers and the fire."
"Oh," the younger woman laughed a bit, "I'm making breakfast."
"…What's that?" Hoshiko looked away, bit her lip, and looked back at Makoto.
"Well, it's the first and most important meal of the day."
"Meal? You mean…food, correct?"
Makoto looked at the woman inquisitively for a moment. "Yes…I always make a lot. Would you like some?"
Hoshiko twisted the corner of her mouth and creased her forehead. "What do you do with it…exactly?"
Makoto started to reply with the most obvious answer, but the frustration on the older woman's face stopped her. "You've…never had food before, have you?"
Hoshiko gave her head a slight shake. "Never had a need for…food."
"Well, you eat it." Makoto began carefully, hoping not to insult the woman. "It helps give you energy and what you need to heal from sickness and injuries." Hoshiko suddenly looked lost and helpless, and Makoto turned and grabbed a spoon. Walking to the pot on the stove, she scooped up a bit of miso soup and carefully walked back to the woman sitting on the counter, gently blowing on it as she went.
"What are you doing?" Hoshiko asked.
"I'm cooling it down just a bit." Makoto, with her free hand still beneath the spoon, raised it to Hoshiko's lips, "Open you mouth, please." Hoshiko looked at her lost for a moment, and it took the younger female mimicking the motions before she took the spoon into her own mouth. She let the liquid sit on her tongue for a moment, before looking at Makoto again. "Swallow." This whole scenario was awkward for both of them, but the brunette approached this learning experience with all the patience in the world.
Hoshiko swallowed and blinked for a moment but said nothing at first. She tasted the remains of the soup on the roof of her mouth and looked down. "It was…different. Pleasant in a way but still foreign. What was it?"
"Miso soup." She helped Hoshiko down as she spoke.
"I like it. What else did you make? There are a lot of containers over there."
"How about I make you a bit of everything and we'll explore them together?"
"Why are you doing this? I mean…Why are you being so kind to me so easily? Just yesterday I was your enemy."
"Because I believe in forgiveness. Because I believe in my heart that you're my ally now…my friend."
Hoshiko's cheeks reddened slightly at the girl's reply. She said nothing for a moment as her eyes traced the patterns in the floor tiles. "Will everything you made be as pleasant as the…miso soup?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Everyone has different preferences. But you'll never find out if you don't try a variety of things." Makoto smiled, her hand clasped behind her back as she leaned and met eyes with the woman once more.
Hoshiko closed her eyes for a moment, and then glanced up at her hostess. "Okay," she decided, the corners of her mouth perking in a small smile.