~*~The Missing Peice~*~
~*~The Past Awakens~*~
~Chapter One~
She stepped off the airplane quite groggily, having slept for most of the flight. She knew that jet lag would also soon rear its ugly head but her mind was far too preoccupied now to deal with that. Gaia Ikechi's attention was solely focused on the disturbing dreams she'd been having lately. Sure she'd been having them most of her life but they'd subsided as she grew older, she thought they'd cease all together but she was wrong. Dead wrong. Ever since she'd been offered a job here in Japan the dreams had started up again. And now they were far more vivid, and longer, not so much bits an peices like they used to be. Now they were more like memories, rather than nightmares. And she really would have prefered them to be nightmares. She didn't like what she saw every night. She didn't like dying every night. The wind became playful and blew some of her midnight black, shoulder length, hair in her face. That brought her back to reality. She couldn't help but smile a bit when she thought of living in Tokyo for a few months. Her parents were born here, her biological ones anyway. She never knew them though. They'd been killed in a car crash when she was only five. She'd been saved, found a safe distance away from the car before it exploded, but her twin bother and parents were killed. She pushed that thought away though. It wasn't right to think of things like that. She'd only focus on the fact that she was here, and that she would try to have some fun for however long she'd be staying. Now as she got her bags she remembered just how tired she really was. She'd go home, she decided. Home now being a penthouse appartment that her agent had secured for her a month before she came out here. There would be enough time to sight see after she got some much needed rest. She only prayed she'd have more sleep and less nightmare.
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"You feel it too, don't you?" Atemis asked as he came up behind Luna who was looking idly out Usagi's bedroom window. Luna didn't turn around, she merely nodded. "Shouldn't we tell them then?" Luna's head turned quickly to look at him. Her eyes hard set and determined.
"No! We won't tell them anything yet Atemis. They're so happy to finally be back to some degree of normalcy, I don't want to take that away from them....not yet." She turned to look back out the window to the sunset which was slowly fading. "I'm so proud of all of them. The way they handled themselves with Galaxia....its too soon Artemis. Its not fair!" she quickly went to him for comfort, nuzzeled his neck and whimpered a bit. He cuddled her and gave her the silent reassurance she needed.
"I know its not fair, but we'll wait. If anything bad happens we'll tell them though, I don't think either of us want anything to get out of hand." She lightly nodded against him. He sighed and took a glance out the window. "I just hope what we're feeling turns out to be nothing at all." Luna purred.
"Me too....."
~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~
Usagi was walking down the street, admiering the shop windows as she went along. She didn't think she could ever remember feeling so......happy in all her life. This was it. Everything from here on out would be nothing harder then school, college and the rest of her life. A warm, happy smile pulled at her lips. Her friends were all alright, her boyfriend was nothing short of perfect and she was even doing better in school. That really didn't matter much though. It was her final year of high school. Still, every now and again visons of what happened three months ago would creep into her mind. However after a momentary sadness she would regain her happieness and a slight curiousity. Wondering if she would ever see Seiya, Taiki, Yaten and Kakyuu again. She hoped she would. She just couldn't imagine not ever seeing them again. She was always hopefull like that. And now, now that everything was ok, almost anything seemed possible to her. As she neared a cafe she could already hear Rei-Chan lauhging at something Minako had said. She smiled and quickened her pace. All four civilian inner senshi smiled upon seeing her.
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Gaia jolted up in bed, the cold sweat dripping from her body. The dream had returned, with a vengence it seemed. She hugged her knees to her chest and gently let her head rest on them. How long would this go on, she wonered. She sighed, though she was determined not to cry. Instead she decided to think about her dreams, rather than try not to. Banishing her dreams to the back of her mind would do no good. She had always believed problems should be dealt with as soon as they had arisen. Though she couldn't very well solve the problem of her bad dreams if she wasn't sure what they meant. She sighed again and got out of bed to make herself some coffee. She was a bit suprised to see that it was early evening, which meant her dreams had not allowed her much sleep at all. She made her coffe then went out on to the terrace which over looked downtown Tokyo. This place certainly was something to see at night. Everyplace you looked was alive with light and there were so many people. She could understand why her adoptive parents had moved to America. They were very calm people, not really meant for city life at all. Soon after they'd adopted her they had just packed up and left, taking her with them to a large mansion in what seemed the calmest part of San Fransisco. After that it was just a long succesion of expensive finishing schools. She was always greatful though. Even if they weren't around much she knew they loved her. She sighed a bit then went back inside and got dressed. She decided the night was still young, being only seven thirty, and since she knew she'd get no sleep she might as well just go out and see a movie. Or at least just take a walk. She'd thought she'd probably go insane if she had to stay here for hours on end with only her thoughts for company.
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The hallways were dark and there were only torches every now and then to see by, but she didn't need much light. No, this sorceress prefered the dark. It seemed like ages since she had walked down 'this' hallway though. Actually it had been half a millenia. She came to the end of the hall and there stood a large black door. She went inside to find that everything was just as she left it five hundred years ago. The room was much brighter than the hallways but she didn't mind much. In the center of the room was a bed and in that bed slept a rather handsome young man with short blonde hair. The sorceress went to him and her long dark green hair cascaded down her shoulders as she bent to kiss his forehead. "Awaken dear Prince." she said in a low voice. She then straightened and smiled a bit as the mans eyes opened.
The first thing his eyes saw was her dark pink dress but his eyes traveled up to look upon her smiling face. She was beautiful, as she always had been. He knew that had things been different he could have loved her, but his heart would always belong to another. He shifted where he lay, his body relieved a bit by him moving as he had not done in a thousand years. "Hello Helena." his voice was calm and somewhat soothing.
She lightly bowed her head a bit. "Hello Prince Sirus, I trust you slept well?" She sat in a chair beside his bed and focused some of her energy into him. Not that he really needed it but having just woken up it would do him some good.
He nodded lightly then sat up but stayed still as she transfered some energy into him. "Shes alive now Helena? Just like she used to be?"
She opened her eyes to smile warmly at him. "Yes my prince, she is very alive and exactly how she was before she died."
He smiled now. "My sweet Gaia. I can't wait to see her again."
Helena nodded. "You are more than ready my prince, the powers I gave you so long ago have been sleeping inside you for a thousand years. She'd be a fool not to want you now."
Sirus shot Helena a serious glance. "She will want me now. I've been thinking and dreaming of nothing but her for the past thousand years."
Helena bowed. "Please forgive me my lord."
He nodded then once calmer he stepped out of bed and stretched. He could feel the immense untapped power within him and knew he would more than gladly take out any senshi who stood in his way, even his sister. "Helena....have the senshi been awakened in this time?"
Helena nodded. "Yes my lord. All the senshi that died during the Silver Millenium have been reborn and reawakened. All exept Princess Gaia."
He smiled. If she was not yet senshi then that would give him the upper hand. She wouldn't remember him either, which would also give him an advantage. And things would be different this time. This time she would be his.
~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~
Mamoru was having trouble staying still, which had become a growing problem with him lately. For some reason he couldn't sleep, and he didn't know why. He just knew something was wrong. He could feel it. Yet when he'd gone out with Usako on their date earlier that night he found he just couldn't bring himself to tell her what was bothering him. He didn't even know what was bothering him. He just knew something wasn't right. Still he tried his best to ignore it, to merely pass it off as built up stress of college life. He paced the floor of his appartment until the restlessness became overwhelming. He now decided to take a walk and sort through his thoughts. Night time walks had always done him some justice in the past and he prayed it would do the same for him now. He walked through the park which was serene enough and offered him the solace of quiet and starlight. For a while he thought he'd be the only one there, but he was mistaken. He could hear the footsteps of someone else but wasn't alarmed. They were feminine footsteps, most likely just a girl passing through. Nothing that required a glance from him but he turned to look at her anyway. His eyes widened as he looked at her. Her jet black hair, her dark blue eyes. Something so oddly familiar, and yet he couldn't put his finger on it.
Gaia had seen most of downtown Tokyo and window shopped as she had decided to do all her shopping tomorrow, during the daylight hours so she could take her time. Now she was on her way home and decided on a detour through a park which looked nice enough with its floral gardens. However something, or rather, someone had caught her attention. A young man, about her age. She thought he'd ignore her or simply glance at her then look away but he was staring at her, as much as she was staring back at him, but there was something in his dark blue eyes. Something like distant recognition. He was tall but so was she and he only topped her by two inches at most, it took no effort for her to look him straight in his eyes. And they seemed to do just that for moments on end.
He didn't want to look away from her, he didn't think he could have even if he wanted to. There was something about her that stirred something in him he had never felt before. Something slightly stronger than what he'd always felt for Usagi. And all he could think about was how crazy it was. To feel so familar with someone you've only seen for the first time. He closed his eyes and shook his head a bit to try to regain some kind of coherent thought. After a moment he forced himself to look at her again, but she had turned away to look out at a garden. On the inside he was greatful for that. He knew that if he had looked in her eyes again he would have stared into them until she had broken the glance, if she ever did.
She had forced herself to look away from him. She knew she should have forced herself to leave, to just walk by but she couldn't move. Then it hit her like a blow to the head. She had seen him before! In her nightmares. He was always there, always the last thing she saw before she woke up. And he was here, he was real. She didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried so she thought of the dream. He was always the last face she saw, and he would always be crying with such despair. Sometimes she thought she could feel his tears drip on to her face and she would wake up to find that they were her own. She would always feel so empty then. But he was standing here now. So she did what everything in her heart and soul was telling her to do. She threw herself into his arms and hugged him.
He seemed to anticipate her movements before she made them though he really couldn't figure out how. All he knew was that he wanted to welcome her with open arms and he did just that. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly to him as she wrapped her arms around him. They both were acting on instinct, he thought. It felt so good just to hold her, like he had done it a thousand times before, and it was only natural. He could feel her shaking in his arms which made him hold her tighter, knowing only that she needed comfort and knowing only that he wanted nothing more than to give it.
She let him hold her because she felt so safe, so warm in his arms. He felt like a safe haven, and so willing to hold her and comfort her as she shook in his arms, fighting to hold back the sobs, the unwept tears. And once she was calm. Once she regained enough strength to pull away, she did. And she regreted it as soon as she had done it. She felt empty again and saw the look of diasappointment in his oh so familiar eyes. It was a mistake to leave his arms. Or perhaps it was a mistake to go into them. She shook her head now, trying to deny all the invading thoughts. She spared him one last look and ran from the park as fast as her long legs could carry her.
He could have stopped her, he thought. He knew he could have, had he just reached out. But she was scared, he could see it in her eyes. He was feeling the same way. Everything he felt when he was around her scared him because he wanted to be there for her. Reason was telling him that she was a stanger but his heart kept telling him to keep her with him, to hold her just a little longer. He felt as if some vital part of him had left with her. He might never see her again but he would definitely never forget her.....whoever she was.
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Gaia entered her appartment and leaned against the door as she feared her legs would no longer hold her. She breathed heavily from her mad dash home and her heart was beating ever so fast. She wondered if running away from him had been a bad choice, however she really hadn't been thinking clearly at the time. And now she was exhausted in every way imaginable. Both physicaly and emotionaly. She didn't bother to flick the lights on as she would only collapse on her bed anyway. She walked through her dark appartment but she felt strange, she knew she wasn't alone. She looked all around her but didn't expect to see much since the only light around was the moonlight which seeped in through the large windows. She figured she was probably just paranoid and went on her way to her room, what she saw when she got there made her stop in the doorway. There was something on her bed. She squinted her eyes a bit to try to make out what it was, then sighed in relief a moment later when she saw it was just a cat curled up on her bed, sleeping. She looked over to the open window and figured it must have gotten in that way. She flicked the light on and the cats head shot up to look at her. The cat was dark brown with a patch of black fur on its forehead. It sat up on her bed and she walked twords it slowly as not to scare it off. But it wasn't scared, in fact it swished its tail a bit as if it was happy to see her. With a warm smile she sat on her bed and was hesitant at first but she began to gently pet the cats head. It rubbed up against her and purred which made her giggle and she pet the cat liberaly making sure to scratch behind its ears a bit. "Well well, you're friendly aren't you?" the cat looked just looked at her with its beautiful green eyes. Gaia smiled at the cat and patted her lap which the cat instantly went into. "It gets kinda lonely here kitty, how about you stay here with me for a while?" she looked down to the brown cat. The cat rubbed up against her and purred, as if it would like nothing more than to stay here with her. Gaia smiled then yawned and remembered that she felt completely whiped out. She picked up the cat and placed it next to her on her large bed as she lay down. She colsed her eyes and pet the cat for a little while. "Goodnight Crysta." she said as she fell asleep, she said it quite groggily and didn't know why she called the cat that but the name had just come to her, and she decided it was a nice name for this cat.
Crysta sat up and looked at Gaia, her princess. She thought she might have cried when she heard Gaia say her name. 'After all this time, a part of you deep inside still remembers me', she thought silently to herself. She gently licked Gaia's cheek then jumped gracefully off the bed. Crysta sighed a bit as she walked through the large appartment. There was just so much to be done, and she couldn't very well dismiss the fact that she'd been having an overwhelming sense of foreboding for some time now, but she'd found Gaia which was something she could be thankful for. Tomorrow would be difficult, she thought as she looked out the window to the shining silver moon above. She didn't know how Gaia would react to what she had to say, but she knew that if Gaia was anything like she used to be that she would be shocked but she would accept her destiny in time. She remembered the look on Gaia's face when she stepped into her bedroom tonight. Something had frightened her sweet princess, and Crysta knew that what had to be said tomorrow might only make things worse but it was simply something that had to be done. Crysta closed her eyes and began to glow. Her form grew and changed until the cat was gone and what now sat in her place was a human girl in a light purple dress with long brown hair. Crysta opened her eyes and stood. She took one last glance in the direction of Gaia's room with a certain sadness and regret, then left the appartment.
Once down the stairs and out the building she got into her car and drove off. For so many years she had watched over Mamoru, fearing she would never again see her princess. But today, oh today she'd felt it. She felt Gaia's presance in Tokyo. She picked up her cell phone and made a few calls which would put her plan into motion, she only hoped she was doing the right thing.
~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~
Mamoru awoke from a restless kind of sleep, though he'd been tossing and turning most of the night so what he'd done could barely be called sleeping. He went to make himself some coffee and saw that he had a message on his machine. He pressed the play button then continued to the kitchen. "Hello Mamoru-San, this is Crystal, seceratary for a personal friend of yours, Mr. Rokuno Moshiuma. His photographer was supposed to do a photo shoot for him today but couldn't make it. Mr. Moshiuma has asked me to contact you and ask you if you'd like to fill in as photographer. Mr. Moshiuma claims you are the only other photographer he trusts. Please call me if you decide to take the job." The girl dictated a number then the message ended. He remembered begining to take photography in his first year of college, he'd actually been quite good at it, it just wasn't what he wanted to do. Although Rokuno, a good friend of his, had always said he could have made a killing at it. And so he considered turning down the job. Rokuno had started his own modeling firm after only two years of college and had become rather successful. After a while though he thought it might be a nice activity for today, and he would be doing a favor for a friend. After about an hour he listened to the message again and wrote down the number.
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Gaia was a bit sadened when she awoke alone. She thought the cat would have stayed around a while but there wasn't really much she could do about it. The name Crysta kept echoing in her mind until she remembered she'd decided to call the cat that, though for the life of her she couldn't remember why. She'd just instantly connected the cat to the name Crysta. She got up and yawned then went to her bathroom to take a shower. Almost as soon as she came out her phone rang, which forced her to stop towel drying her hair. She went over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hello Miss Ikechi?"
"Yes this is she."
"Wonderful. I'm glad I caught you. I'm Crystal, your agents assistant. She told me to call you and notify you that a photographer will be coming to your appartment to discuss some of the concepts for the photo shoot later today, is that ok with you?"
Gaia sighed a bit, remembering exactly why she'd come to Tokyo in the first place. "Yes thats fine." A few more words passed between the two women and Gaia hung up the phone minutes later to go and get dressed. She remembered she'd always wanted to be a model as a kid, and now she was one. She knew she'd have to get used to it. Almost everyehere she went now people were starting to recognize her. It made her feel kind of special actually.
~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~
Crysta stood in an alley just beside Gaia's appartment building. She looked around cautiously to make sure no one was around, then changed back into a cat. She skillfully jumped up a few fire escapes until she came to Gaia's window which gave her a perfect veiw of the living room. It was open as well so if the situation called for it she could easily get in. She would have crossed her fingers if she could. She was a bit nervous and felt bad about lying to both Gaia and Mamoru but this was honestly the only way she knew of to get them together. She prayed that this meeting would somehow jog their memories.
~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~
~*~The Past Awakens~*~
~Chapter One~
She stepped off the airplane quite groggily, having slept for most of the flight. She knew that jet lag would also soon rear its ugly head but her mind was far too preoccupied now to deal with that. Gaia Ikechi's attention was solely focused on the disturbing dreams she'd been having lately. Sure she'd been having them most of her life but they'd subsided as she grew older, she thought they'd cease all together but she was wrong. Dead wrong. Ever since she'd been offered a job here in Japan the dreams had started up again. And now they were far more vivid, and longer, not so much bits an peices like they used to be. Now they were more like memories, rather than nightmares. And she really would have prefered them to be nightmares. She didn't like what she saw every night. She didn't like dying every night. The wind became playful and blew some of her midnight black, shoulder length, hair in her face. That brought her back to reality. She couldn't help but smile a bit when she thought of living in Tokyo for a few months. Her parents were born here, her biological ones anyway. She never knew them though. They'd been killed in a car crash when she was only five. She'd been saved, found a safe distance away from the car before it exploded, but her twin bother and parents were killed. She pushed that thought away though. It wasn't right to think of things like that. She'd only focus on the fact that she was here, and that she would try to have some fun for however long she'd be staying. Now as she got her bags she remembered just how tired she really was. She'd go home, she decided. Home now being a penthouse appartment that her agent had secured for her a month before she came out here. There would be enough time to sight see after she got some much needed rest. She only prayed she'd have more sleep and less nightmare.
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"You feel it too, don't you?" Atemis asked as he came up behind Luna who was looking idly out Usagi's bedroom window. Luna didn't turn around, she merely nodded. "Shouldn't we tell them then?" Luna's head turned quickly to look at him. Her eyes hard set and determined.
"No! We won't tell them anything yet Atemis. They're so happy to finally be back to some degree of normalcy, I don't want to take that away from them....not yet." She turned to look back out the window to the sunset which was slowly fading. "I'm so proud of all of them. The way they handled themselves with Galaxia....its too soon Artemis. Its not fair!" she quickly went to him for comfort, nuzzeled his neck and whimpered a bit. He cuddled her and gave her the silent reassurance she needed.
"I know its not fair, but we'll wait. If anything bad happens we'll tell them though, I don't think either of us want anything to get out of hand." She lightly nodded against him. He sighed and took a glance out the window. "I just hope what we're feeling turns out to be nothing at all." Luna purred.
"Me too....."
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Usagi was walking down the street, admiering the shop windows as she went along. She didn't think she could ever remember feeling so......happy in all her life. This was it. Everything from here on out would be nothing harder then school, college and the rest of her life. A warm, happy smile pulled at her lips. Her friends were all alright, her boyfriend was nothing short of perfect and she was even doing better in school. That really didn't matter much though. It was her final year of high school. Still, every now and again visons of what happened three months ago would creep into her mind. However after a momentary sadness she would regain her happieness and a slight curiousity. Wondering if she would ever see Seiya, Taiki, Yaten and Kakyuu again. She hoped she would. She just couldn't imagine not ever seeing them again. She was always hopefull like that. And now, now that everything was ok, almost anything seemed possible to her. As she neared a cafe she could already hear Rei-Chan lauhging at something Minako had said. She smiled and quickened her pace. All four civilian inner senshi smiled upon seeing her.
~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~
Gaia jolted up in bed, the cold sweat dripping from her body. The dream had returned, with a vengence it seemed. She hugged her knees to her chest and gently let her head rest on them. How long would this go on, she wonered. She sighed, though she was determined not to cry. Instead she decided to think about her dreams, rather than try not to. Banishing her dreams to the back of her mind would do no good. She had always believed problems should be dealt with as soon as they had arisen. Though she couldn't very well solve the problem of her bad dreams if she wasn't sure what they meant. She sighed again and got out of bed to make herself some coffee. She was a bit suprised to see that it was early evening, which meant her dreams had not allowed her much sleep at all. She made her coffe then went out on to the terrace which over looked downtown Tokyo. This place certainly was something to see at night. Everyplace you looked was alive with light and there were so many people. She could understand why her adoptive parents had moved to America. They were very calm people, not really meant for city life at all. Soon after they'd adopted her they had just packed up and left, taking her with them to a large mansion in what seemed the calmest part of San Fransisco. After that it was just a long succesion of expensive finishing schools. She was always greatful though. Even if they weren't around much she knew they loved her. She sighed a bit then went back inside and got dressed. She decided the night was still young, being only seven thirty, and since she knew she'd get no sleep she might as well just go out and see a movie. Or at least just take a walk. She'd thought she'd probably go insane if she had to stay here for hours on end with only her thoughts for company.
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The hallways were dark and there were only torches every now and then to see by, but she didn't need much light. No, this sorceress prefered the dark. It seemed like ages since she had walked down 'this' hallway though. Actually it had been half a millenia. She came to the end of the hall and there stood a large black door. She went inside to find that everything was just as she left it five hundred years ago. The room was much brighter than the hallways but she didn't mind much. In the center of the room was a bed and in that bed slept a rather handsome young man with short blonde hair. The sorceress went to him and her long dark green hair cascaded down her shoulders as she bent to kiss his forehead. "Awaken dear Prince." she said in a low voice. She then straightened and smiled a bit as the mans eyes opened.
The first thing his eyes saw was her dark pink dress but his eyes traveled up to look upon her smiling face. She was beautiful, as she always had been. He knew that had things been different he could have loved her, but his heart would always belong to another. He shifted where he lay, his body relieved a bit by him moving as he had not done in a thousand years. "Hello Helena." his voice was calm and somewhat soothing.
She lightly bowed her head a bit. "Hello Prince Sirus, I trust you slept well?" She sat in a chair beside his bed and focused some of her energy into him. Not that he really needed it but having just woken up it would do him some good.
He nodded lightly then sat up but stayed still as she transfered some energy into him. "Shes alive now Helena? Just like she used to be?"
She opened her eyes to smile warmly at him. "Yes my prince, she is very alive and exactly how she was before she died."
He smiled now. "My sweet Gaia. I can't wait to see her again."
Helena nodded. "You are more than ready my prince, the powers I gave you so long ago have been sleeping inside you for a thousand years. She'd be a fool not to want you now."
Sirus shot Helena a serious glance. "She will want me now. I've been thinking and dreaming of nothing but her for the past thousand years."
Helena bowed. "Please forgive me my lord."
He nodded then once calmer he stepped out of bed and stretched. He could feel the immense untapped power within him and knew he would more than gladly take out any senshi who stood in his way, even his sister. "Helena....have the senshi been awakened in this time?"
Helena nodded. "Yes my lord. All the senshi that died during the Silver Millenium have been reborn and reawakened. All exept Princess Gaia."
He smiled. If she was not yet senshi then that would give him the upper hand. She wouldn't remember him either, which would also give him an advantage. And things would be different this time. This time she would be his.
~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~
Mamoru was having trouble staying still, which had become a growing problem with him lately. For some reason he couldn't sleep, and he didn't know why. He just knew something was wrong. He could feel it. Yet when he'd gone out with Usako on their date earlier that night he found he just couldn't bring himself to tell her what was bothering him. He didn't even know what was bothering him. He just knew something wasn't right. Still he tried his best to ignore it, to merely pass it off as built up stress of college life. He paced the floor of his appartment until the restlessness became overwhelming. He now decided to take a walk and sort through his thoughts. Night time walks had always done him some justice in the past and he prayed it would do the same for him now. He walked through the park which was serene enough and offered him the solace of quiet and starlight. For a while he thought he'd be the only one there, but he was mistaken. He could hear the footsteps of someone else but wasn't alarmed. They were feminine footsteps, most likely just a girl passing through. Nothing that required a glance from him but he turned to look at her anyway. His eyes widened as he looked at her. Her jet black hair, her dark blue eyes. Something so oddly familiar, and yet he couldn't put his finger on it.
Gaia had seen most of downtown Tokyo and window shopped as she had decided to do all her shopping tomorrow, during the daylight hours so she could take her time. Now she was on her way home and decided on a detour through a park which looked nice enough with its floral gardens. However something, or rather, someone had caught her attention. A young man, about her age. She thought he'd ignore her or simply glance at her then look away but he was staring at her, as much as she was staring back at him, but there was something in his dark blue eyes. Something like distant recognition. He was tall but so was she and he only topped her by two inches at most, it took no effort for her to look him straight in his eyes. And they seemed to do just that for moments on end.
He didn't want to look away from her, he didn't think he could have even if he wanted to. There was something about her that stirred something in him he had never felt before. Something slightly stronger than what he'd always felt for Usagi. And all he could think about was how crazy it was. To feel so familar with someone you've only seen for the first time. He closed his eyes and shook his head a bit to try to regain some kind of coherent thought. After a moment he forced himself to look at her again, but she had turned away to look out at a garden. On the inside he was greatful for that. He knew that if he had looked in her eyes again he would have stared into them until she had broken the glance, if she ever did.
She had forced herself to look away from him. She knew she should have forced herself to leave, to just walk by but she couldn't move. Then it hit her like a blow to the head. She had seen him before! In her nightmares. He was always there, always the last thing she saw before she woke up. And he was here, he was real. She didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried so she thought of the dream. He was always the last face she saw, and he would always be crying with such despair. Sometimes she thought she could feel his tears drip on to her face and she would wake up to find that they were her own. She would always feel so empty then. But he was standing here now. So she did what everything in her heart and soul was telling her to do. She threw herself into his arms and hugged him.
He seemed to anticipate her movements before she made them though he really couldn't figure out how. All he knew was that he wanted to welcome her with open arms and he did just that. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly to him as she wrapped her arms around him. They both were acting on instinct, he thought. It felt so good just to hold her, like he had done it a thousand times before, and it was only natural. He could feel her shaking in his arms which made him hold her tighter, knowing only that she needed comfort and knowing only that he wanted nothing more than to give it.
She let him hold her because she felt so safe, so warm in his arms. He felt like a safe haven, and so willing to hold her and comfort her as she shook in his arms, fighting to hold back the sobs, the unwept tears. And once she was calm. Once she regained enough strength to pull away, she did. And she regreted it as soon as she had done it. She felt empty again and saw the look of diasappointment in his oh so familiar eyes. It was a mistake to leave his arms. Or perhaps it was a mistake to go into them. She shook her head now, trying to deny all the invading thoughts. She spared him one last look and ran from the park as fast as her long legs could carry her.
He could have stopped her, he thought. He knew he could have, had he just reached out. But she was scared, he could see it in her eyes. He was feeling the same way. Everything he felt when he was around her scared him because he wanted to be there for her. Reason was telling him that she was a stanger but his heart kept telling him to keep her with him, to hold her just a little longer. He felt as if some vital part of him had left with her. He might never see her again but he would definitely never forget her.....whoever she was.
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Gaia entered her appartment and leaned against the door as she feared her legs would no longer hold her. She breathed heavily from her mad dash home and her heart was beating ever so fast. She wondered if running away from him had been a bad choice, however she really hadn't been thinking clearly at the time. And now she was exhausted in every way imaginable. Both physicaly and emotionaly. She didn't bother to flick the lights on as she would only collapse on her bed anyway. She walked through her dark appartment but she felt strange, she knew she wasn't alone. She looked all around her but didn't expect to see much since the only light around was the moonlight which seeped in through the large windows. She figured she was probably just paranoid and went on her way to her room, what she saw when she got there made her stop in the doorway. There was something on her bed. She squinted her eyes a bit to try to make out what it was, then sighed in relief a moment later when she saw it was just a cat curled up on her bed, sleeping. She looked over to the open window and figured it must have gotten in that way. She flicked the light on and the cats head shot up to look at her. The cat was dark brown with a patch of black fur on its forehead. It sat up on her bed and she walked twords it slowly as not to scare it off. But it wasn't scared, in fact it swished its tail a bit as if it was happy to see her. With a warm smile she sat on her bed and was hesitant at first but she began to gently pet the cats head. It rubbed up against her and purred which made her giggle and she pet the cat liberaly making sure to scratch behind its ears a bit. "Well well, you're friendly aren't you?" the cat looked just looked at her with its beautiful green eyes. Gaia smiled at the cat and patted her lap which the cat instantly went into. "It gets kinda lonely here kitty, how about you stay here with me for a while?" she looked down to the brown cat. The cat rubbed up against her and purred, as if it would like nothing more than to stay here with her. Gaia smiled then yawned and remembered that she felt completely whiped out. She picked up the cat and placed it next to her on her large bed as she lay down. She colsed her eyes and pet the cat for a little while. "Goodnight Crysta." she said as she fell asleep, she said it quite groggily and didn't know why she called the cat that but the name had just come to her, and she decided it was a nice name for this cat.
Crysta sat up and looked at Gaia, her princess. She thought she might have cried when she heard Gaia say her name. 'After all this time, a part of you deep inside still remembers me', she thought silently to herself. She gently licked Gaia's cheek then jumped gracefully off the bed. Crysta sighed a bit as she walked through the large appartment. There was just so much to be done, and she couldn't very well dismiss the fact that she'd been having an overwhelming sense of foreboding for some time now, but she'd found Gaia which was something she could be thankful for. Tomorrow would be difficult, she thought as she looked out the window to the shining silver moon above. She didn't know how Gaia would react to what she had to say, but she knew that if Gaia was anything like she used to be that she would be shocked but she would accept her destiny in time. She remembered the look on Gaia's face when she stepped into her bedroom tonight. Something had frightened her sweet princess, and Crysta knew that what had to be said tomorrow might only make things worse but it was simply something that had to be done. Crysta closed her eyes and began to glow. Her form grew and changed until the cat was gone and what now sat in her place was a human girl in a light purple dress with long brown hair. Crysta opened her eyes and stood. She took one last glance in the direction of Gaia's room with a certain sadness and regret, then left the appartment.
Once down the stairs and out the building she got into her car and drove off. For so many years she had watched over Mamoru, fearing she would never again see her princess. But today, oh today she'd felt it. She felt Gaia's presance in Tokyo. She picked up her cell phone and made a few calls which would put her plan into motion, she only hoped she was doing the right thing.
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Mamoru awoke from a restless kind of sleep, though he'd been tossing and turning most of the night so what he'd done could barely be called sleeping. He went to make himself some coffee and saw that he had a message on his machine. He pressed the play button then continued to the kitchen. "Hello Mamoru-San, this is Crystal, seceratary for a personal friend of yours, Mr. Rokuno Moshiuma. His photographer was supposed to do a photo shoot for him today but couldn't make it. Mr. Moshiuma has asked me to contact you and ask you if you'd like to fill in as photographer. Mr. Moshiuma claims you are the only other photographer he trusts. Please call me if you decide to take the job." The girl dictated a number then the message ended. He remembered begining to take photography in his first year of college, he'd actually been quite good at it, it just wasn't what he wanted to do. Although Rokuno, a good friend of his, had always said he could have made a killing at it. And so he considered turning down the job. Rokuno had started his own modeling firm after only two years of college and had become rather successful. After a while though he thought it might be a nice activity for today, and he would be doing a favor for a friend. After about an hour he listened to the message again and wrote down the number.
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Gaia was a bit sadened when she awoke alone. She thought the cat would have stayed around a while but there wasn't really much she could do about it. The name Crysta kept echoing in her mind until she remembered she'd decided to call the cat that, though for the life of her she couldn't remember why. She'd just instantly connected the cat to the name Crysta. She got up and yawned then went to her bathroom to take a shower. Almost as soon as she came out her phone rang, which forced her to stop towel drying her hair. She went over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hello Miss Ikechi?"
"Yes this is she."
"Wonderful. I'm glad I caught you. I'm Crystal, your agents assistant. She told me to call you and notify you that a photographer will be coming to your appartment to discuss some of the concepts for the photo shoot later today, is that ok with you?"
Gaia sighed a bit, remembering exactly why she'd come to Tokyo in the first place. "Yes thats fine." A few more words passed between the two women and Gaia hung up the phone minutes later to go and get dressed. She remembered she'd always wanted to be a model as a kid, and now she was one. She knew she'd have to get used to it. Almost everyehere she went now people were starting to recognize her. It made her feel kind of special actually.
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Crysta stood in an alley just beside Gaia's appartment building. She looked around cautiously to make sure no one was around, then changed back into a cat. She skillfully jumped up a few fire escapes until she came to Gaia's window which gave her a perfect veiw of the living room. It was open as well so if the situation called for it she could easily get in. She would have crossed her fingers if she could. She was a bit nervous and felt bad about lying to both Gaia and Mamoru but this was honestly the only way she knew of to get them together. She prayed that this meeting would somehow jog their memories.
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