Disclaimer: I do not own B*Witched, this song, Gundam Wing, or Sailor moon. Though their characters are guests at my place!
Hotaru: So…this is a follow-up to the Travelin'' Soldier fic, Kam?
Kam: Indeedy it is, Hota.
Hotaru: So…will anyone who has not read the Travelin' Soldier fic be able to understand this one?
Kam: Probably not. It will make more sense if you read the Travelin' Soldier fic.
Hotaru: Well, let's see if you can match up to the writing styles of me!
Kam: Well, let's ask the readers. Please R&R this and the Travelin' Soldier fic and tell us what ya think! I don't care if they are flames or good reviews. The more the better! C ya'll!
Hotaru: Whoa, whoa whoa. Wait a minute! If I killed myself at the end of the Travelin' Soldier fic, how can I still be alive for this one?
Kam: This one takes place starting at the football game and goes on from there.
Hotaru: Oh! I get it! Thanks!
Kam: I thought that would help. Don't forget to R&R!!
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Oh angel I can feel its not you
Hotaru Tomoe stared at the ground. Small drops of water began to drip onto the ground. She wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Winner, Quatre."
She could still hear the announcer's voice echoing in her mind.
"It can't be him! It just can't be!" she screamed.
She darted out from under the bleachers and into the bright lights of the football field. She was still running when she felt a heavy arm wrap around her waist. It was her chemistry teacher, who liked her as an excellent student.
"Hotaru! What's wrong?" he asked her.
"It can't be Quatre! I know it's not! I won't let it be Quatre!" Hotaru screamed.
Hotaru tried to struggle out of his grip, but to no avail. His grip was too strong. She collapsed to the ground. She buried her head in her hands and cried.
Angel I wish it were not true
Another girl approached Hotaru. Her cheeks were tear stained. Hotaru glanced up at her.
"My father…He's…Gone!" the girl said.
She knelt next to Hotaru and cried with her.
"I don't want it to be true! I don't want my dad to really be gone!" the girl said simply.
"Nobody wants it to be real. But it is." Hotaru said. "I figure that before this war is over, everyone will have lost someone close to them."
"You're right." the girl said. "But I sure hope you'll be okay. I will be in time. Bye. And thanks!"
She ran back toward the stands. Hotaru slowly stood.
And as I walk to the beat of my heart inside
I feel like letting go
Hotaru walked slowly home. She had disobeyed her mother and father. She had fallen in love with a travelin' soldier. And now he was gone. Her heart was soon in tune with her footsteps. As she watched the cars roll by, she just wanted to leap out in front of one of them. Suddenly, a thought came to her that made her want to leap up and down.
Wait. What if he's just missing in action? Presumed dead?
"There's still hope!" she yelled.
She sprinted home for the mailbox.
Oh darling now in my dream you'll be tonight.
As Hotaru ran, she thought about what kind of dreams she'd have about she and Quatre tonight. She skipped as she thought. She knew, deep in her heart, that he was going to be alright. She always dreamed about him, but she felt that tonight's would be the best yet.
Oh Mr. Postman
Give me a sign
Tell me you've a letter
To make me feel fine
Oh don't you know
I am waiting here for you
tell me it will be here tonight
The postman had not yet arrived when Hotaru got home. She sat down on the stairs next to the mailbox. Soon, the postman walked up. Hotaru dashed over to him.
"Mr. Postman! Mr. Postman!" Hotaru yelled. "Are there any letters for me today?"
"Not sure. What's your name?" he asked her.
"Hotaru. Hotaru Tomoe." she spat.
He flipped through his stack of mail.
"Nope. Sorry honey. Not today." he said.
He handed her the stack of mail and went on his way. Hotaru sulked inside. She threw the mail down on the table and dragged herself to her room. She then threw herself onto her bed and cried.
Baby it's the way that I feel
"Quatre, if you can her me, I have something to say to you." Hotaru said.
Her hands were clasped together as she prayed. She took a deep breath and then continued.
"Quatre, I don't think we should have ever met. It's caused us both too much pain. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't be suffering this much. And I bet you're suffering too, seeing me cry like this. I just wish I'd never met you!" Hotaru screamed.
She threw the stack of letters to the floor. She picked up the framed picture of a smiling Quatre and threw it too to the floor. The frame shattered. Hotaru stared momentarily before leaning down and picking it up. She pulled the picture close to her chest and began to cry once more.
"I'm sorry, Quatre. I just can't stand to think about you suffering." Hotaru said.
Baby my heart it won't conceal
Hotaru was depressed at home, school, and work alike. She couldn't help it. She had indeed fallen in love with Quatre, though she didn't want to admit it. Her parents had warned her about that. They told her to just forget about him, but she had ignored their every bit of advice. She refused to forget about her travelin' soldier. She had sworn to her mother that she wouldn't fall in love with him. Yet she had.
Hotaru's parents began to notice the slum she had slipped in to. They wondered about it, but figured they knew why. She had ignored their wishes and had fallen in love with that "god-forsaken" soldier boy. One day, her mother confronted her about it.
"What the heck did you think you were doing?" her mother asked.
"What do you mean?" Hotaru asked.
"You know good and darn well what I mean! Why did that god-forsaken soldier boy write to you?" she yelled in reply.
"He didn't have anyone else! No mother, no father…" Hotaru explained.
"That didn't mean you had to go and fall in love with the bastard!" she screamed.
"Mom! How could you say that?! How could you call him that?!" Hotaru screamed.
Hotaru's mother took her by the shoulders, digging her fingernails into Hotaru's skin. She looked into Hotaru's eyes.
"I just didn't want my daughter's first love to be some bastard soldier boy that she may never see again. I didn't want her heart broken like that." she said. "I was just thinking of what was right for you."
"Well, I can think for myself." Hotaru said.
And with that, she walked out the door, slamming it behind her.
And as I walk to the beat of my heart inside
I feel like letting go
Oh darling in my dream you'll be tonight
Hotaru walked solemnly down the road. It had started to rain. She had been walking around for over an hour. It was as if she could fell her heart stopping. There was no sense in living in a world without love. She just wanted to die, to let go. And she knew exactly what to do. She ran toward the pier. She was going to sacrifice herself to the raging waves below. She soon reached the dock. Hotaru climbed the rail of the peir. She closed her eyes and let the cool rain whip across her face. She was ready for what she wanted to do. She began to slowly let go with one hand…and stopped.
Oh darling now,
In my dreams you'll be tonight
There was a voice floating across the water. It sounded just like Quatre's.
"Hotaru! Do you know what you're doing? Did you think about it?" the voice said. "Don't throw your life away because of this! It's alright! Don't give up hope! I'll always be here!"
Suddenly, Hotaru lost her grip. She fell, but managed to grab onto the bottom of the pier's dock.
"Hotaru!" the voice now sounded closer than ever.
"Help! Help me, somebody!" Hotaru screamed.
A figure appeared above her. It was Quatre. He reached down, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her up. She collapsed into his arms. He hugged her tightly. She looked up and kissed him. She never wanted this to end. She wanted to stay in his arms forever. Suddenly, she felt someone shaking her.
Oh Mr. Postman
Give me a sign
Tell me you've a letter
To make me feel fine
Oh don't you know
I am waiting here for you
tell me it will be here tonight
Hotaru opened her eyes. It was raining much harder now. She looked slowly up into the eyes of the postman.
"Where's Quatre?" Hotaru asked him.
"You mean the boy you were dreaming about?" was his reply.
Hotaru let her head slowly drop.
"So it was a dream." Hotaru said.
The postman seemed to sense ho awful she felt. He reached down and helped her into a sitting position.
"It's okay. Let me see if I've got something here for you." the postman said, reaching into his pack.
"Do you?" Hotaru asked.
Please, Quatre, if you are still alive, please have sent me something.
Hotaru thought. Just give me a sign. You have to be alive. And I know you are. I'm waiting for you. Please come home."I'm sorry. I don't. Let's get you home." he said.
Hotaru got up off of the park bench that she had fallen asleep on. She looked at the postman.
"I'm sorry. I can't go home." she said.
:"Why not?" he asked. "Nobody home?"
"No…" Hotaru replied. "I…can't stand to. My mother's mad because I fell in love with a…"
"Travelin' soldier?" he asked.
"Yeah. How'd you know?" she asked him.
"Because if you wait this long for a letter everyday, you have to be waitin from a letter from a soldier." He replied with a slight laugh.
Hotaru began to walk towards home. As much as she didn't want to forgive her mother, she knew she would have to. Her mother had only been looking out for her best interests. She knew where she was coming from. As much as she wanted to hate her mother forever, she knew she could never do it. But she also knew she could never forget Quatre.
He's in my heart, in my soul
Hotaru neared her house. Her heart pulsed. Her stomach tied in knots. She began to reach for the doorknob. Her mother's words echoed in her head. She remembered exactly what her mother had called Quatre. She pulled her hand back. Although she knew it was the right thing to do, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't bring herself to face her mother. She hung her head.
At that moment, the door swung open in front of her. There stood her mother. Hotaru could tell that her mother was furious. She closed her eyes. Her mother's hand swung out and slapped her across the face. Hotaru fell backward off the porch. She landed and flinched, letting the rain cool her cheek.
"Where the heck have you been?" her mother yelled. "Huh? Answer me!"
The postman walked up to her. He took off his hat and bowed.
"She was helping me with my route." he said. "I'm sorry to have worried you ma'am, but we stopped for ice cream afterwards."
"Oh." her mother said. "I'm sorry. Thank you for bringing her safely."
She helped Hotaru to her feet. She pushed Hotaru inside and slammed the door behind her. Then, she whirled around and grabbed Hotaru by the shoulders.
"I can't believe you!" she screamed. "Why Won't you listen to reason?! First you go and fall in love with that bastard, then you mope around when he dies! What is your problem?!"
Her mother shook her violently. Hotaru knew the time had come. It was time to stand up to her mother once and for all.
"Mom, you fell in love once! You fell in love with dad! How do you think you would have felt if your mom talked about him like that?! What if he would have died?! You would have felt like crap! So how do you think I feel right now? I feel like crap! I loved Quatre, and I will until the day I die! Nothing can change that! He's in my heart now and he's gonna stay that way forever! He's in the very depths of my soul! Even now, I can feel his love all over my body!" she yelled.
Suddenly, the necklace around Hotaru's neck began to glow. It was the necklace that Quatre had given her.
"As much as you may want me to forget Quatre, there's no way I ever can! I'll never be able to forget Quatre! And if you can't live with that, then you can't live with me! And if Quatre isn't alive, I can't live either!" she finished.
The necklace seemed to be on fire. It shone brightly. Hotaru ran up the stairs into her room, slammed, and locked the door.
Oh Mr. Postman
At last it's arrived
Here I have a letter
I know he's alive
Oh Don't you know
There's not more waiting here for him
The postman listened to the shouting for near five minutes before turning to leave. As he turned, something fluttered to the ground behind him. He turned to see what it was. He leaned down and picked it up. It was a letter from Private Quatre Rabera Winner, to Tomoe Hotaru. It was postmarked from the week before. The postman hurried up the steps to the door. He flung it open without knocking.
"I've got it right here! It's the letter she's been waiting for!" he yelled. "Where is she?"
"Up in her room." her mother replied through tears. "I think she's going to commit suicide."
Up in her room, Hotaru threw the letters from Quatre around her in a circle. She sat down in the center and drew the bowie knife Quatre had given her from it's casing. She held the point against her vein. She heard footsteps coming and knew she would have to be quick. She inserted the point into the vein and drew it along the thin blue line. Suddenly, she heard voices out in the hall.
"Hotaru! Don't do it! We have another letter!" the postman yelled.
Hotaru tried to stand, but she collapsed back to the ground. She watched the blood drip down her arm. She heard the postman banging on the door. Her vision began to blur. She knew what was happening. She was dying, slowly slipping away from the life she had always known. Suddenly, the door flew open. The postman rushed in, along with Hotaru's mother and father.
"Here it is! Here's a letter! The one you've been waiting for!" the postman exclaimed.
"Good. Now I know he's alright. He's alive." Hotaru said. She turned to her mother. "I'm sorry, mom. But I fell in love with him."
Then, she slipped away.
Now I won't write
Now I won't write
Now I won't write
Goodbye
Goodbye Mr. Postman
Hotaru's eyes fluttered open. She looked directly into the eyes of Quatre. She wanted to take him in her arms and never let go.
"She's awake!" Quatre yelled.
Hotaru heard footsteps rushing toward her bed. She tried to sit up, but found herself unable to. She turned her head to the right, then to the left, glancing at the chords and I.V.'s and such that were attached to her.
"Am I…Alive?" Hotaru croaked in a voice that in no way sounded like her own.
There were tears in her mother's eyes as she reached down and hugged her daughter.
"Yes, Hotaru. We were afraid you'd gone away and left us." Hotaru's mother replied.
"How long was I out?" she croaked.
"You've been in a coma for seven months. The doctors were beginning to think you weren't going to wake up. They said we'd lost you." her father replied.
"When did you get here Quatre?" the voice croaked for the third time, still unfamiliar to the pale girl.
"I just got here today. You woke up when I walked in." Quatre said.
Silence filled the room. Almost horrifying, like the angel of death was leaving. Someone had to be the one to break the evil silence. Quatre stepped forward.
"Why'd you do it?" he asked.
Hotaru hung her head. She didn't want to look him in the eyes. She didn't want to answer the question, though everyone knew the answer.
"I…I didn't want to live in a world without love. I didn't mean to hurt anybody." Hotaru said. She turned to Quatre. "Especially you. You mean more to me than my own life. I didn't think I could live without you. I wanted to die so I could be with you. There's no way I could survive without you, Quatre."
Nobody noticed that Hotaru's necklace was brightly illuminated. Quatre moved even closer to Hotaru. He reached into his pocket. Without taking his hand out of his pocket, he looked down at the girl.
"Hotaru, I want to be with you. I want to stay by your side for the rest of both our lives. I feel as if I can do anything when I'm with you. I want to keep you in my arms forever. I want to be with you for all eternity." Quatre said.
He now pulled his hand out of his pocket. In it, sat a small velvet box. He knelt next to the gurney. He opened the box to reveal a large diamond ring.
"Hotaru, will you marry me?" Quatre asked.
Hotaru gasped. She was slightly taken aback. But she looked into his eyes. They were a deep crystal blue. The necklace looked as if it were, once again, on fire.
"Yes, Quatre, I will." Hotaru replied raspily.
Their fate decided, their lives sealed, Hotaru and Quatre lived forever together, through all eternity, in this life and the next forever. But Hotaru will never forget that postman.
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Matsuko: That…Was…Soo…Sweet!!! (starts bawling)
Kam: It was that good? Or are you just a crybaby?
Matsuko: Hey! (Slaps Kam on the back of the head)
Kam: (points at Matsuko) Abusive! You're abusive!
Hotaru: Ha ha! I wanna do it!
Kam: Wanna do what?
Hotaru: Beat her up!
Kam: I wanna beat her up though!
Matsuko: How about whosever story the readers think is better gets to beat me up!
Kam: I like that idea!
Hotaru: Not bad, not bad.
Matsuko: (whispering) Plus it'll buy me some time.
Hotaru and Kam: What did you say?
Matsuko: Nothing!
Kam: Sooo, please R&R and tell us who you think wrote a better song fic! Then we can see who gets to beat up Matsuko!
Matsuko: But you can all take your time!
Kam and Hotaru: NO!!!
Kam: The sooner the better!
Matsuko: NOOOO!!!!!