One year. She calculated in her mind. It's been one year.
The 16 year-old looked up at the bright blue sky, her thoughts wandering
into the depths of space and time. Her eyes glazed over as she remembered
what had happened exactly one year from that day...
~flashback~
She was running at night on the sports track behind her school. Her heart
was beating rapidly in anticipation. Her mind flickered to the favour that
she had asked from Amano, a guy at her school who was two years her senior.
"If I can run 100 metres in the time it takes for the pendant to swing
13 times, I
want you to do
something special for me..." she asked the boy with the chin-
length brown
hair. She had bowed then, her hand outstretched with the pendant,
her cheeks blushing
furiously. "Give me my very first kiss?" Much to her surprise,
the boy had smiled
at her and had agreed.
This is why she was running.
The pendant swung its eighth cycle, and suddenly a blue light appeared
before her, bringing
with it a boy with messy raven-black hair. She was running
too fast, she
couldn't stop, and smacked right into the boy. He shoved her aside hastily,
talking about
a dragon. Sure
enough, from behind them appeared a horrible creature that must have
been a dragon.
The girl and her friends ran as the boy battled the beast. After a horrible
slaughter, the
teenager stranger and the girl were suddenly engulfed by an eerie blue
light which carried
them to a different world...Gaia, a place where the Earth and moon
hung in the sky.
The girl, Hitomi, would soon discover that the boy's name was Van Fanel,
and
that he had the
ability to sprout wings like an angel. He would protect her at any cost
because, unbeknownst
to her, he was deeply in love with this girl from Earth. Despite
the obstacles
that came before them, Hitomi would eventually come to realize that she
returned his
love...
But as peace was restored the Gaia, it became clear that Hitomi would have
to
go back home...
to her home. With tears in her eyes, Hitomi had embraced her
soulmate tightly,
promising that she'd never forget him. With that, she was whisked
away back to
Earth...
~End flashback~
What I would give to see him again... just to be with him, to be held in
his strong arms,
to tell him I
love him...
"Hitomi?" a voice asked with concern. Hitomi's daydreaming was interrupted.
She
looked to her
left at her best friend. "Hitomi, what's wrong?" asked Yukari gently. Hitomi
shook her head
a little.
"It's nothing," she lied. Yukari wasn't stupid, something was evidently
not right. But she
didn't pursue
the topic any longer. When Hitomi felt the need to confide in someone,
she knew that
her best friend would always be there. Yukari frowned a little but just
ate
her rice in silence.
Hitomi looked down at her own food. It remained untouched. She
looked down at
her watch, realizing that the bell for lunch's end was about to start.
Putting on a
fake smile, a task that she had become accustomed to over the past year,
she stood and
offered Yukari a helping hand off the steps.
"Class is about to start," she informed her friend. Yukari wrinkled her
nose in disgust
but nodded, throwing
her garbage into a trash can nearby.
Hitomi's head was throbbing. She couldn't stand this anymore, it was like
slow torture.
Her eyes wandered
to the front of the class, where the teacher was giving a tedious
lesson on physics.
His voice grew muffled and distant as Hitomi's thoughts strayed to
the young king
on Gaia... the man she loved, Van. Hitomi wondered what he was doing
now, how the
reconstruction of Fanelia was coming along, if Merle had given up her
"possessive"
act, but mostly, she asked if he missed her.
With the power of their love for one another, amplified by the pendant's
abilities,
they had kept
in touch. They were unable to physically be there for each other, and
could only communicate
in thoughts and feelings. Words were pointless.
Often times Hitomi found herself thinking how handy it would be if Van,
no, if
Gaia, had a telephone
somewhere. It would have taken a large bite out of Hitomi's
wallet to pay
the long distance fee, but it would be worth it just to hear his voice.
Closing her eyes
for a moment, Hitomi turned her focus back to the lesson.
"Wiseman," said the figure in a low voice, bowing.
"Linaddua," replied the old man seated in a throne-like object. Hundreds
of tiny
pipes attached
the thrown to large flasks which boiled a strange grey liquid. His beard
was long and
white, and hung over the throne.
The girl stepped
into the light so that she could see the old man better. Her hair
was a silvery-blonde,
and she wore it up in a ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a tight
red sleeveless
shirt and a dark miniskirt. Her eyes flashed blood red, and the long
scar that stretched
from her cheek to the roots of her hair matched the top perfectly. Upon
her forehead
was a black crescent moon, upside down.
"Linaddua," the man repeated. "You now why you are here. You know what
you
must do, the
task you must carry out. Once you do, the future with be mine to control!"
he began to laugh
evilly. A smirk crossed over Linaddua's own face and she began to
cackle maniacally
in a high-pitched tone. Then she faded into the blackness.
It was 3 o'clock. The bell rang and Hitomi thanked it silently. The gruelling
schoolday was
over. She slung her bag over her shoulder and began to walk towards
home.
"Hey Hiroko, let me see!"
"No way, I saw it first!"
Hitomi walked past a small huddle of youngsters. She thought nothing of
what
they were doing,
and besides, she couldn't see what they were up to.
They're just little kids,
thought Hitomi to herself. They can't be doing anything to hurt
someone.
It was then that she heard the sound. It was a cry that was barely audible,
but for
some reason it
was amplified in Hitomi's ears. It was the sound of a young cat.
Immediately, Hitomi spun around back to where the children were.
"Out of the way, you little brats!" she ordered, pushing them from the
center of
their little
circle. They scattered. Hitomi peered down to see what had drawn their
attention...
and what had made the noise. There, on the grass, lay a small grey cat
with
a bandage on
her forehead. Hitomi gasped before picking the feline up in her arms.
One word flashed through her mind: Naria.
Hitomi... his mind wandered out past the clouds, up to the larger of
the two
globes in the
sky. He closed his eyes for a moment, reflecting. His hand reached for
the
pink pendant...
his only material proof that she had been there, with him. He had his
memories, but
he often wondered if it had all been some beautiful dream.
No...
he decided. It was not a dream. Had it been a dream, I would have
had the
bravery to bring
her lips to mine, told her how much I loved her, and she would return to
me,
to stay with
me...forever....
He opened his eyes to the sound of a high-pitched squeal.
"Lord Vaaaaaaan!" screamed Merle excitedly. Van quickly hid the pendant
back
underneath his
red shirt. She rushed up to his sitting spot in the forest and clung to
his
arm like glue.
"Hey Merle," Van said with a fake smile. She looked up at him with adoration
but then
frowned.
"Stop pretending, Van." she said in a serious tone. Van looked at her,
surprised. This
was the first
time that she had addressed him without the "Lord" prefix.
"Merle..?" questioned Van, as if he didn't understand what she was talking
about. Merle
released his
arm so that she could face him, to look into his eyes.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about." she nearly hissed. In an instant,
she had
her claw in and
out of Van's shirt, bringing the pendant out. "This," she said.
"The pendant?"
Merle sighed. "Van, you're killing yourself. I see you everyday and bit
by bit... you're
dissolving, shrivelling
without her. I know how much you love Hitomi, but have faith. In
time, she'll
return to you." She stood and placed a paw on her best friend's shoulder.
"Be patient. You'll see her soon," she assured. Then, wanting to ease the
tension, she
lowered her face
down to his ear and whispered, "...and until you do... you always have
me." She winked
at him flirtatiously and thus brought forth a bit of a smile to Van's face.
It was an old
joke. He knew that it had been months since Merle's obsessive love for
Van had come
to an end. She had met a nice cat-guy who was helping with the
reconstruction
of Fanelia.
With that, Merle hugged him and walked away. Van smiled a little more.
Merle's
words were encouraging...
ever since his love had left, he doubted ever seeing her
again. But now
that doubt had completely vanished.
Hitomi examined the animal. If the cat had been more human-like, it would
have
been Naria exactly.
The eyes, the colour, everything. But one thing was different... the
strange bandage
on her forehead. Hitomi's curiousity was piqued. Slowly and gingerly,
she removed the
bandaid. She gasped again. Clearly visible through the fur was a
strange mark...
a perfect circle, partially hidden by the crescent moon.
"The Mystic Moon..." Hitomi whispered. In the way that it was seen from
Gaia.
She looked down
at the little cat who had begun to purr. Why do I feel such a strange
connection to
you? she wondered. Something inside her told her that this furry
animal
was intended
for her and her alone. Hitomi felt around the neck, searching for some
sort of identification.
There was nothing. Hitomi felt a sudden happiness surge inside of
her and she smiled-a
real smile- for the first time in months.
She had no idea that this cat was only the beginning.
To be continued...
Next time, on Sailor Mystic Moon:
Van has been having strange, horrific foretelling
dreams... will he be able to overcome them?
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see a preview for this episode!
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Next episode (Pilot
Pt 2: In Dreams)
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