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Enjoy!
Chapter IX
Seated by the window in her room, Michiru watched the twilight, closing her eyes as the last amber sunrays caressed her face. The red evening sun set slowly, disappearing beneath the violet waves of a calm ocean.
"W-who are you?"
Chindan's frightened question rang in her mind. She wished she had an answer…
"What…what happened?"
The driver had come to shortly, confused and with no memory of the battle. And again, Michiru had not had an answer to his question.
Who am I…what did happen…?
She saw the confusion in his eyes, the fear in Chindan's, and felt them resonate within her own soul. Indeed, she was the one who had lost most. While Yashashi-san had gone home thinking he suffered from heatstroke, Michiru had been left watching her hands in horror of what she had almost done. While Chindan had scurried out the front door, presumably to a quieter and safer life, Michiru had been left worrying that the woman would one day betray her.
The girl sighed.
Where do I go from here?
The small, blue wand rested on the window sill. She regarded it with mixed bitterness and nostalgia. It felt familiar and alien at the same time.
Surely, it was as much a part of her as her music, as much as her dreams and her watercolors. Yet, it was entirely new at the same time, bringing out a side of her that Michiru had to rediscover. Her own mind had become a foreign place…she could no longer tell the difference between her thoughts and the thoughts of the other inside her.
The girl shook her head and sat up from her chair. The weight in her chest had not disappeared…she suspected it never really would.
What I could have done today…what I was willing to do…how can I live with that?
Her mind wandered back to the earlier events. Yashashi's terrified expression, right before he had changed into the monstrous creature, haunted her. It was frightening to recall the immense power behind her attack…and how natural it had felt. But no, she refused to even think she had enjoyed it! She could never enjoy fighting! It was against all her beliefs! Or…was it?
I am an artist…I create.
But she…she is a soldier. She destroys…
I am her…
I can't do this…I want to go back.
"I want to go back!!" Michiru cry echoed in her silent house. She doubled over as a wave of intense fear shot through her. "Please…I don't want this…."
Voice strangled by sobs, she pleaded to the deaf walls of her room. Terror stabbing her heart, she sank to her knees. The tears she had willed back all along rolled down her cheeks, as she raised her eyes heavenwards.
"Please…"
Silently, knelt on the cold floor, Michiru wept the loss of her life, recent and distant memories merging until she could no longer tell which life she was crying for.
That night, she discovered one never did run out of tears to cry.
I have to stop. I'm so tired…I have to stop. And be strong…I'm…so tired…
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Somewhere else, another young woman clenched her fists in anger. It was not fair! Michiru should not have to deal with everything on her own! Everyone else had had support…yet the aqua-haired teenager would have to see herself through. Would Michiru be strong enough?
In yet another place, a third person turned nervously in her sleep. She dreamt that she was running…and she could not move away from whatever monster chased her. But she would escape at any price! She had to! In the awful dream, she ran faster and faster, until her breath became labored and sweat glistened on her closed eyelids.
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When Michiru opened her eyes again, she was still knelt on the floor of her room, her exhausted body leaning heavily against the bed frame. The white light of the full moon shone in on her.
"Beautiful…"
The word escaped her lips, and Michiru smiled sadly. There was such hope, such purity in the shimmer of a single moonray. There was so much beauty in the world…
That has always been her dream. To capture the charm she saw all around, to take it in her heart and show it to others. That was what her paintings were all about. Her music as well. That was her sacred duty as an artist, to keep the beauty alive in people's hearts and minds.
How can I let this beautiful world die? How can I refuse to defend it, when it is in my power to do so?
Did she really have to give up her love for beauty? Did her new mission as a soldier call for that sacrifice? She had been reborn to fight. Fight? For the world? Fight to protect the wonder that she tried so hard to convey to everyone.
My mission as an artist is no different!
Michiru raised her eyes to watch the full moon.
The warrior, the painter, the violinist, the dreamer, the guardian inside her fell together in sudden harmony.
I will protect all the beauty in this world, with my music, with my heart, with all my powers and all my life!
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AN: Thank you for staying with this story:)! Please let me know what you think! Comments, ideas, suggestions are always welcome!
Until next time!
Myosotis
