After a bit Eliana reopened her pale eyes, feeling that things were well enough in the universe that she didn't have to keep watch. She glanced over and jumped slightly, startled to find that Hajime was a bit closer to her than he had been when she closed her eyes. Not only that- she realized with a blush- but he'd taken her hand at some point as well. "Hajime," she called softly. "We should get back to your apartment. You look pretty exhausted," she pointed out gently. Her hand was still in his as she wasn't entirely sure how to reclaim it- and she didn't really mind the contact.
"So do you," Hajime pointed out matter of factly. His own face was indeed rather pale, but only as a reminder of his power, and the toll it had taken on him. Opening his eyes, he looked at her. He had been slightly close to dozing off, but wasn't allowing himself to do so, feeling the need to watch of Eliana, the woman who watched the rest of the galaxy.
Eliana shook her head. She couldn't very well tell him she was so tired because she was fighting at the end of her restraints of interference to contain HIS power now could she? "Not as much as you do. I'd consider taking the day off from school tomorrow if you're not feeling better by morning." she told him. "Now close your eyes." When the light faded they were back in his apartment again. "I'll finish cleaning up. Why don't you go ahead and head to bed? I can let myself out," she suggested starting to her feet.
Hajime didn't let go of her hand, not letting her move.
"Stay here for the night. I can sleep on the couch and you can take the bed. You're too tired to be wandering around on your own after dark," he said. Realizing that he had forced her to stay seated, he let go of her hand, looking down. "You should probably take the day off from school too. You're pale as a sheet..."
Finding that he wasn't releasing her hand to let her up, she stopped trying, settling back down beside him. She considered his offer staying seated even after he released her hand. She was naturally pale anyway- so she was willing to concede that a bit of paleness probably made her look a lot worse off than she felt. She wasn't out of energy yet, and she'd wanted to go and see the Princess again once she'd gotten him settled. 'Well Apollo is handling things with her for the moment... and I don't want to leave him alone. I wouldn't be surprised if that power had scared him a bit. After all, Hajime isn't a dark person- even if his power is...' She gave him a smile, coming to a conclusion at last and letting her transformation fall away so she was also back in her uniform. "Well it's your house, I couldn't possibly steal your bed away," she told him. "I'm fine, really. Naturally pale skinned," she explained with a small shrug and chuckle. "But if it's alright with you, I'll go ahead and stay. You're the one I'm worried about. You're important so I want to make sure you're alright. I'd probably just end up worrying all night otherwise anyway."
Hajime nodded and got out some blankets and a pillow after pushing himself up off the floor.
"Here," he said, giving her the blankets and pillows. "Are you sure that you don't want to sleep in the bed?" He motioned to his room. "It's more comfortable than the couch."
"I'm sure," she told him with a smile. "I don't normally need to sleep so I'm a bit of an insomniac anyway." She set the blankets and pillows out. "Now go get some sleep. I promise, you need it more than I do," she told him, setting about to clean up the living room where they had been studying before.
In the morning when Hajime awoke, it was to an empty apartment save a cat that was curled up on the couch beside neatly folded blankets and the pillows.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed, looking towards the door.
"She left before I woke up, didn't she Apollo?" he asked of the cat, and turned back to his room. His head still hurt slightly, and he hadn't slept well at all, various nightmares besieging his sleep. Going back into his room, he went to the bathroom to shower, sitting for a little while under the stream of hot water. After he was done, he walked out of his room, a towel wrapped around his waist as he dried his unruly red hair. His silver eyes widened when he saw that Eliana was in the kitchen.
Apollo just raised his head to look at him and then lowered it again without answering.
"Good morning Ha-" Eliana started, hearing his door open. As she caught sight of his state of dress however- or lack thereof- her normally pale complexion turned a bright shade of pink, he own pale eyes widening. At first she was too stunned to look away, but with a bit of a jerk she came back to her senses and quickly turned her back, still a darkening shade or red. "I-I'm sorry. I should have warned you I was here I suppose. I just ran out to get some eggs since you'd run out." she told him.
Remembering she'd been cooking she faced the stove again- still blushing. "Sorry..."
Apollo had moved up to the back of the couch and was now watching the two, a cat's grin on his curved mouth. That had been rather amusing to watch.
"Ah no, I'm sorry," Hajime heard himself say. He seemed to be in another world at the moment. Despite his age he was rather well muscled, not too much, but enough. "I thought you had left for the day." He paused on his way back into his room. "Thank you for the eggs." Shutting the door behind his back, he put his face in his free hand, wondering why he felt so flustered. Quickly getting dressed, he brushed his hair and his teeth, then went out to the kitchen again. "Sorry about that..." he muttered as he pulled out the plates.
"No problem," she chimed cheerfully. Once she heard the door to his room shut, however, Eliana pressed her palms to her burning cheeks. That had surprised her... not just that he'd walked out but that in the moment before she was called back to herself she'd been admiring the simple beauty of his physique. 'What is wrong with me?' she wondered.
By the time he came back out she was just finishing up with the last bits of breakfast and moving them to the little table. "It's not your fault," she assured him with a smile, her flustered confusion having been forcefully forgotten. She eyed him a moment. He still looked a bit worse for wear. "How did you sleep? Are you feeling any better?" she asked, wondering if he'd need another treatment. It served two purposes really. While it did help relieve pain he felt, it also helped strengthen her own power around his, making her better able to control the energy.
"I slept fine," Hajime lied smoothly. He didn't want her worrying. Taking a bite, he smiled. "The cooking lessons are paying off. This is fantastic!" he complimented her. A second later, he frowned, noting her worried expression. "Now, I know I'm not the only thing that you have to worry about," he said as he reached out to put his hand on top of hers. "What's wrong?"
"Well I had a good teacher," Eliana stated, pleased that he liked the food.
She had begun to get use to the casual compliments from him, as well as occasional casual touches. But usually he didn't take her hands. That had only started last night. She was distracted by the contact for a moment, feeling an odd sort of warm spreading from his hand into hers. She dismissed the sensation quickly to focus on his question. It wasn't like she could tell him. 'Your power is unstable and I worry that it's going to end up destroying the universe. Not only that I worry that even with my power as a buffer you won't be able to contain that power whenever you use it and that you'll end up burning out.' Yes, that was definitely something she would NOT be telling him any time soon. "Well for now you're the most important thing I need to worry about. You still look a bit... out of sorts- so I'm worried." she explained. "Does your head hurt again? Want me to help?"
"My head is fine." Hajime was a tad frustrated. She seemed to trust him, but not enough to tell him what was wrong. "In fact, I think I'm well enough to go to school. If we don't leave now, we might be late," he added, standing and putting his plate into the sink. "We can take care of the dishes when we get back. And if we need to stop at your place to get a uniform, then we can. I just don't think that sitting at home would be good for either of us. I have a feeling that we would go stir crazy." She did enjoy school so she agreed, getting up. "I don't have more than two uniforms anyway, so it's fine," she assured him. She still wore her uniform from yesterday though it didn't look like she slept in it. She'd heard the frustration in his voice- or at least she thought it was frustration- but she didn't see any way to include him. Telling him just seemed to her like it would ensure the prophecy came true.
Off to school they went, walking in relative silence.
Lost in his thoughts, Hajime seemed to weave around people with relative ease, though, the further he moved forward, the more his thoughts seemed to preoccupy him. Not many more people crossed their path on the way to school, but one girl ran straight in front of them, and Hajime ran in to her. Looking up, he caught her, keeping her from falling over.
"Sorry there," he commented, then let go of her as she tried frantically to be free of his grasp. Her hair, fading from white to red and half held up in a bun, was slightly mussed from her frantic efforts. Her tan skin seemed to be flushed with wariness.
"You have a dark aura Hajime Tsukino," she said coldly and hurried off to class. Hajime sighed and shook his head.
"I don't know why she's so angry with me all the time... We used to be friends," he observed to Eliana.
Eliana was watching him from the corner of her eye, and so she wasn't able to warn him fast enough before he ran into the other girl. She watched the girl struggle frantically to get away, feeling a sensation run over her as she looked at the girl. 'She's a Senshi as well,' she thought and felt something close to dread as the girl accused him of having a dark aura. 'So she has enough control already to feel that- or it was a born gift...' she thought. But it made things problematic. She was going to be struggling to get the other two discovered Senshi to be cooperative... and now it seemed a third had appeared and would also be giving her more things to worry about. 'How to talk to her...' she wondered just giving Hajime and absent minded 'Mmm.' to his statement. She then looked up to him. "What is her name?" she asked, then decided she should probably go ahead and tell him what she knew. He was to be the leader of the team. She was merely a pillar of support. "She's one of the Senshi."
"Well that will make things more interesting," Hajime commented dryly. He sighed. "Her name is Megan Kou. She lives nearby with her parents." Shrugging, he shook his head. "Not sure how you'll be able to approach her though. She's not very thrilled with me at the moment, as is painfully obvious." Noticing Eliana's semi-preoccupied state, Hajime put hands on both her shoulders and leaned down a little. "Hey. Don't worry. I'll do everything that I can to make this easier for you. Us. Everyone." He said it softly, with a smile. They were the only ones on the street, and so there was no one to see this. He felt this nearly uncontrollable desire to kiss Eliana then and there, but felt that it would be unfair to take advantage of her.
"That's sweet of you. I'm sure we'll figure something out," she told him giving him a warm smile like sunshine after a day of rain. 'His aura's not dark- it's just the shadow of his power,' she thought- mostly reassuring herself there was still hope the prophecy wouldn't come true. "I'll try just talking to her later today. See if I can clear up her misunderstanding," she told him- oblivious to any desires he had towards her.
That smile! Hajime felt his resolve crumbling, but at that instant, the school bell rang, which saved them both from any gestures that might make things uncomfortable between them. His silver eyes seemed to shadow more a dull grey as he turned away, but it was only for a second, and barely noticeable in the sunlight. Taking her hand, he ran with her into the school, and up to their classroom.
"Sorry we're late," he began to say, but the teacher wasn't in the classroom. "Hey, where's the teacher?" he asked in general, still holding Eliana's hand. He hadn't noticed this, and thus hadn't let go. One of the students looked up and noticed, but didn't say anything.
"The teacher's out sick, so we have kind of a free day," she said, and Hajime nodded.
"Thank you Layla." Turning, he looked at Eliana. "Well, we don't really have to stay here."
Eliana had watched couples before- but she didn't necessary observe their customs. So she didn't think much of him holding her hand before others. It was just a casual contact that he was giving her lately- not anything that she thought to terribly much of- just as she'd stopped thinking much of the compliments he gave her. It was just how he was.
"I see... well, we could take the chance to finish our homework at least. See if we can make any progress on that problem," she pointed out, taking her hand back form him to pull her text reader. "I want to try and catch Megan-san during one of the breaks," she whispered quietly, leaning in slightly so her whisper would be for his ears alone.
Hajime nodded and went to sit in the back of the classroom. He knew what was happening now. He was starting to like her. Sighing quietly to himself, he shook his head. This was impossible. It had been what, three weeks since he had met her? And now he was starting to like a woman who could quite possibly be as old as time itself, and most likely never be able to stay with someone like him. His silver eyes darkened to grey again, but he was looking at his reader, not anywhere else. In Hajime's mind, the image of Serenity and Dymion trapped in the crystal forced its way to the front of his thoughts and he put the reader down. Rubbing his temples, he looked over at Eliana. They were finding Senshi much faster now, which made him wary. Was whatever was going to happen going to happen soon? Or would there be more of the creatures? As if to answer his question, screams sounded below. Casting a glance at Eliana, he motioned to the door before leaving the classroom. Students and teachers were running through the hallways, running from several different inky black creatures, similar to the one that he had dispatched from his room only the day before. A familiar face appeared, and was soon quite close to him. Megan came to a stop, and turned to Hajime, her flame colored eyes seething.
"This is your fault!" she hissed, and shrieked in protest when Hajime grabbed her wrist.
"Megan, I am very sorry, but we need to talk to you, and quickly," he said, taking Eliana's hand and dragging them both into an empty classroom nearby. Twisting the ring on his finger once he was sure that Megan wouldn't run, he was once again in his armor. Motioning to himself, and then to Eliana, who had transformed into Sailor Sun, he helplessly searched for the words that he would need to explain it to Megan. She seemed to have some sort of understanding in her eyes.
"Senshi. She's Sailor Sun," Megan said quietly, then frowned. "But what are you supposed to be guardian of?"
"The Moon," Hajime said simply, and Megan shook her head.
"But Queen Serenity should be protecting the Moon. At least, that's what my father says," she protested.
Eliana was already moving when he motioned for the door. She could feel the creatures- but was a bit confused. As before she hadn't been able to feel them at all until they were already on the move. She wanted to protest when Megan accused Hajime- but she couldn't in all honesty. It was because he was here, just not for the reasons she thought.
Seeing that the girl already knew about Senshi she was relieved. She didn't need to waste time trying to explain as she had with Sailor Venus. "Queen Serenity hasn't been able to protect the Moon since it was destroyed again two hundred years ago. Hajime is the new bearer of the Silver Crystal." She held out her staff, searching through the girl's energy and a pen appeared before her. "You are a Kinmokuan- Sailor Starfire." Eliana looked back towards the door. "Hajime, we'll let her deal with this at first if that's alright. I want to see what her ability will be. We'll offer assistance should she need it but those monsters aren't quite as powerful as the one from before so it should be alright." she silently added, 'Plus I don't want you using your power again so soon. It's still far too unstable to try and use.' Her attention returned to Megan. "As a Kinmokuan descendant- I assume you already know how to activate your power."
Megan nodded. As the pen hit her hand, it transformed into a microphone, one that was part of a earbud. It had a star shaped brass cover that covered her ear with the microphone extending to end just at her mouth.
"Sailor Starfire, Make Up!" she said, her hand on the earpiece. A fiery light surrounded her, and in an instant, she was in her Senshi fuku. It was entirely made of deep red leather, a pair of shorts and a skimpy top. The boots as well, which came up to mid-thigh, and her gloves, which came up to the middle of her biceps. A circlet of brass with a brass star in the middle accented her forehead, while a brass star with white wings served as the broach upon her chest. Two strings crossed her belly, a brass star holding them in place, and a red cape flowed from her shoulders.
"Well that is much different from your outfit," Hajime said to Eliana, his face a bit red. Megan huffed and stalked out of the room, her cape swirling about her feet.
"I didn't ask for it," she muttered, her hand held out in front of her as a creature came close. A star formed in her hand, only visible to those who really looked, and the words came unbidden to her mind. "Star Purifying Flames!" she shouted, and a whirl of bright blue flame erupted from the star in her hand, incinerating the creatures in front of her.
"Look out!" Hajime shouted, and his sword was out of the sheath at his hip, slashing through another creature that had snuck up behind them, charging at Eliana. Megan was doing just fine on her own.
Eliana forced back a chuckle. It was how the Sailor Star outfits looked for whatever reason. She noted the ability- finding it similar to that of Sailor Mars- odd but a welcomed sign as it was in some way back to normalcy. When she saw the beast come at them from behind she tried to force her power out to prevent Hajime from using his. But with a gasp that would have been a cry had her breath not been stolen she dropped to her knees trembling. She was still not permitted to fight. And it seemed that if she tried to break through the will of the universe she was just going to have her power recoil. Her body had faint sparks running over it as light flared in small areas all around her. If this kept up she'd only be a hindrance in battle.
'Why am I permitted to interact with them so freely- to put my power into and use it for Hajime's power, but I'm not permitted to use it for actual battle?' she wondered, her breath finally returning to her and the flashing sparks fading away. The beasts were gone now. She couldn't feel them anymore, so she could only hope that meant there would be no more attacks today.
Hajime turned to Eliana in time to see the sparks fading away.
"Eliana, are you okay?" he asked worriedly. Hearing the worry in his voice, Megan turned. He looked like a real prince kneeling there next to Sailor Sun. She sighed and let her fuku go, staying there by the two.
"You know, this is the first time I've heard you worry about anyone since your parents died Hajime," she said after a few moments. Hajime looked up, his silver eyes slightly dark. Megan took a step back, utterly caught off guard. This wasn't him, this dark persona. She knew that, but couldn't help but feel that the darkness was taking him slowly. His eyes changed back though, and he looked even more worried.
"Are you okay Megan?" he asked, but turned back to Eliana when Megan nodded. "Eliana, you aren't hurt, are you?" In his head he was trying to fight down the panic. Those sparks hadn't looked very good.