Dark Side of the Moon
Part 5
by Eternal SailorM
****************
Just as Lina reached the steps and was about to start up them, a
small explosion was heard in the room above her; it sounded very
similar to one of Jilas's guns.
If she'd gone up the stairs any faster, she would have flown. On the
floor, each lying in one of the bloodstains, seemingly unconscious,
were Usagi and the dark-haired man from the picture. They look so
solid, so real, that they almost looked completely human again.
The man climbed to his feet first, his already dark shirt stained
darker with blood that did not flow, and turned to face her. His blue
eyes were like ice, as cold as a Mazoku's eyes. "So, you're Usagi's
new companion." His voice was colder than his eyes. Moving quicker
than any mortal could, he darted forward and caught her chin in an
iron grip; unlike the rest of him, his hand was warm."I'll be seeing
you around." He planted a quick wet kiss on her lips and then
completely vanished from sight, and before she could fire another
Elmekia Lance at him too.
Grimacing and wiping her mouth fervently, she moved over to check on
Usagi. As she knelt beside her, the small blonde stirred and sat up
in a daze. "Lina-chan?" she asked.
At the top of the stairs, Filia gasped, touching her own ears
lightly. This time, she'd been able to hear her.
"Usagi?" Lina reached out and brushed her fingers against the
blonde's face; Usagi smiled and leaned into the touch. Her skin was
warm now. "Are you alive now?"
"Iie, I'm just less dead now than before. For the next three days,
the demon and I will both be like this, and all three of those days
will be pure hell on hearth. Hey!" she called over to Filia. "Hold
onto something, okay?"
"What. . ." Around them, the entire house began to shake. It lasted
only around five minutes though. A bit shaken, Filia climbed to her
feet and asked, "What was that?"
"The first of many earthquakes you'll experience over the next three
days, and it was the smallest and shortest of them all. You see, this
is the curse of a ghost's existence, having to relive their death on
its anniversary every year." She glanced out the window. "You won't
be able to see the great beasts fighting in the sky, but this is
exactly what happened when I died."
"Great beasts?" Filia repeated.
"Ceiphied and Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu," answered Lina.
"You've been a ghost that long, Usagi-san?"
"Umm. . . hai, though I'm not entirely certain who they are. All the
sorcerers and scholars who came here knew them though. Lina-chan, who
are they?"
"A long story."
"Why don't we explain it to you and you tell us about your world? We
can go downstairs where it's -"
"Iie!" Usagi shrieked, scooting backwards across the floor.
"She can't go below the second floor," continued Lina. "I'll meet you
downstairs in a little bit, all right, Filia?" Nodding, the golden
dragon left the room. "Are you okay, Usagi?"
"Hai, hai, Lina-chan. I'm dead, after -"
"Will you quit saying that?!?" Lina yelled. Usagi retreated a little
further, understandably concerned in the face of an angry Lina
Inverse. "I hate the self-sacrificing heroine type!"
"Gomen nasai, Lina-chan."
She slid across the floor to the other girl. "Usagi?"
"Leave me alone." She scooted a little closer, and Usagi jerked away
from her, apparently pouting. "I mean it! Leave me alone!"
"You know I'm not going to."
"Why not?" As odd as it seemed, the ghost appeared to be pouting.
"Maybe because you're my friend too." It was amazing how those few
words automatically brought a smile to Usagi's face. Cautiously she
cupped her hand against the blonde's cheek; again she leaned into the
touch. "And maybe because I like you a lot?" she even more cautiously
added.
"I really like you too, Lina." She smiled, really smiled this time,
and it could have lit up the room.
****************
Lina again glanced at the blonde-haired girl patiently sitting at the
top of the stairs, as if to make sure the version of what of Usagi's
story she knew and was telling was all right by the ghost, who merely
smiled back. Finally the sorceress broke off with the (rather
dangerous) declaration, "Saa, I'm hungry!"
"I think I am too," came from the top of the stairs. It was
immediately followed by a familiar growling noise.
"I'd say you are," Silphiel laughed. "I'll make something and bring it
up to you."
She bowed. "Doomo arigatoo, Silphiel-san." The archaic gesture seemed
automatic, but it was something they had rarely seen. "I'll be waiting
right here."
"Your ghost is a very nice person," Silphiel stated as Lina hungrily
watched her cook a few minutes later. Large red eyes turned to watch
Silphiel's face.
"You think so?" Lina asked softly.
"I do."
The redhead smiled faintly. "So do I."
"I feel sorry for her, stuck in this house for so long, especially
with that horrible demon. And -" She broke off and smiled again. "It
seems the two of you are becoming rather close friends, Lina-san."
"You think?"
Silphiel smiled. "Yes, I do." Suddenly she frowned. "I wish there was
a way to take her out of here, before she is destroyed by that demon."
"Nani? Destroyed?"
"We were talking about it earlier," Filia broke in. "I heard once of a
demon spirit that was able to become a full Mazoku by absorbing ghosts
and evil humans."
"It sounds like that's what the spirit is trying to do here," finished
Silphiel.
"Is it ready yet, Silphiel-san?" Usagi called down.
"It will be in a moment!" the black-haired priestess returned. She
glanced over at the petite sorceress beside her. "Lina-san..."
"I'm not going to let him hurt her again."
Silphiel glanced back at her sharply. "You like her this much?"
"Spirits like this are tricky creatures that are nearly impossible to
destroy. You could be..."
"Right now, I really don't care. I'll be upstairs with Usagi if you
need me for anything."
****************
"Picnic!" Usagi happily declared when Lina came up the stairs into her
room. She'd spread the blanket from off her bed on the floor, so that
it covered the bloodstains. Lina just had to stop at the top of the
stairs and stare at the blonde for several long minutes.
She seemed so totally... normal right now. So happy and so very
innocent. But how could that be, in a person who had been dead over
five thousand years, who didn't even really remember her own life? She
had to wonder, had Usagi been like this in life too?
"Lina? Are you okay?"
She grinned. "Of course I am, Usagi." She placed the food on the
blanket. "Silphiel made us quite a feast!"
"Great! I'm starving!" With a speed that surprised even Lina, she
started grabbing at food and shoving it in her mouth. She had to
smile; somehow she'd known Usagi would eat like this - and manage to
look cute while doing it.
But while she was admiring Usagi, the blonde was eating all their
food. She had to rush to keep up, even though one of Silphiel's meals
was not normally something to be rushed through.
Without warning, the earth (or the house) began to shake violently.
Totally unprepared, Lina pitched forward. She was completely
unsurprised when Usagi broke her fall with her own body - and for the
feelings that girl's body pressed so tightly against hers produced.
"Daijoubu?" Usagi's voice whispered into her ear, her breath tickling
the sensitive skin.
She raised her body a bit, so that they were face to face, noses
practically touching. From this close, there was no disputing the
beauty and the hard-kept innocence in her friend's eyes. "Hai," she
breathed.
Faintly she felt Usagi's arms slip around her waist beneath her cape.
"That's good," she answered softly. She could see a ghost of a smile
building on Usagi's face before she pulled Lina's body down, their
lips pressing together. It couldn't even really be called a kiss, but
when it broke, Lina could feel heat flooding her face. Usagi, on the
other hand, only looked embarrassed. "Gomen ne, Lina," she whispered.
"For what?"
Big, blue eyes blinked in apparent disbelief. "You... didn't... you
don't mind?"
"Why should I mind?" She lightly brushed their lips together again.
"I never said I didn't like it, did I?"
She smiled, and Lina felt herself responding in kind. "That's good to
know. Well then, I guess I'd better get it right this time then."
Lina's eyes slipped shut as Usagi really kissed her this time. She was
aware of the other girl's hands skimming up her body and unhooking her
cape, tossing it to the edge of the blanket, then moving slowly back
down to the small of her back. Despite the layer of cloth between
their skins, the warmth she could feel from Usagi sent delightful
tingles along every nerve in her body.
Below her, Usagi shivered, never breaking the kiss though. Maybe this
is affecting her as much as it is me, Lina thought to herself for a
split second -
- then Usagi vanished. And Lina found herself dropping a few inches
and her nose colliding with an old blanket and the hard wood floor
beneath it..
"Kuso..." she muttered to herself.
****************
"Kuso!" Usagi screamed her frustration. Of all the times for her
energy to run low... why did it have to be right then? She screamed
her indignation to anyone who could hear it.
"Difficulties?" the demon who had once been her boyfriend purred.
"Leave me alone!" she returned harshly.
"Tell me: is this more difficult than it was with Haruka?"
For a moment, she paused, trying to puzzle out what he meant. She was
still having difficulties remembering the past. Then it came to her.
"Yes, much more." She smiled faintly at the returning memories. "After
all, I'd known Ruka-chan for years and we were both Sailor Senshi?"
"Would you like it if the two of you were together forever?"
Suspicion ran through her like a bullet. "What are you saying?"
It shrugged. "Nothing important. Do you think you and the redhead have
a chance in Hades?"
She sat down on the floor, apparently putting some serious thought
into this. "I... don't know. She's this powerful, charismatic..."
"Completely mortal sorceress."
"And I'm..."
"A incorporeal, house-locked corpse."
She scowled. "You needn't put it quite that way. I'll find a way to
make it work somehow. Does that answer your question?"
It shook its head resignedly, making rather obvious tsking noises, a
habit he'd picked up in America. "Yet another tragic love affair for
you, ne?"
"Oh shut up."
He stood and stepped away from her. "Maybe I'll arrange it so that you
two can be together the only way possible now: in death." It vanished.
"Matte!" she called, even reaching out a hand after it. "Please...
don't hurt Lina!"
****************
Okay, I know I'm bad leaving off like that, but there is a little
magic something that will make the next part come out quicker:
REVIEWS, people!!!!!!!
^_~ Review and you'll get more. That's the deal.
Part 5
by Eternal SailorM
****************
Just as Lina reached the steps and was about to start up them, a
small explosion was heard in the room above her; it sounded very
similar to one of Jilas's guns.
If she'd gone up the stairs any faster, she would have flown. On the
floor, each lying in one of the bloodstains, seemingly unconscious,
were Usagi and the dark-haired man from the picture. They look so
solid, so real, that they almost looked completely human again.
The man climbed to his feet first, his already dark shirt stained
darker with blood that did not flow, and turned to face her. His blue
eyes were like ice, as cold as a Mazoku's eyes. "So, you're Usagi's
new companion." His voice was colder than his eyes. Moving quicker
than any mortal could, he darted forward and caught her chin in an
iron grip; unlike the rest of him, his hand was warm."I'll be seeing
you around." He planted a quick wet kiss on her lips and then
completely vanished from sight, and before she could fire another
Elmekia Lance at him too.
Grimacing and wiping her mouth fervently, she moved over to check on
Usagi. As she knelt beside her, the small blonde stirred and sat up
in a daze. "Lina-chan?" she asked.
At the top of the stairs, Filia gasped, touching her own ears
lightly. This time, she'd been able to hear her.
"Usagi?" Lina reached out and brushed her fingers against the
blonde's face; Usagi smiled and leaned into the touch. Her skin was
warm now. "Are you alive now?"
"Iie, I'm just less dead now than before. For the next three days,
the demon and I will both be like this, and all three of those days
will be pure hell on hearth. Hey!" she called over to Filia. "Hold
onto something, okay?"
"What. . ." Around them, the entire house began to shake. It lasted
only around five minutes though. A bit shaken, Filia climbed to her
feet and asked, "What was that?"
"The first of many earthquakes you'll experience over the next three
days, and it was the smallest and shortest of them all. You see, this
is the curse of a ghost's existence, having to relive their death on
its anniversary every year." She glanced out the window. "You won't
be able to see the great beasts fighting in the sky, but this is
exactly what happened when I died."
"Great beasts?" Filia repeated.
"Ceiphied and Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu," answered Lina.
"You've been a ghost that long, Usagi-san?"
"Umm. . . hai, though I'm not entirely certain who they are. All the
sorcerers and scholars who came here knew them though. Lina-chan, who
are they?"
"A long story."
"Why don't we explain it to you and you tell us about your world? We
can go downstairs where it's -"
"Iie!" Usagi shrieked, scooting backwards across the floor.
"She can't go below the second floor," continued Lina. "I'll meet you
downstairs in a little bit, all right, Filia?" Nodding, the golden
dragon left the room. "Are you okay, Usagi?"
"Hai, hai, Lina-chan. I'm dead, after -"
"Will you quit saying that?!?" Lina yelled. Usagi retreated a little
further, understandably concerned in the face of an angry Lina
Inverse. "I hate the self-sacrificing heroine type!"
"Gomen nasai, Lina-chan."
She slid across the floor to the other girl. "Usagi?"
"Leave me alone." She scooted a little closer, and Usagi jerked away
from her, apparently pouting. "I mean it! Leave me alone!"
"You know I'm not going to."
"Why not?" As odd as it seemed, the ghost appeared to be pouting.
"Maybe because you're my friend too." It was amazing how those few
words automatically brought a smile to Usagi's face. Cautiously she
cupped her hand against the blonde's cheek; again she leaned into the
touch. "And maybe because I like you a lot?" she even more cautiously
added.
"I really like you too, Lina." She smiled, really smiled this time,
and it could have lit up the room.
****************
Lina again glanced at the blonde-haired girl patiently sitting at the
top of the stairs, as if to make sure the version of what of Usagi's
story she knew and was telling was all right by the ghost, who merely
smiled back. Finally the sorceress broke off with the (rather
dangerous) declaration, "Saa, I'm hungry!"
"I think I am too," came from the top of the stairs. It was
immediately followed by a familiar growling noise.
"I'd say you are," Silphiel laughed. "I'll make something and bring it
up to you."
She bowed. "Doomo arigatoo, Silphiel-san." The archaic gesture seemed
automatic, but it was something they had rarely seen. "I'll be waiting
right here."
"Your ghost is a very nice person," Silphiel stated as Lina hungrily
watched her cook a few minutes later. Large red eyes turned to watch
Silphiel's face.
"You think so?" Lina asked softly.
"I do."
The redhead smiled faintly. "So do I."
"I feel sorry for her, stuck in this house for so long, especially
with that horrible demon. And -" She broke off and smiled again. "It
seems the two of you are becoming rather close friends, Lina-san."
"You think?"
Silphiel smiled. "Yes, I do." Suddenly she frowned. "I wish there was
a way to take her out of here, before she is destroyed by that demon."
"Nani? Destroyed?"
"We were talking about it earlier," Filia broke in. "I heard once of a
demon spirit that was able to become a full Mazoku by absorbing ghosts
and evil humans."
"It sounds like that's what the spirit is trying to do here," finished
Silphiel.
"Is it ready yet, Silphiel-san?" Usagi called down.
"It will be in a moment!" the black-haired priestess returned. She
glanced over at the petite sorceress beside her. "Lina-san..."
"I'm not going to let him hurt her again."
Silphiel glanced back at her sharply. "You like her this much?"
"Spirits like this are tricky creatures that are nearly impossible to
destroy. You could be..."
"Right now, I really don't care. I'll be upstairs with Usagi if you
need me for anything."
****************
"Picnic!" Usagi happily declared when Lina came up the stairs into her
room. She'd spread the blanket from off her bed on the floor, so that
it covered the bloodstains. Lina just had to stop at the top of the
stairs and stare at the blonde for several long minutes.
She seemed so totally... normal right now. So happy and so very
innocent. But how could that be, in a person who had been dead over
five thousand years, who didn't even really remember her own life? She
had to wonder, had Usagi been like this in life too?
"Lina? Are you okay?"
She grinned. "Of course I am, Usagi." She placed the food on the
blanket. "Silphiel made us quite a feast!"
"Great! I'm starving!" With a speed that surprised even Lina, she
started grabbing at food and shoving it in her mouth. She had to
smile; somehow she'd known Usagi would eat like this - and manage to
look cute while doing it.
But while she was admiring Usagi, the blonde was eating all their
food. She had to rush to keep up, even though one of Silphiel's meals
was not normally something to be rushed through.
Without warning, the earth (or the house) began to shake violently.
Totally unprepared, Lina pitched forward. She was completely
unsurprised when Usagi broke her fall with her own body - and for the
feelings that girl's body pressed so tightly against hers produced.
"Daijoubu?" Usagi's voice whispered into her ear, her breath tickling
the sensitive skin.
She raised her body a bit, so that they were face to face, noses
practically touching. From this close, there was no disputing the
beauty and the hard-kept innocence in her friend's eyes. "Hai," she
breathed.
Faintly she felt Usagi's arms slip around her waist beneath her cape.
"That's good," she answered softly. She could see a ghost of a smile
building on Usagi's face before she pulled Lina's body down, their
lips pressing together. It couldn't even really be called a kiss, but
when it broke, Lina could feel heat flooding her face. Usagi, on the
other hand, only looked embarrassed. "Gomen ne, Lina," she whispered.
"For what?"
Big, blue eyes blinked in apparent disbelief. "You... didn't... you
don't mind?"
"Why should I mind?" She lightly brushed their lips together again.
"I never said I didn't like it, did I?"
She smiled, and Lina felt herself responding in kind. "That's good to
know. Well then, I guess I'd better get it right this time then."
Lina's eyes slipped shut as Usagi really kissed her this time. She was
aware of the other girl's hands skimming up her body and unhooking her
cape, tossing it to the edge of the blanket, then moving slowly back
down to the small of her back. Despite the layer of cloth between
their skins, the warmth she could feel from Usagi sent delightful
tingles along every nerve in her body.
Below her, Usagi shivered, never breaking the kiss though. Maybe this
is affecting her as much as it is me, Lina thought to herself for a
split second -
- then Usagi vanished. And Lina found herself dropping a few inches
and her nose colliding with an old blanket and the hard wood floor
beneath it..
"Kuso..." she muttered to herself.
****************
"Kuso!" Usagi screamed her frustration. Of all the times for her
energy to run low... why did it have to be right then? She screamed
her indignation to anyone who could hear it.
"Difficulties?" the demon who had once been her boyfriend purred.
"Leave me alone!" she returned harshly.
"Tell me: is this more difficult than it was with Haruka?"
For a moment, she paused, trying to puzzle out what he meant. She was
still having difficulties remembering the past. Then it came to her.
"Yes, much more." She smiled faintly at the returning memories. "After
all, I'd known Ruka-chan for years and we were both Sailor Senshi?"
"Would you like it if the two of you were together forever?"
Suspicion ran through her like a bullet. "What are you saying?"
It shrugged. "Nothing important. Do you think you and the redhead have
a chance in Hades?"
She sat down on the floor, apparently putting some serious thought
into this. "I... don't know. She's this powerful, charismatic..."
"Completely mortal sorceress."
"And I'm..."
"A incorporeal, house-locked corpse."
She scowled. "You needn't put it quite that way. I'll find a way to
make it work somehow. Does that answer your question?"
It shook its head resignedly, making rather obvious tsking noises, a
habit he'd picked up in America. "Yet another tragic love affair for
you, ne?"
"Oh shut up."
He stood and stepped away from her. "Maybe I'll arrange it so that you
two can be together the only way possible now: in death." It vanished.
"Matte!" she called, even reaching out a hand after it. "Please...
don't hurt Lina!"
****************
Okay, I know I'm bad leaving off like that, but there is a little
magic something that will make the next part come out quicker:
REVIEWS, people!!!!!!!
^_~ Review and you'll get more. That's the deal.