Chapter 3 - Haunted Pasts
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Usagi -yes it was back to being Usagi- let her eyelids clamp shut momentarily and sighed softly as the wind blew sweetly upon her face. Cherry blossom petals drifted gently down in the air surrounding her. Slowly, one by one, she pulled the pins out of her hair and let it cascade down her back to the ground.
Though her hair was long it never touched the round as the wind lifted it up, curled it, blew at it, and played with it. She turned and looked upon the Cherry Hill Temple, Rei's temple, she closed her eyes and remembered. She let herself have this small privilege for the small while she would be here in Japan, to honor her friends' memories.
She could hear Meiran and Midii in the background laughing and enjoying themselves in the shrine grounds. But as memories resurfaced, their laughs and giggles faded until they were nothing, and the memories were everything.
***Flashbacks***
" Odango Atama!!" Rei shouted as she bounded into view. " Do you know how LATE you are? 60 minutes!!" she pointed to her watch, " one HOUR!"
Usagi cringed, " Sumansan! I forgot about the meeting totally!"
Luna on her shoulder grumbled, " Why do I always have to be the one to remind of these things?"
Usagi looked sheepish as Rei and Luna sighed in exasperation.
" Why don't we start the meeting now?" Ami said cheerfully smiling at Usagi and Luna.
" Yeah!" Makoto said and fished out a small bag from behind her, " I made chocolate cookies!"
" Yum!" Usagi and Minako said clapping their hands.
" Mou!" Minako said as she swept the leaves on the ground floor, " How much more do we have to do?"
" This is the last spot." Rei said.
" YEAH!!" Usagi shouted. " Now I can get something to eat!"
"Don't you think of anything else except food Usagi no baka?" Chibiusa lectured her.
She stuck her tongue out at her and Chibiusa did the same back to her. The others too tired to even try to stop the fight, let them continue.
" Look guys!" Minako said as she looked down at the exhausted Usagi who had spirals for eyes, " She's finally here!"
" I can see that." Artemis said wearily, " but is she conscious to participate?"
Ami tentively reached out and poked Usagi in the ribs, whom instantly turn over giggling. The other girls giggled a bit them selves when Usagi stilled didn't wake up.
" WAKE UP ODNAGO ATAMA!" Rei screamed into her ea.
" AHHHH!!!" Usagi jump up in fright, " YOUMA!"
Minako and Makoto bursted out laughing while Luna, Artemis and Ami hid their giggles behind hands and paws.
" WHAT?" Rei screeched indignant. " I'm not a youma you meatball head!"
" Rei! You're so mean!!" and that ensure the waterworks to start.
***End of Flashbacks***
She felt a hand land on her shoulder and turned to see Meiran with a concerned gaze. She gave her a small smile to reassure her that she was okay. Her eyes drifted past Meiran's shoulder and landed on the shrine steps. And the memories took over.
***Flashbacks***
Usagi closed the red car door shut and turned around to face Haruka and Michiru.
" Thanks for giving me a lift guys!"
" No problem." Haruka said dismissively, " It was our pleasure Koneko."
" Besides," Michiru added, " we wanted to talk to you."
" What about?" Usagi asked tilting her head.
" It's nothing really," Haruka said as she pulled some papers out of the hand compartment, " WE just wanted you guys to come to our concert next week."
" Really?" Usagi asked with shining eyes as she was handed the tickets.
Michiru and Haruka laughed.
" Really. Oh! Now we have to get back to practice, see you at the concert Koneko!" Haruka called out as she ripped out onto the street.
She waved and watched them until the car pulled out of view, and then she merrily skipped up the steps.
Usagi and Hotura walked toward the shrine steps happily eating their ice creams. As they arrive though, Usagi being Usagi, tripped on a pebble and her ice cream went flying into the air.
" My-my-My ice cream!!" two trails of tears flowed down her cheeks.
Setsuna and Hotura giggled at her.
" Don't worry, I buy you another next time okay?" Setsuna said smiling.
" Really? Yeah!" Usagi said instantly happy.
Hotura laughed and finished what was left of her one scoop waffle cone as Usagi get back on her feet and brushed herself off.
" Oh no!" Usagi cried as she checked her watch. " We're late! Rei is going to kill me!"
The next thing Hotura knew, Usagi was flying up the stair pulling her along.
" Bye Setsuna-mama! We'll be done in two hours!" she screamed down the steps to a sweatdropping Setsuna.
Setsuna gave a small wave, letting her know she heard. Then she turned around and crossed the street before she was late for her appointment as well.
***End of Flashbacks***
" Serenity?"
Usagi snapped out of her trance and looked now to Midii and Meiran who both had concerned looks.
" I'm alright." She said, " I was just…remembering."
Her tone was wistful and sad; Midii and Meiran gave looks of understanding and looked over to the steps as well. They understood what it was like; the past weren't easy going back to. To see all that you have lost, all that you want, all that you had, all that you could never have again.
It was like an alarm clock waking you up, like a slap in the face, telling you this is what you had, what you didn't cherish at the time and will now; never get to the chance to now. It was cruel, you can't change time but time has stolen from you.
Usagi closed her eyes in a last moment of indulgence then opened them to face the world. She looked down at the pins in her hand and slowly, one by one, put them back in place, locking her blonde silver streaked hair in an odango shape.
When Catherine had found her it had been silver-no not silver, her hair had never been silver. Just white, a white so pure that it shone silver, she had also had them in heart shaped odangos. Her hair had been the silvery white because of the power she had called upon to fly herself to the colonies.
She had kept herself powered up until she had joined 'Tenshi Kigo' which meant Demoness Angel. (Remember, Japanese and English are flipped around.) Then she had powered down and her hair became golden once again and had white silvery streaks. Her eyes were now a deep ocean blue tinted with silver. You could see that they were full of life, knowledge, maturity, responsibility, confidence, reliability.
Full of pain.
Full of shadows.
They say you learn from your mistakes, and she learned alright. She had finally learned to grow up but to learn that she had had to make the biggest mistake of her life. She had lost everything in that one move. She had never made another mistake like that since.
' If at first you don't succeed, try and try again.' She use to hear people say this to her a lot when she didn't win when she was a child. Expect that she couldn't, she could not try again, they were gone, all gone.
No one to bake home made cookies for her from Makoto, no more study groups at the shrine with Ami, no more guy sighting with Minako, no more lecturing from Rei, no more concerts and races of Haruka's and Michiru's, no more clouded clues from Hotaru and Setsuna and absolutely no one was left to call her that dreaded name of-
" Odango Atama!"
Serenity whipped around at the familiar voice.
There, that long black hair.
Those mysterious violet eyes.
That familiar red and white priestess grab.
Her heart stopped.
Rei.
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Himiko: Damn! Somebody hid that switch from me! *looks at readers* REEVIIEEEWW!!! *blink* NOOO!!! FLAME FLAME!!! *looks at empty room* *sweatdrop* *mutters: Damn reflex.*