So all the major work happens to fall during
this time of the year…well, there's bad news and
there's more bad news:
1. well, just think, WORK!
2. can't write for the deadline…and besides,
they squeeze out all the creative juices in
you so that you have nothing to draw from—
well, not that I…umm…nevermind…
Anyway, I guess the good news is that at least
this is out! *yay!*
Anyway, the customary note before we begin:
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko
Takeuchi. I don't own it.
Plus, the title makes no sense to me…it was just
a spur of the moment thing. I'm usually
terrible with titles, so please, bear with me
here. (Although this one has another meaning…)
Chapter 4: Velvet and Silk
Usagi brushed away velvety wisps of golden
hair. She was in pain—great pain. Where was
she? Her eyes widened in panic. Ami! Was her
friend *gulp* alive? Her body felt extremely
heavy and getting up was a major chore.
Managing to raise herself a little, she caught
a glimpse of her surroundings.
"This is…Rei's place?" She wondered
aloud, trying to figure out how she came to be
where she was now. Her bandaged arms finally
gave way beneath her and lost the strength to
brace up her lithe figure. She slumped down
into jumbo, white-linen pillows and exhaled.
"Ow…" She muttered.
In the distance, the soft sound of
footsteps trailed toward her direction. The
systematic sound of what sounded like typical
wooden shoes on a bamboo covered floor sounded
much like a metronome. Oddly, Usagi was
comforted by that methodical sound. As the
footsteps grew louder and finally came to a
halt, the wooden screen door slid open and
revealed the priestess of Hikawa shrine.
"Good morning Usagi," Rei began. Usagi
raised an eyebrow. This was the first time that
Rei had been civil to her in the morning. Well,
then again, she was in bed, covered from head to
foot with heavy blankets. Usagi tried to look
over the mountain of pillows that blocked her
from seeing Rei.
"Rei?" Usagi began weakly, yet again,
trying to hoist herself up from the heavy load
of comforters upon her. She inadvertently
placed too much pressure than she should have on
her right side. Pain tore at her side and she
bit the inside of her cheek, drawing blood.
Two hands came to support her on her
shoulders. Usagi leaned against them as pillows
were quickly stacked behind her. She leaned
down with a sigh, still tasting the blood in her
mouth.
"Rei? How long have I been here?" Usagi
managed weakly. She lifted a heavily bandaged
hand at her throbbing forehead. Rubbing it
gingerly, she took a quick peak at the rest of
her. She gasped as she noticed that she was
covered with bandages at the shoulders, waist
and one of her legs and ankles. However, they
were of fresh linen and someone had changed them
earlier.
"About three days," Rei answered straight-
forwardly. She could be crystal clear when she
wanted to be sometimes. She proceeded to raise
the blankets to Usagi's shoulders.
"Wait! Aren't my parents going to wonder
where I've been these last few days?" Usagi's
eyes widened abruptly and anxiety began to creep
into her voice.
"Well, we took care of it," Rei said
patiently, as if consoling a young child.
"What did you do?" Usagi asked curiously,
as she peered at Rei from behind the blankets.
She was almost afraid to ask this question.
Rei paused. "We told them the same
thing, as usual."
Usagi lifted a quizzical eyebrow. "And
what was that?"
"That Ami was tutoring you and you
decided to stay there for awhile."
Usagi managed to stifle a laugh. "I think
that excuse has worn out, Rei."
"Well, it was the only thing we could
think of at the time," Rei replied candidly.
Suddenly, Usagi gasped as realization
dawned upon her. "Ami! Where's Ami! Is she
okay? Is she *alive*? Ami!" She searched the
room with her eyes, trying to hoist herself up
again. However, her wounds prevented her from
rising.
"Shh... Usagi-chan!" Rei said soothingly,
yet firmly. However, Usagi still continued on
with her frantic speech.
"Ami! We've got to save her!" Usagi
cried again. Rei held the frantic Usagi down.
"Usagi! Calm down!" Rei scolded. She
didn't know how Usagi managed to muster all this
strength when she was bound with bandaged from
head to foot.
"Rei, don't you understand? Ami is in
trouble!" Usagi wailed, before slumping into
the pillows again. The exertion of trying to
rise from the bed had exhausted her.
"Usagi!" Rei said firmly, meeting Usagi's
teary sapphire eyes with her violet depths.
Usagi immediately stopped wailing and was
reduced to a few inconsistent sniffles and
hiccups.
"Ami is fine," Rei began. "She was hurt,
but Mako-chan and I took care of it. She went
home yesterday."
Usagi listened to Rei's words absently.
She blinked. "You mean Ami's okay?" Her eyes
began grow teary again.
"Isn't that what I just said?" Rei
snapped impatiently. She sighed theatrically.
"What am I going to do with you Odango Atama?
Now don't go crying all over me," Rei said
sharply. "You know that you'll wet all the
pillows with buckets of salt water!"
"Yay! Ami's okay!" Usagi cried, wiping
away the moisture that was gathering up in her
eyes. However, she slumped back into her bed,
writhing in pain.
"Take it easy, Usagi-chan. You're going
to hurt yourself more than that shadow did."
Usagi winced, "Shadow? Was it destroyed?"
"Mako-chan, Minako and I caught the
distress call that Ami sent and I we well, you
can guess what we did…" Rei said impishly,
motioning the same action she would as if she
were performing her fire soul attack.
A picture began to form in Usagi's mind.
A little fiery looking Rei would burn the poor
monster to a crisp. Then Mako-chan would come
along with her lightening bolts and fry the
monster some more. Minako would hold it
immobile with her chain of hearts while Mako-
chan would happily pound the monster to a pulp
with a giant mallet.
Usagi sweatdropped and stifled a giggle.
She knew what Rei and Makoto were capable of
when they were irate.
"Umm…Rei, can I ask you something?" Usagi
questioned in a cautious, small voice.
"Yes, Usagi-chan?"
"Did you see anyone in a black and red
cape throwing roses?"
"Throwing roses?" Suddenly, the idea
dawned upon Rei and her face lit up with
comprehension. "You mean *him*? No, I don't
think so… He's that dreamy
guy in the tuxedo with the most gorgeous—"
*whack* "What was that for?" Rei asked
irritably, rubbing the back of her head.
Usagi stood, poised on her bed, holding
one of those jumbo pillows. A barricade of
pillows surrounded her as if she were behind a
fortress.
"You're not allowed to like him!" Usagi
bellowed, holding the pillow threateningly over
Rei's head. Rei sweatdropped as her forehead
turned blue and ingrained with thin creases.
She stared at Usagi with button black eyes.
"What do you mean by that?!" Rei's voice
grew several tones higher.
Not long after that, the sound of two
teenagers squabbling invaded the peacefulness of
the shrine. If one listened close enough,
they'd be able to hear Rei grinding her teeth in
frustration and Usagi sticking out her tongue in
pure stubbornness.
***
A certain young, blond girl wearing a
Juuban High School uniform happily holding an
ice cream cone. Melting ice cream dribbled down
her chin. Nevertheless, she continued eating
the sweet treat, regardless of how messy she got
in the process.
Usagi had recovered fully and was allowed
out of the Hikawa shrine borders when Rei had
seen her fit to fend for herself.
She was on her way to the observatory, to
meet that mystery man she bumped into a few
weeks ago. Raising an arm, she wiped her chin
with her sleeve.
Usagi trekked up the steep grass covered
hill. When she had reached the top, she leaned
upon the doors, taking deep gulps of air to
replenish her neglected lungs.
"Didn't…think…that…it'd…be…that bad,"
Usagi managed to utter before collapsing on the
ground. She stayed in that kneeling-sitting
position until the door before her opened and a
blond head popped out.
"Hello!" The person said cheerfully, "I
didn't think you were coming."
Usagi recognized him. He had been the
person she had met earlier. He stretched out an
arm in assistance. Slowly, and cautiously,
Usagi reached for that outstretched hand and
hoisted herself up from the ground.
"Come in," he said, leading her into the
observatory.
"What do you do here? Man the doors?"
Usagi asked, giggling. Gyokuren smiled.
Quietly, the two made their way into his
dark study room. Charts covered the walls in a
patchwork quilt pattern, each scribbled in a
writing so illegible that it seemed to be in
another language. Observation reports were
strewn across his large desk. A computer was
flickering among those papers, the keyboard
barely surfacing from all the rummage.
Gyokuren led her to his computer screen
and proceeded to type in a number of passwords,
after his long quest for his computer mouse.
The images that showed up on the screen were
reflected back from the glasses that he'd just
slipped on prior to Usagi's arrival.
He paused the screen and moved slightly to
the side for the confused Usagi to inspect. She
gasped.
"What is that?" Usagi squinted at the
picture on the screen. The resolution on
Gyokuren's monitor was superb, almost
experimental. However, his position in the
observatory allowed him access to exceptional
equipment. The pictures that showed up on the
screen were almost lifelike.
"It's a cluster of stars. Another galaxy.
Out of all the one's we've discovered, I think
this one is the most interesting…" Gyokuren
said with a softness about his eyes that only
Usagi could notice. She brushed away a curly
lock of blond hair that was obstructing her view
of the computer screen. There, stars swirled
into a tiny pinnacle where they became denser
and tinier. Somehow, this picture seemed very
familiar to her. For some reason, she had the
distinct feeling that she had been there before.
She shook her head in disbelief. No, she had
never been there before, she couldn't have.
Gyokuren almost looked at the swirling
stars longingly, as if entranced by the view of
the little dots of light. On one end of the
galaxy, he could see a tiny dot that went
unnoticed by everyone, save him and the
professor. Even on a computer screen, a
generated image of the actual thing, he could
see a tiny viridian green dot. He turned to
Usagi, and was entranced by her innocent
childlike curiosity.
After a few long moments, Usagi caught
Gyokuren's gaze. Something felt odd about that
gaze, that same familiar feeling that she had
when she'd first caught a glimpse of the galaxy
on the computer screen.
"This is from a satellite revolving around
the world. Well, you could see it with a really
good telescope on a clear night, but the
satellite tends to get clearer images."
Gyokuren paused to rummage in his shirt pocket.
"Oh, incidentally, I found this after our first
meeting." He pulled out something flat and
folded from his shirt pocket and set it on the
palm of his hand. There, sat the paper crane
that Usagi had folded when she was at the
library with Ami.
"How did you get this?" Usagi asked
timidly, taking a hold of the crane. She gently
lifted up the object as if a breeze would lift
up a small, velvety flower petal.
Gyokuren shrugged, "Well, you left pretty
abruptly and I found it so I figured you might
want it back. It could've meant something to
you and I wouldn't have wanted you to lose it if
it did. I had the opportunity to give it back
to you, so I did." He smiled handsomely, taking
off the professional-looking glasses.
"You kept something like that just for
me?" Her voice coming out in a tiny squeak.
Gyokuren nodded, and those silky blond
locks of his fell in front of his gray-blue
depths, obstructing his view of the bewildered
girl before him.
Usagi gasped. This was the first person
that had been this considerate of her. This was
how she would've wanted to be treated by Mamoru,
yet, she had received the kind treatment, yet,
it wasn't from him. For the first time in
weeks, Usagi didn't cry at the sound of Mamoru's
name. Even in the darkness, Usagi could feel
her cheeks go rosy.
"Oh, I have something for you. I thought
that you might like these. I happened to
stumble by them earlier today." Gyokuren
reached behind a giant mass of reports and
pulled out a bunch of flowers from a glass
bottle. He shook out the water from the bottom
of the stems.
"Oh, by the way, my name is Gyokuren," he
said, outstretching his arm to hand her the
small bouquet.
"Flowers? You shouldn't have," Usagi
began, graciously accepting the bouquet from
him. It was rather small, but very meaningful
in respect to her views. Looking more
carefully, she noticed another aspect about the
flowers; they were violets. "Pleased to meet
your acquaintance, Gyokuren-san." She inclined
her head and curtseyed just for added measure
and class. "I'm Usagi."
***
Mamoru sighed. At last, that dreaded
final project was done and over with. He
recalled all those late nights and long hours
typing away at his computer, staring into the
flickering bright screen with tired, red eyes.
Picking up his heavy textbooks, he left the
Takumashii University grounds and headed
straight for his apartment. Thoughts of rest
and an endless supply of Ramen noodles clouded
his senses. However, even in his daydreaming,
the mysterious sound of humming filled the air.
Gradually, the sweet sound of singing
interrupted his daydreaming and he shook his
head to clear his obscured senses. Turning, he
spotted a cheerful odango atama walking across
the street, in the opposite direction. Quickly,
he ran across the street to talk to her.
He had no idea what had compelled him to
dodge lightning fast cars during rush hour just
to talk to Usagi.
He finally reached the opposite side of
street and staggered haggardly toward a light
post to regain his wits and breath. Usagi's
melodic humming continued, overwhelming his
thoughts.
"Usagi!" Mamoru called, catching up to
her.
Usagi, humming and oblivious to everything
around her, was stroking a thin, silken violet
petal from her bouquet. Only when Mamoru placed
a palm on her shoulder did she notice that he
was trying to get her attention.
"Huh?" Usagi turned, her humming abruptly
interrupted. Her crystal sapphire eyes met those
of Mamoru's.
"What is it, Mamoru-san?" She asked
quietly, still fiddling with the violets in her
hands.
"I just thought I'd say hi," Mamoru began
lamely, casually leaning on a lamppost,
thrusting his hands into his pockets. "Haven't
talked to you in a while, Odango Atama." He
stood there, waiting for Usagi to give him the
usual high-pitched lecture and scowl, instead,
she answered simply, yet distantly.
"We've been busy," Usagi replied
indifferently. Mamoru raised a quizzical
eyebrow. This was not the Usagi he knew.
"Oh, with what?"
"Things, Mamoru. Nothing of your
concern." Usagi said coldly. Somehow, the
violets she was holding gave her an odd sort of
comfort that she needed at this time.
This drew a surprise from Mamoru. This
was definitely *not* the Usagi he knew. She
would be raving at him by now for calling her
odango atama and for prying into her business.
His stormy blue eyes caught sight of the
little purple blossoms that she grasped in her
tiny hands.
"Violets, Usagi? I didn't think you were
the type to like those," Mamoru commented
casually, reaching forward to inspect the
delicate flowers. As if by instinct, Usagi,
snatched away the violet bouquet and held it
closer to her chest. She left Mamoru standing
there, completely puzzled by her odd behavior.
"Are you okay, Usagi?" Mamoru asked
concerned, placing the back of his hand on her
forehead. However, she batted his hand away
emotionlessly, and stepped backwards, away from
him.
"My welfare is no longer any of your
business. If you don't mind, Chiba-san, I must
take my leave. Goodbye." Her voice held a
certain chill. Her watery blue eyes that used
to mirror all the good in the world had suddenly
turned into crystalline ice. Usagi turned her
heel and stalked away coldly.
"What did I do?" Mamoru questioned
himself. He shrugged and conveniently bumped
into his girlfriend, Ryoko.
This blond, he figured, rained sunshine
upon him while the other threw icy daggers to
him by just merely looking at him. Ryoko's
voice held a certain tune about it that lulled
him. In contrast, Usagi's voice held a certain
iciness that sent chills up his spine through a
mere whisper. He couldn't believe that it was
ever possible for Usagi to hold that kind of
spite within her, let alone the air of coldness
about her. Turning to Ryoko, he smiled.
"What's the matter, my prince?" Ryoko
asked sweetly, absolutely radiating with warmth
and happiness.
"Nothing, princess, nothing," Mamoru
answered, reaching to caress her face. In
response, she nuzzled the hand lovingly.
"Are you sure?" She asked, contentedly,
worry clouded in her chocolate brown eyes.
Mamoru gathered her up in his arms.
"Nothing, sweet. It's nothing."
***
Mamoru sat down contentedly, a mug of
fresh tea warming his hands. He had spent the
rest of his afternoon with Ryoko, again. Those
afternoons often times left him cheerful and
happy. The warmth that Ryoko carried around
with her seemed to spread to other bystanders,
namely him. Another happy afternoon with Ryoko.
He could never get enough of them. He had
already made dinner plans for them tomorrow at a
restaurant that served the finest desserts in
the district.
He changed and trudged on to his bed,
avoiding hitting his night table in the dark.
After pulling the clean linen sheets and
blankets to his shoulders, he drifted off into a
deep slumber.
Once again, he dreamt.
Beyond in the hazy mists, was a tall
palace. Silver engraving lined the walls and
reflected off the luminescence naturally
emitting from the ground.
He was once again, Tuxedo Kamen. In his
hand, he clutched a single rose, free of any
thorns. As if by instinct, he gazed upwards and
spotted the balcony that he'd seen so many times
within this dream. In fact, it had been a while
since he last dreamed this dream and found
himself in this particular place. He knew that
he'd seen his 'princess' again and she would
finally reveal herself. Although, he knew who
it would be. It would be none other than Ryoko,
the girl he was so fond of.
He spotted a lithe figure above, features
obscured by the mists. As he approached nearer
to the balcony, her figure became clearer.
Although, there was something about this meeting
that different from all the rest. His princess
said nothing, instead, the sound of soft
waltzing music played softly in the background.
The tune sounded familiar, however, he couldn't
quite fully recognize it. He looked upon these
changes as good ones and called out to his
princess standing in the balcony.
"Princess!" He cried, articulating his
voice clearly. "Tell me who you are!" The
question came naturally to him, since he had
asked her that same question many, many times.
He expected to see Ryoko to reveal herself and
smile down upon him, however, this theory was
dismissed. Instead of seeing Ryoko's shining
face and outstretched arms, the princess above
said nothing. Instead, she remained silent
until he prompted her again.
"Tell me who you are!" Tuxedo Kamen cried
again, hoping to see Ryoko's face.
"You left me," The princess above said
quietly, her voice empty. It was barely a
whisper. The music faded away. "You left me,"
she repeated, more firmly.
Tuxedo Kamen was puzzled by this reply.
He stood where he was, not daring to move.
"I loved you!" The voice cried, choking
up with tears. "You left me!" The voice was
now filled more with despair and sadness than
accusation. In fact, throughout this entire
ordeal, the princess had not expressed any anger
at all.
"No! I didn't! Tell me who you are!"
Tuxedo Kamen tried to dismiss her painful cries,
trying his best to comfort her with the
knowledge that he hadn't left her. However, he
couldn't understand why she would act this way.
He found her, didn't he? And Ryoko loved him.
The figure above gave one last desperate
cry before she was engulfed in the thick fog.
"I *LOVED* you! And you *LEFT ME*!" She
gave one last cry, filled with all the despair
and pain she held in her heart.
The sound of her pain tore at Tuxedo
Kamen's heart. He reached for the obscuring
figure once more with an outstretched arm.
"NOOOOO!!!!!" He yelled to her. His thin
white mask fell to the ground, revealing two
stormy blue eyes with tears of desperation
cornering in the deep depths.
But his cry was useless, as it echoed into
the mists. He fell to his knees, sobbing like a
small child, filled with despair and
hopelessness. He watched through blurry eyes as
the palace, the balcony and the figure
disappeared in the shrouding, dark mists.
***
How was it? Gomen ne, for not updating! Well,
at least I sent in a double installment! This
was my attempt at drama…did it work?
Well, you can send me all your comments to:
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com
btw, I set up an updates list a while back;
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mizuno_updates
Ja!
-mizu
this time of the year…well, there's bad news and
there's more bad news:
1. well, just think, WORK!
2. can't write for the deadline…and besides,
they squeeze out all the creative juices in
you so that you have nothing to draw from—
well, not that I…umm…nevermind…
Anyway, I guess the good news is that at least
this is out! *yay!*
Anyway, the customary note before we begin:
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko
Takeuchi. I don't own it.
Plus, the title makes no sense to me…it was just
a spur of the moment thing. I'm usually
terrible with titles, so please, bear with me
here. (Although this one has another meaning…)
Chapter 4: Velvet and Silk
Usagi brushed away velvety wisps of golden
hair. She was in pain—great pain. Where was
she? Her eyes widened in panic. Ami! Was her
friend *gulp* alive? Her body felt extremely
heavy and getting up was a major chore.
Managing to raise herself a little, she caught
a glimpse of her surroundings.
"This is…Rei's place?" She wondered
aloud, trying to figure out how she came to be
where she was now. Her bandaged arms finally
gave way beneath her and lost the strength to
brace up her lithe figure. She slumped down
into jumbo, white-linen pillows and exhaled.
"Ow…" She muttered.
In the distance, the soft sound of
footsteps trailed toward her direction. The
systematic sound of what sounded like typical
wooden shoes on a bamboo covered floor sounded
much like a metronome. Oddly, Usagi was
comforted by that methodical sound. As the
footsteps grew louder and finally came to a
halt, the wooden screen door slid open and
revealed the priestess of Hikawa shrine.
"Good morning Usagi," Rei began. Usagi
raised an eyebrow. This was the first time that
Rei had been civil to her in the morning. Well,
then again, she was in bed, covered from head to
foot with heavy blankets. Usagi tried to look
over the mountain of pillows that blocked her
from seeing Rei.
"Rei?" Usagi began weakly, yet again,
trying to hoist herself up from the heavy load
of comforters upon her. She inadvertently
placed too much pressure than she should have on
her right side. Pain tore at her side and she
bit the inside of her cheek, drawing blood.
Two hands came to support her on her
shoulders. Usagi leaned against them as pillows
were quickly stacked behind her. She leaned
down with a sigh, still tasting the blood in her
mouth.
"Rei? How long have I been here?" Usagi
managed weakly. She lifted a heavily bandaged
hand at her throbbing forehead. Rubbing it
gingerly, she took a quick peak at the rest of
her. She gasped as she noticed that she was
covered with bandages at the shoulders, waist
and one of her legs and ankles. However, they
were of fresh linen and someone had changed them
earlier.
"About three days," Rei answered straight-
forwardly. She could be crystal clear when she
wanted to be sometimes. She proceeded to raise
the blankets to Usagi's shoulders.
"Wait! Aren't my parents going to wonder
where I've been these last few days?" Usagi's
eyes widened abruptly and anxiety began to creep
into her voice.
"Well, we took care of it," Rei said
patiently, as if consoling a young child.
"What did you do?" Usagi asked curiously,
as she peered at Rei from behind the blankets.
She was almost afraid to ask this question.
Rei paused. "We told them the same
thing, as usual."
Usagi lifted a quizzical eyebrow. "And
what was that?"
"That Ami was tutoring you and you
decided to stay there for awhile."
Usagi managed to stifle a laugh. "I think
that excuse has worn out, Rei."
"Well, it was the only thing we could
think of at the time," Rei replied candidly.
Suddenly, Usagi gasped as realization
dawned upon her. "Ami! Where's Ami! Is she
okay? Is she *alive*? Ami!" She searched the
room with her eyes, trying to hoist herself up
again. However, her wounds prevented her from
rising.
"Shh... Usagi-chan!" Rei said soothingly,
yet firmly. However, Usagi still continued on
with her frantic speech.
"Ami! We've got to save her!" Usagi
cried again. Rei held the frantic Usagi down.
"Usagi! Calm down!" Rei scolded. She
didn't know how Usagi managed to muster all this
strength when she was bound with bandaged from
head to foot.
"Rei, don't you understand? Ami is in
trouble!" Usagi wailed, before slumping into
the pillows again. The exertion of trying to
rise from the bed had exhausted her.
"Usagi!" Rei said firmly, meeting Usagi's
teary sapphire eyes with her violet depths.
Usagi immediately stopped wailing and was
reduced to a few inconsistent sniffles and
hiccups.
"Ami is fine," Rei began. "She was hurt,
but Mako-chan and I took care of it. She went
home yesterday."
Usagi listened to Rei's words absently.
She blinked. "You mean Ami's okay?" Her eyes
began grow teary again.
"Isn't that what I just said?" Rei
snapped impatiently. She sighed theatrically.
"What am I going to do with you Odango Atama?
Now don't go crying all over me," Rei said
sharply. "You know that you'll wet all the
pillows with buckets of salt water!"
"Yay! Ami's okay!" Usagi cried, wiping
away the moisture that was gathering up in her
eyes. However, she slumped back into her bed,
writhing in pain.
"Take it easy, Usagi-chan. You're going
to hurt yourself more than that shadow did."
Usagi winced, "Shadow? Was it destroyed?"
"Mako-chan, Minako and I caught the
distress call that Ami sent and I we well, you
can guess what we did…" Rei said impishly,
motioning the same action she would as if she
were performing her fire soul attack.
A picture began to form in Usagi's mind.
A little fiery looking Rei would burn the poor
monster to a crisp. Then Mako-chan would come
along with her lightening bolts and fry the
monster some more. Minako would hold it
immobile with her chain of hearts while Mako-
chan would happily pound the monster to a pulp
with a giant mallet.
Usagi sweatdropped and stifled a giggle.
She knew what Rei and Makoto were capable of
when they were irate.
"Umm…Rei, can I ask you something?" Usagi
questioned in a cautious, small voice.
"Yes, Usagi-chan?"
"Did you see anyone in a black and red
cape throwing roses?"
"Throwing roses?" Suddenly, the idea
dawned upon Rei and her face lit up with
comprehension. "You mean *him*? No, I don't
think so… He's that dreamy
guy in the tuxedo with the most gorgeous—"
*whack* "What was that for?" Rei asked
irritably, rubbing the back of her head.
Usagi stood, poised on her bed, holding
one of those jumbo pillows. A barricade of
pillows surrounded her as if she were behind a
fortress.
"You're not allowed to like him!" Usagi
bellowed, holding the pillow threateningly over
Rei's head. Rei sweatdropped as her forehead
turned blue and ingrained with thin creases.
She stared at Usagi with button black eyes.
"What do you mean by that?!" Rei's voice
grew several tones higher.
Not long after that, the sound of two
teenagers squabbling invaded the peacefulness of
the shrine. If one listened close enough,
they'd be able to hear Rei grinding her teeth in
frustration and Usagi sticking out her tongue in
pure stubbornness.
***
A certain young, blond girl wearing a
Juuban High School uniform happily holding an
ice cream cone. Melting ice cream dribbled down
her chin. Nevertheless, she continued eating
the sweet treat, regardless of how messy she got
in the process.
Usagi had recovered fully and was allowed
out of the Hikawa shrine borders when Rei had
seen her fit to fend for herself.
She was on her way to the observatory, to
meet that mystery man she bumped into a few
weeks ago. Raising an arm, she wiped her chin
with her sleeve.
Usagi trekked up the steep grass covered
hill. When she had reached the top, she leaned
upon the doors, taking deep gulps of air to
replenish her neglected lungs.
"Didn't…think…that…it'd…be…that bad,"
Usagi managed to utter before collapsing on the
ground. She stayed in that kneeling-sitting
position until the door before her opened and a
blond head popped out.
"Hello!" The person said cheerfully, "I
didn't think you were coming."
Usagi recognized him. He had been the
person she had met earlier. He stretched out an
arm in assistance. Slowly, and cautiously,
Usagi reached for that outstretched hand and
hoisted herself up from the ground.
"Come in," he said, leading her into the
observatory.
"What do you do here? Man the doors?"
Usagi asked, giggling. Gyokuren smiled.
Quietly, the two made their way into his
dark study room. Charts covered the walls in a
patchwork quilt pattern, each scribbled in a
writing so illegible that it seemed to be in
another language. Observation reports were
strewn across his large desk. A computer was
flickering among those papers, the keyboard
barely surfacing from all the rummage.
Gyokuren led her to his computer screen
and proceeded to type in a number of passwords,
after his long quest for his computer mouse.
The images that showed up on the screen were
reflected back from the glasses that he'd just
slipped on prior to Usagi's arrival.
He paused the screen and moved slightly to
the side for the confused Usagi to inspect. She
gasped.
"What is that?" Usagi squinted at the
picture on the screen. The resolution on
Gyokuren's monitor was superb, almost
experimental. However, his position in the
observatory allowed him access to exceptional
equipment. The pictures that showed up on the
screen were almost lifelike.
"It's a cluster of stars. Another galaxy.
Out of all the one's we've discovered, I think
this one is the most interesting…" Gyokuren
said with a softness about his eyes that only
Usagi could notice. She brushed away a curly
lock of blond hair that was obstructing her view
of the computer screen. There, stars swirled
into a tiny pinnacle where they became denser
and tinier. Somehow, this picture seemed very
familiar to her. For some reason, she had the
distinct feeling that she had been there before.
She shook her head in disbelief. No, she had
never been there before, she couldn't have.
Gyokuren almost looked at the swirling
stars longingly, as if entranced by the view of
the little dots of light. On one end of the
galaxy, he could see a tiny dot that went
unnoticed by everyone, save him and the
professor. Even on a computer screen, a
generated image of the actual thing, he could
see a tiny viridian green dot. He turned to
Usagi, and was entranced by her innocent
childlike curiosity.
After a few long moments, Usagi caught
Gyokuren's gaze. Something felt odd about that
gaze, that same familiar feeling that she had
when she'd first caught a glimpse of the galaxy
on the computer screen.
"This is from a satellite revolving around
the world. Well, you could see it with a really
good telescope on a clear night, but the
satellite tends to get clearer images."
Gyokuren paused to rummage in his shirt pocket.
"Oh, incidentally, I found this after our first
meeting." He pulled out something flat and
folded from his shirt pocket and set it on the
palm of his hand. There, sat the paper crane
that Usagi had folded when she was at the
library with Ami.
"How did you get this?" Usagi asked
timidly, taking a hold of the crane. She gently
lifted up the object as if a breeze would lift
up a small, velvety flower petal.
Gyokuren shrugged, "Well, you left pretty
abruptly and I found it so I figured you might
want it back. It could've meant something to
you and I wouldn't have wanted you to lose it if
it did. I had the opportunity to give it back
to you, so I did." He smiled handsomely, taking
off the professional-looking glasses.
"You kept something like that just for
me?" Her voice coming out in a tiny squeak.
Gyokuren nodded, and those silky blond
locks of his fell in front of his gray-blue
depths, obstructing his view of the bewildered
girl before him.
Usagi gasped. This was the first person
that had been this considerate of her. This was
how she would've wanted to be treated by Mamoru,
yet, she had received the kind treatment, yet,
it wasn't from him. For the first time in
weeks, Usagi didn't cry at the sound of Mamoru's
name. Even in the darkness, Usagi could feel
her cheeks go rosy.
"Oh, I have something for you. I thought
that you might like these. I happened to
stumble by them earlier today." Gyokuren
reached behind a giant mass of reports and
pulled out a bunch of flowers from a glass
bottle. He shook out the water from the bottom
of the stems.
"Oh, by the way, my name is Gyokuren," he
said, outstretching his arm to hand her the
small bouquet.
"Flowers? You shouldn't have," Usagi
began, graciously accepting the bouquet from
him. It was rather small, but very meaningful
in respect to her views. Looking more
carefully, she noticed another aspect about the
flowers; they were violets. "Pleased to meet
your acquaintance, Gyokuren-san." She inclined
her head and curtseyed just for added measure
and class. "I'm Usagi."
***
Mamoru sighed. At last, that dreaded
final project was done and over with. He
recalled all those late nights and long hours
typing away at his computer, staring into the
flickering bright screen with tired, red eyes.
Picking up his heavy textbooks, he left the
Takumashii University grounds and headed
straight for his apartment. Thoughts of rest
and an endless supply of Ramen noodles clouded
his senses. However, even in his daydreaming,
the mysterious sound of humming filled the air.
Gradually, the sweet sound of singing
interrupted his daydreaming and he shook his
head to clear his obscured senses. Turning, he
spotted a cheerful odango atama walking across
the street, in the opposite direction. Quickly,
he ran across the street to talk to her.
He had no idea what had compelled him to
dodge lightning fast cars during rush hour just
to talk to Usagi.
He finally reached the opposite side of
street and staggered haggardly toward a light
post to regain his wits and breath. Usagi's
melodic humming continued, overwhelming his
thoughts.
"Usagi!" Mamoru called, catching up to
her.
Usagi, humming and oblivious to everything
around her, was stroking a thin, silken violet
petal from her bouquet. Only when Mamoru placed
a palm on her shoulder did she notice that he
was trying to get her attention.
"Huh?" Usagi turned, her humming abruptly
interrupted. Her crystal sapphire eyes met those
of Mamoru's.
"What is it, Mamoru-san?" She asked
quietly, still fiddling with the violets in her
hands.
"I just thought I'd say hi," Mamoru began
lamely, casually leaning on a lamppost,
thrusting his hands into his pockets. "Haven't
talked to you in a while, Odango Atama." He
stood there, waiting for Usagi to give him the
usual high-pitched lecture and scowl, instead,
she answered simply, yet distantly.
"We've been busy," Usagi replied
indifferently. Mamoru raised a quizzical
eyebrow. This was not the Usagi he knew.
"Oh, with what?"
"Things, Mamoru. Nothing of your
concern." Usagi said coldly. Somehow, the
violets she was holding gave her an odd sort of
comfort that she needed at this time.
This drew a surprise from Mamoru. This
was definitely *not* the Usagi he knew. She
would be raving at him by now for calling her
odango atama and for prying into her business.
His stormy blue eyes caught sight of the
little purple blossoms that she grasped in her
tiny hands.
"Violets, Usagi? I didn't think you were
the type to like those," Mamoru commented
casually, reaching forward to inspect the
delicate flowers. As if by instinct, Usagi,
snatched away the violet bouquet and held it
closer to her chest. She left Mamoru standing
there, completely puzzled by her odd behavior.
"Are you okay, Usagi?" Mamoru asked
concerned, placing the back of his hand on her
forehead. However, she batted his hand away
emotionlessly, and stepped backwards, away from
him.
"My welfare is no longer any of your
business. If you don't mind, Chiba-san, I must
take my leave. Goodbye." Her voice held a
certain chill. Her watery blue eyes that used
to mirror all the good in the world had suddenly
turned into crystalline ice. Usagi turned her
heel and stalked away coldly.
"What did I do?" Mamoru questioned
himself. He shrugged and conveniently bumped
into his girlfriend, Ryoko.
This blond, he figured, rained sunshine
upon him while the other threw icy daggers to
him by just merely looking at him. Ryoko's
voice held a certain tune about it that lulled
him. In contrast, Usagi's voice held a certain
iciness that sent chills up his spine through a
mere whisper. He couldn't believe that it was
ever possible for Usagi to hold that kind of
spite within her, let alone the air of coldness
about her. Turning to Ryoko, he smiled.
"What's the matter, my prince?" Ryoko
asked sweetly, absolutely radiating with warmth
and happiness.
"Nothing, princess, nothing," Mamoru
answered, reaching to caress her face. In
response, she nuzzled the hand lovingly.
"Are you sure?" She asked, contentedly,
worry clouded in her chocolate brown eyes.
Mamoru gathered her up in his arms.
"Nothing, sweet. It's nothing."
***
Mamoru sat down contentedly, a mug of
fresh tea warming his hands. He had spent the
rest of his afternoon with Ryoko, again. Those
afternoons often times left him cheerful and
happy. The warmth that Ryoko carried around
with her seemed to spread to other bystanders,
namely him. Another happy afternoon with Ryoko.
He could never get enough of them. He had
already made dinner plans for them tomorrow at a
restaurant that served the finest desserts in
the district.
He changed and trudged on to his bed,
avoiding hitting his night table in the dark.
After pulling the clean linen sheets and
blankets to his shoulders, he drifted off into a
deep slumber.
Once again, he dreamt.
Beyond in the hazy mists, was a tall
palace. Silver engraving lined the walls and
reflected off the luminescence naturally
emitting from the ground.
He was once again, Tuxedo Kamen. In his
hand, he clutched a single rose, free of any
thorns. As if by instinct, he gazed upwards and
spotted the balcony that he'd seen so many times
within this dream. In fact, it had been a while
since he last dreamed this dream and found
himself in this particular place. He knew that
he'd seen his 'princess' again and she would
finally reveal herself. Although, he knew who
it would be. It would be none other than Ryoko,
the girl he was so fond of.
He spotted a lithe figure above, features
obscured by the mists. As he approached nearer
to the balcony, her figure became clearer.
Although, there was something about this meeting
that different from all the rest. His princess
said nothing, instead, the sound of soft
waltzing music played softly in the background.
The tune sounded familiar, however, he couldn't
quite fully recognize it. He looked upon these
changes as good ones and called out to his
princess standing in the balcony.
"Princess!" He cried, articulating his
voice clearly. "Tell me who you are!" The
question came naturally to him, since he had
asked her that same question many, many times.
He expected to see Ryoko to reveal herself and
smile down upon him, however, this theory was
dismissed. Instead of seeing Ryoko's shining
face and outstretched arms, the princess above
said nothing. Instead, she remained silent
until he prompted her again.
"Tell me who you are!" Tuxedo Kamen cried
again, hoping to see Ryoko's face.
"You left me," The princess above said
quietly, her voice empty. It was barely a
whisper. The music faded away. "You left me,"
she repeated, more firmly.
Tuxedo Kamen was puzzled by this reply.
He stood where he was, not daring to move.
"I loved you!" The voice cried, choking
up with tears. "You left me!" The voice was
now filled more with despair and sadness than
accusation. In fact, throughout this entire
ordeal, the princess had not expressed any anger
at all.
"No! I didn't! Tell me who you are!"
Tuxedo Kamen tried to dismiss her painful cries,
trying his best to comfort her with the
knowledge that he hadn't left her. However, he
couldn't understand why she would act this way.
He found her, didn't he? And Ryoko loved him.
The figure above gave one last desperate
cry before she was engulfed in the thick fog.
"I *LOVED* you! And you *LEFT ME*!" She
gave one last cry, filled with all the despair
and pain she held in her heart.
The sound of her pain tore at Tuxedo
Kamen's heart. He reached for the obscuring
figure once more with an outstretched arm.
"NOOOOO!!!!!" He yelled to her. His thin
white mask fell to the ground, revealing two
stormy blue eyes with tears of desperation
cornering in the deep depths.
But his cry was useless, as it echoed into
the mists. He fell to his knees, sobbing like a
small child, filled with despair and
hopelessness. He watched through blurry eyes as
the palace, the balcony and the figure
disappeared in the shrouding, dark mists.
***
How was it? Gomen ne, for not updating! Well,
at least I sent in a double installment! This
was my attempt at drama…did it work?
Well, you can send me all your comments to:
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com
btw, I set up an updates list a while back;
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mizuno_updates
Ja!
-mizu