Huntress
Chapter Two: At the Temple
Rating: PG-13 for language
Explicit material later on??????????
Author's Quick Blurb: I've been on a roll lately.. I haven't worked this hard in months, all in all. And I'm not done yet! Okay, I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing, but this story is mine. Please don't be mad if I'm not the best with the fight scenes.
Jap reference:
Odangoe- dumpling
Atama- head
Gomen nasai- I am sorry
Yogensha- oracle
Chinmoku- silence
Fuu- rainstorm
Saru- monkey
-chan- a suphix used at the end of a name to show affection
Miko- priestess
******************
Usagi walked to Rei's temple. She knew Rei was going to be mad, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't her fault that she'd gotten detention for hitting Ms. Haruna. Well, okay, it was, but she hadn't meant to. But what was done was done, and Usagi had been known to be late before, so it was nothing new.
Usagi saw the temple come into view, and almost dreaded walking in. All the same, Usagi wanted and needed to talk to Rei. These dreams... they were just so intense! And Usagi was beginning to wonder if maybe there was more to it than them just being dreams.
Usagi walked up the Hino shrine steps, and took a deep breath when she was greeted by the same scream as almost every time there was a scout meeting.
"ODANGOE ATAMA!!! You're late again! What is WRONG with you," the violet eyed, raven haired priestess in training demanded.
"Gomen nasai, Rei-chan. I have a good explanation this time, I swear, and I swear to you that after the scout meeting I'll tell you exactly what it is." Rei eyed Usagi suspiciously before nodding and letting her in.
After a few minutes, everyone settled down, and business was under way. Usagi, however, was getting that same drowsy feeling as before, and before she knew it, fell asleep. Her last coherent thought was, Oh my God, when Rei finds out I fell sleep during the scout meeting, she's gonna kill me!
********************
Usagi watched the spherical object fly towards her at an incredible speed. There was no time to dodge it or to teleport out of the way. She had nothing to hit at it besides her dagger and her hand, and if she was correct in assuming what that object was, then she didn't want to touch it and her dagger wouldn't be the correct weapon.
However, if she were to use a sword... Usagi summoned her magic and the chanted out, " Light Blade... ARISE!" Usagi hardly let the familiar blade form in her hand before she attacked at the oncoming sphere with a swipe using the broad side of the blade.
Usagi felt a deep pain in her arm as the blade and heavy ball connected and the metal shook and riveted. And yet, her aim was true, and the ball shot off to the right and hit a large tree at the base of the trunk. It rolled down the bark and sat in the emerald green grass at the base for a long moment.
For the longest moment, nothing happened, and Usagi wondered if maybe that had just been a decoy or a mistake. Then, the ball split open into two perfect halves, and a thick, maroon fog sprung up. Usagi watched as it coiled along the trunk, upwards and around it. A single lark perched on one of the limbs looked down and saw the mist coming strait at it. It opened its wings to fly away, but it was too late. The maroon fog reached out its tendril like fingers and captured the bird. It instantly became almost completely still, except for the beating of its heart.
Just as I thought.... Usagi looked at the bird and the tree, and then returned her attention to the knight.
"Shame on you for trying to pull such a dirty trick. And now look at that poor bird... it will either die from starvation now or be killed by some predator in its helpless state."
Heero growled at her and said, "If you hadn't hit the ball away, it wouldn't have happened!"
Usagi smiled at him and said, "And let it hit me? Honestly, I would have thought you'd have wanted a REAL fight. I guess I was mistaking you."
Usagi grinned at him, and then said in a commanding voice, "Light Blade, DISPERSE!" The blade in her hands shimmered with golden light, and then broke off into thousands of tiny light particles that flew off into every direction imaginable- even through her, leaving a tingling sensation.
Usagi advanced on him. "You seem to be interested in hand-to-hand combat, and since I doubt you can use magic, let's begin this fight and end it here. I'm late as it is, and I intend to be in the next town by this evening." He nodded, and they were about to begin, when suddenly-
**********************
"Odangoe atama, WAKE UP!!! What is your problem, falling asleep during Scout business like this!?"
"Hunnh," Usagi asked groggily as she was stirred from her sleep. She found that she was being shaken awake by a livid looking Rei, and a few people were staring at the two of them worriedly. "Whaah?"
"Oh, so now you finally wake up! Sheesh, I was beginning to think that you were dreaming about sleeping! What a lazy baka you are! Doing this when we need you awake... You're supposed to be responsible, you're our leader," Rei raved in frustration. As she was going on, Makoto nudged her.
"Hey, Usa, are you okay? This is your second time today. I mean, you've always been a sleepy head, but...," Makoto let her sentence hang unfinished, and Usagi could see the evident worry in her eyes.
Usagi sighed and laid her head down on the cold hard table in the room. "I'm sorry, guys. I know it's not very responsible of me to do that when I'm supposed to be paying attention, but I haven't been able to get much sleep lately."
Rei stopped her tirade then, and Usagi had the feeling that for the first time, they were listening to her completely. "It's these dreams I've been having," Usagi explained with a sigh. "They come to me night after night, and I see myself as this strange girl. In the dreams, I'm almost always fighting somebody. I'm some kind of bounty hunter or something, I think, and... well... they're so vivid, I'm beginning to think that they're not just simply dreams anymore."
Silence filled the room and Usagi could feel everyone's eyes studying her. It was finally Rei who broke into the quiet.
"Usagi, are you trying to say that you think that you were some rough-and-tumble outlaw? That's unbelievable."
"Hai. I know," Usagi replied quietly. "But it's too real to be just a dream. I've never seen any of these people before in my life." Usagi paused before continuing. "I can't think of any other logical explanation. I know I've never met the people that I see in my dreams, or heard of those countries. They just are. So... so I think that maybe this is my third life."
Usagi raised her eyes to meet Rei's, and Rei felt a jolt of shock run through her. She'd never seen her best friend's eyes so serious and solemn. And, in that moment, Rei could see something there... something that made Usagi different than the other scouts, not more powerful, but... different. That was all she could figure.
"You're really serious about this, aren't you," she asked, kneeling down in front of her best friend. Despite all of their differences, and Rei's constant berating, they truly were the best of friends.
"Hai, I am. More so about this than anything else."
Rei nodded resolutely, having come to her decision. "Alright. I'm going to need all of you to come into the room of the Great Fire. Usagi, we're going to see if putting you into a trance will work, since you can't talk while you're asleep."
*~*~*~*~*
thirty minutes later...
*~*~*~*~*
Usagi glanced around nervously at everybody. They were all watching her.
"Usagi, listen to me! This is really important if you want to get to the bottom of this," Rei said impatiently. Usagi returned her attention to Rei and then Rei resumed talking. "Listen. When I tell you, you're going to need to stare at the Great Fire. And I don't mean gawk at it, I mean concentrate on it. Empty your head of anything but the flames or it won't work."
Usagi nodded, and then Rei chanted a prayer that Usagi couldn't quite focus on. Before Usagi found herself to be ready, Rei had finished her prayer, and was giving Usagi her signal.
Usagi took a deep breath, and then began to focus on the flames before her, making sure that her mind didn't wander. Slowly but surely, the more she studied the flames and watched it, the more random thoughts emptied out of her head. She found herself finding a pattern in the way the flames danced, and her breathing became slower and in an odd rhythm. Her consciousness slipped away as her eyes clouded over, and she slipped into a semi dreaming state.
********************
Usagi prepared to truly begin their battle when the jewel on her glove flashed. Usagi stopped, and looked at it. It was flashing an icy blue, which meant that she had about an hour to hall her ass back to "Outlaw City," as it was so famously dubbed.
Usagi swore. "Gods damn them, what are they thinking closing the gates so earlier in the year!?"
"What do you mean, closing the gates," demanded Heero, who's eyes were narrowed with suspicion.
Usagi sighed and dropped her fighting stance. "The gates to "Outlaw City," as some of you outsiders have so dubbed it. They close the gates every winter, and we seal ourselves in physically and magically. We don't reopen it until Spring, and anyone that's left outside stays outside."
Heero's eyes narrowed further. "We have a match," he growled.
"Hai, we do. But I'm not going to stay out of that city this year with you people riding practically up my ass, so it'll just have to wait until Spring."
Heero looked furious, and he swore at her. "You're afraid, aren't you," he demanded, a cold fury burning brightly.
"Excuse you?"
"You heard me. You're scared that you're going to lose to me. And you're using the city as an excuse! In fact, I think that you're afraid of all of us, and that's why you ran out of Dajobe."
Usagi snorted in disbelief and amusement. "You really don't get it, do you? You and your little friends have been attacking at me directly for over a year now! It's not just random luck, like it was with your father, or matters of satisfying the thirst of revenge as it was with your brother- you're trying to wipe me out! Like some kind of bug in your crops! It's disgusting, and it's all because your king has something to hide!"
Usagi sneered and advanced on him. Heero suddenly had the feeling that she was a lot more dangerous when angered than he could have ever possibly imagined. Her eyes were flashing and her face was pale. Her fists were balled with fury that she took no measures to hide.
"Your king is trying to kill me. And you don't even know why! None of you damned knights know because you're too stupid and too scared to question his authority! You're just little puppets to him, pawns in his chest game! He doesn't care how many of you die in the pursuit to kill me just so long as the job gets done! No bandit ever picks a fight with noble men; we'd rather you just left us the hell alone already! All we want is to serve the justice we feel fit that you people are too cowardly or don't care to fix!"
Usagi stopped now. She calmed down before his eyes, and he felt himself relax as well.
"One piece of parting advice to you, Heero: Think for yourself. You have the right idea trying to help the people of your country, but you may be hurting it more than helping it. See you in Spring," Usagi said with a small wave.
Usagi flipped backward a few feet away, and then announced in a loud, commanding voice,
"Winds of time beyond all speed,
Bring me to where I should need.
Across the distances of this longing,
Bring me to where my heart finds belonging!"
Usagi cupped her hands in front of her, and a green power began to form in her palms. Heero stared in awe as the color washed over everything in the area, letting out a spring green light. He gasped as it split apart into thin ropes that wound itself around Usagi's hands and wrists and coiled to her arms. They then further split to wind down her legs and upwards across and around her chest, neck, and head.
Too late, Heero finally remembered that Usagi was trying to get away. He charged her, sword upraised for a final blow, but the spell completed the moment before her charged through her, and she disappeared unmarred. For a moment, Heero stood in silence, wondering what he was going to tell the king.
Heero walked out of the forest, cursing his luck. He saw a large crowd gathered in front of Edgar's shack as he passed by, practically breaking down the door by their shouts alone. He considered going to help the man for a moment, and then decided against it. Death was often the price the greedy paid. It was no matter of his.
Heero walked down the old dusty dirt road to the outskirts of town. From there, he mounted his horse, and headed back the way they had come- out of Yahope and back to Dajobe empty handed.
**********************
Rei had heard Usagi utter out the whole story to them in third person so far in an impassive voice that didn't sound like her own. It was really creepy, and now she was trying to wake her up- only, she was finding that she couldn't.
"Mako-chan, get me a bucket of water," she called up as she shook Usagi. Usagi didn't respond to Rei's calls and teases or shaking, and instead went on talking, telling the story. Makoto headed back with a bucket of cold water, and Rei splashed it over Usagi. Still she didn't come out of her trance, and kept rambling on.
"Get me another one," Rei said.
"But we just tried it, and she didn't respond-"
"I'm not going to use it on her, I'm going to try putting out the fire and seeing if she'll snap out of it!"
Makoto rushed off, and came back quickly with the water. Rei doused the fire, but still Usagi didn't come out of it.
"I guess we just have to wait it out," Ami said, who was personally intrigued by Usagi's state and her even more so by her story.
***********************
Usagi reappeared at the gates to the little 'town.' She knew the place well, it was like a home to her. She passed through the gates, unquestioned and untroubled. Once inside, Usagi saw several familiar faces.
"Oi! Usagi-san," cried out the violet haired and maroon eyed girl that Usagi knew as one of her best friends. She was greeted with a hug which she returned.
"Hey there, Yogensha. What's my fortune?"
Yogensha frowned and sniffled. "That's always what you first ask me. Not 'How have you been; I haven't seen you in a year' or 'What's new with you?'
Usagi snorted. "You make it sound like I'm married to you. Now, Yoge-chan, do you have a fortune for me or not?"
Yogensha rolled her eyes and backed a couple paces away from Usagi. She stared at her for a long time, but nothing happened. "Sorry, I'm not getting anything."
"It's okay, you can't control your divinations. Now, how have you been all this time? Did you make a good profit?"
And so they caught up on the year that they had been away from each other. Usagi was about to head to the bar, when Yogensha called out to her. "Hey, Usa. Remember those ten recruits you trained last year? Three of em are back. They survived."
Usagi raised an eyebrow. That was an unusual thing to happen. Most times you had one, maybe two come back the first year. The second was normally seriously injured when he or she would come back, and the next year they normally didn't make it back. If they could make it past the third year, they were considered a baby in the clan. But for three to make it back... they must have listened to her advice well.
Usagi entered the bar, and was greeted by the laughter and shots, smoke and smell of alcohol that she was accustomed to. Usagi grinned when she saw the old bar keeper, Malcolm, cleaning the glasses. She remembered the first time that she'd ever come into this bar, two years after she'd actually begun her training as a bandit hunter.
::Flashback::
A young nine year old girl walked into an over-crowded bar filled with laughing, screaming, fighting people. She ignored anyone who gave her any odd looks, or laughed at her. She was a stone; unbreakable and uncaring. Nobody could get to her.
She walked up to the bar and hoped onto the stool. The bar tender blinked at her and smiled kindly. "I'm sorry, young lady, but we don't serve water or milk here, and we don't give alcohol to minors."
Usagi growled and pulled out a wicked looking dagger. "Get me some beer for your sake, if not mine. I'm in a lot of pain from these two broken ribs of mine, and I'd rather be out of it when they set 'em."
"I'm sorry miss, but-"
Usagi interrupted his sentence by leaning over the counter and grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "I was first introduced to beer and scotch when I was six, mister. I was working with the thieves in the city then, and I still could be, if it was what I wished. I'm not in the mood to play games, and since you seem nice, I'll tell you again: Give me the beer." (Okay. People are probably thinking, "tnn, this is under aged drinking. She's only nine, for gosh sake!" But technically, I don't think that they had drinking ages in the Medieval times and stuff like that, which is basically the time frame that it's set in. Besides, she has two broken ribs and they don't have any anesthetic.)]
The man handed Usagi her beer, and Usagi paid him his money, and they never had an argument about her drinking again.
:: End Flashback::
Usagi smiled at the memory. She had been in a lot of pain then, and that was the only reason that she had gone for the alcohol, not to mention that the doctor in town himself had suggested that she do so. Other than that, she hadn't like alcohol too much. But after she had turned thirteen, it had become tradition to drink a mug of beer when she came into town.
Usagi sat down on a stool, and said, "Hey Malcolm. Get me a beer, will ya?"
Malcolm smiled at her kindly, and poured it for her. Usagi drank a sip of it and smiled. She paid him up front with two silver pieces and one bronze in Dajobe currency. Even though this would be extremely expensive anywhere else, it wasn't expensive for a bandit hunter who made their living off of killing other people who normally had riches on them. Besides, it was how Malcolm made his living, and in the summer months, business was slow.
Usagi began to think about her past and how this had all come to be as she continued to drink her beer. One of her earliest memories- but still the most painful- sprang up and began to play for her to see, hear, feel, and smell again.
::Flashback::
Charred bodies.... that was what the air smelled like. There was fighting all around, everywhere. Bad men were here, and there were too many of them. The village was being burned to the ground, and Usagi could hear the screams of battle and pain all around her echoing in her ears.
Her mother had screamed at her to run into the forest and take the baby with her... so she was running. Running to try and get away. Because she didn't want to see anymore of what was happening to her home.
Usagi was stopped by a man clad in black armor who looked her up and down. He picked her up against her will, and Usagi shrieked at him to let her go while thrashing about. Usagi managed to bite him, and he cried out in pain. He released her from his grip, and Usagi fell to the ground with a painful thud.
Usagi got to her feet and the stranger pulled out a rapier from its sheath, and pointed the tip at her. Usagi shook in fright, and he told her, "Here's something to remember me by," before he cut her face from the bridge of her nose to her chin, racing down her right cheek. Usagi screamed shrilly in pain, and her mother instantly ran to her side.
"Please, let my daughter go. Please." The man laughed cruelly and said, "Fine. Her life in exchange for yours." With that, he shoved his sword strait through her mother's heart, killing her instantly. He pulled his sword out and threw it to the ground.
"Now I've soiled my best sword... oh well, not that it matters. It's only a sword." His black stallion reared, and Usagi watched him race off. Usagi sat down next to her mother's still body in the muddy ground mixed with the blood of her mother and others. She kissed her mother's cheek and made a solemn vow to end the lives of men like the man in black and to avenge her death.
Usagi had then done the only thing that she could do- she ran off into the forest with her baby sister to wait for the men to leave before she came back.
::End Flashback::
Usagi remembered what happened next. She had spent a week in that forest, surviving off of berries and nuts and muddy rain water. Her sister had died the second day she was there from a fever that had plagued her for several weeks before. Still, Usagi couldn't bear to part with her last bit of family. Thus, she'd held onto the baby.
When a group of travelers- a priestess, mage, and swordsman- had arrived to see if the rumors of the town were true, all they had found left were the remains of the town in ashes and a five year old girl who was half starved and clinging to her dead baby sister. They had instantly buried the little baby and checked to see if Usagi had developed any illnesses. She hadn't, which was lucky. But then again, she'd always been the healthiest child in the village.
The group of travelers had taken her in for a year as their own, teaching her several useful things. They had discovered something in the young child- she thirsted knowledge, and craved to learn anything that they could teach her. So she had learned a few simple ways to defend herself with physical attacks and how to hunt from the swordsman, the priestess had taught her some useful simple spells, and the mage had taught her about the plants and animals.
When Usagi was seven, they were in a major city and a riot broke out, in which they were killed. Usagi had grieved for her friends, companion, and family. She had then learned to adjust to city life in a month's time, never forgetting the magic and knowledge bestowed upon her by her friends.
After two months in the city, Usagi was brought in by the thieves of that city, and became one of the youngest members. They taught her more than Usagi could have hoped to learn. They taught her more spells, how to cook, and how to fight like they did in the city. She was given her first real weapon three months later.
On the sixth month, Usagi had the misfortune- or fortune, looking back on it now- to try and rob the great huntress Chinmoku. She had seen her potential and thirst for knowledge, and had brought her out of the city and into the wilderness to learn more than she could have ever wondered. Her skills in hand-fighting were sharpened, she was forced to hunt for her own food two nights a week and constantly be learning more methods to do it by. She was taught about medicines, poisons, more sorcery, and how to use a staff and glaive.
Usagi's deep thoughts on her past were interrupted out of nowhere.
"Hey, snap out of it," cried a girl with long blue hair to her waist that was tied into a braid and darker blue eyes.
Usagi turned around, and laughed. "Ahh, Fuu! It's good to see you," she cried, getting up to hug her best friend.
"Hey, what about me," asked the emerald green haired girl with misty gray eyes with just a hint of blue.
Usagi smiled and hugged her other friend. "I would never forget about you, Saru-chan," Usagi said impishly.
"Grrrr! When are you going to learn that my name is Miko, not Saru!? Why are you always calling me that, anyway?"
"Cuz you remind me of a monkey," Usagi said teasingly as she tweaked Miko's nose.
"Arrgh! You're insufferable," she cried.
Usagi laughed, and smiled. There was a time when I thought that I'd never be able to smile again. But here I am, smiling AND laughing. Usagi looked around the bar and thought to herself, Everyone of us in here has our own sad story to tell. And yet, we're able to go on. Because we're all like one big family; if ever one of us needs the other, we'll be there for them.
"Hey, C'mon, let's go race horses. I wanna see who's got the fastest horse this year," Usagi called, racing out of the bar.
***********************
*~*~*~*~*~
::two weeks later
Khirmone, Dajobe's capitol::
*~*~*~*~*~
"So... you're telling me that you lost her," the king asked Heero, who was kneeling down in his royal throne room in front of him.
"Hai. I'm sorry. Next time I will not lose her."
The king nodded, and took a peach off of the tray that the servant standing beside him offered. "It is all right, m'boy. I'm sure that the reason you didn't get her was because she ran away in fright."
Heero remained kneeling and said nothing dead with his head down. He didn't want to look at the kindly, old king, or Quatre the prince, or Ririna the princess. It was fairly common knowledge that Heero would probably end up marrying Ririna despite the fact that he didn't love her what-so-ever. She doted after him, and whatever the spoiled princess desired, she got.
"I'm sorry. I'm afraid that because I lost her we will be unable to get her until Spring. She used a spell to warp her to the Outlaw City, and since the gates have been closed for some time now, there'll be no way to get her even if I could find it."
The king grinned and stood up. "That is where you are wrong. We know where the Outlaw City is, and we know how to get you in."
Heero's head snapped up, and he could feel a faint ray of hope shining in his heart- maybe he wouldn't have to wait until Spring to get her after all.
"Of course it will be risky... but not impossible. And knowing you, you will probably anticipate the challenge."
"Please... where is it? Tell me how I-"
The king chuckled. "Sir Heero, I do not know how to get in. Actually, we have a man who was a prisoner there and escaped from there in our dungeon. Tomorrow, we will see into getting him to take you to the Outlaw City."
Heero nodded, and took that as his dismissal. As he walked out of the throne room and down the corridor to his own personal quarters, all he thought was, Soon I will have your blood on my sword, Usagi. And then I will have slain one of the greatest bandit hunters of all time.
**************************
Usagi finally came back to the land of the living. She felt wet and cold. What was going on... oh yes. They'd put her into the trance... seemingly it had worked. Usagi turned around to see everyone in the room staring at her in awe and amazement. Usagi was about to ask them if she'd sprouted another head, when she gasped as a rush of memories from a previous life that she was just discovering rushed at her and hit her full force and she passed out.
As Rei dragged Usagi into her bedroom and went to make the phone call to the Tsukino household, all she could think was that either that was the strangest and most vivid dream that there had ever been, or Usagi had really lived that past life, and she was just now remembering it.
*************************************************************************************************
Ack! I'm sooooo tired. It's only one thirty in the morning, but I had to really push myself to finish that. Well, what did you people think? Good, bad? Please review, it lets me know that you people are really interested in this and gives me some feed back on whether you like it or not. Ten reviews this time, cuz I didn't have anyone pre read it.
Chapter Two: At the Temple
Rating: PG-13 for language
Explicit material later on??????????
Author's Quick Blurb: I've been on a roll lately.. I haven't worked this hard in months, all in all. And I'm not done yet! Okay, I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing, but this story is mine. Please don't be mad if I'm not the best with the fight scenes.
Jap reference:
Odangoe- dumpling
Atama- head
Gomen nasai- I am sorry
Yogensha- oracle
Chinmoku- silence
Fuu- rainstorm
Saru- monkey
-chan- a suphix used at the end of a name to show affection
Miko- priestess
******************
Usagi walked to Rei's temple. She knew Rei was going to be mad, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't her fault that she'd gotten detention for hitting Ms. Haruna. Well, okay, it was, but she hadn't meant to. But what was done was done, and Usagi had been known to be late before, so it was nothing new.
Usagi saw the temple come into view, and almost dreaded walking in. All the same, Usagi wanted and needed to talk to Rei. These dreams... they were just so intense! And Usagi was beginning to wonder if maybe there was more to it than them just being dreams.
Usagi walked up the Hino shrine steps, and took a deep breath when she was greeted by the same scream as almost every time there was a scout meeting.
"ODANGOE ATAMA!!! You're late again! What is WRONG with you," the violet eyed, raven haired priestess in training demanded.
"Gomen nasai, Rei-chan. I have a good explanation this time, I swear, and I swear to you that after the scout meeting I'll tell you exactly what it is." Rei eyed Usagi suspiciously before nodding and letting her in.
After a few minutes, everyone settled down, and business was under way. Usagi, however, was getting that same drowsy feeling as before, and before she knew it, fell asleep. Her last coherent thought was, Oh my God, when Rei finds out I fell sleep during the scout meeting, she's gonna kill me!
********************
Usagi watched the spherical object fly towards her at an incredible speed. There was no time to dodge it or to teleport out of the way. She had nothing to hit at it besides her dagger and her hand, and if she was correct in assuming what that object was, then she didn't want to touch it and her dagger wouldn't be the correct weapon.
However, if she were to use a sword... Usagi summoned her magic and the chanted out, " Light Blade... ARISE!" Usagi hardly let the familiar blade form in her hand before she attacked at the oncoming sphere with a swipe using the broad side of the blade.
Usagi felt a deep pain in her arm as the blade and heavy ball connected and the metal shook and riveted. And yet, her aim was true, and the ball shot off to the right and hit a large tree at the base of the trunk. It rolled down the bark and sat in the emerald green grass at the base for a long moment.
For the longest moment, nothing happened, and Usagi wondered if maybe that had just been a decoy or a mistake. Then, the ball split open into two perfect halves, and a thick, maroon fog sprung up. Usagi watched as it coiled along the trunk, upwards and around it. A single lark perched on one of the limbs looked down and saw the mist coming strait at it. It opened its wings to fly away, but it was too late. The maroon fog reached out its tendril like fingers and captured the bird. It instantly became almost completely still, except for the beating of its heart.
Just as I thought.... Usagi looked at the bird and the tree, and then returned her attention to the knight.
"Shame on you for trying to pull such a dirty trick. And now look at that poor bird... it will either die from starvation now or be killed by some predator in its helpless state."
Heero growled at her and said, "If you hadn't hit the ball away, it wouldn't have happened!"
Usagi smiled at him and said, "And let it hit me? Honestly, I would have thought you'd have wanted a REAL fight. I guess I was mistaking you."
Usagi grinned at him, and then said in a commanding voice, "Light Blade, DISPERSE!" The blade in her hands shimmered with golden light, and then broke off into thousands of tiny light particles that flew off into every direction imaginable- even through her, leaving a tingling sensation.
Usagi advanced on him. "You seem to be interested in hand-to-hand combat, and since I doubt you can use magic, let's begin this fight and end it here. I'm late as it is, and I intend to be in the next town by this evening." He nodded, and they were about to begin, when suddenly-
**********************
"Odangoe atama, WAKE UP!!! What is your problem, falling asleep during Scout business like this!?"
"Hunnh," Usagi asked groggily as she was stirred from her sleep. She found that she was being shaken awake by a livid looking Rei, and a few people were staring at the two of them worriedly. "Whaah?"
"Oh, so now you finally wake up! Sheesh, I was beginning to think that you were dreaming about sleeping! What a lazy baka you are! Doing this when we need you awake... You're supposed to be responsible, you're our leader," Rei raved in frustration. As she was going on, Makoto nudged her.
"Hey, Usa, are you okay? This is your second time today. I mean, you've always been a sleepy head, but...," Makoto let her sentence hang unfinished, and Usagi could see the evident worry in her eyes.
Usagi sighed and laid her head down on the cold hard table in the room. "I'm sorry, guys. I know it's not very responsible of me to do that when I'm supposed to be paying attention, but I haven't been able to get much sleep lately."
Rei stopped her tirade then, and Usagi had the feeling that for the first time, they were listening to her completely. "It's these dreams I've been having," Usagi explained with a sigh. "They come to me night after night, and I see myself as this strange girl. In the dreams, I'm almost always fighting somebody. I'm some kind of bounty hunter or something, I think, and... well... they're so vivid, I'm beginning to think that they're not just simply dreams anymore."
Silence filled the room and Usagi could feel everyone's eyes studying her. It was finally Rei who broke into the quiet.
"Usagi, are you trying to say that you think that you were some rough-and-tumble outlaw? That's unbelievable."
"Hai. I know," Usagi replied quietly. "But it's too real to be just a dream. I've never seen any of these people before in my life." Usagi paused before continuing. "I can't think of any other logical explanation. I know I've never met the people that I see in my dreams, or heard of those countries. They just are. So... so I think that maybe this is my third life."
Usagi raised her eyes to meet Rei's, and Rei felt a jolt of shock run through her. She'd never seen her best friend's eyes so serious and solemn. And, in that moment, Rei could see something there... something that made Usagi different than the other scouts, not more powerful, but... different. That was all she could figure.
"You're really serious about this, aren't you," she asked, kneeling down in front of her best friend. Despite all of their differences, and Rei's constant berating, they truly were the best of friends.
"Hai, I am. More so about this than anything else."
Rei nodded resolutely, having come to her decision. "Alright. I'm going to need all of you to come into the room of the Great Fire. Usagi, we're going to see if putting you into a trance will work, since you can't talk while you're asleep."
*~*~*~*~*
thirty minutes later...
*~*~*~*~*
Usagi glanced around nervously at everybody. They were all watching her.
"Usagi, listen to me! This is really important if you want to get to the bottom of this," Rei said impatiently. Usagi returned her attention to Rei and then Rei resumed talking. "Listen. When I tell you, you're going to need to stare at the Great Fire. And I don't mean gawk at it, I mean concentrate on it. Empty your head of anything but the flames or it won't work."
Usagi nodded, and then Rei chanted a prayer that Usagi couldn't quite focus on. Before Usagi found herself to be ready, Rei had finished her prayer, and was giving Usagi her signal.
Usagi took a deep breath, and then began to focus on the flames before her, making sure that her mind didn't wander. Slowly but surely, the more she studied the flames and watched it, the more random thoughts emptied out of her head. She found herself finding a pattern in the way the flames danced, and her breathing became slower and in an odd rhythm. Her consciousness slipped away as her eyes clouded over, and she slipped into a semi dreaming state.
********************
Usagi prepared to truly begin their battle when the jewel on her glove flashed. Usagi stopped, and looked at it. It was flashing an icy blue, which meant that she had about an hour to hall her ass back to "Outlaw City," as it was so famously dubbed.
Usagi swore. "Gods damn them, what are they thinking closing the gates so earlier in the year!?"
"What do you mean, closing the gates," demanded Heero, who's eyes were narrowed with suspicion.
Usagi sighed and dropped her fighting stance. "The gates to "Outlaw City," as some of you outsiders have so dubbed it. They close the gates every winter, and we seal ourselves in physically and magically. We don't reopen it until Spring, and anyone that's left outside stays outside."
Heero's eyes narrowed further. "We have a match," he growled.
"Hai, we do. But I'm not going to stay out of that city this year with you people riding practically up my ass, so it'll just have to wait until Spring."
Heero looked furious, and he swore at her. "You're afraid, aren't you," he demanded, a cold fury burning brightly.
"Excuse you?"
"You heard me. You're scared that you're going to lose to me. And you're using the city as an excuse! In fact, I think that you're afraid of all of us, and that's why you ran out of Dajobe."
Usagi snorted in disbelief and amusement. "You really don't get it, do you? You and your little friends have been attacking at me directly for over a year now! It's not just random luck, like it was with your father, or matters of satisfying the thirst of revenge as it was with your brother- you're trying to wipe me out! Like some kind of bug in your crops! It's disgusting, and it's all because your king has something to hide!"
Usagi sneered and advanced on him. Heero suddenly had the feeling that she was a lot more dangerous when angered than he could have ever possibly imagined. Her eyes were flashing and her face was pale. Her fists were balled with fury that she took no measures to hide.
"Your king is trying to kill me. And you don't even know why! None of you damned knights know because you're too stupid and too scared to question his authority! You're just little puppets to him, pawns in his chest game! He doesn't care how many of you die in the pursuit to kill me just so long as the job gets done! No bandit ever picks a fight with noble men; we'd rather you just left us the hell alone already! All we want is to serve the justice we feel fit that you people are too cowardly or don't care to fix!"
Usagi stopped now. She calmed down before his eyes, and he felt himself relax as well.
"One piece of parting advice to you, Heero: Think for yourself. You have the right idea trying to help the people of your country, but you may be hurting it more than helping it. See you in Spring," Usagi said with a small wave.
Usagi flipped backward a few feet away, and then announced in a loud, commanding voice,
"Winds of time beyond all speed,
Bring me to where I should need.
Across the distances of this longing,
Bring me to where my heart finds belonging!"
Usagi cupped her hands in front of her, and a green power began to form in her palms. Heero stared in awe as the color washed over everything in the area, letting out a spring green light. He gasped as it split apart into thin ropes that wound itself around Usagi's hands and wrists and coiled to her arms. They then further split to wind down her legs and upwards across and around her chest, neck, and head.
Too late, Heero finally remembered that Usagi was trying to get away. He charged her, sword upraised for a final blow, but the spell completed the moment before her charged through her, and she disappeared unmarred. For a moment, Heero stood in silence, wondering what he was going to tell the king.
Heero walked out of the forest, cursing his luck. He saw a large crowd gathered in front of Edgar's shack as he passed by, practically breaking down the door by their shouts alone. He considered going to help the man for a moment, and then decided against it. Death was often the price the greedy paid. It was no matter of his.
Heero walked down the old dusty dirt road to the outskirts of town. From there, he mounted his horse, and headed back the way they had come- out of Yahope and back to Dajobe empty handed.
**********************
Rei had heard Usagi utter out the whole story to them in third person so far in an impassive voice that didn't sound like her own. It was really creepy, and now she was trying to wake her up- only, she was finding that she couldn't.
"Mako-chan, get me a bucket of water," she called up as she shook Usagi. Usagi didn't respond to Rei's calls and teases or shaking, and instead went on talking, telling the story. Makoto headed back with a bucket of cold water, and Rei splashed it over Usagi. Still she didn't come out of her trance, and kept rambling on.
"Get me another one," Rei said.
"But we just tried it, and she didn't respond-"
"I'm not going to use it on her, I'm going to try putting out the fire and seeing if she'll snap out of it!"
Makoto rushed off, and came back quickly with the water. Rei doused the fire, but still Usagi didn't come out of it.
"I guess we just have to wait it out," Ami said, who was personally intrigued by Usagi's state and her even more so by her story.
***********************
Usagi reappeared at the gates to the little 'town.' She knew the place well, it was like a home to her. She passed through the gates, unquestioned and untroubled. Once inside, Usagi saw several familiar faces.
"Oi! Usagi-san," cried out the violet haired and maroon eyed girl that Usagi knew as one of her best friends. She was greeted with a hug which she returned.
"Hey there, Yogensha. What's my fortune?"
Yogensha frowned and sniffled. "That's always what you first ask me. Not 'How have you been; I haven't seen you in a year' or 'What's new with you?'
Usagi snorted. "You make it sound like I'm married to you. Now, Yoge-chan, do you have a fortune for me or not?"
Yogensha rolled her eyes and backed a couple paces away from Usagi. She stared at her for a long time, but nothing happened. "Sorry, I'm not getting anything."
"It's okay, you can't control your divinations. Now, how have you been all this time? Did you make a good profit?"
And so they caught up on the year that they had been away from each other. Usagi was about to head to the bar, when Yogensha called out to her. "Hey, Usa. Remember those ten recruits you trained last year? Three of em are back. They survived."
Usagi raised an eyebrow. That was an unusual thing to happen. Most times you had one, maybe two come back the first year. The second was normally seriously injured when he or she would come back, and the next year they normally didn't make it back. If they could make it past the third year, they were considered a baby in the clan. But for three to make it back... they must have listened to her advice well.
Usagi entered the bar, and was greeted by the laughter and shots, smoke and smell of alcohol that she was accustomed to. Usagi grinned when she saw the old bar keeper, Malcolm, cleaning the glasses. She remembered the first time that she'd ever come into this bar, two years after she'd actually begun her training as a bandit hunter.
::Flashback::
A young nine year old girl walked into an over-crowded bar filled with laughing, screaming, fighting people. She ignored anyone who gave her any odd looks, or laughed at her. She was a stone; unbreakable and uncaring. Nobody could get to her.
She walked up to the bar and hoped onto the stool. The bar tender blinked at her and smiled kindly. "I'm sorry, young lady, but we don't serve water or milk here, and we don't give alcohol to minors."
Usagi growled and pulled out a wicked looking dagger. "Get me some beer for your sake, if not mine. I'm in a lot of pain from these two broken ribs of mine, and I'd rather be out of it when they set 'em."
"I'm sorry miss, but-"
Usagi interrupted his sentence by leaning over the counter and grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "I was first introduced to beer and scotch when I was six, mister. I was working with the thieves in the city then, and I still could be, if it was what I wished. I'm not in the mood to play games, and since you seem nice, I'll tell you again: Give me the beer." (Okay. People are probably thinking, "tnn, this is under aged drinking. She's only nine, for gosh sake!" But technically, I don't think that they had drinking ages in the Medieval times and stuff like that, which is basically the time frame that it's set in. Besides, she has two broken ribs and they don't have any anesthetic.)]
The man handed Usagi her beer, and Usagi paid him his money, and they never had an argument about her drinking again.
:: End Flashback::
Usagi smiled at the memory. She had been in a lot of pain then, and that was the only reason that she had gone for the alcohol, not to mention that the doctor in town himself had suggested that she do so. Other than that, she hadn't like alcohol too much. But after she had turned thirteen, it had become tradition to drink a mug of beer when she came into town.
Usagi sat down on a stool, and said, "Hey Malcolm. Get me a beer, will ya?"
Malcolm smiled at her kindly, and poured it for her. Usagi drank a sip of it and smiled. She paid him up front with two silver pieces and one bronze in Dajobe currency. Even though this would be extremely expensive anywhere else, it wasn't expensive for a bandit hunter who made their living off of killing other people who normally had riches on them. Besides, it was how Malcolm made his living, and in the summer months, business was slow.
Usagi began to think about her past and how this had all come to be as she continued to drink her beer. One of her earliest memories- but still the most painful- sprang up and began to play for her to see, hear, feel, and smell again.
::Flashback::
Charred bodies.... that was what the air smelled like. There was fighting all around, everywhere. Bad men were here, and there were too many of them. The village was being burned to the ground, and Usagi could hear the screams of battle and pain all around her echoing in her ears.
Her mother had screamed at her to run into the forest and take the baby with her... so she was running. Running to try and get away. Because she didn't want to see anymore of what was happening to her home.
Usagi was stopped by a man clad in black armor who looked her up and down. He picked her up against her will, and Usagi shrieked at him to let her go while thrashing about. Usagi managed to bite him, and he cried out in pain. He released her from his grip, and Usagi fell to the ground with a painful thud.
Usagi got to her feet and the stranger pulled out a rapier from its sheath, and pointed the tip at her. Usagi shook in fright, and he told her, "Here's something to remember me by," before he cut her face from the bridge of her nose to her chin, racing down her right cheek. Usagi screamed shrilly in pain, and her mother instantly ran to her side.
"Please, let my daughter go. Please." The man laughed cruelly and said, "Fine. Her life in exchange for yours." With that, he shoved his sword strait through her mother's heart, killing her instantly. He pulled his sword out and threw it to the ground.
"Now I've soiled my best sword... oh well, not that it matters. It's only a sword." His black stallion reared, and Usagi watched him race off. Usagi sat down next to her mother's still body in the muddy ground mixed with the blood of her mother and others. She kissed her mother's cheek and made a solemn vow to end the lives of men like the man in black and to avenge her death.
Usagi had then done the only thing that she could do- she ran off into the forest with her baby sister to wait for the men to leave before she came back.
::End Flashback::
Usagi remembered what happened next. She had spent a week in that forest, surviving off of berries and nuts and muddy rain water. Her sister had died the second day she was there from a fever that had plagued her for several weeks before. Still, Usagi couldn't bear to part with her last bit of family. Thus, she'd held onto the baby.
When a group of travelers- a priestess, mage, and swordsman- had arrived to see if the rumors of the town were true, all they had found left were the remains of the town in ashes and a five year old girl who was half starved and clinging to her dead baby sister. They had instantly buried the little baby and checked to see if Usagi had developed any illnesses. She hadn't, which was lucky. But then again, she'd always been the healthiest child in the village.
The group of travelers had taken her in for a year as their own, teaching her several useful things. They had discovered something in the young child- she thirsted knowledge, and craved to learn anything that they could teach her. So she had learned a few simple ways to defend herself with physical attacks and how to hunt from the swordsman, the priestess had taught her some useful simple spells, and the mage had taught her about the plants and animals.
When Usagi was seven, they were in a major city and a riot broke out, in which they were killed. Usagi had grieved for her friends, companion, and family. She had then learned to adjust to city life in a month's time, never forgetting the magic and knowledge bestowed upon her by her friends.
After two months in the city, Usagi was brought in by the thieves of that city, and became one of the youngest members. They taught her more than Usagi could have hoped to learn. They taught her more spells, how to cook, and how to fight like they did in the city. She was given her first real weapon three months later.
On the sixth month, Usagi had the misfortune- or fortune, looking back on it now- to try and rob the great huntress Chinmoku. She had seen her potential and thirst for knowledge, and had brought her out of the city and into the wilderness to learn more than she could have ever wondered. Her skills in hand-fighting were sharpened, she was forced to hunt for her own food two nights a week and constantly be learning more methods to do it by. She was taught about medicines, poisons, more sorcery, and how to use a staff and glaive.
Usagi's deep thoughts on her past were interrupted out of nowhere.
"Hey, snap out of it," cried a girl with long blue hair to her waist that was tied into a braid and darker blue eyes.
Usagi turned around, and laughed. "Ahh, Fuu! It's good to see you," she cried, getting up to hug her best friend.
"Hey, what about me," asked the emerald green haired girl with misty gray eyes with just a hint of blue.
Usagi smiled and hugged her other friend. "I would never forget about you, Saru-chan," Usagi said impishly.
"Grrrr! When are you going to learn that my name is Miko, not Saru!? Why are you always calling me that, anyway?"
"Cuz you remind me of a monkey," Usagi said teasingly as she tweaked Miko's nose.
"Arrgh! You're insufferable," she cried.
Usagi laughed, and smiled. There was a time when I thought that I'd never be able to smile again. But here I am, smiling AND laughing. Usagi looked around the bar and thought to herself, Everyone of us in here has our own sad story to tell. And yet, we're able to go on. Because we're all like one big family; if ever one of us needs the other, we'll be there for them.
"Hey, C'mon, let's go race horses. I wanna see who's got the fastest horse this year," Usagi called, racing out of the bar.
***********************
*~*~*~*~*~
::two weeks later
Khirmone, Dajobe's capitol::
*~*~*~*~*~
"So... you're telling me that you lost her," the king asked Heero, who was kneeling down in his royal throne room in front of him.
"Hai. I'm sorry. Next time I will not lose her."
The king nodded, and took a peach off of the tray that the servant standing beside him offered. "It is all right, m'boy. I'm sure that the reason you didn't get her was because she ran away in fright."
Heero remained kneeling and said nothing dead with his head down. He didn't want to look at the kindly, old king, or Quatre the prince, or Ririna the princess. It was fairly common knowledge that Heero would probably end up marrying Ririna despite the fact that he didn't love her what-so-ever. She doted after him, and whatever the spoiled princess desired, she got.
"I'm sorry. I'm afraid that because I lost her we will be unable to get her until Spring. She used a spell to warp her to the Outlaw City, and since the gates have been closed for some time now, there'll be no way to get her even if I could find it."
The king grinned and stood up. "That is where you are wrong. We know where the Outlaw City is, and we know how to get you in."
Heero's head snapped up, and he could feel a faint ray of hope shining in his heart- maybe he wouldn't have to wait until Spring to get her after all.
"Of course it will be risky... but not impossible. And knowing you, you will probably anticipate the challenge."
"Please... where is it? Tell me how I-"
The king chuckled. "Sir Heero, I do not know how to get in. Actually, we have a man who was a prisoner there and escaped from there in our dungeon. Tomorrow, we will see into getting him to take you to the Outlaw City."
Heero nodded, and took that as his dismissal. As he walked out of the throne room and down the corridor to his own personal quarters, all he thought was, Soon I will have your blood on my sword, Usagi. And then I will have slain one of the greatest bandit hunters of all time.
**************************
Usagi finally came back to the land of the living. She felt wet and cold. What was going on... oh yes. They'd put her into the trance... seemingly it had worked. Usagi turned around to see everyone in the room staring at her in awe and amazement. Usagi was about to ask them if she'd sprouted another head, when she gasped as a rush of memories from a previous life that she was just discovering rushed at her and hit her full force and she passed out.
As Rei dragged Usagi into her bedroom and went to make the phone call to the Tsukino household, all she could think was that either that was the strangest and most vivid dream that there had ever been, or Usagi had really lived that past life, and she was just now remembering it.
*************************************************************************************************
Ack! I'm sooooo tired. It's only one thirty in the morning, but I had to really push myself to finish that. Well, what did you people think? Good, bad? Please review, it lets me know that you people are really interested in this and gives me some feed back on whether you like it or not. Ten reviews this time, cuz I didn't have anyone pre read it.
