Huntress
By: tenshi no nozomi
Author's Notes:
Hooray for me! As some of you may know, I had a horrible writer's block, and then a bad drop-out. Now it's December, and I'm starting to try to write some. I know it's been a very long time, so I owe you guys a very long chapter, but I think I'm going to have to try for a shorter one this time to try and get back into the hang of writing this story again. Please be patient with me, I'm trying.
I'm honored that all of you people like this story so much, and I promise to try to work on it harder. Thank you all so much to all of the people who have reviewed this story; I've never had people take to a story of mine so well, and it makes me feel good. ^^
I'd also like to thank my pre-reader, Rave! ^^ It's always nice to have somebody to go over my work and tell me what they think of it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing, but this story IS mine, and so are the original characters in it. Since a fair number of people seem to like it, I'm going to be a bit more defensive over it- do not steal, or I will see to it that you regret it. That is your warning. ^_^
Let's begin now!
Jap Ref
Bai bai- good bye
Demo- but
Hai- yes
Iie- no
Ima- now
Soretomo- or, used to represent choices
Kesshite- never
Mori- forest
No- of
Megami- goddess
Ki'ichigo- blackberry
San- suppix added to the name of a person to show respect
*************
Chapter 3:
:: Usagi's dream.::
Three days later the plans had been arranged for Heero's departure. He would be lead by the escaped prisoner to Outlaw City. Heero would go, capture Usagi, and take her back to the kingdom. Heero didn't know why it was so important that they get that one particular huntress- even if did fit in with his want of vengeance- and he dare not question his orders, but he still couldn't help but wonder.
So, the fourth day after his return, he prepared to leave again. Relena seemed close to hysterics on his departure, and begged him to return safely to her. What he wanted to say was that he'd rather impale himself on the sword of a demon than return to the likes of her. Instead chose to just nod and remain silent- there would be no good in insulting her, even if she DID actually understand that it was meant as an insult.
So off he went into the Mori no Megami, following the lead of the cowering and fearful ex-slave. Heero wondered what frightened the man the most; the fact that this forest was legendary for the many times the Mother(1) had been supposable been sighted, or of the danger that the outlaws could present. After all, everyone knew that a slave who left the services of the outlaws would be killed if he/ she was found or dared to return.
A week of traveling on horses with supplies running lower by the day passed by, and finally they reached the destination. Heero was surprised and suspicious, there was no clearing with tents, no buildings built, nothing. but an ancient tree standing by itself in a very small clearing.
He felt fury seep through ever part of his body; had this fool brought him all this way, and was now hoping to abandon him and turn on him? Heero prepared to draw his sword and threaten the man, but the man was clearing away a pile of leaves. and a grate was revealed. The man slid away the grate, and then jumped in after beckoning for Heero to follow.
Heero hesitated; the horses would be fair game out here, and they could not want to go into the hole. Heero thought it over a moment, and then came up with an idea.
"Does this tunnel lead directly to the city?" he asked the man, helping him out of the hole.
"Strait to it."
"So I wouldn't have any trouble finding the exit into Outlaw City?"
"So long as ye're not blind," he joked nervously.
"You stay here with the horses, and don't you dare leave or I swear I will come and find you, and then you will have me to fend yourself from as well." The other man nodded fearfully and gratefully, and Heero leaped into the pit, and made his way through the long tunnel, running all the way to the entrance into Outlaw City.
****
Usagi had had an odd feeling all day, plaguing her stomach. It was that annoying, nagging feeling when you knew something bad was going to happen. She tried to brush it away, but it returned each time. Usagi had learned long ago to trust her instincts, however, this was her home. there was no one here who would wish her harm, only her adopted family. Still, she became a bit jumpy and almost paranoid as the day progressed, gripping her dagger whenever startled.
*****
Heero had entered the city, and clung to the shadows. It was towards evening now, and the sun hung low in the sky, a scarlet red eye in the horizon casting plum and orange all around.
He was amazed; the City of Outlaws was amazing. There were countless complicated spells of hiding and secrecy added over centuries, adding up to a colossal hum in the air that made his nose itch and eyes water do to the power of the spells. It was a miniature town, with anything they could want- so far he had slipped by a pharmacy, a saloon, a corral, and a general store. He was amazed at how they had managed to hide all of this, and in the middle of a well-traversed forest. He had to hand it to them, the outlaws were very clever.
And yet, every fortress has it's weak spots. he proclaimed smugly in his mind. However, he had managed to run into a problem: he didn't know where Usagi lived! There were a fair number of houses around here, and if he made the wrong choice it would be bad news.
And yet, lady luck seemed to favor him at the moment- there she was, walking alone into what he assumed to be her home. He waited a few minutes until he was sure she wouldn't be coming back out, and the darted out across the dusty street.
He knew he couldn't go in through the front door, of course, so he'd have to try one of the windows. He cast an amateur spell meant to make things disappear, and was pleased when the glass did exactly as he wanted. He climbed in, and looked around. He could hear the sound of water being filled, sloshing in by wooden buckets. A maid came down a moment later, filling her wooden bucket again with hot water that had heated over a small contained fire.
Heero slowly came out of the shadows, and unsheathed his sword. He really didn't like doing things like this to innocent people, and especially not women, but he had no choice. Silently as a cat he came up from behind her, and rapped her hard on temple. The young lady stiffened, and then slumped to the floor, the bucket of water falling on its side and its contents spraying across the floor.
He ran up the stairs, and grabbed the specially spelled cloth Ki'ichigo-san had given him to sedate his quarry.
****
Usagi was beginning to undress for her bath when she had heard the slosh of the bucket down in the kitchen. It made her frown; she had thought she had helped to cure the girl of her clumsiness some time ago, and yet it had happened all the same. She shook her head, and slid off her socks and untied her hair. She placed her weapons on her bed, not needing them.
Usagi began to enter the bathroom when she saw in the mirror not her maid who had hastened up the steps but. but that blasted knight! Usagi's eyes widened, and she turned around to grab her weapons, but he had already attacked her. U
I don't understand it. I've never been this weak around anyone before! I'm like some kind of kitten! Her temper flared again, and Usagi's eyes became a blue fire. As soon as this was over, she was going to train harder than she had ever trained before- no mere pup would be her downfall.
And yet, even as she thought this, he was pressing a cloth over her mouth and nose. Usagi fought his grip, but already she had lost a good deal of her energy. The cloth was an old trick, one that Usagi had dealt with before, and she had though that she had risen above. It must have been made with potent ingredients and a powerful mage, or it wouldn't have worked, and she'd have half killed the boy by now.
Still Usagi tried to fight it, despite that her strength was still leaving her, being sapped away rapidly. Usagi soon found herself drowsy and unable to fend for herself even the slightest. D. Damn you! She cursed him as she began to sink into unconsciousness. Just you wait. I will make you regret what you've done to me.
She sagged like a rag doll in his grip, unable to fight off the spell anymore. Heero lifted her and slung her over his shoulder, and ran out of the house, back down the street, and away to the exit in the twilight, feeling pleased at his triumph.
When he came out at the other end, the man waiting for him- whose name he had never bothered to learn- was so grateful to him, he nearly cried. Heero sat Usagi in front of him on his horse, and then he and the other man set out at a grueling pace to get back to the palace.
*********
Usagi's dreams became fitful after that. The memories became entangled, a jumbled mess that she could make no sense of. She finally woke up sweating in a dark room that she recognized as a guestroom at the Hikawa temple. She rubbed her eyes of any remnants of sleep, and looked around her. There was a funny feeling making the hairs on the back of her neck rise, almost like something was about to happen.something very important.
Usagi could hear muffled voices coming from the room, and a feeling of great urgency settled upon her. She NEEDED to hear what was being said. She climbed out of bed and crawled over to the wall of the room and pressed her ear against it, listening in to the conspiring voices drifting in.
******
"Yes, Usagi's going to be staying at Rei's place tonight with the rest of us... Yes, don't worry, she's just kinda taking a nap at the moment... no, no need to send anything over. She'll be just fine. Yes. You too. Bai bai." Ami hung up the phone before going back to the room where all of the conscious sailor scouts were.
"I really don't think it was wise to lie to Mrs. Tsukino... besides, we can only keep this up for one night, (2) and then things will go back to chaos." Ami said with a frown.
Rei sighed. "I know, but we have to do something. At the rate Usagi's going at, she won't be able to go to sleep without having some whacko dream about a past life. There's a problem with all of this."
Luna frowned and nodded, and Artemis was too deep in thought to make any sort of comment. Makoto frowned. "Care to share with the rest of us what's so wrong about all of this? Who knows, maybe Usagi will pick up a few more moves and be able to defend herself better."
"That's one of the problems," Rei said. "If Usagi no longer needs us, we will return to being regular girls- our powers were given to protect the heir to the White Moon throne."
Minako frowned angrily. "So what're you saying, that we should try to stop her dreams so that she doesn't learn anything? I think that's wrong! Usagi has as much right as anyone else to be strong."
Rei sighed. "I know, and in any other case I would agree with you, but not this time. If Usagi begins to learn these things, she might seal the powers of the moon away, too. Think about it: if she doesn't need to transform, then why should she bother? Demo, that's not the real problem."
Rei stood up and began to pace, a worried expression etched upon her pretty face. "The REAL worry I have here is if Usagi decides to forsake her duties and go after this guy, wherever he may be. Think about it for a moment: he's bound to be out there somewhere, and if Usagi's heart tells her to go, that's what'll happen. She's really spontaneous, when you think about it- she will do almost anything to achieve her happiness."
Rei turned to face them. "Therefore, I propose that we find some way to seal off Usagi's memories. It may be wrong, but we just can't afford to lose her. She just can't learn anymore of that past. Agreed?"
For a moment, no one said a word, but finally Ami spoke. "Hai... there's no other choice. Rei's right." Makoto frowned begrudgingly, but finally gave in, even though she didn't look a bit happy about it.
Minako looked around at he friends in shock. There was no way that they could really be suggesting this, was there? No way! And yet, they were all looking at her expectantly. Minako knew that she'd lose even if she did vote differently. She shot a quick glance at the room where Usagi was sleeping in and gave her a quick prayer. Get out of here, Usagi, if you plan to, and hurry! Then Minako consented, and they went off to research ways to seal off Usagi's memories.
*********************
Usagi's eyes narrowed in fury. They were doing this while she was supposedly sleeping? How dare they! Them, her sailor scouts, the people who were supposed to be her friends, were planning on taking away this new- found part of herself? Iie. I refuse to let them do it. They WON'T.
A new kind of resolve was welling up from Usagi's heart, forming to her strongest wish and will. She would find this 'Heero,' if he were alive, no matter where he might be, come hell or high water. She searched her pockets and school bag for money, but she only came up with a small bit of change. Her mind instantly flashed to her piggy banks back at home. She had been saving that money since she had been a really little girl, and her mother and father had done so even before, for something special, such as high school. However, at the moment this seemed more important to Usagi than going to a good high school- although how she would get to it was another matter entirely.
Usagi looked around the room, and began to devise a plan. Since she wouldn't be able to leave by the front door, she'd have to think of another way out. There was a fairly large window that faced the side yard of the temple, with a large sill. Usagi would have to punch out the screen (AN: I've punched out my screen before... it's fairly easy... what isn't easy is trying to sneak it past your parents who are working out in the front yard when your room's on the second floor... *sweat drop*) and then reinsert it. Hopefully no one would notice that the glass part was open until it was too late.
Usagi instantly set about creating a human form in the bed with the pillows and covers. It wasn't the most original trick, but she was fairly sure it would work. When she was done, she tucked the covers up to the top of where the head might lie.
Usagi then pulled a stool up to the window and slid the glass pane up. She poked the screen out, but when she tried to catch it and pull it back up to herself, she missed, and it dropped. Usagi cursed herself, and decided that she'd just close the glass pane, and hope that none of them were too terribly observant tonight.
She took a deep breath, realizing that before she had started to remember her past life, she would have never thought of a plane like this, or had the guts to carry it out even if she had. She then swung one leg up and on the window followed by the other. Now she dangled halfway in and halfway out, on the brink to freedom. Ima Soretomo Kesshite. she thought to herself. Then she began to wedge herself forward by making odd rocking motions.
Soon she had almost all her body out, and she had to crouch on the outside sill and swing her head under the window. She shut the pane and leaned against the glass. She had made her first movement of many.
Looking around, she saw that no one else was out. It was night, and the crickets were chirping. Summer would be here soon, and with it a break from school. Good, maybe I won't miss too much of it. she thought. The night was warm and the breeze in her hair cool, and everything was alright. She closed her eyes, took another deep breath, and then jumped off and feel into the sweet, green, dewy grass.
She got up, gave the shrine a last look, and took off down the street, running as fast as her legs could manage to carry her.
****************
Rei grumbled; they were thirty minutes into their search, and it was fruitless. Of course, she HAD found a way to seal pipes, so at least they wouldn't have to bear those damned plumbers fees... but it wasn't what she wanted. She growled and slammed her fist down on the table a few times, taking her frustration out on the cherry wood.
Makoto raised an eyebrow in her direction and shook her head. "I'm going to check up on Usagi."
"Good idea, Mako-chan," Ami said. "You go do that.
Makoto got up and made her way to the room where Usagi was sleeping. She entered the darkened room. It was surprisingly quiet, considering that Usagi normally snored when she slept, but then again, she HAD passed out... so it was understandable. She frowned when her eyes crossed the window, but she shook away the funny feeling that something was amiss. That's funny, though, I thought there was a screen there before... Makoto just shrugged, closed the door quietly, and went back to rejoin the search.
***************
Usagi sighed happily. She was in her room, with her things. How easy it would be to just stay here... but no, she HAD to leave. She had to get out. She would not let them take a part of her away, no matter their insecurities.
Usagi gathered a few things she knew she would need or want, such as a few pairs of clothes, a night shirt, her toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, a brush, a manga, a cd and her cd player, and of course, the most important part, money. She stuffed the money all over her bag, rather than keep it in one place- her father had always told her that was one of the safest things to do.
Usagi stuffed these things in her duffel bag, and then dressed herself not in her school clothes but her favorites: Her azure blue shirt with the little panda on the front and a pair of jeans. For the most part, she wore skirts, but she had taken a liking to these, and it might help to throw the senshi off when they were looking for her.
The next part of what she was going to do was going to be her least favorite. She went to the hall and went through a few of her mother's hair dyes, considering which one she would use. Her mother had started going gray a few years ago, and had experimented with several different colors before settling on blue. Usagi pulled out the bottle that said 'Cherry Red' on it. She was going to die her hair cherry red, and then cut it.
Usagi washed her hair hurriedly, and then followed the instructions on the bottle. She then did the same with her eyebrows, figuring that there weren't too many red heads with blond eyebrows. When she was all done, she washed her hair one more time, and then blow dried it on low- however, when she found it to be going too slow, she remembered a spell she had learned in her last life, and decided to try and attempt it.
"West wind of warmth,
Wrap around my hair,
And become the quick-drying breeze!"
Usagi was amazed when through her window swooped in a strong gust of wind that made her curtains billow and her hair swirl. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, the breeze died away, going back to whence it had come from. Looking in the mirror, her hair was a bit wild, but once she had run it though with brush, it was actually very pretty.
Considering that hair was light and had not had bleach, it had turned out quite nicely- a little lighter than the darker cherry formula in the bottle. She brought out a pair of scissors and cut her hair to her hips. She watched her hair fall to the floor as light red strands of spider web. She gathered them all and stuffed them in her subspace pocket and the bottle and scissors. She would get rid of the evidence elsewhere, rather than give the scouts another clue to work on. As a final touch, she braided hair, and tied it off with a red ribbon.
She then grabbed her bag, and leapt out of her window to the strong limb of the tree outside it. She climbed down, then set out again down the street, heading to the bus station.
**********************
Rei sighed. She was weary, they all were, but they had finally found the needed spell after scanning through many books. What really worried her though was that Usagi had yet to wake up. Rei would have thought by now that she would have.... yes, she should have been awake hours ago.
She frowned, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion- something was wrong.
"What's the matter, Rei?" Ami questioned her angry looking friend.
"Usagi should be up by now. Something's not right!" She said as she strode into the room where they had put Usagi in. She walked over to the bed, and ripped the cover off. She cursed loudly at the site before her, and everyone else ran in. They were flabbergasted by the site- Usagi had tricked them?
"See!? I told you this was going to happen!!" Rei shrieked at the top of her lungs while pointing her finger at the empty bed.
"How did this happen?" Makoto wondered aloud.
"How do you think, Makoto!? She went through the window! It has no screen on it!!" Now Rei pointed at the window, in an almost accusing way.
"Crap..." Makoto murmured. "I can't believe Usagi did this..."
"We have to hurry," Luna interrupted, drawing the attention to her. "By now Usagi's already gone and stopped by her house for her things. If we want to stop her, we have to get going now."
"But to where?" Minako asked, although she was secretly glad that Usagi was trying to get out.
"You and Makoto will go to the train station with Artemis, and I will go with Ami and Rei to the bus station. If you see her, stop her at all costs and contact us with the communicators!" She commanded as they all rushed out the shrine. With that, the two groups split up, making all haste to opposite sides of town.
*********
The Mother Goddess- okay, in this story, the Mother is exactly what you might think of her as- she's the mother to all of the other Gods (kinda' like a queen bee in an odd sense) in some way or another, and is known for her beauty and easy petulance throughout legends. She's highly feminist, but is still known to love all creatures, no matter their faults, with a mother's unconditional love. Not bad for a fictional deity I created?
2) In Japan, a student's weekend is just one day- Sunday. Once a month they also get half of Saturday off as well. (Least I think that's how it goes.) Anyhow, that makes me feel really lucky. ^^
Well, I worked pretty hard on that, and I'm pleased with how it came out! I worked it over several times, and I'm actually kinda eager to start writing the next chapter! ^^
Anyhow, next time in Chapter Four: Making my way, Usagi is making her way to get out of the city, while the scouts are looking desperately- and it'll certainly be a close one. Will they catch her? Probably not. But even if they don't, is Usagi ready to take her next big step? After all, trying to make her way through a big city all on her own could be dangerous. But wait; who's this? A friend to accompany her on her journey? And from another series entirely?!
Hee hee! So there's your incentive to keep reading. I hope I made that sound okay... *scratches head* Anyhow, yeah, I'm going to add another series in! Kakakakakaa! Only it's a secret. ^.^
SD Tasuki: That's because SHE doesn't even know what she's going to add in next!
tnn: *gasp* Liar! I do too know!!
SD Tasuki: No you don't.
tnn: *whaps him over the head with his mini tessen* keep that up and I'll put YOU in! Kakakakakaka...
By: tenshi no nozomi
Author's Notes:
Hooray for me! As some of you may know, I had a horrible writer's block, and then a bad drop-out. Now it's December, and I'm starting to try to write some. I know it's been a very long time, so I owe you guys a very long chapter, but I think I'm going to have to try for a shorter one this time to try and get back into the hang of writing this story again. Please be patient with me, I'm trying.
I'm honored that all of you people like this story so much, and I promise to try to work on it harder. Thank you all so much to all of the people who have reviewed this story; I've never had people take to a story of mine so well, and it makes me feel good. ^^
I'd also like to thank my pre-reader, Rave! ^^ It's always nice to have somebody to go over my work and tell me what they think of it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing, but this story IS mine, and so are the original characters in it. Since a fair number of people seem to like it, I'm going to be a bit more defensive over it- do not steal, or I will see to it that you regret it. That is your warning. ^_^
Let's begin now!
Jap Ref
Bai bai- good bye
Demo- but
Hai- yes
Iie- no
Ima- now
Soretomo- or, used to represent choices
Kesshite- never
Mori- forest
No- of
Megami- goddess
Ki'ichigo- blackberry
San- suppix added to the name of a person to show respect
*************
Chapter 3:
:: Usagi's dream.::
Three days later the plans had been arranged for Heero's departure. He would be lead by the escaped prisoner to Outlaw City. Heero would go, capture Usagi, and take her back to the kingdom. Heero didn't know why it was so important that they get that one particular huntress- even if did fit in with his want of vengeance- and he dare not question his orders, but he still couldn't help but wonder.
So, the fourth day after his return, he prepared to leave again. Relena seemed close to hysterics on his departure, and begged him to return safely to her. What he wanted to say was that he'd rather impale himself on the sword of a demon than return to the likes of her. Instead chose to just nod and remain silent- there would be no good in insulting her, even if she DID actually understand that it was meant as an insult.
So off he went into the Mori no Megami, following the lead of the cowering and fearful ex-slave. Heero wondered what frightened the man the most; the fact that this forest was legendary for the many times the Mother(1) had been supposable been sighted, or of the danger that the outlaws could present. After all, everyone knew that a slave who left the services of the outlaws would be killed if he/ she was found or dared to return.
A week of traveling on horses with supplies running lower by the day passed by, and finally they reached the destination. Heero was surprised and suspicious, there was no clearing with tents, no buildings built, nothing. but an ancient tree standing by itself in a very small clearing.
He felt fury seep through ever part of his body; had this fool brought him all this way, and was now hoping to abandon him and turn on him? Heero prepared to draw his sword and threaten the man, but the man was clearing away a pile of leaves. and a grate was revealed. The man slid away the grate, and then jumped in after beckoning for Heero to follow.
Heero hesitated; the horses would be fair game out here, and they could not want to go into the hole. Heero thought it over a moment, and then came up with an idea.
"Does this tunnel lead directly to the city?" he asked the man, helping him out of the hole.
"Strait to it."
"So I wouldn't have any trouble finding the exit into Outlaw City?"
"So long as ye're not blind," he joked nervously.
"You stay here with the horses, and don't you dare leave or I swear I will come and find you, and then you will have me to fend yourself from as well." The other man nodded fearfully and gratefully, and Heero leaped into the pit, and made his way through the long tunnel, running all the way to the entrance into Outlaw City.
****
Usagi had had an odd feeling all day, plaguing her stomach. It was that annoying, nagging feeling when you knew something bad was going to happen. She tried to brush it away, but it returned each time. Usagi had learned long ago to trust her instincts, however, this was her home. there was no one here who would wish her harm, only her adopted family. Still, she became a bit jumpy and almost paranoid as the day progressed, gripping her dagger whenever startled.
*****
Heero had entered the city, and clung to the shadows. It was towards evening now, and the sun hung low in the sky, a scarlet red eye in the horizon casting plum and orange all around.
He was amazed; the City of Outlaws was amazing. There were countless complicated spells of hiding and secrecy added over centuries, adding up to a colossal hum in the air that made his nose itch and eyes water do to the power of the spells. It was a miniature town, with anything they could want- so far he had slipped by a pharmacy, a saloon, a corral, and a general store. He was amazed at how they had managed to hide all of this, and in the middle of a well-traversed forest. He had to hand it to them, the outlaws were very clever.
And yet, every fortress has it's weak spots. he proclaimed smugly in his mind. However, he had managed to run into a problem: he didn't know where Usagi lived! There were a fair number of houses around here, and if he made the wrong choice it would be bad news.
And yet, lady luck seemed to favor him at the moment- there she was, walking alone into what he assumed to be her home. He waited a few minutes until he was sure she wouldn't be coming back out, and the darted out across the dusty street.
He knew he couldn't go in through the front door, of course, so he'd have to try one of the windows. He cast an amateur spell meant to make things disappear, and was pleased when the glass did exactly as he wanted. He climbed in, and looked around. He could hear the sound of water being filled, sloshing in by wooden buckets. A maid came down a moment later, filling her wooden bucket again with hot water that had heated over a small contained fire.
Heero slowly came out of the shadows, and unsheathed his sword. He really didn't like doing things like this to innocent people, and especially not women, but he had no choice. Silently as a cat he came up from behind her, and rapped her hard on temple. The young lady stiffened, and then slumped to the floor, the bucket of water falling on its side and its contents spraying across the floor.
He ran up the stairs, and grabbed the specially spelled cloth Ki'ichigo-san had given him to sedate his quarry.
****
Usagi was beginning to undress for her bath when she had heard the slosh of the bucket down in the kitchen. It made her frown; she had thought she had helped to cure the girl of her clumsiness some time ago, and yet it had happened all the same. She shook her head, and slid off her socks and untied her hair. She placed her weapons on her bed, not needing them.
Usagi began to enter the bathroom when she saw in the mirror not her maid who had hastened up the steps but. but that blasted knight! Usagi's eyes widened, and she turned around to grab her weapons, but he had already attacked her. U
I don't understand it. I've never been this weak around anyone before! I'm like some kind of kitten! Her temper flared again, and Usagi's eyes became a blue fire. As soon as this was over, she was going to train harder than she had ever trained before- no mere pup would be her downfall.
And yet, even as she thought this, he was pressing a cloth over her mouth and nose. Usagi fought his grip, but already she had lost a good deal of her energy. The cloth was an old trick, one that Usagi had dealt with before, and she had though that she had risen above. It must have been made with potent ingredients and a powerful mage, or it wouldn't have worked, and she'd have half killed the boy by now.
Still Usagi tried to fight it, despite that her strength was still leaving her, being sapped away rapidly. Usagi soon found herself drowsy and unable to fend for herself even the slightest. D. Damn you! She cursed him as she began to sink into unconsciousness. Just you wait. I will make you regret what you've done to me.
She sagged like a rag doll in his grip, unable to fight off the spell anymore. Heero lifted her and slung her over his shoulder, and ran out of the house, back down the street, and away to the exit in the twilight, feeling pleased at his triumph.
When he came out at the other end, the man waiting for him- whose name he had never bothered to learn- was so grateful to him, he nearly cried. Heero sat Usagi in front of him on his horse, and then he and the other man set out at a grueling pace to get back to the palace.
*********
Usagi's dreams became fitful after that. The memories became entangled, a jumbled mess that she could make no sense of. She finally woke up sweating in a dark room that she recognized as a guestroom at the Hikawa temple. She rubbed her eyes of any remnants of sleep, and looked around her. There was a funny feeling making the hairs on the back of her neck rise, almost like something was about to happen.something very important.
Usagi could hear muffled voices coming from the room, and a feeling of great urgency settled upon her. She NEEDED to hear what was being said. She climbed out of bed and crawled over to the wall of the room and pressed her ear against it, listening in to the conspiring voices drifting in.
******
"Yes, Usagi's going to be staying at Rei's place tonight with the rest of us... Yes, don't worry, she's just kinda taking a nap at the moment... no, no need to send anything over. She'll be just fine. Yes. You too. Bai bai." Ami hung up the phone before going back to the room where all of the conscious sailor scouts were.
"I really don't think it was wise to lie to Mrs. Tsukino... besides, we can only keep this up for one night, (2) and then things will go back to chaos." Ami said with a frown.
Rei sighed. "I know, but we have to do something. At the rate Usagi's going at, she won't be able to go to sleep without having some whacko dream about a past life. There's a problem with all of this."
Luna frowned and nodded, and Artemis was too deep in thought to make any sort of comment. Makoto frowned. "Care to share with the rest of us what's so wrong about all of this? Who knows, maybe Usagi will pick up a few more moves and be able to defend herself better."
"That's one of the problems," Rei said. "If Usagi no longer needs us, we will return to being regular girls- our powers were given to protect the heir to the White Moon throne."
Minako frowned angrily. "So what're you saying, that we should try to stop her dreams so that she doesn't learn anything? I think that's wrong! Usagi has as much right as anyone else to be strong."
Rei sighed. "I know, and in any other case I would agree with you, but not this time. If Usagi begins to learn these things, she might seal the powers of the moon away, too. Think about it: if she doesn't need to transform, then why should she bother? Demo, that's not the real problem."
Rei stood up and began to pace, a worried expression etched upon her pretty face. "The REAL worry I have here is if Usagi decides to forsake her duties and go after this guy, wherever he may be. Think about it for a moment: he's bound to be out there somewhere, and if Usagi's heart tells her to go, that's what'll happen. She's really spontaneous, when you think about it- she will do almost anything to achieve her happiness."
Rei turned to face them. "Therefore, I propose that we find some way to seal off Usagi's memories. It may be wrong, but we just can't afford to lose her. She just can't learn anymore of that past. Agreed?"
For a moment, no one said a word, but finally Ami spoke. "Hai... there's no other choice. Rei's right." Makoto frowned begrudgingly, but finally gave in, even though she didn't look a bit happy about it.
Minako looked around at he friends in shock. There was no way that they could really be suggesting this, was there? No way! And yet, they were all looking at her expectantly. Minako knew that she'd lose even if she did vote differently. She shot a quick glance at the room where Usagi was sleeping in and gave her a quick prayer. Get out of here, Usagi, if you plan to, and hurry! Then Minako consented, and they went off to research ways to seal off Usagi's memories.
*********************
Usagi's eyes narrowed in fury. They were doing this while she was supposedly sleeping? How dare they! Them, her sailor scouts, the people who were supposed to be her friends, were planning on taking away this new- found part of herself? Iie. I refuse to let them do it. They WON'T.
A new kind of resolve was welling up from Usagi's heart, forming to her strongest wish and will. She would find this 'Heero,' if he were alive, no matter where he might be, come hell or high water. She searched her pockets and school bag for money, but she only came up with a small bit of change. Her mind instantly flashed to her piggy banks back at home. She had been saving that money since she had been a really little girl, and her mother and father had done so even before, for something special, such as high school. However, at the moment this seemed more important to Usagi than going to a good high school- although how she would get to it was another matter entirely.
Usagi looked around the room, and began to devise a plan. Since she wouldn't be able to leave by the front door, she'd have to think of another way out. There was a fairly large window that faced the side yard of the temple, with a large sill. Usagi would have to punch out the screen (AN: I've punched out my screen before... it's fairly easy... what isn't easy is trying to sneak it past your parents who are working out in the front yard when your room's on the second floor... *sweat drop*) and then reinsert it. Hopefully no one would notice that the glass part was open until it was too late.
Usagi instantly set about creating a human form in the bed with the pillows and covers. It wasn't the most original trick, but she was fairly sure it would work. When she was done, she tucked the covers up to the top of where the head might lie.
Usagi then pulled a stool up to the window and slid the glass pane up. She poked the screen out, but when she tried to catch it and pull it back up to herself, she missed, and it dropped. Usagi cursed herself, and decided that she'd just close the glass pane, and hope that none of them were too terribly observant tonight.
She took a deep breath, realizing that before she had started to remember her past life, she would have never thought of a plane like this, or had the guts to carry it out even if she had. She then swung one leg up and on the window followed by the other. Now she dangled halfway in and halfway out, on the brink to freedom. Ima Soretomo Kesshite. she thought to herself. Then she began to wedge herself forward by making odd rocking motions.
Soon she had almost all her body out, and she had to crouch on the outside sill and swing her head under the window. She shut the pane and leaned against the glass. She had made her first movement of many.
Looking around, she saw that no one else was out. It was night, and the crickets were chirping. Summer would be here soon, and with it a break from school. Good, maybe I won't miss too much of it. she thought. The night was warm and the breeze in her hair cool, and everything was alright. She closed her eyes, took another deep breath, and then jumped off and feel into the sweet, green, dewy grass.
She got up, gave the shrine a last look, and took off down the street, running as fast as her legs could manage to carry her.
****************
Rei grumbled; they were thirty minutes into their search, and it was fruitless. Of course, she HAD found a way to seal pipes, so at least they wouldn't have to bear those damned plumbers fees... but it wasn't what she wanted. She growled and slammed her fist down on the table a few times, taking her frustration out on the cherry wood.
Makoto raised an eyebrow in her direction and shook her head. "I'm going to check up on Usagi."
"Good idea, Mako-chan," Ami said. "You go do that.
Makoto got up and made her way to the room where Usagi was sleeping. She entered the darkened room. It was surprisingly quiet, considering that Usagi normally snored when she slept, but then again, she HAD passed out... so it was understandable. She frowned when her eyes crossed the window, but she shook away the funny feeling that something was amiss. That's funny, though, I thought there was a screen there before... Makoto just shrugged, closed the door quietly, and went back to rejoin the search.
***************
Usagi sighed happily. She was in her room, with her things. How easy it would be to just stay here... but no, she HAD to leave. She had to get out. She would not let them take a part of her away, no matter their insecurities.
Usagi gathered a few things she knew she would need or want, such as a few pairs of clothes, a night shirt, her toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, a brush, a manga, a cd and her cd player, and of course, the most important part, money. She stuffed the money all over her bag, rather than keep it in one place- her father had always told her that was one of the safest things to do.
Usagi stuffed these things in her duffel bag, and then dressed herself not in her school clothes but her favorites: Her azure blue shirt with the little panda on the front and a pair of jeans. For the most part, she wore skirts, but she had taken a liking to these, and it might help to throw the senshi off when they were looking for her.
The next part of what she was going to do was going to be her least favorite. She went to the hall and went through a few of her mother's hair dyes, considering which one she would use. Her mother had started going gray a few years ago, and had experimented with several different colors before settling on blue. Usagi pulled out the bottle that said 'Cherry Red' on it. She was going to die her hair cherry red, and then cut it.
Usagi washed her hair hurriedly, and then followed the instructions on the bottle. She then did the same with her eyebrows, figuring that there weren't too many red heads with blond eyebrows. When she was all done, she washed her hair one more time, and then blow dried it on low- however, when she found it to be going too slow, she remembered a spell she had learned in her last life, and decided to try and attempt it.
"West wind of warmth,
Wrap around my hair,
And become the quick-drying breeze!"
Usagi was amazed when through her window swooped in a strong gust of wind that made her curtains billow and her hair swirl. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, the breeze died away, going back to whence it had come from. Looking in the mirror, her hair was a bit wild, but once she had run it though with brush, it was actually very pretty.
Considering that hair was light and had not had bleach, it had turned out quite nicely- a little lighter than the darker cherry formula in the bottle. She brought out a pair of scissors and cut her hair to her hips. She watched her hair fall to the floor as light red strands of spider web. She gathered them all and stuffed them in her subspace pocket and the bottle and scissors. She would get rid of the evidence elsewhere, rather than give the scouts another clue to work on. As a final touch, she braided hair, and tied it off with a red ribbon.
She then grabbed her bag, and leapt out of her window to the strong limb of the tree outside it. She climbed down, then set out again down the street, heading to the bus station.
**********************
Rei sighed. She was weary, they all were, but they had finally found the needed spell after scanning through many books. What really worried her though was that Usagi had yet to wake up. Rei would have thought by now that she would have.... yes, she should have been awake hours ago.
She frowned, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion- something was wrong.
"What's the matter, Rei?" Ami questioned her angry looking friend.
"Usagi should be up by now. Something's not right!" She said as she strode into the room where they had put Usagi in. She walked over to the bed, and ripped the cover off. She cursed loudly at the site before her, and everyone else ran in. They were flabbergasted by the site- Usagi had tricked them?
"See!? I told you this was going to happen!!" Rei shrieked at the top of her lungs while pointing her finger at the empty bed.
"How did this happen?" Makoto wondered aloud.
"How do you think, Makoto!? She went through the window! It has no screen on it!!" Now Rei pointed at the window, in an almost accusing way.
"Crap..." Makoto murmured. "I can't believe Usagi did this..."
"We have to hurry," Luna interrupted, drawing the attention to her. "By now Usagi's already gone and stopped by her house for her things. If we want to stop her, we have to get going now."
"But to where?" Minako asked, although she was secretly glad that Usagi was trying to get out.
"You and Makoto will go to the train station with Artemis, and I will go with Ami and Rei to the bus station. If you see her, stop her at all costs and contact us with the communicators!" She commanded as they all rushed out the shrine. With that, the two groups split up, making all haste to opposite sides of town.
*********
The Mother Goddess- okay, in this story, the Mother is exactly what you might think of her as- she's the mother to all of the other Gods (kinda' like a queen bee in an odd sense) in some way or another, and is known for her beauty and easy petulance throughout legends. She's highly feminist, but is still known to love all creatures, no matter their faults, with a mother's unconditional love. Not bad for a fictional deity I created?
2) In Japan, a student's weekend is just one day- Sunday. Once a month they also get half of Saturday off as well. (Least I think that's how it goes.) Anyhow, that makes me feel really lucky. ^^
Well, I worked pretty hard on that, and I'm pleased with how it came out! I worked it over several times, and I'm actually kinda eager to start writing the next chapter! ^^
Anyhow, next time in Chapter Four: Making my way, Usagi is making her way to get out of the city, while the scouts are looking desperately- and it'll certainly be a close one. Will they catch her? Probably not. But even if they don't, is Usagi ready to take her next big step? After all, trying to make her way through a big city all on her own could be dangerous. But wait; who's this? A friend to accompany her on her journey? And from another series entirely?!
Hee hee! So there's your incentive to keep reading. I hope I made that sound okay... *scratches head* Anyhow, yeah, I'm going to add another series in! Kakakakakaa! Only it's a secret. ^.^
SD Tasuki: That's because SHE doesn't even know what she's going to add in next!
tnn: *gasp* Liar! I do too know!!
SD Tasuki: No you don't.
tnn: *whaps him over the head with his mini tessen* keep that up and I'll put YOU in! Kakakakakaka...
