Hey. A lot of things happened to prevent me from writing. And then I lost all my inspiration. I think I'm doing a little better now, though. So, I'm going to work on the three stories I have out now. I won't do anything else until Scintilla Supernova and this story are finished, except maybe a songfic. Also, I've decided that I'll beta-read stories now. So if you want to be your editor, just e-mail me and we can work something out, and get it back to you as soon as possible. Ja! Enjoy the story!
| Shinigami to Karitenshi
Chapter 3 Patrick hauled his arm back, and punched Duo in the stomach again. Duo sagged, being held up by the two boys on either side of him, friends of Patrick's. They had been restraining him ever since his fist had caught the side of Patrick's face. He'd struggled at first, but after the rain of kicks and punches, he'd lost the energy to fight back. Somewhere in the back of his brain he could hear Usagi's voice as she tried to pull the boys off of him. Quite a task, considering they didn't even know she was there. "Stop it! Leave him alone!" Usagi yelled, as she tugged at the boy's who were holding Duo up. "Che." Patrick wiped a bit of sweat from his brow. "You're from St. Maxwell's ain'tcha? I betcha live there 'cuz you're crazy, huh? Yeah, I saw you talkin' to yerself. Why don't you stay at St. Maxwell's with all those other freaks left over from the war." Usagi was livid. Her eyes were narrow slits, and her jaw was clenched. Her hands began to curl into fists, and Duo wasn't quite sure if maybe he'd been sock in the head a time too many, or perhaps steam was rising from the girl's face. "THAT'S what this is about?!" she screamed. "You children...if MY daughter ever said anything so CRUEL and DIMWITTED I'd..I'd...I don't know WHAT I'd do to her, but I KNOW what I'm going to do to you!" And she dissapeared. At first Duo was a little dissapointed. He'd really expected the wrath of god to come down on the boys, maybe a sudden bolt of lightning, or SOMETHING. But as Patrick leaned to hit him again, a strong hand caught him from behind. "Is there a problem here, boys?" Headmaster Mullens stood over Patrick, frowning in disapproval. "Why, no. No problem at all, Mister Mullens. We were just..." Patrick froze, and blinked. For a moment he moved his mouth, but no sound came out and then... "We were just beating the tar out of Duo. Because he's not like us. And I knew I'd get away with it, because you're such a senile old bat. You couldn't punish us if you tried." Patrick stared up at the Headmaster in horror, belatedly covering his mouth with his hands. Mullens simply stared down with an icy glare, seething internally. "I think that's quite enough from you. We'll see if a caning won't improve your attitude, hm? And then there will be a talk with your parents about your future at this establishment." Headmaster Mullens took Patrick by the arm, dragging him back into the building. With nothing really left to do, the two boys dropped Duo and wandered off, hoping to keep away from the Headmaster's wrath. Duo coughed, holding his ribs. "Usagi?" he questioned. "Someone once told me possession is nine tenths of the law." he heard her voice somewhere through the pain. "I think they were right." Duo chuckled but then winced in pain. Usagi noticed, and began to hover over him in worry. "Duo? Duo...? ....Duo...." "Duo...wake up." A soft hand was pushing on my shoulder gently, to wake me up carefully in case it was another nightmare. In a way, it was, just not the kind she was thinking of. I smiled up at her to reassure her, my eyes still out of focus from sleep. She smiled back, and leaned in next to me. "Hilde..." I yawn, and stretch my legs. The shuttle seats are cramped. "What's up." "I thought I should wake you. There's only a half hour before we land. We should be getting our things together soon." she replied. I nod, and watch her walk off down the row between the seats. Hilde had been really understanding about, well, about everything this past year. I had told her that she didn't have to come with me, and that it was my stuff to work through. But she insisted, saying it wasn't right to let me go through it all alone. Now I'm glad she came. She was right. Leaning back, I think through my dream. It's an old memory. Really old. I'm not quite sure why I'm think about it now, but I can guess. It's funny. I never really thought about what Usa said that day. 'If my daughter said anything so...'. Right, her daughter. I never thought to ask how someone her age could have a daughter. I never thought about it at all but now I wish I did. There was so much I didn't get to know. That I wish I had known. Maybe that's why I'm being drawn back, why I can't let go. I was so selfish, and there was so much I didn't get to tell her, so much we didn't get to do. I can't let go of her just yet. The sarcastic part of me is teasing me, mocking how the girl that was my angel has become a ghost. Her eyes will haunt me to the day I die. I don't really know when it started, but I can guess. After the war, I had too much free time on my hands. I was restless. And Usagi was nervous. I think now that she'd helped me through the hard times in my life, there was very little for her to do. But she was tethered to me. I should have told her that too...if I had to be tethered to someone I thanked God it was her. And I wanted to do something for her. She'd done so much...Mostly Usa was gaurded about who she was in life. At least that's how it seemed. ********************Flashback********************** Night on Earth.
Duo never thought space could be so pretty. And the moon...
"Yes." Usagi replied. She was laying on the barge, looking up at the moon as well. "When I first saw it here...I couldn't believe it. What was done to the moon made me sad. It still does." "Why?" Duo looked up at her curiously. "I...I don't know." Usagi replied. She looked back up to the stars, in an attempt to avoid Duo's gaze. "I used to know. But a lot of it...who I was before...it's all faded. I know why I'm here. And I know all the important rules. But the longer I'm with you, the less I remember." "That's so sad." "Not really." Usagi's mouth quirked up into a half-smile. "Maybe if I still had my memories, I wouldn't be able to do as well as I should. Really Duo, it's probably for the best." "I don't think so. I think that you should at least have those happy memories to hold onto, even though you're stuck in this hellhole. You should be able to remember happiness." Duo insisted. "Oh? And what if my life wasn't happy?" Usagi asked. By the look on his face, it was obvious Duo hadn't thought of that. "Besides, I do have happy memories. You've given me happy memories." Her last words trailed off in a whisper, and for a moment neither really knew what to say. Duo sat up and rubbed his arms to ward off the chill of the night air, while he thought over what she had said. "But still!" he decided stubbornly. "I promise, Usagi! That when we're done with this war, I promise I'll figure out how to make you remember!" At those words, Duo nodded firmly, and Usagi just laughed softly at his conviction. She smiled, and settled back to watch the stars again. And even now, looking at the moon didn't bring quite as much sadness as it had a few moments ago. ********************End Flashback********************** I wish I had listened to her then. I wish I had just been selfish. I wish...I wish a lot of things. But I was stubborn and so sure that I was doing something good for her. That's all I wanted, to give her something back. But...it turned out so wrong. So very wrong. I wish a lot of things. But most of all, I wish Usagi would come back. |
