Material Possessions
Merle was now a spirit. And she had traveled Gaea and had seen things she'd never seen before (and saw a lot of things she wished she hadn't seen). Then she came to a place that seemed to emanate evil. She was scared, but being the curious kitty that she was, she decided to check it out.
She found Dilandau sitting in a chair.
"I…must…kill Van!"
Merle wanted to gasp but kept silent for fear of being caught spying.
Dilandau left the premises in search of amusement, and Merle was afraid.
"I must warn Lord Van!"
And with that, Merle went outside, and used her newfound super-speed to make a run for Fanelia.
* * *
For Merle, it felt weird being at her own burial ceremony. She watched as everyone visited her corpse that lay in a casket. Even Hitomi was crying. This touched her heart so much that Merle wanted to cry too. She felt connected with Hitomi, as if they shared something. And just like that, they did.
Merle found herself in Hitomi's body, and she heard Hitomi's thoughts. She tried "talking" to her.
Hitomi?
For the love of Pete, Merle was so young…
Hitomi, I'm right here. In your head.
Who said that?
It's me, Merle.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! GET HER VOICE OUT OF MY HEAD!" Hitomi screeched.
Everyone stopped to see what was happening to the young Earth woman.
Stop making a scene, Hitomi! Before I make you hit yourself!
"Who are you?! What do you want from me?!"
It's me, Merle! For crying out loud! Do I have to make you slap yourself just to prove it?
"Merle? What in heaven's name is going on here?"
I have to speak to Lord Van. I'm gonna need your body.
"Merle? What do you plan on doing?"
Hitomi went rigid as Merle took over her body.
Van was puzzled. He had no clue as to what was going on.
"Van?"
"What is it, Hitomi?"
"It's me, Merle. I took over Hitomi's body."
"I don't believe you, whoever you are!"
"Would Hitomi do this?"
Merle/Hitomi glomped Van and licked his face.
"I guess it's you, Merle."
"I messed up, Lord Van. I just didn't want to live with the fact that I loved you and you were marrying Hitomi. Now I realize that living with you when you're married is better than not living with you at all."
"I screwed up too. I kept searching for a queen when I had one right by my side."
"Lord Van…"
"You must have come to tell me something."
"Dilandau's after you."
"I know. Hitomi and Alena told me. Is there anything you can do?"
"I can keep tabs on him, if you'd like."
"Can you do that?"
"Sure. Don't worry about it. You're safe with me and everyone else. We all will take this guy on, even if he destroys us."
"He won't. I have faith in you, Merle."
"Yeah, well, I thought you wouldn't trust me because I killed myself."
"I'm glad you're back, Merle."
"Thanks, Lord Van. I need to go. But I'll be back."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Bye, Van!"
"Goodbye, Merle!"
And with that, Merle left Hitomi's body.
"What happened?" a confused Hitomi said.
"Merle was here."
"I know that. What did she say?"
"She told me the same thing you and Alena told me. Then she told me she would keep tabs on Dilandau."
"It feels so creepy to know that Merle exists and yet she's dead."
Meanwhile on the other side of the room, a problem was brewing.
"Naria, please calm down! You've never been this emotional before!"
"Shut up, Folken, and leave me the hell alone! It's your fault I'm in this rut!"
Hitomi could not believe her ears. Naria actually told Folken to shut up.
"Naria, you're scaring the baby! Calm down!"
"Fuck off, you cock-sucking bitch!"
"Naria, where did you learn those terrible words?!"
"Hitomi's CD's! I was listening to…Slim Shady!"
"Baka! Stay away from my Eminem and Discoman!"
"No one asked you, you motherfucking nipple whore."
"Nipple whore?"
Folken tried to get down to the heart of the matter, but Naria would not talk. Eriya put the baby to bed while the rest retired to their quarters.
"See you tomorrow, Allen," Hitomi said.
"Good night, young lady."
Allen extended his hand to Alena.
"Care to join me, milady?"
"Allen! You know I'd do it in a heartbeat!"
Allen swept the raven-haired beauty off her feet (literally) and took Alena to her room.
"Van, I just wanted to ask you to spend the night with me."
"Not tonight. It's the eve of Merle's burial service and I'd like it if Merle remained undisturbed."
"I know, but I feel very anxious tonight. Would you please sleep in my room?"
"Fine."
"Wait outside the door until I call for you."
"Okay."
Hitomi went inside and dressed in her bedroom attire, and called to the young king.
"Are you all set?"
Van stopped dead in his tracks.
Hitomi hadn't put on anything overly erotic or seductive, just a tank top cut above her stomach and a pair of boxer shorts with a picture of some Sanrio character.
"Hitomi—"
"What's wrong Van?"
"It's just that I never expected you to dress so differently."
"Oh. I've changed a lot since I first came here."
"I'll say."
Hitomi had taken his breath away before, but Hitomi was suffocating him now.
And there was someone else in the room.
Look at those two.
The other entity in the room was Merle, and she was watching every single moment.
All of a sudden, Merle got a familiar feeling of jealousy, one so passionate like the one she experienced before she died.
"Van, you should get comfortable while I get the bed ready for the night."
"That's fine, Hitomi," Van said. "I'll do that."
Merle began to experience desire when he removed his shirt. But she had no way to experience excitement without possessing a physical body.
Should I do it? Would Van ever forgive me if I do? After all, I now know he secretly loved me. What would Hitomi think?
Well, if you've got the power, you should flaunt it.
Merle "jumped" into Hitomi's body and quickly became familiar to the young woman's body. She lit a few candles on the nightstands.
"Hitomi, what are you doing?"
"Just getting comfortable. Sit on the bed."
Van sat down as Merle/Hitomi sat behind him and began massaging his neck.
"Oh, Hitomi, that feels so much better. Merle used to give massages like this."
Merle/Hitomi said nothing as she continued to massage his neck. She then leaned forward, brought her mouth up to his ear, and whispered softly.
"Van," Merle/Hitomi said. "I've waited for so long to do this."
"Your time on the Phantom Moon must have been terrible, spending all that time alone."
"I had you to think of," she whispered. "I love you. Forever and ever."
"Hitomi, you've grown so much. I have fallen in love with you even more than before. If it weren't for you, I would have confessed my love to Merle."
"What would you say?"
"What do you mean?"
"Let me set up a situation. Let's say I never came back to you. If I were Merle, what would you say to me?"
"I really shouldn't. I'd be risking her supernatural wrath. Two people trying to kill me is the last thing I need."
"Come on, Van. I don't think she'll get that upset."
"You think?"
"Of course! Just do exactly to me as you would do to Merle."
"Okay."
Van turned to the possessed woman and looked into her eyes.
"This is so awkward. Merle's eyes had their own way of commanding attention."
"Just go ahead."
Van took the woman's hand between his hands and held it to his chest.
"Merle?"
"Yes, Van?"
"I have come to the realization that Hitomi may never come back. As much as I want to wait for her, my body thinks otherwise, and I can't ignore my body much longer. You've been my best friend all my life, and you cared about me so much. For that, I am more than grateful. I really don't want to spend my life alone, so I wanted to ask of you if you would like to start courting with me."
"Van, that's so sweet," Merle/Hitomi said. Merle was truly moved by what Van said. She looked into his eyes, and then kissed him, but it was no mere peck. Merle was with Van the way she wanted it. And no whiny nineteen year-old schoolgirl was going to stop her.
"No," Van said. "I can't do this. Not on Merle's day."
Merle knew that he would find out that she was not really Hitomi if she pursued it any further. Merle laid on the bed and left Hitomi's body, and ran away, tears streaming down her supernatural face.