Usagi stared down at the shiny black coffin, all too quickly being covered in rich earth, in a numb shock. On her left, Kakkyu was sobbing quietly, beside her stood her two remaining Senshi with tears streaming silently down their drawn faces. On her right, Usagi's own senshi stood crying softly, and even Mamoru's face was filled with remorse. She turned away from the sight of her destined lover... Mamoru hated Seiya.
*Had* hated Seiya... She forced herself to think it: *Seiya is dead.* As she looked around at literally thousands of people crying, she shook her head slowly and looked back down again. She couldn't understand why she wasn't crying; everyone else was and Usagi had been closer to him; much closer; than any of these fangirls that were crowding around the back of the concession. Why did she feel so emotionless, so...
Dead?
Finally, she reached a conclusion, and when she did, she wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry.
Usagi felt dead because when Seiya had died, a part of her had died as well. This revelation was quickly followed by another...
She'd loved him.
The emotion she'd been searching for finally came, increased by the fact that people were already walking away from the site, the grave not even full yet. She wanted to scream, How could you?! YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE! IF YOU COULD LEAVE BEFORE IT'S OVER, YOU DIDN'T LOVE HIM! BUT I--I *DID*! The emotion came, yes--in a loud sob as Usagi flung herself on top of the nearly full grave, the men stopping from throwing another shovel of dirt only just in time.
"Seiya," she sobbed, the cries racking her body heartwrenching to the most coldhearted observer. "Don't leave me!" Kakkyu had to turn away from the painfully pitiful sight the normally irrepressable blonde made, Taiki immediately stepping forward and placing a protective arm around his princess's shoulders and murmuring comforting words into her firery hair. Usagi's Senshi turned wide, questioning eye to their princess's future husband, waiting for him to take the initiative and step forward to help his girlfriend out of the dirt. To their surprise, his face was closed and his blue eyes were cold. And then, to their utter shock...
He turned and walked away.
Usagi could hear the hollow thud of Mamoru's footsteps hitting the ground as he walked away and remained where she wa.s. Nothing was the same any longer, not since he'd returned from the "dead". She hated to admit it, but by the time he'd come back she was all for Seiya. It wasn't something that could be helped, really, it was just a simple fact. Both of them knew it, though neither spoke it. And things would never be the same again.
A good deal of time later, when Usagi had stood and brushed the dirt off her ankle length black skirt and apologized to Kakkyu and the other Senshi, she smiled somewhat bitterly. She hated to say it, but why Seiya? ...Why not Mamoru? Oh God, that was wrong.
She knelt by Seiya's grave again. The others had wanted to stay, or to take her home, but she'd begged them to leave her alone. Haruka had been deadset against it, she thought Usagi'd do something stupid now.
"Am I such a child, then?" She asked the blue sky, imagining it was Seiya. Everyone treated her like one, they all thought her incapable of protecting herself. She hated to remind them, but for the most part they'd been...Dead...During her biggest battles. She'd managed to defend herself before the rest came along, and she'd been a klutzy fourteen year old crybaby then. The only person who had seen the maturity in her, was Seiya. The others had been with her when she was silly and immature, so they were biased against any change that may have been bestowed upon Usagi. They thought her a silly little girl, still. But Seiya...
Seiya hadn't been here for any of that. He'd come in and knew only the Usagi who was more or less an adult; an adult who'd seen her share of hardships in life; and respected and--dare she say it?--loved her for it. And now... She swallowed, turning away from the cold reminder that the gravestone proffered.
Now that one person was gone.
Slowly she stood, dusting off her dark skirt and looking into the oncoming storm clouds. At one time, the sight; the *promise* of the storm would have terrified her, but now she felt no fear. She could feel Seiya around her...Could practically feel his strong arms wrapped around her slight body. "Oh, Seiya..." She sighed at last. "It hurts...I'm hurting." She knelt again, then slowly laid against the cold dirt of Seiya's grave.
***
She vaguely recalled closing her eyes, but she definitely did *not* remember drifting off. There'd been a bright, red flash, she remembered hazily, but that didn't explain how she'd got home and into her room. Slowly she lifted her slightly muddy cheek off her unexplainably clean pillow and opened her bedroom door.
"Mom?" She called, swallowing tightly as she heard how hoarse her voice sounded. All the sobbing, she assumed. Her mother appeared at the bottom of the stairs and glanced up sympathetically, if a little confused. "Hi, darling... When did you get back from Sei--When did you get back, dear?"
"When did I..." Her voice trailed off as it became obvious that one of her friends had *not* taking pity on her and carried her home, leaving her in the care of her mother. So how on earth had she gotten home?
"Um... A while ago, Mom."
"How was the funeral, dear?" Her mother finally asked sympathetically, leaning against the banister and gazing up at her daughter, dark eyes soft.
"It was...Beautiful," Usagi replied at last. She hadn't thought it was the slighest bit beautiful, but when the service was over everyone kept repeating it was as they shook each other's hands. She didn't see how anything involving the death of someone as truly beautiful, inwardly and outwardly, as Seiya, could be beautiful. Everyone had treated it like some damn party, laughing and joking and eating snacks when it was all over. She'd burned with indignance for her departed love.
"That's nice, honey," Ikuko said gently as she regarded how tired Usagi looked. "Why don't you go get some rest? I'll bring you up some soup or something later, okay? Just rest."
"Thanks, Mom." As she looked down at her mother, she felt a sudden rush of love for her, knowing somehow she'd never see this gentle hearted woman again. "Mom? I... I love you."
Ikuko looked sort of surprised for a second, then she smiled. "I love you too, my poor little girl. You go get some sleep."
"Okay... Goodbye, Mom. I love you." She repeated before walking into the bathroom and closing the door, not locking it. She sat down on the bathroom floor, holding the small bottle she'd retrieved from the medicine cabinet. "Seiya... I can't fight it. I can't live without you for the rest of my life, not with Mamo-ch...Mamoru..." She uncapped the bottle and shook all of it's contents into her shaking hand.
*Kami-sama, Seiya, how could you slit your wrists? I'm terrified and all that's going to happen is I'll go to sleep and not wake up...* She swallowed the pills, one after another, until not even the powder at the bottom of the container remained. *I can't imagine the pain. Ai shiteru, koi. I'll be with you soon.*
Fifteen minutes later displayed a groggy Usagi leaning against the wooden wall of the tub, a peaceful smile crowning her dreamy face. "Soon, Seiya..." She mumbled as her eyes began to close, a delicious warmth spreading throughout her. "I'll be with you soon."
When Usagi's mother finally opened the door twenty moments later, it was already too late. Tsukino Usagi was gone.
*Had* hated Seiya... She forced herself to think it: *Seiya is dead.* As she looked around at literally thousands of people crying, she shook her head slowly and looked back down again. She couldn't understand why she wasn't crying; everyone else was and Usagi had been closer to him; much closer; than any of these fangirls that were crowding around the back of the concession. Why did she feel so emotionless, so...
Dead?
Finally, she reached a conclusion, and when she did, she wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry.
Usagi felt dead because when Seiya had died, a part of her had died as well. This revelation was quickly followed by another...
She'd loved him.
The emotion she'd been searching for finally came, increased by the fact that people were already walking away from the site, the grave not even full yet. She wanted to scream, How could you?! YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE! IF YOU COULD LEAVE BEFORE IT'S OVER, YOU DIDN'T LOVE HIM! BUT I--I *DID*! The emotion came, yes--in a loud sob as Usagi flung herself on top of the nearly full grave, the men stopping from throwing another shovel of dirt only just in time.
"Seiya," she sobbed, the cries racking her body heartwrenching to the most coldhearted observer. "Don't leave me!" Kakkyu had to turn away from the painfully pitiful sight the normally irrepressable blonde made, Taiki immediately stepping forward and placing a protective arm around his princess's shoulders and murmuring comforting words into her firery hair. Usagi's Senshi turned wide, questioning eye to their princess's future husband, waiting for him to take the initiative and step forward to help his girlfriend out of the dirt. To their surprise, his face was closed and his blue eyes were cold. And then, to their utter shock...
He turned and walked away.
Usagi could hear the hollow thud of Mamoru's footsteps hitting the ground as he walked away and remained where she wa.s. Nothing was the same any longer, not since he'd returned from the "dead". She hated to admit it, but by the time he'd come back she was all for Seiya. It wasn't something that could be helped, really, it was just a simple fact. Both of them knew it, though neither spoke it. And things would never be the same again.
A good deal of time later, when Usagi had stood and brushed the dirt off her ankle length black skirt and apologized to Kakkyu and the other Senshi, she smiled somewhat bitterly. She hated to say it, but why Seiya? ...Why not Mamoru? Oh God, that was wrong.
She knelt by Seiya's grave again. The others had wanted to stay, or to take her home, but she'd begged them to leave her alone. Haruka had been deadset against it, she thought Usagi'd do something stupid now.
"Am I such a child, then?" She asked the blue sky, imagining it was Seiya. Everyone treated her like one, they all thought her incapable of protecting herself. She hated to remind them, but for the most part they'd been...Dead...During her biggest battles. She'd managed to defend herself before the rest came along, and she'd been a klutzy fourteen year old crybaby then. The only person who had seen the maturity in her, was Seiya. The others had been with her when she was silly and immature, so they were biased against any change that may have been bestowed upon Usagi. They thought her a silly little girl, still. But Seiya...
Seiya hadn't been here for any of that. He'd come in and knew only the Usagi who was more or less an adult; an adult who'd seen her share of hardships in life; and respected and--dare she say it?--loved her for it. And now... She swallowed, turning away from the cold reminder that the gravestone proffered.
Now that one person was gone.
Slowly she stood, dusting off her dark skirt and looking into the oncoming storm clouds. At one time, the sight; the *promise* of the storm would have terrified her, but now she felt no fear. She could feel Seiya around her...Could practically feel his strong arms wrapped around her slight body. "Oh, Seiya..." She sighed at last. "It hurts...I'm hurting." She knelt again, then slowly laid against the cold dirt of Seiya's grave.
***
She vaguely recalled closing her eyes, but she definitely did *not* remember drifting off. There'd been a bright, red flash, she remembered hazily, but that didn't explain how she'd got home and into her room. Slowly she lifted her slightly muddy cheek off her unexplainably clean pillow and opened her bedroom door.
"Mom?" She called, swallowing tightly as she heard how hoarse her voice sounded. All the sobbing, she assumed. Her mother appeared at the bottom of the stairs and glanced up sympathetically, if a little confused. "Hi, darling... When did you get back from Sei--When did you get back, dear?"
"When did I..." Her voice trailed off as it became obvious that one of her friends had *not* taking pity on her and carried her home, leaving her in the care of her mother. So how on earth had she gotten home?
"Um... A while ago, Mom."
"How was the funeral, dear?" Her mother finally asked sympathetically, leaning against the banister and gazing up at her daughter, dark eyes soft.
"It was...Beautiful," Usagi replied at last. She hadn't thought it was the slighest bit beautiful, but when the service was over everyone kept repeating it was as they shook each other's hands. She didn't see how anything involving the death of someone as truly beautiful, inwardly and outwardly, as Seiya, could be beautiful. Everyone had treated it like some damn party, laughing and joking and eating snacks when it was all over. She'd burned with indignance for her departed love.
"That's nice, honey," Ikuko said gently as she regarded how tired Usagi looked. "Why don't you go get some rest? I'll bring you up some soup or something later, okay? Just rest."
"Thanks, Mom." As she looked down at her mother, she felt a sudden rush of love for her, knowing somehow she'd never see this gentle hearted woman again. "Mom? I... I love you."
Ikuko looked sort of surprised for a second, then she smiled. "I love you too, my poor little girl. You go get some sleep."
"Okay... Goodbye, Mom. I love you." She repeated before walking into the bathroom and closing the door, not locking it. She sat down on the bathroom floor, holding the small bottle she'd retrieved from the medicine cabinet. "Seiya... I can't fight it. I can't live without you for the rest of my life, not with Mamo-ch...Mamoru..." She uncapped the bottle and shook all of it's contents into her shaking hand.
*Kami-sama, Seiya, how could you slit your wrists? I'm terrified and all that's going to happen is I'll go to sleep and not wake up...* She swallowed the pills, one after another, until not even the powder at the bottom of the container remained. *I can't imagine the pain. Ai shiteru, koi. I'll be with you soon.*
Fifteen minutes later displayed a groggy Usagi leaning against the wooden wall of the tub, a peaceful smile crowning her dreamy face. "Soon, Seiya..." She mumbled as her eyes began to close, a delicious warmth spreading throughout her. "I'll be with you soon."
When Usagi's mother finally opened the door twenty moments later, it was already too late. Tsukino Usagi was gone.