One Last Breath
~By: Lauren~
R U N N I N G
A F T E R
T H E
W I N D
"Let's go in here!!" Lina exclaimed, dragging the group over to a bookstore.
"I'm going to stay here." Asuka Jr. replied, planting his feet firmly on the sidewalk. He KNEW he had saw her, I mean, it had to be her, didn't it? How many times had he dashed after red heads only because he imagined it was Meimi? How many times did he woken up in a panic from dreaming of her? How many phone calls had he received from people saying they had seen a girl that matched the description of Meimi? How many times had he been let down? Too many.
After he had first sent out a missing person description of Meimi he had gotten many phone calls from people claiming they had saw a girl much like her. But every time he got a phone call it was from a different town and then another one and another one. How could he find someone if they were constantly moving? After a while the phone calls thinned and people gradually forgot about the missing girl. He hadn't received a call about her in a year or so. He knew it was foolish and stupid. He knew it was hopeless but yet...somewhere in his heart he had to keep pushing himself. He had to find her, no matter how long it took. Why? Asuka Jr. wasn't quite sure. He only knew he had to find her but...lately he had been full of despair. Not lately, more like forever. He felt hopeless. Asuka Jr. leaned against the cold brick of the outside of the building while the others disappeared into the rows and rows of books. He lifted up his hands, resting them behind his head as he glanced around. A woman with brown frizzy hair walked by followed by a larger bald man. Asuka snorted. "I'll never find her. I must be going crazy...but it felt so real. The other times I acted on impulse if I saw something familiar but this time...this time it was different. It was as if I could FEEL her there. Oh, I don't know." He bit his lip, letting his thoughts calm. "I should have never let her go that day..."
~*~
"Think it's safe yet Ruby?" Meimi asked her hedgehog, tired of being cramped next to a garbage can that did not smell very lovely. Ruby squeaked, telling Meimi she thought it was all clear. "I can't believe I saw him. I mean...I saw them all. Seira and Sawatari look really cute together. I'm g-glad there happy...together. And Asuka Jr. was with Lina. They looked happy together also...carefree...such a cute couple." Meimi didn't understand why but it hurt to think of them together. But why did she feel she had some mysterious claim to him? She had left him years ago. He meant nothing to her. She had blocked him from her mind, from her heart. So why did it feel as if she was burning with jealousy? Why did her heart race at his sight while it also throbbed in seeing them together? The Meimi that belonged to this town had died along with her parents. She no longer existed and neither did these strange feelings. At least, that was what she told herself. Her body seemed to tremble with confusion. "I hate you Asuka Jr." She repeated in her mind. "I will only visit my parents and that is all. That is what I must do here and that is only what I can do." But the red head didn't notice the tears dripping down her cheeks or her sunglasses fogging up.
Ruby squeaked with concern at Meimi's silence and actions, asking if something was wrong.
But Meimi never said a word; she was too stubborn to admit that something was wrong, that something bothered her. Too stubborn for her own good to do more than just sit and silently suffer, taking it without a grumble and letting Asuka Jr. live his own life...no matter how much she wanted to be part of it. But that was just the thing...she was too stubborn to forget him. Actually, stubborn wasn't the word for it once. Afraid, maybe scared... unwilling, all mixed up with terror. For once, it was more than one word. For once, it was several. And what if he didn't return her feelings? Was she too stubborn to see the truth? Standing up, although her knees were shaking, Meimi emerged from the alleyway, briskly walking down the street in the direction she had come.
~*~
Asuka Jr. rolled his eyes. They were taking F O R E V E R!! Most likely because of Lina. He sighed, glancing at his surroundings once again. He crackled his knuckles then turned to his left, staring down the sidewalk. About a block and a half away he spotted a red haired girl clad in black walk around a corner.
His heart beat faster. It thumped so hard inside of him it seemed to drown out his hearing as he lifted up his feet, not conscious of his actions. He sprinted in the direction he had seen the girl, zigzagging through confused people.
"WAIT!!!" He called after her, turning the corner to see her blurred figure round yet another corner up ahead of him. He cursed himself for being lazy as his breath came in ragged and uneven. In fact, ever since Saint Tail's disappearance also he hadn't really been much of a detective. The force had given him quite some time off until he felt ready to return. He came back but he didn't have the same passion for it as he had back when Saint Tail was around. In the back of his mind, it seemed to fit together; both of the girls disappearing, Meimi and Saint Tail, but it could also be just a strange coincidence. Saint Tail quit stealing from guilt of causing an accident and Meimi ran away...because, well, he couldn't put it into words but he knew she had to heal. He just wished she could have done it a much different way than leaving.
~*~
Meimi's heart raced as her boots clicked on the cement. She ran down a narrow street as she tried to ignore Asuka Jr.'s calls behind her.
"STOP RUNNING!!!!!" Asuka Jr. called after the girl. He still wasn't sure if it really was Meimi but something in his heart...something told him it could be her.
It seemed so much like then. Like that horrible day. He was chasing after her and she was running. What if she hurt someone else? What if she killed someone again? Memories of that day, memories she had locked away in her mind, never to be seen again, came back in full force. The smashing and crunching noise of the car filled her ears, blocking out all other sound. Inside her mind flashed the image of the flipped car, a dead figure hanging from its seat, held back by the seatbelt. Glass and metal was everywhere. Blood. Screams. Rain. The dark sky. Only one headlight shining faithfully. Pain. Agony. Regret. Grief.
Murder.
Tears sprung to her eyes as she was reminded again why she had left this town. Why she would never show her eyes to anyone again.
Asuka Jr. was beginning to gain speed. He was getting closer. Meimi lunged through a couple of people then made a quick right, cornering herself in an alleyway that was blocked by a metal fence.
She had no where to go. She was corner.
An idea sprung into her head. Jumping up at the fence, Meimi grabbed hold of the metal wires, ignoring the pain it caused as the wire pushed into her skin. She pushed both feet into two holes as she clambered upward. She could hear his voice getting closer, his footsteps growing louder as he neared the alleyway.
Her footing slipped. She began to fall down but her trustworthy hands shoved themselves into two circles, letting the wire draw blood as Meimi hung by those two hands. She definitely was getting rusty at things like this. She pulled her feet back up, letting them find some reliable grip as she climbed up the fence, pulling her body over the top.
"MEIMI!!!!!!!!!!!" Asuka Jr. screamed as he turned the corner, dashing into the alley.
Meimi dropped to the ground, turning her back to him before he could see her face. She sprinted forward, disappearing down a tiny pathway and then out into the town once again. And she ran. She ran even though she felt her legs would collapse. All she was seeking for was the safety of the junkyard.
~*~
"ASUKA JR.!! WHAT HAPPENED!?!?" Lina yelled as she, Seira and Sawatari ran up to Asuka, all of them gasping for air.
"I-I saw her..." He murmured, the right corner of his mouth lifted up a bit in a lopsided smile. "...I saw her..."
"WHO?!" Lina stamped her foot with annoyance.
"Her." Asuka Jr. looked down at the ground. "But I let her get away again..."
"Stop chasing after your stupid invisible phantoms Asuka! MEIMI-IS-GONE!! IT'S BEEN TWO WHOLE YEARS!! WHY would she bother coming back NOW?! Wake up to reality. Meimi's left and she's NEVER coming BACK!!" Lina hissed. She was so frustrated with that boy. Every time it seemed they would be getting along fine, both of them in a happy relationship, he would think he saw Meimi or he would mention something about her until Lina couldn't stand it. It was as if Meimi was ghost, always haunting them. Even though she was gone, Lina could never escape her grasp.
"She is back. She HAS to be back." Asuka Jr. glared at her angrily, clenching his fists. "I SAW HER!!!! WHY can't you just BELIEVE ME?!" He pushed past Lina, fleeing down the street and to the safety of his own home.
"She is never coming back..." Lina let her hands fall limply to her sides. Her eyes filled with tears.
Seira gently laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Sometimes...you have to let go."
"What do you mean by that?!" Lina spun on the nun, glaring at her and Sawatari.
"It hurts...but it's for the best." Seira finished. Sawatari gently clasped her hand as they walked forward and continued down the street.
"We're getting ice cream, my treat. Want to join us? I'll try a picture of you if you want!" Sawatari invited Lina, grinning ear to ear as if nothing had happened as he tried to cheer Lina up.
"No thanks." Lina turned and trudged down the opposite way.
~*~
Meimi slammed the car door shut, locking herself in the small metal box. "How ironic. My parents died in a car accident and here I sleep in cars almost all the time." She snorted a resentful laugh. Outside, she could hear quite voices. Her eyes had grown cold, showing nothing near love or caring but no one could see this.
"Is she going to be ok?" Marie questioned Tammy with concern. Meimi had just stormed through the lot of them and then locked herself away in the nearby car.
"Yeah, she will. She just needs time." Tammy replied, biting into an apple.
"I hear there's a dance tomorrow for a nearby Catholic school. I say we raid it." Marie changed the subject quickly, her face lighting up with a mischievous grin of pleasure. "It is quite the talk among the students I passed while I was checking out this place. You were right Tams, this town really is nice..."
Meimi opened the car door with determination in her eyes which, as always, where hidden by two pieces of black plastic. "I'll come with you guy." She coldly stated.
The two girls nodded at her and then tossed her an apple.
~*~
I don't have anything
Because I don't have you
I don't have anything
~*~
Lauren: The most complicated things in life besides falling in love would have to be the thoughts that run through someone's head while it's happening.
Meimi: *nod* I agree.
Lauren: And now...it's almost 1 A.M. so if I keep typing I might just ramble on. "Lina spun on the nun" Hehehe...I busted a rhyme just in time! I'm a poet and I didn't know it!
Meimi: *rolls eyes* Time for you to go to bed. *drags Lauren away by shirt collar*
~By: Lauren~
R U N N I N G
A F T E R
T H E
W I N D
"Let's go in here!!" Lina exclaimed, dragging the group over to a bookstore.
"I'm going to stay here." Asuka Jr. replied, planting his feet firmly on the sidewalk. He KNEW he had saw her, I mean, it had to be her, didn't it? How many times had he dashed after red heads only because he imagined it was Meimi? How many times did he woken up in a panic from dreaming of her? How many phone calls had he received from people saying they had seen a girl that matched the description of Meimi? How many times had he been let down? Too many.
After he had first sent out a missing person description of Meimi he had gotten many phone calls from people claiming they had saw a girl much like her. But every time he got a phone call it was from a different town and then another one and another one. How could he find someone if they were constantly moving? After a while the phone calls thinned and people gradually forgot about the missing girl. He hadn't received a call about her in a year or so. He knew it was foolish and stupid. He knew it was hopeless but yet...somewhere in his heart he had to keep pushing himself. He had to find her, no matter how long it took. Why? Asuka Jr. wasn't quite sure. He only knew he had to find her but...lately he had been full of despair. Not lately, more like forever. He felt hopeless. Asuka Jr. leaned against the cold brick of the outside of the building while the others disappeared into the rows and rows of books. He lifted up his hands, resting them behind his head as he glanced around. A woman with brown frizzy hair walked by followed by a larger bald man. Asuka snorted. "I'll never find her. I must be going crazy...but it felt so real. The other times I acted on impulse if I saw something familiar but this time...this time it was different. It was as if I could FEEL her there. Oh, I don't know." He bit his lip, letting his thoughts calm. "I should have never let her go that day..."
~*~
"Think it's safe yet Ruby?" Meimi asked her hedgehog, tired of being cramped next to a garbage can that did not smell very lovely. Ruby squeaked, telling Meimi she thought it was all clear. "I can't believe I saw him. I mean...I saw them all. Seira and Sawatari look really cute together. I'm g-glad there happy...together. And Asuka Jr. was with Lina. They looked happy together also...carefree...such a cute couple." Meimi didn't understand why but it hurt to think of them together. But why did she feel she had some mysterious claim to him? She had left him years ago. He meant nothing to her. She had blocked him from her mind, from her heart. So why did it feel as if she was burning with jealousy? Why did her heart race at his sight while it also throbbed in seeing them together? The Meimi that belonged to this town had died along with her parents. She no longer existed and neither did these strange feelings. At least, that was what she told herself. Her body seemed to tremble with confusion. "I hate you Asuka Jr." She repeated in her mind. "I will only visit my parents and that is all. That is what I must do here and that is only what I can do." But the red head didn't notice the tears dripping down her cheeks or her sunglasses fogging up.
Ruby squeaked with concern at Meimi's silence and actions, asking if something was wrong.
But Meimi never said a word; she was too stubborn to admit that something was wrong, that something bothered her. Too stubborn for her own good to do more than just sit and silently suffer, taking it without a grumble and letting Asuka Jr. live his own life...no matter how much she wanted to be part of it. But that was just the thing...she was too stubborn to forget him. Actually, stubborn wasn't the word for it once. Afraid, maybe scared... unwilling, all mixed up with terror. For once, it was more than one word. For once, it was several. And what if he didn't return her feelings? Was she too stubborn to see the truth? Standing up, although her knees were shaking, Meimi emerged from the alleyway, briskly walking down the street in the direction she had come.
~*~
Asuka Jr. rolled his eyes. They were taking F O R E V E R!! Most likely because of Lina. He sighed, glancing at his surroundings once again. He crackled his knuckles then turned to his left, staring down the sidewalk. About a block and a half away he spotted a red haired girl clad in black walk around a corner.
His heart beat faster. It thumped so hard inside of him it seemed to drown out his hearing as he lifted up his feet, not conscious of his actions. He sprinted in the direction he had seen the girl, zigzagging through confused people.
"WAIT!!!" He called after her, turning the corner to see her blurred figure round yet another corner up ahead of him. He cursed himself for being lazy as his breath came in ragged and uneven. In fact, ever since Saint Tail's disappearance also he hadn't really been much of a detective. The force had given him quite some time off until he felt ready to return. He came back but he didn't have the same passion for it as he had back when Saint Tail was around. In the back of his mind, it seemed to fit together; both of the girls disappearing, Meimi and Saint Tail, but it could also be just a strange coincidence. Saint Tail quit stealing from guilt of causing an accident and Meimi ran away...because, well, he couldn't put it into words but he knew she had to heal. He just wished she could have done it a much different way than leaving.
~*~
Meimi's heart raced as her boots clicked on the cement. She ran down a narrow street as she tried to ignore Asuka Jr.'s calls behind her.
"STOP RUNNING!!!!!" Asuka Jr. called after the girl. He still wasn't sure if it really was Meimi but something in his heart...something told him it could be her.
It seemed so much like then. Like that horrible day. He was chasing after her and she was running. What if she hurt someone else? What if she killed someone again? Memories of that day, memories she had locked away in her mind, never to be seen again, came back in full force. The smashing and crunching noise of the car filled her ears, blocking out all other sound. Inside her mind flashed the image of the flipped car, a dead figure hanging from its seat, held back by the seatbelt. Glass and metal was everywhere. Blood. Screams. Rain. The dark sky. Only one headlight shining faithfully. Pain. Agony. Regret. Grief.
Murder.
Tears sprung to her eyes as she was reminded again why she had left this town. Why she would never show her eyes to anyone again.
Asuka Jr. was beginning to gain speed. He was getting closer. Meimi lunged through a couple of people then made a quick right, cornering herself in an alleyway that was blocked by a metal fence.
She had no where to go. She was corner.
An idea sprung into her head. Jumping up at the fence, Meimi grabbed hold of the metal wires, ignoring the pain it caused as the wire pushed into her skin. She pushed both feet into two holes as she clambered upward. She could hear his voice getting closer, his footsteps growing louder as he neared the alleyway.
Her footing slipped. She began to fall down but her trustworthy hands shoved themselves into two circles, letting the wire draw blood as Meimi hung by those two hands. She definitely was getting rusty at things like this. She pulled her feet back up, letting them find some reliable grip as she climbed up the fence, pulling her body over the top.
"MEIMI!!!!!!!!!!!" Asuka Jr. screamed as he turned the corner, dashing into the alley.
Meimi dropped to the ground, turning her back to him before he could see her face. She sprinted forward, disappearing down a tiny pathway and then out into the town once again. And she ran. She ran even though she felt her legs would collapse. All she was seeking for was the safety of the junkyard.
~*~
"ASUKA JR.!! WHAT HAPPENED!?!?" Lina yelled as she, Seira and Sawatari ran up to Asuka, all of them gasping for air.
"I-I saw her..." He murmured, the right corner of his mouth lifted up a bit in a lopsided smile. "...I saw her..."
"WHO?!" Lina stamped her foot with annoyance.
"Her." Asuka Jr. looked down at the ground. "But I let her get away again..."
"Stop chasing after your stupid invisible phantoms Asuka! MEIMI-IS-GONE!! IT'S BEEN TWO WHOLE YEARS!! WHY would she bother coming back NOW?! Wake up to reality. Meimi's left and she's NEVER coming BACK!!" Lina hissed. She was so frustrated with that boy. Every time it seemed they would be getting along fine, both of them in a happy relationship, he would think he saw Meimi or he would mention something about her until Lina couldn't stand it. It was as if Meimi was ghost, always haunting them. Even though she was gone, Lina could never escape her grasp.
"She is back. She HAS to be back." Asuka Jr. glared at her angrily, clenching his fists. "I SAW HER!!!! WHY can't you just BELIEVE ME?!" He pushed past Lina, fleeing down the street and to the safety of his own home.
"She is never coming back..." Lina let her hands fall limply to her sides. Her eyes filled with tears.
Seira gently laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Sometimes...you have to let go."
"What do you mean by that?!" Lina spun on the nun, glaring at her and Sawatari.
"It hurts...but it's for the best." Seira finished. Sawatari gently clasped her hand as they walked forward and continued down the street.
"We're getting ice cream, my treat. Want to join us? I'll try a picture of you if you want!" Sawatari invited Lina, grinning ear to ear as if nothing had happened as he tried to cheer Lina up.
"No thanks." Lina turned and trudged down the opposite way.
~*~
Meimi slammed the car door shut, locking herself in the small metal box. "How ironic. My parents died in a car accident and here I sleep in cars almost all the time." She snorted a resentful laugh. Outside, she could hear quite voices. Her eyes had grown cold, showing nothing near love or caring but no one could see this.
"Is she going to be ok?" Marie questioned Tammy with concern. Meimi had just stormed through the lot of them and then locked herself away in the nearby car.
"Yeah, she will. She just needs time." Tammy replied, biting into an apple.
"I hear there's a dance tomorrow for a nearby Catholic school. I say we raid it." Marie changed the subject quickly, her face lighting up with a mischievous grin of pleasure. "It is quite the talk among the students I passed while I was checking out this place. You were right Tams, this town really is nice..."
Meimi opened the car door with determination in her eyes which, as always, where hidden by two pieces of black plastic. "I'll come with you guy." She coldly stated.
The two girls nodded at her and then tossed her an apple.
~*~
I don't have anything
Because I don't have you
I don't have anything
~*~
Lauren: The most complicated things in life besides falling in love would have to be the thoughts that run through someone's head while it's happening.
Meimi: *nod* I agree.
Lauren: And now...it's almost 1 A.M. so if I keep typing I might just ramble on. "Lina spun on the nun" Hehehe...I busted a rhyme just in time! I'm a poet and I didn't know it!
Meimi: *rolls eyes* Time for you to go to bed. *drags Lauren away by shirt collar*