Given
Chapter 1
Warnings: Mention of drug abuse; religious activities (nobody shoot me for satanic stuff, either!! ,)
AB: Kwa. well, it seems I managed to confuse at least one person by my abbreviation. MKR is just my way of shortening 'Magic Knight Rayearth.' I hope you guys have heard of it? If not, go to: http://www.neorayearth.net/dimension4/mkr/main.html or http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/6843/ where you can find plenty of information. Earlier, when I had only one person telling me that they were unfamiliar with it, I sent her a different link that had, in my opinion, better information (and some beautiful images that I had not seen anywhere else. :sad, sad: ) but I can't find it now...
****
It was nice, going out with her friends on a Friday night. It was even better that her parents were letting her, and had willingly supplied her with extra spending money. And all because Ami had agreed to help tutor her, really.
Ami should have been the one getting most of the praise, really. Because even though it was Usagi who had made the grade, without Ami, it simply wouldn't have been possible. Still, though, the night was young, and there was plenty of time to hit the stores and arcade and eat plenty of junk food.
It should have been a happy time. The last time Usagi had made a 'B' was when she was in junior high. So it was kind of a miracle, a freak incident.
They had already stopped by the book store and picked up a few new manga that Usagi had been dying to get her hands on. Cruising down the street, laughing and having fun, all of life's hardships seemed so far away.
It didn't last, though. One moment, life was in bright, happy pastel colors, and the next it was sheer confusion and pain marked by puddles of dark, black ink dribbled and spreading across the page. Usagi couldn't remember ever feeling more scared- her scream had caught in her throat, and before she knew it, it was over.
They had been hit by some car hard on Usagi's side, but the real damage was on the other side and towards the front, from where they'd slammed into a pole. If anything, Usagi had managed to escape the incident without much more than a few bruises and the feeling of panic.
She opened her door, only mangled metal now from the impact. She noticed that she was shaking- her hands, her legs... her whole body was trembling violently, almost rattling apart with the combination of adrenaline and shock.
Like a drunken man, she staggered away from the car, and collapsed heavily onto the concrete. It didn't matter that she was in the middle of the street, so long as she got to sit down and try to breathe.
For what felt like a million years, there was little sound. People buzzed around her, making worried noises, some crying and screaming. But Usagi could hear almost none of it; could only stare up at the sky, trembling, trying to convince herself that it was alright, she had escaped death.
Shrill sirens finally broke the silence, and the group parted around her, away from her and the mangled wreck. She was lifted, half-dazed, and carried like a mindless rag-doll to the ambulance where they checked her pulse and for serious injuries.
Two of her friends joined her shortly, placed in cots beside her, but they must have been unconscious, because she never heard them say a word. She couldn't even see them, the white-clothed bodies were so intent on looking them over for wounds.
After a lifetime, another ambulance showed up, and the wreck was hauled out of the way. Finally they left, hauled off to the sterile smelling hospital where death and disease haunted every corridor and room, lodged in the memories of the walls.
**
The world had taken on a hazy sort of being, and everything was distant and blurred in Usagi's mind. Finally, though, the mist lodged in her mind seemed to be break up, dispersing into small vapid clouds before leaving her altogether.
The world rushed back at her, a crushing enormity after feeling so detached moments before; she found it to be an unpleasant welcoming. She saw that in her sense's absence, a hospital gown had replaced her clothes, and her hair had been released from its normal style to hang around in her in long, golden waves.
Laying in the hospital bed, she was instructed not to get up, and that if she had any troubles then to tell the nurse. Usagi felt frustrated, doing nothing- she was still bursting with energy, and now she had question upon question to demand about the well-being of her friends. Not to mention the monitor they'd clipped onto her finger to measure her pulse and such was annoying her greatly, reminding her too much of a chip-clip cutting off that same pulse.
Some time later, her family came into the room. Usagi was surprised by her mother's distress- apparently, despite the reassurances of the doctor on the phone, she had assumed the worst. Sure enough, her mother cried as she embraced her, and Usagi felt both guilty and embarrassed at once- she was making a scene over nothing, but from the nurse's soft look, apparently it was acceptable.
When her mother released her, she felt doubly guilty for feeling embarrassed before- there were dark circles under her mother's tear-stained eyes, and her skin looked haggard. It had been a long time since she had really looked at her mother's face- and now she could see the years taking toll on her, wrinkling her once youthful skin with crow's feet at the corners of her eyes and laugh lines deeply inset. And since when had her mother's hair started graying...?
"I'm sorry for worrying you," Usagi managed to croak out, hoping that her mother would brighten up. It hurt her to see this woman, who had once been so beautiful and young, look so old and full of wisdom that weighed her soul down.
She gave her daughter a watery smile, and it was obvious she was holding back her tears. She released Usagi from her bear hug, and gave a small sniffle while ruffling her daughter's hair. "I'm just so glad that you're all right," she said.
Usagi offered her a small smile back. She was glad, too, but she was still worried about her friends...
"When will we be able to take her home," her father queried the nurse, standing behind his wife with his hands placed reassuringly on her shoulders. Usagi felt a small pang in her heart, recognizing that as just one gesture of love. She prayed that one day, she might have love like that, too.
"Well, she wasn't seriously injured, so she'll be able to leave whenever she feels ready."
They all looked at her expectantly, and Usagi sat up slowly. "My friends... the other people in the car. How are they?"
The nurse exchanged looks with her parents, ones that she could not interpret. She wondered what they were relaying to one another in silence, and felt a bad feeling hit the pit of her stomach.
"Well, Hino Rei is awake and going fine- she has a few fractured ribs, but she'll be out very soon. Her grandfather is with her now. Kino Makoto has a broken arm, but as soon as they've set that and given her some pain medication, she'll be free to go. As for Aino Minako, I'm afraid she'll have to stay overnight- she has a concussion and a rather painful goose egg from where she hit her head on the steering wheel."
"Wait. That's not all of them- what about Ami, Mizuno Ami?" Usagi asked, peering up at the nurse, her eyes narrowed and suspicious. "She was in the passenger seat in the front," Usagi supplied.
The nurse shot an almost-frantic look at her parents, but they merely lowered their eyes to the floor. Usagi felt a shot of anger surge through her, warming her other-wise cold body. Not only was the nurse hiding something from her, but so were her parents.
"Tell me. I know you're hiding something from me, so tell me- I was in the car with her when we crashed, so I have a right to know," she demanded heatedly, letting her azure eyes bore into the older woman.
"Ah. well, I suppose since you want to know so badly, miss. I hope this doesn't shock you too badly, but... Mizuno-san was in the seat nearest to where the car collided with the pole, and she had the greatest injuries."
"Yeah, so," Usagi snapped, feeling rather irate at this woman. She was apparently stalling for time, and it really made Usagi mad when people tried to hide things from her. "Tell me."
The woman sighed, and looked down. "There's a lot of internal bleeding, hun, and she's in a coma right now. They're... not sure if she'll wake up. And if they can't stop the bleeding, well." She just shook her head, and apologized to Usagi. "I know you wanted me to tell you, but. I really shouldn't have."
Usagi sat there, numb to the people around her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Ami... car wreck... internal bleeding... coma... It was impossible.
Ami, who had helped her to ace her test. Ami, with her shy, aquamarine eyes and shiny, short-cropped hair. Ami, the most intelligent and promising of them all, the one who wanted to make a difference in the world and help people. What would happen if there was no more Ami, no more Sailor Mercury...?
Tears stung at Usagi's eyes, and she fought hard to keep them down. "I... I see," she managed to choke out. There wasn't all that much more to say- not much she could say.
She reached out to the Ginzuisho reflexively even while getting up to go to the bathroom and change into her regular clothes. She could multi-task, she decided, in a time of crisis- and if this wasn't near-crisis, then she didn't know what was. It wasn't on her person, but she could feel its familiar presence nearby.
Onegai, she begged it, onegai, help me. Help me save Ami-chan, I beg you!
But it did not answer. Usagi brought the brooch out of her bag with her clothes and winced at it. It was pretty battered, and there were a few dents. She remembered the feeling of something banging against her chest, and realized that it must have been her brooch when she had slammed into the seat in front of her. Sure enough, upon checking, there was a rather large bruise that had formed on her chest, just below her collar bone.
Did I break it, she wondered to herself, wincing. She gingerly opened the locket, afraid that the hinges might snap- and sure enough, they did, but they revealed the Ginzuisho to be in all its usual splendor.
Usagi felt a rush of relief at the thought that it was undamaged by the crash. It looked as though it had held up better than she had; Usagi smiled bitterly. It had certainly held up better than Ami had.
There was a knock on the door that broke Usagi out of her bitter reverie with a shock. "Usagi, sweetheart? Are you okay in there?"
"Hai," she called back. "I'll be right out." She hadn't been in here for more than a minute, and despite the natural motherly-worrying, Usagi didn't want her mother to barge in on her to find that she still hadn't changed. She might just think Usagi was an invalid, or something.
Hurriedly, she got her clothes out of the bag hanging on the hook on the wall, finding that they had survived the crash as well, though their condition wasn't exactly what could be considered 'fresh.'
As she dressed, she couldn't help but think that it wasn't fair that physical, inanimate objects should make it through and not her friend, who she cared about so much.
After having pulled her shoes on, Usagi picked up the Ginzuisho again. Onegai, Ginzuisho- grant me my wish, and help me to heal my friend. I don't care what it costs me. She concentrated hard, trying to will a response from the stone that had thus far remained so silent it could be mistake for a regular one.
Still, there was nothing, only silence on the other end. Usagi blinked back tears of desperation, confusion, and fury- why wouldn't it work? It was the key to her powers, the thing that let them be released from their residence in her soul. It transformed them so that they in their raw purity would not destroy her fragile, mortal body but rather deplete her of energy.
For a moment, there was nothing as before. Usagi bit her lip ferociously, trying not to scream since she knew there were people out there who would certainly hear her. Finally, though, there was a reply from the Ginzuisho, in a strange, ethereal, and inhuman voice.
I cannot save her. You cannot save her. There is no one in the world who can stop this turn of fate- you must ride it out. An ungrantable wish? Usagi's eyes widened with both fear and fury. No, that couldn't be possible! It just... it just COULDN'T.
"Why," she whispered, feeling her fury welling up from ever cell in her body, mounting into an impossible storm. "Why go through all the trouble to keep us alive? Why could you revive her before, and not now?"
Another insistent knock sounded on the door. "Usagi," came the concerned sound of her mother's voice.
Usagi sighed with exasperation. How was she going to possibly get any answers with all of these interruptions? "I'll be out in just a minute," she called back, sounding a bit more snappish than she'd meant to.
Usagi sighed to herself, and shook her head; she couldn't seem to do anything right. Tell me, she all-but growled at the jewel. Or I'll leave you here for some destitute stranger who needs money for his next fix to find, she threatened.
For a moment, there was no response, but then came the same mental voice as before, whispery and light as the wind but without the distinction of male or female. I cannot save her because she is no longer needed.
**
No longer needed? Usagi stumbled from the bathroom, in another sort of daze. How. How could that ever be possible? Ami was one of them, one of the Sailor Senshi, and at least in Usagi's eyes, she was just as important as she was or Minako, Makoto, Rei, or even herself.
How could the Ginzuisho believe that her shy, wonderful friend was no longer needed? Ami, the brains of the operation, the one who came up with all the strategies?
Tears could not reach her now. The ones that had built in the emotional aftermath had been banished, and in their place a slowly stewing fury began to boil like water on a stove.
Her friends, who had never given up on her, who had stuck by her side through thick and thin. The few people in the world who still believed Usagi had potential. The only ones who never gave up on her, no matter how much she whined or cried. She was supposed to give up on them, even just one of them?
Usagi closed her eyes. She refused to believe it. Don't give up, Ami-chan. Even if the Ginzuisho won't help, somehow... I'll find a way, some how- I promise. Just, please, don't give up, she begged her friend.
A thought came to her mind- she had not been in a hospital since her grandmother's death when she was only eight or so. That had been some time ago... a little over nine years.
Nine years... do we really grow up so fast? I remember second grade like it was yesterday, she reminisced wistfully.
Her mind was nagging at her. Remember, it was saying- remember.. Ah, yes! Hospitals had those little alcoves where people could go and pray. There had even been a priest there when her mother had prayed.
"Okaasan, do you know if they have an alcove here," she asked her mother, pulling on her sleeve in earnest.
"A what, dear," she asked back, looking thoroughly confused.
"Y'know, one of those things you can go in and pray at? I want to pray for Ami-chan," she said.
Her mother's eyes softened. None of them had ever been particularly religious people, but every once and a while. "All right, then. You can go ahead and find one- be quick about it. Meet us in the lobby."
Usagi nodded and ran off in search of one. After going down corridors, asking directions from five different puzzled-looking personnel, and making a few wrong turns, Usagi finally found it.
She entered the little area, looking around as though she thought there was some kind of person in here. She then hesitantly kneeled down in front of the altar, and clasped her hands in front of her chest.
I know. it's been a long time since you last heard from me. I'm still not sure what I believe in. You didn't help me back then, so I'm. not sure you'll help me now. I... my friend.. she.. Please, help her. She means so much to me. To all of us.
Usagi looked up and sniffled slightly. She felt stupid sitting in here, praying to a god that she didn't even believe in. Power is in belief, she told herself. If you could just believe... But she knew it was no use, and she merely shook her head in vain.
As though she needed confirmation of this, the Ginzuisho piped in. The unnamed god will not help you. There is nothing you can do, little one.
That's not true, Usagi cried out in denial. It can't be; I refuse to let it be! There is too a way to help Ami-chan, she refuted the Ginzuisho one last time, petering off into tears of almost-despair.
"I just haven't thought of it yet," she whispered into her hands, trying to make the tears go away. Usagi sat there for a few moments in silence and without thought. She merely closed her eyes and drank in the cool darkness that she found behind her eyelids, and listened to the distant sounds echoed from the corridor outside.
"Okaasan, okaasan! Can we have some ice creamed," piped up a small voice from just outside the hall.
"I don't see why not," replied an older woman's voice, sounding amused. "But you'll have to wait until we leave, okay?"
"Yay," the young voice cried ecstatically. "I'd sell my soul for some..."
Usagi's mind jarred. How strange, for someone so young to say such a thing. And yet.. And yet, it was an idea. Sell your soul.. And get something in return.
What was the price of a soul going for these days, Usagi wondered to herself, mind speeding along inside. Would it be enough to save Ami-chan..?
No, whispered the fervent voice of the Ginzuisho to her. Do not invite such tragedy upon yourself- don't give yourself away... Not to that one, it protested.
Usagi was a bit puzzled by what it meant be 'giving herself away to 'that one,'' but decided to ignore it. You can just stuff it, she retorted to the Ginzuisho, feeling a bit nastier and meaner after her car wreck and the news about Ami.
If you're not a part of the solution, then you're a part of the problem, she finished, feeling a slight rush of power and amusement.
She stood up from the alter, and considered for a moment. She could, indeed, pray here- but somehow, it didn't seem right to pray to the devil or Satan or whatever in there. It was not her religion, but there were others who would consider it to be sacrilege, and she had to be aware of the feelings of others.
Usagi walked back to the lobby, slowly going over her plan in her mind. She was a bit leery about the idea, but the thought of having to attend Ami's funereal and knowing she could have done something to stop it...
**
The underworld was a truly dreary place, looking exactly the way it sounded. His 'kingdom' was cave after immense cave, leading lower and lower into the bowels of the earth. It wasn't too bad- there were a few with interesting pools that showed images of Earth's splendor, a few made entirely of crystals that shone with light that poured out from inside them, shining all different colors.
But it wasn't the same as being on the surface world, where the air wasn't always cold and smelling of damn dirt. The only places that didn't smell that way were his own quarters because he exerted his powers to prevent it from that way.
It was probably the brightest place, too, filled with lanterns and candles that most demons would not approve of. It was clean, as well- made of marble floors and pillars that never ceased to shine despite the fact that there was no one there to polish them.
Upon his arrival, the place had looked frighteningly like a dungeon, with only straw as means for a bed and rats scurrying all around the place. He had wondered briefly what kind of person had been in charge before him, but had dismissed it. Instead, he had focused his energies on fixing the place up.
There wasn't much to do here, of course. There were demons and ghosts and spirits, but most of them had their own agendas to attend to, and didn't say much to him. It was as though 'Lord of the Underworld' were just a title.
A title, and a non-existent job.
This is what I gave up mortality for, he asked himself in disgust, looking around.
"Ah, Zagato-sama," spoke an underling. He turned toward the creature and tried to refrain from giving it a heart attack with one of his glares like he'd done to the last one.
The creature was timid looking and small, surprisingly a 'fuzz ball.' It could almost be passed off as cute, if it weren't for the huge bat wings on the white tiger's back and its bulging red eyes.
"We are running low on soul-servers, my lord," it began hesitantly, obviously trying to work up the courage to get to the important part. "For most demons its not such a big issue, but for those that practice in the necromancy arts. it is a setback, sir."
He gave the creature a cold look, though not entirely intentionally. Zagato was naturally cold and ruthless, unless he was angry, and then he was like a bull gone berserk. "Then get some more," he replied dismissively before turning away.
"Ah, but sir," it replied, scurrying after him. Zagato stopped, looking back over his shoulder at the creature. It could not pull its breaks fast enough on the slippery floor, and slid straight into his leg.
The creature instantly panicked, and spouted off all sorts of apologies. Zagato let the thing ramble on- there had been others like this one before in his long, long reign, and he knew by now that when they were finished making pitiful excuses out of themselves they'd say what was important.
"What is your name," he inquired when the creature ran out of breath.
"Ah, ah- one has no proper name, sir. One is not a proper demon," it explained, voice filled with obvious shame.
Zagato remained silent for a moment, regarding the creature that didn't even come up to his knee. "What was it that you wanted to say," he finally implored.
"Ah, yes. You see, demons can not go get soul-servers. Only the demon lord can."
Zagato raised a single, delicate eyebrow. He had never been informed of that. "Why is this?"
"Only the demon lord has enough power to appear in the human world, or the authority to bargain with humans for souls," it explained, as though it were an obvious fact.
Zagato remained quiet for a few moments, thinking things over. He did not like the idea of dragging innocent humans to what was literally hell, but he had not had any real job to do in years. He had been sitting there, collecting dust like a forgotten or unwanted object on the shelf.
"Very well," Zagato finally told the creature. "I will go to the earth, and seek out candidates for this."
"Do you know how to do this," the creature asked, sitting back on its haunches and peering up at him almost skeptically.
This time both of Zagato's eye brows arched up. "Do you?"
"More than you, it seems," the creature admitted, sounding smug but wincing as though expecting a beating from Zagato.
"Very well, then. You will tell me what I need to know, and accompany me on this little trip," Zagato said, walking away as though the subject were completely closed.
"W-wait a minute! One will not survive earth," the creature yelped, panicking- he could not disobey his lord's orders, but for a proper demon to go to earth was suicide, much less one like him.
"Well, then you'll just have to stick close by, then, won't you," Zagato asked, not even bothering to look back.
*---------------------*
Finished. that was ten pages long. O.o Took too long to write. -_- Oh, well. I hope I wasn't too repetitive with Usagi's tear business. It occurred to me that I was probably annoying somebody, but oh well.
Please give me feedback, people. I really appreciate it, even if it is just to tell me 'you suck.' Just please write a little more than 'MORE' or 'that was great!' ^^;;; I'm so picky. Well, anyhow, here's my responses to the last chapter's reviews.
Squirrel - ^^ Kee hee.
Crazygurl70 - Ahh! Oh my God, I killed her! :panics: Call an ambulance!
Kaoru - Really? There aren't any other MKR crossovers out there? Sheesh. well, do I get brownie points for originality, then?
Celestial DreamBlaze - Don't know the series MKR? That's so sad. but I left links for you to go to. Aww. I am so flattered. :hugs: I'm glad you like my stuff so much!
Blue Moon - lol! Well, I care just an itty bit about reviews. If you don't get any positive/negative feed back how do you know what you're doing right/wrong? Kee hee. I could pair her with one or two of those others in another fanfic, but not this one. And you'd have to wait a while. But if you have the patience, then I can do it.
Yuki Kamitoki - Well, actually, you can't really learn about MKR from this. It has very little to do with that manga (although it is a really nice one). Thank you for all of your wonderful comments, and I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the last.
Lady love - ^^ I continued!
Momoko - But if I give them a carrot, will they be like the moose that you give the muffin to? That might not be such a good idea. Lol! You think badly of the soul situation? Well, at least you know :why: she's doing it.
Chapter 1
Warnings: Mention of drug abuse; religious activities (nobody shoot me for satanic stuff, either!! ,)
AB: Kwa. well, it seems I managed to confuse at least one person by my abbreviation. MKR is just my way of shortening 'Magic Knight Rayearth.' I hope you guys have heard of it? If not, go to: http://www.neorayearth.net/dimension4/mkr/main.html or http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/6843/ where you can find plenty of information. Earlier, when I had only one person telling me that they were unfamiliar with it, I sent her a different link that had, in my opinion, better information (and some beautiful images that I had not seen anywhere else. :sad, sad: ) but I can't find it now...
****
It was nice, going out with her friends on a Friday night. It was even better that her parents were letting her, and had willingly supplied her with extra spending money. And all because Ami had agreed to help tutor her, really.
Ami should have been the one getting most of the praise, really. Because even though it was Usagi who had made the grade, without Ami, it simply wouldn't have been possible. Still, though, the night was young, and there was plenty of time to hit the stores and arcade and eat plenty of junk food.
It should have been a happy time. The last time Usagi had made a 'B' was when she was in junior high. So it was kind of a miracle, a freak incident.
They had already stopped by the book store and picked up a few new manga that Usagi had been dying to get her hands on. Cruising down the street, laughing and having fun, all of life's hardships seemed so far away.
It didn't last, though. One moment, life was in bright, happy pastel colors, and the next it was sheer confusion and pain marked by puddles of dark, black ink dribbled and spreading across the page. Usagi couldn't remember ever feeling more scared- her scream had caught in her throat, and before she knew it, it was over.
They had been hit by some car hard on Usagi's side, but the real damage was on the other side and towards the front, from where they'd slammed into a pole. If anything, Usagi had managed to escape the incident without much more than a few bruises and the feeling of panic.
She opened her door, only mangled metal now from the impact. She noticed that she was shaking- her hands, her legs... her whole body was trembling violently, almost rattling apart with the combination of adrenaline and shock.
Like a drunken man, she staggered away from the car, and collapsed heavily onto the concrete. It didn't matter that she was in the middle of the street, so long as she got to sit down and try to breathe.
For what felt like a million years, there was little sound. People buzzed around her, making worried noises, some crying and screaming. But Usagi could hear almost none of it; could only stare up at the sky, trembling, trying to convince herself that it was alright, she had escaped death.
Shrill sirens finally broke the silence, and the group parted around her, away from her and the mangled wreck. She was lifted, half-dazed, and carried like a mindless rag-doll to the ambulance where they checked her pulse and for serious injuries.
Two of her friends joined her shortly, placed in cots beside her, but they must have been unconscious, because she never heard them say a word. She couldn't even see them, the white-clothed bodies were so intent on looking them over for wounds.
After a lifetime, another ambulance showed up, and the wreck was hauled out of the way. Finally they left, hauled off to the sterile smelling hospital where death and disease haunted every corridor and room, lodged in the memories of the walls.
**
The world had taken on a hazy sort of being, and everything was distant and blurred in Usagi's mind. Finally, though, the mist lodged in her mind seemed to be break up, dispersing into small vapid clouds before leaving her altogether.
The world rushed back at her, a crushing enormity after feeling so detached moments before; she found it to be an unpleasant welcoming. She saw that in her sense's absence, a hospital gown had replaced her clothes, and her hair had been released from its normal style to hang around in her in long, golden waves.
Laying in the hospital bed, she was instructed not to get up, and that if she had any troubles then to tell the nurse. Usagi felt frustrated, doing nothing- she was still bursting with energy, and now she had question upon question to demand about the well-being of her friends. Not to mention the monitor they'd clipped onto her finger to measure her pulse and such was annoying her greatly, reminding her too much of a chip-clip cutting off that same pulse.
Some time later, her family came into the room. Usagi was surprised by her mother's distress- apparently, despite the reassurances of the doctor on the phone, she had assumed the worst. Sure enough, her mother cried as she embraced her, and Usagi felt both guilty and embarrassed at once- she was making a scene over nothing, but from the nurse's soft look, apparently it was acceptable.
When her mother released her, she felt doubly guilty for feeling embarrassed before- there were dark circles under her mother's tear-stained eyes, and her skin looked haggard. It had been a long time since she had really looked at her mother's face- and now she could see the years taking toll on her, wrinkling her once youthful skin with crow's feet at the corners of her eyes and laugh lines deeply inset. And since when had her mother's hair started graying...?
"I'm sorry for worrying you," Usagi managed to croak out, hoping that her mother would brighten up. It hurt her to see this woman, who had once been so beautiful and young, look so old and full of wisdom that weighed her soul down.
She gave her daughter a watery smile, and it was obvious she was holding back her tears. She released Usagi from her bear hug, and gave a small sniffle while ruffling her daughter's hair. "I'm just so glad that you're all right," she said.
Usagi offered her a small smile back. She was glad, too, but she was still worried about her friends...
"When will we be able to take her home," her father queried the nurse, standing behind his wife with his hands placed reassuringly on her shoulders. Usagi felt a small pang in her heart, recognizing that as just one gesture of love. She prayed that one day, she might have love like that, too.
"Well, she wasn't seriously injured, so she'll be able to leave whenever she feels ready."
They all looked at her expectantly, and Usagi sat up slowly. "My friends... the other people in the car. How are they?"
The nurse exchanged looks with her parents, ones that she could not interpret. She wondered what they were relaying to one another in silence, and felt a bad feeling hit the pit of her stomach.
"Well, Hino Rei is awake and going fine- she has a few fractured ribs, but she'll be out very soon. Her grandfather is with her now. Kino Makoto has a broken arm, but as soon as they've set that and given her some pain medication, she'll be free to go. As for Aino Minako, I'm afraid she'll have to stay overnight- she has a concussion and a rather painful goose egg from where she hit her head on the steering wheel."
"Wait. That's not all of them- what about Ami, Mizuno Ami?" Usagi asked, peering up at the nurse, her eyes narrowed and suspicious. "She was in the passenger seat in the front," Usagi supplied.
The nurse shot an almost-frantic look at her parents, but they merely lowered their eyes to the floor. Usagi felt a shot of anger surge through her, warming her other-wise cold body. Not only was the nurse hiding something from her, but so were her parents.
"Tell me. I know you're hiding something from me, so tell me- I was in the car with her when we crashed, so I have a right to know," she demanded heatedly, letting her azure eyes bore into the older woman.
"Ah. well, I suppose since you want to know so badly, miss. I hope this doesn't shock you too badly, but... Mizuno-san was in the seat nearest to where the car collided with the pole, and she had the greatest injuries."
"Yeah, so," Usagi snapped, feeling rather irate at this woman. She was apparently stalling for time, and it really made Usagi mad when people tried to hide things from her. "Tell me."
The woman sighed, and looked down. "There's a lot of internal bleeding, hun, and she's in a coma right now. They're... not sure if she'll wake up. And if they can't stop the bleeding, well." She just shook her head, and apologized to Usagi. "I know you wanted me to tell you, but. I really shouldn't have."
Usagi sat there, numb to the people around her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Ami... car wreck... internal bleeding... coma... It was impossible.
Ami, who had helped her to ace her test. Ami, with her shy, aquamarine eyes and shiny, short-cropped hair. Ami, the most intelligent and promising of them all, the one who wanted to make a difference in the world and help people. What would happen if there was no more Ami, no more Sailor Mercury...?
Tears stung at Usagi's eyes, and she fought hard to keep them down. "I... I see," she managed to choke out. There wasn't all that much more to say- not much she could say.
She reached out to the Ginzuisho reflexively even while getting up to go to the bathroom and change into her regular clothes. She could multi-task, she decided, in a time of crisis- and if this wasn't near-crisis, then she didn't know what was. It wasn't on her person, but she could feel its familiar presence nearby.
Onegai, she begged it, onegai, help me. Help me save Ami-chan, I beg you!
But it did not answer. Usagi brought the brooch out of her bag with her clothes and winced at it. It was pretty battered, and there were a few dents. She remembered the feeling of something banging against her chest, and realized that it must have been her brooch when she had slammed into the seat in front of her. Sure enough, upon checking, there was a rather large bruise that had formed on her chest, just below her collar bone.
Did I break it, she wondered to herself, wincing. She gingerly opened the locket, afraid that the hinges might snap- and sure enough, they did, but they revealed the Ginzuisho to be in all its usual splendor.
Usagi felt a rush of relief at the thought that it was undamaged by the crash. It looked as though it had held up better than she had; Usagi smiled bitterly. It had certainly held up better than Ami had.
There was a knock on the door that broke Usagi out of her bitter reverie with a shock. "Usagi, sweetheart? Are you okay in there?"
"Hai," she called back. "I'll be right out." She hadn't been in here for more than a minute, and despite the natural motherly-worrying, Usagi didn't want her mother to barge in on her to find that she still hadn't changed. She might just think Usagi was an invalid, or something.
Hurriedly, she got her clothes out of the bag hanging on the hook on the wall, finding that they had survived the crash as well, though their condition wasn't exactly what could be considered 'fresh.'
As she dressed, she couldn't help but think that it wasn't fair that physical, inanimate objects should make it through and not her friend, who she cared about so much.
After having pulled her shoes on, Usagi picked up the Ginzuisho again. Onegai, Ginzuisho- grant me my wish, and help me to heal my friend. I don't care what it costs me. She concentrated hard, trying to will a response from the stone that had thus far remained so silent it could be mistake for a regular one.
Still, there was nothing, only silence on the other end. Usagi blinked back tears of desperation, confusion, and fury- why wouldn't it work? It was the key to her powers, the thing that let them be released from their residence in her soul. It transformed them so that they in their raw purity would not destroy her fragile, mortal body but rather deplete her of energy.
For a moment, there was nothing as before. Usagi bit her lip ferociously, trying not to scream since she knew there were people out there who would certainly hear her. Finally, though, there was a reply from the Ginzuisho, in a strange, ethereal, and inhuman voice.
I cannot save her. You cannot save her. There is no one in the world who can stop this turn of fate- you must ride it out. An ungrantable wish? Usagi's eyes widened with both fear and fury. No, that couldn't be possible! It just... it just COULDN'T.
"Why," she whispered, feeling her fury welling up from ever cell in her body, mounting into an impossible storm. "Why go through all the trouble to keep us alive? Why could you revive her before, and not now?"
Another insistent knock sounded on the door. "Usagi," came the concerned sound of her mother's voice.
Usagi sighed with exasperation. How was she going to possibly get any answers with all of these interruptions? "I'll be out in just a minute," she called back, sounding a bit more snappish than she'd meant to.
Usagi sighed to herself, and shook her head; she couldn't seem to do anything right. Tell me, she all-but growled at the jewel. Or I'll leave you here for some destitute stranger who needs money for his next fix to find, she threatened.
For a moment, there was no response, but then came the same mental voice as before, whispery and light as the wind but without the distinction of male or female. I cannot save her because she is no longer needed.
**
No longer needed? Usagi stumbled from the bathroom, in another sort of daze. How. How could that ever be possible? Ami was one of them, one of the Sailor Senshi, and at least in Usagi's eyes, she was just as important as she was or Minako, Makoto, Rei, or even herself.
How could the Ginzuisho believe that her shy, wonderful friend was no longer needed? Ami, the brains of the operation, the one who came up with all the strategies?
Tears could not reach her now. The ones that had built in the emotional aftermath had been banished, and in their place a slowly stewing fury began to boil like water on a stove.
Her friends, who had never given up on her, who had stuck by her side through thick and thin. The few people in the world who still believed Usagi had potential. The only ones who never gave up on her, no matter how much she whined or cried. She was supposed to give up on them, even just one of them?
Usagi closed her eyes. She refused to believe it. Don't give up, Ami-chan. Even if the Ginzuisho won't help, somehow... I'll find a way, some how- I promise. Just, please, don't give up, she begged her friend.
A thought came to her mind- she had not been in a hospital since her grandmother's death when she was only eight or so. That had been some time ago... a little over nine years.
Nine years... do we really grow up so fast? I remember second grade like it was yesterday, she reminisced wistfully.
Her mind was nagging at her. Remember, it was saying- remember.. Ah, yes! Hospitals had those little alcoves where people could go and pray. There had even been a priest there when her mother had prayed.
"Okaasan, do you know if they have an alcove here," she asked her mother, pulling on her sleeve in earnest.
"A what, dear," she asked back, looking thoroughly confused.
"Y'know, one of those things you can go in and pray at? I want to pray for Ami-chan," she said.
Her mother's eyes softened. None of them had ever been particularly religious people, but every once and a while. "All right, then. You can go ahead and find one- be quick about it. Meet us in the lobby."
Usagi nodded and ran off in search of one. After going down corridors, asking directions from five different puzzled-looking personnel, and making a few wrong turns, Usagi finally found it.
She entered the little area, looking around as though she thought there was some kind of person in here. She then hesitantly kneeled down in front of the altar, and clasped her hands in front of her chest.
I know. it's been a long time since you last heard from me. I'm still not sure what I believe in. You didn't help me back then, so I'm. not sure you'll help me now. I... my friend.. she.. Please, help her. She means so much to me. To all of us.
Usagi looked up and sniffled slightly. She felt stupid sitting in here, praying to a god that she didn't even believe in. Power is in belief, she told herself. If you could just believe... But she knew it was no use, and she merely shook her head in vain.
As though she needed confirmation of this, the Ginzuisho piped in. The unnamed god will not help you. There is nothing you can do, little one.
That's not true, Usagi cried out in denial. It can't be; I refuse to let it be! There is too a way to help Ami-chan, she refuted the Ginzuisho one last time, petering off into tears of almost-despair.
"I just haven't thought of it yet," she whispered into her hands, trying to make the tears go away. Usagi sat there for a few moments in silence and without thought. She merely closed her eyes and drank in the cool darkness that she found behind her eyelids, and listened to the distant sounds echoed from the corridor outside.
"Okaasan, okaasan! Can we have some ice creamed," piped up a small voice from just outside the hall.
"I don't see why not," replied an older woman's voice, sounding amused. "But you'll have to wait until we leave, okay?"
"Yay," the young voice cried ecstatically. "I'd sell my soul for some..."
Usagi's mind jarred. How strange, for someone so young to say such a thing. And yet.. And yet, it was an idea. Sell your soul.. And get something in return.
What was the price of a soul going for these days, Usagi wondered to herself, mind speeding along inside. Would it be enough to save Ami-chan..?
No, whispered the fervent voice of the Ginzuisho to her. Do not invite such tragedy upon yourself- don't give yourself away... Not to that one, it protested.
Usagi was a bit puzzled by what it meant be 'giving herself away to 'that one,'' but decided to ignore it. You can just stuff it, she retorted to the Ginzuisho, feeling a bit nastier and meaner after her car wreck and the news about Ami.
If you're not a part of the solution, then you're a part of the problem, she finished, feeling a slight rush of power and amusement.
She stood up from the alter, and considered for a moment. She could, indeed, pray here- but somehow, it didn't seem right to pray to the devil or Satan or whatever in there. It was not her religion, but there were others who would consider it to be sacrilege, and she had to be aware of the feelings of others.
Usagi walked back to the lobby, slowly going over her plan in her mind. She was a bit leery about the idea, but the thought of having to attend Ami's funereal and knowing she could have done something to stop it...
**
The underworld was a truly dreary place, looking exactly the way it sounded. His 'kingdom' was cave after immense cave, leading lower and lower into the bowels of the earth. It wasn't too bad- there were a few with interesting pools that showed images of Earth's splendor, a few made entirely of crystals that shone with light that poured out from inside them, shining all different colors.
But it wasn't the same as being on the surface world, where the air wasn't always cold and smelling of damn dirt. The only places that didn't smell that way were his own quarters because he exerted his powers to prevent it from that way.
It was probably the brightest place, too, filled with lanterns and candles that most demons would not approve of. It was clean, as well- made of marble floors and pillars that never ceased to shine despite the fact that there was no one there to polish them.
Upon his arrival, the place had looked frighteningly like a dungeon, with only straw as means for a bed and rats scurrying all around the place. He had wondered briefly what kind of person had been in charge before him, but had dismissed it. Instead, he had focused his energies on fixing the place up.
There wasn't much to do here, of course. There were demons and ghosts and spirits, but most of them had their own agendas to attend to, and didn't say much to him. It was as though 'Lord of the Underworld' were just a title.
A title, and a non-existent job.
This is what I gave up mortality for, he asked himself in disgust, looking around.
"Ah, Zagato-sama," spoke an underling. He turned toward the creature and tried to refrain from giving it a heart attack with one of his glares like he'd done to the last one.
The creature was timid looking and small, surprisingly a 'fuzz ball.' It could almost be passed off as cute, if it weren't for the huge bat wings on the white tiger's back and its bulging red eyes.
"We are running low on soul-servers, my lord," it began hesitantly, obviously trying to work up the courage to get to the important part. "For most demons its not such a big issue, but for those that practice in the necromancy arts. it is a setback, sir."
He gave the creature a cold look, though not entirely intentionally. Zagato was naturally cold and ruthless, unless he was angry, and then he was like a bull gone berserk. "Then get some more," he replied dismissively before turning away.
"Ah, but sir," it replied, scurrying after him. Zagato stopped, looking back over his shoulder at the creature. It could not pull its breaks fast enough on the slippery floor, and slid straight into his leg.
The creature instantly panicked, and spouted off all sorts of apologies. Zagato let the thing ramble on- there had been others like this one before in his long, long reign, and he knew by now that when they were finished making pitiful excuses out of themselves they'd say what was important.
"What is your name," he inquired when the creature ran out of breath.
"Ah, ah- one has no proper name, sir. One is not a proper demon," it explained, voice filled with obvious shame.
Zagato remained silent for a moment, regarding the creature that didn't even come up to his knee. "What was it that you wanted to say," he finally implored.
"Ah, yes. You see, demons can not go get soul-servers. Only the demon lord can."
Zagato raised a single, delicate eyebrow. He had never been informed of that. "Why is this?"
"Only the demon lord has enough power to appear in the human world, or the authority to bargain with humans for souls," it explained, as though it were an obvious fact.
Zagato remained quiet for a few moments, thinking things over. He did not like the idea of dragging innocent humans to what was literally hell, but he had not had any real job to do in years. He had been sitting there, collecting dust like a forgotten or unwanted object on the shelf.
"Very well," Zagato finally told the creature. "I will go to the earth, and seek out candidates for this."
"Do you know how to do this," the creature asked, sitting back on its haunches and peering up at him almost skeptically.
This time both of Zagato's eye brows arched up. "Do you?"
"More than you, it seems," the creature admitted, sounding smug but wincing as though expecting a beating from Zagato.
"Very well, then. You will tell me what I need to know, and accompany me on this little trip," Zagato said, walking away as though the subject were completely closed.
"W-wait a minute! One will not survive earth," the creature yelped, panicking- he could not disobey his lord's orders, but for a proper demon to go to earth was suicide, much less one like him.
"Well, then you'll just have to stick close by, then, won't you," Zagato asked, not even bothering to look back.
*---------------------*
Finished. that was ten pages long. O.o Took too long to write. -_- Oh, well. I hope I wasn't too repetitive with Usagi's tear business. It occurred to me that I was probably annoying somebody, but oh well.
Please give me feedback, people. I really appreciate it, even if it is just to tell me 'you suck.' Just please write a little more than 'MORE' or 'that was great!' ^^;;; I'm so picky. Well, anyhow, here's my responses to the last chapter's reviews.
Squirrel - ^^ Kee hee.
Crazygurl70 - Ahh! Oh my God, I killed her! :panics: Call an ambulance!
Kaoru - Really? There aren't any other MKR crossovers out there? Sheesh. well, do I get brownie points for originality, then?
Celestial DreamBlaze - Don't know the series MKR? That's so sad. but I left links for you to go to. Aww. I am so flattered. :hugs: I'm glad you like my stuff so much!
Blue Moon - lol! Well, I care just an itty bit about reviews. If you don't get any positive/negative feed back how do you know what you're doing right/wrong? Kee hee. I could pair her with one or two of those others in another fanfic, but not this one. And you'd have to wait a while. But if you have the patience, then I can do it.
Yuki Kamitoki - Well, actually, you can't really learn about MKR from this. It has very little to do with that manga (although it is a really nice one). Thank you for all of your wonderful comments, and I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the last.
Lady love - ^^ I continued!
Momoko - But if I give them a carrot, will they be like the moose that you give the muffin to? That might not be such a good idea. Lol! You think badly of the soul situation? Well, at least you know :why: she's doing it.