AN: I'm sure that everyone had heard about what happened Tuesday. Even though I live in Canada, we are still very effected by the crash. Many of my closest friends lost their family members and friends during the incident. My condolences to everyone who lost a loved one during this horrible event.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 5
The two lovers suddenly found themselves speechless as they gazed at each other longingly.
What's wrong with me?! I've been waiting so long to see him again. There are so much things that I want to tell him, so why can't I say anything?! the bunny screamed at herself as she continued to stare at her itooshi.
Their uncomfortable silence was broken when Nakago quietly walked to the bed, never breaking their eye contact. Carefully putting his large hands on Usagi's bare shoulders, he gently turned her around and pushed her back on to the bed. With one hand, he took out a porcelain bottle from beneath his cloak, while his other hand pulled the cover away from Usagi's naked back, ignoring her gasp of surprise. Leaning down slowly, letting his warm breath caress her skin, before lightly pressing his lips down on a wound, erasing the pain with a gentle kiss. Usagi quietly moaned as Nakago kissed all the burns and cuts before pulling back, drawing a whimper of loss from the resting girl. A moment later, the smell of jasmine perfumed the air as Nakago's hands gently returned, to rub the massage oil onto the tired girl's back.
"This is a special ointment that will numb the pain and increase the rate the wounds are healing," Nakago said as Usagi drifted to dreamland under his administrations. All of her pent up worries and tiredness were massaged away under his skilful hands. "Rest a little, I'll bring you some food after you feel better."
Something warm and wet on her cheek woke up Usagi. "What?" the blonde asked sleepily as a hug white furry head popped up before her blurry eyes. Before she could even cry, a tiger paw pushed her on the bed and the tiger started to purr and rub her head into the crook of Usagi's neck.
"I missed you too Furball," Usagi panted out laughing as the fur tickled her mercilessly. I'm going to die of laughing at this rate.
As if sensing her distress, a hand pulled the large purring ball of fur from the breathless patient.
"Gomen Usa-chan, Furball slipped in without me noticing. How are you feeling?" Nakago asked, surprising himself as he let the emotions he locked away for so long to resurface.
"Much better. My back doesn't hurt that much now. But I am a little hungry," as if to confirm her theory, a loud growling sound came from her tummy. Blushing from embarrassment, Usagi missed the grin on Nakago's face as he looked at the kawaii picture in front of him; Usagi blushing and only covered by a blanket.
"you should be hungry, after all, you hadn't ate for at least two days,"
"Two days?! I've been out of it for so long?"
"Yeah, you lost a lot of blood and energy. Anyways, I made some soup for you," the once cold Shogun said as he held a spoonful of the steaming liquid to Usagi's lips.
"I'm not that weak you know. I can still feed myself," Usagi moved her hand to take away the spoon.
Brushing away her hand, Nakago looked deeply into her eyes. "I know," came his soft reply.
Usagi nodded slowly, knowing that the wouldn't take no for an answer. He was still trying to reassure himself that this wasn't just a cruel trick.
When the last drop was finished, Nakago took the bowl away. Usagi was getting restless after spending so much time inside. An idea popped into her head. Since her clothes were no where to be found, she pulled out the clothes that Tomite gave her from her space pocket. Rummaging through the bundle, she laughed in happiness as beautiful gowns tumbled out. Eagerly wrapping a thick, fur lined green silk rob around herself. She spun around, giggling in delight as the robe gracefully flowed around her. Unknown to her, a pair of blue eyes watched her intently. Putting on a jewelled belt shaped as torturous and dainty little fur lined boots on her bare feet, Usagi frowned as she realized that she didn't have anything to brush her hair with. Trying to smooth out the tangles as best as she could, she finally decided to give up and put a bucket hat to cover up the mess.
Standing up shakily on her feet, the world spun a round for a few times before it stopped. Taking a couple of experimental steps, Usagi gasped as a pair of strong hands picked her up from behind. "What are you doing out of bed?" a low voice asked in her ear.
"Taking a walk?" the blonde girl tried to look as innocent as possible. Noticing that he wasn't buying it she quickly arranged her features into a puppy dog look. "Please Naka-kun? It's suck a nice day outside and I've been inside for so long. I need some fresh air," she asked, trying to look as pathetic as possible.
The poor Shogun couldn't do anything under the attack of the large pleading blue eyes and the sweet voice that dripped with honey. "Fine, but only for a while. And don't walk, your wounds are not fully healed yet." Nakago carried her outside of the tent."
Taking deep breaths of the cool air, Usagi looked in wonderment at the snow covered landscapes around her. "It's beautiful." The words escaped in a gasp. This world, unlike her own, was untouched by the technology and pollution. It was the first time that she had seen such blue sky. Giggling, she pulled out of Nakago's arms and ran towards the frozen lake.
"Usa-chan! What are you doing? You promised that you weren't going to walk," Nakago said as he chased after his bouncing bunny.
The said girl only turned and blew him a raspberry. The shogun shook his head before going back to the tent. It had been so long since she had felt so happy and free. As Usagi's feet touched the slippery surface, her boots changed into skates.
When Nakago came out again, his breath was caught in his throat as he beheld the vision in front of him. Oblivious to the fact that she had an audience, the golden blonde goddess was gliding elegantly cross the smooth ice. Each movement sang with grace and power. The wind gently lifted the golden silk, and painted a soft pink on her cheeks. Her sapphire eyes shinned with the same brightness and laughter as he remembered in his dreams.
"Naka-kun! Come on! You have to try it, it's really fun…" The blonde girl finally noticed her itooshi, and waved for him to come.
Giving the icy surface a critical stare, Nakago shook his head. Fun or not, what would the others think if they saw the cold general of Kutou sliding and falling on his ass playing? "No," the shogun said in a tone that wasn't going to be contradicted.
Pouting cutely, Usagi skated up to Nakago and led him to sit on a nearby rock. "Fine, then sit here and enjoy the show!" the girl gave a little wink before skating to the centre of the frozen lake.
Never letting his eyes stray form her willowy figure, Nakago wondered what his energetic itooshi was up to.
Closing her eyes briefly, Usagi let her mind wonder back to a song she wrote during the Silver Millennium. Opening the blue orbs lazily, she looked directly into Nakago's eyes as she started to sing the lyrics, accompanied with graceful movements across the ice.
As Nakago listened to the song, he couldn't help the flood of memories that assaulted his mind. Memories that he treasured more than his own life, memories of her.
*flash back*
namida sae mo denai kanashimi ga kono yo ni aru
fukaku hateshinai yami ni kakomarete-iru you na
In this world there's sadness so profound you can't even cry
Like you're being surrounded by a deep, endless darkness...
A young boy collapsed on the hard bed. Sweat matted his shinny blond hair, covering his blue eyes. He laid still, every muscle screaming with pain from even the smallest movements. Blood and grim covered his back, where the new welt marks openly bled, crimson liquid slowly danced across the old scars, crisscrossed on the tender flesh.
"That'll teach you to disobey my orders!" A crude voice growled out with malicious amusement. "You better clean up before his highness calls for you tonight," the man leered down at the sprawled boy before tossing a rough cloth on the wounds. The coarse material scratching the bleeding skin mercilessly.
Tears flooded the wide blue eyes, threatening to fall. Before the first drop escaped, the boy blinked hastily. He has to be strong. Boys don't cry. He promised her.
ikidomari no gake de zetsubou wo sukutta no wa
sou sa ore wo yobu omae itooshii sono koe sa
Yes, it was your sweet voice calling my name
that saved me from despair when I stood at the cliff's edge.
She stood by him every time, like a guardian angel. She never despised him for the things that he had done. Taking away his pain and replacing it with laughter.
"Naka-kun?" a soft hand slipped into his as her soft voice called out to him.
It was amazing how just one word from her could do to him. Twisting his heart with it's sweet inquiring tone, sending blood to his cheeks. She was the only one who could make him feel so alive. She saved him from living like a zombie, giving him a meaning, a goal to live for. She was the reason he struggled to survive in this living hell, so he could see her beautiful face every night. He lived only for her, for his tenshi.
hitotsu ni narou futatsu no juujika ga
kasanaru you ni dakishime atte
Let's become one, holding each other so that
the two crosses we bear become one.
"You will never leave me right?" she whispered quietly as she rested her head again his shoulder. Their hands still entwined together. "No matter what happens, we will always be together, right?"
"Of course we will. We will always be together. Nothing could separate us. Not even death. I won't allow it. I'll die without you, my other half," he replied equally soft.
They swayed gently to the melody from the star locket. The symbol of their love. It was there, even though it was never said out loud. The world around them changed, attuned to their to their feelings. Soft darkness wrapped around them, who were only aware of each other. They danced in their own dream world. If this was all a dream, then never let him wake up.
mekuru meku hikari ga kakenukeru
yubisaki ni karada ni tamashii ni
mezame-yuku yoake ni futari tsutsumare
tada chikau no sa
Just I wanna be with you forever aishite'ru
unmei wa futari wo tamasu kedo
kono mune ni te wo ate juuji wo kiru sa
hanarenai Cross my heart
An astonishing light runs through
my fingers, my body, my soul...
The awakening dawn wraps around both of us,
and I vow:
Just I wanna be with you forever. I love you.
Fate tests us, but
I'll put my hand to my chest & make the sign of the cross
We won't be separated: Cross my heart.
"Naka-kun…" her trembling voice cut through his heart. Her back was turned towards him. But he didn't need to see her face to know that she was crying. A muffled sob was heard as the princess sought to hid her tears.
When a pair of arms pulled her into the familiar warm haven , the pent up frustration and pressure of living for others finally exploded. Floods of hot tears poured down her face, soaking his shirt as he pulled her closer. "Gomen, Naka-kun," her soft apology was heard more with his soul than with his ears. He slowly tilted her head up, forcing her glazed sapphire to meet with his clear ocean blue. "Tell me, what's wrong?" he asked quietly, pleading with his eyes.
"I…I'm engaged to Endymion."
The words sliced through his soul like burning daggers. His hand froze on her cheek. Engaged? To Endymion? It could be called silly and impossible, but somewhere hidden inside his heard, he had always treasured one secret wish, a whish that he made every night. It was something that he knew would never be granted, but it was his only motivation to keep on living.
kono inochi wo kakete mamoritai ai ni deai
yatto samishisa ni mamire ikite kita wake wo shiru
I've found a love that I would risk my life to keep.
I finally know why I had to live a life tainted with loneliness
No, it wasn't suppose to happen this way. Shouldn't they deserve some ounce of happiness after all the pain they had gone through? Why did fate bring her to him, if it was just going to rip her away so cruelly at the end? This was supposed to be a fairy tale story, they were suppose to live happily ever after. But like all fairy tales, his dreams were just built on clouds, ready to tumble down anytime.
"I don't want to live without you, Aishiteru Naka-kun. I've come to say goodbye, I would rather die than marry that bastard."
"Don't you dare say that Usa-chan! If you ever do that, I'll never forgive you, you hear me?! Swear to me now, that no matter what, you'll live," tears formed in his eyes as well at the image of her taking away her life. He had never been so frightened until now, he had to do this now. He might never get another chance. "Aishiteru."
inoru mitai ni sotto idakiatte
omae no naka ni nokosou ai wo
Holding each other gently, as if in prayer...
I'll leave my love behind within you.
Aishiteru forever Naka-kun, I'm sorry that I broke my promise. Her last words drifted across his mind. A gentle glow surrounded him one last time as he felt her presence leave his heart. The warrior froze in the middle of the battle field. The fighting cessed around him, as blue chi radiated from the still man.
Usa-chan! Where are you? the bewildered warrior searched franticly in his mind for his itooshi. His bond with her was severed, as he desperately tried to call back. No, this can't be true. Usa-chan! You promised, you promised me that you'll wait for me, for us.
tomedonaku itoshisa fuki ageru
manazashi ni suhada ni nukumori ni
nagareyuku jikan ga tomareba ii to
tada sasayaite
Just I wanna be with you forever kanjite'ru
konna ni mo dareka wo taisetsu ni
omoetara shindemo kui wa nai darou
hanasanai Cross my heart
My love pours forth endlessly
for your eyes, for your skin, for your warmth.
Just whisper
that you wish the passing time would stop.
Just I wanna be with you forever. I feel you.
If you can love someone so much,
there's nothing to regret, even if you die.
I won't let you go: Cross my heart.
You betrayed us Usa-chan. You broke your promise. You never loved me did you. This was all just a game to you. A cruel joke to toy with my heart. The lone customer in the inn thought to himself over another glass of sake.
"Hey you over there! Get me another bottle of sake!" he demanded drunkenly.
The bartender looked at his last patron in pity. The man was obviously a foreigner by his looks, and he had been in the inn ever since sunset, covered in blood, that he didn't seem to notice. He had never seen such lifeless eyes. Eyes that revealed the pain of having you soul ripped out of you. "I'm sorry sir, but the inn is about to close. We've no more sake left."
"No more sake?!" the blonde man dragged the bartender by the collar to meet the dead blue eyes. "What do you mean that there's no more left?! How do you do business if you don't have any sake?!"
The bartender looked in fear. He often knew how to deal with drunker, but he could feel that this man was different. The man didn't seem like the type that would drink all his fortune away. "I'm really sorry, but you bought the last of the sake an hour ago." The bartender pointed to the pile of barrels and jugs that formed around the blond man's feet.
"Fine! Who need alcohol anyways!" The blond man got up shakily, and stumbled to the door with the help of his sword, which he used as a walking stick.
"Ah sir, you still have to pay," the bartender said meekly, eyeing the sword and drunken man.
Without looking over his shoulder, the man carelessly through a little bag onto the table. "Keep the change."
The bartender stared wide eyed, as a hand full of gold coins poured from the little leather bag. This was enough to buy an entire town.
hitotsu ni narou futatsu no juujika ga
kasanaru you ni futari no subete
Let all that we are become one, so that
the two crosses we bear become one.
"I love you…I love you…I love you," the drunken man sang brokenly as he stumbled through the allies of the poorest district of Kutou. "All lies… All lies. She never cared. I was just another one of her conquest."
A few shadows separated from the darkness. They approached the foreigner, intending of robbing the idiot who dared to wonder alone at night.
"I bet that she's having the time of her life with that bastard," the shogun was still too distracted by his itooshi's betrayal to notice that several men was closing up on him. The sharp cold tip of a knife stopped his senseless rumbling.
"Give us all of your money," a low growl sounded in his arms as several rough hands pushed him against the wall.
The blond man didn't do anything to fight back. He took all the blows without any retaliation, his mind was still to clouded by betrayal and alcohol to clearly register what had happened. "She betrayed me." A heart broken whisper fell from his lips.
"What the hell are you talking about? By the looks of you, of course she betrayed you. Why would she want a pretty boy, when she could have a real man?" One man sneered as he searched the blond man for the money bag. He didn't know how his words just sealed their death sentence.
"No, no! She wouldn't do that to me, she's not that kind of person!" A bewildered light came into the glazed ocean blue eyes as the cries became more desperate.
The robbers looked around afraid of the soldiers who were suppose to be on duty at nights. "Shut up!"
"No, she loves me. She loves me, not that bastard!" the sentence was repeated over and over as the blond man began to glow a cold blue. The robbers were still to concerned about their own safety to notice the unnatural light until it was too late.
The energy wave engulfed the five men even before they could utter a cry. The blond man took no notice that he was not being held against the wall anymore. "She loves me. I know she does. I'll become immortal. I'll always keep me promise." The broken hearted man tripped out of the ally, into the dawning city, leaving behind five piles of ashes behind.
mekuru meku hikari ga kakenukeru
yubisaki ni karada ni tamashii ni
mezame-yuku yoake ni futari tsutsumare
tada chikau no sa
Just I wanna be with you forever aishite'ru
unmei wa futari wo tamasu kedo
kono mune ni te wo ate juuji wo kiru sa
hanarenai Cross my heart
An astonishing light runs through
my fingers, my body, my soul...
The awakening dawn wraps around both of us,
and I vow:
Just I wanna be with you forever. I love you.
Fate tests us, but
I'll put my hand to my chest and make the sign of the cross
We won't be separated: Cross my heart.
No it was too good to be true. It must be another hallucination. Like the ones he always had when he thought about her. It couldn't be her standing in front of him, or could it? He should be dead, he felt the emptiness that day on the battle field right? So why did he feel her presence again in his heart as she looked at him with those familiar sapphire eyes.
"Naka-kun"
Yes! It had to be her, only one person had ever called him by this name. Usa-chan? He didn't get a response as her body suddenly fell forward. Only his quick reflexes saved her from hitting the ground.
"Usagi?" he got no responses. Something warm and wet trickled onto his hand. Blood. Years of fighting had engraved the smell and touch of this liquid into his mind. Panic settled into his being. Who could have done this to her? He specifically ordered Suboshi to protect her, and she was still hurt! I'll never leave you again Usa-chan. I will protect you forever. This will be our second chance. My wish will finally come true.
*End of flashback*
As the beautiful song died out from those soft lips, the waves of memories brought about other questions. Why was she here? How did she get here? Did she die so many years ago? And why does she seem to be the same age as then?
A spray of ice covered him as giggles brought him out of his trance. "Naka-kun, you look like a statue just sitting there," the bunny giggled again, bring Nakago's eyes to her face.
The cold shogun couldn't help the sharp gasp as he stared at her rose coloured cheeks and sparkling eyes. She showed not signs of any weakness, it was hard for him to believe that just a few days before, she came to him covered with blood.
It was still a mystery to him how just one glance at her could destroy the carefully erected wall he built around his heart.
"Did you like the song?"
Nakago could only nod at her question, still finding it hard to answer without his voice cracking.
"I wrote it for us," the quiet confession brought a blush to her cheeks as Usagi looked down at the toes of her skates.
A calloused hand gently tilted her face up, as strong arms came around her, pulling her into a tight embrace.
"I missed you so much," Nakago whispered by her ear.
" I missed you too."
To be continued…
AN: I'm sorry that this chapter was full of mushy nonsense. But I found this song on the internet, and I just fell in love with the lyrics. The song is from the anime Ayashi no Ceres by Yuu Watase, and it's called Cross My Heart. When I found it, I thought this is perfect. By the way, I'm planning to write an Ayashi no Ceres and Sailormoon story as soon as I see ANC. So be sure to look out for it sometimes in Christmas.