Edit 5/17/04
A/N: I changed my writing style right in the beginning of the chapter. It goes from 3rd person omniscient to something vaguely resembling 1st person. There may be some OOCness in Guardian but I tried to stick to his character. Still.... immortal experiences would definitely change a person.
This fic is rated PG-13, so be sure that you want to read something of that level.
My characterization, overall, was bothering me; the Greco-Roman gods had faults, and I felt like I hadn't given mine any, or, at least, none of any worth. So I changed the parts where Guardian was introduced. You will most likely want to re-read this chapter, as the change is promising to be a rather significant one, in terms of action.
I might be left dead
Side of the road
Serves a place and time
I plan on never waking up
I plan on never waking up
Sum 41 -- Never Wake Up
Chapter 1: Never Wake Up
The wind played softly over the land and through the winding city streets, almost as if searching out one person in particular. Or in this case, nine particular persons. Whether or not the wind's message would be understood by those nine people was up to debate, but its message was not overwhelmingly important. Sooner is not always better than later... and there were plenty more chances to pick up on the power that the wind carried. The wind, which had become slight when compared to its strength at the source, whispered through the lush green leaves of a beautiful park in the throes of summer health. The disturbingly beautiful crinkling noise caught the attention of a slight girl lounging at the base of a tree. She was enjoying the lazy day in her own manner: reading a new thrilling horror story straight from the bookshelves. It was a drastic change from her normal reading material, but every now and then everyone must depart from normal. And for all she did not normally read this genre, it was quite enthralling to her senses. And so the unease that the wind created in her was dismissed as originating from the dark undertones of the novel. After all, the evil forces in this world had been dealt with, so what reason was there to worry? Unfortunately, peace dulls even the sharpest senses.
But what about senses of another type? Could the power carried by the wind be detected by another? By this time, the wind had dispersed, having lost all power and direction, but the feeling that it carried remained, permeating the very air with apprehension. Another girl, a few miles away from the first, was engaged in her chores. Caught in a shaft of sunlight, she looked like a visitor from the distant past. Beautiful, aloof, and mysterious. Certainly useful qualities for a priestess of such an important shrine, the work was nonetheless hard. The temple grounds were expansive, and the visitors many, and not all visitors seemed to think the shrine above its share of litter. Plus there were fish to be fed, trees and flowers to be tended, customers to help, and floors to sweep. Any given day contained as much physical labor as spiritual or psychic. The apprehension in the air pressed on the senses of a few, such as this priestess, but she put down her lethargic depression and vague discomfort as exhaustion after a long, hot day. Her supernatural senses were no longer needed, so why pay attention to them? Peace dulls even the sharpest senses, be they physical or mental.
The field outside of the city was not very large. In a land dominated by either forests or farms, unturned earth was rare. But this field was secluded inside of a forest, and should therefore be teeming with life. Birds whistling, crickets chirping, other animals rustling, perhaps even the wind blowing through the trees. But all that was heard was silence... an almost deadly silence. The birds and animals had all fled at the first shattering scream, leaving the seven collapsed humans to deal with their own problems. All were breathing with the deep slow rhythm of the unconscious and sprawled in various positions. Shimmering in the middle of the seven was the image of a young girl. Not much could be said of her appearance, for her substance was like the heat waves seen rising from the tarmac in the midst of summer, flowing and shimmering, never allowing a good glimpse. All that stood out was the contrast of dark hair and pale skin. The shimmer bent over the closest human and pulled back the hood from his face gently. She was repaid for this tremendous effort on her part to see the boy underneath the hood when he suddenly sat up through her body. It could not have been a pleasant experience for him, to move through her dream body immediately after regaining consciousness, but no where near deserving the howl of anguish that he released. The girl/shimmer instinctively reached out to comfort the sobbing boy, but she faded away into oblivion before even reaching his form.
The light shone brightly through the curtains and straight into Hotaru's eyes, waking her from what had been one of her oddest dreams in a while. It had all seemed so real, she mused while stretching out of her cramped position on the couch. "Have a good nap?" A light voice teased from behind the couch. It came so suddenly that it startled Hotaru right out of her thoughts.
Hotaru smiled softly. "Yeah. Thank you for letting me crash on your couch."
"Any time." Minako flopped down on the couch next to Hotaru. "Besides you looked so wiped out when I first saw you that there was no way I wasn't going to let you in. If you had tried to walk away I probably would have tackled you and tied you to the couch to get some rest." Minako grinned at the exasperated expression on Hotaru's face. "But you look much better now, so I don't think that I'll have to."
"That's reassuring." Not. Minako had grown a lot in the past few years, but she hadn't lost that playful attitude yet. Some people dared to call it immaturity, but they were normally the spiteful types anyway. Hotaru liked that about Minako. She was serious so often that it was a nice change to have someone around who preferred to dwell on the good things in life. That included pranks, the kind that didn't hurt anyone but ended up being a laugh for all. She wouldn't put it above Minako to decide that she'd done something wrong and actually tie her to a chair or bed or something. Not that Minako had ever done that kind of stuff to her, but you never knew.
"Something wrong?" Minako tilted her head and asked curiously. She had grown curious when Hotaru had just sat there staring at her silently for a few seconds.
"No not really. Just thinking about some things." She paused for a second, gathering her thoughts. "Minako?"
"Mmmhmm?"
"Have you ever been freaked out by something but aren't really sure why?"
"Once or twice. Why?"
"I had a really weird dream." Hotaru stared back out the window, trying to recapture the elusive beauty of that strange dream meadow.
"Oh do tell." Minako practically vibrated with suspense.
"I'm not too sure I can." Hotaru looked at Minako, a baffled expression on her face. "It was almost like the visions Rei used to have. There was very little color. I guess you could say that I wasn't really seeing but mostly feeling." She got up and paced back and forth a bit while Minako looked expectantly on. "I was in this grassy meadow somewhere in the woods, and I could feel the sunlight giving the place this most beautiful glow. It was so warm and cozy that I wish I could go there all the time. But... I couldn't enjoy the meadow. I just felt so... uneasy about something. I mean, this wasn't the type of place where something bad is, so it was really puzzling." She paused and glanced furtively at Minako to see how she was taking it. She was just sitting there nodding peacefully, probably understanding every other word, but now that Hotaru had started she couldn't, or wouldn't, stop talking. "So I looked around, wondering if anything or anyone was going to attack me suddenly like in nightmares." She paused for a second in both her pacing and talking to stare out the window again at the shafts of sunlight.
She had apparently stopped too long for Minako, who wanted the story out since it was obviously making Hotaru highly agitated. She decided it was best to make her finish what she had begun. "What happened?" Minako prodded gently.
"I... I don't really know. I saw a few dark shapes lying there on the light grass, and I guess I grew scared. They just felt... wrong somehow. As if they had the word 'trouble' written all over them in indelible ink. I didn't really want to look closely, but one of them shifted and I just couldn't help myself. I had to know why they were just lying there, and why they had such a bad feeling surrounding them. So I leaned over him. It took a lot of effort for some reason, but I managed to pull the hood back from his face."
"His? It was a guy? Was he cute?" Minako interrupted. Hotaru just stared at her as if she was insane. Minako shrugged in self-defense. "I'm just trying to understand the story. The cute ones are always trouble." Then she grinned and gestured for Hotaru to continue.
Hotaru thought over this for a bit and then continued a bit hesitantly. "Well, I wasn't thinking about it right then, and I don't really remember now what he looked like. Besides, his features were shrouded by that same feeling that meant trouble... I just remember his eyes. They were the only thing that showed through the murkiness." She stopped and looked at Minako. "I only got a glance at them, but they were the most vivid sapphire blue eyes I have ever seen. I don't think I will ever forget how hauntingly beautiful they were. Besides, that was the only color in the entire dream."
Minako sighed. "If only he were real! I could try to hook you up with him. Or better yet, I could keep him for myself."
"Even if he were real, I don't think he would be ready for a relationship anytime soon."
"And why not?!" demanded Minako.
"Because he was only unconscious, not dead. I must have woken him up when I touched him, as his eyes flickered open right as I lifted up the hood. Staring at nothing, he was. He... well he sat up and I felt really disoriented. It was worse than being in vertigo, so I'm not too sure what happened, but I think he sat up through me. I could still see his face though. It contorted into one of the most horrifying expressions I have ever seen." She fell silent for a bit, breathing in and out, slowly, as if she were trying to calm herself. "It was like something was tearing him up on the inside, trying to get out. Then he screamed. It... was so filled with pain that I really didn't hear the scream, just felt it, right here." Hotaru clutched instinctively at her chest and bit her lip. "I tried to hug him so I could send reassurance... but the light woke me up before I could reach him." She gestured to the beaming light that now highlighted Minako's pretty hair, shadowing her face.
Minako took one look at the obvious distress Hotaru was in and pulled her into a tight hug. "It was just a dream, Taru. It's all over now." She said, using her pet nickname.
"But it was so REAL!" Hotaru sobbed into Minako's shoulder. She had felt that boy's pain as if it were her own, magnified a thousand times over. No one should have to suffer that kind of pain, not even a figment of her subconscious. It was hard enough that she had gone through it once already, but she didn't wish it on anyone, not even her worst enemies. "It just hurt so much inside, it hurt so much more than anything I've ever gone through Minako..."
"Shhh. It's okay. You have friends, family, hell, even a life now. We love you, Taru, I love you, and you aren't alone anymore."
"But the boy..."
"Was probably just your subconscious remembering what you went through when you were younger. And you were strong through all of that, so you had to let out the pain some other way. Apparently, it chose your dreams. Did the scream sound intensely lonely?"
"Yea... but I thought I was past this." Hotaru sniffled a little.
"Taru, listen, you may have moved on, but the problems won't ever go away. They may pop up less and less as time goes on, but they never completely go away." Minako spoke with her own pain, the pain of experience. She too had experienced loneliness, and still had days where she just had so much trouble convincing herself that she was loved now. The past was the past and she had learned from it and moved on. But its ghosts still haunted her deep in the night. And so she let Hotaru cry, even if it was over a dream. Crying did wonders for the emotional well-being of a person. When the sobs had faded into little hiccups, Minako smiled down at Hotaru. "Feel any better?"
Hotaru let out a tentative smile. "Yes. Thanks for listening to me, Mina. Sorry I got your shirt wet." And she pointed to the tear stains on Minako's teal shirt.
Minako laughed. "Oh, don't worry, I'll just change and take you out for some ice cream. Does that sound good to you?" Hotaru nodded and Minako promptly left for her room. But again Hotaru's eyes were drawn to the sunlight streaming down outside. She didn't think she would ever forget the contrast of the peacefully glowing sunlight and the boy's pain all rolled into one.
He didn't know how he'd gotten here, he didn't know why his head hurt so, and he sure as hell didn't know why he was covered in a robe. Worst of all, 'here' was out in the middle of nowhere, alongside a deserted stretch of road on the outskirts of a forest. Upon first awaking, the now dull ache in the back of his head had been painful beyond belief. In fact, he didn't even know why he had bothered to wake up at all. It was pointless. There was no one to ask for help, and the pain was constant and biting. The non- existence of unconsciousness seemed like bliss in comparison.
Not that he could remember much before he had passed out and woken back up to the pain. Even what came after that first wave of pain was really fuzzy. The memory of waking up in the meadow was there, but then the pain hit, and when it had gone away he had been here, by the side of the road. He supposed he had wandered around looking for some sort of relief, for there were scratches on his legs from brambles, and the hem of his robe was torn.
Why the hell was he wearing a robe anyways? He might not remember his past, but he remembered enough to know that normal people did NOT wear robes with concealing hoods. Not that he felt normal. The robe fit him so well and it just seemed so natural to hide his head behind the hood. Surprisingly, even with his head hidden he could see around him quite well. It was almost as if the hood was see-through... even though it most decidedly did not look see-through. The weave was tight, and it was a dark color. So why could he see through it? Yet another mystery to be unraveled as soon as that damn pain went away. Well one thing was certain, even if the robe was comfortable and familiar, it had to go. There was no way he was getting a ride with that crazy thing on. So he peeled it off and threw it back into the woods, not bothering to hide it or anything.
His clothes underneath weren't so bad. Pleated khakis and a loose red button down shirt with what looked disturbingly like brown combat boots on his feet met his gaze. It was while twisting to look at his clothes that a car drove up. 'Course, he could hear it long before it came into view, courtesy of a very loud bass/speaker system.
"Dude. You need a ride?" The blonde guy in the convertible turned down his music just enough so that he could be heard yelling.
Despite the fact that the music was hurting his ears, there wasn't another car for probably miles around so... "Sure." He yelled back then hopped over the door into the passenger seat.
"Hey! Watch the fucking paint job, man; its custom!" The guy glared at the boy who just held his hands up in the universal sign of surrender.
"Sorry, I didn't know." He yelled back to pacify his only way out of nowhere.
"Yeah, whatever." And with that the guy turned the music all the way up again and took off at high speeds down the deserted road.
Ah crap. The throbbing bass line of the rock music was making the pain in his head throb to the same tempo. And he really didn't want the pain to start up again. He leaned over and yelled into the driver's ear. "Please turn off the music!"
The guy turned to look at him in disbelief. "Why?!" He yelled back.
"Because you can hear it in outer space!!" Outer space... now why did that ring a faint bell in the very back of his mind?
"Dude! That's the point!!" And the driver smiled a goofy smile, turning back to his dancing at the wheel.
"Whatever." He muttered, leaning back in his seat. It was hopeless to try to convince him. So he had to just sit it out and hope the headache didn't get worse. Rubbing his temple, a particularly fast song came on and made the pain throb even more. God why wouldn't it just fricken stop!!
All of a sudden, the driver visibly deflated, and sighed, reaching over to turn off the music. "What the fuck." The driver hit the wheel a couple of times, obviously annoyed about something. "Dammit!" But he shook his head, sadly, and said "I don't want to blow the speakers..." The guy swore again and then turned off the to glare at his passenger, as if he were somehow responsible for their music predicament. He met the driver's gaze, calmly. The guy stared into his eyes for a bit, as if mesmerized, then blinked and turned back to driving. They drove in silence for a while with only the wind roaring in their ears, and the driver seething while the guy stared, with forced nonchalance, out the side window, carefully avoiding the gaze of his driver. The guy had turned off the music, despite being vehemently against it when asked earlier. Cool.
"So where you headed?" The question came so suddenly it didn't register in his mind.
"What?"
"I asked you where you were headed, dumbshit."
"Oh." The boy mouthed it. "You know, I'm not really sure. Wherever you want to take me, I guess."
"Yea, well, I'm headed back to campus so I'll drop you off there." Another spate of silence ensued. "Name's Kurt." The driver said randomly to the guy. He remained silent, thinking on the topic of his own name.
He wasn't even aware that he had replied to Kurt. "Guardian."
"What the fuck kinda name is 'Guardian'?!"
Guardian blinked at Kurt in confusion for a few long seconds. But he quickly schooled his expression into a blank one, and replied dispassionately, "Only one I can remember." In truth, he was close to blowing off the driver and just hopping out. Maybe scratching the paint job while he was at it.
"It's a fucking—"
"Dude, just shut the hell up and fucking drive already."
"Whatever, man. Whatever."
Kurt had dropped him off, somewhat sullenly, on this street in the middle of a city that was surrounded on both sides by shops and mobbed by people. Then he had driven off angrily and dangerously, cutting off several cars and almost running over two girls who had been trying to cross the street. Guardian had laughed to himself when he saw that; it would have been funny if he had run them over. Woulda served the guy right.
But what wasn't funny was that Guardian still didn't recognize anything around him. And Kurt, the jackass he was, hadn't even bothered to tell him the name of the city. So here he was, in the middle of some random city, with no memories whatsoever, no way to get them back, and no way to support himself. It was turning out to be a beautiful life. At least the headache had gone away, but it had left him drained and unfeeling. And with that particular pain's disappearance, he had noticed other, more natural, pains. Hunger was the dominant one. But that could be easily fixed, and he could always skip out on the check. Or maybe they would feel sorry for him and instead give him a job. Either way, he was hungry, and a little thing like not having money wasn't going to stop him.
Guardian looked around, and noticed a nice little café with a sidewalk patio. Its quaint red umbrellas and stands of pansies were somehow attractive. Plus it didn't look too expensive, and judging from the amount of people populating it, the food was good. So he walked in and was immediately pounced upon by a waiter.
"How many in your party, sir?" Guardian just blinked at him for a few seconds, not really understanding what he had been asked. "Sir?"
Then he mentally kicked himself. Come on, play the part, don't act weird or he'll keep an eye on you. "It's just me."
"Patio or lounge?"
Lounge? This place didn't look big enough or fancy enough to have a lounge. "Patio, if you would."
"This way, sir." Guardian followed him, avidly looking at his fellow customers. Maybe one of them would feel pity and pay his bill.
Even with Minako claiming to be fast at changing her clothes, it took her an hour to pick out another shirt that she would like. Turned out that she had enough clothes to have a different outfit every day of the year... and probably on purpose. But it was amusing and comforting for Hotaru to watch this simple act, so she didn't complain. Rather, she laughed when Minako finally settled on one of the first orange tank-tops she had tried on. Then she had tackled Hotaru. "Sweetie, you look like a mess! Just let me brush out your hair. Please?" Then had commenced a refreshing game of cat-and-mouse, with Hotaru jumping out of reach of the laughing Minako until she finally jumped over the back of the couch and on top of Hotaru.
Hotaru hit playfully up at Minako from her position underneath. "You should go join a football team with a tackle like that."
Minako tapped her lips thoughtfully. "You know, I just might... as a cheerleader!"
Hotaru smiled involuntarily at the unexpected joke. "If I let you brush my hair, then can we go get some ice cream?"
"Don't forget the shopping!"
"We're going shopping too?"
Minako fake scowled at Hotaru from her position of on top of her. "Of course we are. Shopping is very therapeutic. And I'll spot you for money, don't worry."
"Minako, you don't have to do that..."
Minako leaned close and whispered, "I'm your friend remember. F-r-i-e- n-d. We do these things." Then she stood up and pulled Hotaru up into a sitting position. "Now, let's hurry; I want to get to the stores while everyone else is eating."
Hotaru smiled as Minako, again, had to adjust her three bags. "This is why I only bought two shirts." Hotaru pointed out.
"Just because you don't have to adjust your bags every two seconds doesn't mean you're smart. It just means you're cheap." Minako smiled gaily at Hotaru to take the sting out of her words.
Hotaru just shook her head in disbelief, and then the light they were waiting for changed color. She started across, pulling on one bag to get Minako to follow her. All those restaurants smelled so good that Hotaru was having trouble choosing which one they should go to, for their ice cream trip had turned into a lunch and shopping trip. She ignored the sound of dropping bags behind her, and continued walking. Then everything sped up, and the hard jerk on her shoulder came at almost the same time as the squealing tires. Hotaru flew backwards onto Minako, breathing hard from a somewhat late adrenaline rush, and watching the insane driver speed away down the street. "Oh my God; Hotaru, are you okay?! That bastard almost ran you over!" Minako helped Hotaru shakily onto her feet.
"I think I'll be okay. What happened?"
"I don't know, I just saw the guy roaring straight at us out of the corner of my eye, and just reacted. Lucky you hadn't walked too far out of my reach."
Hotaru smiled genuinely at Minako. "Thanks a lot. That's all you seem to be doing today."
"What?"
"You've been helping me all of today."
"Oh, well that's a really big change." Then Minako grinned widely. "I'm sure I'll have a bad day soon at which time you can be my rescuer." Minako's stomach interrupted her musing with a big growl. She looked down, embarrassed, and then said "Guess we should get out of the street and get some food huh?"
"How 'bout that one?" Hotaru pointed to a café with pretty orange and yellow pansies and gathered up Minako's errant bags.
"Lead the way." Minako grabbed her two of her bags and rushed off the street. "See, you're already helping me out."
Hotaru smothered a grin, and marched with an icy look to the waiter behind the counter. "Patio for two, please."
He blinked at the tiny girl and then at the girl behind her for a second, then seemed to shake himself out of his stupor. "This way, please."
Guardian had just finished one of the most filling meals in what felt like a long time. The food was kind of plain, but it tasted wonderful. But just then the waiter walked up beside him and laid down the check. Guardian groaned, his good mood ruined, and caught the waiter's eye before he left. "How would you prefer I pay?" He asked politely while thinking quite hard about a way to get out of paying.
Surprisingly, and definitely to Guardian's advantage, the waiter told him, "Don't worry about the bill. I'll pay it for you."
"Really? Thank you very much." He said with profuse gratitude.
"No problem." And the waiter took the check and drifted off in a sort of confusion.
Guardian smiled radiantly at his good fortune and left the restaurant, only to wander around wondering what he should do next.
Minako squealed randomly right after the waiter had left them alone with their drinks. "Did you see that really hot blonde guy we walked past on the way out here?"
Hotaru swiveled around in her chair, looking this way and that down the sidewalk. "No. What did he look like?"
Minako grinned. "I can't believe you missed him! He had the most gorgeous tousled blonde hair, blue eyes, and was completely built underneath that red shirt of his." Minako started drooling, and Hotaru was tempted to join in, but she just grinned.
"You should have gone after him, Minako."
This comment stopped Minako's drooling. She shook her head in denial. "Nah, he was really cute to be sure, but I'm spending time with you, Hotaru."
This made Hotaru smile involuntarily and feel warm inside. Minako really had changed a lot from her younger age. She loved her friends just as much, but time and experience had lessened her boy-craziness somewhat. Hotaru was glad that she had made the effort to become better friends with all the Senshi. It had made her branch out more, and she had actually enjoyed it.
"Oh, did you hear about Makoto's latest boyfriend?"
"No. Tell me." And Hotaru sat there, enjoying the experience of having friends; which she appreciated even more with her dream last night of being all alone.
A/N: I changed my writing style right in the beginning of the chapter. It goes from 3rd person omniscient to something vaguely resembling 1st person. There may be some OOCness in Guardian but I tried to stick to his character. Still.... immortal experiences would definitely change a person.
This fic is rated PG-13, so be sure that you want to read something of that level.
My characterization, overall, was bothering me; the Greco-Roman gods had faults, and I felt like I hadn't given mine any, or, at least, none of any worth. So I changed the parts where Guardian was introduced. You will most likely want to re-read this chapter, as the change is promising to be a rather significant one, in terms of action.
I might be left dead
Side of the road
Serves a place and time
I plan on never waking up
I plan on never waking up
Sum 41 -- Never Wake Up
Chapter 1: Never Wake Up
The wind played softly over the land and through the winding city streets, almost as if searching out one person in particular. Or in this case, nine particular persons. Whether or not the wind's message would be understood by those nine people was up to debate, but its message was not overwhelmingly important. Sooner is not always better than later... and there were plenty more chances to pick up on the power that the wind carried. The wind, which had become slight when compared to its strength at the source, whispered through the lush green leaves of a beautiful park in the throes of summer health. The disturbingly beautiful crinkling noise caught the attention of a slight girl lounging at the base of a tree. She was enjoying the lazy day in her own manner: reading a new thrilling horror story straight from the bookshelves. It was a drastic change from her normal reading material, but every now and then everyone must depart from normal. And for all she did not normally read this genre, it was quite enthralling to her senses. And so the unease that the wind created in her was dismissed as originating from the dark undertones of the novel. After all, the evil forces in this world had been dealt with, so what reason was there to worry? Unfortunately, peace dulls even the sharpest senses.
But what about senses of another type? Could the power carried by the wind be detected by another? By this time, the wind had dispersed, having lost all power and direction, but the feeling that it carried remained, permeating the very air with apprehension. Another girl, a few miles away from the first, was engaged in her chores. Caught in a shaft of sunlight, she looked like a visitor from the distant past. Beautiful, aloof, and mysterious. Certainly useful qualities for a priestess of such an important shrine, the work was nonetheless hard. The temple grounds were expansive, and the visitors many, and not all visitors seemed to think the shrine above its share of litter. Plus there were fish to be fed, trees and flowers to be tended, customers to help, and floors to sweep. Any given day contained as much physical labor as spiritual or psychic. The apprehension in the air pressed on the senses of a few, such as this priestess, but she put down her lethargic depression and vague discomfort as exhaustion after a long, hot day. Her supernatural senses were no longer needed, so why pay attention to them? Peace dulls even the sharpest senses, be they physical or mental.
The field outside of the city was not very large. In a land dominated by either forests or farms, unturned earth was rare. But this field was secluded inside of a forest, and should therefore be teeming with life. Birds whistling, crickets chirping, other animals rustling, perhaps even the wind blowing through the trees. But all that was heard was silence... an almost deadly silence. The birds and animals had all fled at the first shattering scream, leaving the seven collapsed humans to deal with their own problems. All were breathing with the deep slow rhythm of the unconscious and sprawled in various positions. Shimmering in the middle of the seven was the image of a young girl. Not much could be said of her appearance, for her substance was like the heat waves seen rising from the tarmac in the midst of summer, flowing and shimmering, never allowing a good glimpse. All that stood out was the contrast of dark hair and pale skin. The shimmer bent over the closest human and pulled back the hood from his face gently. She was repaid for this tremendous effort on her part to see the boy underneath the hood when he suddenly sat up through her body. It could not have been a pleasant experience for him, to move through her dream body immediately after regaining consciousness, but no where near deserving the howl of anguish that he released. The girl/shimmer instinctively reached out to comfort the sobbing boy, but she faded away into oblivion before even reaching his form.
The light shone brightly through the curtains and straight into Hotaru's eyes, waking her from what had been one of her oddest dreams in a while. It had all seemed so real, she mused while stretching out of her cramped position on the couch. "Have a good nap?" A light voice teased from behind the couch. It came so suddenly that it startled Hotaru right out of her thoughts.
Hotaru smiled softly. "Yeah. Thank you for letting me crash on your couch."
"Any time." Minako flopped down on the couch next to Hotaru. "Besides you looked so wiped out when I first saw you that there was no way I wasn't going to let you in. If you had tried to walk away I probably would have tackled you and tied you to the couch to get some rest." Minako grinned at the exasperated expression on Hotaru's face. "But you look much better now, so I don't think that I'll have to."
"That's reassuring." Not. Minako had grown a lot in the past few years, but she hadn't lost that playful attitude yet. Some people dared to call it immaturity, but they were normally the spiteful types anyway. Hotaru liked that about Minako. She was serious so often that it was a nice change to have someone around who preferred to dwell on the good things in life. That included pranks, the kind that didn't hurt anyone but ended up being a laugh for all. She wouldn't put it above Minako to decide that she'd done something wrong and actually tie her to a chair or bed or something. Not that Minako had ever done that kind of stuff to her, but you never knew.
"Something wrong?" Minako tilted her head and asked curiously. She had grown curious when Hotaru had just sat there staring at her silently for a few seconds.
"No not really. Just thinking about some things." She paused for a second, gathering her thoughts. "Minako?"
"Mmmhmm?"
"Have you ever been freaked out by something but aren't really sure why?"
"Once or twice. Why?"
"I had a really weird dream." Hotaru stared back out the window, trying to recapture the elusive beauty of that strange dream meadow.
"Oh do tell." Minako practically vibrated with suspense.
"I'm not too sure I can." Hotaru looked at Minako, a baffled expression on her face. "It was almost like the visions Rei used to have. There was very little color. I guess you could say that I wasn't really seeing but mostly feeling." She got up and paced back and forth a bit while Minako looked expectantly on. "I was in this grassy meadow somewhere in the woods, and I could feel the sunlight giving the place this most beautiful glow. It was so warm and cozy that I wish I could go there all the time. But... I couldn't enjoy the meadow. I just felt so... uneasy about something. I mean, this wasn't the type of place where something bad is, so it was really puzzling." She paused and glanced furtively at Minako to see how she was taking it. She was just sitting there nodding peacefully, probably understanding every other word, but now that Hotaru had started she couldn't, or wouldn't, stop talking. "So I looked around, wondering if anything or anyone was going to attack me suddenly like in nightmares." She paused for a second in both her pacing and talking to stare out the window again at the shafts of sunlight.
She had apparently stopped too long for Minako, who wanted the story out since it was obviously making Hotaru highly agitated. She decided it was best to make her finish what she had begun. "What happened?" Minako prodded gently.
"I... I don't really know. I saw a few dark shapes lying there on the light grass, and I guess I grew scared. They just felt... wrong somehow. As if they had the word 'trouble' written all over them in indelible ink. I didn't really want to look closely, but one of them shifted and I just couldn't help myself. I had to know why they were just lying there, and why they had such a bad feeling surrounding them. So I leaned over him. It took a lot of effort for some reason, but I managed to pull the hood back from his face."
"His? It was a guy? Was he cute?" Minako interrupted. Hotaru just stared at her as if she was insane. Minako shrugged in self-defense. "I'm just trying to understand the story. The cute ones are always trouble." Then she grinned and gestured for Hotaru to continue.
Hotaru thought over this for a bit and then continued a bit hesitantly. "Well, I wasn't thinking about it right then, and I don't really remember now what he looked like. Besides, his features were shrouded by that same feeling that meant trouble... I just remember his eyes. They were the only thing that showed through the murkiness." She stopped and looked at Minako. "I only got a glance at them, but they were the most vivid sapphire blue eyes I have ever seen. I don't think I will ever forget how hauntingly beautiful they were. Besides, that was the only color in the entire dream."
Minako sighed. "If only he were real! I could try to hook you up with him. Or better yet, I could keep him for myself."
"Even if he were real, I don't think he would be ready for a relationship anytime soon."
"And why not?!" demanded Minako.
"Because he was only unconscious, not dead. I must have woken him up when I touched him, as his eyes flickered open right as I lifted up the hood. Staring at nothing, he was. He... well he sat up and I felt really disoriented. It was worse than being in vertigo, so I'm not too sure what happened, but I think he sat up through me. I could still see his face though. It contorted into one of the most horrifying expressions I have ever seen." She fell silent for a bit, breathing in and out, slowly, as if she were trying to calm herself. "It was like something was tearing him up on the inside, trying to get out. Then he screamed. It... was so filled with pain that I really didn't hear the scream, just felt it, right here." Hotaru clutched instinctively at her chest and bit her lip. "I tried to hug him so I could send reassurance... but the light woke me up before I could reach him." She gestured to the beaming light that now highlighted Minako's pretty hair, shadowing her face.
Minako took one look at the obvious distress Hotaru was in and pulled her into a tight hug. "It was just a dream, Taru. It's all over now." She said, using her pet nickname.
"But it was so REAL!" Hotaru sobbed into Minako's shoulder. She had felt that boy's pain as if it were her own, magnified a thousand times over. No one should have to suffer that kind of pain, not even a figment of her subconscious. It was hard enough that she had gone through it once already, but she didn't wish it on anyone, not even her worst enemies. "It just hurt so much inside, it hurt so much more than anything I've ever gone through Minako..."
"Shhh. It's okay. You have friends, family, hell, even a life now. We love you, Taru, I love you, and you aren't alone anymore."
"But the boy..."
"Was probably just your subconscious remembering what you went through when you were younger. And you were strong through all of that, so you had to let out the pain some other way. Apparently, it chose your dreams. Did the scream sound intensely lonely?"
"Yea... but I thought I was past this." Hotaru sniffled a little.
"Taru, listen, you may have moved on, but the problems won't ever go away. They may pop up less and less as time goes on, but they never completely go away." Minako spoke with her own pain, the pain of experience. She too had experienced loneliness, and still had days where she just had so much trouble convincing herself that she was loved now. The past was the past and she had learned from it and moved on. But its ghosts still haunted her deep in the night. And so she let Hotaru cry, even if it was over a dream. Crying did wonders for the emotional well-being of a person. When the sobs had faded into little hiccups, Minako smiled down at Hotaru. "Feel any better?"
Hotaru let out a tentative smile. "Yes. Thanks for listening to me, Mina. Sorry I got your shirt wet." And she pointed to the tear stains on Minako's teal shirt.
Minako laughed. "Oh, don't worry, I'll just change and take you out for some ice cream. Does that sound good to you?" Hotaru nodded and Minako promptly left for her room. But again Hotaru's eyes were drawn to the sunlight streaming down outside. She didn't think she would ever forget the contrast of the peacefully glowing sunlight and the boy's pain all rolled into one.
He didn't know how he'd gotten here, he didn't know why his head hurt so, and he sure as hell didn't know why he was covered in a robe. Worst of all, 'here' was out in the middle of nowhere, alongside a deserted stretch of road on the outskirts of a forest. Upon first awaking, the now dull ache in the back of his head had been painful beyond belief. In fact, he didn't even know why he had bothered to wake up at all. It was pointless. There was no one to ask for help, and the pain was constant and biting. The non- existence of unconsciousness seemed like bliss in comparison.
Not that he could remember much before he had passed out and woken back up to the pain. Even what came after that first wave of pain was really fuzzy. The memory of waking up in the meadow was there, but then the pain hit, and when it had gone away he had been here, by the side of the road. He supposed he had wandered around looking for some sort of relief, for there were scratches on his legs from brambles, and the hem of his robe was torn.
Why the hell was he wearing a robe anyways? He might not remember his past, but he remembered enough to know that normal people did NOT wear robes with concealing hoods. Not that he felt normal. The robe fit him so well and it just seemed so natural to hide his head behind the hood. Surprisingly, even with his head hidden he could see around him quite well. It was almost as if the hood was see-through... even though it most decidedly did not look see-through. The weave was tight, and it was a dark color. So why could he see through it? Yet another mystery to be unraveled as soon as that damn pain went away. Well one thing was certain, even if the robe was comfortable and familiar, it had to go. There was no way he was getting a ride with that crazy thing on. So he peeled it off and threw it back into the woods, not bothering to hide it or anything.
His clothes underneath weren't so bad. Pleated khakis and a loose red button down shirt with what looked disturbingly like brown combat boots on his feet met his gaze. It was while twisting to look at his clothes that a car drove up. 'Course, he could hear it long before it came into view, courtesy of a very loud bass/speaker system.
"Dude. You need a ride?" The blonde guy in the convertible turned down his music just enough so that he could be heard yelling.
Despite the fact that the music was hurting his ears, there wasn't another car for probably miles around so... "Sure." He yelled back then hopped over the door into the passenger seat.
"Hey! Watch the fucking paint job, man; its custom!" The guy glared at the boy who just held his hands up in the universal sign of surrender.
"Sorry, I didn't know." He yelled back to pacify his only way out of nowhere.
"Yeah, whatever." And with that the guy turned the music all the way up again and took off at high speeds down the deserted road.
Ah crap. The throbbing bass line of the rock music was making the pain in his head throb to the same tempo. And he really didn't want the pain to start up again. He leaned over and yelled into the driver's ear. "Please turn off the music!"
The guy turned to look at him in disbelief. "Why?!" He yelled back.
"Because you can hear it in outer space!!" Outer space... now why did that ring a faint bell in the very back of his mind?
"Dude! That's the point!!" And the driver smiled a goofy smile, turning back to his dancing at the wheel.
"Whatever." He muttered, leaning back in his seat. It was hopeless to try to convince him. So he had to just sit it out and hope the headache didn't get worse. Rubbing his temple, a particularly fast song came on and made the pain throb even more. God why wouldn't it just fricken stop!!
All of a sudden, the driver visibly deflated, and sighed, reaching over to turn off the music. "What the fuck." The driver hit the wheel a couple of times, obviously annoyed about something. "Dammit!" But he shook his head, sadly, and said "I don't want to blow the speakers..." The guy swore again and then turned off the to glare at his passenger, as if he were somehow responsible for their music predicament. He met the driver's gaze, calmly. The guy stared into his eyes for a bit, as if mesmerized, then blinked and turned back to driving. They drove in silence for a while with only the wind roaring in their ears, and the driver seething while the guy stared, with forced nonchalance, out the side window, carefully avoiding the gaze of his driver. The guy had turned off the music, despite being vehemently against it when asked earlier. Cool.
"So where you headed?" The question came so suddenly it didn't register in his mind.
"What?"
"I asked you where you were headed, dumbshit."
"Oh." The boy mouthed it. "You know, I'm not really sure. Wherever you want to take me, I guess."
"Yea, well, I'm headed back to campus so I'll drop you off there." Another spate of silence ensued. "Name's Kurt." The driver said randomly to the guy. He remained silent, thinking on the topic of his own name.
He wasn't even aware that he had replied to Kurt. "Guardian."
"What the fuck kinda name is 'Guardian'?!"
Guardian blinked at Kurt in confusion for a few long seconds. But he quickly schooled his expression into a blank one, and replied dispassionately, "Only one I can remember." In truth, he was close to blowing off the driver and just hopping out. Maybe scratching the paint job while he was at it.
"It's a fucking—"
"Dude, just shut the hell up and fucking drive already."
"Whatever, man. Whatever."
Kurt had dropped him off, somewhat sullenly, on this street in the middle of a city that was surrounded on both sides by shops and mobbed by people. Then he had driven off angrily and dangerously, cutting off several cars and almost running over two girls who had been trying to cross the street. Guardian had laughed to himself when he saw that; it would have been funny if he had run them over. Woulda served the guy right.
But what wasn't funny was that Guardian still didn't recognize anything around him. And Kurt, the jackass he was, hadn't even bothered to tell him the name of the city. So here he was, in the middle of some random city, with no memories whatsoever, no way to get them back, and no way to support himself. It was turning out to be a beautiful life. At least the headache had gone away, but it had left him drained and unfeeling. And with that particular pain's disappearance, he had noticed other, more natural, pains. Hunger was the dominant one. But that could be easily fixed, and he could always skip out on the check. Or maybe they would feel sorry for him and instead give him a job. Either way, he was hungry, and a little thing like not having money wasn't going to stop him.
Guardian looked around, and noticed a nice little café with a sidewalk patio. Its quaint red umbrellas and stands of pansies were somehow attractive. Plus it didn't look too expensive, and judging from the amount of people populating it, the food was good. So he walked in and was immediately pounced upon by a waiter.
"How many in your party, sir?" Guardian just blinked at him for a few seconds, not really understanding what he had been asked. "Sir?"
Then he mentally kicked himself. Come on, play the part, don't act weird or he'll keep an eye on you. "It's just me."
"Patio or lounge?"
Lounge? This place didn't look big enough or fancy enough to have a lounge. "Patio, if you would."
"This way, sir." Guardian followed him, avidly looking at his fellow customers. Maybe one of them would feel pity and pay his bill.
Even with Minako claiming to be fast at changing her clothes, it took her an hour to pick out another shirt that she would like. Turned out that she had enough clothes to have a different outfit every day of the year... and probably on purpose. But it was amusing and comforting for Hotaru to watch this simple act, so she didn't complain. Rather, she laughed when Minako finally settled on one of the first orange tank-tops she had tried on. Then she had tackled Hotaru. "Sweetie, you look like a mess! Just let me brush out your hair. Please?" Then had commenced a refreshing game of cat-and-mouse, with Hotaru jumping out of reach of the laughing Minako until she finally jumped over the back of the couch and on top of Hotaru.
Hotaru hit playfully up at Minako from her position underneath. "You should go join a football team with a tackle like that."
Minako tapped her lips thoughtfully. "You know, I just might... as a cheerleader!"
Hotaru smiled involuntarily at the unexpected joke. "If I let you brush my hair, then can we go get some ice cream?"
"Don't forget the shopping!"
"We're going shopping too?"
Minako fake scowled at Hotaru from her position of on top of her. "Of course we are. Shopping is very therapeutic. And I'll spot you for money, don't worry."
"Minako, you don't have to do that..."
Minako leaned close and whispered, "I'm your friend remember. F-r-i-e- n-d. We do these things." Then she stood up and pulled Hotaru up into a sitting position. "Now, let's hurry; I want to get to the stores while everyone else is eating."
Hotaru smiled as Minako, again, had to adjust her three bags. "This is why I only bought two shirts." Hotaru pointed out.
"Just because you don't have to adjust your bags every two seconds doesn't mean you're smart. It just means you're cheap." Minako smiled gaily at Hotaru to take the sting out of her words.
Hotaru just shook her head in disbelief, and then the light they were waiting for changed color. She started across, pulling on one bag to get Minako to follow her. All those restaurants smelled so good that Hotaru was having trouble choosing which one they should go to, for their ice cream trip had turned into a lunch and shopping trip. She ignored the sound of dropping bags behind her, and continued walking. Then everything sped up, and the hard jerk on her shoulder came at almost the same time as the squealing tires. Hotaru flew backwards onto Minako, breathing hard from a somewhat late adrenaline rush, and watching the insane driver speed away down the street. "Oh my God; Hotaru, are you okay?! That bastard almost ran you over!" Minako helped Hotaru shakily onto her feet.
"I think I'll be okay. What happened?"
"I don't know, I just saw the guy roaring straight at us out of the corner of my eye, and just reacted. Lucky you hadn't walked too far out of my reach."
Hotaru smiled genuinely at Minako. "Thanks a lot. That's all you seem to be doing today."
"What?"
"You've been helping me all of today."
"Oh, well that's a really big change." Then Minako grinned widely. "I'm sure I'll have a bad day soon at which time you can be my rescuer." Minako's stomach interrupted her musing with a big growl. She looked down, embarrassed, and then said "Guess we should get out of the street and get some food huh?"
"How 'bout that one?" Hotaru pointed to a café with pretty orange and yellow pansies and gathered up Minako's errant bags.
"Lead the way." Minako grabbed her two of her bags and rushed off the street. "See, you're already helping me out."
Hotaru smothered a grin, and marched with an icy look to the waiter behind the counter. "Patio for two, please."
He blinked at the tiny girl and then at the girl behind her for a second, then seemed to shake himself out of his stupor. "This way, please."
Guardian had just finished one of the most filling meals in what felt like a long time. The food was kind of plain, but it tasted wonderful. But just then the waiter walked up beside him and laid down the check. Guardian groaned, his good mood ruined, and caught the waiter's eye before he left. "How would you prefer I pay?" He asked politely while thinking quite hard about a way to get out of paying.
Surprisingly, and definitely to Guardian's advantage, the waiter told him, "Don't worry about the bill. I'll pay it for you."
"Really? Thank you very much." He said with profuse gratitude.
"No problem." And the waiter took the check and drifted off in a sort of confusion.
Guardian smiled radiantly at his good fortune and left the restaurant, only to wander around wondering what he should do next.
Minako squealed randomly right after the waiter had left them alone with their drinks. "Did you see that really hot blonde guy we walked past on the way out here?"
Hotaru swiveled around in her chair, looking this way and that down the sidewalk. "No. What did he look like?"
Minako grinned. "I can't believe you missed him! He had the most gorgeous tousled blonde hair, blue eyes, and was completely built underneath that red shirt of his." Minako started drooling, and Hotaru was tempted to join in, but she just grinned.
"You should have gone after him, Minako."
This comment stopped Minako's drooling. She shook her head in denial. "Nah, he was really cute to be sure, but I'm spending time with you, Hotaru."
This made Hotaru smile involuntarily and feel warm inside. Minako really had changed a lot from her younger age. She loved her friends just as much, but time and experience had lessened her boy-craziness somewhat. Hotaru was glad that she had made the effort to become better friends with all the Senshi. It had made her branch out more, and she had actually enjoyed it.
"Oh, did you hear about Makoto's latest boyfriend?"
"No. Tell me." And Hotaru sat there, enjoying the experience of having friends; which she appreciated even more with her dream last night of being all alone.