Chapter 3: Flames?
Usagi made a big sigh and stretched out her sore arms as she left the school. The day had seemed longer then normal and harder too. Detention just seemed to have gone on forever and no matter how hard she tried, Usagi could not stop thinking about the nightmare. The blonde haired girl glanced at the top of the building before exiting the gates at the entrance the school. "sigh..." She knew that she was late again and that she would get a lecture from Rei and Luna when she arrived at the Hikawa shrine.
She started walking towards the place that she meets her friends' everyday. She passed her favorite arcade and waved towards the blonde headed boy behind the counter. She saw her red haired best friend and her tag along boyfriend walking by, too busy talking to each other to notice her and walked pass. Usagi smiled as she shook her head at how much they cared about each other.
Her smile faded as her eyes saddened. Her memories floated to a black haired man named Mamoru, her Mamo-chan. She sighed, remembering that a little while after he left to study in America that they broke up, deciding that a long distance relationship would be too hard and that both of them needed to focus on their education more.
Originally they planned to get back together and marry once Mamoru was done with college, but as time passed, Usagi missed him less and less and one day she just woke up no longer missing him. She no longer loved him and she doubted now that they would ever get back together. She knew that destiny was broken, but then again, maybe it was only suppose to be destiny in her past life, never in this one.
Usagi sighed again as remembered the perfect future that she would never have now. As she remembered the smiling pink haired girl that would never be born.
She blamed herself for not having that perfect future but she knew that she would never pretend to love Mamoru just to have it. She would rather have an uncertain one and fall in true love with another man.
She arrived at the shrine and started jogging up the stairs. She opened the door that would lead to her friends and placed a big, happy looking smile on her face. All her friends stared at her, sadness reflected in their eyes for just a second but soon they covered the sadness with happy faces too.
A raven haired girl jumped up from the cushions she was sitting on the floor. "Your late odango atama!"
"Sorry Rei-chan, I got detention for being late to school... again."
The black cat Luna gave her a disappointed look and her crescent-shaped bald spot seemed to wrinkle up with lines. "I thought you were up early today?" The cat asked.
"I was. But I guess I just left my house to slow."
The cat continued to give her the look as she pounced onto Usagi's head and sat there. The whole time Minako kept glancing at Usagi with worry before quickly turning away and staring at the wall, hoping that Usagi wouldn't notice. Two other girls, one with short blue hair and the other with brown hair in a ponytail, continued to look from Minako to Usagi wondering what was going on.
"Odango atama, you are always late!" Rei stated with aggravation.
"Sorry Rei," Usagi replied with sincerity even though she wasn't paying much attention as she sat down on the cushion next to Minako. Minako turned her face, a frown its predominate feature, towards Usagi after a few seconds of silence. All eyes turned to her as she spoke, "Usagi what is bugging you? You never this quite and you look dreadful."
Silence passed for a few moments as tears welled up into Usagi's eyes. She wiped them out of her eyes, pretending they were never there and finally spoke. Her voice was soft and seemed to echo in the eerie silence of the shrine. "I had this dream. no more like a nightmare last night. It was terrifying and, and the memories of the dream won't leave my mind."
"What happened in it?"
"I was in a cemetery. The whole world was dark except for when the lighting flashed down. I wasn't... I wasn't afraid of the lightening either. I was just uncaring, emotionless actually. I felt nothing. Until... Until... the lightening flashed again and I saw this tombstone. It had my name on it... no... it was my tombstone. I knew it. I felt it. I felt the pain the tombstone radiated and the pain around the tombstone. So much pain. I started crying and a voice started whispering, like the wind," as she spoke tears started to roll down her face and the other four girls' eyes were completely focused on her, "calling my name. The voice told me... told me I was... dead. Dead. And then visions, so many visions passed through my head. Most of them were visions that seemed like memories. Like a past that I was really part of. Something that really happened to me. Yet the visions went by so quickly, I don't even remember what I saw except that they seemed just like past memories floating through my head... past memories that I have forgotten."
Usagi stop speaking and wiped away the tears that had fallen down her cheek. Minako's eyes just seemed to go blank and the other three girls shook their heads, forcing them to stop staring at Usagi and ending their thoughts.
Rei was the first one to collect herself and to speak, breaking the silence. "I am sure it means nothing Odango. The fire would have given me some warning of this dream being important if it is anything we should be worried about. It was just a dream Usagi," she paused for a second, "Get over it!" Rei then promptly sat back down with all the girls' eyes staring at her. "Lets start our studies," she spoke with an annoyed tone.
The girls then opened their books, and began to work like they were pretending to forget about Usagi's dream, even though all five of them were in deep though over it. Time slowly ticked by and soon the girls all the girls began leaving the shrine to head home. Usagi was the first to leave, gliding down the stairs. As she reached the bottom a voice from above called down to her.
"Wait up Usagi. I'll walk with you on your way home."
"Okay Minako."
The two then walked away from the shrine, as Ami and Makoto departed in the opposite direction.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Everyone had finally left the shrine for the night and Rei was finally able to have some peace and quiet. Some wonderful time for herself and looking into the fire.
She slid open a paper door and entered into a blazing hot room with a fire burning and sat down on a cushion in front of the blazing fire.
She relaxed her whole body and fixated her eyes on the flames.
Time slowly passed by and the flames seemed to rise higher and higher.
Then images started to appear in the fire and Rei's eyes where absorbed into the flames.
She noticed nothing else going around her, just the visions the flames burned into her mind.
~*~
"Mommy, where is daddy?" A little girl with raven color hair gliding down her back looked up to her mother with questioning eyes.
"Your father isn't going to see you anymore," the mother replied with tears forming in her eyes.
"Why?" The little girl continued to question.
"Because... because his work is more important to him... Because...Because..." The mother broke down into tears and her knees fell to the ground. She grabbed her little daughter and hugged her against her. "He does love you though sweetie, never forget that, okay?"
"Okay mommy. Please stop crying. Everything will be okay." The little girl spoke with a mature voice for one who was so young.
"Yes, everything will be okay." The mother wiped eyes her tears as she stood back up. She looked down at her daughter with a sad smile and the two of them continued to walk on.
~*~
The flames suddenly made time pass by even quicker. Images of school, friends and birthdays passed quickly through the flames. The suddenly stopped and a longer image, no moment passed in the flames.
~*~
"Sweetie, there is someone of the phone for you," a woman's voice could be heard saying off in the distance.
"Kay mom." A younger teenager with raven hair going down to her knees picked up the phone. "Hello."
"Hi my little pyro."
"Dad?"
"Yeah sweetie it is me." The girls eyes started to weep with happy tears and a big smile could be seen on her face."
"Dad, why are you calling? I haven't seen you in so long."
"I'll tell you later sweetie, but for now, why don't you come meet me down at that little playground you and I would always go too?"
"Did mom say it was okay?" The girl's face got even brighter.
"Yep she did. I'll see you in twenty minutes okay?"
"Okay. Bye dad."
"Bye Rei."
The girl jumped up with excitement in her eyes. She quickly changed into her favorite outfit, and ran out the door after stopping to kiss her mom good-bye.
She ran as quickly as she could towards the park and saw a dark-haired man sitting on a bench in the same direction she was running.
Her smile got even bigger as she ran towards the man that she assumed was her father. "Dad!" She said as she came to a complete halt behind the man. The man turned around and the girl knew instantly that the man in front of her wasn't her father. "You're not my dad." The girl started to turn away when the man grabbed hold of her arm.
"No but you better join me or else." The man said with a wicked smile.
"No! I want my daddy!" The raven haired girl cried out.
"Well unfortunately," his eyes gleamed with a sickening pleasure," your father had an unexpected run in with me and my men. He won't be able to see you." The man applied more pressure on the girl's arm as he spoke that and an evil grin crossed his face.
"What do you mean.?" The girl eyes were wide with fear.
"He's dead and if you don't join us, you will be seeing him very soon."
"I will never join you." The raven haired girl spat out.
"Fine then," the man answered calmly with a wicked gleam now in his eyes. He suddenly pulled out a gun from his back pant's pocket and shot her right in the head, while he was still squeezing her arm.
Not even a quarter of a minute passed from her last words to the time she was murdered.
~*~
The flames suddenly flew height up into the air and then died back down. No more images could be seen in them, just a roasting red fire.
Rei's eyes rapidly blinked and focused.
She jumped up and ran to the phone, dialing a number she knew by heart.
"Hi, is Usagi there?" She spoke into the phone once someone answered it.
A voice spoke from the other end. "What do you mean Usagi hasn't come home yet?"
The voice on the other end answered. "Okay I understand. Bye."
Rei hung up and her brain went into deep thought.
'Those were the visions that Usagi said she saw... They felt so real... Like I had actually been there... Like those were my memories... What is going on?'
Suddenly a paining sensation filled her whole body.
'Usagi... Minako... Mina... is hurt? and... and ... they are in trouble.'
Rei jumped out of her thoughts and ran out of the shrine, racing towards the park.
Usagi made a big sigh and stretched out her sore arms as she left the school. The day had seemed longer then normal and harder too. Detention just seemed to have gone on forever and no matter how hard she tried, Usagi could not stop thinking about the nightmare. The blonde haired girl glanced at the top of the building before exiting the gates at the entrance the school. "sigh..." She knew that she was late again and that she would get a lecture from Rei and Luna when she arrived at the Hikawa shrine.
She started walking towards the place that she meets her friends' everyday. She passed her favorite arcade and waved towards the blonde headed boy behind the counter. She saw her red haired best friend and her tag along boyfriend walking by, too busy talking to each other to notice her and walked pass. Usagi smiled as she shook her head at how much they cared about each other.
Her smile faded as her eyes saddened. Her memories floated to a black haired man named Mamoru, her Mamo-chan. She sighed, remembering that a little while after he left to study in America that they broke up, deciding that a long distance relationship would be too hard and that both of them needed to focus on their education more.
Originally they planned to get back together and marry once Mamoru was done with college, but as time passed, Usagi missed him less and less and one day she just woke up no longer missing him. She no longer loved him and she doubted now that they would ever get back together. She knew that destiny was broken, but then again, maybe it was only suppose to be destiny in her past life, never in this one.
Usagi sighed again as remembered the perfect future that she would never have now. As she remembered the smiling pink haired girl that would never be born.
She blamed herself for not having that perfect future but she knew that she would never pretend to love Mamoru just to have it. She would rather have an uncertain one and fall in true love with another man.
She arrived at the shrine and started jogging up the stairs. She opened the door that would lead to her friends and placed a big, happy looking smile on her face. All her friends stared at her, sadness reflected in their eyes for just a second but soon they covered the sadness with happy faces too.
A raven haired girl jumped up from the cushions she was sitting on the floor. "Your late odango atama!"
"Sorry Rei-chan, I got detention for being late to school... again."
The black cat Luna gave her a disappointed look and her crescent-shaped bald spot seemed to wrinkle up with lines. "I thought you were up early today?" The cat asked.
"I was. But I guess I just left my house to slow."
The cat continued to give her the look as she pounced onto Usagi's head and sat there. The whole time Minako kept glancing at Usagi with worry before quickly turning away and staring at the wall, hoping that Usagi wouldn't notice. Two other girls, one with short blue hair and the other with brown hair in a ponytail, continued to look from Minako to Usagi wondering what was going on.
"Odango atama, you are always late!" Rei stated with aggravation.
"Sorry Rei," Usagi replied with sincerity even though she wasn't paying much attention as she sat down on the cushion next to Minako. Minako turned her face, a frown its predominate feature, towards Usagi after a few seconds of silence. All eyes turned to her as she spoke, "Usagi what is bugging you? You never this quite and you look dreadful."
Silence passed for a few moments as tears welled up into Usagi's eyes. She wiped them out of her eyes, pretending they were never there and finally spoke. Her voice was soft and seemed to echo in the eerie silence of the shrine. "I had this dream. no more like a nightmare last night. It was terrifying and, and the memories of the dream won't leave my mind."
"What happened in it?"
"I was in a cemetery. The whole world was dark except for when the lighting flashed down. I wasn't... I wasn't afraid of the lightening either. I was just uncaring, emotionless actually. I felt nothing. Until... Until... the lightening flashed again and I saw this tombstone. It had my name on it... no... it was my tombstone. I knew it. I felt it. I felt the pain the tombstone radiated and the pain around the tombstone. So much pain. I started crying and a voice started whispering, like the wind," as she spoke tears started to roll down her face and the other four girls' eyes were completely focused on her, "calling my name. The voice told me... told me I was... dead. Dead. And then visions, so many visions passed through my head. Most of them were visions that seemed like memories. Like a past that I was really part of. Something that really happened to me. Yet the visions went by so quickly, I don't even remember what I saw except that they seemed just like past memories floating through my head... past memories that I have forgotten."
Usagi stop speaking and wiped away the tears that had fallen down her cheek. Minako's eyes just seemed to go blank and the other three girls shook their heads, forcing them to stop staring at Usagi and ending their thoughts.
Rei was the first one to collect herself and to speak, breaking the silence. "I am sure it means nothing Odango. The fire would have given me some warning of this dream being important if it is anything we should be worried about. It was just a dream Usagi," she paused for a second, "Get over it!" Rei then promptly sat back down with all the girls' eyes staring at her. "Lets start our studies," she spoke with an annoyed tone.
The girls then opened their books, and began to work like they were pretending to forget about Usagi's dream, even though all five of them were in deep though over it. Time slowly ticked by and soon the girls all the girls began leaving the shrine to head home. Usagi was the first to leave, gliding down the stairs. As she reached the bottom a voice from above called down to her.
"Wait up Usagi. I'll walk with you on your way home."
"Okay Minako."
The two then walked away from the shrine, as Ami and Makoto departed in the opposite direction.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Everyone had finally left the shrine for the night and Rei was finally able to have some peace and quiet. Some wonderful time for herself and looking into the fire.
She slid open a paper door and entered into a blazing hot room with a fire burning and sat down on a cushion in front of the blazing fire.
She relaxed her whole body and fixated her eyes on the flames.
Time slowly passed by and the flames seemed to rise higher and higher.
Then images started to appear in the fire and Rei's eyes where absorbed into the flames.
She noticed nothing else going around her, just the visions the flames burned into her mind.
~*~
"Mommy, where is daddy?" A little girl with raven color hair gliding down her back looked up to her mother with questioning eyes.
"Your father isn't going to see you anymore," the mother replied with tears forming in her eyes.
"Why?" The little girl continued to question.
"Because... because his work is more important to him... Because...Because..." The mother broke down into tears and her knees fell to the ground. She grabbed her little daughter and hugged her against her. "He does love you though sweetie, never forget that, okay?"
"Okay mommy. Please stop crying. Everything will be okay." The little girl spoke with a mature voice for one who was so young.
"Yes, everything will be okay." The mother wiped eyes her tears as she stood back up. She looked down at her daughter with a sad smile and the two of them continued to walk on.
~*~
The flames suddenly made time pass by even quicker. Images of school, friends and birthdays passed quickly through the flames. The suddenly stopped and a longer image, no moment passed in the flames.
~*~
"Sweetie, there is someone of the phone for you," a woman's voice could be heard saying off in the distance.
"Kay mom." A younger teenager with raven hair going down to her knees picked up the phone. "Hello."
"Hi my little pyro."
"Dad?"
"Yeah sweetie it is me." The girls eyes started to weep with happy tears and a big smile could be seen on her face."
"Dad, why are you calling? I haven't seen you in so long."
"I'll tell you later sweetie, but for now, why don't you come meet me down at that little playground you and I would always go too?"
"Did mom say it was okay?" The girl's face got even brighter.
"Yep she did. I'll see you in twenty minutes okay?"
"Okay. Bye dad."
"Bye Rei."
The girl jumped up with excitement in her eyes. She quickly changed into her favorite outfit, and ran out the door after stopping to kiss her mom good-bye.
She ran as quickly as she could towards the park and saw a dark-haired man sitting on a bench in the same direction she was running.
Her smile got even bigger as she ran towards the man that she assumed was her father. "Dad!" She said as she came to a complete halt behind the man. The man turned around and the girl knew instantly that the man in front of her wasn't her father. "You're not my dad." The girl started to turn away when the man grabbed hold of her arm.
"No but you better join me or else." The man said with a wicked smile.
"No! I want my daddy!" The raven haired girl cried out.
"Well unfortunately," his eyes gleamed with a sickening pleasure," your father had an unexpected run in with me and my men. He won't be able to see you." The man applied more pressure on the girl's arm as he spoke that and an evil grin crossed his face.
"What do you mean.?" The girl eyes were wide with fear.
"He's dead and if you don't join us, you will be seeing him very soon."
"I will never join you." The raven haired girl spat out.
"Fine then," the man answered calmly with a wicked gleam now in his eyes. He suddenly pulled out a gun from his back pant's pocket and shot her right in the head, while he was still squeezing her arm.
Not even a quarter of a minute passed from her last words to the time she was murdered.
~*~
The flames suddenly flew height up into the air and then died back down. No more images could be seen in them, just a roasting red fire.
Rei's eyes rapidly blinked and focused.
She jumped up and ran to the phone, dialing a number she knew by heart.
"Hi, is Usagi there?" She spoke into the phone once someone answered it.
A voice spoke from the other end. "What do you mean Usagi hasn't come home yet?"
The voice on the other end answered. "Okay I understand. Bye."
Rei hung up and her brain went into deep thought.
'Those were the visions that Usagi said she saw... They felt so real... Like I had actually been there... Like those were my memories... What is going on?'
Suddenly a paining sensation filled her whole body.
'Usagi... Minako... Mina... is hurt? and... and ... they are in trouble.'
Rei jumped out of her thoughts and ran out of the shrine, racing towards the park.