Whoo! Another challenge fic ^^ It was VERY interesting trying to write for characters that make such brief appearances and don't even SPEAK in the anime or manga (and Catherine doesn't even exist in the manga!) ^^;;; I had fun with it though ^_^
(for anyone who doesn't know: Cyndia is Pegasus' dead girlfriend and Catherine is Pandora's ex-girlfriend)
Disclaimer: Nope, Yugioh doesn't belong to me, though I guess Shiroi does.
Notes: --- indicates scene change
[….] flashback words
Streams
"Why don't you leave me alone?"
"Because… you can see me…"
---
It had been a few years ago, while Catherine was still working as Pandora's assistant at a show. There had been many other acts there, among them was a medium/fortune teller who claimed she could summon the souls of the dead.
Catherine hadn't thought much of it at all; many psychics had crossed her path while working as a magician's assistant. On this day though, a young man with silver hair had approached the medium. On a coffee break while Pandora went over some directions with the stage hands, out of boredom Catherine half watched the medium's performance.
From what she caught of their conversation, Catherine heard that the man wanted to contact his sweetheart who had died a few years back. The medium did her song and dance and afterwards the man walked away disappointed, Catherine however was left frozen in place, her eyes wide at what she saw.
The medium had indeed summoned a ghost. A beautiful young woman with long flowing blonde hair hovered in the air a few feet from the freaked out Catherine.
The young woman noticed the reaction, "…you… can you see me?"
Catherine didn't move at all, she just continued gaping at the sight before her.
The young woman looked at her for a moment longer, then proceeded to float soundlessly after the silver haired man.
Catherine collapsed to the floor, shaking and overwhelmed.
---
Catherine let out an over dramatic sigh. The young woman (who had just before introduced herself to be named Cyndia) had come back after all his time. She had nearly had a heart attack when she had seen the ghost again.
"Don't you have a boyfriend to haunt?"
"…I stayed with him for a long time… but it became too sad," Cyndia said, her face tinged with sorrow, "He couldn't tell I was there at all… and he began to change… he's not the man I loved anymore…"
Catherine felt a twinge of sympathy for the ghost; she knew the situation; Pandora had changed and struck out at her to the point where she couldn't stand to be with him anymore, "But why are you here?"
"I remembered you. You could see me," Cyndia said with a faint smile, "I searched for you for the longest time. I've been so alone… I have no one else I can talk to."
Again, Catherine felt sorry for the ghost. She herself had been alone for far too long… But she was determined not to let this whole situation get to her. After all, this was a ghost, how did she know this was even real? Maybe she had just been working too hard lately and her mind was playing tricks on her…
"I'm going to sleep," Catherine said, rising from the couch. She mentally hit herself the second it left her lips though because there was really no reason for her to be announcing her plans to a ghost.
"Good night," Cyndia said with a gentle smile.
Without even looking at the ghost's face, Catherine could feel the warmth radiating from Cyndia's expression.
She was half praying the spirit would simply be gone when she awoke the next morning… half praying.
---
"This is a wonderful place," Cyndia said, taking in all the details of the theater/restaurant where Catherine worked, "What do you do here?"
"A lot of things," Catherine shrugged, then cursed herself silently for talking to the ghost in public. She hadn't even checked to make sure no one was around this time. She was pretty sure now that Cyndia was with her to stay. The presence had been around through the entire weekend and had now followed her to work. After she checked to make sure no one was within earshot, she replied, "I announce acts sometimes, sometimes I work as a waitress, sometimes I help out with the acts…"
"It sounds fun."
Catherine gave the ghost an odd look, but decided not to start explaining what made her job so horrible. She wouldn't have been able to even if she wanted, because at that moment a tall, slim woman with long dark hair walked over to her.
"Catherine, are you alright?" she inquired with a slightly concerned look.
Catherine scowled immaturely, "I'm fine."
"You looked like you were talking to yourself. Is anything troubling you?"
"I said, I'M FINE," Catherine said, giving the woman an intense glare.
The woman nodded and returned to the table she had come from.
Cyndia looked at Catherine quizzically.
"I can't talk to you anymore, can you just back off for a while so I can do my work?"
Cyndia nodded.
Catherine sighed and went to start on her duties.
---
As Catherine climbed into her car at the end of the night, Cyndia hesitantly approached, "So who is that woman?"
"It's really not important."
"Catherine…" Cyndia smiled, "You can tell me anything. It's not as if it's possible for me to tell anyone else."
Catherine thought about it, and it seemed logical. There had been quite a few things weighing on her mind lately and she really didn't have anyone she could talk to about them, "Alright. That was Shiroi; she's a telephone person at one of those crisis lines or whatever they're called. She keeps harassing me."
"…why would she do that?"
Catherine sighed and pulled back one of the sleeves of her shirt, "It's because she saw these." Cyndia gasped at what she saw: thin, clean lines of varying shades of red streaked across the arm.
Seeing Cyndia's horrified reaction, Catherine fixed her sleeve and looked away from the young woman's face, "I-I've just been having a hard time lately, this takes the pain away…"
"You SHOULD talk to that lady!" Cyndia said, still with a look of horror in her eyes, "That's really really serious-"
"Shut up," Catherine said, "I'll do what I want. You can't make me do anything," with that said, she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
---
"…can you stop that already?!" Catherine said, getting fed up with the sobs coming from the ghost beside her, somewhat sitting/floating in the passenger's seat.
"Why would you want to die? This isn't fun…"
"I never said I wanted to die!"
"I'd give anything just to be alive again… but you…"
"If it bothers you that much, then don't hang around me!"
"Ah-" Cyndia gasped as they plowed directly into the truck ahead of them.
Catherine didn't even manage a gasp before her head hit the steering wheel and everything faded away.
---
"Catherine! Catherine!!"
She could hear her name being called over and over. It was in such a panicked tone and it sounded like the caller was crying.
"Cyndia?" Catherine blinked. She wasn't sure where she was. She seemed to be surrounded completely by black nothingness, but in front of her was Cyndia. Possibly more beautiful than Catherine had previously noticed, she seemed warmer, more real than before.
She had a simple urge and obeyed it. Catherine reached out her hand to meet an outstretched one that Cyndia was offering. Their fingers interlocked.
"…I can touch you," Catherine said, staring at their hands as she ran her fingers softly along Cyndia's. When she turned to view the face of the other though, she could see tears running down it.
"Why Cyndia? Isn't this wonderful? How long has it been since you've felt anything?"
Cyndia just shook her head and her tears continued to fall down her cheeks in narrow streams.
---
"…Cyn…dia…?" Catherine managed to mumble as one of her eyes opened a crack and was met by nothing but blinding whiteness.
"Catherine?" an unfamiliar voice said.
Catherine's eyes focused slowly and she could now tell that she was in a hospital room and a doctor was speaking to her, "Catherine? How are you feeling? Do you know where you are?"
"What… what happened?"
"You were in a car accident. You've been in a coma for almost a week."
---
Catherine stepped inside her apartment and shut the door behind her. She fell to her knees. She had been in the hospital nearly a month. She knew she should have been happy to be home, but it seemed so meaningless now. Cyndia was gone.
She had spent countless hours in the hospital calling out, even crying for the ghost to return. She hadn't even known Cyndia for that long, and the pain of her disappearance seemed far too excruciating for such a short lived visit.
It had just been so significant. Catherine hadn't been able to speak to anyone like she had to Cyndia in so long. The warmth and gentleness of the young woman had given her what she so desired. She had felt special for the first time in a very long while. And the feeling of when their hands had touched… it was indescribable. It felt like it had been the most meaningful sensation she had ever experienced.
Now this one wonderful thing that finally happened to her had been cruelly and inexplicably ripped from her. She felt empty and the horrible sense of loneliness that normally plagued her every day was returning. She didn't want to feel that way again.
No, she COULDN'T feel that way again.
She needed Cyndia.
"I suppose I'll just have to go to her…" Catherine said, with a miserable laugh. She went to the bathroom and started filling up the bathtub.
As the water poured in, she took a loose razor blade from the cabinet.
She fell to the floor by the tub, smiling with eyes full of tears and a shivering body racked with sobs. Catherine leaned her arms over the tub and dug the blade into one wrist as far as she could make it go. With all the effort she had, she pulled it across as its blade became lost in rivers of thick red.
She removed the blade and repeated the action on her other wrist. She couldn't cut as deep this time and she let her arms flop into the water below as she lost her strength. Catherine laid her head on the edge of the tub, her mind was going fuzzy, but she said one word, "Cyndia…"
---
"Not like this."
She could hear the words, but all she could see was darkness. It was then that Cyndia's words from the time of the car crash returned to Catherine's mind:
[I don't want to leave you. I want to stay here like this, but I can't… and you can't. I believe I must have met you for a reason. You shouldn't die yet, maybe I came to you to help you go back. Even if that wasn't it, I'm positive we met for a reason… and I'm so happy that we met.]
"Not like this."
Catherine heard the words again and she could see Cyndia's face, once again stained with tears.
---
Catherine awoke and was met with the now familiar sterile whiteness of a hospital room.
"Catherine?"
"…Shi…roi?" Catherine said, attempting to sit up, but wincing when searing pain raced up her arms.
"Ah, take it easy. They just stitched you up."
Catherine looked at her bandaged wrists blankly until the events that led to the injuries fuzzily came back to her, "…how did I get here?"
"You don't remember? You called my work; I answered."
"I don't remember that…"
"You sounded really out of it… the paramedics said you must have crawled from the bathroom to your phone and that it was quite remarkable that you did, considering the amount of blood loss you suffered."
"I… called?"
"You called me and you said you'd cut your wrists… and you said something else too… I doubt you really knew what you were doing at the time…"
"…what did I say?"
"…'I don't want to make her cry anymore'."
Catherine's eyes widened.
"Well, you should get some rest," Shiroi turned to leave.
"…wait, Shiroi…"
"Hm?" she stopped and looked at Catherine.
"Could we… talk for a bit, maybe?"
Shiroi smiled, "I think that's a great idea."
[I'm positive we met for a reason.]
End
(for anyone who doesn't know: Cyndia is Pegasus' dead girlfriend and Catherine is Pandora's ex-girlfriend)
Disclaimer: Nope, Yugioh doesn't belong to me, though I guess Shiroi does.
Notes: --- indicates scene change
[….] flashback words
Streams
"Why don't you leave me alone?"
"Because… you can see me…"
---
It had been a few years ago, while Catherine was still working as Pandora's assistant at a show. There had been many other acts there, among them was a medium/fortune teller who claimed she could summon the souls of the dead.
Catherine hadn't thought much of it at all; many psychics had crossed her path while working as a magician's assistant. On this day though, a young man with silver hair had approached the medium. On a coffee break while Pandora went over some directions with the stage hands, out of boredom Catherine half watched the medium's performance.
From what she caught of their conversation, Catherine heard that the man wanted to contact his sweetheart who had died a few years back. The medium did her song and dance and afterwards the man walked away disappointed, Catherine however was left frozen in place, her eyes wide at what she saw.
The medium had indeed summoned a ghost. A beautiful young woman with long flowing blonde hair hovered in the air a few feet from the freaked out Catherine.
The young woman noticed the reaction, "…you… can you see me?"
Catherine didn't move at all, she just continued gaping at the sight before her.
The young woman looked at her for a moment longer, then proceeded to float soundlessly after the silver haired man.
Catherine collapsed to the floor, shaking and overwhelmed.
---
Catherine let out an over dramatic sigh. The young woman (who had just before introduced herself to be named Cyndia) had come back after all his time. She had nearly had a heart attack when she had seen the ghost again.
"Don't you have a boyfriend to haunt?"
"…I stayed with him for a long time… but it became too sad," Cyndia said, her face tinged with sorrow, "He couldn't tell I was there at all… and he began to change… he's not the man I loved anymore…"
Catherine felt a twinge of sympathy for the ghost; she knew the situation; Pandora had changed and struck out at her to the point where she couldn't stand to be with him anymore, "But why are you here?"
"I remembered you. You could see me," Cyndia said with a faint smile, "I searched for you for the longest time. I've been so alone… I have no one else I can talk to."
Again, Catherine felt sorry for the ghost. She herself had been alone for far too long… But she was determined not to let this whole situation get to her. After all, this was a ghost, how did she know this was even real? Maybe she had just been working too hard lately and her mind was playing tricks on her…
"I'm going to sleep," Catherine said, rising from the couch. She mentally hit herself the second it left her lips though because there was really no reason for her to be announcing her plans to a ghost.
"Good night," Cyndia said with a gentle smile.
Without even looking at the ghost's face, Catherine could feel the warmth radiating from Cyndia's expression.
She was half praying the spirit would simply be gone when she awoke the next morning… half praying.
---
"This is a wonderful place," Cyndia said, taking in all the details of the theater/restaurant where Catherine worked, "What do you do here?"
"A lot of things," Catherine shrugged, then cursed herself silently for talking to the ghost in public. She hadn't even checked to make sure no one was around this time. She was pretty sure now that Cyndia was with her to stay. The presence had been around through the entire weekend and had now followed her to work. After she checked to make sure no one was within earshot, she replied, "I announce acts sometimes, sometimes I work as a waitress, sometimes I help out with the acts…"
"It sounds fun."
Catherine gave the ghost an odd look, but decided not to start explaining what made her job so horrible. She wouldn't have been able to even if she wanted, because at that moment a tall, slim woman with long dark hair walked over to her.
"Catherine, are you alright?" she inquired with a slightly concerned look.
Catherine scowled immaturely, "I'm fine."
"You looked like you were talking to yourself. Is anything troubling you?"
"I said, I'M FINE," Catherine said, giving the woman an intense glare.
The woman nodded and returned to the table she had come from.
Cyndia looked at Catherine quizzically.
"I can't talk to you anymore, can you just back off for a while so I can do my work?"
Cyndia nodded.
Catherine sighed and went to start on her duties.
---
As Catherine climbed into her car at the end of the night, Cyndia hesitantly approached, "So who is that woman?"
"It's really not important."
"Catherine…" Cyndia smiled, "You can tell me anything. It's not as if it's possible for me to tell anyone else."
Catherine thought about it, and it seemed logical. There had been quite a few things weighing on her mind lately and she really didn't have anyone she could talk to about them, "Alright. That was Shiroi; she's a telephone person at one of those crisis lines or whatever they're called. She keeps harassing me."
"…why would she do that?"
Catherine sighed and pulled back one of the sleeves of her shirt, "It's because she saw these." Cyndia gasped at what she saw: thin, clean lines of varying shades of red streaked across the arm.
Seeing Cyndia's horrified reaction, Catherine fixed her sleeve and looked away from the young woman's face, "I-I've just been having a hard time lately, this takes the pain away…"
"You SHOULD talk to that lady!" Cyndia said, still with a look of horror in her eyes, "That's really really serious-"
"Shut up," Catherine said, "I'll do what I want. You can't make me do anything," with that said, she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
---
"…can you stop that already?!" Catherine said, getting fed up with the sobs coming from the ghost beside her, somewhat sitting/floating in the passenger's seat.
"Why would you want to die? This isn't fun…"
"I never said I wanted to die!"
"I'd give anything just to be alive again… but you…"
"If it bothers you that much, then don't hang around me!"
"Ah-" Cyndia gasped as they plowed directly into the truck ahead of them.
Catherine didn't even manage a gasp before her head hit the steering wheel and everything faded away.
---
"Catherine! Catherine!!"
She could hear her name being called over and over. It was in such a panicked tone and it sounded like the caller was crying.
"Cyndia?" Catherine blinked. She wasn't sure where she was. She seemed to be surrounded completely by black nothingness, but in front of her was Cyndia. Possibly more beautiful than Catherine had previously noticed, she seemed warmer, more real than before.
She had a simple urge and obeyed it. Catherine reached out her hand to meet an outstretched one that Cyndia was offering. Their fingers interlocked.
"…I can touch you," Catherine said, staring at their hands as she ran her fingers softly along Cyndia's. When she turned to view the face of the other though, she could see tears running down it.
"Why Cyndia? Isn't this wonderful? How long has it been since you've felt anything?"
Cyndia just shook her head and her tears continued to fall down her cheeks in narrow streams.
---
"…Cyn…dia…?" Catherine managed to mumble as one of her eyes opened a crack and was met by nothing but blinding whiteness.
"Catherine?" an unfamiliar voice said.
Catherine's eyes focused slowly and she could now tell that she was in a hospital room and a doctor was speaking to her, "Catherine? How are you feeling? Do you know where you are?"
"What… what happened?"
"You were in a car accident. You've been in a coma for almost a week."
---
Catherine stepped inside her apartment and shut the door behind her. She fell to her knees. She had been in the hospital nearly a month. She knew she should have been happy to be home, but it seemed so meaningless now. Cyndia was gone.
She had spent countless hours in the hospital calling out, even crying for the ghost to return. She hadn't even known Cyndia for that long, and the pain of her disappearance seemed far too excruciating for such a short lived visit.
It had just been so significant. Catherine hadn't been able to speak to anyone like she had to Cyndia in so long. The warmth and gentleness of the young woman had given her what she so desired. She had felt special for the first time in a very long while. And the feeling of when their hands had touched… it was indescribable. It felt like it had been the most meaningful sensation she had ever experienced.
Now this one wonderful thing that finally happened to her had been cruelly and inexplicably ripped from her. She felt empty and the horrible sense of loneliness that normally plagued her every day was returning. She didn't want to feel that way again.
No, she COULDN'T feel that way again.
She needed Cyndia.
"I suppose I'll just have to go to her…" Catherine said, with a miserable laugh. She went to the bathroom and started filling up the bathtub.
As the water poured in, she took a loose razor blade from the cabinet.
She fell to the floor by the tub, smiling with eyes full of tears and a shivering body racked with sobs. Catherine leaned her arms over the tub and dug the blade into one wrist as far as she could make it go. With all the effort she had, she pulled it across as its blade became lost in rivers of thick red.
She removed the blade and repeated the action on her other wrist. She couldn't cut as deep this time and she let her arms flop into the water below as she lost her strength. Catherine laid her head on the edge of the tub, her mind was going fuzzy, but she said one word, "Cyndia…"
---
"Not like this."
She could hear the words, but all she could see was darkness. It was then that Cyndia's words from the time of the car crash returned to Catherine's mind:
[I don't want to leave you. I want to stay here like this, but I can't… and you can't. I believe I must have met you for a reason. You shouldn't die yet, maybe I came to you to help you go back. Even if that wasn't it, I'm positive we met for a reason… and I'm so happy that we met.]
"Not like this."
Catherine heard the words again and she could see Cyndia's face, once again stained with tears.
---
Catherine awoke and was met with the now familiar sterile whiteness of a hospital room.
"Catherine?"
"…Shi…roi?" Catherine said, attempting to sit up, but wincing when searing pain raced up her arms.
"Ah, take it easy. They just stitched you up."
Catherine looked at her bandaged wrists blankly until the events that led to the injuries fuzzily came back to her, "…how did I get here?"
"You don't remember? You called my work; I answered."
"I don't remember that…"
"You sounded really out of it… the paramedics said you must have crawled from the bathroom to your phone and that it was quite remarkable that you did, considering the amount of blood loss you suffered."
"I… called?"
"You called me and you said you'd cut your wrists… and you said something else too… I doubt you really knew what you were doing at the time…"
"…what did I say?"
"…'I don't want to make her cry anymore'."
Catherine's eyes widened.
"Well, you should get some rest," Shiroi turned to leave.
"…wait, Shiroi…"
"Hm?" she stopped and looked at Catherine.
"Could we… talk for a bit, maybe?"
Shiroi smiled, "I think that's a great idea."
[I'm positive we met for a reason.]
End