(Beyond Cosmos) Angel in Our Midst
By CrystalBlueSeraph
Sailormoon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailormoon or Rurouni Kenshin.
"COSMIC...MOON...POWER!"
Three small words, uttered so many times before with the same significant result, softly spoken from narrowly parted lips, whispered but visibly heard in the momentary stillness of the previously roaring and lashing winds, words that were filled with force and blinding intensity echoing throughout the immediate surrounding and the hearts of those who bear witness to its outstanding deliverance, its purpose and its implication originating from deep within the infinite expanse of the angelic being's pure but currently grieving heart, Cosmos released every ounce of the energy still cursing within her body like the river of blood flowing through her veins with practiced ease, having done the act countless of times in the past.
Bright, blinding, ethereal light erupted from the translucent, iridescent crystal that sat atop the six feet pearly white but deadly looking staff she was holding tightly in a white knuckled grip, her trim, creamy, gloved arm that was holding the staff abducted forward, the sharp point of the staff directed at the abomination that plagued countless lives and caused too much grief in the hearts of those ill-fated enough to cross ITS path.
The glorious, overwhelming light spread throughout the surrounding in a colossal radius, destroying and intermittently securing all the impurities and evil darkness in its path, the abomination called Chaos included, and healing all the wounds of those that were bathed with its heavenly light, physically as well as mentally and spiritually in accordance to their will, belief, and trust.
"Usagi!!!" Kenshin, Sanoske, Kaoru, and Yahiko all called out in a heart stopping fright as the silver haired petit young woman, previously floating in mid-air high above the waiting ground, plummeted at an alarming rapid rate towards the soft and waiting arms of the previously dusty and lifeless earth as her wide, soft, grand, and magnificent wings disappeared in sparkling dusts and were carried away by the soft hands of wind.
The white, skin-tight, and skimpy suit she wore as her battle attire and all the accessories that came with it shifted and disappeared into the blue and white floral patterned kimono she donned that morning, hours ago, before the arrival of the enemy that fractured the peace and harmony she had accomplished and lived with in the past months of her sudden appearance.
Kenshin caught her just in time of impact, the injuries that rendered him immobile just moments ago gone, due to what he suspected to be the healing properties of the light that bathed him with so much joy, care, warmth, and love, momentary feelings that would be imprinted in his memory forever. Her limp and battered body landed securely within his outstretched arms as he resisted the force of impact that threatened to pull him down together with his burden to the grassy forest floor.
Regaining his balance, he steadied her small form within his arms, carefully adjusting her in a position he deduced to give her more comfort as he sat on the ground to give him more access in the examination of her well being. He was very worried for she was so still and uttered not a sound during the shift of her position.
"Miss Usagi." He spoke gently, calling her name as he checked for her, in his opinion and great distress, gradually receding vitals. Her pulse was weakening, allowing less and less life blood to flow within the confines of her veins, arteries, and capillaries that was greatly needed to support the major organs of her exhausted body. Her breathing was becoming irregular as well, its depth and rate decreasing with each passing moment.
She was dying . . . her physical body degenerating. . . And he could not stop the slowly gathering moisture at the rims of his expressively sad, lavender hued eyes.
"Kenshin. . ." She whispered, voice slightly wavering, a soft gentle wind calling, calming, soulful caress that could reach and touch something deep within. Her large cerulean blue eyes flecked with silver specks like stars in the dark cloudless night were glassy with unshed tears, wet stones on the river banks reflecting the calming light of the waxing moon, its brilliance slightly dimmer and slowly, undoubtedly, resolutely diminishing. "...feel not but gladness for he is sealed. The future might be uncertain, but peace is only just a step away, now that he is but a memory."
She watched Kenshin through her blurry and gradually darkening and narrowing field of vision. The effort to keep her eyelids open increasing in demand as the minute energy she had left dissipated little by little. She wanted to lift her flaccid arm to rest it on his shoulder and wipe away the tears that leaked from his lavender eyes to ease him off of the pain and sadness that was surrounding his being in a thick fog, like a second skin, but it was futile, she had neither will nor energy left to perform such task, speaking was hard enough and took so much effort as it was.
This man . . . this man that was gazing at her with so much grief and concern . . . she loved this man. She loved him as much as she loved all the people who had befriended her during her short stay in their company, in this particular time and place, of which she found herself in after a similar battle that consequently depleted her energy and reduced her to her likewise current state. She loved them as much as she loved her senshi whom she knew would always be waiting for her throughout eternity.
She remembered the day she regained her consciousness of which she was readily accepted with open arms.
"Oh! You're awake! We were so worried. You had been unconscious for seven days now... Here..."
She felt a hand rest at the nape of her neck which slowly lifted her head, raising it high enough for her lips to reach the slightly tipped cup half filled with clear liquid waiting innocently right in front of her.
"... it's water. Drink it. You must be very thirsty."
She eyed the liquid inside the cup through blurry eyes that was just adjusting to the dim lighting of the quiet and peaceful room. Trusting the concerned voice of the woman whom she hadn't really seen yet but felt safe with because of the good aura surrounding her, she opened her dry lips and let the cool liquid enter her parched mouth.
Having swallowed all the water, the woman holding the cup lowered her head once more on the soft pillow she found herself in just moments ago, and silently moved away. She followed the woman's movement with her sense of hearing through the soft and muted rustle and friction of clothes.
She turned her head at the direction of the woman as the said woman sat down once again by her side; now slightly farther away which allowed her a good distance for observation. Her eyes, now adjusted to the dimness of the room of which she was very thankful for because too much light in her current condition would just render her blind, rested on the woman who had taken care of her and who was also regarding her and observing her solemnly.
"Please call me Kaoru. I am the owner and mistress of this place. I... I mean We had been taking care of you for seven days now. Kenshin... he was the one who found you... had been in constant vigilance for your recovery... Oh! I should inform him now. He had been very worried since it took you this long to wake up!"
Before Usagi even uttered a single word, Kaoru left in a hurry, walking rapidly but lightly across the polished wooden floor and to the shoji screen door which she opened slightly, just enough to fit her small form, and slid through it, closing it behind her back.
Upon Kaoru's retreating figure, Usagi noted the woman's appearance, concentrating on the attire she wore. With feigned amusement, she thought of the attires the members of the bokken club or the students of Aikido at school usually wore. Kaoru was wearing the same clothes, a white inner kimono and a dark blue hakama, so... either she was in some club facility, a dojo perhaps, which she though would be peculiar because they could have admitted her to a hospital with much more comfortable bed and white walls, or she could possibly be in the past, or some shrine, remembering the old ways of her friend Rei and Rei's grandfather.
She dismissed all her thoughts and reasoned with herself that she would get her answer from the nice woman who introduced herself as Kaoru at a latter time.
After a while, she heard light footsteps beyond the shoji screen, and with a whispered swish of the screen, she saw shadowed figures looking in. With the bright light behind their back, she could not see their features even through squinted eyes. She was curious and wanted to know each and everyone of them for she felt no malice or hostility from their auras. All she could feel was their curiosity that matched her own and concern, great concern directed at her... a stranger.
Noting the attires of those present in her company and the smell of wind that wafted through the opened doorway, the smell of fresh air, less marred by the fumes that were a constant in the modern time and place she originated from, she concluded that she was in an earlier time, technically, the past.
She watched them all as they settled down, and waited for them to break the silence that shrouded the atmosphere of the room with the occasional bouts of muted rustling fabrics caused by sudden movements .
There were four of them, three males, one of them a child, and one female, the woman who introduced herself as Kaoru. With her eyes adjusted to the sudden change of lighting in the previously dim room, the shoji screen door left opened, she studied their revealed physical features, their faces, their demeanors... and found them pleasant, friendly, and even with all the hardship lines which would always be written in their faces, they were in her eyes... beautiful.
Kaoru regarded the woman lying on the futon. She thought the woman was pretty, with her rich and long golden hair that fascinatingly enough had silver highlights, something she had not seen or heard of before. The woman also had the softest skin she had ever felt, something she realized as she took care of her during her oblivious state, like those of a flower petal, and added to its extraordinary characteristics was that it was unblemished, not a scar, not a bump, not a single red or black spot was found... it was quite remarkable, as if she had lived a very easy pampered life in a padded environment where nothing touched or harmed her in any way. Her face, her nose, her lips and her elegantly arched eyebrows was perfect. And when she saw her eyes for the first time, she was bound fascinated and later on castigated herself for being wrong, the woman was not pretty... she was beautiful, ethereal, astonishingly perfect... an angel.
Shaking herself from her self-induced trance of fascination and imagination, she cleared her throat, all the while hiding the rosy blush that blossomed on her pale cheeks caused by the sudden guilt and shame she felt when she realized she had been staring.
"Ummm. Hello." Kaoru started timidly, still embarrassed of being caught staring. "As I said before, please call me Kaoru. And this..." She moved her left arm and waved it in the little boy's direction. "...is Yahiko."
The little boy bowed his head respectfully from his seated position, all the while unable to take his eyes from the hypnotizing gaze of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"That one over there, in the white haori and hakama is Sanoske." Kaoru waived her hand at the man opposite her.
And before Kaoru continued with her introduction, Kenshin spoke up and introduced himself.
"And I am Kenshin Himura, please call me Kenshin. We are so glad that you had finally woken up, that we are. We were so worried for we could not figure out the reason for your illness, granted that I found you unconscious in the forest on my way to the river. You are very fortunate that I found you, that you are." Kenshin relayed to the supine woman he had been observing since his arrival in the room.
He was fascinated, not only because of the woman's physical beauty but also because of the serenity, innocence, and calm demeanor that surrounded her like second skin. And past the look of fragility the woman possessed, he felt immense power, a tremendous aura... pure and unsullied, something he had not expected to encounter ever in his life. It felt, at that time, like he was in the presence of a deity...
"Thank you all." Usagi whispered softly, unaware of the effect her voice had with all the people surrounding her. It was melodic, music to the ears, calming, light, unearthly...
"May name is Usagi Tsukino and I am very thankful for all of your generosity." Usagi continued, looking into each and everyone in the room, her eyes radiating sincerity and utter trust and happiness.
With the last hum of her voice, everything descended down into a quiet stillness once again, Usagi preoccupying herself in observing more of the good hearted people surrounding her, and the rest contemplating about the angelic being who had graced them merely by her presence.
They thought about her name Usagi Tsukino, and they thought it was cute... fitting... its meaning quite intriguing... 'Rabbit of the Moon'
She remembered all their kindness, their unequaled munificence to help; witnessed their good-hearted interaction with each other, the love they possessed - a sturdy link that connected them to one another."Here, let me help you with that Miss Usagi." Kenshin offered, all the while taking the water bucket from Usagi's right hand, leaving no room for her to refuse and no time for her to protest.
"Oh. But..." Usagi started, but he was already retreating, the bucket in his possession.
Kenshin stopped, a couple of paces away, and looked back at her questioningly. "Where were you headed to, Miss Usagi?"
"At the back, by the vegetable garden... thank you." Usagi sighted, resignation clearly written in her form. They just couldn't leave her alone. It had been days since her wakefulness and they still treat her like a fragile glass that was easy to break. She couldn't blame them though; it was their nature... the workings of their good hearts.
"Good morning Miss Usagi. How are you feeling today?" Kaoru asked cheerfully. She was on her knees by the vegetable bed, plucking some eggplants out.
"I'm fine, thank you very much. But... I was going to do that." Usagi indicated at what Kaoru was doing. "I was planning on cooking something for all of you." She continued tentatively.
"That won't be necessary Miss Usagi. I..." Kaoru answered back but was interrupted.
"Can you really cook? REALLY cook? Cause to tell you the truth, only Kenshin here CAN cook." Yahiko butted in. "You don't want to eat what ugly makes. It will make you sick." He added, pointedly ignoring the fuming face of the subject of his daily taunt.
The subject, namely Kaoru, sat up abruptly and rapidly approached Yahiko and knocked him on his head. "You take that back little Yahiko! Grrrrrr. You are so ungrateful. After I took you in, aside from the fact that I am your sensei in the art of the sword, I expect you to give me the proper respect I deserve."
"But I was just stating a fact. It's not like it's not true." Yahiko retorted, crossing his arms.
Usagi chuckled, covering her smiling lips with her hand, her eyes dancing with humor. She recalled the days of arguments with Rei, pointless arguments that was just made for fun. Witnessing the antics between people who obviously cared for one another was quite heart warming.
To Be Continued. . .