Author's Notes: I'm just typing away today!! Well, I've got a lot to write... ^_^ Hope ya like it!! Review, my children!!

Disclaimer: I'm poor. 'Nough said.

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Heaven's Flames

Chapter 3

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            "Mamoru!!"


            "Stop following me!!" the vamp grumbled, quickening his pace.


            "Y-you were joking, right?!" Usagi squealed, hastily catching up to him, to Mamoru's demise.

 
            "No," he spat, casting her a death glare. "Now would you go away?"


            "Hell no!" she cried, completely appalled. "You're NOT leaving me alone here!"


            "You don't even know me!" Mamoru growled, becoming thoroughly annoyed. "I'm a vampire, remember, dummy?!"


            Usagi stared at him blankly. "OK... And...?"


            Mamoru slapped a hand to his forehead. "You're WAY too trustworthy! I could suck you dry in a second, ya know." He prayed this would scare her away.


            "Well!" Usagi huffed. "THAT wouldn't be very nice!"


            The raven-haired teen sighed. He stopped walking, shoulders slumping. "Look," Mamoru began, eyeing the blonde harshly, "I wasn't joking. We really are in the video game." He pretended not to take note of Usagi's fallen expression. "You can believe what you want. But it's the truth."


            "B-but..." Usagi's hands began to tremble. "Th-that's impossible! This has got to be a dream!"


            "I've been in here six years, kid. This isn't a dream." Mamoru's face grew hard and he began walking again.


            "Six years...?" Usagi repeated. "LIAR!!" she screeched, catching up with Mamoru once more. "The game only came out two months ago!! HA!" the blonde added triumphantly, thrusting a finger on Mamoru's chest.


            "The game went out on the market two months ago..." he replied in a hushed tone. It was quite the contrast from his usual high pitched voice. "But, my father works for Sega... The demo of the game came out a long time ago... Six years, exactly... And I've been in here since..."


            Usagi's eyes grew wet. Mamoru was looking down at the ground, eyes soft. Despite how ridiculous the whole thing seemed, Usagi could tell he wasn't lying. She reached out a shaky hand, brushing her fingertips along his shoulder. The young vampire jumped slightly at the sudden touch. His eyes flew over to Usagi's to see they were just as shocked as his own. Mamoru could feel a lump rising in his throat.


            "Mamoru... If..." Usagi paused, unsure of how to word her thoughts. "If you've been in here six years... You must have been a little kid then..."


            The raven-haired teen turned his back to the blonde. "How... How old do you think I am...?" he croaked out, voice wavering. He flinched.


            Usagi didn't respond. He had the build of an older teen, but the voice of a child. How could she possibly pinpoint an age?


            "I can't answer it either..." he replied, to Usagi's bewilderment. Mamoru slowly turned to face her again. His eyes seemed as if there was a thin film of blood covering them. "I... I was fifteen when I came here... But... now..." Mamoru's voice trailed off.


            "What...?" Usagi rubbed the back of her neck. "But then you'd be twenty-one!" She laughed at the thought of a twenty-one year-old with a cracking voice.


            "I am."


            Usagi froze.


            "The day I came here I was attacked." Mamoru's voice grew distant. "A vampire bit me, turning me into one as well... My body died that day..." He stopped. He blinked in slight surprise as the young blonde came next to him and attempted in touching his arm again. Mamoru didn't pull away, but he didn't look to her either. "I've been stuck in the shell of a fifteen year-old boy that hasn't even finished hitting puberty ever since..." He smiled sadly. "Pretty pathetic, huh...? I'm never going to grow up." Mamoru bit down his lower lip to keep back a sob. A thin trail of blood made its way down his chin.


            "Mamoru..." The blonde stepped in front of him. She brought a shaky hand up to his face, letting her fingertips lightly brush the purple flesh around Mamoru's eyes. The vampire shuddered slightly under the feathery touch. "You're... so cold..." Usagi whispered hoarsely, fingers lingering on his cheek.


            Mamoru parted his blood-red lips slightly, about to say something, but hastily backed away. He jerked his head to the side.
"Don't look at me like that," he bit out.


            "Like what...?" Usagi's heart clenched in confusion.


            "Like you pity me..." Mamoru turned icy eyes to the young girl in front of him. "I don't want pity. Especially from an annoying kid like you."


            "I'm not a kid!" Usagi retorted, realizing just how childish she made herself sound. She sighed. "I'm gong to be seventeen in two days." She glared at Mamoru. "So, in a way I'm older then you."


            Mamoru's eyes grew wild. An animalistic growl emanated from deep within his throat. Usagi gasped in surprise. She'd really put her foot in her mouth that time... Mamoru clenched his fists and stormed off in the opposite direction.


            "W-wait up! Mamoru!!" Usagi dashed after him. "I'm sorry! It was a joke!"


            The vampire whipped around, stopping Usagi in her tracks. "If it was a joke I would have laughed," he spat out.


            Usagi cocked one hip and rested her hand on it. "Well, you don't seem to be doing too much of that in general."

 
            "I apologize if I don't have much to laugh at!!"


            Usagi's ears nearly bled at the shriek of Mamoru's raising voice.


            Before the blonde could even blink, Mamoru was a good number of yards away. She watched him in shock, mouth opening and closing, trying to find her voice. Usagi sucked in a deep breath and furrowed her brow.


            "MAMORU!" she screeched as loud as she possibly could. Usagi could see Mamoru visibly jump at the sudden scream, even from so many yards away. "I KNOW YOU'RE LONELY BUT-"


            Usagi was cut off as a hand was clamped roughly down on her mouth. She gasped under the firm hold that was nearly suffocating her. The blonde's eyes grew wide. Mamoru was griping onto her painfully, eyes wild with fury. Usagi could feel her cheeks burning, not only from the fact that he was holding onto her so hard, but because she realized he had crushed her against his chest in the process.


            "You idiot!" Mamoru hissed threateningly. He yanked his hand away from her mouth. Usagi gasped for breath. "NEVER scream that loud again! Do you have some kind of death wish?!"


            Usagi prayed he wouldn't notice that she was still pressed along the length of his body.


            "Sorry," she mumbled in embarrassment. "But I didn't think you'd come back to talk to me willingly..."


            "You thought correctly." The vampire loosened his hold on the blonde, but never pulled away.


            "Look... What I was going to say was..." The girl sighed, trying to calm her racing heart. "I... I know you've probably been really lonely... I mean, you have been here six years and all... And... Well... You don't have to be alone anymore..." Usagi realized Mamoru's hold on her arm had become so soft it almost tickled.


            Mamoru's head began to pound. Being this close to Usagi, while her heart was racing none-the-less, was driving him mad. He was a vampire, for goodness sake! It was taking every drop of restraint in his body not to jump the poor thing right then and there. But the part that scared Mamoru the most was because he wasn't sure whether he wanted to jump her to drink her or to kiss her senseless…


            "Mamoru...?" Usagi locked eyes with the vampire for a spilt second before being harshly pushed away.

 
            "I'm not lonely." Mamoru's voice was flat. "I've been doing just fine for the past six years, thank you. I don't need you hanging all over me. I can cope by myself."


            "What about me?!" the blonde cried. "Maybe you can cope, but I can't!"


            "You think I care?!" Mamoru growled. He grabbed the collar of Usagi's uniform. "You listen to me! I don't give a crap whether you get yourself killed or not. Got that?!" His voice was wavering again. "I'm not your damned protector! We may be in the game, but there isn't a restart button! This is your new life, but don't think for a second that anyone's going to help you through it! Every idiotic human that comes here thinks that someone's going to hold their hand and guide them through this. Well, there wrong! That's why most of 'em die within twenty-four hours. And I can't say I have much higher expectations for you!"


            Mamoru tore away from the shell-shocked blonde and attempted to storm away once more.


            "You died within twenty-four hours, too..." Usagi replied in an almost inaudible tone. Mamoru wasn't sure how, but his ears picked up on the hushed words. He glared at her, beyond all means of furious. "Even you yourself said it, Mamoru. You're body died that day. But I think your heart did too."

The blonde's face was completely blank. "You're a self-centered, pompous, asshole, ya know that?"


            "Good." Mamoru tugged on the sleeve of his sports jacket. "All the more reason why you shouldn't care whether I'm lonely or not."


            "But, I do care." Usagi stepped up behind Mamoru and leaned her forehead on his back. She didn't know exactly what had possessed her to do it, but judging by the way Mamoru let out a shuddering breath, she was pretty sure they both were glad she did.


            "Why...?" Mamoru swallowed, trying to bite back the hammering in his chest. "I'm not asking for your sympathy..."


            "I don't care if you ask for it or not." The blonde stepped back slightly. She pulled Mamoru's shoulder back, forcing him to turn to her. "But I'm going to give it to you anyway."


            "You don't even know me," he replied hoarsely. He did not like the sudden rush of blood throbbing in his temples.


            "I know that you're a vampire," Usagi answered back unsurely. "And your name."


            Mamoru grinned. "Well, that's more than I can say about you."


            Usagi blinked. "That's right! You don't even know my name yet!" She jumped back a step and thrust out her arm. "We can just forget about how we met earlier, and re-introduce ourselves, OK? My name is Tsukino Usagi."


            The vampire eyed the bubbly blonde with a hint of amusement reflecting in his eyes. Mamoru took a hold of her hand and lightly brushed his lips along the back of it. "Chiba Mamoru. Charmed."


            Usagi wasn't sure whether he was mocking her or not, but at least it was a start.

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