Author's Notes: Uhhh.... -_- I'm so
washed out... Grrr... I've been typing all day... I think I'm going to go crawl
in a corner and die... Sowy if this chapter sucks, I'm really bushed, ^_^;
Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I'm too tired to think
of something witty to type here... Use your imagination.
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Heaven's Flames
Chapter 4
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"You
know...?"
"Hmmm...?"
"I
was hoping after that re-introduction you would be a bit nicer to me."
"You
have too high of expectations."
Usagi
pouted. "Why do you hate me so
much?"
"I
never said I hated you." Mamoru stopped mid-step, considering this.
"But it does have a nice ring
to it."
"MAAMMMOOORRUUUUUUUU!!!!"
"Gah!"
The said vampire clamped his hand down over the wailing blonde's mouth.
"How many damned times do I have
to tell you to not scream so loud?!"
The
blonde grinned sheepishly. "Sowy," she mumbled around the
raven-haired teen's hand. Mamoru sighed.
Just
as the latter was about to open his mouth to reprimand her again his elf-like
ears twitched. Mamoru's back stiffened and he jerked his head to one side. His
eyes darted nervously for a second, brow furrowed. The vampire tilted his head
up the smallest bit and closed his eyes. Usagi watched in utter confusion as he
began to sniff the air slightly.
"Mamoru...?"
the blonde squeaked out. "What is it...?"
"Sunrise." The
raven-haired teen opened his eyes again and turned his attention back to the
girl in front of him. "I've got to go." Was that a tinge of disappointment
in his voice?
"Wha...?"
Usagi craned her neck up heavenward and squinted. "I can't see anything
past those trees. How could you possibly know if the sun is coming up or
not?"
"Sun
sprites."
The
blonde looked at Mamoru with the most befuddled expression one could achieve.
The vampire rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation.
"This
is a fantasy world, remember?" he told her slowly, as if he was chiding
someone of lower intellect. "There are all different kinds of creatures
living here. Majority of them are pretty nasty, though. The sprites are the second
friendliest living things around, however." Mamoru's face soured.
"Except for the Death sprites..." He paused. "Well, the Sun
sprites hibernate; I guess you could call it, during the night. Nothing can
wake them up but the rising sun. Their hearts even stop while they are
sleeping." Mamoru sniffed the air once more. "And, being the vampire
I am, can smell their little hearts going all a-flutter right now as they're
waking up. That's my cue to go to bed."
Usagi
stared for a second. Then realization slowly dawned on her that if he was going
to bed no one would be around to protect her while he was asleep!
"B-but,
Mamoru!!" the blonde stammered. "You CAN'T leave me here!! I'll be killed for sure!"
"Look,"
the vampire growled. "I told you, I'm not
being your protector! And you're dammed
right you'll get killed if you keep screaming like that! The day time is much
more dangerous for a boisterous girl like you." Mamoru ignored her rapidly
paling face. "So just stay low and shut up. I can't guarantee your safety,
but you're lucky I've helped you out this long. See ya around... Odango
Atama." With that he turned to leave.
"WHAT did you just call me?!" the
blonde screeched, hand defensively flying up to her unusual hairstyle.
Mamoru
just waved over his shoulder, lightly chuckling. Usagi gasped, calling after
him repeatedly, but the vampire kept walking. The blonde stood, mouth agape,
completely horrified at the fact that she would be left all by herself for the
next twelve hours. Collapsing to her knees, Usagi eyed her surroundings with
terror.
"This
is going to be a loooonnggg twelve hours..."
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(AN: I'm fully energized now!!)
Usagi
sighed sadly, running her fingers through her blonde locks. Mamoru's nickname
ran through her head. Odango Atama. He really was quite a rude guy!
A
small smile graced the girl's lips. Even though it wasn't the most flattering
name to be called it made a light blush tinge her cheeks. At least he wasn't
calling her "dumb chick" or "kid" anymore.
Usagi
sat under one of the many trees around her and was about to drift into a
daydream about the sexy vampire (AN:
*drool*) when she was snapped out of her thoughts as something slithered past
her feet. The blonde let out a yelp and tugged her legs against her chest, eyes
impossibly wide. The said creature kept wriggling past, unaware of Usagi's
presence. Her eyes followed the snake-like being nervously until it was out of
site. She didn't even notice she had been holding her breath until she let it
out in one great swoosh of relief.
"It
was only a water serpent."
Usagi
squeaked, heart hammering out of her chest. She jumped up in terror, whipping
around to the source of the voice. She shielded her eyes with one hand from the
sun. It may have been dark and damp in this world at night, but during the day
the sun was sweltering!
"Who...?"
the blonde managed to strangle out. A human shaped figure stood a mere two feet
away, a black cloak wrapped about its whole body. "What do you want...?"
"Relax."
Usagi
gulped. How was she supposed to relax?! Some hooded figured had just come up to
her with a voice that sounded as if its vocal chords had been ripped from its
throat. And, to make matters worse, Mamoru wasn't around to save her if she got
in trouble!
Before
the blonde could even scream she was pulled hastily against the figure. It
wrapped its cloak over both of them and held a hand over the fumbling girl's
mouth.
"Shhh!"
the figured hushed. "Calm down, it's just me."
Usagi
gasped. Even though the figure had pulled her into the cloak with her, letting
out all means of light, she could vaguely make out a face. He let his hand
drop.
"Mamoru...?!"
Usagi blinked. "Is that you?!"
Bloodshot
eyes stared back at her in amusement. He tightened the cape around the two of
them and nodded. Usagi shuddered slightly at the coldness of the tip of his
nose as it brushed hers. The scent of blood emanated from his lips.
"What...?
What are you doing awake?!" the blonde reprimanded. "The sun's
out!"
"Ya think?" Mamoru drawled hoarsely. Usagi flinched at his strained
voice. "Why else would I have this damned
cloak on?"
"What's
wrong with your voice...?" Usagi slowly began to notice slight abrasions
all over his face.
"It's
just from the sun," he whispered out. Was it Usagi's imagination, or was
he pulling her closer? "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd check on you.
Figures that you'd be dumb enough to
sit out in the open like that."
Usagi
scowled, trying to desperately calm her thudding heart. Being this close to
Mamoru was sending her whole body on hyper-drive. She prayed that it was too
dark inside the cloak for him to notice her crimson cheeks.
"I
should be getting back now..." A thicker layer of blood seemed to be
coating his eyes. "Just wanted to see if you were still alive."
Usagi
took this as a sign of affection. "Aww," she cooed. "Does that
mean you care about me?"
Despite
the lack of light Usagi could see Mamoru's usually milky white cheeks flush
over the small rash that already seemed to be breaking out on his skin. He
cleared his strained throat and began slowly pulling away.
"Like
I've said a million times before," the vampire began, "I'm not going to be your bodyguard." He now fully pulled
away, hurriedly covering himself fully with the cape. "But I will help you out for ONE week. That's it."
Usagi's
grin spread from ear to ear. She jumped around excitedly, clapping her hands.
She couldn't see Mamoru's features anymore under the cape, but she was sure he
was rolling his eyes.
"Thank
you!!" she cried happily, flinging her arms around the young man in front
of her. "I knew you weren't a complete
jerk!"
Mamoru wriggled free from her hold. "Don't read too much into it." Usagi could hardly make out his words behind the raspy breathing and thick hood. "I'll teach you one lesson of survival each day. By the end of this week, you're on your own."
Usagi
watched as he turned around and began walking away.
"Today's
lesson," he called over his shoulder in a croaked tone, "Find
yourself a place to hide and stay there. You've got nothing else to do."
The
blonde was about to open her mouth to thank him, but he was already out of
hearing range. She smiled despite herself, glad that he had actually cared
enough to come searching for her, even when the sun was beating down so
heavily, burning his skin.
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Usagi
turned her head around in all directions, quickening her pace slightly. The sun
was just beginning to set, so Mamoru must be getting up soon. The past seven
hours after Mamoru's short visit had nearly drove her mad. Not only did her
mind keep drifting off to how incredibly close they were, but his words - about
finding a place to hide - kept echoing through her brain. With all the built up
energy in her slowly-going-insane body, she just had to go out and search for
him.
"Geez,
Mamoru," the blonde sighed. "How is it I'm falling for a conceited
vampire like you... huh?" Usagi smiled sadly at herself. Her heart sped
up.
Any
minute now the Sun sprites would go to sleep. And then Mamoru would sneak up
behind Usagi and scare her senseless. It seemed to be his favorite pastime when
it came to the Odango Atama.
Usagi could hardly wait.
After
a good fifteen minutes of aimlessly wandering Usagi found that she had walked
in a complete circle. Slapping a hand to her forehead the blonde began to
wearily trudge along again hoping to find her newest obsession, Chiba Mamoru.
Twenty
minutes and a migraine later Usagi wound up standing in front of a cluster of
weeds nearly as tall as she. A faint trickle of water could be heard from
beyond the weeds. The blonde absent-mindedly noted that the sun had been down
for a good half-hour now so she had to squint to see what was right under her nose.
Reaching a hand out to part the weeds, Usagi stepped closer to the source of
water.
A
pond greeted the girl's surprised blue eyes. The light of the moon glimmered
down on the water, sending flecks of light to bounce off its surroundings. Off
in the extreme right of the pond was something akin to a waterfall, but two
times smaller. Usagi gasped, not only at the breathtaking scenery around her,
but at the figure that was standing under the rushing water of the midget
waterfall.
Its
elf ears twitched slightly. The figure jerked its head to the direction of
Usagi's gasp, eyes going impossibly wide.
"Mamoru?!" Usagi croaked.
Sure
enough, the figure standing under the streaming water was none only but her
heart's desire. And, Usagi noted mentally with a gulp and crimson cheeks, he
was completely naked.
The
vampire stared in shock, mouth hanging open slightly. The sensible part of his
mind was desperately trying to remind him that he was stark naked and Usagi was
staring at him, but that part of his mind was only so big.
Usagi
could feel her whole face burning all the way to the tips of her ears. It
seemed as though her mind had gone completely numb. She soon found her eyes,
which were previously glued on the vampire's own, traveling slowly downward.
Past the blush on his cheeks, past his blood-stained lips... Down his throat
and shoulders, over the alabaster-white skin of his chest and hard stomach, to
land on...
"You
can stop staring anytime now."
Usagi
blinked, finally coming back to reality. Her eyes immediately flew back up to
meet Mamoru's. She screamed and whipped around in the opposite direction.
"I'm
SOOO sorry!!" the blonde
wailed. "So, SO sorry!!"
Usagi
could hear splashing of water as Mamoru emerged. He mumbled something under his
breath and hastily dried himself off.
"You
can turn around now," Mamoru grunted as he finished putting back on his
jeans.
The
blonde slowly faced Mamoru again, hands pressed to her flushed cheeks.
"I'm really sorry..." she
whispered again.
"Eh..."
Mamoru shrugged. He eyed her warily, flicking his soaking wet hair back to have
it flop back over his eyes again. "Did you follow me here, or something?
How long were you standing there?"
Usagi
shook her head frantically. "No! I didn't follow you! I was looking for
you, actually... And you saw me the same second I saw you."
Mamoru
sat down on a boulder next to him and scratched lightly at his left shoulder.
Usagi noticed a rash, similar to the one that had covered his face earlier that
day.
"Hey,"
she started, realization kicking in, "your voice is normal again!"
"Yeah,"
the vampire mumbled back. He flinched slightly, still scratching the sensitive
skin on his shoulders. "But the rash needs time to heal still..."
Silence
was all that followed, leaving Usagi's thoughts to roam semi-shamelessly. She
couldn't help but let her eyes wander back down Mamoru's chest. The moonlight
shining on his wet skin made it appear as though he was glowing. He was...
gorgeous...
Usagi
was about to mumble another quick apology when a loud rumbling interrupted her
speech. Mamoru turned to her in surprise, ears twitching back.
"What
the hell was that?" he sputtered, still flushed from the events that had
just passed a moment ago.
Usagi
grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I guess I'm a bit hungry..."
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Author's Notes: Well, wipe the sweat
off my brow and call me Pinky! ^_^ That was a long chapter for me, hehe. My poor fingers hurt... -_-; Oh well, me
try to get Chapter 5 out today, too! Review!!
