Author's Notes: I'm so sorry this took over two weeks (three or more maybe...) to come out! Since I was out of school for so long, I had WEEKS of work to make up over vacation... -_-;; I don't know when I'm ever gonna get the time to write chapter 10... But I'll try!
Disclaimers: I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter whether I type a disclaimer or not, because everyone knows I'm just some poor son uvva bitch trying to waste the days away typing. ^_^
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Heaven's Flames
Chapter 9
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Rule #1: Find yourself a place to hide and stay there.
Rule #2: Don't piss off the vampire.
Rule #3: Keep your mouth shut.
Rule #4: Stay away from anything with black eyes.
Rule #5: If you need help, only go to the fairies.
Rule #6: Don't get attached to anyone.
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Usagi had never had such a fitful slumber in her whole life. It was so hard to get back to sleep once she woke up, too, since the sun was shining down so heavily. It was so wierd to be nocturnal!
Usagi sighed in exhasperation. She was too hot if she put Mamoru's sports jacket on, but she was too cold if she took it off. She was too high-strung to sleep, but too tired to stay awake. She was too depressed to be in love, and too in love to be depressed.
The blonde gasped. Too... in love...? With Chiba Mamoru...?
The thought had Usagi's heart hammering.
Usagi rolled onto her side. She grabbed Mamoru's jacket and draped it over herself. The sun was setting and the temperature in the forest was slowly decreasing. She was glad she had an actual excuse to be clinging onto the coat.
Mamoru will be coming along soon, Usagi thought hopefully. And he would yell at her for sleeping out in the open again. She would laugh it off and eat the breakfast he had picked for her. He would wander around for his prey, leaving Usagi to her daydreams. Then come back to say something sweet, build up her hopes, and crush her heart when he left at sun rise.
Usagi felt dizzy. She was about to lay down when she realized that she already was. Mamoru was spurring the strangest emotions in her!
Yawning lazily, the blonde slowly sat up. Her head was throbbing from the lack of sleep, but she suddenly felt odly energized. She looked down sleepily to realize that her uniform was back on. She didn't even remember putting it on after it had dried...
"Heads up."
Usagi jerked her head to the side to see something coming at her in a blur. With a squeak she held up a hand defensively and caught the offending object.
"Jeez, Mamoru!" Usagi whined. "Warn me before you do stuff like that!"
"I said 'heads up,'" the newcomer grumbled. He folded his arms over his chest. "Not my fault you're oblivious."
"Nyah," Usagi drawled, sticking out her tongue. She looked down to her hands to see something akin to a peach. "Wuzz this?"
"I dunno, I saw it and picked it." Mamoru shrugged one shoulder. "Didn't test it for posion though."
"So much for the fleeting hope that you cared."
"Must have been a *very* fleeting hope."
Usagi's heart sank. That wasn't the reply she was hoping for.
The blonde sighed and bit into the fruit. Part of her was praying it really was posionous and it would put her out of her misery. Anything was better than the way her heart seemed like it was going to burst when Mamoru was around.
Mamoru sat down next to the somber girl. "You OK...?" he asked hesitantly. Mamoru wasn't sure whether he really wanted to know the answer or not.
Usagi mumbled a small affirmative, chewing slowly. The vampire eyed her carefully.
"You look like you had a rough night." Mamoru prayed it wasn't because of him. A coppery taste filled his mouth.
"I guess," the blonde murmered. She finally swallowed after two tries. "Just didn't get much sleep."
"It shows." Mamoru wished he could kick himself for saying that.
"Thanks," Usagi groaned sarcastically. "You really know how to cheer a girl up."
Mamoru sighed. He wanted to apologize, but he didn't want Usagi to think he cared. Whether he really did or not was another story...
Mamoru turned his head to the chewing blonde next to him and blinked in slight surprise. She was sitting in indian style, his jacket drooped haph-hazardly over her shoulders. Her head was down, back hunched over a bit. Usagi stared with half open eyes at the orange fruit in her hands. Her golden locks spilled down her back and shoulders from all directions, loose from it's pigtails. Mamoru absent-mindedly noted that the fruit in her hands was shaking. No, make it that her hands were shaking.
"Are you *really* all right...?" Mamoru was shocked himself at the raw infliction in his voice. Did he really care that much?
Usagi gulped. She blinked away the oncoming tears. She made a small nod. The blonde attempted in bringing the fruit back up to her mouth, but her hands were trembling so badly that it fell loose from her grasp.
"Jesus, Odango." Mamoru gripped her shoulders a bit too hard. "What the hell is wrong?"
"I..." Usagi bit back a sob. Why did she feel like crying so badly? Why did it feel as though her heart was swelling up so much it was suffocating her? "I don't know..."
Mamoru felt his throat closing up. "Why are you crying then?" he managed out past the lump in his chest.
"I am...?" Usagi brought shaky fingers up to her tear soaked cheeks. "I didn't even notice..."
"Usagi!"
The fact that Mamoru had said her actual name, and with such a strained pull to it, caused Usagi's head to snap up in shock.
Mamoru's eyes were growing bloodshot.
"You... you wanna know why I'm crying...?" Usagi choked out. "It's because I hurt..."
Mamoru could have sworn he was having some sort of asthma attack. It wasn't natural for your throat to be so tight like that, was it?
"Everytime I think about you it hurts..."
That wasn't the response Mamoru wanted.
"I always pray you'll loosen up a bit and start to actually care..."
Oh, but he cared more than even he himself could fathom.
"And when that shape-shifter came along... and I thought it was you..."
Mamoru's stomach lurched.
"I thought I would die from happiness..."
The vampire's vision was turning red from the blood-tears welling in his eyes.
"That's all I want, Mamoru... Is for you to actually care..."
Mamoru bit back a sob.
"I just...!"
Neither of them seemed to notice that Mamoru was holding Usagi against his chest. Neither realized that Usagi had her head buried in the crook of his neck, or that she was sobbing uncontrollably. Neither noticed that one, solitary blood-tear trickled down Mamoru's pallid cheek.
It seemed as though Mamoru's head was in a whirl and his heart in a vice. The young girl in his arms was spilling her every emotion out to him, and he couldn't even begin to comprehend the hurricane of sensations writhing through his body. How Usagi had stormed into his life and flipped his whole world upside in less than three days was a concept Mamoru got a migrane just *thinking* about thinking about.
"I'm sorry...!" Usagi cried. She grabbed onto Mamoru's waist tighter, not even realizing her fingernails were piercing his skin. Mamoru didn't bother to tell her. "I... I didn't mean for this to happen...!"
Mamoru hastily wiped the dark red streak on his cheek away. The last thing he needed was for her to see him crying. Besides... Mamoru was afraid if he started he would never stop.
"I didn't know that I was..." Usagi was starting to draw blood from Mamoru's waist. "I thought I just liked you... But then... When you told me not to get attached... I... I realized... it was too late..." Usagi slowly lifted her head off Mamoru's chest. She locked her tear-filled eyes with his own blood-shot ones. "I... I've fallen in l-"
Usagi's back stiffened as Mamoru crushed his lips against hers. He gripped her arms tightly and pulled her closer to him. The blonde felt her eyelids droop as Mamoru softened the kiss. It was almost just a feathery brush now...
Mamoru parted from Usagi a mere centimeter so their noses were still touching. He could taste her breath on his lips. It's was driving him mad.
"Don't..." he whispered huskily. "Don't say it..."
A flash of pain shot over Usagi's eyes. "Why...?"
"Just... don't," he pleaded. "You... don't want to waste that on me..."
Usagi blinked. "What...?"
"Look, I'm only gonna be around for a few more days anyway..." Mamoru adverted his gaze, shrinking back from Usagi slowly. "After that, you're on your own."
Usagi's heart sank. "Th-that's it...?" She brought her hands up to the lapels of his shirt and clung onto him. "Is that all I am to you? Just some... obligation?!"
Mamoru winced inwardly. No, of course she wasn't! But... she couldn't know that...
The vampire stood shakily, leaving Usagi cold and trembling on the ground. He gulped and desperately tried to blink away the red blurring in his eyes.
"I'm sorry to get your hopes up," he replied hoarsely. Mamoru refused to meet her gaze. "I... I should go..."
"No!" Usagi stumbled foward, still on her knees, grabbing onto Mamoru's hand. She sobbed once and leaned her forehead on his leg. "Please... don't..." The blonde sniffled, tugging on his arm slightly. "Just... Please, Mamoru... Just for tonight, can't you *pretend* you care...?"
No, Mamoru groaned mentally. I can't *pretend* that I care. Because if I do I'll wind up spilling out my heart to you the way you just did to me...
Mamoru pulled away reluctantly. "I'll see you tomorrow..."
"Don't you care even the *tiniest* bit about me?!"
She had no idea...
"No."
Mamoru had never felt this away about someone before, that was true. He wasn't even sure exactly what it was he was feeling. But Mamoru knew what a lie felt like, and it scared him.
"THEN WHY DID YOU KISS ME?!" Usagi screeched. Her voice seemed to rip right out from her sore throat, raising itself up an octave. Her words stabbed at Mamoru's heart.
"I..." Mamoru clenched his fists. "I don't know..."
But, before Usagi could protest the vampire was out of sight.
The blonde crumpled farther to the ground in a fit of sobs.
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Author's Notes: o_O;; I'M SOOOOOOO SORRY THAT TOOK SO LONG TO GET OUT!! I've been grounded, and I still am, but my mom's out... ^_^;; Sorry sorry sorry!! I don't know when I'll get out the next chapter... But not for a LONG while... (two months maybe... or more o_O;;). I'm gonna try my hardest! Thank you so much everyone who have been reviewing me and reading this far (and putting up with my lack of chapters). I WUV YOU!!!
Disclaimers: I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter whether I type a disclaimer or not, because everyone knows I'm just some poor son uvva bitch trying to waste the days away typing. ^_^
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Heaven's Flames
Chapter 9
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Rule #1: Find yourself a place to hide and stay there.
Rule #2: Don't piss off the vampire.
Rule #3: Keep your mouth shut.
Rule #4: Stay away from anything with black eyes.
Rule #5: If you need help, only go to the fairies.
Rule #6: Don't get attached to anyone.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Usagi had never had such a fitful slumber in her whole life. It was so hard to get back to sleep once she woke up, too, since the sun was shining down so heavily. It was so wierd to be nocturnal!
Usagi sighed in exhasperation. She was too hot if she put Mamoru's sports jacket on, but she was too cold if she took it off. She was too high-strung to sleep, but too tired to stay awake. She was too depressed to be in love, and too in love to be depressed.
The blonde gasped. Too... in love...? With Chiba Mamoru...?
The thought had Usagi's heart hammering.
Usagi rolled onto her side. She grabbed Mamoru's jacket and draped it over herself. The sun was setting and the temperature in the forest was slowly decreasing. She was glad she had an actual excuse to be clinging onto the coat.
Mamoru will be coming along soon, Usagi thought hopefully. And he would yell at her for sleeping out in the open again. She would laugh it off and eat the breakfast he had picked for her. He would wander around for his prey, leaving Usagi to her daydreams. Then come back to say something sweet, build up her hopes, and crush her heart when he left at sun rise.
Usagi felt dizzy. She was about to lay down when she realized that she already was. Mamoru was spurring the strangest emotions in her!
Yawning lazily, the blonde slowly sat up. Her head was throbbing from the lack of sleep, but she suddenly felt odly energized. She looked down sleepily to realize that her uniform was back on. She didn't even remember putting it on after it had dried...
"Heads up."
Usagi jerked her head to the side to see something coming at her in a blur. With a squeak she held up a hand defensively and caught the offending object.
"Jeez, Mamoru!" Usagi whined. "Warn me before you do stuff like that!"
"I said 'heads up,'" the newcomer grumbled. He folded his arms over his chest. "Not my fault you're oblivious."
"Nyah," Usagi drawled, sticking out her tongue. She looked down to her hands to see something akin to a peach. "Wuzz this?"
"I dunno, I saw it and picked it." Mamoru shrugged one shoulder. "Didn't test it for posion though."
"So much for the fleeting hope that you cared."
"Must have been a *very* fleeting hope."
Usagi's heart sank. That wasn't the reply she was hoping for.
The blonde sighed and bit into the fruit. Part of her was praying it really was posionous and it would put her out of her misery. Anything was better than the way her heart seemed like it was going to burst when Mamoru was around.
Mamoru sat down next to the somber girl. "You OK...?" he asked hesitantly. Mamoru wasn't sure whether he really wanted to know the answer or not.
Usagi mumbled a small affirmative, chewing slowly. The vampire eyed her carefully.
"You look like you had a rough night." Mamoru prayed it wasn't because of him. A coppery taste filled his mouth.
"I guess," the blonde murmered. She finally swallowed after two tries. "Just didn't get much sleep."
"It shows." Mamoru wished he could kick himself for saying that.
"Thanks," Usagi groaned sarcastically. "You really know how to cheer a girl up."
Mamoru sighed. He wanted to apologize, but he didn't want Usagi to think he cared. Whether he really did or not was another story...
Mamoru turned his head to the chewing blonde next to him and blinked in slight surprise. She was sitting in indian style, his jacket drooped haph-hazardly over her shoulders. Her head was down, back hunched over a bit. Usagi stared with half open eyes at the orange fruit in her hands. Her golden locks spilled down her back and shoulders from all directions, loose from it's pigtails. Mamoru absent-mindedly noted that the fruit in her hands was shaking. No, make it that her hands were shaking.
"Are you *really* all right...?" Mamoru was shocked himself at the raw infliction in his voice. Did he really care that much?
Usagi gulped. She blinked away the oncoming tears. She made a small nod. The blonde attempted in bringing the fruit back up to her mouth, but her hands were trembling so badly that it fell loose from her grasp.
"Jesus, Odango." Mamoru gripped her shoulders a bit too hard. "What the hell is wrong?"
"I..." Usagi bit back a sob. Why did she feel like crying so badly? Why did it feel as though her heart was swelling up so much it was suffocating her? "I don't know..."
Mamoru felt his throat closing up. "Why are you crying then?" he managed out past the lump in his chest.
"I am...?" Usagi brought shaky fingers up to her tear soaked cheeks. "I didn't even notice..."
"Usagi!"
The fact that Mamoru had said her actual name, and with such a strained pull to it, caused Usagi's head to snap up in shock.
Mamoru's eyes were growing bloodshot.
"You... you wanna know why I'm crying...?" Usagi choked out. "It's because I hurt..."
Mamoru could have sworn he was having some sort of asthma attack. It wasn't natural for your throat to be so tight like that, was it?
"Everytime I think about you it hurts..."
That wasn't the response Mamoru wanted.
"I always pray you'll loosen up a bit and start to actually care..."
Oh, but he cared more than even he himself could fathom.
"And when that shape-shifter came along... and I thought it was you..."
Mamoru's stomach lurched.
"I thought I would die from happiness..."
The vampire's vision was turning red from the blood-tears welling in his eyes.
"That's all I want, Mamoru... Is for you to actually care..."
Mamoru bit back a sob.
"I just...!"
Neither of them seemed to notice that Mamoru was holding Usagi against his chest. Neither realized that Usagi had her head buried in the crook of his neck, or that she was sobbing uncontrollably. Neither noticed that one, solitary blood-tear trickled down Mamoru's pallid cheek.
It seemed as though Mamoru's head was in a whirl and his heart in a vice. The young girl in his arms was spilling her every emotion out to him, and he couldn't even begin to comprehend the hurricane of sensations writhing through his body. How Usagi had stormed into his life and flipped his whole world upside in less than three days was a concept Mamoru got a migrane just *thinking* about thinking about.
"I'm sorry...!" Usagi cried. She grabbed onto Mamoru's waist tighter, not even realizing her fingernails were piercing his skin. Mamoru didn't bother to tell her. "I... I didn't mean for this to happen...!"
Mamoru hastily wiped the dark red streak on his cheek away. The last thing he needed was for her to see him crying. Besides... Mamoru was afraid if he started he would never stop.
"I didn't know that I was..." Usagi was starting to draw blood from Mamoru's waist. "I thought I just liked you... But then... When you told me not to get attached... I... I realized... it was too late..." Usagi slowly lifted her head off Mamoru's chest. She locked her tear-filled eyes with his own blood-shot ones. "I... I've fallen in l-"
Usagi's back stiffened as Mamoru crushed his lips against hers. He gripped her arms tightly and pulled her closer to him. The blonde felt her eyelids droop as Mamoru softened the kiss. It was almost just a feathery brush now...
Mamoru parted from Usagi a mere centimeter so their noses were still touching. He could taste her breath on his lips. It's was driving him mad.
"Don't..." he whispered huskily. "Don't say it..."
A flash of pain shot over Usagi's eyes. "Why...?"
"Just... don't," he pleaded. "You... don't want to waste that on me..."
Usagi blinked. "What...?"
"Look, I'm only gonna be around for a few more days anyway..." Mamoru adverted his gaze, shrinking back from Usagi slowly. "After that, you're on your own."
Usagi's heart sank. "Th-that's it...?" She brought her hands up to the lapels of his shirt and clung onto him. "Is that all I am to you? Just some... obligation?!"
Mamoru winced inwardly. No, of course she wasn't! But... she couldn't know that...
The vampire stood shakily, leaving Usagi cold and trembling on the ground. He gulped and desperately tried to blink away the red blurring in his eyes.
"I'm sorry to get your hopes up," he replied hoarsely. Mamoru refused to meet her gaze. "I... I should go..."
"No!" Usagi stumbled foward, still on her knees, grabbing onto Mamoru's hand. She sobbed once and leaned her forehead on his leg. "Please... don't..." The blonde sniffled, tugging on his arm slightly. "Just... Please, Mamoru... Just for tonight, can't you *pretend* you care...?"
No, Mamoru groaned mentally. I can't *pretend* that I care. Because if I do I'll wind up spilling out my heart to you the way you just did to me...
Mamoru pulled away reluctantly. "I'll see you tomorrow..."
"Don't you care even the *tiniest* bit about me?!"
She had no idea...
"No."
Mamoru had never felt this away about someone before, that was true. He wasn't even sure exactly what it was he was feeling. But Mamoru knew what a lie felt like, and it scared him.
"THEN WHY DID YOU KISS ME?!" Usagi screeched. Her voice seemed to rip right out from her sore throat, raising itself up an octave. Her words stabbed at Mamoru's heart.
"I..." Mamoru clenched his fists. "I don't know..."
But, before Usagi could protest the vampire was out of sight.
The blonde crumpled farther to the ground in a fit of sobs.
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Author's Notes: o_O;; I'M SOOOOOOO SORRY THAT TOOK SO LONG TO GET OUT!! I've been grounded, and I still am, but my mom's out... ^_^;; Sorry sorry sorry!! I don't know when I'll get out the next chapter... But not for a LONG while... (two months maybe... or more o_O;;). I'm gonna try my hardest! Thank you so much everyone who have been reviewing me and reading this far (and putting up with my lack of chapters). I WUV YOU!!!
