"Do you love me?"
His voice was smooth and calm, stating the question as if he already knew the answer. He traced his finger over her lips and felt them smile. The woman had her own legs entangled in his.
"Yes.."
Deianera Mononoke awoke with droplets of sweat beaded around her forehead. Beside her, a familiar alarm clock blinked the message: 2:30am. She groaned and shoved her head in between the two satin pillows that lay at the edge of the bed. She closed her eyes but quickly found herself opening them again. It was too dark in the room to see any of the furniture. The darkness itself seemed to be heavy on her eyes.
"Would you die for me?"
The words swirled around her head. These dreams were getting more intense; every night they became less of a dream and more of an instance in her life.
-----------------
Fabrics and sewing tools lay scattered across the large table in the "Fashion Design" classroom at the prestigious TA Private School for Girls. Girls were chatting amongst themselves and putting together their end-of-the-year projects. The only girl working alone was the often-rude Deianera Mononoke, the strange young woman with the blonde highlights and green gemstone eyes. She was always working alone. The girl had few friends, if any at all, and seemed rather suspicious. Her designs though, were beautiful. She brought her own fabrics from home and rarely used what she considered the school's ratty material. Deianera was labeled as looking quite "arts-y" while she sewed. She would close her eyes and then open them, continuing to sew as if she was copying an exact picture from her mind. The gown that dressed the unworthy mannequin was coming out to be simply gorgeous. Some girls had even offered to buy it upon the completion of the dress. The Mononoke girl of course refused to sell and often rudely told them so.
The bell rang just as Deianera was putting the plastic sheet over the gown. Without so much of a good-bye to anyone there, she slipped out of the classroom with her thin briefcase in hand. The walk home was her favorite part of the day. It was a fifteen minute walk from her private school to the Park Axis Azabu luxury apartment building.
On this day she walked at a slower pace than usual. It was warm out and abnormally quiet. Not one bird seemed to let its song sail through the skies. The only thing that broke the silence was the sudden laughter of the two girls now passing from behind Deianera. The highlighted blonde youth turned her head so see who had apparently snuck up on her. She recognized one of them from her class, the mysterious raven-haired young woman, Ms. Rei Hino. The other young woman whose long blonde hair was tied back with a red bow, however, was a new face. They stopped in front of Deianera looking quite cheery and warm.
"Good afternoon." Rei asked politely.
The words floated past Deianera's head for she walked away from the two without so much as a glance.
"What a rude girl!" cried out the blonde young girl.
"Don't worry, Minako-chan! She's always like that!" Rei said as-a-matter-of-fact.
Minako looked at the girl with the blonde highlights and brown hair. Something was off about her. With a shrug, Minako Aino turned to her friend.
"Who is that girl anyway?"
Rei smiled and continued to walk forward.
"Deianera Mononoke"