Chapter 1: Start
I was working with everyone at the Moon Shine on a Saturday night. Nozomu was singing for everyone to hear. He was really amazing too. Akira was cooking away in the kitchen, and sometimes I wonder how he does it. Misoka was at the bar serving beverages, and Mitsuru and I were waiter and waitress tonight. It was a normal, busy night here.
I was taking the order of Table 5 when I heard someone enter. Suddenly everyone stopped working and stared at the person who just walked in. I went to great her, and she was a tall, slender, brown haired girl with amber highlights and blue eyes. She just smiled at me and walked into the bar. The members of the Lunar Race ran to see her. But I didn't know what was going on, so I went back to work. In my head, I wondered if she was a close friend or family member. I could hear "Welcome back!", "Long time no see!", and "I've missed you." They were all laughing, and I could hear her laugh too. I saw Nozomu give her a kiss on the check before I set off for the next table's orders. After I was done, I heard Nozomu call out to me.
"Mahiru! Come over quick, girl!" so I rushed to meet them.
"Princess, this is Hoshiko Taji. She'll be moving into the spare room upstairs," Misoka informed me.
I replied, "Nice to meet you. Are you… by any chance, part of the Lunar Race too?"
She gave a small giggle before she answered my question. "That's right. You must be our Descendant of the Princess."
"You must be really tired, Hoshi! I'll move your things up to your room, okay?" And Akira jogged outside to fetch her belongings.
"Thanks Akira. You all have changed so much! Two years seemed so long!" Hoshiko said. I guess they all call her Hoshi (star) as a nickname. Her name means "star child", so I guess it would make sense.
"You really should get some rest, babe. Let me show you up to your room," Nozomu said happily. I had never seen him so full of energy. And so he took her upstairs.
While I waited for Nozomu to return, Misoka filled me in about Hoshiko.
"She's a year older than you Princess (Miharu is 17, so she's 18). She relies on the Teardrops of the Moon, as we do. She's a Dark Warrior, which means she can disappear into the shadows, it's very interesting… Anyway, since we have succeeded in returning enough of the Teardrops of the Moon, she has awakened from her two-year slumber."
"You mean… she's been asleep for two years?" I was really confused by this point.
"She sacrificed herself so that we would have more power. We had lost the Teardrops a while ago and lost most of our power. But since she is the way she is, she died and was reborn again. Hmm. Let's not say "reborn"; her body will not change while she's asleep." Misoka explained to me.
Nozomu returned and sat with us at the bar. "She's still weak. And her power hasn't fully returned yet. Hoshi was lucky that she even got here without clasping."
"Why do you worry about her so much?" Mitsuru voice echoed.
"Don't you remember what she did for us, you twit?" Nozomu muttered.
"Yeah, so? Who the hell cares?" Mitsuru's voice shook with anger.
"I do! Keep that up and she'll make sure that you'll be gone for good!" Nozomu was in rage now. And I thought that he was always happy. Looks like I guessed wrong.
"Settle down. We want her to rest, right?" Oboro's voice hissed to us.
Everyone fell silent and it stayed that way for a few -but long- minutes. Akira was wobbling in and out of the building with Hoshiko's possessions and leaving the boxes at the front door. After he took in eight large boxes, he sat down to rest.
"I'm done! I'll leave those boxes there, and we'll help Hoshi unpack tomorrow morning when she wakes up." Akira panted and he was so tired that he rolled off the chair and onto the floor.
Nozomu poked the sleeping body of Akira, smiled and whispered, "Hey, at least you got all of them in here from the truck. Let me move them upstairs, alright?"
Akira moaned opened his eyes and nodded with a small slime on this face. He slowly stood up and dragged his feet up to his room.
"Why is she moving in with us anyway? It's not like she has any business here." Mitsuru groaned. It seemed that he really disliked Hoshiko.
"What are you talking about? She always has business here!" Katsura had all along been listening to our every word. Most of the guests had gone home, but she was still playing the piano softly.
"Speaking of all this, you all should go to bed too. You don't want to be bad hosts and hostess, do you?
No one argued, so we all returned to our beds. And I had to say, my warm bed was calling me.
The next morning, when I woke up and went to the kitchen, the smell of breakfast was already started. Akira and Nozomu were cooking quickly.
"Good morning, cutie!" Nozomu greeted me. He was in a better mood then yesterday night, which was good. The bad thing is that I still sensed some disappointment on his voice.
I looked at what they were making, and I was really amazed. Pancakes in the shape of crescent moons and stars were lying on silver plates.
"Wow you two! This is awesome! How come I've never seen you do this before?" I questioned them. It was worth asking too.
"These are special pancakes; they're called "Night Scene" pancakes. We only make them on occasions like yesterday. As long as we live under this roof, this is a required tradition." Akira carefully filled another plate with the "Night Scene" pancakes.
"It's not like we're complaining. They're fun to make, and having Hoshi living with us is the best thing that can happen," Nozomu added as he placed fruit of each platter. The plates now looked colorful with the different types of fruits.
"Oh, by the way, where is Misoka?"
"He's at the library. I have no idea why he's there though," Akira sighed. "He's been there from the moment he woke up to the time he went to bed."
"Good morning all. Ah! "Night Scene" pancakes! My arrival wasn't that significant, was it?" Hoshiko was awake now, and she happily helped the boys move the plates out to the table. "All of this looks great!"
"Ha, ha. It looks great because you haven't seen food in two years!" Nozomu joked. I've never heard him laugh like that before. It made me so happy inside, to see him smile like that.
"Just because I was dead, doesn't mean that I didn't see what you all were doing!" Hoshiko ruffled Nozomu's hair.
"D-dead?" I stuttered. I hated death, and I still do.
"Huh? Oh, would you like me to explain it to you, Miharu?"
"Please do. Misoka tried to explain to me, but he wasn't clear," I really wanted to find out a bit more about her. She's been really mysterious.
"Don't tire yourself out explaining it, okay Hoshi? Miharu, this is going to be really confusing," Nozomu tried to comfort me, but I was still determined it understand.
"I won't, Nozomu. Two years ago, the Teardrops of the Moons' energy were very weak. So many people were dying from lack of energy. Nozomu and the others were weaker than any of the rest of us. I took a lot of the Teardrops' energy because I'm one of the many Dark Warriors, so I asked Nozomu to kill me." Hoshiko was trying to explain it as clear a possible.
"You say it so negatively Hoshi. Didn't you tell me that you wanted to die?" Nozomu questioned.
"Yes, I did. Your bite did the trick. Anyway, back to the subject. When I died, some energy returned. I stayed dead until there was enough energy to go around before I took my share. So, now is that time, and I'm alive." There was a hint of depression in her voice. Wasn't she glad to be alive?
"Anyway, when I die, my body doesn't age, but once I wake up, it will. I can die as many times as I want, until it's really time for me to leave this world," Hoshiko cut a small piece of pancake and placed it gently into her mouth.
"Ah! Your pancakes are better than I remembered!" Hoshiko complimented. A smile lit her face. I could tell that this was her real smile. Something told me that I wouldn't see it often.
"Maybe it's because you haven't eaten anything in two years." Nozomu smirked at her.
"But Akira's food has always been fabulous anyway." Hoshiko turned to Akira and gave him a grin.
"Thank you! Glad you love them!" Akira was way too happy now. His ears and tail popped out and he pounced on Hoshiko with excitement.
"Hey, hey! Get off my girl!" joked Nozomu. He pulled Akira off Hoshiko and she sat up and gave a small giggle.
"Don't be such a kidder," Hoshiko blushed into a soft pink.
"Who said that I was kidding?" Nozomu grabbed her hand and pulled her up and hugged her. She returned the hug. A small grin rested on both of their faces.
"Ha, ha! What a perfect match!" Akira sat on the floor, laughing until he turned red.
What did he mean? Was Hoshiko really his girlfriend? Why would he kill her if she
was? Didn't he love her? How did he live without her?
Chapter 1: End