A/N- I'm a little tipsy, well a lot tipsy actually. It's also late at night, but do not worry…I've only had one to drink! Just one! That's why there may be grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. So, yeah…not my fault! Not my fault it may suck, it's Mr. Alcohols.
Chapter Five:
You called me up last night in tears,
You said you missed me after all these years,
Well I've been waiting here so long,
I've gotten over it since you've been gone,
You call me late last night again,
Said you'd finished with your new boyfriend,
Asked if you could come back home,
So sorry that you left me all alone,
You say you love me, you love me again,
But if you love me where have you been?
Where Have You been – Reel Big Fish
Staring at the canvas, Michiru sighed. It was massive, taking up most of her apartment wall. Metre stick in hand, pencil in the other, Michiru began to graph out even squares over the surface. She couldn't just start from scratch, she was copying off of another picture and the size had to be proportional.
Using a chair to reach the top of the canvas, a wave of excitement filled her. She would figure out this dream, she wouldn't let it hold her back. Marking the right places with her pencil she quickly finished the graph. Stepping down from the chair she admired the beginnings of her work. Equal sized boxes covered the canvas with a mathematical accuracy; he sketch was taped to the side of the canvas, also covered in the boxes.
Now all there was to do was make a rough sketch on the canvas and then paint. She would paint The End of the World as realistically as she could. It would have meaning. Michiru sharpened her pencil and began sketching.
"You're getting much better!" Michiru praised as her pupil finished 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.
"Do you think that one day I'll be as good as you Michiru-sensei?" the child asked.
"With lots of practice and dedication I think that you'll become even better!" Proclaimed Michiru.
"Really? I'll try my very best then!"
"Keep on practicing that song. Tomorrow we'll teach you a few new notes and the day after we can start on a new song!" Michiru said as she packed up the sheets of music.
"Michiru-sensei, I have a question." The little girl asked.
"Hmmm…? What is it?"
"What do you dream to be?"
Staring down at the little girl, Michiru kneeled down beside her. She put a hand on the girls head and smiled.
"I want to become a world famous violinist. I want to travel all of Japan and perform for people so that they can all hear my beautiful song. That is my dream." Michiru whispered, "Now, it's a secret so don't tell anyone."
The little girl nodded; a feeling of pride that someone just confided in her. She put a finger over her mouth to indicate to Michiru that she would keep quiet. Michiru smiled and patted her head.
As she went out the door, Michiru was stopped by the chef.
"Miss, I need to ask you something."
"What is it?" She asked, shifting her weight to steady the violin case.
"I won't be here tomorrow, I was wondering if you could teach my granddaughter at your place, if that isn't too big of an inconvenience. She would come right after school and I'd pay you a little extra."
"Oh, that's no big problem. I can look after her just fine. What time would you expect to be home?" Michiru replied.
"A little around seven. Would it be a problem if you walked her over here? I can pick her up if you would like." The chef looked a little awkward in asking.
"It wouldn't be a problem. I could do with the exercise. I do believe you have my address, correct?"
"Yes, I do! So tomorrow after school my little girl will be over."
"Perfect, I can't wait!" Smiled Michiru.
Michiru stood outside the elementary school, her book bag in her hand. When the girl came out she squealed with joy and leaped into the arms of her tutor.
"Michiru-sensei! Are we going to have fun? Are we going to play the violin?"
"Yes Sakiko-chan, we're going to be doing all of that." Michiru hugged the little girl and promptly took her hand, "It's off to my house! I'll make some dinner for both of us and after that we'll practice the violin!"
They began walking down the street when Sakiko squirmed out of Michiru's hand. She ran down the street, chasing after an invisible entity. Smiling, Michiru trailed behind her, remembering when she was that age. Sakiko was soon far ahead of Michiru, too far ahead for comfort.
"Sakiko? Wait up honey! Don't go too far!" Michiru cried out.
A scream came from ahead. Losing sight of Sakiko Michiru began to run in a panic. What would she do if Sakiko had hurt herself? All she could depend on were her motherly instincts and her desire to protect the little girl. But where had she got to?
Another scream up ahead, more desperate than the first came from farther ahead. Running faster, Michiru turned into an alley way. Where was she?
"Sakiko! Sakiko goddammit where the hell are you!" Michiru shouted desperately.
Another scream, but this one ended quickly and sounded a little chocked. Michiru was scared, she couldn't let this happen. She ran towards the noise and stopped dead in her tracks at a turn in they alley.
Right in front of her, standing over Sakiko, was a monster. It was larger than a human, covered in brown, scraggily hair. It had a large snout lined with razor sharp teeth, but it had no eyes. Its arms were toned and large, dangling to the ground. The body of the beast was hunched over from the weight of its arms. Its legs were short but well built, not that great for running long distances. Under the monster Sakiko lay, but her eyes were closed, a trickle of blood flowed from her chest.
"Sa-Sakiko…" Michiru whispered, trembling with fear.
The monster turned its eyeless face towards her, opening its mouth in a giant circle of teeth the creature began to walk towards Michiru, stepping over the little girl. Then it swung out with a hairy arm at her, claws bared. She ducked just in time, the arm scrapping part of the alley wall.
The monster quickly reacted, a giant fist slamming down in front Michiru. Terrified she tried to crawl away but her leg was grabbed by a massive clawed hand. The beast let out a high pitched wail and tossed Michiru into a near by wall. A large crack came from her arm upon impact; blood trickled down her face as she slumped to the ground.
Dazed, Michiru crawled forward. The pain in her left arm was unbearable; it felt like something had been torn or broken. Her right arm went straight to her head and wiped away the rush of blood that had begun to cloud her vision. The creature was advancing back towards the little girl.
"Sakiko….wake up…" Michiru gasped.
She wanted to do something so badly to protect Sakiko, but her arm hurt too much. Her head was beginning to spin. She needed at act before she got the child killed. Finding her second wind, Michiru managed to drag herself upwards.
"Hey…you! Get the hell away…from…Sakiko!" Michiru stumbled towards her adversary, her left arm dangling limp at her side.
The monster howled and spun around. It spun its arms in a mad cycle, knocking over trash cans, picking up dust as it came closer to her. Michiru clenched a first, preparing for her final stand.
Suddenly a light appeared out of nowhere in front of Michiru. It startled the monster and the creature stumbled backwards, landing against a wall. In the bright, yellow light, a dark form began to appear in it. It quickly materialized before Michiru, hanging in the air. It was a pen with the symbol of Neptune on it.
Almost instinctively Michiru grasped towards it with her uninjured arm, the light warm to the touch. She wrapped her fingers around the pen; it was cool to the touch compared to the warmth of the light.
A heat suddenly filled her up, the pen had become a burning hot and power filled her body and her very soul. The light engulfed her and Michiru found herself standing dressed in a totally different outfit.
It was similar to her school out fit by means of the bow and the sailor frill. The body of the suit was skin tight and a smooth white. Her arms were laced in gloves that matched her suit, skin tight and white with sea green at the ends. Her skirt was short, the colour was also sea green and there was a small bow at the back. Her feet were adorned with high heels that matched her skirt and her forehead was now the home of tiara.
Michiru felt a strange power well up inside her; it felt cold like the sea and was just as strong. She knew that she was no longer Kaioh Michiru but some other being, a different self that now had the power to protect Sakiko.
The monster shook itself out of the daze it had been in and let out an angry howl. Picking itself up, the creature charged towards Michiru.
"I can't let you hurt anyone! I…" She staggered, a shooting pain flashed up her arm, "I will protect the innocent…in the name of Neptune!"
The words seemed to have been awakened inside of her along with the power she was feeling, it felt so natural, like she had done it before. Raising her right hand in the air she summoned up the power she was feeling.
"Deep SUBMERGE!" Michiru shouted.
A ball of energy appeared above her hand, swirling with the power of the sea. She tossed it at the monster, blue light and energy admitting from it. Her attack crashed into the monster, exploding upon impact. The creature howled in pain and collapsed to the ground. A light surrounded from it and its silhouette changed from monster to human. The light faded.
Michiru collapsed on the ground, grasping at her arm. The figure of a teenage boy lay before her, the corpse smoking. She reached out to touch it but it vanished into thin air.
"Wha…what?" She gasped. Everything was just too much. She needed to go to the hospital.
Aqua coloured ribbons magically flew up around and Michiru found herself back in her school uniform. Blood flowed from her head and a dizzy, nauseating feeling came rushing to her. She had saved the little girl, but at what price? Did she really just kill a boy in monster's clothing or was it the other way around.
All Michiru could do at that moment was lie down on the cool concrete of the alley, listening to the sounds of sirens off in the distance.
TBC….