Chapter 5
Nessa felt warm. She felt warm, but it wasn't the type of warm you get when you wear a thick jacket or you cuddle in a blanket. It was a type of warmth you get if you're cuddling with someone.
Wait...
She opened her eyes and blushed. Goodness Selene, what had Roni done this time to convince Holden to do this?
If someone walks in on them right now, Nessa might just pretend she's asleep for once in her life. Because she knew, that the sleeping trick never, never, work. But this situation is quite... what's the word...
"Nessa..." Holden mumbled in his sleep. She blushed even more. Awwwwww... he was dreaming about her. Their foreheads touched, in fact, nearly every parts of their bodies touched.
He seemed to be hugging her. His arms were wrapped around her waist. Her arms somehow found their ways to his neck while she was sleeping. Nessa tried to wiggle her way out of the position but he only tightened his grasp.
She felt silly for doing this while he was asleep, but she put her hand on his face. Gazing at him lovingly, she caressed his face gently.
Nessa had fallen in love with him the year he became her best friend. He had helped her get back up again after the incident. Not a lot of people know about the incident, it took her two years to open up to Holden about it. It was just so painful for her. She had never even mentioned her love for him once, afraid for rejection.
She took her hand back, as if burned, when Holden started to stirr from his sleep. He opened his brown-ish black eyes and smiled.
"You're awake!" He said. Nessa raised an eyebrow but nodded. He saw the blush that still graced her face and wanted to ask but decided against it.
"So, what did Roni tell you this time?" Nessa said, glad on the inside that he didn't let go of her yet. She saw the confusion on his face but he understood seconds later.
"She said that you used too much of her energy and collasped. After I carried you home, she told me to keep you warm and came in once in a while before I fell asleep myself." Holden explained, blushing himself. He remembered his own panick, that feeling, like someone stabbed him in his heart, when Nessa suddenly collasped. The senshi were asking questions, but at the time, Asteroid knew that he needed to get her home.
So he swept her in his arms like a princess in bridal style and jumped from roof to roof before he ducked into a alley. When her transformation faded, he almost dropped her. She wasn't wearing a lot of clothing, she trasnformed when she was wearing just a towel.
"Geez, where are you, Roni?" Holden had mumbled underneath his breath as he struggled with Usagi's spare house key.
He groaned and rang the doorbell, hoping Usagi wouldn't be home yet. Thankfully, Roni opened the door and let them in. Roni had came home earlier then the pair because she didn't lingure behind when Moon called Meteor's name.
She explained what happened to Nessa and told them to stay in the extra room Nessa and Roni was suppose to stay in while Roni hung out in Shingo's room. And Roni had given him very, very, specific instructions on how to help Nessa regain her energy faster.
He blushed first, when he settled into position on the bed with her. He chuckled at himself and gently caressed Vanessa's face before laying her way-too-warm arms around his neck and his own around her waist. He knew he was madly in love with this girl, whose smile seemed more contagious then any flu or sickness. But he never confessed his love to her. She would probably freak out and blah blah blah. All that drama that he desparately wanted to avoid.
He still remembered the day he fell in love with her. It was the year that popular Rosewood girl moved to Japan.
She was sitting under a pink cherry blossom tree, a place he could often find her in back then.
He frowned as he saw her, crying, and alone. Gathering up his courage, he walked up to her and sat by her. Letting her head slowly rest on his shoulder as she cried, he was humming something. Something he never learned but seemed to know for some reason. It never occured to him that he was humming a melody from a show she loved since she was three.
He was humming the melody of the locket owned by Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity.
It calmed Nessa down, but nonetheless, the 11 years old girl said nothing to him. She turned around and their eyes met. Tey stared at each other for a long time, neither one wanting to break eye contact, until the bell rang and they went back to class
He was over the moon when she talked to him the next day at the same spot. Then, over days, they became best friends and she even told him about what happened the day she was crying. But even after four years of best-friendship, he was still afraid. Afraid that one simple sentence can destroy four years of friendship. And he was afraid for rejection.
Nessa smiled softly at him, seeing the storm brewing in his eyes. Seeing her smile, Holden evidently calmed down.
"We need to registrate for school. I can put Roni in Hotaru Tomoe, Saturn, 's grade. We need a way to keep an eye out for enemy and try to keep the 12 senshi safe." Nessa said, Holden nodded. She had some intersting and useful tools as a character in this show. She could see where the senshi were if they needed her on some level. She had spells and attacks, she could heal and do many other things. Not a lot of senshi in this universe can heal. Sailor Star Healer is named 'healer' but she can't seem to heal.
"Roni said that you understood what happened better then she did. So what did happen?" Holden asked. The question caught Nessa off-guard and she tried to wiggle her way out of the conversation but failed. The only thing she did was getting the two of them closer... again...
"Vee. Answer the question." Holden said with a glare. Nessa sighed. It's not that she didn't want to answer it, but how do you tell your best friend that you were close to dying? How do you tell your best friend that you drained all your energy to save someone and probably will do it again?
"You know I love it when you use that nickname." Nessa replied with a goofy, lobsided smile. Holden's glare softened.
"But you also know why I hate the name." She added, looking away.
"Is this about that?" He asked softly.
"No. I heal people at the cost of my own health. You know that. But what I realized during battle, was that the frequency lately was too close and the wound Moon had was too much for me to handle." Vanessa finally answered his question.
"What were to happen if you-
"I would die." She cut him off. She closed her eyes, waiting for the outburst she expected to happen. But it never came. Holden just stayed there, staring at her. He was too shocked to move. Thoughts raced in his head.
"What?" He barely mumbled. Nessa found his hand underneath the blanket.
"Holden. I'm fine." She said, squeezing his hand for comfort.
"This time you are. Does Roni know about this? You can't die. You're the only relative Roni has left! She's not even ten!" Holden said, his voice raising.
"I won't! Holden, I know how to control this so I won't get drained. As long as the senshi aren't fainted or have a major wound that can cause them to die, it won't effect my energy level. All we need to do is to make sure they don't get hurt. And we don't get hurt." She assured, half lying. Both of their voices were raising and neither of them noticed.
Usagi cleared her throat awkwardly. She had walked in after Nessa tried reassuring Holden, but they seemed to be having a silent converstion with their eyes that she didn't understand. What she also doesn't understand is that why were they so close, on a bed? And is that a cut on Vanessa's shoulder?
The two finally looked away from each other. Nessa seemed to blush, and struggle to turn away from him. Were their feets somehow tangled when they were verbally fighting?
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I called my friend Mako-chan to come and cook for me. I'm hosting a sort-of sleepover at the second floor so if you see a random person walking around, make sure that's not my friend before calling me." Usagi said. The pair on the bed blushed even more, if that was humanly possible, and both nodded in reply. Nessa winced as her shoulder touched the bed. It had been wrapped but the bandage should be changed every once in a while.
"I'll leave the door closed." Usagi suggested. Neither of the pair replied or rejected the suggestion so Usagi just left the room.
For the rest of the night, Roni stayed with the girls. They talked about a lot of things, things, were going great until they heard muffled yelling coming from that room. They couldn't make out the words.
"Are you sure your sister is ok?" Hotaru asked Roni. Roni hesitated before nodding.
"He's very important in her life. She's very important in his life. Those two idiots, or you call them 'baka' are afraid for rejection. But they've been best friends since she was 11. I know he wouldn't try anything unless she wants him to. And plus, if he did, Haruka-san, you'll beat him up for me, won't you?" Roni replied. Haruka chuckled and nodded. Minako couldn't help but giggle. Does this girl even know what she just said? Or rather, what she just suggested? For a five years old, she speaks like a 18 years old or something...
Suddenly, the sounds decreased and a loud crying sound could be heard.
"Is your sister crying?" Usagi asked, she bited her lips, unsure if she should go down.
"Yeah. Most likely. She isn't as strong as she seems. But I wouldn't worry much about it. It most likely means that Holden brought up the 'incident' or my parents' statis." Roni said.
"What happened to your parents?" Makoto heard herself asking, and immediately regretted it.
"I wish I could tell you. They divorced the year after my birth. I don't remember much of their fights but the only thing I know of is that Nessa tried very hard to take care of me. Even if she's trying to deal with her own problems." Roni answered. The mood suddenly dropped.
"Say, do you know who Sailor Angel is?" Seiya asked, suddenly remembering the question.
"Kou, Sailor Angel has nothing to do with this young girl." Haruka replied with a frown.
"No, not with me. But with the 'incident' victims." Roni replied. She left after that. She tried to open the door that led to the extra room, but it was locked. She pressed her ear to the door and heard the strangest thing ever.
"I'm sorry as well. I shouldn't have raised my voice. I knew you were just worried about me." Nessa said. Her voice sounded hoarse, like she cried for hours. So it was her, who cried.
"Nessa. I- i l-lo- I'd love some dinner. Hmm?" Holden asked. Roni had to urge to just go in there and yell at the boy's stupidness. She heard Nessa reply something but was too distracted by Holden's comment.
Roni went to the dining room. The girls were already there now, buzzing around like bees while trying to pull enough chairs for everyone to eat in the same room. Michiru handed her a bowl and she slowly walked toward the tv to open it. Maybe there's something on the evening news?
"Breaking news, there's another footage of the attack of the Mistress, as her team of supposive 'Senshi' called her, on the 12 solar senshi. This is the second time that the three Senshi of Stars joined them in battle. Let's zoom in on this picture of Sailor Meteor healing our beloved Sailor Moon." The camera zoomed in. Roni called the girls to watch.
"How Moon got the wound in the first place is still a mystery to us, but experts believe that it was a wound caused by the octopus looking creatures called the Octo-s. Meteor here, could be seen, in Prince Asteroid's arms after she collasped. What do you think of this, Dr. Tenshi Sakura, our very own professional senshi advisor?" The camera pointed to a girl with yellow-ish orange hair. The girl had her hair styled up into a tight bun like a ballernia and had a charm necklace with a special symbol.
"I am sad to say that I have evidence that supports my claim. Sailor Meteor, is doing her best but the healing process is done at the cost of her own health. If she continues to do this, she could lose her transformation. At worst case scenario, she could die." Roni dropped her bowl completely, including her chopsticks. She froze on spot as the sentence repeated in her head. She could die. She could die.
"Roni, are you ok?" Nessa rushed to her side. She was so mad yet glad the bowl broke when it did. Holden and Nessa were on the edge of kissing each other and that would've been very awkward afterwards. She cleaned up the mess and stood up. She bowed at a 90 percent angle to Usagi and the girls before throwing that whole broken bowl out.
"Kino-san, do you have more of your lengendary dinner?" Nessa said with a smile. The room was quiet for a long time. Everyone turned around to look at Nessa, some with curiousity, some with regret. Some was just in complete shock.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that?" She stuttered.
"Vanessa-chan, if you are Sailor Meteor please tell us now. We won't get mad at you." Usagi said, tears forming in her crystal blue eyes. Vanessa panicked.
"What? Me? A sailor guardian? What did you drink tonight? Vodka?" Vanessa said and started laughing nervously. Her mind started trying to find a way to take the attention off of her.
"Breaking news, again, there's a message that the Mistress left for the 15 senshi protecting us." The reporter said. They played a video.
"Dear Sailor Senshi, I did not come to seek for the Silver Crystal. But for one who's mother sealed me away and killed my father. The mother of Princess Galaxy and the mother of Princess Celestial. In other words, I am looking for two new princesses and their lover princes. So watch out, because when I find those two princess, and kill both of them, their crystals will form the Copper Crystal. The Copper Crystal combined with the Silver and Golden Crystal has the power to detroy this whole universe!" Nessa froze on spot. She exchanged nervous glances with Roni. For some reason, she feels like she knows who the two princesses are. One must be Sailor Angel, the other... Sailor Constellation?!
"Who wants dinner?" Minako chirped, breaking the long silence. All the girls sat down on seats and dug into the food. That is, until someone rang the doorbell.
"I'll get it!" Nessa said. She opened the door and can't help but scream. She absolutely loved the Three Lights and their songs when she first watched the show as a kid.
She walked back to the dining room to explain to everyone why she screamed, although the girls seemed to somewhat understand once they saw the Three Lights.
"Enjoy your little dinner, because this, will be your last meal together..." Mistress said, looking through her globe at the group. Her laughter cracked and she turned off the globe to finish the rest of her red wine.