AN: I am very sorry for the delay in posting this! I hope you did not give up on the story:) Thank you very much for taking the time to read and review! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter VIII
Chindan closed the bag so violently that the zipper flew right off. Cursing under her breath, she hoisted the sack onto her shoulder. It was considerably heavier than it had been when she had first arrived at the house.
"Was I supposed to just leave without any compensation…"
She'd taken everything she thought she could get away with—silverware (they never used it anyway!), small decorations that she deemed precious, and even the picture frame from the living room table. It looked expensive, and no one cared about the old family photo it held, anyway.
She heard Michiru's hurried footsteps up the stairs, and instinctively tightened her grip on the bag. Intimidated or afraid she was most certainly not, but it would not have served to be discovered leaving with half of the girl's possessions.
The doorbell rang, and for one second, Chindan reacted to answer it—then she let out a disdainful snort.
"Let's see you handle everything yourself, spoiled brat…"
She left the room, and slowly walked down the hallway. Voices came from the direction of the door. Loud, uneasy, agitated voices, that abruptly fell silent. But Chindan did not see the signs that all was not right. Petty and oblivious, she trudged down the long hallway.
Thus, the first indication she had that something unusual was happening was the gruesome sight she stumbled onto.
She dropped the bag from her shoulder, frozen in place. Too late, she screamed…
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Michiru tried to focus on the man in front of her, but her thoughts swirled madly inside her head. Reason told her there was nothing to fear. She had opened the door to find only her driver, Yashashi, standing on the other side. But her mind could not force her to believe everything was right—not when every fibre of her being it screamed that everything was wrong…
She frowned, and swallowed hard.
"…angry and disappointed, Miss Michiru. Those journalists find the best of people to spit their venom on!"
"It…doesn't matter," she replied.
"Just say the word, and I'll go down to their headquarters and make them—"
"No, no! Thank you, Yashashi-san, you're very kind…"
The driver suddenly reached out a hand and caught hers in a strong grip. A shiver racked Michiru's body, triggering every alarm in her mind. She tried to free her hand, but the man held it firmly.
"You don't deserve this, Miss Michiru. I just want you to know that my family and I don't believe those lies, and we'll tell everyone that!"
The girl nodded her thanks. The man's face was earnest, his voice sincere. She looked him in the eye, and the same irrational fear shot through her. His strong grip still held her hand.
"Yashashi-san…could you please let go…?"
But the man suddenly squeezed tighter, causing her to gasp in pain. He bent towards her, his dark hair covering his eyes. He stumbled to the wall, pulling her forcefully along—and when he doubled over, he brought her down with him.
"I—what—don't—"
His truncated words were spoken in a hoarse tone, so unlike his usual, gentle one. Every muscle in his body seemed to tense. His fingers dug hard into the skin of her palm.
"Let go!" Michiru yelled, pulling with all her strength to break free. "Let me go!"
And suddenly, a guttural whisper came from deep within the convulsing man.
"Destiny doesn't let go…"
And under her terrified looks, he was shaken by a violent shiver…and changed. Where there had been limbs, thick, rough tentacles emerged, and his torso grew into an amorphous fleshy mass. For one tortured moment, the man's face gave her a horrified look, before disappearing in the shapeless mound that his body had become.
A scream pierced the air, and the monster turned its attention to a stunned Chindan, momentarily forgetting Michiru.
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The world reduced to slow motion. For an eternity, Michiru tried to break free of the unyielding grip, as the man who held her shook and wheezed as if attacked by some unseen force. For an eternity, she tried to clear her chaotic thoughts, to reign in the panic, the regret, the horror, the pity, for him and for her and for a world doomed.
Then, all her erratic feelings converged to one: certainty. And all the thoughts her frenzied mind had created died down, leaving one single idea inside her.
"Destiny doesn't let go…"
Her voice sounded oddly distant. Still kneeled on the floor, her back to the wall, Michiru felt strangely detached. With mild fascination she watched the monster—that had been a kind, caring man—advance on Chindan.
"No! No, stay away from me! Don't!"
The woman's horrified screams floated into Michiru's consciousness. The girl watched, wide-eyed, as the monster closed in on the woman. It raised one tentacle to strike. The petrified maid could not defend herself.
The tendril came down brutally; bits of paper and cement flew as it tore a hole in the floor, the same place where Chindan had stood only seconds before.
Mere feet away, Michiru tried to catch her breath. She had pushed the woman away just in time. The monster—no, Yashashi-san…no, the monster!—turned on them once more. The girl tried to move, but her body refused to obey. Behind her, Chindan tried to scream again, but only a strangled croak came out.
The monster loomed above them, and with a deafening howl brought all its tentacles down on them.
A blinding light filled the room; time seemed to freeze. With one last effort to thwart the destiny that had hunted her down, Michiru tried to keep her eyes closed against the white radiance. But whatever awakened inside her proved stronger—her entire being vibrated with anticipation. She opened her eyes.
A small, blue wand hovered in front of her, emanating the strange light.
Michiru felt old, and she felt child. She hung between innocence and cynicism. She recognized deceit, and wanted to believe it was salvation. The wand floated, bright and warm and harmless…and beyond it, the monster poised to strike…and the heavy load of knowledge that the girl wished she could ignore.
With her mind's eye, Michiru saw the apocalyptic painting. She relived the earlier vision of destruction. She sensed the tidal wave loom over her, just out of reach. She heard the silence of the crumbling world. She recalled the warm sun on her bare skin and the caress of the free breeze. She thought of her music.
Her fingers reached into the warm light, and half of her sighed with the regret of her lost innocence, and half of her smiled with the contentment of her found purpose.
She closed her hand around the wand, and it felt familiar against her palm.
She almost felt her mind reorganize, her knowledge, her desires, her feelings structure around the one mission that she could not fail. She felt stronger, calmer, more balanced and infinitely determined. Then came the memories.
And she felt the loneliness acutely, and she did not feel it at all because she knew that, somewhere, the missing parts of her puzzle were slowly coming together.
Together…
I'll be waiting for you…
The white light began to fade, and Michiru looked down at herself.Her outfit was that of a warrior—she knew her heart should follow suit. The monster —Yashashi-san?—stopped for a second to take in her new appearance. She eyed him calmly.
"I am the Warrior of the Seas, Sailor Neptune!" she spoke confidently. "Whatever you are, you will be sorry for attacking my home and for harming innocents!"
With a low growl, the creature attacked again. She dodged his strike with ease, her body moving almost instinctively out of harm's way. Raising her arms against her chest, Sailor Neptune assumed a defensive posture. She would not attack—how could she, when the kind and loyal Yashashi was still inside the monster?
Please, run…run and don't cross my path again…I cannot fight you, and I must…
A tentacle came down hard on her, and she felt the pain of the blow across her ribs. The knot in her stomach tightened. Her house was coming down around her. They could not continue the cruel taunting game for much longer.
I can't…why…why should I?
She dodged another attack, and the monster howled in rage. It suddenly turned away from her. In one swift move, it reached Chindan, and wrapped its tendrils around her, lifting her off the floor. The older woman screamed at the top of her lungs.
For one second, Sailor Neptune took in the scene. The creature had only minutes before been Yashashi-san, perhaps the closest she could come to a friend. Chindan was the same one who had betrayed her confidence in such a cruel way. Why would Michiru Kaioh hesitate between the two?
The bitter irony of the situation was not lost on her. But the choice was obvious. She was not Michiru any longer—or at least, not only her…forgive me, Yashashi-san…I would give anything to have another choice…
She frowned, and searched deep within for the words that had once been second nature to her. Power flowed through her, and she found herself knowing how to channel it.
"Deep Submerge!"
The sphere of energy left her hands, hitting the monster square in the center. The tendrils dissipated into thin air, and Chindan slid to the floor. The warrior directed a tortured gaze towards the monster...and gasped as she saw Yashashi lying on the dusty floor.
Tears flowed down her cheeks, as she kneeled by the man, checking him for injuries. She whispered a silent prayer as she found none. Slowly, she felt the storm inside her ebb away…
The ocean is settling…?
Looking down at herself, the girl saw her uniform fading away, to be replaced by her usual clothes. Suddenly exhausted, she let out a long sigh…
…that caught in her throat as an alarming thought ran through her mind.
Swiftly, she turned around. Behind her, reclining against the far wall of the room, Chindan regarded her with a wary gaze.
AN: Like it? Hate it? What do you think? Should I go on? Review and let me know:)
On a different note, I know some of you expect more of Michiru's thoughts of Haruka…there will be some of that in the next chapter(s?). But, don't you think Michiru would not have focused that much on Haruka before awakening as Sailor Neptune? That's just my take on it, though, I still hope you like the story!
Myosotis