Naoe Nagi sat his school bag down on the table, his dark blue eyes stopping on the familiar, orange haired assassin in the doorway to the kitchen. A slight frown crossed his lips as Schuldich took a drag of his cigarette, and blew the smoke in his direction.
"Schuldich, have you noticed that Farfarello is going out a lot lately?" Nagi asked offhandedly, stepping to the side and out of the cloud of smoke. The orange haired telepath grinned, though from amusement or something he knew, Nagi couldn't tell.
"I wouldn't worry, chibi," the front door kicked open behind Nagi, and the subject of conversation entered the household looking rather pleased. When he noticed the two of them standing there, the emotion flickered to nothing. "What's going on, Farfarello? It looks like you've been having too much fun making God cry."
The shorter man glared with his one visible golden eye before he walked past them without a word. Schuldich wiggled his eyebrows as he looked back at Nagi, saying, "See, nothing to worry about."
xXx
"I'm home," Usagi called as she slipped her soggy tennis shoes off, along with her wet socks. Ken offered to ride her home on his motorcycle like he had the night before, as opposed to her taking the bus again, and she reluctantly accepted. Before hand, she refused, saying it was only a fifteen minute walk to her apartment. And then everything sank in all over again. She'd distracted herself to the point of almost forgetting what had happened, and the thought scared her.
"Usagi," the tone of her mother's voice bordered on frightening as she appeared in the kitchen's entryway, a spatula raised menacingly in her hand. The blonde laughed nervously, taking a step back from the angry looking woman out of pure reflex. Without warning, she was reduced to tears and ran over to crush her daughter in a hug. "I was so worried all day long! I can't believe you went to work, what were you thinking?"
Ikuko continued to babble, her voice throaty with emotion that brought a soft smile to Usagi's face as she pulled away. Her mother walked back toward the kitchen, still muttering to herself, and Usagi hung up her wet rain coat before following. In the kitchen, she greeted her younger brother and father, both already seated for dinner. She'd arrived home at the right time, for the meal was just now done.
As they ate, the table hummed with light conversation, and a few petty arguments between the two siblings. Shingo never asked why his older sister returned home, he could tell by the underlying somber mood that something had happened. Instead he chose to act as everything were perfectly normal, which included the prodding and teasing of the older blonde at every turn.
By the time Usagi ascended the stairs, saying she wanted to tuck in early, her shoulders slumped, her facial features dropped. Every bit of stress that she locked away that morning came back full force, almost dizzying her to the point of collapsing. Still, she trudged up the stairs slowly, to the room she now called home.
The blonde pulled her dress off, and the black leggings underneath. Too exhausted, both mentally and physically, for a pajama search, she simply pulled the covers back and fell into her bed with only her undergarments. For a moment, the room fell silent, still.
The first sob rose in her throat as the image she'd miraculously fought down all day long returned, with a nasty vengeance. The bloody carnage that would be printed in her subconscious forever played over and over, whether she closed or opened her eyes. The grief struck so viciously she couldn't breathe.
Convulsions of misery ran through her body, and she gently rocked back and forth in the bed, trying to let it all out. Mamo-chan, what should I do? How can I live? Please come back. Please come back. Please...
"Please," Usagi whispered the word into the darkness, and it seemed to reverberate again and again in the silence. For a long time she sat there sobbing, then becoming completely still, catatonic. With no energy or emotion left, she fell asleep.
xXx
When the blonde awoke the next morning, her head throbbing so viciously she sparsely moved, she lay in her bed for a long time. The dim rays of dawn slowly brightened, splaying golden rays across the wall opposite the window. Usagi watched the shadows lifting numbly, slowly gathering her temperament for another day.
When she heard the door open and close twice, she knew her brother left for school and her father for work. She rose from the bed and rummaged through her drawers, grabbing a set of clean clothes and heading for the bathroom. Standing under the hot stream of water, she didn't move to wash her hair for at least fifteen minutes.
The outfit she unwittingly grabbed turned out to be Minako's old blue jumpsuit with the white tee shirt underneath. Somehow along the way it got shifted into her wardrobe, not too unusual considering how often outfits cycled around the group of five girls. While she brushed her teeth, the doorbell sounded from down stairs.
Rinsing, Usagi listened as her mother spoke with the person at the door, but when she descended the stairs, she never expected the four young women to be standing in the entrance, removing their shoes.
"Bunny!" Minako noticed her first, fellow blonde rushing the staircase and crushing her into a hug. Not a whole second passed before Usagi returned the embrace, her eyes welling with tears. "Oh, Bunny, I wish I had known in time to come yesterday. You should've called my cell phone. I would've been right over."
"It's okay, you're here now," as the words fell from her lips, Usagi realized how strongly she meant them. Ami, Makoto, and Rei joined them at the bottom of the stairs, hugging the teary eyed blonde in turn when they finally pried the sniffling Minako off of her. Just being in the presence of her four best friends, sisters at heart, made Usagi feel worlds stronger.
The girls congregated to the living room, taking seats while Makoto mused, "It almost feels like the old days again, all of us together." The tall brunette wore her work attire, a pair of black pants and a forest green shirt. The apron was missing, probably left in her car.
"Yeah," Rei nodded but her tone was only half-hearted. In the old days, they wouldn't act so gloomy. A bit of silence settled over them, before the raven haired girl asked softly, "Have they found out anything yet?"
"Not yet," Usagi answered just as quiet, her eyes roaming over the other four faces. Judging by expressions, she knew Rei had filled them all in on what happened to every extent.
"Looking stylish in my outfit, eh Bunny?" Minako broke their somber atmosphere with her impish grin, and the other blonde smiled back, nodding.
"In all fairness, you still have my favorite sweater," Usagi prodded, laughing as Minako gave her a sheepish look. It increased as Rei began to list off her missing items, some of which Makoto claimed to have, while Ami informed Rei of the outfits the priestess had somehow hijacked from her closet.
Within a few minutes, the girls were laughing merrily, reliving their school days like a bunch of old maids, even though they were fresh out of high school. However, Usagi cut the meeting short, saying she couldn't be late no matter what. They convened outside her home and she waved goodbye before rushing toward the bus stop.
"She seems okay," Ami commented gently, her blue eyes still watching the retreating blonde down the sidewalk.
"Better than I thought," Makoto agreed, fishing in her pocket for her keys distractedly. Rei remained silent, her violet eyes distant and emotional.
"She's still Usagi through and through, pretending to be okay so we won't worry." They all turned to Minako, the usually cheerful girl frowning after their disappeared leader. "But one look in her eyes and I can see her heart is broken."
xXx
He stopped across the street, leaning leisurely against the nearest building in the shade of the overhang. Just another nameless face in the crowd, that's what he became. Then she was there, her golden blonde hair standing out clearly in the sunlight. She appeared winded as she stopped in front of the flower shop, and paused to catch her breath before walking in.
"So that's her?" He glared fiercely to his right, but only a laugh responded from the orange haired man who stood there, mimicking his posture. "She's pretty; gorgeous even. But you see, Farfarello, I still can't figure out your motive. You're investing way too much into this one. So what makes her special?"
"Mind your own fucking business." He absolutely seethed. He hated Schuldich enough in the moment to kill him. But there was no point in that. It would ruin his plan, and not even God gave a shit about a bastard like Schuldich.
"You should let me have a go at her first. I can break her in for you." That goddamned smile. He could rip it right off his face. His fingers clenched at the thought of the blades he had discreetly tucked away, ready for any suitable moment. The plan.
"I'll gut you." The three words fell with such ferocious sincerity that the smile on his counterpart's face faltered. Still, the expression returned just as quickly.
"Well, well Farfarello. You should be careful, I think you've fallen for this one." Whatever he said next he didn't know, didn't hear, couldn't recall later. Whatever it was, Schuldich's expression darkened, and he slipped back into the crowd wordlessly.
He turned his eye back to his target. Goddamn smiling bastard Schuldich.
xXx
"Hullo Omi-kun, Yohji-kun!" Her eyes scanned the room, falling on the brunette near the back. "Ken-kun! Aya-kun has the day off today? That's a rarity."
"Hey Usagi," Omi smiled pleasantly as she joined him behind the counter to tuck her things away. As she turned to grab her work apron, the cell phone in her purse went off, startling both blondes.
"Sorry, I forgot to shut it off." Usagi smiled apologetically as she snatched up the pink phone, moon charm swinging with the sudden movement. Her finger moved to mute the sound, alerting her of a new voice message (odd because the phone hadn't rang at all), when she recognized the number flashing across the screen.
Her body went completely rigid. She could sense Omi turn back toward her, his blue eyes concerned, but her world was spinning. Fast and off its axel. Slowly her finger moved, subconsciously, silencing the phone once and for all.
"Usagi?" Omi's voice jolted Usagi into alertness again. She smiled at him automatically, but her hands were trembling. He stood from his stool and guided her into the seat, looking concerned as her eyes turned back to the phone. "Usagi? Who was it?"
"Mamoru," the blonde managed to whisper. This time Omi froze, glancing at the phone uneasily while Usagi moved into action. She dialed her voicemail, punching in her password as quickly as her quaking fingers would allow. The voicemail clicked on, and the operator began to speak.
"You have one new message received Saturday, September 16th at 4:47 pm." The monotone female voice informed. Usagi unconsciously gulped. That was two days ago, not ten minutes after the message she'd received about their abrupt dinner date. Why didn't she get the message then? The end of the short pause cut her thoughts, and much too sudden, the sound of Mamoru's voice filled her ears.
"Oh yeah, one more thing Usako. I love you." Usagi choked. The cell phone clattered against the floor. Everyone in the shop froze. The world went dark.
xXx
Okay, I realize the chapter is ridiculously short. I simply had to end it right here. You ever get that feeling, writing a chapter, and you know that's the spot to end? Well, that's what happened.
I felt this chapter was a bit lacking compared to its predecessors. Lacking what exactly? I don't know, but something. Hopefully you'll forgive me for the long absence and honor me with reviews.
I seem to only be able to write this story after pulling an all-nighter and being slightly crazed on sleep deprivation. Ha.
Pairings? Well, lots of inquiries about Usagi's pairing. Firstly, I'm not entirely sure yet. I'm still plotting events out in my head so we'll see how the character chemistry works out. Secondly, my main objective here is to stick to the plot of Farfie stalking Usagi, so the pairing will be in second place to anything else. I realize this may turn off a few readers but I don't want to ruin the story by running off with a mushy romance, as has been the downfall of many a good story.
Chills? I received a lot of reviews talking about the cold chills and goose bumps, so I thought I'd gloat here for minute. :3 -gloat gloat-
-SachiNyoko