I have yet to decide what update days I like best. *scratches head* This is most definitely a head scratcher, oh yes indeed. Hmmmmmmm. *continues to ponder other mysteries of the universe*
*10 years later*
Hmmmmmm... *scratches chin*
Runaway Baby
Part 6
I tear open my drawers, throwing random pairs of shorts and shirts into the bag laying on my bed. Stuff falls off the dresser when I move, but that's not my concern right now.
Setsuna is out there, still going strong, and every few seconds I hear her shout my name and tell me to come on.
A new wave of tears burn their way through, and I rip the zipper of my bag down, shoving the articles of clothing inside. I'm about to stop and double check that I have everything, but there's a crash that sounds too much like the flat screen being thrown.
I realize that every second I stand here, Setsuna's out there fighting for her life.
For us.
I yank the door open, unable to stop myself from cringing when I hear the knob lodge itself into the dry wall, as I search for Setsuna.
The house looks like hell exploded a thousand times, and I just barely see Yami and Setsuna tangled on top of a crushed coffee table.
From the corner of her eye, Setsuna notices I'm ready, and she quickly latches onto a large piece of wood. Yami growls, kicking her off to the side, but before he can get up, she's got him in a choke hold and she's smashed the splintered wood over his head.
He isn't knocked out, but he lays on the floor, holding his head. It doesn't give us a lot of time to run, but it's enough for now.
"Get the door!" Setsuna shouts, holding a hand to a cut on her cheek, as she frowns when there's blood staining her finger.
Hesitating, I dash to the door, running on nothing but adrenaline, as I toss the door open.
I have no idea how I couldn't hear this from inside the house, but now that I'm standing at the door, I can hear it loud and clear.
The rain roars loudly, and I see nothing but puddles on the sidewalk. Urgently, I look back at Setsuna, and she peeks into the living room.
"Damn!" Setsuna hisses, shoving me out into the rain, as she notices Yami slowly start to get up.
It's raining cats and dogs when she and I race out of the house. I can hear him behind us, calling me: whore, slut, bitch, and brat to name a few.
I can't see a thing, and the only thing keeping me from falling face first into the slick sidewalk is Setsuna. My lungs are burning, and I'm starting to get tired, but I can't stop running. We need to get out of here, or else I'm sure he's going to kill me. And Setsuna.
Even through the monsoon, I can see her face lit up in fear. It scares me, to be honest with you. She's never scared. Her expression only intensifies when I hear thunder behind us, and silver metal flies past us, pinging against our poor neighbors' cars.
With surprising strength, Setsuna roughly shoves me in front of her, effectively shadowing my body with her taller one. We dash through large puddles in the street, and head for her car parked on the corner, as a bullet barely misses her leg.
She flinches in surprise, but gives me a reassuring smile that she's okay, and desperately unlocks my door, screaming, "Get in! Get it!"
My hearts beating so fast, and I'm shaking all over, but I do what she says and climb in, slamming the door shut and pushing the lock down, as I reach over with the other hand and unlock her door.
Setsuna rolls over the hood, falling face first onto the other side of the street, but she springs up and yanks the door open. She gets her leg inside, flinching as a bullet flies over her head, as she crawls inside and slams the door.
"Hold on." Setsuna warns, not even bothering to put her seat belt on, as she shoves her key into the ignition. The motor roars to life, as a bullet punctures the stop sign in front of us, and Setsuna shoves her foot onto the gas pedal.
She jerks the wheel to the left, then to the right as we pull away, and she quickly flips her windshield wipers on.
I look in the rear view mirror, at the man standing in the middle of the street aiming a gun at us.
My heart bursts when he pulls the trigger again, and I curl into a ball, covering my head. I wait a few moments, hesitantly looking back again.
He's out of ammo.
Screaming out curses I can't hear, Yami throws his gun to the ground, and he stomps on it.
My hand flies to Setsuna's hand, which is usually sitting on the shifter stick, but I don't grasp anything warm and soft. Only leather.
Even though she's right next to me, I go into a panic attack, curling into a ball in the passenger seat.
I almost lost her. She almost lost her life at least half a million times because of me. Me.
I burst into another round of tears, and for the first time in the last five minutes, Setsuna tears her gaze from the road.
She looks like she's about to cry, but her expression changes, as she loosens one of her ghost white hands from the steering wheel.
"Konoka?" Setsuna whispers. It's soft, yet firm, and it makes me want to listen to her.
I stop my wailing for a moment, hiccuping while I turn my blood shot eyes to meet her eyes.
They're black. Like coal.
"You should try and sleep." She yawns, purposefully directing us towards a country road, as she shudders violently.
"Yeah, right. I'm the one who needs to sleep. You need to rest too! Especially after Yami-"
"I have a responsibility to get you away from here. You told me this was your hell, so I decided to be your angel and bring you to heaven." Setsuna interrupts, pulling off to the side, as she jumps out of the door.
Before I can even ask what she's doing, the door has already been slammed shut, and I recoil from the icy bits of rain that managed to get through. I whip my head around just as Setsuna jerks the trunk open, grabs her bag out, and elbows the door back down.
Quickly hopping back in, she hands me the bag, as she slings her seat belt on.
"Get a blanket out. I want you to rest right now. There's time for me to sleep too, but not right now, okay?" Setsuna asks softly, hoping that I'll understand what she means.
And I do. Obviously, Setsuna knows more than I do about where we're going. She's the mastermind behind everything that's happened so far. It dawns on me suddenly, that she's right. Setsuna needs to stay up and put as much distance between us and here. Yami has probably called the cops (and also filled their heads with lies), and Setsuna's parents will be all over her trail.
Feeling my throat go dry, I stiffly nod, digging in her bag for a blanket. She reaches across my lap, into the glove box, and pulls her map out.
"I could've gotten that for you." I mumble, pulling a thick blanket out, as Setsuna shakes her head.
"It's alright." Setsuna assures me, folding the pieces of paper out, and tracing her finger along a red line.
I wrap my blanket around me, snuggling into its warmth, "What's that? And, where are we heading?" I ask, just as Setsuna begins driving again.
"We're jumping onto I-94 near Park Ridge. From there, we're going to head to Chicago and," Setsuna stops to chuckle, as one of her hands wonders over to me, "We'll be free to the mother road then."
Smiling brighter than you can imagine, I nuzzle my face into her hand, and close my eyes.
Humming softly, Setsuna works her fingers through my damp locks, all while driving through this disastrous weather.
"You're amazing." I yawn, slumping down, as everything that had just happened takes a physical toll on me.
"You're even more amazing. G'night, Konoka." Setsuna whispers back, smiling when my head slumps into the seat, and everything fades to black.
I wake up to a warm bed, not a car seat. The thought puts me on edge, even though most people would find this comforting.
Without moving, I try and scope out my surroundings.
This isn't my house.
My heart starts thudding in my chest, and I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear a door swing open, accompanied by the clinking of a belt.
"Ah, so my sleepyhead finally decided to wake up, eh?"
This time, I do jump out of my skin. The blanket falls to the floor, as I struggle to my feet, but only manage to turn around and face this person.
"Setsuna!" I scream, feeling like a giddy little girl when I see her reclining against the bathroom door. She's dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a blue tank top. There's something written in kanji dangling from her neck, but it's too small for me to read.
That reminds me, where are we? What time is it? When are we leaving again?
Setsuna chuckles and runs a hand through her hair.
All the things I want to ask her stop in my throat.
"What?" Setsuna asks, stepping towards me, but it dawns on her in that moment what has me shocked.
"Oh. You're gawking at my hair aren't you? I cut it last night. Not only was it too recognizable, but it was getting on my nerves. I like it better at my shoulders than near my butt." Setsuna explains, combing through her locks again, as she flops onto the bed.
She closes her eyes, sighing contentedly, as she stretches out.
Her hand brushes my thigh, and I nervously twitch away, but I don't mind the touch.
"Can I touch it?"
Her eyes snap open.
They're chocolate.
"My hair?" Setsuna asks, completely amused by my shyness. Without my reply, she nods in approval.
Nervously, I reach out and touch the ends. Sharp. Feels like it was razored.
"What did you cut this with?" I ask curiously, grabbing a dark lock, and I admire the softness of it.
"With Yunagi." Setsuna chuckles darkly, sighing in pleasure, as I scrape a fingernail across her scalp.
"That thing?" I shout, eyes growing wide when I notice the large blade laying by the door.
She must be really good with that thing to hold it close to her neck like that.
Setsuna only groans, encouraging me to continue playing with her hair, and well, would you deny this girl?
"I like it like this. You look nice." I compliment, and when she smiles up at me, my cursed blush makes its first appearance of the day.
"Thank you." Setsuna murmurs, rolling her shoulders, and I notice the dark shadows beginning to form under her eyes.
"What time is it?" I ask.
She must not have went to bed since we left. I think we must be far away enough, otherwise she wouldn't have dreamed of stopping. Still, she should sleep. I'm actually pretty sleepy myself still.
"It's getting close to midnight. I stopped driving about an hour ago when we got into Missouri." Setsuna sighs, pulling her legs onto the bed, as she plants her face down into a pillow.
"You drove for three hours in that weather? Setsuna!"
"What?" she asks innocently, messing with her hair, so that she now has a faux hawk.
"What if you died?" I shout at her, poking her in the cheek.
Setsuna, you frickin' idiot! Why? Why do you put yourself in harms way like that? And for a girl you met not too long ago at that!
She doesn't reply, only giving me a knowing look, as she gently wraps her arms around my waist.
"Does it matter? I'm alive. We're alive. Now lay down, we need our rest. We'll talk when we hit the road, okay?" Setsuna whispers huskily, placing a kiss to my ribcage, as she pulls me to her body.
I shiver a little at the contact, thanking God that night that she couldn't see my face. Only he knows what she would say about it.
A blanket falls around us, and her legs become entangled in mine. Her hand hesitantly interlock with mine, and she rests her head in the crook of my neck.
"Sleep." Setsuna orders, unintentionally bumping her hip into mine, and I let out a barely audible squeak. She swings our hands up and down, the speed gradually slows until the movement stops all together.
I listen to her breathing, waiting until it's slower and longer to dwell on my thoughts.
Setsuna is so...She's like- no, that isn't enough to describe her. Maybe I'll come up with a full blown definition of this girl.
Her body is cold, yet warm at the same time. Like fire and ice.
Her arms are strong and powerful. Long, but not thin. They're so nice to feel wrapped around you.
A lock of her hair falls onto my own, but I don't bother to move it.
Sleep is calling and I think I'll answer the phone.
My dream that night is brief, straight to the point. It's about Setsuna.
She's dressed in silver armor, a sword is belted to her waist, and her beautiful hair is covered by a matching helmet.
Her helmet is lifted off of her head, and she shakes away the shoulder length strands that clumsily tumble out.
"M'lady." Setsuna bows, touching her forehead to the floor, and I feel uncomfortable about it all, but I hold my tongue.
"My knight." I whisper affectionately, tracing my finger tips over her pink cheek.
She remains silent, sending me a confused gaze, as she leans into my palm.
"M'lady, what is that you need? Name any your desires and I shall make them reality." Setsuna states determinedly, standing up, and resting a hand on her hip.
Oh, Setsuna. That was your first mistake right there. Telling me you would give me anything I wanted. I'll have to teach you about word choice, won't I?
"I desire...hmmm... A new castle would be nice. So would a carriage, but.." I grin mischievously.
"Yes?" Setsuna says, reaching her hand out for mine.
"I desire you." I growl, smashing our lips together; before I can find out what that kiss tastes like, I wake up.
I wake up in cold sweat, propelling myself into a sitting position, as I search around the room.
"You okay?" Setsuna says, concern ebbing through in large quantities, as she moves a comb through her hair.
I stare at her for a moment. No armor. A sword, but not like the one in my dream. She isn't calling me whatever that was and I'm not a princess.
Wooo! I'm safe!
"Konoka? Do you feel alright?" Setsuna asks, placing her comb down, as she walks over to me. She flips her hair over her shoulder, leaning down, as she presses our foreheads together.
"I-I-I'm fine." I stutter out, hopping out of the bed, as I hunt for my bag.
I find it laying in the corner beside her bag, and I dig out a pair of dark jeans, a yellow shirt, and a matching gray jacket.
"You may not want to wear that. It's actually pretty warm out, feels good." Setsuna advises, stretching her arms from behind me.
"Says the girl who's wearing skinny jeans, a sweatshirt, and converse." I tease, but I take her advice and trade my jeans out for a pair of capris.
"Hey now," Setsuna warns, wagging her finger at me, as she gestures to her footwear. "I look good."
Oh yes you do.
Dammit, bad thoughts. Get the hell out of here.
"Right." I say, hoping it sounds sarcastic, and not like I'm actually meaning it.
"Whatever." Setsuna replies, waving me off, as I disappear into the bathroom.
I take a shower, washing the smell of fear and rain water off my skin. It feels weird, even though I know I wouldn't have school today, that I'm here. I'm away from Yami, from those mean kids, from everyone.
And she was the one to do it all.
Wow. I can't believe that.
It was about a week or two ago that I was wishing I had the power to leave that life. I didn't get the power to do that, but I was given someone with that power.
I wonder if she feels the same way...Well, she said we would talk when we hit the road.
I hand Setsuna my bag, and she tosses it into the backseat, as she yanks her seat back into place.
"Hungry?" she asks, combing a finger through her hair, as she slips into the driver seat.
It bright outside. The sky is beautiful, no clouds in sight.
It's almost like last night... didn't happen.
"No." I reply calmly, lost in my thoughts, as I buckle myself in.
Setsuna gives me an odd look, but shakes it off, as she starts the car. "Alright. You let me know if you ever get hungry. I'll stop."
We pull out of the motel parking lot, and Setsuna gets us onto Interstate 44. She growls in the back of her throat when an idiotic SUV driver swerves into our lane, but she sighs and relaxes her grip on the wheel.
"Road rage much?" I giggle, and I smile at her abashed expression.
"Only when people drive like him." Setsuna shoots back, gesturing at the SUV cutting in front of another car.
I giggle at her dead serious expression, staring out at the country side, as my mind wonders.
Of course, my thoughts are about the girl next to me.
There's something bothering me a little about this situation, but I'm not sure if I want to bring it up.
I sulk a little in my seat, staring at my reflection in the glass window. Setsuna looks over, scanning over me carefully, but she doesn't say anything.
One thing I'm going to learn about her later, is that she's strategic. She's manipulative, but not in a bad way. You'll see.
"Damn, looks like I went a little too fast last night. Guess we're stopping for gas." Setsuna grumbles quietly, flicking on her turn signal, as she gets off at the next exit.
She finds the gas station with the cheapest price and pulls into a pump away from the others. Coughing, Setsuna turns the engine off, climbing out of her seat. "You want anything from inside?" Setsuna asks, rubbing her hand along the door frame.
I shake my head and quickly point my gaze out of the window.
She looks at me, completely baffled, as she slowly shuts the door.
I know, she's probably confused about my sudden change in attitude. I am too. I just can't seem to understand why, why me? Why now? I barely know anything about her, besides the fact that she was the captain of the volleyball team, she can't stand her parents, and she recently broke up with her boyfriend. That's it!
I start to sniffle, already knowing I'm going to end up crying, but it still catches me off guard when it happens.
"I got you a candy...what's wrong?" Setsuna whispers, slowly climbing back inside the car, and the small compartment is filled with the smell of high octane gas.
I look away from her concerned gaze, playing with the window crank, "Noth-"
"You're lying to me. I can see it in you eyes." Setsuna interrupts, her watchful eyes crawling over inch of me. I shiver a little, wondering what else she can see, but I keep my mouth shut.
Momentarily, Setsuna gives up, starting the car, and driving to park on the side of the parking lot. She gingerly pulls beside a semi truck, throwing the car into park, as she kicks her feet on top of the steering wheel.
She must be really flexible to pull that off...Damn nasty thoughts! I swear they're getting worse the more time I spend with her.
"We aren't going anywhere till you tell me what's going on." Setsuna states simply, rubbing a hand over her eye, as she yawns lazily.
"It doesn't make sense." I breathe, holding my face in my hands. I feel more nervous around her right now than ever before. What if what I say makes her leave?
"What doesn't make sense?" Setsuna asks, quirking an eyebrow, as she glances at me.
"Why me? Why not Asuna? I just met you! I don't know anything about you!" I shout, angrily punching the glove box, regretting it at once. I whimper softly, tears dropping onto the red skin of my knuckle, as Setsuna brings her feet down.
Suddenly, her body is on top of me, pinning me down in the seat. My face burns a scarlet red, the last of my tears flow out, and I watch Setsuna. Another thing I've learned, she's...interesting to watch.
Her eyes bore into mine, chocolate into darkness.
Sit there and listen to me, she orders, not verbally, but with her body. She relaxes quite a bit in my lap, and the thought crosses my mind, how on Earth did she move over here so fast?
Before I can ponder the answer, Setsuna gently takes the hand that 'fist bumped' the glove box in her hand, leaving butterfly light touches on the skin. Goosebumps bubble up on my neck, as I notice the concentration, and maybe the affection burning in her eyes.
"I can't answer your questions now. We aren't ready to hear the answers yet, but hey, if you want to know me better, you can ask anything you want, alright...Hang on! Watch the car!" Setsuna gasps, startling me by her sudden change of tone, as she throws open the door.
She runs up to a young business woman, who was playing with her phone, and taps her on the shoulder.
My heart twists when I notice how pretty this girl is. Why is that girl looking at her like that...? She needs to back off my Setsuna. Now.
Hoooooly shit. Did I just call her-
"How about we get to a hotel further south, go to the store, and you let me take you out the day after and we get to know each other better?" Setsuna asks, taking my red knuckle in her hand, as she presses a soft kiss to the tender flesh.
Wow, did I really think that long? Well, I must have. Setsuna must have gotten what she needed from that girl, because she's out of sight.
Wait...she wants to take me out? Hold on, she didn't even mean it like that! I need to calm down, deep breath.
"I-If you want." I say shakily, trembling at the pressure of her lips on my skin.
She smiles broadly, kissing my knuckles over and over again.
Setsuna, I have to know, are you being friendly, or is it something a little more...?
On the road again... Just can't wait to get on the road again. *banjo solo*
*cough* Sorry, that's all I could think of when I reread this ^.^
A pat on the back to anyone who knows what song this is. *nods slowly*
Later peeps!