Hello again, everyone. ^_^
I was working on my webpage when I realized I needed fanfics for my
"Other" and "Original" sections. Any takers? I'd especially like Please Save
My Earth and Phantasy Star IV stories, as well as anything Japanese
drama-related, or original fics in the suspense/intrigue genre. I have an
unlimited amount of space, and would be willing to convert all chapters into
HTML format. E-mail me back here if you'd like to submit something. If you'd
like to make sure the site doesn't look like crap first ^_^;;; you can check
it out at http://www.crosswinds.net/~waraku ...Thanks in advance. :) Oh, and
also THANK YOU-YOU'RE THE GREATEST goes out to all the people who helped me
with the Yakuza research for my fic. (which will be called Black Lotus, if
anyone's interested.) I haven't replied to everyone individually yet, but I
will! Please bear with me.
Just so this isn't entirely spam, below is a (very) old SM fic of mine...
Not the greatest, but it's OK. :) Feel free to tell me what you think. Oh,
and thanks must go out to Bastion-sama for finding it for me a while back...
^_^
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s o n g e n s h i --Death with Dignity
a Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon fanfic
The Senshi and all those affiliated
with them are copyright of the wonderful
Naoko Takeuchi. All other characters
are mine. Thank you for reading. ^_^
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"Farewell happy fields,
Where joy forever dwells: hail, horrors!"
--John Milton
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Prologue
And it begins...
I am an immortal. A vampire. One who drinks the blood of others to
quench the endless thirst that sustains our life. I have not always been this
way. For eighteen years I lived as a human, laughing among them, living among
them. Essentially one of them. Except for that small part in me that knew the
day would come soon... the day I would live for the night. It was two years
ago that that day came. On my birthday. Ironic, in a way.... but it was a
release for me. A release from the anxiety.
My true name is not important. I have been called many things over my
short time as one of the undead... Ariadne, called from the sneering lips of
my soon to be victims. Kalika, child of darkness. It seems I have struck fear
in the hearts of my enemies, even in this short time. My father had taught me
well. The only name that has stuck is Accalia... for I truly am the she-wolf,
the true embodiment of the name. I am the forever hunter, and forever hunted.
I believe my father would have approved.
My father... he has been gone since the time I was 15. His death was not
a shock to me... perhaps the first time it was, the day he was killed by a
vampire and arose as one himself. But this time I was prepared, ready to
avenge him. I was stopped.
He called himself Elias, an odd name for what he was, and told me that
he was a friend of my father's. I was wary, knew to be distrustful of vampires
from my father's own words. Yet he proved himself, told me things that only
our close-knit family could have known and shared. He told me I must wait,
wait until the right time...
And I waited. He made me a vampire, as was foretold, and I grew in
strength. Perhaps what I truly was bothered me in some way, as I only seemed
to dine on the willing, or the easily forgotten, the homeless, the murderers.
And still... I never killed. Not for food. Not for blood. Only for revenge.
I was never able to find the one that ended my father's life. But I know
who they are. They have my mother now. A pathetic, disgusting few they must be
to take a human. I have heard their speeches.. their calls of justice. Where
is the justice in what they have done?
None of my kind have been in Japan in over twenty years. Perhaps longer.
I have wondered about that. Are they afraid? The lure of old blood calls to me
even from where I am now.. but the blood is a mere linger, a remnant of the
past. Their powers can not be so strong as to scare off a vampire. There must
be something else... someone else.
I will find them. This I swear. And when I do... the Sailor Warriors
will pay. In blood..
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"Really, Usagi, you shouldn't eat so much. You won't be able to fit in
your wedding dress."
The slight smile on Rei's face didn't do much to get the words across,
and Usagi had a look on her face that said she was undecided on either
laughing or strangling Rei on the spot. Makoto gave a small snort when Usagi
finally just stuck out her tongue. In many ways, Usagi was the same as she had
always been.
"Anyway.." Usagi had suddenly turned serious again. She had the glow of
happiness about her, as most brides-to-be did, but also an edge of extreme
nervousness. "You don't actually think I won't be able to fit into my wedding
dress, do you?"
That caused Rei and Makoto to both burst out laughing, but Rei's ended
short. Makoto sent her a sidelong glance as she whispered to Usagi, "Rei's
just jealous, Usagi-chan. You eat like a pig, but you don't gain an ounce of
weight..."
Usagi had that look on her face again, but she let it go when she caught
a glimpse of Rei. "Um.. Rei-chan? What's the matter?"
Rei shrugged, but the oddly faraway look remained in her eyes.
She had been like this for the past couple of weeks. Abrupt mood swings,
one minute happy, the next minute.. gone. Her face lost all traces of emotion,
and she would stare into space, absentmindedly listening. At first, they had
thought she was joking around... then, getting too little sleep... now...
Makoto frowned. "Are you sure, Rei? You've been acting..."
"How have I been acting?" Rei turned her blank eyes on Makoto, and she
looked at the ground uncomfortably. Rei went on without letting Makoto answer,
"I have to go. It was nice talking to you all..." Her voice was distant,
cordial. Unlike her.
"Rei.." Usagi reached out for her, but she stepped away. Rei nodded
carefully at the both of them, and hurriedly proceeded out of the mall.
"Something's not right with her," Makoto muttered, her eyes following
her friend's rapidly retreating figure.
"I know." Usagi frowned, looking troubled.
"I'm sure she can handle it." Makoto smiled slightly, Usagi nodding in
unison. They relaxed visibly, leaning back into the bench they were seated
upon.
"The wedding's so close, Mako-chan. I'm so nervous.." The words spilled
out of Usagi as Makoto pastiently listened. "We haven't even picked a
place..."
The shriek was abrupt, without warning. The high, frightened sound of it
ricocheted on the walls, causing the echos to repeat in an endless loop until
there was no sound left. It was rather odd, however, that the people around
them didn't seem to notice.
Usagi gasped, as she and Makoto immediately sprang to their feet. It was
instinct now, ingrained in their souls was the fighter's spirit. Even Usagi
had nearly refined it, chasing away all remnants of clumsiness.
"Let's check it out, shall we?" Makoto's green eyes were glinting, ready
for battle.
Usagi nodded, and the two of them sprinted in the direction of the
scream.
It didn't take them long to come across it. A mass of people were
peering over the side of the rail, murmuring in frightened whispers. Usagi and
Makoto pushed to the front, and following suit, directed their eyes downward.
The sight that greeted them caused them both to gasp again, and Usagi
winced. A woman lay sprawled on the ground beneath them, almost a tiny speck
from the height they stood above her. The bright red blood, and awkwardness of
her limbs, however, made her easily spotted. Usagi felt like she was going to
be sick.
"W-what happened?" Usagi turned to the crowd, her face ashen. "Did she
fall?"
"No, she was pushed!" The call came from the back, and everyone started
nodding.
"It was a man!"
"A woman, I think."
As the onlookers continued to mull over what they had actually seen,
Makoto glared at them with such ferocity that they all quieted. "Why didn't
you help her?" she demanded.
The crowd seemed at a loss for words.
"Someone call an ambulance, then!" Usagi cried out. She didn't believe
anyone could survive a fall from that high up, but...
The crowd dispersed as a few bystanders shouted over their shoulders
that they would find help. After they had all left, Usagi sagged against
Makoto. "It's so horrible... someone pushed that poor woman."
Makoto hugged Usagi's shoulders in a comforting manner, and was just
about to speak... when the ceiling caved in.
Literally, the ceiling caved in, showering downward in a waterfall of
glass, sprinkling on the ground with a mildly pleasant tinkling sound. Makoto
cried out and shielded Usagi with her body. The glass, however, was some feet
away, and didn't touch them. When they hesitantly looked up, they found
themselves staring at two men.
Usagi gaped. Both men were handsome, with pale skin, and longish black
hair. The one on the left was taller, with a slight air of arrogance about
him, as if he was the leader. And his eyes....
The pools of darkness that were his pupils drew Usagi in, and she stared
like an obedient puppy, an odd kind of warmness seeping through her.
'So beautiful... I must go to him... My mas--'
It was about that time that she was shoved roughly from the side, and
the hold over her was severed. She shuddered involuntarily as she and Makoto
fell in a heap on the ground. A cold whisper of air brushed past her ear and
the glint of metal nearly blinded her. Usagi brought her hands up to her eyes,
wondering dimly why she felt so... drained.
When Makoto finally moved off of Usagi, and the two glanced at the spot
of their assailants, they were gone. In fact, there was absolutely no sign
they had even been there at all.
"The glass..." Usagi whispered, looking wide-eyed at the perfectly
intact glass skylight.
Makoto frowned, and, almost absentmindedly, glanced behind her. There
was something. A knife...
"Usagi," Makoto said sharply, gesturing to the object behind them. They
both got shakily to their feet, and walked over to the gleaming knife. Pinned
to the ground under it was a small parchment. Makoto yanked the knife out of
the ground, and layed it beside her before picking up the note.
Makoto frowned, looking more tired than she had in months. She slowly
read the note outloud. "The mistress is coming. You will die by 'morrow's
eve."
Usagi sighed softly, her face turning a further shade of gray. "Looks
like we're back in business, ne, Mako-chan?"
Makoto said nothing, but her frown turned bitter. She retrieved the
knife, and the two of them exited the shopping centre without another word
said between them.
Neither of them remembered the bloody corpse of the woman who had
fallen. Which was just as well... as it was no longer there.