Disclaimer: Yup, it's that time again! You all know the drill by now, so I'll just say this. Story. Mine. Based on Greek myth. Gods can't sue me. So there. On with the show!
Ikimashou!
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Chapter 5 - Rabbit Tracks
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"How much do you really know about her, Misaki-chan?" Kurumi turned off the TV and put her head back on the sofa. "Sure, she's beautiful and mysterious and all that, but don't you find her a bit...well, strange?"
"I think 'unique' is what fits her best, Ku-chan." Misaki looked toward the stairs with a bit of worry. "She has been up there for quite a while, ne?"
Kurumi wasn't going to let her sister's aloofness get the best of her. "And her eyes! Did you see that? People's eyes don't just glow like that! C'mon, Misaki-chan! What is she? A witch...a demon...or maybe even a--"
"Goddess," Misaki was barely listening to her sibling. She was more concerned about what was happening to her new love. "I hope she hasn't fallen asleep in the tub." She left the sofa and walked towards the stairs. "Do not worry, Ku-chan. Alexa-chan is not evil. She is just having a hard time, and I want to help her through it. Once you really get to know her, you will come to love her too." She left the room and climbed the stairs.
Kurumi sat with her head cocked to one side. "I was gonna say 'alien'," she murmured to the space Misaki left behind.
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Alexa was at her wits' end. Not only did her bluff fail, but now the rabbit had put her in an impossible situation, and that latest bit of news threw her completely off-balance. "What do you mean 'half-sisters'?"
"Come now, Alexa," the rabbit said, rolling his pink eyes. "You do know what that means, don't you? Same mother, different fathers!"
Alexa got up from the bench they were sitting on and began to pace. "So, what you're telling me is that one of your descendants fathered one of the sisters, right?"
The rabbit was miffed. "No," he huffed. "I wouldn't leave something as important as that to an underling. What's that saying? Oh yes, 'if you want a job done right'--"
"Please don't finish that thought!" Alexa's head began to pound like a team of monkeys were building a railroad across her skull. She sat back on the bench, as the deer gave her a concerned look. She never liked the idea of the gods interfering in mortal matters, but more so when it came to people she had gotten close to. It always made her life harder to try and sort out the messes they created...whether she saw them coming or not.
"Brother, could you please end this? You're destined to drive the poor girl mad." The deer was pleading with her sibling, but the rabbit simply grinned.
"She's been there before. Besides, it's a fun trip, isn't it 'Cassandra'?" He slurred her former name, and it only made the redhead angrier.
"And then you wonder why no one worships you anymore!" Alexa spat out. "So, Kurumi's your daughter. And you want me to fall in love with her--why? And if I don't, you'd kill your own daughter? I don't get it!"
The rabbit sat on his haunches and crossed its forepaws. "You see, dear Alexa, certain gods are quite spiteful. After you chose that bitch Helen, I saw into your future. I would've been satisfied with your death at the hands of Clytemnestra and her boy-toy, but little miss 'goody-four-hooves' over there decided to grant you immortality." He waved at the deer with scorn. "Being an oracle myself, you'd think I'd have seen that coming, but it was done behind my back. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly happy about it."
"Alexa, please." the deer said. "The gods meant no harm in reviving you. Usually we just turn those who suffer into plants or animals, or in the rarest cases, constellations or forces of nature. We just wanted to give you a chance to find true love and happiness."
Alexa wasn't sure whether to be grateful to the deer, or to rip its head off. "I...I sorta understand," she said softly. "But don't you think it would've been nice to at least ask me what I wanted? Maybe I wanted to stay dead, so I wouldn't have to suffer anymore." She looked away from the deer as she cried. "So, your measure of gratitude ended up bringing me more suffering and pain."
"But you have found true love and happiness, did you not?"
"Oh sure...only to have to give it up, or watch the ones I love die horrible deaths. And now I'm forced to give it up again!" Alexa yelled at the deer, who shrank back against the redhead's glare.
"Ahem!" the rabbit cleared his throat. "I'm not finished yet! Now, where was I? Oh yes, I was pissed. Anyway, I wanted to get back at you. Like you said, make you suffer. So, knowing you'd go to Japan in 1983 and leave a year later, I got there after you left, and started my plan. You already know how half of it turned out, don't you?"
"You bet I do...and I'll never forgive you for that!" Alexa said bitterly. "You could have left her out of it! You could have let us be happy, or at least let her have her life. You didn't have to kill her!" She yelled at the rabbit, but he wasn't fazed in the least.
"I didn't kill her...well, not directly," said the rabbit matter-of-factly. "That was your doing!"
Alexa got up and charged at the nimble rabbit. "I'll kill you for lying like that! I didn't kill her!"
The rabbit ducked inside a bush, out of reach of the rampaging redhead. "I gave you the false vision of your failed romance with her and her death later on. If you weren't such a slave to fate, you probably would have tried to make it work out instead of leaving her. But you didn't. She was heartbroken, but she got over you with a little help from me. As you saw in your vision, she lived a happy life...until she died in the quake.. The End."
Alexa slumped to her knees. She had often chastised herself for leaving, but not once did she ever think about trying to change the future. It had always been set in stone, her visions were always accurate, so she felt she couldn't change things. And she definitely didn't need to be reminded how the one false vision she'd ever have, cost her dearly.
"Sucks to be you right now, doesn't it?" the rabbit sneered. "Anyway, since that worked out so well,, I'd thought I'd do it again. I knew you'd be coming back to Japan to mourn her death, so I hatched the second part of my plan."
"But you weren't in the vision! You weren't the one who she was happy with."
"True. Your former lover gave birth to Kurumi a year after you left her. I left her after that, and waited for little Kurumi to grow up. In the meantime, your lover fell in love with the man you saw in your dream, and they had a girl of their own...your precious Misaki!"
"Wait a minute," Alexa said, stunned. "Both of them are Yume's daughters??" She didn't know what to think...her headache was getting much worse, accompanied by a need for her stomach to escape her body. "Misaki..."
"Well, it's not exactly incest, if that's what you're thinking." The rabbit emerged from the bush but stayed a good distance from Alexa. "In a way, it's like getting a second chance at making Yume happy. Oh wait, I forgot--I'm trying to hurt you again, aren't I?" The rabbit laughed, drawing the prophetess out of her confused stupor. "That's why I added Kurumi to the picture. You now have to choose once again between happiness and fate."
"But...Misaki...she's..." Alexa's mind was scrambled as she tried hard to find her place in all of this, and what to do next.
The deer, who had been watching this whole affair, softly walked to Alexa's side. "If I were you, dear Alexa, I would choose Misaki. She loves you greatly, as your Yume did. And I know you feel the same about her. In his own, twisted way, my brother has afforded you a chance at happiness.. I suggest you take it."
"And what, we're supposed to live happily ever after while her sister dies a horrible death? Tell me, Artemis, what kind of justice is that? How does he get to do that? Doesn't her life mean anything to him?"
"Not really," the rabbit said, shrugging his shoulders. "She's just another mortal child to me. A pawn to be used in a game. Nothing more. You should've known that about us, Cassandra. We toy with mortals, because we can! In the long run, as long as she serves her purpose, what does it matter whether she lives or dies?"
"What does it matter? She matters to Misaki, and she matters to me! She also matters to someone she loves!" She stood threateningly over the rabbit. "Listen, Apollo. I'm not giving up Misaki, and I'll find some way to keep you from killing Kurumi. Even if you are a god, I'll find some way to stop you!"
The rabbit ignored Alexa's defiance. "Like you could. Please, girl, don't tempt me to end this game sooner than I planned."
"Brother, stop it! You have done enough harm today!" The deer turned to Alexa and pleaded. "Wake up, and take care of the girls. I'll do what I can for you. Know that we do not agree with this, and are working to help you."
"Thanks, 'cause that's really been working out fine lately!" Alexa snarled sarcastically before everything faded out.
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Alexa opened her eyes to find herself submerged in the warm water of the bath. She wondered how long she had been under the water, but her musings were interrupted when a pair of arms reached down and awkwardly pulled her through the surface. Her head lolled to the side and her eyes found Misaki, frantically trying to get her to sit upright. She opened her mouth to speak, but she coughed up water instead.
"Alexa-chan!" Misaki cried, ignoring the water splashing all over her. "Are you alright? You had been up here for almost a half-hour, and when I came in, you were...I thought...oh, Alexa-chan!" The smaller girl broke into tears, holding Alexa close.
"It's okay," the redhead said hoarsely. "I just fell asleep...I, I wish I hadn't." She gently pushed Misaki back a bit.
"You could have drowned, Alexa-chan!" Misaki said, grabbing a towel and helping Alexa out of the bath. "Or could you have? I mean, you are immortal, right?"
Alexa thought for a moment. "Well, I've never tested it since I've been resurrected. I've never tried killing myself, and no one's ever tried to kill me. Even with all the disasters I've personally been to, I've managed to not get hurt." She accepted the towel from Misaki and wrapped herself in it, then wrapped her arms around the smaller girl.
"This is good to know," Misaki said with a relieved smile. "But please, be careful anyway, Alexa-chan. I would not want you to find out the hard way that you can die." She stopped for a moment, remembering that the only thing between her and the beautiful redhead was a towel.. Her face flushed as she looked into Alexa's eyes.
"I'm okay, Misaki-chan, really," the prophetess whispered. "I'm not ready to die yet. I have you, and I want to spend my life with you. I won't let anyone take that away from me!"
Misaki noted the defiant look in Alexa's green eyes. "Did something happen, Alexa-chan?" she asked softly. "Did someone threaten you?"
"Kind of," Alexa answered. "And I got some really...disturbing news concerning you both. I have so much to tell you, and so much that I have to sort out."
"My role is to listen to you, remember?" Misaki smiled reassuringly. "Whatever happens, I will always be by your side. No matter what!" She leaned up to kiss Alexa, but the redhead placed two fingers on the brunette's lips.
"No matter what, huh? Well, after what I have to tell you, I sincerely hope you'll still feel that way." Alexa let go of Misaki and started to walk towards the door. "Look, take your bath, and we'll talk about it later. I'm sure your sister..." She paused for a moment, wondering whether to correct herself, but decided against it. "Your sister might want to use the bath soon, too."
Alexa stopped before exiting the bathroom, thought for a moment, took a deep breath, said a silent prayer to whomever was listening, and walked back to Misaki, meeting the brunette's lips with her own. She didn't care if this was her former lover's daughter or not at that moment; all she cared about was that this was a second chance, and she was going to take it. She broke the kiss, leaving a dazed Misaki hanging loosely in her arms. "Thank you for saving me, Misaki-chan, whether I needed it or not." She smiled, turned around and left the brunette in the bathroom.
"My pleasure," Misaki cooed, her fingers on her lips.
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Kurumi flipped through the pages of the Blue Book, hoping to find some clues as to just who this Alexa person was. 'This is nuts!', she said to herself. 'It's all in Greek! Well, the dates aren't, but the rest? And a lot of these go back so far! What kind of list is this?' A few dates were highlighted or underlined, and one was both--1/17/1995. 'That's the date of the big quake here! Why is she keeping these dates listed? And why is this one particularly special? Did she lose someone in the quake, like we did?'
Her questions would have to wait, as she heard the bathroom door slide open and Alexa's bare feet padding towards her. She hurriedly closed the Book, shoving it back into the shoulder bag, and sat on Misaki's bed. Alexa entered the room dressed only in a towel, and Kurumi couldn't help but notice the girl's curvaceous form.
"Like what you see?" Alexa joked. "Stick around...the towel comes off in a couple of minutes." Her comments flustered the raven-haired reporter, as she knew they would. She laughed and sat at Misaki's vanity. "Sorry, I'm just teasing you."
Kurumi hadn't realized she'd been staring at the redhead, so Alexa's voice startled her back from wherever she was. "I'm..I'm sorry for staring. It's just...well, my sister has good taste." She tried her best to make that sound like a compliment, and not like a come-on line. Even so, she was blushing, and was about to leave the room.
"I don't mean to trouble you, but you wouldn't have a pair of pajamas or a nightshirt or anything like that, do you? I'm used to sleeping in the nude since I'm usually by myself. But now I--"
Kurumi pictured Alexa's naked form half-covered by a sheet as she slept. She blushed furiously and shook the image out of her head. "Ah, no, I mean, don't worry about it! I have more than a few nightshirts you can use. They might be a bit snug at the top, but I think you'll like them. I'll go get a couple for you!" She dashed out of the room before Alexa had the chance to thank her Alexa raised an eyebrow, then set about taking care of the red mop sitting atop her head.
Upon returning to her own room, Kurumi closed the door and leaned against it, as if to bar any more of 'those thoughts' from entering the room. "What the hell was I thinking? No...I don't wanna know what I was thinking!" She slumped against the door and tried to catch her breath. "I don't even like girls! And besides, she's Misaki's girlfriend...and she's weird. Beautiful, but weird!" She got up and gathered a couple of nightshirts from her closet. "Just think of Paul, and how much he loves me," she said, trying to reassure herself. "Yeah, that's it! Paul loves me, and I love him. This is just a case of momentary insanity, that's all!" Kurumi neatly folded the nightshirts, more out of stalling for time than anything else. "And that book? What is with her? I have to find out...I can't let her get to me!" She swallowed hard and left the room.
Alexa heard the knock on the door and allowed Kurumi to enter the room. She had her head down as she was brushing her hair out. "Thank you very much, Kurumi-chan. I hope it's alright to call you that, since I'm sharing your clothes and all. I'll get some new ones when I get the chance."
"No, it's not a problem at all," Kurumi answered nervously. "Alexa, can I ask you a couple of questions?"
"Well, you're the reporter. That makes you naturally curious. Sure, go ahead." She threw her head back, and Kurumi swore she could feel the heat from Alexa's blazing mane.
"How long have you been a freelance photographer?" the raven-haired woman asked.
"Oh, for quite a while. It's something I picked up in my travels." Alexa had a feeling where this was going, and wasn't about to give the reporter any more information than was necessary. "Right now, I'm keeping an eye on Japan, as a lot of interesting things seem to be happening here."
"They always do," Kurumi agreed. "You've been here before, then?"
"Sure, lots of times. But I usually just do my shoot, give my pictures to the local paper, and move on. It's a lot cheaper than staying in one place, paying rent, traveling, and then wondering if someone's broken into your place."
Kurumi thought this was the time to play her hand. "Were you here for the Kobe quake?" she asked, remembering the date in the Blue Book.
"That was twelve years ago. I was a kid back then. I lost...I lost someone special to me. I don't like talking about it." Alexa turned away from Kurumi, saying nothing more.
The reporter in her wanted to dig deeper, but Kurumi didn't want to hurt the woman. "I'm sorry for prying. I just wanted to know more about the woman who stole my sister's heart."
"It's okay," Alexa said, turning back to Kurumi and wearing a half-smile. "Oddly enough, I wanted to do the same thing--ask you about the woman who stole my heart."
Kurumi felt a warm sensation run through her. 'Now I see why Misaki fell for her,' she said to herself. "What do you want to know?"
"Actually, it's about both of you." Alexa took one of the nightshirts from Kurumi and made a twirling motion with her finger, signaling the reporter to turn around. She then dropped the towel and slipped the nightshirt over her. It was a baseball-style shirt, with black sleeves and a roaring tiger's head on the front. Alexa admired the fit in the mirror, and then sat next to Kurumi on the bed. "How much do you remember about your mother?" she asked.
"Our...mother?"
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End of Chapter Five
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