A.N.: I'm not dead! I promise that I'm not dead! I've had severe writer's block with this story and I really didn't mean to put this chapter out so late. That and I've had very little time to access a computer since I've moved. Anyway, here's chapter eighteen!
Hopelessly Lost:
Chapter Eighteen:
Usagi could practically feel the lightning that Seiji and Shin were shooting in their glares at one another when Shin gave the small blonde a congratulatory hug. Things were falling apart quickly due to the tension between the two. The small blonde shook her head and kissed both of them on the cheek before retreating from the stage. She couldn't take this right now. Usagi headed toward the dressing rooms of the concert hall and disappeared around the corner. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she heard the yelling erupt behind her. How could they defeat Arago if they couldn't stand each other enough to work as a team?
"What is it that you think you're doing, Shin?" Seiji shouted when he thought that Usagi was out of hearing range. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from her?"
Shin bristled at this. "I don't know where you get off telling Usagi who she can or can't see, mate, but as long as Usagi wants to be friends, I'm going to continue to see her!"
Seiji took a step forward. His gray eyes had darkened dramatically from his anger. Touma placed a hand on his shoulder only to have it shrugged off. "I don't care, Shin. I'm saying you can't see Usagi. You love her now that she's dating me. You're jealous!"
"Let me tell you this now, Date, before you get way ahead of yourself." He snarled in response. "I kissed Usagi. Hai, I kissed her. It wasn't her fault, demo, she didn't pull away either."
If it were at all possible, Seiji's eyes flashed from stormy gray to black. He lunged at Shin as the two lapsed into a fist fight. Natsui covered her face with her hands and turned away so full of shame that she felt that she could've died on the spot. Mamoru wrapped his arms around her, glaring at the two young men as they fought. Yaten watched with his arms folded over his chest while Taiki simply gazed on, unamused. None of them noticed that Seiya was nowhere to be found. It was Rei who finally called them out for what they were doing.
"Are you two elementary school kids again or what?" she shouted over their fighting. "Don't you realize that this pointless fighting has got to stop? Can't you see how much you're hurting Usagi?"
Both young men stopped fighting immediately and stared at the raven-haired miko. Shin lowered his eyes in an ashamed manner as Seiji simply stared her down. Rei strode up to both of them and grabbed their shirt collars, yanking them down to her eye level. Fire leapt in her eyes as she glared at them. Had the circumstances been different, the others would've snickered at them.
"Look, Usagi is the sweetest person I know and she wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose. I don't know what the big issue with you two is, demo, you're going to solve it now. I understand that you both love Usagi, but making her choose isn't going to help anything. If nothing else, I hope she chooses Seiya. He loves her yet doesn't try to make her choose him." Rei snapped as she shoved them both backward.
It was at that point that Seiji began to tremble from anger. As he was about to step up and begin the argument with Rei anew, Touma grabbed his arm and pulled him backward toward the other side of the stage. He allowed his blue-haired best friend to do so with relative ease. Shin remained rooted in his spot.
Yaten let a smirk cross his face. "I'm pulling for Seiya to win. What about you, Taiki?"
Minako rounded on them both with a deadly look in her eyes. "Since when was Usagi-chan a prize in some contest?" she hissed. The two exchanged puzzled glances before heading back toward their dressing room.
----
Usagi had her head hidden in her arms as she sat on the steps leading down to the stage. Her tears had lapsed into sniffles. Why couldn't they see that their friendship was compromised because of her and it didn't need to be? The blonde lifted her head as she felt a head come to rest on her own.
"Doushite no, odango?"
"Seiya!" she cried. "Everything's going so wrong! Seiji and Shin just can't stop fighting! How are we supposed to fight Arago if we can't even be friends?"
Seiya smiled at her. "You worry too much, odango. Everything will be fine in the end. You're the balance element, remember?"
Usagi smiled at him, leaning back into his arms. "I know, I just wish it wasn't such a hard job sometimes."
The two sat in a comfortable silence as they stared up at the stars. Usagi felt her eyes getting heavy. The excitement of the concert had certainly taken a lot out of her. Seiya's deep breathing and the steady beat of his heart relaxed her as she felt herself fighting to stay awake.
"Ne, Seiya." She spoke sleepily.
"Nani-o?"
"We can't stay like this. Haruka-san will kill you." Usagi drawled.
Seiya gave a heartbroken smile. "I know we can't, odango. Let me just hold you like this for now." When she said no more, he knew that she'd fallen asleep.
----
Once Touma had pulled him behind the curtains at the opposite end of the stage, Seiji crossed his arms over his chest and huffed loudly. His best friend looked at him sadly as he glared at the floor. Touma cleared his throat causing Seiji to look up at him.
"Thanks, Touma. I'd have hated myself if I hit a girl." He said with a bemused laugh.
The warrior of Tenku didn't reply immediately. Instead he stared at the same spot on the floor. "Your dispute with Shin isn't just hurting Usagi, Seiji."
The blonde jerked his head up to look at him, a bit confused. "What are you talking about, Touma? Who else would I be hurting?"
"Someone who loves you, Seiji." He replied, his voice cracking from some hidden emotion. "You're hurting me."
Seiji stared at his long time best friend in plain and utter shock. What Touma was saying didn't make any sense to him at all. It had entirely blown his mind. "What did you just say?"
Touma looked up into his eyes, the other realizing for the first time how beautiful they were. "I love you, Seiji."
"I'm-I'm sorry, Touma. I don't feel the same about you." Seiji said, looking away from him.
The blue-haired young man moved in front of him placing his hands on Seiji's shoulders. "You can't live in a past life, Seiji!" Touma exclaimed. "It's not fair to those of us who are living now! We had our loves in the past, now it's time to live in the present!"
Seiji heard the pain in Tenku no Touma's voice. Tears burst forth from his eyes and streamed down his cheeks. Tangling his fingers in the blonde's hair, he crushed their lips together, pouring every single emotion that he was feeling into that kiss. Seiji's eyes widened at his friend's actions but for some reason didn't pull away. As quickly as the kiss had begun, it ended and Touma was walking away from him. Seiji suddenly felt like a horrible person as he touched his tingling lips. Why had it affected him so? He loved Usagi. Didn't he?
----
Shin stood leaning over the railing of the amphitheater with his head in his arms. He was aware of Shuten approaching behind him, but paid him no mind. Was it so much to ask that for once in his life he got what he wanted? He'd seen Usagi crying on the stairs and he'd seen Seiya come to her emotional aid. He wanted so much for that to be him in Seiya's place.
"You're troubled, Suiko." Shuten told him, joining him at the rail.
"You noticed, eh?" Shin countered in a sarcastic tone. "I've made a mess of everything. I thought that standing up to Seiji would help things, demo, it only made them worse."
"Fighting will get you nowhere. Have I taught you nothing about patience, Suiko no Shin?" Shuten asked, giving a little chuckle.
The auburn-haired young man shot him a glare before he sighed and rested his chin on his arms. "It doesn't seem like I can be patient anymore, Shuten-san. The friendship between the Troopers and the Senshi is unraveling faster than we can catch it because Usagi's getting hurt. We have Arago to worry about as well. We can't afford to keep up the senseless fighting."
The ancient turned to look at him as he studied Shin's reply. "You have indeed become wise, Shin. You need to be strong for Usagi's sake. There will be a time that the Mashos will want to use this weakness against you and you will have to overcome it. I have faith that you can. I'm going to rejoin Setsuna. Oyasumi."
Shin quirked his eyebrow as she watched Shuten leave. The kaosu had indeed become fond of the Senshi of Pluto. All of his friends were falling for someone else. He could see it with each passing day. Ryo and the miko, Rei, were coming closer as they spent more time together. Makoto and Shu were joined at the hip all night.
How was it that all of his friends were steadily falling in love? Even Touma, albeit with his best friend, but he was still in love. Shin snorted. He could sense Korin no Seiji's indecisiveness about the situation. Usagi's own unsure heart broke his own. She felt something for him but was confused about how to deal with it. Sighing, Shin rose from his bent position. A light poke on the arm sent him spinning around. There stood Seiya with a sleeping Usagi in his arms and a wry grin on his face.
"I need you to take odango to Haruka and the others. She'll kill me if I do it."
Shin nodded as he took the blonde from the ebony-haired idol. Seiya was gone as quickly as he'd come. Suiko blinked at the sheer emotional pain that the Starlight's aura emanated. The auburn-haired man couldn't help but smile as he looked down and saw the look of absolute peace on the petite girl's face as she slept. How many more tears would she shed before this whole ordeal was over? As he turned to reenter the building, a light breeze played with his locks. A solitary figure hid in the shadows as his eyes seemed to glow in the light of the moon.
----
Rei stood fuming backstage. How could two men act like such children? It made her want to incinerate them both with her flame sniper. A hand applied gentle pressure to her arm, making her calm a bit.
"Shin usually doesn't pick fights." The voice told her. "I don't know what happened tonight, demo, gomen nasai."
The miko shook her head. "He loves Usagi very much, Ryo. Even more so than Seiji, I think."
"Seiji's confused, Rei-chan. He's fighting his feelings for Touma to stay with Usagi-chan. They may be small, but they're there." Ryo explained.
"I just wish they wouldn't fight in front of her. Usagi has enough to deal with without the two of them fighting." Rei commented, fighting her anger.
"It'll be okay." Ryo told her. "These things work themselves out."
----
Seiya blinked back the tears that were burning his eyes. It was fair. Why couldn't Usagi love him the way he loved her? He wouldn't push anything because she was taken, but when would he get his turn? The ebony-haired Starlight halted as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Moving swiftly, he avoided the thrust of a sword.
"Very good, Sailor Star Fighter, as I expected."
"Dare mo no?" Seiya growled. "What do you want?"
"I am Anubis, Yami masho."
The man that stood before him now had locks of blue hair and scars on his face. Heavy armor adorned his body. A large no-datchi rested on his shoulder. As Seiya brought out his henshin brooch, Anubis clucked in a scolding manner.
"There's no need for that, Kou Seiya. I merely came to talk."
A sneer formed o n Seiya's lips. "What could I possibly have to say to you? You're my enemy."
Anubis chuckled. "Very true indeed. I merely want to tell you that from past experience that Korin no Seiji covets what he wants at the time. When he grows tired of your pretty little friend, he'll move on."
"You're lying." Seiya spat, his voice sounding hollow in his own ears.
"You think I'm lying? Just earlier after his fight with Suiko, he kissed Tenku."
The young idol grew dangerously quiet as he glared at Anubis. If he hated anyone more than Anubis right at that moment, it was Seiji. Seiya clenched his fists, his knuckles white.
"Is what you say true?"
"Why would I lie to you, Fighter?" Anubis drawled. "I have no quarrel with you."
Seiya remained silent for a moment longer. "Seiji will pay for this. I thank you for this information. I will set things straight."
Anubis laughed. "I do hope so. Korin no Seiji must be taught a lesson."
As Seiya turned his back to leave, the Yami masho disappeared, leaving the corridor as empty and as silent as the darkness he represented.
----
"Touma?"
"Hai, Usagi-chan."
"Are you really here? Iie, I'm asleep."
"I'm not Touma, demo his heart."
The blond blinked. "You're Touma-kun's heart?"
The blue-haired young man nodded. "Hai. I'm the image projected by Touma's heart."
Usagi shook her head, taking in what he was saying. By the armor he was wearing, Touma really did have the heart of a warrior. "If you're here, something must be wrong. Is Touma-kun alright?"
"I've come here to ask you to end your relationship with Seiji."
"Nani o? Doushite?"
Touma's heart continued to stare at her coldly. "Touma loves Seiji deeply. Every minute you stay with him breaks Touma's heart a bit more."
The Senshi of the moon blinked in an attempt to fight tears. "I had no idea that I was causing him pain."
"Unintentionally, you are."
After several minutes of deliberation, Usagi spoke, sniffling. "Wakata. I'll end this. I'll end it for Touma-kun and I'll end it to keep the peace."
Touma's heart softened as he smiled genuinely. "Arigatou, Usagi-chan. I can't thank you enough."
Usagi opened her eyes, brushing away the tears she had shed. Rising from the cot she had been sleeping on, she made to exit the Three Lights' dressing room. There was something she had to do.
----
Seiji raised his head at the knocking on the door. Who could possibly want to bother him now? Upon answering the door, he was met with a blow to the face. Turning his head back to the door, Seiya was standing before him looking positively livid.
"What was that for? He shouted.
"You know what for, konoyaro." Seiya spat cruelly.
"Iie, I don't. Enlighten me!"
Seiya came through the door hitting him again. "You kissed Touma! Is Usagi nothing but a toy to amuse yourself with?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Seiji screamed. "I love Usagi more than anything! Who told you that?!"
"It doesn't matter." He growled. "What matters is that you'd better come clean to Usagi or you'll be sorry."
He shoved Seiji, heading back toward the closed door with the blonde shouting after him. "Seiya! Who told you?!"
Seiya ignored him, opening the door to find a tear-stained Usagi, poised to knock. He fought another growl. "Oi, odango, what are you doing here? I thought Shin delivered you safely to Haruka."
"He did. I just need to—Seiya, what are you doing here?"
"Nothing." Seiya replied. "I'm finished here."
Usagi watched as he moved past her before she looked to Seiji's bruised face.
"Seiji, we need to talk."
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know, I know. Not much action so far. Mostly more drama. What's a good story without drama? shrugs Anyway, Read and Review! I'd greatly appreciated it. Now, back to DDR! XD