Konnichiwa, minna! Stuff at bottom! Proud Member of Project STAR (Story Teller's Association of Romantics)! Join up!!! Proud member of RAH (Readers Against Hentai), too. So I don't get flamed, I will say this - RAH is NOT out to diss the writers of hentai or flame them in ANY WAY!!! LET IT BE KNOWN!!!!! *raises wooden staff above head and ends up looking like a complete and total idiot* Er.. heh heh.. just get the point ^_^ *~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~* Love Will Still Live On *~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~* It was a balmy Spring day. Melody and Darien had opted to walk the 2 miles to the hospital. Despite the deep sorrow in his eyes, Darien seemed to be enjoying himself. For this, Melody was thankful. The conversation between the two died a peaceful death, and they walked along in comfortable silence. After awhile, Melody started humming a cheerful tune. Darien looked at her. She had her face tilted to the sun, her long, thick black hair cascaded down her back. Darien immediately looked away, scolding himself for looking at her as.. more than a friend. "Nice song," he said. "What is it?" She stopped humming and looked at him. "I'm not sure, it's just a song," she said cheerfully. "My mother used to hum it.. when.. before.." The smile slowly faded from her face. Those green eyes, which captured the gazes of many men, regained the haunted darkness that was usually in them. "Do you want to talk about it?" asked Darien softly. Melody nodded slowly. "Yeah.. I need to tell someone, I guess.. It's like this.. I'm an orphan. I.. well, you're gonna think I'm crazy, but I can't remember anything between the ages of 6 and 18.. I remember before 6 and after 18, but in the middle is a big blur.." Darien nodded, encouraging her to continue. "My mother hated my father with a passion. They were forced to marry, and he raped her. She got pregnant with me. He left her before I was born. She raised me well, she was a loving mother. When I was about five and a half, she was killed.. in a fire.. The last thing I remember was a man in purple who wore a mask.. it may have been an illusion.. "The first thing I remember afterwards was waking up in my apartment. I was 18 years old. I had an education, up through college. I tried to get a job, but I found out I needed a degree. So, I got a masters degree in chem and went to Professor Tomoe's lab. He gave me a job there. "So.. here I am. It's a crazy story, I know.. but it's the truth.. as far as I know it." Melody stared at the sidewalk. "I bet you think I'm crazy. You have a right to." Darien smiled. "Not at all. You know, I'm an orphan too. My parents were killed in a crash when I was young. I survived, but had permanent amnesia. I lived at an orphanage until I could get a job. It never bothered me much that I didn't know who I was until.. "I started having a dream about a princess. I knew she could help me know who I am.. all my life, I've been alone.. until I found.. Serena.." His voice trailed off. Melody grabbed his arm. "Darien.. Serena will be alright.. don't lose hope.." "Darien! Melody!!" They both looked up. They'd just about reached the hospital, and Hotaru was racing towards them. "Serena is awake!!" *~!~**~!~**~!~* The group rushed into Serena's room. She smiled weakly at them. Darien slowly walked over to her bedside, sat down in the chair, and took her hand. "Serena.." His voice cracked and he fell silent. "There's.. something you should know, Darien..," Hotaru whispered. "She.. she can't hear you." Darien spun around to face Hotaru. "WHAT?? What do you MEAN, can't hear me?" Hotaru closed her eyes. A single tear slid down her cheek. "She's deaf," she said flatly. "Serena will never hear again." Darien saw his old life shatter before him. Never again would he be able to tell her, verbally, how much he loved her. He wouldn't get to apologize for not being there for her. His soul felt like it had been ripped in half. Melody put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" "I... yeah, fine." Darien's gaze was locked to Serena's. "Give me.. give me a minute alone with her.." The two women nodded and silently left the room. Darien looked into Serena's eyes, those eyes that were always cheerful, always laughing.. to imagine, she'd never hear again.. "D..Darien.." she whispered. He blinked, then nodded. "Hotaru told you I can't .. can't hear. I know how you feel, Darien," she whispered. "I love you more than anything, Darien, ANYTHING! And it hurts me to know I'll never hear your voice again.." Darien's eyes filled with tears. He nodded to show he understood. He raised her hand to his face, still gazing into her eyes. She smiled faintly. "I'll be.. fine.. we'll do something." Darien was forced to look away. A tear rolled unheeded down his cheek. He didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do. Everything he'd wanted to say, everything he'd wanted her to know.. she would never, not now, because.. "Serena," sobbed Darien. "I.. I.." Still holding her hand to his face, he lowered his head to her bed. She gently removed her hand from his grasp and stroked his hair. "Se..re..na.." he choked. Sobs shook his frame. He couldn't stop them, no matter how hard he tried to regain control. There was nothing he could do for her, and that hurt more than any wound inflicted in battle. "Don't cry.." said Serena softly. Her voice was full of love, but it was strange because she couldn't hear herself. This only fueled his agony, and he cried even harder. Serena didn't know what to do, and looked on, helplessly. The door opened slowly, and a raven-haired beauty stuck her head inside. The girl was Melody. Serena studied her carefully, then looked back at Darien. Melody's eyes filled with tears and she left, closing the door behind her. *~!~**~!~**~!~* Outside the room, Melody leaned against the door. She slowly slid to the floor and brought her knees to her chest. She put her head to her knees and cried softly. It hurt her to see Darien so sad. Hotaru was crying, too, standing by the door, leaning against the wall. Her head was in her hands. The thought of not being able to help her Princess was simply too much. She cursed herself. she screamed silently. *~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~* To be continued.. *~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~* I know, I know, it's short. I feel really bad. I've been sooo busy with the play and other things. I PROMISE you that part 5 will be longer. I swear it! Muchas gracias to.. Lianne-sama, Razzz-sama, Sidnei, pinai7, Kaos95, Jade, Allie, and probably a whole army of others whose names escape me. ^_^ Tiga Shadow http://members.tripod.com/~PaladinStar/index.html Tiga2@hotmail.com --====================987654321_0==_ Content-Type: text/plain; name="LWSLO51.txt" Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="LWSLO51.txt" Konnichi wa, minna! In case you didn't figure it out, this story won't really have alot of action in it. I decided to mention that now, rather than in part 1, because I wasn't sure what I was gonna do with it then =^.^= *~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~* Love Will Still Live On *~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~* The day seemed to be dragging. Each second that went by did nothing to ease Darien's pain. The fact that Serena would never again hear was simply too much to bear. Hotaru and Melody had rejoined the group. Melody was standing by the window, shrouded in shadow. Hotaru stood in a dark corner. Serena was propped up against the pillows. The room was totally silent. Serena had learned sign language sometime during her school career, but nobody in the group knew it. She sighed and closed her eyes. She was bored, bored, bored. A doctor walked into the room and checked Serena's vital signs. He grinned at her and said, "Good news. You're alive." "She can't hear you," Darien said flatly. The doctor looked over at Darien. "Oh.. I'm sorry to hear that. I'm not her doctor. Dr. Anderson should be in soon. I believe that this young lady will be going home today." Even that didn't cheer Darien up, but he faked a smile and said, "That's great." The doctor had a puzzled look on his face when he left. It was pretty obvious he didn't understand what the hell was going on. Well, he wasn't alone, for Melody only understood a small bit of it. What seemed like an eternity later, the door opened, and in walked Dr. Anderson, with Amy in tow. "Hi, everyone," said Dr. Anderson warmly. "Would you please leave while I examine Serena? It will only take a few minutes." Silently, everyone filed out into the hall. Amy and Hotaru held a hushed conversation with Darien. Melody stood apart from the group. She looked awful - her face was pale, her eyes were red. People walking down the hall would think it was she who was sick. Finally, the trio broke. Darien wandered over to Melody while Hotaru and Amy waited. "Hey Mel, we're going to the cafeteria to get some lunch.. do you want to come?" "I guess so," she said. Her voice was listless, like she didn't care if she never ate again. The cafeteria food was, to say the least, not very good. Melody's spirits rose a bit and she made jokes about the food: "Hey, I thought I saw this dead on the street!" she cracked. A cafeteria worker gave her a dirty look, and when he turned his back, she gave one right back to him. Amy laughed, "That's the cook. He dosen't like it when people make fun of his food, but we do it all the time." Hotaru and Darien laughed. "It's worthy of being made fun of," said Hotaru. Darien led the way to a table, but said nothing. That horrible sorrow was still in his eyes, the haunted look that forced you to turn your gaze elsewhere, as a few young ladies discovered. Melody sat down enough away from the group that she wouldn't have to talk to them. Nobody noticed. She didn't really eat, it was more like she played with her "food": rearranging it and moving it around. She was too busy thinking. For the first time in her life, she actually felt close to someone. That someone was Darien. He was so much like her, and yet, he was very, very different. "It's crazy," she said aloud. Hotaru, Darien, and Amy looked up. "What's crazy?" Asked Darien. Melody blushed and ducked her head. "Um, nothing, I was just thinking about.. stuff. Look, I'm not hungry," she said in a rush. "I'm going to go take a walk." She jumped up and ran out of the hospital.. so they couldn't see the tears in her eyes. It was still nice out, even though it was about nine at night. Melody walked with her head down, her hands in the pockets of her windbreaker. Her hair had come out of the clasp it was in and blew slightly with the breeze. "Hey, Mel! Wait up!" "Hm?" She turned around and looked up. Darien was jogging towards her. She stopped to wait. "Is something wrong?" He asked, when he had reached her. "You left in such a hurry, I thought.." "I'm fine," she interrupted. "Why did you come after me?" "I.. I don't know.. I just thought you were hurt or something." She laughed bitterly. "Hurt? No. I'm fine. You should go back to Serena. She needs you more than I do." "Mel.. tell me what's bugging you.." He looked into her face, his blue eyes quivering. "I.." She closed her eyes and turned away. "I don't know. It's really hard to explain." Darien gazed at her. "Tell me." "Darien..." She looked away. "No." Darien looked at her, wounded. Then he turned away. "I'm going back to the hospital now. I don't want to deal with this.. not while Serena.." He shook his head. "Bye." Melody watched him start to walk away, green eyes filled with tears. She couldn't move, even if she had wanted to. She jumped when someone tapped her on the shoulder. "Wha?" "Hey, purty thing.. why doncha come with us?" A gangster leered at her. With a gasp, she stepped back, only to bump into another one. "I.. no way! I'm NOT going with you! Let me GO!" She looked around at the circle of thugs. They laughed. "Let you GO? Haha, that's a good one. Let me go, she says!" One grabbed her by her hair and pulled her close to him. He smelled like cigarette smoke and alchohol. "We're gonna party.. and YOU'RE coming with us!" "No! DARIEN, HELP ME!!!!" She screamed as loud as she could. The thug looked surprised. Startled, Darien looked up. He turned around and saw Melody, his friend, being held by a thug. "What the.." He sprinted back as fast as he could. Upon arrival, he surveyed the situation. He balled his hands into fists, and his eyes darkened. "This bitch is comin with us to a party. Ya got a problem with that, preppy boy?" "Of course I do! You're not taking her ANYWHERE!!" yelled Darien. Controlled completely by rage, he jumped forward and knocked the gangster out. The others charged him, and he fought them with an animal fiercity. When all the gangsters lay unconcious at his feet but the one that held Melody, he turned to him. The gangster pulled a gun and put the muzzle to Melody's temple. "Freeze," growled the thug. "Or the bitch dies." Darien obeyed. His eyes were so dark they were almost black, rage burning in them. Anything he did would get her killed. "Let her go," he hissed, "or you will regret it for the rest of your life." The thug looked at him and burst out laughing. "Now there's a good one! Hah! I'm not letting her go, prep. Maybe I'll shot YOU instead!" He turned the gun on Darien. "Go ahead, shoot me, see if I care," defied Darien. "Let her live." The thug grinned. "Very well. I'll see you in hell!" He drew the hammer back. Melody jumped free. The gun went off.. and she fell to the ground with a pathetic cry. "MELODY!!!" Darien screamed. The thug ran off, scared to death of Darien. He rushed forward and took her in his arms. It was too late, however. She was already gone. "M.. Mel? Hey, wake up! It, it's not funny! Come on, wake up! Please, Mel, for the love of God.. Wake UP!!" Darien shook her, trying to get her to awaken, to get up and smile and say it was only a joke. But she didn't move. "Melody.." His eyes filled with tears. He lowered his head, and pressed his forehead to hers. "Please don't go.. Don't leave me.." *~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~* Attend the funeral in part 5-2.. see you there. *~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~**~!~* Tiga Shadow http://members.tripod.com/~PaladinStar/index.html Tiga2@hotmail.com