(no subject)
Title: Hero
Author: Raya
Theme: Pre Series (No Theme)
Genre: Drama / Tragedy / Darkish
Version: Manga
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~1054
Disclaimer: Saeko Mizuno was created by Takeuchi Naoko. I have merely borrowed her for a short while.
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Continued from Chase
Hero
Henri clasped one of the handstraps with one hand and tried to look nonchalant as the train sped to the next station. He sent sour thoughts to the European ancestors that had gifted him with long legs. They were making it impossible for him to hide easily in the train full of Asians. He shifted his other hand up to his chest in an attempt to use Saeko's bouquet as a screen and protect it from the crush.
Fortunately, his slipping through the door at the last moment seemed to have convinced the woman that he was following that she had lost him. She sat on a seat half a car away clutching the year old baby tightly with one arm as she struggled to free the other from her bags. The little boy squirmed and struggled to get free, still fussing and crying.
Henri hoped that Saeko had seen where he'd gone. He would hate to lose the woman now. The more he studied the little boy, the more he was convinced that it was one of the kidnapped children.
He tensed as the train came to a stop in Ebisu and the woman collected her bags again. After she stood up, still struggling with the baby, he allowed the general flow to take him to the doors of the train. He did his best to keep his eyes on her the whole time.
Once on the platform, she began to make her way to the other train line and he began to panic. 'If she goes to Shibuya and Shinjuku, I'll loose her!' He glanced around frantically, and then spotted several policemen converging onto the crowd. The sight made him relax slightly, until he realized that they did not know who they were looking for. There were several women in the crowd wearing blue coats.
The woman spotted the policemen, too, and began to walk more quickly. Henri pushed his way through the crowd apologizing absently as he rushed to catch up to her. Catching the eye of one of the policeman, he lifted the bouquet in the air and waved it to get his attention. He used it to point urgently at the woman. The smaller man looked in the right direction with a frown and the looked back at Henri again. Again, the taller man waved frantically towards the woman. She was almost to the stairs.
The policeman lifted his walkie-talkie to his mouth and spoke into it. Henri smiled and waved thanks as he saw several of the other policemen converge on the right area including one coming down the stairs.
“Everyone please stand still!” one of the other policemen called out. The people milling about on the platform looked at him in surprise, and most of them stopped moving. The woman, however, dropped her bags, wrapped both arms around the unhappy baby, and began to run.
“There! That's her!” another policeman cried. “Stop!” Ignoring him, the woman turned around and began to run back towards Henri and the train. “I said stop!” the policeman called again.
As the woman passed him more than an arm's length away, Henri clearly saw the furious, demented look on her face. Her brown eyes were oddly absent and glassy just as they had been back in the coffee shop when he had first seen her. The little boy looked at him over her shoulder, his deep blue eyes swimming in tears as he stretched a hand out for help. Henri immediately turned to follow them, noting that everyone else seemed to be moving out of their way.
“You'll never have him,” the woman muttered. “All of the light must be snuffed. That is the command.”
“Stop!” the policemen called out again. The woman continued to ignore them, racing along the length of the train. More policemen poured down the stairs at the far end of the platform seeking to trap her between them.
Henri dodged his way through the crowd trying to catch the woman himself. He was the closest to her. If he could just reach her, he could hold her long enough for the police to reach them.
“The golden light... All of the golden light must be smothered by the darkness,” the woman said more loudly.
Henri's eyes widened as he saw her grip on the baby change. 'No... She wouldn't...' he thought in horror as she raced by the last car of the train. Dropping Saeko's satchel and flowers, he shoved his way straight through the crowd, increasing his speed desperately.
“Die, child of the light!” the woman screamed as she threw the baby toward the tracks behind the train. Henri leapt from the platform, reaching desperately for the little boy as the people around him gasped and screamed in shock. The woman's expression changed from anger to fear as he brushed her and accidentally knocked her off balance.
Somehow, someway, his hands found the boy in midair. He drew the child protectively to his chest as his brain suddenly let him know what he had done and he frantically prayed that his feet would find the one safe spot in the tracks. As his feet touched down in the narrow space between the electrified rail and the ground rail, he heard the woman scream as she fell across the tracks.
The stench of her burning body barely registered as he felt his ankle begin to twist and give under him. He shifted his hands as his head came up and his eyes frantically searched along the platform. Spotting the first policeman he had made contact with, he lifted the baby and threw him to safety.
The motion threw his already off balance body to the side and he began to fall. As he turned his head to look for some way to save himself, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure on the platform. He focused on it for a second, then smiled.
Saeko stood breathlessly on the platform, hands pressed to her mouth in horror as she watched Henri topple over. “No...,” she mouthed as she shook her head desperately. “No... no... no...” The world faded around her until all she could see in the darkness was her lover reaching desperately for balance. And then even that sight was covered by the merciful darkness.
Continued in Aftermath
****
*peeks at Ree* Sorry...?
Random note: As I was plotting out this little twist (and it started with another story which will be coming up eventually), going through my head over and over was the space marines hero song. “'Hero' is a four letter word... 'Hero' is a four letter word... Just another word for 'Fool' and you'll learn well in our school that 'Hero' is a four letter word.”
Author: Raya
Theme: Pre Series (No Theme)
Genre: Drama / Tragedy / Darkish
Version: Manga
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~1054
Disclaimer: Saeko Mizuno was created by Takeuchi Naoko. I have merely borrowed her for a short while.
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Continued from Chase
Hero
Henri clasped one of the handstraps with one hand and tried to look nonchalant as the train sped to the next station. He sent sour thoughts to the European ancestors that had gifted him with long legs. They were making it impossible for him to hide easily in the train full of Asians. He shifted his other hand up to his chest in an attempt to use Saeko's bouquet as a screen and protect it from the crush.
Fortunately, his slipping through the door at the last moment seemed to have convinced the woman that he was following that she had lost him. She sat on a seat half a car away clutching the year old baby tightly with one arm as she struggled to free the other from her bags. The little boy squirmed and struggled to get free, still fussing and crying.
Henri hoped that Saeko had seen where he'd gone. He would hate to lose the woman now. The more he studied the little boy, the more he was convinced that it was one of the kidnapped children.
He tensed as the train came to a stop in Ebisu and the woman collected her bags again. After she stood up, still struggling with the baby, he allowed the general flow to take him to the doors of the train. He did his best to keep his eyes on her the whole time.
Once on the platform, she began to make her way to the other train line and he began to panic. 'If she goes to Shibuya and Shinjuku, I'll loose her!' He glanced around frantically, and then spotted several policemen converging onto the crowd. The sight made him relax slightly, until he realized that they did not know who they were looking for. There were several women in the crowd wearing blue coats.
The woman spotted the policemen, too, and began to walk more quickly. Henri pushed his way through the crowd apologizing absently as he rushed to catch up to her. Catching the eye of one of the policeman, he lifted the bouquet in the air and waved it to get his attention. He used it to point urgently at the woman. The smaller man looked in the right direction with a frown and the looked back at Henri again. Again, the taller man waved frantically towards the woman. She was almost to the stairs.
The policeman lifted his walkie-talkie to his mouth and spoke into it. Henri smiled and waved thanks as he saw several of the other policemen converge on the right area including one coming down the stairs.
“Everyone please stand still!” one of the other policemen called out. The people milling about on the platform looked at him in surprise, and most of them stopped moving. The woman, however, dropped her bags, wrapped both arms around the unhappy baby, and began to run.
“There! That's her!” another policeman cried. “Stop!” Ignoring him, the woman turned around and began to run back towards Henri and the train. “I said stop!” the policeman called again.
As the woman passed him more than an arm's length away, Henri clearly saw the furious, demented look on her face. Her brown eyes were oddly absent and glassy just as they had been back in the coffee shop when he had first seen her. The little boy looked at him over her shoulder, his deep blue eyes swimming in tears as he stretched a hand out for help. Henri immediately turned to follow them, noting that everyone else seemed to be moving out of their way.
“You'll never have him,” the woman muttered. “All of the light must be snuffed. That is the command.”
“Stop!” the policemen called out again. The woman continued to ignore them, racing along the length of the train. More policemen poured down the stairs at the far end of the platform seeking to trap her between them.
Henri dodged his way through the crowd trying to catch the woman himself. He was the closest to her. If he could just reach her, he could hold her long enough for the police to reach them.
“The golden light... All of the golden light must be smothered by the darkness,” the woman said more loudly.
Henri's eyes widened as he saw her grip on the baby change. 'No... She wouldn't...' he thought in horror as she raced by the last car of the train. Dropping Saeko's satchel and flowers, he shoved his way straight through the crowd, increasing his speed desperately.
“Die, child of the light!” the woman screamed as she threw the baby toward the tracks behind the train. Henri leapt from the platform, reaching desperately for the little boy as the people around him gasped and screamed in shock. The woman's expression changed from anger to fear as he brushed her and accidentally knocked her off balance.
Somehow, someway, his hands found the boy in midair. He drew the child protectively to his chest as his brain suddenly let him know what he had done and he frantically prayed that his feet would find the one safe spot in the tracks. As his feet touched down in the narrow space between the electrified rail and the ground rail, he heard the woman scream as she fell across the tracks.
The stench of her burning body barely registered as he felt his ankle begin to twist and give under him. He shifted his hands as his head came up and his eyes frantically searched along the platform. Spotting the first policeman he had made contact with, he lifted the baby and threw him to safety.
The motion threw his already off balance body to the side and he began to fall. As he turned his head to look for some way to save himself, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure on the platform. He focused on it for a second, then smiled.
Saeko stood breathlessly on the platform, hands pressed to her mouth in horror as she watched Henri topple over. “No...,” she mouthed as she shook her head desperately. “No... no... no...” The world faded around her until all she could see in the darkness was her lover reaching desperately for balance. And then even that sight was covered by the merciful darkness.
Continued in Aftermath
****
*peeks at Ree* Sorry...?
Random note: As I was plotting out this little twist (and it started with another story which will be coming up eventually), going through my head over and over was the space marines hero song. “'Hero' is a four letter word... 'Hero' is a four letter word... Just another word for 'Fool' and you'll learn well in our school that 'Hero' is a four letter word.”