Crescent Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Fidelity ❯ Room 245 ( Chapter 5 )
Anime/Manga: Crescent Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Romance / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.14.2007 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.7K | Visits: 285 | Status: Work In Progress
Summary:Not only did he hate her for being her and being human, he hated her for making him care.
Rating:PG-13 (Rating may change in later chapters)
Fidelity
Chapter 5: Room 245
Outside it was snowing lightly, as if shreds of rice paper just drifted down from the grey clouds at their own leisurely pace. Few cars were on the road at this time of night and even fewer with the weather. Snow blanketed the freeway. Windshield wipers moved at nice slow even rhythm that matched the low thrum and purr of the car’s engine. As the car slowly pushed its way through the snow and onto the off-ramp, Mahiru stirred. Her head rested against the cold window, her cheeks flushed from the frost seeping through the glass. The passenger window fogged from her slow even breaths.
The car slowed to a stop and she opened her sleep leaden eyes. Green lights from the dashboard danced in front of her eyes. Three twenty-three in the morning, oh joy. She blinked slowly trying to wake herself up enough to move. The car started forward. She shifted in her seat to look out the window.
“We’re almost there,” Misoka whispered from the driver’s seat.
Mahiru nodded and pressed her forehead against the glass, her bottom lip in-between her teeth. Lights—red, blue, white, green and yellow—blurred together as they made their way through the empty streets, the snow still creeping down.
What a long day. She sighed and shifted in her seat again. It hadn’t taken Misoka much convincing to let her come with him, though, he stated plain and clear that they were the decoys, and only to her discretion and regard for her safety would she be allowed to come (at that point anything sounded better than riding a people-killing-monster in freezing weather). She nodded yes.
Unknown to Mahiru (until that point) The Moonshine had an escape plan, head North to their second headquarters, if they were ever compromised. However, since one of their own betrayed them the Lunar Palace thought it more wise to bring them closer to home, where Mahiru and Keiko could be under twenty-four hour protection. Since Nozomu had no inkling to the new plan, or at least they hope he did, Oboro wanted someone as a decoy to lead the Vampire on a wild goose chase, hence Misoka. He had driven five hours north, Mahiru fast asleep, making sure certain, chosen, people saw him (witnesses were a good thing for wild goose chases). He switched cars—Mahiru protesting against the cold by means of disgruntled whines—at a checkpoint and promptly went back the way he came, avoiding the major freeways as much as possible.
She wondered vaguely, during one of their refueling breaks, if Misoka was indeed going to pick up stuff to fill the car, or if Mitsuru had said that just so she’d go with him. Her heart fluttered for less than a second. It was so subtle, in fact, that she didn’t even notice it. Misoka never stopped for anything other than food and restrooms. When she realized this, her heart fluttered again, and this time she noticed (though she passed it off to disagreeable fast food). Yes, heart murmurs, had to be. Distantly her subconscious snickered, rather be ill than twitterpated…
She was drifting off again when Misoka pulled into a motel and turned off the car.
“Let’s go find them,” Misoka prompted as he climbed out the car into the stormy night. She followed, locking the door and closing it shut.
Silence… The snow fall so thick and dense sound couldn’t travel far, even if it wanted to. Mahiru’s hand found the pendant underneath her layers of clothing, worrying it between her index finger and thumb. Lethargically, she followed Misoka to the second level, metal stairs twanged dully as they tromped through fresh powder. Already her shoes were wet; she could feel the ice water crawling through the fabric.
Room 245, at the end of line…
Misoka knocked gently. Oboro let them in, smiling in his usual way. Despite the gold glow of the motel lamp, faint snores were coming from the beds. Akira and Keiko were huddled together, comforter and sheets wrapped around various appendages. The other bed was empty, save for Mitsuru, who was sitting on the corner, head in hands resting on his knees. A small plush chair and footstool rested in the corner of the room by the window, and a few feet farther down an open door connecting to the room next door.
“Get some sleep.” Oboro whispered so low Mahiru wasn’t even sure if she heard. Misoka followed him into the other room, where Katsura obviously was, and with in minutes no sounds came from where they disappeared.
Akira grunted in his sleep and twitched, before relaxing into Keiko’s sleeping form. Jealous, Mahiru thought, I had that… kind of… before—she stopped thinking then.
Mahiru sighed as she removed her snow-covered shoes; she’d been sleeping all day, longer even. The need to rest didn’t exist anymore. Still worrying the pendant, she spotted Mitsuru, his hair a blaze of green in the low light. Her mouth twitched slightly. She couldn’t deny that she was (just slightly) taken with him, had been for a while. He was sweet to her, she noticed, when he had no reason, but only ever in private—on the roof at midnight when he gave her the pendant, those two weeks she was in the hospital with pneumonia, and last night… when he let her cry. She knew too, that he’d been saving the motel bed for her. However, as much as she liked him, she kept her distance, because he was the first one she actually cared for and that scared her. A lot. Scared her enough to think that no matter how many things he said that made her heart beat an extra beat, or how he touched her in a certain way that made her feel all tingly, or how much she liked being around him, he would never ever feel the same way. Better to let sleeping dogs lie. No pun intended.
It was hard though when he was right there, looking all tired and care worn, head in his hands sleeping soundly, saving the bed for her.
Mahiru was less than a foot away when she crouched down and brushed her fingers against his shoulder. He moaned none too happily, but moved nonetheless, taking his hands from his face. Mahiru smiled a little inside.
“You can have the bed.” The moment her voice reached his ears he woke fully and met her eyes. Her breath caught, his eyes were so deep, sharp… so vulnerable. She swallowed down the silence, raking her teeth against her bottom lip, and spoke again just as quietly, “If you want…” She turned off the light and moved to the chair, looking through the cracks in the curtains to watch the snow. He was still sitting on the bed. “You’re not tired?” She shook her head, forgetting that he couldn’t see her, and then she spoke, “Slept the whole drive here.” She picked up the pendant again, rolling it in her fingers, now that there was no light in the room it glowed as if it was alive, and Mahiru loved it. ; &n bsp; ; &n bsp; ; &n bsp; ; There was rustling of sheets from where he was, and she thought he was doing what she said for once, until she heard his footsteps making his way over to her, finding the footstool and sitting down. “You haven’t slept much at all, you should sleep.” She protested lightly, though secretly enjoying that he had decided to sit near her. She could sense more than see him shrug. He placed the comforter on her lap, and the proceeded to wrap himself in the sheets. “We’re all waking up at five thirty anyway, what’s two hours of sleep gonna do?” “You should still try.” The comforter was now snug and secure around her body, nice and warm. “And have you be the only one a wake? I don’t think so.” They stayed by the window, talking rarely, but by the time five o’clock rolled around Mitsuru had passed out on the floor, and Mahiru watched as the snow finally stopped falling.