Moon's Murderers: Chapter 05

Moon's Murderers: Chapter 05

"Rikku? Rikku! ..."

Hotaru sighed before slamming her glass of soda onto the table. They were currently on their presumed lunch date. It was 2:30 pm in the afternoon and they were sitting at a nice quiet café. They had just ordered from the waitress and waiting for their lunches to be served. However, Rikku was not paying attention whatsoever. She had been staring into thin air ever since they had gotten into the café. Hotaru had ordered for her, along with two drinks. From time to time, Hotaru would try to wake her up from her stupor. Then after a few minutes of calling her friend's name, she gave up. She merely slammed her glass of soda on the table - not hard enough to the point where the glass would break. Rikku's eyes blinked a few times as they came back into focus.

"Oh. Hotaru, did you call me?"

Hotaru closed her eyes and counted to ten. Then she let out a sigh before opening her eyes again. Once she opened her eyes, she glared at Rikku for a good few minutes before answering her question. "No, I called the guy behind you." She rolled her eyes.

"There's a guy behind me?"

Hotaru stared at her then tilted her head. "What is wrong with you today?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"I said nothing!"

"And I call bullshit."

"No, you called me a liar."

"Good that you know that," replied Hotaru with a big wide smile upon her lips.

"You know, sometimes, you really are a bitch," muttered Rikku.

"Why! Thank you very much for your compliment!"

"...It wasn't meant to be a compliment."

"Going to tell me what's wrong?" asked Hotaru, sipping on her soda a little, completing ignoring Rikku's earlier comment. Tick tock tick tock, seconds passed until they turned into minutes. Hotaru merely stared at Rikku, resisting the urge to smack the girl.

"RIKKU!" shouted Hotaru.

"I was thinking," replied Rikku.

"Does it take you that long to tell me what is wrong?" asked Hotaru.

"Hey, maybe I don't know what's wrong!" retorted Rikku.

"I call that bullshit #2," muttered Hotaru.

"Fine! I met my boss," said Rikku.

"You got fired?" asked Hotaru, raising a single eyebrow in question.

"No!"

"Then why else are y...oh. What? How good looking is he?" asked Hotaru while she sipped on her drink some more. Rikku merely stared at Hotaru with widen eyes. "What are you looking at?"

"Why would I think my boss is good looking?!"

"Um, gee, I don't know," Hotaru sarcastically replied.

"He's strange, that's all. I mean, yeah, okay, he looks good but he's also very strange. I don't like him," said Rikku.

"Then stay away from him. You don't see him often anyways."

"Yeah. Let's hope not," Rikku mumbled. That was when their food came. Hotaru had ordered a yummy chicken sandwich for Rikku while she, herself, had a Chicken Caesar salad. After finishing their lunch, they decided to walk down the streets while looking at the different shops that lined the sidewalks. After a few minutes of walking, they came by a flower shop and Hotaru stopped to look. Rikku walked ahead until she noticed that Hotaru wasn't by her side anymore so she turned around and sighed. She walked back to where Hotaru was and looked into the flower shop.

"If you want to buy flowers for him, then go. Don't just stand there looking like an idiot!"

"Hn." Rikku merely looked at Hotaru and shook her head. She mumbled and grumbled, and then she went into the flower shop.

"Hey! Shop keeper person! I want a dozen of white roses please." Hotaru's eyes widen at Rikku's actions and she went into the shop and took a hold of Rikku's arm.

"What are you doing?"

"Buying your lover his roses! What do you think I'm doing?" asked Rikku.

"I don't love him," replied Hotaru.

"Could've fooled me," mumbled Rikku. The shopkeeper returned with a dozen of white roses wrapped in transparent, glittery wraps. She handed it to Rikku and smiled.

"Thank you for your business," the shopkeeper said. Rikku handed her some cash and then stuffed the dozen of white roses in Hotaru's arms.

"Go see him," was all Rikku said before she walked out the door. Hotaru walked out, jogging after Rikku.

"What about you?" she questioned.

"I'm going back to work, duh," Rikku replied. Hotaru looked at the flowers and sighed. Then she went the opposite direction that Rikku was walking. She might as well go visit him again since she got the roses. Once she reached the corner of the street, she tried to get a taxi. After several minutes of waving her hand about, a taxi finally stopped for her. She got in and shut the door.

"The hospital, please." The driver merely nodded and drove to the hospital.

Once again she was in this blasted hospital. Once again she was going to see him. She never really visited him often but it has been a while since she brought him flowers. The same routine all over again: walking through the sliding doors, going up the elevators, but this time, it's different. She went into one of the storage rooms and got a glass vase for her flowers. She put the roses in the vase and put some fresh water in the vase. She smiled and walked towards Devin's hospital room.

The sound of glass shattering echoed through the hallway of the hospital floor. A few people that were walking around kept walking while some stood and looked at what happened. The shattering of glass was loud, or at least, loud to most and small to some.

Devin had been looking out the window, watching the sun slowly setting below the horizon. It was winter so the sun sets faster than usual. But the sound of shattering glass broke him out of his reverie. He turned around and his eyes widened. Standing in front of his hospital door was none other than Hotaru Tsukino.

"Hotaru..." he whispered. It was like a word almost foreign yet soothing at the same time. Hotaru could only stare at him, her mouth moving but no words coming out. She backed away slowly, one step, two steps ... and she was about to turn and run. However, something stopped her - it was his hand, his hand was holding onto her hand in a strong grip. She looked at his hand and then slowly looked up until her eyes were meeting his.

"Why did you try to run?" he asked softly. Hotaru shook her head and wretched her hand from his. But Devin wouldn't have it. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders and shook her. "Hotaru, what's wrong?" he asked. She didn't look at him. He frowned and placed his hand on her chin, forcing her head up to look at him. "Well?"

Hotaru immediately wrapped both of her arms around Devin's neck, hugging him tightly. It's been five years since she saw him among the living. It's been five years since he's been rushed to the hospital. It all now seems so surreal - almost impossible. After what almost seem like forever, she whispered into his ear, "I'm sorry." Then she placed a soft kiss on his lips and ... she ran. Devin didn't even have the time to react. She had caught him off guard.

He let out a sigh before kneeling down to the ground and picking up a single white rose. He looked at it sadly. "Silence." Hotaru ran as fast as she could, she just had to get away. She ran down the stairs of the hospital building, hoping to get out. She stopped somewhere on the stairs that belonged to the second floor. In an about of energy, she punched the wall - leaving the wall slightly dented and cracked.

"Aisu." It was a soft voice that whispered this particular word, or rather, a name. She hadn't heard someone call that for a very long time. It was her given name after ...

"Glad to see you're still alive." That voice again. Hotaru turned around and across from her was a woman. This woman looked as though she was in her thirties. She had beautiful blond hair, and her eyes were a shade of blue. In reality though, if you looked closely, you could see that this woman was wearing contacts.

"Hilary." The woman glared at Hotaru, who merely smirked in return. "What? Not use to your birth name?"

"I have no time to play around with you. You do know the time is nearing," Hilary replied. Hotaru crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

"Your point?"

"You will have to appear when the time is right," responded Hilary. Hotaru, on the other hand, was just pretending to inspect her nails. It was almost as though she was completely ignoring Hilary. Hilary quietly clenched her fists, keeping control of her anger. Hotaru raised an eyebrow and took a glance at Hilary.

"Why should I?"

"Because whether or not you like it, you're a vampire."

"That's great and all but that still doesn't mean I need to go," responded Hotaru.

"Trust me - you'd want to go." Hotaru smiled at Hilary with that "I don't give a shit" smile.

"I don't think so," replied Hotaru as she walked past Hilary and down the stairs. Before Hotaru could walk out of Hilary's eye sight ...

"Watch your loved ones closely then." Hotaru stopped walking for a second. She wanted to rip Hilary from limb to limb but because of certain reasons, she cannot. Therefore, she continued walking. Hilary smiled - both of them fully know what Hotaru has to do now.

Music blared in all directions. Laughter, dancing, movements ... oh the life! This is what a nightclub was about. There was dancing, there was loud booming music, and, most importantly, there is a bar! Amongst the crowd sat three women at a small round table, sharing a round of drinks.

"So Betha, how was your trip?" asked Rikku.

"It was horrible. Out of all the seats I got, I get a stupid aisle seat. And the person next to me had to get up a few dozen million times to go to the restroom. I could not get a single ounce of sleep. Not to mention there were a few kids crying for a few hours cause they got scared," replied Betha. Betha was a woman in her thirties. She had short brown, shoulder length hair and brown eyes. She whore blue faded jeans, a red halter-top, and a pair of tennis shoes.

"Sucks for you then," giggled Hotaru.

"Well, how are my two lovers?!" asked Betha.

"Ugh, my manager threw a fit today cause I was late," said Rikku.

"But you're always late," replied Hotaru.

"Well, technically, I get to the building on time. It's not my fault it takes a few minutes to get to the floor I work in," shrugged Rikku. Betha laughed.

"Rikku, you haven't changed."

"Now, why would she change?" ask Hotaru. Betha looked at Hotaru and blinked.

"Because you did," was all that Betha said. It grew quiet for a second before Hotaru started to laugh.

"Yeah! Sure I did! I'm still as flirtatious as ever," winked Hotaru.

"Care to prove it?" asked Betha.

"Is that a challenge?! Do you not believe my words?" asked Hotaru, pretending to be insulted.

"Maybe," smiled Betha.

"Haha yeah! Go Hota, go flirt," suggested Rikku.

"Fine! I will," said Hotaru as she stood up from her seat. Well, sometimes, fate likes to intervene on these. And sometimes, some people's timings are beyond off.

"Hotaru?" a very familiar voice. Hotaru turned around only to be faced with Michael, her co-worker.

"Oh, look at that!" giggled Rikku.

"Is that her boyfriend?" whispered Betha. Rikku burst out laughing. Hotaru could only glare at her friends before greeting Michael.

"Hey there Michael. Fancy meeting you here," she said, trying to keep herself from strangling him.

"I could say the same. You with your friends?" asked Michael.

"Yup! This is Rikku and Betha, my two very best friends," replied Hotaru. Michael nodded and greeted both of them politely.

"Pleased to meet you two," he said.

"Likewise," smiled Betha.

"Yeah, what she said," replied Rikku, acting bored.

"So," started Michael. "Would you like to dance?" he asked while pointing to the dance floor.

"Um."

"Go on Hota!" shouted Betha. Rikku couldn't help but to giggle nonstop. Hotaru glared at them both before smiling at Michael.

"Sure," she replied. From then on, he took a hold of her hand and led her to the crowded dance floor.

"Eh Rikku, has Hota told you about this ... Michael?" asked Betha.

"Yeah. They work together, sort of," replied Rikku.

"Is he her boyfriend?" asked Betha.

"I wish," mumbled Rikku.

"She's not over him yet?"

"Well, in technicalities, he and her have no relationship - just friendship. But even the blind could tell that they have a thing for each other," shrugged Rikku.

"He's still at the hospital?"

"Yes. Been there for five years now."

"Have you seen him?"

"No. I have no interest." Betha raised an eyebrow at Rikku in question. Rikku merely shrugged and took a sip of her drink.

"Aren't you a little bit sadden that he's in the hospital, wasting away his life?" asked Betha.

"Not really. For the past five years, Hota's changed quite a bit just because of him. She hasn't been herself. Hell, she's turned down every single date and every single man she's seen. Whatever that she has owed him before, she returned it ten folds in the past five years. I really couldn't care much about him if I tried but because Hota loves him, I'm not going to say anything." All Betha could do was stare at Rikku while Rikku was nonchalantly drinking some alcoholic beverage.

"Well then, I'll go visit him tomorrow," said Betha, looking at Rikku respectively.

"Hey, I ain't going with you. Ask Hota!" and that's when they both noticed that the bar was suddenly playing a slow, romantic song. They both looked at the dance floor. "The hell? A NIGHTCLUB plays SLOW SONGS?" asked Rikku.

"I give her five seconds," said Betha.

"I give her three."

5 ... 4 ... 3 ...

Hotaru came rushing through the crowd on the dance floor, making her way back to the table that she was previously occupied at. She roughly took her seat, grabbed her glass, and gulped down the liquid as though she needed it to live. Rikku looked at her and grinned, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"So how was the dance? Was it incredible? Was it ... dreamy?" asked Rikku. Of course, a second later, she ended up laughing uncontrollably in her seat. Hota merely glared at her for a minute or two before putting her elbow on her table, propping her head up with her hand.

"The dance was great until the slow song came about. He acted as though he was the shyest person in this damned world and kept fidgeting. So, I just said screw it and came back here," replied Hotaru.

"Awww, you probably hurt his little feelings," said Betha. Rikku continued to laugh.

"As if I care," mumbled Hotaru.