Kimi wo, kimi wo, ai shiteru...

NO!!! Something else!!

Celly smirked and turned to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Susanne said coldly, jumping in front of her and bringing the glaive to bear.

Celly only smiled and started humming a now familiar refrain.

"Cut that out!" Susanne cried desperately.

Kimi wo, kimi wo, ai shiteru...

"See?" Celly said. "You are powerless."

"Don't be too secure in that." Susanne said, her voice now as cold as Celly's.

"You can't ignore it for long."

"I can ignore anything. Ask my sister."

"Kimi wo, kimo wo, ai shiteru," Celly sang quietly. She felt satisfaction as she saw Susanne wince. Yes, it was working. Give it a little time. Of course, she didn't exactly have a lot of time. And she wasn't particularly comfortable with this glaive in her face. "Sorry to cut this short, but I must be on my way," she said, as she raised her hand.

Susanne tried to dodge the blast that Celly sent at her, but she couldn't. It caught her on the side, knocking her off her feet. She flew a few feet and slid a few more before she finally came to a stop.

Celly waited a moment, then nodded and moved on.

Susanne lay, trying to catch her breath. She should have seen that coming. Should have been able to block it, move out of the way, something. But she couldn't think.

Kimi wo, kimi wo, ai shiteru...

Where has Celly gone? She's just left me laying here... does she think I'm dead?

Kimi wo, kimi wo...

Dammit!! Stop already! I need to get up... have to find Celly...

Roger stepped out of the shadows. She had been laying there too long, so he figured he'd be justified in stepping in now. He knelt beside her and gently shook her shoulder. "Susanne? Suzie?" He saw her wince from the pain as she came back to consiousness.

Slowly, with Roger's help, she raised herself to a sitting position. Her knees and elbows were raw and her clothes were dirty from sliding on the pavement. The string of events that had led to this moment came crashing back to her.

Kimi wo, kimi wo, ai shiteru...

Susanne winced and clutched her head.

"Susanne! What's wrong?" Roger said quickly.

"I let Celly get away, I hurt all over, I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I've got this STUPID f-ing song STUCK IN MY HEAD!!!!!"

The corner of Roger's mouth twitched slightly as he tried to repress a chuckle. "There there," he said, hugging her gently so as not to aggravate any of the multitude of scratches and bruises that covered her. "Celly will be easy to find, the pain will go away, there's plenty of food in the restaurants with no one to guard them, and you could just try thinking of another song."

"I've been trying, all I can hear is 'kimi wo, kimi wo, aishiteru' et cetera. And it's starting to put me in a very bad mood."

"Good. Take that bad mood and find Celly. In a few minutes, of course," he said, and began singing softly to her.