Version 1.0
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>From the Personal Journal of Neo Queen Serenity
(Tsukino Usagi I)
6/29/98
It was a couple of days before I was cleared to leave the
hospital. My eyes were still sore, but at least most of the garbage
that had worked its way into them through the smoke had been cleared
out. It was only as I was being let out of the hospital that I'd
decided to visit Miki to tell her that I was being released. Miki
was sleeping in a small bed in her mother's room. Miki's mother,
Akiko, had had her leg plastered, and her head bandaged. From the
looks of things, she was going to be in here for quite a long time.
She told me that Miki was to be fostered out to one of her
relatives, somewhere outside of Tokyo, until she had fully
recovered. This would have meant long hours of travel if she'd
wished to visit her. In Miki's condition, this was next to
impossible. It was then that I hit upon my cunningly devised and
inspired plan.... Take Miki in myself. Now all I had to do was
convince otosan and okasan that it was a good idea.
I was surprised by their enthusiasm for the idea. Little did
I know they felt it would be a good test in responsibility for me.
I surely couldn't have been that bad at the time? Now was I? Was
I?
Whatever the case, I didn't quite know what I was getting
myself into....
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BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILORMOON
NOT A GOD
by Night Rider (Assistance by DDFA)
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?
Chapter 2
Friendships Shall Grow
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On the way home from the hospital, Okaasan told me that Mamoru
had rung several times. She said the first time he'd seemed rather
agitated, like he knew something was wrong. This was before the
hospital rang to inform them I had been admitted, when he rang back
later Okaasan told him what had happend to me.
He was ready to get the first flight back here until Mama told
him that I was alright, and that I would be home in a couple of
days.... That he was not to worry and to keep up with his studies
because it would upset me, and I would most likely blame myself for
his failiure to complete them.
She told him about Miki and how I had saved her, and this made
him very proud of me (the great klutz finally comes good... teehee).
After this, Mamoru had rung several times each day I was in
hospital, checking up on my condition. He can get a little
overprotective, sometimes, moreso than Papa. But it's one of the
things I love about him.
Mama had prepared a huge "Welcome Home" dinner for me, even
though I wasn't hugely hungry. My appetite seemed to have dropped
after the events with the fire. The hospital food definitely didn't
help, but I guess I was suffering a kind of post-traumatic stress at
the time. I pretty much got over this, quickly.... If you've lived
the kind of life I've had, (or lives, depending on your point of
view) then you learn how to adjust to stressful situations.
Besides, my Mama's cooking is the best cure for a lack of
appetite that anyone could ever hope for.
After dinner, Mama ordered Papa and Shingo to do the dishes.
Shingo complained extensively about this, but a quick shot from her
eyes settled that little dispute. (I'm going to have to learn that
technique to use on Chibiusa when the time comes).
Mama took me aside, into the loungeroom, and sat me down on
the sofa. At first, I thought I was going to get some stern
lecture, but in truth, all she wanted to talk about were the
responsibilities I would have to face whilst I was looking after
Miki.
Miki can't walk, at least, not in her current state of health,
so if I intended to take her anywhere, it would be up to me to get
her around. Secondly, because of her state of health, no activity
that would tax her limited strength should be attempted. Thirdly,
although Mama said she'd deal with much of this, her diet would be
extremely limited, due to allergic reactions.
I asked her just what foods she could have and she told me
that all of the information would be supplied, later.
At the time, I didn't realise just how difficult it would be
for Miki, watching all these people on tv and such, eating these
strange and exotic foods and drinks and other various concoctions,
and not even being able to touch a single one of them. Nor did I
think about how it would affect the way I ate.
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Usagi had slept with an eyecover during the night. The light
still caused her some discomfort, even if it was dim streetlight.
In fact, in the darkness the division between the shadows and the
streetlight was of such contrast that it hurt more to look at it.
So she couldn't tell when it was morning. She was lying
there, waiting for the alarm to go off, only it didn't. By the
time she had bothered to remove the cover, sunlight was streaming
through the window. She put an arm over her eyes and turned to
the clock.
Someone had switched the alarm off.
Sighing, Usagi put her head back down on the pillow.
"And it is about time you bothered to rise...." Usagi turned
towards the soft voice to see Luna curled up next to the pillow, her
eyes nothing more than small slits.
"You can talk." Usagi whispered. "Who turned the alarm off?"
"Your mother did." Luna sniffed. "If it was up to me, I'd
keep you in the rhythm of your daily routine. It'd do you a hell of
a lot better than sleeping in."
"Yes, I'm sure you would do that, MOTHER." Usagi screwed up
her nose at Luna's miffed expression.
"Haven't you got some things to do today?" Luna huffed.
"Like what?"
"For a start, there is the paperwork you have to do. And then
you have to meet with Miki's aunt."
"Miki's aunt?" Usagi scratched her head. "First I've heard
of this."
"What, you mean your mother didn't tell you?" Luna clicked
her tongue. "I'm beginning to think some of your forgetfulness is
beginning to rub off on her...."
"Thanks a million, Luna. You're all heart."
"That's what they say." Luna smiled and turned her head away,
leaning it down on her paws.
"What's the saying, Luna? People bare an amazing resemblance
to their pets?"
Usagi let it go there when she heard the most threatening
growl to ever emanate from a cat's lungs.
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Usagi put on her wraparound shades after getting dressed and
felt her way down the stairs. It seemed as if her vision was
getting worse, rather than better. Of course, the doctor had said
that this would be possible, but would pass in time.
She slowly made her way through into the dining room, where
her mother was finishing cleaning up after breakfast. Usagi almost
panicked at the thought that she'd missed it....
"Ah, you're finally awake." Her mother smiled at her.
"Fooooooood....." Usagi said, arms outstretched, hands
grasping in midair. Her mother blinked in surprise.
"Uh, yes, there is some left over." Usagi took her mother by
the arm.
"Thankyou.... Oh thankyou, my saviour." Usagi burst out
laughing at the expression on her mother's face.
Her mother placed some toast and tea on the table, and Usagi
dug in. The food disappeared before Ikuko's eyes at a speed not
thought possible to science. Usagi definitely had her appetite
back.
After drinking copious amounts of water to unblock her throat
from the DRY toast, Usagi turned to her mother, who was washing the
dishes.
"What's on the agenda for today, Mama?"
Ikuko glanced back at her daughter. "Oh, ummm.... We have to
sign the papers for the child services department, to be recognised
as her legal guardians, then meet with her Doctor."
"Is there anything else?"
Ikuko paused for a few moments, thinking. "Uh, I can't seem
to think.... Wait. Of course, Miki's aunt!"
"Her aunt?"
"Yes. We have to meet with her, today. She was the one who
was going to take Miki in before your suggestion."
Usagi scratched her head. "Hmm.... I haven't really thought
about Miki's other relatives, before."
"Apparently Miki rarely sees them. Neither her mother nor her
aunt would say why." Ikuko turned back to the dishes as Usagi
pondered this information. She wondered if there could be any
friction within Miki's family.
It was only then that she realised what it was she was doing.
She had put her nose into the business of another family.... One
that she'd never had any contact with, before. By deciding to look
after Miki, she may have upset the aunt. However, Miki's mother had
not been averse to the idea... Usagi sighed. Life could be
complex, sometimes.
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>From the Personal Journal of Neo Queen Serenity
(Tsukino Usagi I)
6/29/98
The rest of the morning had passed without incident. Mama
dressed to go out, and I put on a jacket as the weather had turned
a little cool.
We caught a taxi to the hospital and met with Miki's doctor, a
man named Mizaki. he helped to explain the depth of Miki's
condition.
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"It has been somewhat difficult to diagnose the full extent of
Miki's problems, as some conditions have been masked by others,
especially when it has come to her allergic disorders. She has so
many, it was almost, at one stage, classed as a total allergy
syndrome case."
Doctor Mizaki stood from the seat behind his desk and stepped
over to the records cabinet. Rifling through the second drawer, he
pulled out a thick folder and turned back to Usagi and her mother.
Usagi was biting on her knuckles.
"Just how bad is she?" Her mother pondered.
"There have been times where.... Well, it was a pretty close
run thing.... I won't beat around the bush with you, Tsukino-san.
Miki has, on three occasions, been clinically dead. I was one of
the operating surgeons during one of those occasions."
"What happened?" Usagi felt tears come to her eyes. "How did
she get this way?"
"I'm not certain, but her health had taken a dive after she
had been brought in as an emergency patient, some three years ago.
I'm not too sure on the details, but she seemed to have been injured
in some kind of accident. She'd had abrasions and lacerations,
amongst other things. She seemed to get better, after she'd healed
up.... However.... About a year or so later, these allergies and
illnesses started."
"Are you saying there is some kind of connection between the
two?" Usagi's mother asked coolly as she rested a hand on Usagi's
arm.
"Nobody can ever be certain of how the body reacts to trauma.
I've seen a lot of stranger things happen in my surgical and medical
career. And, lets face it, over the last three years, with all
these monster attacks and things, I've seen injuries that would
make your eyes boggle."
"Was Miki a victim of one of these monster attacks?" Usagi
asked, suddenly. Both Doctor Mizaki and her mother looked at her.
The Doctor blinked a couple of times and shrugged.
"It was never explained, as I think I've said, what happened
to her that first time...."
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>From the Personal Journal of Neo Queen Serenity
(Tsukino Usagi I)
6/29/98
I had some suspicions from that moment, about Miki's state of
health, and its principle cause. When Doctor Mizaki mentioned the
attacks by the various enemies we had been fighting over these past
few years, and the injuries suffered by innocent bystanders, I
couldn't help but put two and two together.
It should have been obvious to me, at the time. But I prayed
that I was wrong. And, indeed, when I had the opportunity to visit
Miki on our way out of the hospital, she seemed MORE than well. In
fact, she was positively glowing, jumping around on her bed as if it
had all been a bad dream.
She was mightily happy to see me, throwing herself into my
arms as soon as I eneterd her mother's room. We talked together for
a while, as our respective mothers did the same. Of course,
unbeknownst to me, Miki's mother was warning my Mama about her
sister in law.... Miki's aunt.
My earlier thoughts, about there being some problems within
miki's family turned out to be right, when I met Miki's aunt face to
face....
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The cafeteria was rather deserted at this time of the day,
just as the lunchtime rush had come to an end. Miki's aunt, a Mrs
Tanaka Yurika, was a nervous and frail woman, with long black hair
and sharp, piercing eyes. They certainly pierced through Usagi as
soon as she stepped through the door.
Usagi sized the woman up. She was holding a lit cigarette,
one of many she had smoked within the cafe, by the number of used
buts in the ashtray. She looked Usagi up and down, as if she was
trying to read into her clothes and appearance, comparing her to
whatever little classification she had for people in her head, or
some preconceived notion of the kind of person she expected Usagi
to be.
Usagi tried to smile at her, and received nothing in return.
The woman merely stamped out the cigarette in the ashtray, and
beckoned both Usagi and her mother to her table.
"So...." She said, simply, as they stood alongside her.
"This is our famous heroine, the great Tsukino Usagi...."
Usagi decided she didn't like her tone. She did her best to
control her feelings, however. Her mother, on the other hand, was
all smiles.
"Haiii.... My name is Tsukino Ikuko." She held out her hand
to Yurika. "how very nice to meet you, Tanaka-san."
Yurika took her hand without standing up, but was surprised by
Ikuko's forthrightness. Impressed also, maybe. After shaking her
hand, Yurika gestured to the seat opposite. Usagi and her mother
sat down.
"Well...." She said without fanfare. "I suppose you'd like
to know why I've asked to meet with you, eh?" She smiled and pulled
another cigarette from the packet, sitting next to her hand. Ikuko
nodded, unpeturbed by Yurika's unthinking behaviour. "Hmm...."
Yurika looked at Ikuko's inscrutible face, then over to Usagi, who
seemed to cringe within her gaze. Yurika shrugged and lit the
cigarette. After a couple of puffs, she blew smoke into the air and
sniffed. "I suppose Mizaki has told you what her condition is?"
"Hai." Ikuko nodded.
"But he hasn't told you the cause of it all, has he?"
"Not that he would know." Usagi stared out through the
window, nearby, tapping a finger. She had already come to the
conclusion that she did not like this woman very much. She was
disappointed that someone like this could even be vaguely related to
Miki or her mother.
"Indeed..." Yurika chuckled. "I don't think he would even
believe the truth, if it were to be told to him in full."
"And that truth is...?" Ikuko crossed her hands in front of
her, waiting for Yurika to explain. Yurika studied Ikuko a moment
and shook her head, taking another drag from the cigarette.
"Three years ago, the day care centre to which Miki would go
whilst her mother was at work was attacked by oni."
"A monster?" Usagi suddenly became very interested. Yurika
half-smiled.
"Well, whatever you want to call it. It attacked the day care
centre and injured several of the children there, including Miki."
Yurika paused. "The oni was eventually destroyed, later on, by the
Sailorsenshi, howeverm it came too late for the kids."
Usagi clenched her fists, looking down at the table. She felt
an anger within her she didn't know existed. But it was a helpless
anger. It was too late, now, to express her feelings, about being
too late in this case.
Yurika watched Usagi, carefully. "You seem upset...."
"Eh?" Usagi blinked, looking up at Yurika. "Uh, yeah.... I
do feel a little upset."
"Do you feel an attachment to Miki already?"
"Do I....?" Usagi sighed. "If I didn't feel an attachment,
I wouldn't have...." Usagi felt her mother put a hand on her
shoulder, and she went silent. Yurika shrugged.
"Yes, well.... Miki had suffered the worst injuries of all
the children. She was the first to be attacked, you see. She was
only saved when one of the carers at the centre threw themselves at
the oni, beating it away.... getting severely injured, themselves,
in the process." Yurika chuckled inappropriately. "In a strange
kind of way, maybe they did the wrong thing."
"Do you really believe that, Tanaka-san?" Ikuko gave Yurika
a harsh stare. Yurika smiled and shrugged.
"No, not really. She's my niece. If I had been there, I
would have done the same. Blood runs thicker than water." She
looked at Usagi when she said this.
Ikuko ignored the remark. "So, now that we know this, what
relevance does this have to the way Miki is today?"
"Strange.... I thought it would have been clear. The evil
powers of the oni infected Miki.... This is the reason why she is
always sick." The smile faded from Yurika's face. "You know, she's
dying."
Usagi felt the blood drain from her face. "No..." She said,
simply. Yurika looked down at the cigarette, as if unable to face
them whilst saying this.
"They keep working on her.... Trying to find the source of
her problems.... trying to find a cure. But with each step forward,
things go two back.... She wasn't all that bad, at first. Of
course, by the time you saved her from the fire.... Well, you
already know." She lifted her head. "So, are you NOW so willing
to look after her?"
"YES!" Usagi said, forcefully, surprising both Yurika and her
mother. "Miki was.... Miki was.... She was jumping around, today.
She was more alive than I'd ever seen her before."
"She was jumping around?" Yurika looked puzzled.
"Yes, when we went to visit her and her mother." Ikuko
continued. "She appeared quite energetic to me."
Yurika stared into space for several moments as Usagi wiped
tears from her sore eyes, placing her shades on the table.
"So strange...." Yurika said, absently. "Whenever I've gone
to see her, she just seemed to be fading away...." Her voice
emulated her words. She looked at Usagi, and was shocked when she
saw the girl's eyes. Their bloodshot redness and the puffiness
around them was dramatic.
"You.... You put your own life in danger for her...." Yurika
said softly. Usagi nodded.
"I would do it again, for Miki."
Yurika pondered this, then smiled. "Maybe she is right, after
all, to give Miki over to you." Yurika stamped out her cigarette
and stood. "Very well, then. I give in. You can have her, Ms
Tsukino, on one proviso.... If anything happens to her whilst she
is in your care, I'll be coming for her." And with that, Yurika
nodded at them both, and started to leave. At first, Usagi wanted
to stop her.... To talk to her.... But her mother held her arm
firmly and let Yurika walk from the cafeteria.
"Why did you let her go like that?" Usagi looked at her
mother as she placed her shades back on.
"There wasn't any point arguing the issue any further with
her. Miki's mother warned me about what she is like. Once she
gives in like that, that's it. End of argument. She's always been
that way." Ikuko looked up as the waitress stepped over to their
table with a tray of tea and cake. "Looks like a peace offering
to me, courtesy of our dear Tanaka-san. What do you think, Usagi?"
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>From the Personal Journal of Neo Queen Serenity
(Tsukino Usagi I)
6/29/98
The waitress was bringing out chocolate cake. That looked
like a good "peace offering" to me.
END OF PART 2
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Hope this explains some things to people. ^_^ (JTW)
Night Rider ikari@wantree.net.au
Part of the AJAS Fanfic Circle
3rd May 1998